News from the Red Doors - March 5, 2021
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
Many of you know that I was recently accepted into a rather prestigious program called the Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program. It is funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc. and has a competitive acceptance process (meaning more pastors applied than were welcomed into the program). I feel truly blessed to be a part of this learning cohort. If you'd like to learn more about the particulars of the program, visit here www.pastor.wabash.edu/about/.
There are 14 pastors from many Christian denominations in this program, which meets 5 times/year over two years with two study tours yearly in October. This week on Tuesday and Wednesday we met for our second session (via Zoom). As with all Lilly funded initiatives, this one is exceptionally well done. So far we began our studies with a leadership approach based on the book The Practice Of Adaptive Leadership: Tools And Tactics For Changing Your Organization And The World by Ronald Heifetz. The book suggests that the best changes made in an organization are the RIGHT 1-2% shifts that will drastically encourage the desired outcome. The trick is finding that 1-2%, and conducting experiments until it IS found. The good news is that if this is correct, we don't need to reinvent ourselves, we simply need to shift {something}. The bad news is that we don't know what the {something} is!
To this end, this week we studied Community and Well-being. I've been charged, as part of my homework, to have coffee (or whatever is socially acceptable during this time of pandemic) with community leaders, with people who have the pulse of what is going on in LaPorte, with anyone that might help St. Paul's see and hear more fully how we can continue to grow deep roots in this place we call home. I am pleased to say that my participation in Rotary is already opening my eyes and ears to some of this. And part of my homework is to reach out to The Unity Foundation of LaPorte County President, Maggi Spartz. Maybe you have other ideas and suggestions. Maybe you are one of these people yourself. If so, please don't hesitate to share your thoughts and ideas with me, as crazy or conventional as they might seem.
I always want to keep you in the loop with what I'm up to, of course. However, I also share this with you primarily because I remember a specific question from my interview process with the vestry that asked "Where do you see yourself and/or St. Paul's in five years?". I shared then, and I remain committed to this answer now, that I really have no idea. Predicting the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives is an impossible task. Our goal as Christians, always, is to listen for the soft whisperings of the Holy Spirit and then DARE to do what we believe she told us. Talking to these community leaders, hearing from each of you, is part of that listening.
Recently I realized, while reviewing the Diocesan Archives for St. Pauls, that you have welcomed a series of priests that have stayed only a few years each. If God doesn't "laugh" at my plans (as they say), I plan to break that cycle. And while I started my ministry far to late in life to ever match the time Fr. Eyrick was your beloved pastor, I have no intentions or desires of doing anything but settling into this community and growing this beautiful group of believers. I also have no magic formula. If we are ALL willing to listen for the Holy Spirit and experiment just a little, I have faith God has not and will not abandon us!
So we press on with all of the things that are necessary to continue to be a fully functioning house of worship. We conducted background checks on the three individuals that have access to our finances. They all passed (praise God). We are currently educating our vestry on Safeguarding so that we all speak the same language on how to keep ourselves safe and beyond approach while conducting church business. We are enjoying a book study on "The Heart of a Leader". We are praying and worshiping together. We are planning for conversations on Inclusive Marriage Policies. We are being good stewards of our resources.
I leave you with this thought friends. Almost without exception, when I spoke with many of you and asked about your dreams for St. Paul's, you all wanted to see St. Paul's grow. I second that desire. If we all feel this way, what are we willing to do in order to make it happen? What conversations need to occur? As your priest, I can not and will not do this alone. We will all do this together through listening for the Holy Spirit and stepping a little outside our comfort zone. Maybe this season of Lent is a good time to listen more closely. What are YOU hearing?
Prayers and blessings to you,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226
LIVE from St. Paul's - February 28, 2021
News from the Red Doors - February 26, 2021
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
How is Your Lent So Far?
I must admit that I am really enjoying the meditations from Episcopal Relief and Development that arrive in my inbox each morning. I've made it a practice to grab my phone, read the meditation, spend a few moments in Lament, and set an intention for the day before I even get out of bed! The perspectives and suggestions are valuable to me, especially as we reflect upon the REST stage of Lament.
