Stewardship Reflection - Living Into New Ways of Being Church
Living Into New Ways of Being Church
By The Rev. Melanie S. Donahoe
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil; for you are with me. – Psalm 23
The comforting words of Psalm 23 have taken on new meaning as together we have walked through the “valley of the shadow of death” created by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
It has not been an easy time, yet God’s “goodness and mercy” have been abundantly reflected as God’s people have faithfully cared for strangers and for one another.
You have reached out to help bear the pain of those who have lost loved ones. Through simple acts of kindness — picking up groceries for elderly neighbors, regularly calling those who live alone in fearful isolation, sewing masks, serving in food pantries — God’s Holy Spirit has inspired you to be Christ’s daily loving, healing presence in the world. Our physical church doors may have necessarily been shuttered, but “the Church” has never been closed.
And God has never been absent. God has shepherded us, leading and guiding us along us pathways we could not have imagined a year ago. Perhaps it is in the hardest times when we most clearly recognize how God continues, always, always to sustain us.
Even when we could not gather together for Holy Communion, God continued to feed us — with God’s Holy Word, with live-streamed services and “virtual” coffee hours.
And now as some of us slowly, carefully begin to gather again inside our churches, we will learn new ways of including those who still need to “shelter in place” — and innovative ways of welcoming those who have never been “inside’ our church buildings, but joyfully discovered Church on the internet in a time of pandemic.
As we live into new, exciting (yes, exciting!) ways of being Church, God will continue to reveal opportunities for us to welcome everyone so that, together, we may “dwell in the house of the Lord our whole lives long.”
Melanie S. Donahoe is the rector of The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in San Carlos, California.
LIVE from St. Paul's - October 4, 2020
Stewardship Reflection - Surrendering Privilege and Wealth
Surrendering Privilege and Wealth
By The Rev. Ed Gomez
This Sunday falls on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi and, as if by design, all the readings speak to his exemplary life of practicing generosity. Living church in the time of COVID-19 has reconfirmed my views of poverty and generosity.
As I ponder today’s readings, Paul’s words pop out at me in Philippians, where he writes:
“Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.”
He continues:
“For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ.”
In reflecting on the life of Francis and these words, I wish to suggest that we not romanticize his embrace of poverty, but rather focus on his Faith-Filled Generosity. His generosity allowed him to surrender his privilege and wealth, and to embrace and consider them “rubbish,” in order to be Jesus to those who need Him most.
When the church where I serve, San Pablo in Houston, closed doors for public worship, we opened a new way of church... one that provided drive-by food distribution and rental assistance for Houston’s most vulnerable people. Donations and volunteerism increased tenfold and online viewership flourished more than any Sunday attendance record in recent memory. The gifts came mainly from those we called “unchurched” or who do not consider themselves religious. The joy exuded in giving included dancing, socially distant high-fives and laughter through masks.
Our worship became solidarity and compassion, the religious became spiritual, the unchurched found their worship, and the poor heard and felt the Good News. I learned that practicing Faith-Filled Generosity as Francis did transforms and unites us all. A new Church for a new world.
Ed Gomez is pastor at Iglesia de San Pablo in Houston. He also serves on the boards of The Episcopal Network for Stewardship and Christian Church Homes.
Mr. David Sirugo Reflects on Stewardship
News from the Red Doors - October 2, 2020
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
October marks not only cooler weather (which we've clearly felt ... I turned the heat on this week at home) but also our annual stewardship campaign. And like everything else in this curious year, we're doing a few things a bit differently.
Utilizing the resources developed by the wider church, specifically by The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS), we have updated our pledge form, are including weekly shared reflections on stewardship (from all over the country), have a fancy theme of Faith-Filled Generosity, and will be sharing both some videoed and written reflections on stewardship from our own St. Paul's family. (As a side note, TENS resources have been provided free to us by a Diocesan subscription.)
Our official stewardship kickoff is this Sunday. A letter from our Stewardship Chair - Margie Bender, with a pledge form, will be mailed to you late next week. Please look those over carefully and let us know if you have any questions. We hope to have our pledges gathered by Sunday November 15th in order to celebrate our bounty during Thanksgiving week.
We know that each of you give what you can to support your church home. THANK YOU! Thank you not only for pledging and giving but also for maintaining your contributions during the time our church doors were locked for those long months. With deep gratitude for your gifts, we ask that you look carefully at what you pledged this year via the Giving Statements that will also be shared next week. If your actual giving is less than your pledge amount please: 1) do your best to catch up by the end of the year, if possible, and 2) note whether your pledge for 2021 should be adjusted to reflect your current financial situation. What you pledge will constitute our budget for next year so pledge accuracy is important for church financial planning.
