Sunday, September 19 (above)
(Left to Right) Bishop Doug Sparks, John Gouwens (confirmed), Tom Brown (received), Mother Michelle.
Welcome John and Tom. Thank you Bishop Doug.
Sunflower Festival Pictures (below)
Greg Herold and Susie Richter manning the popcorn machine.
Several of us enjoying the shade, breeze, and each other's company.
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
Bishop's Visitation - What a glorious celebration we shared this past Sunday with Bishop Doug's visitation. We wish a warm welcome (officially) to our own John Gouwens (confirmed) and Tom Brown (received). It was so lovely to have them prayed over in our midst. And it's always a joy to have our bishop visit.
Sunflower Festival - Saturday was also a lovely day, for the Sunflower Festival. I'd like to offer a special thanks to Susie for organizing; to Greg for staying the entire day and offering church tours; and to the many volunteers who either helped setup/tear down, shared their baked goods, or simply enjoyed part of their day with us. We welcomed more than 50 people through our doors for a brief tour. Let's pray that each of them find Christ in their lives more fully over the next couple of weeks.
Jim Collingwood - I spoke to Jackie Collingwood late last week and she shared with me that they've made the difficult decision to place Jim in an assisted living facility. At this time it is primarily due to his loss of strength, to ensure his safety. Please keep Jim, Jackie, and their two sons in your prayers during this time of transition. (She gave me permission to share this with you.)
(Brief) Sunday Morning Bible Study - In case you've forgotten, this Sunday marks our first adventure together into doing a brief Bible study during coffee hour. Our Thursday morning group voted on the six Bible Women we've studied so far and have decided to focus on Eve. If you have a chance before Sunday please read Genesis 3-4 (or pages 26-30 in the Bible Women book). We will have a short introduction to the book we are studying and a brief overview of Eve (no more than 10 minutes total) followed by reflection questions for you to discuss amongst yourselves at your table. Please join us if you can.
CBCP - You may have heard that St. Paul's is participating in a diocesan program entitled Church Buildings for Collaborative Partnerships (CBCP). This is a Thriving Congregations grant received from the Lilly Foundation to the Dioceses of Indianapolis and Northern Indiana. This project is a study of our physical buildings and how they are or can be used to more fully engage with the local community. Jean Burns, Tom Konieczny, and myself are on the team and receiving training. We have a full day of training in Carmel, IN on Saturday to learn more. We'll be sure to keep you updated.
Spending of Endowment Monies - In an attempt to be fully transparent about our finances I want to share with you that we moved monies from our Edward Jones account to our Operating Fund in order to cover our September financial obligations. You may remember that instead of setting a reoccurring amount monthly to transfer we have opted to look at our finances monthly and move only what is necessary to pay our bills (keeping a minimum balance in our account). This hasn't been necessary since my arrival until now and we are blessed by the resources. I share this with you so that 1) you will know what is going on and 2) if you are behind on your pledge you might be reminded to catch-up (as you are able). THANK YOU for your continual faithful stewardship.
Walker Family Update - I'm so thankful for your prayers during this time of transition in my personal family regarding my mother's move to LaPorte. I was able to spend 3 solid days helping her with her house and will spend 3 more next week. You may remember I am able to do this as I'm on sabbatical from my Diocesan responsibilities. I'm extremely thankful for that. Things are going well and we're excited to welcome her in a month or so. There's much work to be done before then.
Prayer, ALWAYS Prayer - Lastly, and most importantly, there are many St. Paul's members, and friends of members, that need and appreciate our prayers right now. Some of them are on our prayer list. Some of them are not. Friends, never forget that prayer works. It doesn't always work the way we think it should, but it works. Please be in prayer for our faith community, for it's members, and for yourselves.
I look forward to seeing you on Sunday!
Blessings,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226 (c)
Stewardship for 2022
Our stewardship campaign for 2022 will once again be taken from TENS (The Episcopal Network for Stewardship) and will kick-off on Sunday October 10th. More information can be found on our St. Paul's website under the tab "Every Perfect Gift". I know you all give faithfully. Thank you for that! And stay tuned for further details.