Maybe this is all paired with the warmer weather and a bit more sun, but I'm finding this journey nourishing to my soul right now, in this season. I pray that whatever you are doing for your Lenten journey is achieving the same results!
Vestry Retreat Update
On Saturday February 20th Bishop Doug joined us for our Vestry Retreat (via Zoom). We had wonderful conversation on the four questions listed below. The answers were inspiring and challenging. We were joyous and proud for the accomplishments St. Paul's has made, particularly in this last (almost) year of the pandemic.
What have we done?
What have we done well?
What could we do better?
What more can we do together?
We also spent some time learning and exploring areas where we might want to invest our energies in 2021. Bishop Doug shared information on:
consensus formation (particularly in vestries),
inclusive marriage policies,
racial reconciliation, and
evangelism.
As vestry we agreed all of these topics are important. All of them are well worth investing time and energy to prepare and launch St. Paul's into our next season of ministry. With so many different programs already available across the wider church related to racial reconciliation and evangelism, we will research and consider them for later in the year. However, consensus formation and inclusive marriage policy conversations are both topics we can explore now.
Consensus formation is a process by which a group of people, or in our case a vestry, makes a decision on a topic after having earnest conversation and hearing the opinions and perspectives of all of the individuals at the table. Consensus formation strives to come to a decision where everyone may or may not agree, but where everyone feels heard regardless of their opinion. A critical component of consensus formation is that whatever is decided by the group, the vestry, is supported by each member even if they wouldn't have chosen that direction personally. It is a slow and deliberate process of building trust and relationship. It's an important component in leadership.
An inclusive marriage policy, is equally important work. Having a marriage policy gives the priest and church leadership a guideline to follow when, unexpectedly, someone asks to have their wedding in the church because it's so beautiful or because they've heard the Episcopal Church allows same gender marriages. Written guidelines help us all know how to respond to these requests in a consistent and fair manner. I wonder if you are aware of the following:
Did you know the canons of the Episcopal church have guidelines on who can/cannot be married by Episcopal clergy in an Episcopal church?
Did you know at least one member must be baptized?
Did you know if it's a remarriage for one or both parties, the bishop must first provide consent?
Did you know that same gender marriages are authorized by Canons of The Episcopal Church?
Did you know the pre-marital work, or counseling, is required before hand?
And then there's the whole conversation about fees (musicians, church cleaning, officiant) and whether we desire to conduct marriages for couples that are not currently members of our faith community.
As I mentioned to the vestry on Saturday, it might seem like these are not regularly addressed topics so why invest our time now? My response is because we WANT to have these questions asked! We want to be a church full of people desiring to be married and bringing us children. And doesn't it make sense to prepare ourselves for that ... to better know who we are as a community ... so that when we get to those evangelism bullets we are ready to answer both the easy and the hard questions?
So mark your calendars for two socially distanced in-person meetings with Bishop Doug on Tuesdays April 20th and April 27th at 6pm to learn more about Inclusive Marriage Policies. We will learn together. Discuss together. Show kindness and compassion toward each other. And prepare ourselves for the next season of St. Paul's, together!
Prayers and blessings to you,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226
LIVE from St. Paul's - February 21, 2021
News from the Red Doors - February 19, 2021
The books are ordered and I hope to have them for distribution and/or delivery on Sunday. For our first session on 2/25, please read the Prologue and Part I (~30 pages). You are welcome to join us even if you don't have a book. The more, the merrier!
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
As you enjoy this newsletter we are already on our third day of Lent. Our Ash Wednesday services were blessed. And on Sunday we will observe the first Sunday in Lent with The Great Litany. Like so many other gatherings in the last 11+ months, it will be slightly different. It will not be sung, rather it will be said alternately between myself and the reader of the day - with your responses of course. We will not be processing as social distancing is difficult to observe while walking up and down the aisles. The words, the intentions, the prayers will all be the same though! We will pray for mercy, deliverance, intercession for various aspects of the world, and for forgiveness for our many sins. We will be reminded of our sinfulness and encouraged to repent and draw near to God. It is an appropriate beginning to our Lenten season.
