News from the Red Doors - February 18, 2022

From Your Senior Warden, Jean Burns

In spite of a fiercely bitter January and February and the demands for patience and flexibility required by the virus, we at St. Paul’s are amazing. While other churches are struggling to schedule their annual meeting, ours, held in the sanctuary after the Sunday service, worked very well, perhaps even more efficiently and with better attendance than if it were held in the Parish Hall. Three members were elected to serve as Vestry leadership for one year terms: Jean Burns, Senior Warden and Margie Bender and Tom Brown, co-Junior Wardens. Debbie Ryan and Mike Konieczny were elected to serve three years as vestry members. Three new vestry members - who are serving for the first time, will bring enthusiasm and fresh insights and ideas.  Two new vestry members, who have served before, will share experience and insights. It is gratifying to have a full slate.

As I visit with friends and acquaintances who attend other churches, I feel so good about the way we have handled Covid-19. It is apparent that others have not been as successful in holding safe in-person services, relying on virtual church as their only recourse. We continue to be masked and to observe safe distancing, but our choir and congregation sing and we share the Eucharist in both kinds. Our community meals as carry-outs have resumed; we will once again share a coffee hour after our Sunday service; and our Shrove Tuesday pancake supper for this year will be a Shrove Sunday pancake and sausage celebration. All of this has been possible because of careful decision making, planning, and flexibility, all encouraged and spearheaded by Mother Michelle.

For the past several months, vestry meetings have begun with a discussion of a chapter from Part-Time Is Plenty; Thriving Without Full-Time Clergy by Jeffrey MacDonald. Yes, churches can thrive and grow without full-time clergy but only when adjustments in attitude, beliefs, and behavior occur. We have witnessed this at St. Paul’s as parishioners have taken ownership of tasks and responsibilities previously belonging to the priest. St. Paul’s is treated as an equal member at the Diocesan level with total support from Bishop Sparks. We believe in ourselves and do not feel second-rate or diminished with part-time clergy. In fact we feel blessed and optimistic and feel joy with the presence of new attendees who have joined us, not only on Sunday morning, but in parish activities. We are thrilled that community groups are using underused space in our facilities. Of course, there is more to do, but we have an abundance of talent in our church yet to be tapped. Please pray about how you might share yours.

I do not know what God’s plans are for St. Paul’s, but I do know that we are a faithful, dedicated family who will work and pray together to understand and fulfill those plans. I look forward, as I know you do, to whatever that might be.

- Jean Burns, Senior Warden

This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker

Dear St. Paul's Family,

As I write this, it's Thursday morning and I'm sitting in my home office waiting for part 2 of the great storm to bring the sleet and snow. I am so incredibly thankful for Jean's article above, that reminds us of how blessed we are. I am so thankful for each one of you, and the opportunities that I've had to ministry to and with you. Thank you for being such a faithful community. In this newsletter I'd like to share a few practical things with you, to keep you fully informed of what's going on at St. Paul's.

Shrove Tuesday, transferred to Sunday 2/27 - In case you haven't heard, we will be offering our Shrove Tuesday meal of pancakes and sausages on Sunday 2/27 during the coffee hour. Please plan to attend. Susie will have a sign-up sheet in case you're also willing to help.

Financial Investments - On 2/10 our Wardens and Treasurer met with our Edward Jones Financial Advisor, Jess Dunger. This is a yearly meeting where we review our investments and revise the signatories on the account to our new vestry leadership (wardens). As a matter of process, every new vestry member, employee, or warden is required by canons to have a (financial and criminal) background check. Those all came back without issue and the updates regarding who can sign on the accounts are in process.

(As a point of interest, I have elected to NOT have signature power on any of our accounts, include my discretionary account, in order to maintain separation from our financial expenditures. I want to lead with transparency and always have the validation checks that our lay leadership offer.)

We learned that our investments are doing well. We heard that even if there is a market adjustment, our long-term outlook is excellent. And we discussed that as long as we are withdrawing less than 7% on a regular basis, our investments should continue to grow. Based on our budget, we are blessed to expect we'll only need to withdraw 5% in 2022. Praise God!

Our Sister Parish - St. Andrew's by the Lake, Michigan City
As many of you are already aware, the congregation at St. Andrew's by the Lake in Michigan City voted late last year to close. St. Andrew's was a home for my family for many years. They were also my sponsoring parish for my ordination. Their last service will be on Sunday 3/6, with Bishop Doug Sparks. On that day, the first Sunday of Lent, I plan to leave directly after our service to be with them for the last part of their service and to fellowship with them. Please keep them in your prayers as they take these next, difficult steps.

Lent is Approaching, Quickly!
As I mentioned in last week's newsletter, Lent is right around the corner. On Ash Wednesday (3/2) we will offer service WITH the imposition of ashes at noon and 6pm. During the Wednesdays of Lent (3/9-4/6), we will gather at 6pm for a brief Anglican Rosary service, followed by Stations of the Cross. We do intend to livestream or record them if it's easier for you to attend from home. We hope you will join us either way.

It is my hope to set aside this Lenten time for a bit more stillness and meditative time, both personally and as your priest. The Anglican Rosary prayers we will offer on Wednesdays and I implore you to offer each day of your week, at home and at a time that is convenient to you. In addition to those prayers, I am encouraging some times of listening ... listening for the Holy in a quiet space of your home, of your life.

I was recently reminded of the difference between Kataphatic and Apophatic prayer. Kataphatic prayer is content based, spoken, left brain centered, and particularly supports decision making. We are really good at this prayer as Episcopalians. Apophatic prayer is silence, meditation, emptying of one's self, right brain centered, and particularly good at supporting discernment ... that listening and looking for where God is present amongst us already. We can all increase this kind of prayer in our lives.