Our church family and community is about so much more than money. And yet, without your financial support we would be unable to be in ministry. In our recent Thursday morning study of Corinthians we were reminded that the Early Church members were encouraged to sell everything they owned and give it all to the church, living in community with each other. I think we can all be appreciative that the 21st century version of stewardship is a bit less harsh!
Friends, my prayers are with you, not only as we look at stewardship but as we live amidst a country preparing for a rather contentious election. Be kind to yourself and to others. Remember to put God first. Say your prayers and join us on Sundays (in-person or virtually) to be refreshed by the Spirit! Have a great day.
Blessings!
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226
LIVE from St. Paul's - September 27, 2020
Pastoral Letter: Update Regarding In-Person Gathering (from Bishop Doug)
Pastoral Letter: Update Regarding In-Person Gathering
24 September 2020
Dear Sisters, Brothers, Siblings,
Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, the Light for all people!
As of 13 September, we have lived with the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic for 6 months. Those consequences include, as of today in the United States, 7,135,603 persons who have tested positive with COVID 19 and 206,482 deaths due to COVID 19. Other consequences include the loss of employment for millions which has led the loss of health insurance not to mention the challenges for many trying to navigate online learning for their children as well as working remotely themselves or caring for a loved one in a care facility. Along the way, our missioners and I have done our best to consult with others about best practices, develop our Plan for Regathering for In-person Worship initially adopted in mid-May and identify platforms to enhance the information available regarding all of the data and measurements used to determine a way forward for us.
In late March, I convened a Diocesan Disaster / Crisis Team comprised of Canon Terri Bays, Canon Carol Bianchini, Canon Christopher Hillak, Canon Michelle Walker and Bishop Frank Gray. We began meeting weekly via ZOOM on 6 April. I want to thank each of them for the difficult and challenging work they have done and continue to do on our behalf. In consultation with other dioceses in Province V and the wider church, we developed the Plan for Regathering for In-person Worship. Thanks to Fr.TJ Freeman, serving as Rector of Trinity Fort Wayne, in July, we were directed to the Harvard website which helped us adopt the Determination Color Code based on the number of cases per 100K in each of our counties in addition to the State of Indiana Dashboard.
We know more in September regarding the spread of COVID 19 than we did in June which makes it possible to adapt our initial plan for Regathering. The Episcopal Dioceses in Michigan began allowing 25 % of full capacity for indoor In-person Worship, which includes the protocols of physical distancing, wearing masks, using hand sanitizer along with all the other protocols in our Diocesan Plan. In consultation with our Clergy, with the support and affirmation of our Diocesan Council and with the support of our Standing Committee, I have decided to implement the “ Michigan Adaptation” for all of our faith communities in Northern Indiana. In doing so, I want to invoke the Anglican principle, all may, none must, some should. Implementing this adaptation assumes that the clergy, wardens, and vestry of our 33 faith communities have prepared and submitted a Plan for Regathering for my review and approval. As of this writing, 24 faith communities have submitted a plan. Some of our faith communities will move to implement this adaptation this coming Sunday. Others may choose to take some time to make sure all things necessary are in place before gathering in person. What is most important to underscore is that each of our faith communities needs to listen to local officials, following their advice which may include closing if advised to do so.
For those faith communities who choose to move to indoor In-person Worship, it is also important to underscore that this next phase should be a Hybrid Phase…both in-person and virtual worship should be offered so that everyone connected to your faith community may continue to gather.
As I said earlier, we have learned some things since March and April. First, as we moved out of lock down, the potential for achieving a 14-day decline in some of our more populated counties is virtually impossible. Second, more testing is available in our state which gives us better sense of the positivity rate, another factor in determining the spread of the virus. Third, the state has assumed responsibility for contact tracing which initially was the responsibility of each county.
Bishop Andy Doyle of the Diocese of Texas sent a letter to the clergy in mid-June. He discussed several important topics: exposure and moral leadership. In terms of exposure, he quoted leading epidemiologist from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Michael Osterholm who said, “Exposure as a dose is a combination of time and amount.” Exposure = time and amount. Therefore, physical distancing, mask and brevity are essential for congregations in buildings. This means as you do gather, we believe you need to keep the service short, between 30 and 45 minutes.
Regarding moral leadership, Bishop Doyle pointed out that early in the pandemic, we were presented with two strong binary options: lockdown or do nothing. We have come to understand that moral leadership requires protocols for everyone’s safety. Hence, that is why developing your Plan for Regathering is essential and that we may need to adapt our protocols, as the circumstances change. Bishop Doyle then shared another quote from Dr. Osterholm, “We have to learn not only to die with this virus, which tragically we’ve had to do, but we also have to learn how to live with it.”
