News from the Red Doors - August 6, 2021

This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker


This week I, and the Worship Committee (Jean Burns, Susie Richter, Sandra Provan, John Gouwens w/ Tom Konieczny included as Jr. Warden), have agonized over whether to require masks for the entirety of the service again or not. We know the Delta variant to be twice as transmissible (according to Yale Medicine). We also know that even vaccinated individuals can become ill with the virus AND transmit it to other people (vaccinated or not). I offer this YouTube link to an interview with Dean Brian Grantz of our Cathedral in South Bend as evidence. We also remember the great joy we all felt that first Sunday we were able to take our masks off.

So this is where we've landed for now, knowing this will shift and change with each bit of new information.

  • We will continue to allow congregants to remove their masks while sitting in their pew as long as:

    1. The congregant is vaccinated and

    2. The county status according to this CDC COVID tracking website, indicates LaPorte County status as Substantial or Lower. (As long as we're not red.)

  • Anyone and everyone is welcome to mask the entire time as they desire.

  • Everyone will remain masked during any movement from the pew.

That said, the altar party and clergy will resume masking, only removing masks for preaching, communion reception, and reading at the lectern.

We are all doing our best to remain safe as the science about this virus continues to be discovered. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to make decisions with the best information available.

In other news, I'm pleased to share that our communion in both kinds process from last Sunday worked well. In fact, it worked so well that we are going to resume having people come forward for communion in general. Here are the notes from the bulletin for this Sunday:

Instructions for Holy Communion
All baptized Christians are welcome to receive communion. During this time of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, please note the following:

  • The priest will be masked and use hand sanitizer prior to uncovering the consecrated elements for distribution.

  • Individuals desiring communion, and who are comfortably able coming forward, are invited to proceed to the center aisle location to receive communion in either the bread alone, or in both kinds. (If in both kinds, bread first and then wine.)

  • Please put on your mask before leaving your pew and proceed in a socially distanced manner to the communion station. At the station, pull down your mask, receive communion, replace your mask, proceed to the wine station (if desired) and repeat.

  • Communion will be delivered to those individuals who indicate their desire to receive it.

  • The priest will receive communion, in both kinds, after everyone else has received.

As ministers of the altar it is our privilege to offer communion and we are happy to bring it to you in the pew if that makes receiving easier for you. Don't hesitate to let an usher know you'd like communion brought to you. The body and blood of Christ are for all of us desiring to receive it.

Be well my friends. Wear your masks more than you were wearing them. And pray, pray, pray for an end to this pandemic.

Blessings,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226 (c)

News from the Red Doors - July 30, 2021

This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker


Greetings. This News from the Red Doors is rather "newsy", so please bear with me as I share several bits of information.

Marriage Policy - On Tuesday 7/20 our vestry voted to approve the proposed marriage policy. If you'd like a refresher on the process we used to draft our marriage policy, please refer to this article from our June 4th News from the Red Doors. The policy is linked here and will also be available on our website shortly.

Red Doors - I'm excited to announce that we will once again be opening our Red Doors on Michigan Avenue for entry and exit. While I know it doesn't matter as much to us since we've become used to the Harrison Street entrance, it is a sign of hospitality to our guests to have our church doors unlocked for entry. Beginning this Sunday there will be a second sign-in sheet at that entrance. If you choose to come in that way, PLEASE sign-in. We need to maintain contact tracing until this COVID pandemic is history.

Tom Lewis - Tom informed me that due to his declining health he was moving to Alabama to live with his son. He was both relieved to be going and sad to be leaving. Tom wanted to be sure to let everyone know how much he has loved and appreciated his St. Paul's family over the many years, decades, he has attended. He sends us his love and prayers, and I offered the same to him from us. His cellphone number remains the same if you'd like to reach out to him. Please keep him, and his family, in your prayers.

Communion in Both Kinds - Beginning this Sunday we will again offer communion in both kinds. It has been nearly 16 months since most of you have had the privilege of the Blood of Christ and we are thrilled to incorporate it into our Worship in a safe manner. The Worship Committee reviewed the approach and this is our pilot process. After you’ve received the Body of Christ, while seated in your pew, if you desire the Cup of Salvation then please:

  • put your mask on,

  • enter the aisle,

  • maintain social distancing,

  • approach the communion station,

  • wait for your turn,

  • pull your mask down,

  • receive the individual cup from the LEM (Lay Eucharistic Minister),

  • consume the contents,

  • place your cup on the tray of used vessels

  • reposition your mask,

  • return to your seat.

We are excited to try out the process and welcome your feedback afterwards. We deeply desire to offer the Communion Cup in the safest possible way. By way of appreciation, I offer extra thanks to Sandra Provan who shopped the vessels, gathered the necessary items, helped me walk through the process, and agreed to be the LEM for the first few Sundays. Once we have the process down, we'll gladly train any other LEMs that would like to serve in this capacity.

