News from the Red Doors - September 10, 2021
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
Celebration Sunday is upon us! When we first discussed this more than 6 months ago it seemed so far away. And now it's here. I hope you have plans to bring a friend who will share in the joy of our beautiful liturgy. I'm so excited.
A few logistical notes ... as I mentioned on Sunday, coffee hour is a go! Bette Floyd has carefully put together a feast that adheres to all safety guidelines. That said, we hope you will choose to join us for coffee hour and when you do we ask that you wear your masks until you've reached your desired seat. And keep in mind something you love about St. Paul's, in case you are asked!
Also, if the wonderful happens and the church is fuller than the marked pews, please consider sitting with someone you are comfortable being in proximity to. Remember, we're wearing masks so please do your best to welcome our guests.
In other news, our Morning Prayer group met yesterday for the first time. It was so joyous to be together in-person after 18 months of praying via Zoom! We began our Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter book study and it's going to be GREAT! If you can possibly slip away Thursdays at 9am, join us. I'll happily order you a book. Just let me know.
There are several announcements below so I will close this portion with a request: please pray for a joyful celebration this Sunday!
Blessings,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226 (c)
This year St. Paul's will be participating in the Sunflower Festival on Saturday, September 18th. We will be set up on the tree lawn in front of the church on Michigan Ave. We will be a respite for those walking around the festival. We will be offering coffee, popcorn, water, baked goods and a place to rest. We are looking for volunteers for setup, for sitting and talking to folks, and for taking things back into the church at the end of the day. A sign up sheet for volunteers and for baked goods will be at breakfast on Celebration Sunday. Please consider helping out and having a great time!
LIVE from St. Paul's - September 5, 2021
News from the Red Doors - September 3, 2021
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
For as long as I can remember I have always loved the time of year that brings the fall. Cool crisp mornings followed by delightfully warm (but bearable) days bring me joy more than any other time of the year. I hope you will find my extra optimism contagious!
So, with only ONE Sunday between now and our Celebration Sunday, WHO have you invited to church? We are praying for a wonderful celebration on 9/12 and hope to share that with a few people that we either haven't seen in a while, or ever! Let's get those St. Paul's invitation cards working!
On a personal note, I'd like to share a Walker Family update with you. A few weeks ago our family decided to extend an invitation to my mother, Sandy, to come live with us in our home. This past year of isolation has been hard on her, living alone and rather remotely in the country. As her only child, it's difficult to visit her frequently given the 200 mile distance. Additionally the demands of her property maintenance never cease. All this is to share that she said "yes" and now we have a great deal of work to do!
Our home here in LaPorte is an elevated ranch with a ground-level basement that will become the Gramma Suite. Complete with kitchenette and bathroom, she will both have her own space and be welcome in ours. As many of you know, however, downsizing from a 3 bedroom home in which she's lived for 47 years to the space we have available is going to be a challenge.
In God's perfect timing, I begin my Diocesan sabbatical on 9/19. This means from 9/19-10/23 I have (only) my 20 hour/week St. Paul's commitment for the working portion of my life. This will allow me to be more available to help my mother prepare to downsize her possessions and sell her home. I'm thankful for this gift of time.
Here's where it impacts you. With permission first from our wardens and then from vestry, I will switch my St. Paul's office days from Tuesday/Thursday to Thursday/Friday for the weeks of 9/20, 9/27, and 10/17. (From 10/5-10/12 I will be traveling with my Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program.) I will still be available by phone/computer throughout the week, but will travel to my mother's home Sunday afternoon - Wednesday afternoon.
PLEASE KNOW, during this time and always, I'm never to busy for your calls or prayer requests. Life is always full AND it is my continual joy to pray with and for you through the events in YOUR life. Nothing breaks my heart more than hearing "I didn't call because I know you're busy". Call! Call every time. I welcome what you might consider "an intrusion". Prayer is never, ever an intrusion.
Speaking of prayer, I beg your prayers for smooth transitions, for joyful resettling, and for quality time spent together as family. I know many of you have or will face decisions of this kind, both as the person taking a parent in and perhaps as the parent determining your best living conditions. I pray for each of you as well.
Lastly, I offer my utmost appreciation to all of the people who made last Sunday's Morning Prayer service so lovely. Sandra led a wonderful Morning Prayer service. Susie offered a thoughtful and inspiring sermon. John kept all of our toes tapping with his beautiful organ music. And Mike not only read, but made sure the live stream worked. Thank you to everyone who helped make it a special Sunday morning. I greatly appreciated the time away with my husband and some friends. (Although my golfing was miserable!)
And so, may the joy of the coming fall and the excitement for both Celebration and Confirmation Sundays fill you with anticipation. Wear your masks. Say your prayers. And be safe my friends!
Blessings,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226 (c)
LIVE from St. Paul's - August 29, 2021
News from the Red Doors - August 27 2021
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
Admittedly, I've offered many prayers this week for the efficiency of air conditioning for all of you, and myself. This hot and humid weather is not my friend. And the beautiful place we met for my Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program on Monday-Wednesday had air conditioning that struggled to keep up. I hope you've all stayed cool and safe during these heat advisories.
As I mentioned in my newsletter last week, this Sunday (8/29) we are blessed to have lay leadership willing to not only lead Morning Prayer but also offer a short reflection on the Scriptures. Thank you to Sandra Provan for leading worship; Susie Richter for preaching; Mike Konieczny for running the Audio Visual; and to each of you for supporting our lay-led ministries as fully as our clergy-led ones.
