Praise the Lord!!!
Our Connect Through Tech(nology) grant has been approved! We recevied the good news from the Center for Congregations on Wednesday. While it will take several weeks for the monies to arrive, we can begin the implementation right away. I have placed a few orders for equipment and am coordinating our Comcast Internet installation. I can't wait until we're able to live stream our first service! Stay tuned for more details! Thank you ALL for your prayers on this journey ...
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
I have found such joy these past weeks coming into my St. Paul's office and beginning some of the good work I am able to offer here. Each time I can't wait to greet my 5 plants and make sure they are healthy. I enjoy pausing to reflect for a moment on my Holy Land pilgrimage. (See pictures above). I am gradually feeling quite at home in the space, although I don't have a routine yet. Nor could I have guessed I would be doing the things I'm tasked with at this time. And yet it feels good to be reaching out to people and slowly learning about this wonderful community of believers.
To that end, at our vestry meeting last evening we divvied up the Parish Directory among the vestry members and are planning to reach out to each of you on a weekly basis … just to see how you are doing and stay in contact. When you receive a call from someone you might not know so well yet, tell them a little about yourself and learn a little something about them. This is one small way we can be in better contact when we can't be together physically.
Today, our Regathering Team (Sandra Provan, Tom Konieczny, Mother Michelle) met for the first time to begin planning for our re-opening. Please know that while we are eager, we are carefully planning ways to keep us all safe when that does happen. Did you know that in order to reopen we must:
Provide evidence that new COVID-19 cases in LaPorte County have been decreasing for 2 weeks? (We look at that here: https://laporteco.in.gov/covid-19/. We were doing well on that requirement until 12 new cases were documented yesterday.)
Provide evidence that our county retains the ability to test all Hoosiers who are COVID-19 symptomatic? (We see that in the aforementioned site as well as in Health Department announcements about testing.)
Verify that countywide contact tracing is available so that people who have been unknowingly exposed can self-quarantine? (We're still tracking this down!)
Put together a comprehensive 16+ point plan for how we will gather together safely AND communicate that to you? (We've just begun this process. Some ideas are noted below in the WHEN we do gather again … section.)
We are taking this very seriously. All of our health is important. It is a LOT. And above all, God is in charge. Please bear with us while we work through the details and share the best plans we have at any moment.
On a less serious but very appreciative note, today when I arrived to the office I was delighted to see that the Terra Verde Garden Club had been here since Tuesday to clean up our beautiful gardens. We are so blessed to have them assist us with our property maintenance. Thank you!
Friends, be assured of my prayers for each of you; for wisdom and direction in our regathering conversations; for patience as we anticipate our coming together. As we sit in this time between the Ascension of Christ our Lord (yesterday) and the commemoration of the gift of the Holy Spirit (Sunday, 5/31), let us be reminded that through it all we walk alongside the divine. Our prayers are heard; our anxieties calmed; our needs met. Be well my friends.
Love and prayers,
Mother Michelle
revmiw12@gmail.com | 219-575-0226
Worship Opportunities this Week
Please see our worship opportunities for the coming week below.
Sunday Virtual Coffee Hour from 10-10:30am
Sunday Diocesan Morning Prayer at 9:15am, viewing with St. Paul's. (The same Morning Prayer is also available at EDNIN Virtual Worship or the YouTube Channel.)
Thursday Morning Prayer from 9-9:20.
The EDNIN Virtual Worship page continues to offer a robust schedule of Daily Office offerings.
WHEN we do gather again ...
WHEN we do gather again many things will be different for the forseeable future. Here are a few things for your consideration:
The first several weeks we gather will likely be Morning Prayer so that we may accustom ourselves to this new way of being in community together.
If, for any reason, you (or Mother Michelle) are not feeling completely well - please do not come to church. If you have any symptoms or have other medical issues that make you more susceptible, keep yourself and others safe by staying home.
For everybody's health, the wearing of face masks will be required by everyone until further notice. Yes, even the priest and organist! (The only exception to this is children 2 and under or individuals who have breathing conditions that don't allow them to wear face masks.)
Physical distancing requires that individuals not living in the same household will need to maintain a 6 foot separation at all times ... coming into church, sitting in the pew, using the restrooms, etc.
To that end, only every third pew will be available for seating and 3 feet on each end of that pew will marked off to allow for social distancing from people walking up and down the aisle (this will also be minimized). (By our count, this provides us with 16 pews. Approximately 8 of those pews will allow two single people to sit 6ft distanced. All pews will accommodate couples and small families)
Singing has proven to be an efficient way of spreading the virus. Therefore, no one will be singing in church for the forseeable future ... not you, not the priest, not anyone. We will still have music, of course. We will need to enjoy the music with our ears and not our vocal cords.
The church will have to be completely cleaned and sanitized between each service. We are reviewing our options in this regard. Because of this, no unauthorized access to the church will be allowed. If you have a key, please pretend you don't. While coming in for private prayers IS appealing, it is not possible when we are tracking usage and cleaning.
When we do have communion, it will be the Body of Christ only and the priest alone will come to you to place it in your hand.
Hand sanitizer will be available at several locations within the nave and restrooms. All other parts of the church will be unavailable for usage.
There will be no coffee hour or social gathering after service. Navigating the space and the food/beverages is simply too much for these first weeks.
I know this is a LOT. Due to the seriousness of this virus we are making every effort to minimize the risk of spreading it amongst our St. Paul's family. For some, staying home and attending services via our (soon to be implemented) live stream is the safest and best way to worship with us. Please know we are doing our best to make good decisions to keep ourselves and each other healthy!