For this Lent, our intention is to lean into both kinds of prayer. To that end, our prayers will have more periods of silence before and after. We will say, versus sing, all of the service (with the exception of our hymns and the choir anthem). And we will intentionally slow down to create small but noticeable spaces for Apophatic prayer. This will also be incorporated into your Anglican Rosary prayers. I hope you will find this Spirit-filled and peaceful.

Lastly, thank you, thank you, thank you for being you and for loving the Lord. You all know me well enough by now to know this gratitude is genuine and ongoing. We are blessed to be the worshiping community at St. Paul's and to continue to share the light of Christ. May this coming Lenten season bring that to fruition even more fully.

Have a safe, happy, and warm day my friends.

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

A Thank you from Fr. Paul Nesta

Fr. Paul Nesta sent a lovely thank you note in appreciation of the prayers, support, and cards that were offered after the recent passing of his father. He remains grateful to and appreciative of our St. Paul's community.

Announcements & Requests

Join us Thursdays at 9am for an offering of Morning Prayer (side altar of church) followed by a book study of Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter (parish hall). All are welcome.

News from the Red Doors - February 11, 2022

This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker

Dear St. Paul's Family,

Over the past month I have had the pleasure of reading a book entitled How to Lead When You Don't Know Where You're Going: Leading in a Liminal Season by Susan Beaumont. Along with my studies, I've been able to join in a series of webinars with the author herself. It's a delightful book that weaves together many of the concepts I've learned in other contexts, and combines them with fascinating new approaches. The book was published right before COVID, and the contents apply remarkably to this pandemic (and eventually post-COVID) world as well.

Susan quotes Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar, who describes entering a liminal season as "... a sweet spot between the known and the unknown where originality happens; the key is to be able to linger there without panicking." I've thought about that quote a great deal since I first encountered it. I think it applies to our St. Paul's journey. I wonder and revel in how we are between what we have known about our faith community and where God is calling us next. I wonder if lingering without panicking, while we discern what's next, might be beneficial to us?

Another concept, presented by the author, is newer to me. That is the belief that an institution itself has a sort of soul. This soul keeps us true to who we are as a group of people and provides us resiliency. Susan describes the "Journey of Institutional Soul" in the following (non-linear) steps:

  • Divine spark

  • Founding vision

  • Institutional birth

  • Leadership transitions

  • Wounding and strengthening

  • Dark nights and glory eras

  • Liminal season(s)

These components help form, identify, and strengthen an institutional soul - which is sort of like an institutional identity. We know some of these things about ourselves from the profile generated in 2018 when we were looking for our next priest. We indicated a value in: traditional, eucharistic-centered worship with quality music; our beautiful worship space; traditions of mutual prayer and support; thought-provoking teaching which opens us to the wider church; and sharing our building and grounds as a community asset. We love God. We love each other. And we want to share that with more people.

Susan also talks about how the institutional soul emerges through the stories we tell of our faith community. And that when we are looking for God's direction in our midst we are actually discerning. Discernment might best be described by author Ruth Haley Barton as:

  • "An ever-increasing capacity to 'see' the work of God in the midst of the human situation, so that we can align ourselves with whatever God is doing." It is also "A quality of attentiveness to God that, over time, develops our sense of God's heart and purpose in the moment."

God cares about us, about our decisions as individuals and as faith community. And a discerning person, a discerning church, is looking for the ways God is already present and how we can join in that presence.

Our worship committee decided back in December that we would NOT host a meal nor a specific study during the quickly approaching Lenten season (although we will still offer Stations of the Cross). After we made that decision I've wrestled a great deal with what we might do instead and I'm sensing a deep desire for discernment ... for an awareness of where God is present right now ... for a sense of God's heart and purpose for us ... and to do that in prayer.

It might seem early to talk about Lent, but it's less than 3 weeks away. For this Lenten season, we will settle into discernment, into prayer. We will each have homework for every single day of Lent: to both pray specifically for each other and the church while also creating a quiet prayer space for ourselves where we might discern and witness God already in action. Over these last two years we have made good administrative and organizational decisions, of which we should be proud. We have tightened up our finances and delivered exceptional worship, even amidst a pandemic. We have welcomed new community partners into our spaces and strengthened existing relationships. We have welcomed new members. And now, well where might God be inviting us to join in the work he's already begun now?

Between now and Ash Wednesday we will be finalizing our Lenten homework and practices. We will build on what we have already done/experienced (Anglican Rosary) and add new components (more intentional periods of silence). We will look and listen for God in the same ways, and in new ways. We will "see" and recognize God's work already at hand. We will share those witnesses with each other.

I don't expect the heavens to open and God's voice to boom a direct command for St. Paul's to follow. I DO believe that by leaning into and listening for the Holy, we will quietly and consistently continue to make decisions and take actions that align with God's work here in LaPorte. I hope you will join us. I hope you will share YOUR experiences and learnings.

There is a chorus of a hymn goes "be still and know that I am God". (You can listen to it on YouTube here, if you'd like.) That chorus sounds in my ears as our Lenten season quickly approaches. It represents a stillness and a profound connection to the Holy that is always there ... if we are simply still enough and quiet enough to witness it. Let's get ready to do that this Lenten season my friends. Let's get ready to "be still and know that I am God" like we never have before.

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

Announcements & Requests

Join us Thursdays at 9am for an offering of Morning Prayer (side altar of church) followed by a book study of Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter (parish hall). All are welcome.