In the book we are studying as vestry, Part-Time is Plenty: Thriving without Full-Time Clergy, we are learning about and reflecting upon how the church of today must have active and involved lay people in order to survive - EVEN thrive. And this is particularly important when the clergy is part-time and the support staff is limited. In our first session of study we reflected, with pride, upon the decisions already made at St. Paul's to call a priest less than full-time. We were thrilled to realize how we had ALREADY taken many necessary steps to strengthen our faith community. And we were all eager to learn what some of the other steps might be.
One thing that I'm passionate about, and will tell you over and over, is a desire to shift our focus from one of scarcity (we don't have enough of this or that) to one of abundance (we have all we need in this moment). Yes, we all wish our church pews were full and yet how can we focus on the abundant blessings surrounding us? Our St. Paul's family is a faithful, loving, dedicated bunch and each time I see your smiling faces (or eyes!) I am filled with gratitude and amazement. We are ENOUGH and we are right where we're supposed to be in this moment.
And so our service this Sunday will be even more beautiful because it comes from you, for you. Susie is preaching her first "Words of Encouragement" (as we labeled it in the bulletin) and will be happy to share with you how challenging it is to unfold Scriptures in this way. I am proud of her, of each and every one of you, of all of us. And I am so thankful to be called to be your priest at this time, in this place.
Be well my friends. Stay cool and say your prayers.
Blessings,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226 (c)
LIVE from St. Paul's - August 22, 2021
News from the Red Doors - August 20, 2021
From your Senior Warden
Jean Burns
With the cooperation and hard work of many, plans and events for Celebration Sunday are coming to fruition. Bette Floyd, Mother Michelle, Mike Konieczny, Sue Cummings, Sandra Provan, John Gouwens and the Worship Committee—all have made being chairperson a privilege. It is my hope that each of you, with family and friends, will be at St.Paul’s on this special day to worship and share fellowship.
Thanks to Susie Richter, St. Paul’s will play an active role in this year’s Sunflower Festival. The church will be open as in previous years; the street lawn will serve as a rest stop with free water and freshly popped corn. Home baked goods will also be available with monetary donations optional. Contributions of baked goods can be brought to the Parish Hall the day before or on the morning of the event. A reminder: Bring baked goods that will withstand what is likely to be warm weather.
What an achievement! Inside the sanctuary, masks are to be worn, but, with precautions in place, we are able to partake of both the bread and the wine as we celebrate the Eucharist. What joy to walk down the center aisle once again to receive the elements.
Lay ministers are visiting the sick and shut-ins; committees are meeting in person; Bible Study is at the church. We are eager to be together once again, but we are doing so carefully and cautiously.
With care to be fiscally responsible, we have not had to draw from the endowment for some months. However, with additional maintenance and normal monthly expenses, a draw will soon be necessary. Please help by keeping your pledge current, and if you are able, by increasing it.
The Vestry is reading and discussing G. Jeffery MacDonald’s book, Part-Time Is Plenty, a resource for churches with part-time clergy. We look forward to sharing and implementing what we learn. Already it is clear that there is a part for each of us if we are to make St. Paul’s a church of vitality.
God’s blessings, Jean
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
Greetings! In case I haven't shared this with you yet, Bishop Doug Sparks is scheduled to make his official visitation to St. Paul's on Sunday September 19th. A visit from a Bishop is always a good time for special celebrations including baptism, confirmation, and reception of individuals from other faith communities. We will be blessed to officially welcome our very own organist, John Gouwens, into our faith community on that day. John has been attending confirmation classes for some months (via Zoom on Tuesday evenings) and is excited to make St. Paul's his official home. Welcome John! You already bless us with your musical gifts and now you'll bless us with your membership as well.
If you, or someone you know, is interested in baptism or reception, please let me know.
I'm also excited to share some news about our Morning Prayer service and Guest Speaker for Sunday 8/29, but I'm going to save that for next week's newsletter.
I hope you are all well. I pray for you regularly. And I remind you again that I'm available for conversation, prayer, or otherwise as you request. Have a blessed day.
Blessings,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226 (c)
LIVE from St. Paul's - August 15, 2021
News from the Red Doors - August 13, 2021
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
Good morning St. Paul's. I'd like to begin my message to you with an expression of gratitude for your prayers. Especially over the last week I have realized how it's much easier for a priest to give love and prayers to her congregation than it is to ask for and receive love and prayers. Thank you for reminding me that it works in both directions!
That said, I 've been sick with a respiratory virus over the last 1.5 weeks. My COVID test was negative, so it was a regular virus that leaves me, at this point, with a occasional cough. Otherwise I feel well and am not contagious. I plan to be at church on Sunday, masked except for the sermon, but will speak the liturgy to reduce my risk of coughing. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Second, as we all watch the news of the COVID Delta variant sweeping the nation, we'll also take note that LaPorte County has now gone red in terms of a High Level of Transmissibility (https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view). Given that information, we request that you wear your masks throughout the entire service. This is not a requirement but rather the best precaution we can all take to keep each other safe. St. Paul's is a loving community. One way we continue to love each other is to do our best to keep each other safe. Thank you for doing that.
Third, we've ordered generic St. Paul's business cards to use in our evangelism efforts (see pictures below). We will bless 1,000 of these cards on 8/23, giving each of you 10 of them after the service, in an effort to share an invite to the beauty of St. Paul's easily in the community. Our request of you is to give out these cards. You can include a personal invitation with the card (verbal or written) or you can simply give them to people with a smile. The only preparation you need for this mission is to think about something you might say to a person should they ask what you love about St. Paul's. I like to call this "evangelism light"! We can do it!
Have a wonderful day friends. You remain in my prayers, especially as I look forward to being back with you this Sunday. Take care and be safe.
Blessings,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226 (c)