So, my friends, what is required of all of us is wisdom, attention to implementing the Plan for Regathering in your context, directed by your clergy, wardens and vestry and moral leadership.
If you have any questions, please contact me or one of our missioners. We stand ready to continue to support you in any way that we can.
I conclude, quoting Bishop Andy Doyle, in his letter to the clergy. “This is hard and difficult work. It is very difficult to do this work when your peers are not making the same choices. It is challenging when parishioners push and pull at you. I want to re-emphasize that we will support you if you open now, or later, if you close due to community spread, and when you are defending protocols against parishioner pushback.” These sentiments are also true for the wardens and vestry members of our faith communities as they try make the best decisions possible.
Be assured of my prayer and support. This comes with a brother’s love…
Doug
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas E. Sparks
VIII Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana
News from the Red Doors - September 25, 2020
A Message from Senior Warden, Sandra Provan
As a Daughter of the King, I pray, daily, the motto of the order,
"For His sake,
I am but one, but I am one,
I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
What I can do, I ought to do,
What I ought to do, by the grace of God, I will do.
Lord, what will you have me do?"
I became a Daughter in 2006, when Mother Michelle (long before she was ordained) asked a few women at St. Paul's, St. Andrew's by the Lake and Trinity in Michigan City to form a chapter called The Joyful Women. As Daughters our only purpose is to pray for people and many from St. Paul's have made requests for prayers over the years.
In these months of restrictions, many of us have felt helpless, perhaps even useless, but we can all do something, especially pray. We will have the food pantry basket at the Harrison Street entrance to the church on Sundays and on the office porch Tuesdays and Thursdays, when Mother Michelle is in the office. I encourage you to bring food donations and we'll get them to the Salvation Army.
Another thing we can now do is come to church! We can accommodate 32 people, all socially distanced and it is wonderful to be back at St. Paul's, ask anyone who has attended. If you can't come, you can watch the service online. And, we can continue to make our pledge payments
Please ask yourself, Lord, what will you have me do?
God bless,
Sandra Provan
Senior Warden
PS. A note from Mtr. Michelle ... when Sandra put the basket out on Tuesday morning (pictured left) I said "but no one even knows". Her response was "a few people know". Boy was I surprised when I went to leave on Tuesday afternoon and discovered this generous gift (pictured right). Good job St. Paul's. Let's keep up the good work!
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
In my endeavors to become increasingly aware of the ways I benefit from my white privilege, I have been engaging in several different activities. One of those is a series of webinars called Learn to Lead: Race to Justice, sponsored by the Center for Congregations. (This is the same organization that gave us the Technology Grant.)
The first session was entitled Race is Fake: Racism is Real and was led by Michael R. Twyman, Ph.D. I found his presentation fascinating as he focused specifically on the LACK OF RACE in the Bible, citing several examples. If you'd like to review the materials:
A download of the slides is available here: https://centerforcongregations.org/filebrowser/download/136
The web recording is available here: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/FIs9_kY5tFD9Hs9Q-2TmuOH4w4XScjxJjanrj7Ie54KfkEJgxB1r4Aj0fikmZqzl.sjQNyEqfcaMOBljr Access Passcode: E&d2fufy
One thing I have learned over and over again on this journey is that racism is not limited to people who intentionally try to harm or ridicule people of other races. When defined in this way, most of us couldn't even conceive of our racism.
However, when we recognize racism in the subtle ways that our white skin opens doors for us, makes being pulled over by a policeman a scary but NOT life threatening event, or leaves us more nervous when walking down the street alone with a person of color - then we can bear witness to the ways in which we are unintentionally benefitting from our whiteness.
Please know I recognize each of us are at different places in our perspectives of racism in and around our lives. I am simply sharing the resource with you in the event you might enjoy it. Please also know I am always here to listen, debate, and pray with you on this topic and others.
In other educational opportunities, the Commission on Evangelism hosted the second of six Embracing Evangelism workshops. If you missed it, but would like to see what it's all about, you can watch the video here. And if you're brave enough to join the Zoom group, our next gathering is Wednesday 10/7 at 5pm and you may register here.
Lastly, on another topic close to my heart these days, I'd like to offer a prayer for us all. As the political tensions escalate seemingly each hour of each day, we must remember our faith is in the Lord! We must be urgently in prayer for the healing of our nation. And we must remember that if we aren't showing the light of Christ, WHO WILL?
I leave you with this prayer, from our BCP Morning Prayer Rite One worship.
A Collect for Guidance
O heavenly Father, in whom we live and move and have our
being: We humbly pray thee so to guide and govern us by thy
Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life
we may not forget thee, but may remember that we are ever
walking in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessings!Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226
Diocesan eNews - September 2020
Please enjoy the Diocesan eNews for September.