Bible Study - Our Thursday Morning Prayer and Bible Study group will reconvene IN-PERSON the Thursday after Labor Day 9/9. We will be studying Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter. We are looking for a way to also include people who might like to participate but don't find 9am on Thursday a good fit for their schedule. We are considering an evening offering (weekly) or perhaps a once a month offering either on Sunday mornings after church (I hear this has been done in the past) or otherwise. I have two requests of you at this time:

  1. If you'd like a copy of the book, please let me know. I've been able to purchase several used copies of them on Amazon for around $10, about half price. I'll be happy to order you one.

  2. If you'd like to attend a non-Thursday gathering, what fits with your schedule OR is your preference?

As always friends, I'm hear if you need me for prayer, counsel, or simply to sit together and be present to the Holy You are in my prayers, as I know you are in mine. Be safe and see you soon.

Blessings,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226 (c)

News from the Red Doors - July 23, 2021

This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker


Dear St. Paul’s Family,

THANK YOU for your prayers and support as my family vacationed last week. We had a lovely time including; swims in the pool, diving for the girls, snorkeling for Joe and I, nightly family meals, and many hours (for me) of reading books just for fun. It is SO good to go on vacation and it is just as wonderful to return home. Thank you for welcoming me back to church on Sunday!

In case you haven't heard, our Mutual Ministry Review (MMR) with Susan Czolgosz was a wonderful time spent together as clergy and vestry. She listened to us intently and offered a few good suggestions. The first one we are diving into is a vestry book study on Part-Time is Plenty: Thriving without Full-Time Clergy. The priest's discretionary account was used to purchase copies of this book for each of our vestry members. Beginning in August we will study together one chapter per month, for six months. We hope to learn some exciting tips about thriving with part-time clergy. Stay tuned for updates!

By now I imagine you've heard about our Celebration Sunday on September 12th. We hope you will invite your friends and family so that we can fill the church in a way it hasn't been filled since before the pandemic. Start thinking now about who you might want to be with you to this special service. Suggestions are welcomed by Jean Burns, who is organizing the various aspects of the day.

I pray you are all doing well and hope to see you soon. Be blessed on this summer days my friends. Be blessed.

Blessings,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226 (c)

News from the Red Doors - July 9, 2021

This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker

Dear St. Paul's Family,

Stewardship. All too often that word causes people to grasp their wallets reflexively as they are certain the next thing coming is a request for money. Admittedly, that does happen. Stewardship, however, doesn't always require money. Some times, it requires a person's time and their knowledge or talent of how to care for the item, organization, or property entrusted to them.

As life would have it, our rectory needed a good deal of stewardship this Spring. After about 2 years of being empty and untended, it required some TLC (tender loving care). From the sewer line exploration, digging, and repair to the cleaning of the inside to the replacement of the garbage disposal to the "spiffing up" of the rectory grounds - a good deal of time and talent has gone into caring for this property we've cherished for so many decades. We are wonderfully blessed with tenants January-June '21 and then more tenants June '21 - March '22 that allow us a little extra income to care for some of these needs. And as you read previously, we were also blessed to discover our insurance covered all but about $200 of the excavation related to the sewer. Blessed, we are blessed indeed.

The pictures I've included in this edition of our News from the Red Doors show before and after pictures of the rectory back and side yards. Thanks to our parishioner Jessica Crass, her son Carson, and my dear clergy spouse Joe, the rectory grounds are looking infinitely better than before. Thank you to Jessica and Joe for their many volunteer hours. Thank you to Carson for his hard and excellent work at a reasonable rate. Thank you to Sue Cummings for digging and donating hostas and for Sally Glynn for offering plantings of her beautiful irises. As stewards of this property we can be proud of the improvements made, as frugally and sustainably as possible. On a related note, our new tenants are thrilled with their rectory home (while their fire damaged home is being repaired) and are even helping with keeping the grass seed watered so it will grow beautifully.

By the time you receive this email I will be officially on vacation, although we don't fly until Sunday. I can't help but think about stewardship of ourselves ... our minds, souls, and bodies as well. Time for work, prayer, exercise, fun, and relaxation are all part of how we are also good stewards of ourselves. And this coming week my stewardship will include sitting by either the pool or the beach, in the shade and covered in sunscreen, with a cold beverage and an entertaining book. My stewardship for this next week is rest, enjoyment, and rejuvenation ... all of which are important aspects of a well-rounded life. I'm thankful for the time away and for the prayers for our safe travels. I'm thankful to Fr. Rob for supplying on Sunday, and to everyone who has to do a little more in my absence. Thank you!

Should any pastoral emergencies arise in the next week, please reach out to Senior Warden Jean Burns or Junior Warden Tom Konieczny. And until next Sunday (7/18), stay safe, pray regularly, and consider what good stewardship in ALL aspects of your life means to you.

Blessings,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226 (c)