Vestry and Warden Opportunities
Greetings all! It's the time of year when we start planning for 2022 leadership changes. We have been blessed with wonderful leaders and are looking for a few more. If you would be interested and willing to serve on vestry, we will welcome two new vestry members for 2022. We are also looking for a Junior Warden for next year, with the promise of lots of assistance should you step into this role.
Please prayerfully consider whether you're ready to help St. Paul's in this next year of ministry in LaPorte. Contact Jean Burns, Tom Konieczny, or Mother Michelle with questions or to volunteer. Thank you!
An Update on our Church Buildings for Collaborative Partnerships (CBCP) Gathering
On the afternoon of November 17, four members of CBCP met with Mother Michelle, Jean and Tom for one of the culminating activities of the project, the onsite visit. For the first hour we seven toured, measured, discussed and evaluated our spaces. How could they be shared in partnership with others in our community? In the second hour we discussed what we had observed on the tour, specifically in relation to both our strengths and our limitations. A parish profile, developed by CBCP based on interviews with our committee, helped us focus on the many opportunities for a historical church, in a downtown setting, even with our small numbers. If we had doubts, they abated in the third hour.
For that final, third, hour we invited community leaders to join us: Mayor Tom Dermody; Maria Fruth, Healthcare Foundation; Shannon Walker, Unity Foundation; Jaunda Kneller, Service League, and Mike Drayton and Tim King, La Porte County Symphony. We began with a tour of the facilities for the six of them and then sat down with Bob Jaeger, Karen DiLossi, Sarah Jones, and David Frederick of CBCP, and our three for a lively, productive discussion of ways we might share our space with groups or individuals in the community. The enthusiasm from our guests was amazing and gratifying. The day could not have ended on a more positive note. We all agreed: this was not the end; it was just the beginning. We are so excited that we now have a
request from the Service League that St. Paul’s become their official meeting site—just the beginning.
- Jean Burns, Sr. Warden
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
I hope you each had a lovely celebration of Thanksgiving.
This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent (and Year C in the Revised Common Lectionary). Advent is a season of waiting and expectation, a time of anticipating the birth of the Christ child, and if we're honest it's also a time filled with many activities and expectations. I pray for you, for all of us, to step into this season with intention and with hearts full of gratitude for the many blessings we've received in this year. May we ever remember to take time to pray and be thankful for all that we have.
Enjoy this beautiful, cold, snowy Black Friday whether you shop or not. (I'm in the NOT shop category, unless I make any online purchases!)
Blessings,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226 (c)
Announcements & Requests
Please note updated time is now 12:30pm on Tuesdays!
Join us, Tuesdays in Advent, for an exploration of the Anglican Rosary. Beginning on Tuesday, November 30th, for four Tuesdays, we will gather in the church at 12:30pm for an introduction to and prayer with the Anglican Rosary. Praying with beads is an ancient and cherished practice that predates Christianity, especially by individuals who appreciate movement or tactile contact to help focus their mind.
The mother of a priest colleague has graciously and lovingly made us 30 rosaries for our prayerful journey. They are beautiful, simple, and a wonderful tool for prayer. An interesting aspect of the Anglican Rosary is that the prayers can easily be changed for the season or circumstance. For our exploration we will be using Praying with Beads: Daily Prayers for the Christian Year by Nan Lewis Doerr and Virginia Stem Owens (Amazon link here). We will be praying evening prayers specific to each week of Advent. There is no need to purchase the book to join us as we will have a printed handout for your use. You might love it so much you will be excited to have the prayers for the whole year though.
I hope you will join us for this prayerful exploration. Each gathering will last less than 30 minutes and will be broadcast on our St. Paul's Zoom and via Facebook. Rosary beads and prayer handouts will be available the first evening, Tuesday November 30th (or Sunday November 28th if requested). As we step into Advent, that season of waiting and expectation, may we do so prayerfully and with intention.