As I mentioned in my Ash Wednesday sermon, our Lenten journey this year, after nearly a year in isolation amidst a pandemic, may look different. That's ok. Remember that each of us must find our own path through this Lenten season, eliminating the things that draw us away from God, and incorporating the things that draw us nearer. However you choose to honor this holy season please know that I am here to support and pray for you.
Prayers and blessings to you,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226
The Way of Love in Lent (with the Diocese)
Another Study Opportunity
Life Transformed - The Way of Love in Lent (revised for 2021)
Date: Saturdays - February 27, March 6, 13, & 20
Time: 10/9 a.m. (EST/CST) on Zoom
Facilitator: Bishop Doug Sparks
Register here!
The journey through Lent into Easter is a journey with Jesus. We are baptized into his life, self- giving, and death; then, we rise in hope to life transformed. This Lent, communities are invited to walk with Jesus in his Way of Love and into the experience of transformed life. Together, we will reflect anew on the loving actions of God as recounted in the Easter Vigil readings. Together, we will walk through the depths of salvation history into the fullness of redemption. This Quiet Day for Lent ties the Easter Vigil readings to the seven practices of the Way of Love. Drawing on the ancient practice of setting aside Lent as a period of study and preparation for living as a Christian disciple (known as the catechumenate), this curriculum encourages participants to reflect on salvation history; walk toward the empty tomb; and embrace the transforming reality of love, life, and liberation. As we stand with the three women at the empty tomb, we hear his call to go and live that transformed reality.
Session I: Introduction to the Way of Love and a Rule of Life; TURN: Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ (Romans 6:3-11)
Session II: PRAY: Israel’s Deliverance at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:10-15:1); LEARN: Learn Wisdom and Live (Proverbs 8:1-8, 19-21; 9:4b-6)
Session III: BLESS: A New Heart and a New Spirit (Ezekiel 36:24-28); REST: The Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14)
Session IV: WORSHIP: The Gathering of God’s People (Zephaniah 3:12-20); GO: The Empty Tomb (Luke 24:1-12)
LIVE from St. Paul's - February 14, 2021
News from the Red Doors - February 12, 2021
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
On Sunday we will celebrate together the last Sunday after the Epiphany by remembering the Transfiguration of Jesus on the high mountain with Peter, James, and John. It is a short but fascinating story of Jesus' clothes appearing dazzling white while Elijah and Moses show up to have a 'chat' with Jesus. It will be fun to explore that with you on Sunday ... the last Sunday for alleluias and decorative elements for six long weeks.
It's hard to believe this coming Wednesday is already Ash Wednesday and we will begin the deliberate journey to the crucifixion, death, and resurrection. Our Lent last year was interrupted and irregular. This one will not quite return us to 'normal', but at least we have our feet under us again in terms of having services, meeting in-person, & having some perspective of the world around us.
Our Ash Wednesday services this year (at Noon & 6pm) will be similar to previous years with the exception of the imposition of the ashes. A great deal of conversation and debate has occurred across the entire church as to whether imposing ashes is safe during the pandemic, and if so how to do it. Our own diocesan clergy gathered on a Zoom call to discuss this as well. And the Dean of the School of Theology at Sewanee, Bishop J. Neil Alexander (Wikipedia link), wrote a lovely essay that includes his thoughts and suggestions. This article has circulated widely around the church in recent weeks. It is available here if you'd like to read it: A Note on Ash Wednesday and the Imposition of Ashes in a Time of Pandemic.
At our January worship committee meeting I shared with the committee that while I doubted my proximity to each of you, or even my physical touch of your forehead with my thumb to impose the ashes, would endanger either of us, I simply didn't think it was a good idea in this season of pandemic. Knowing that the imposition of ashes is NOT a sacrament, it's not a required component of a legitimate Ash Wednesday service nor of a Lenten journey, we agreed not to impose ashes. Instead, as a sign of my spiritual leadership in the parish, I will impose ashes upon myself and humbly wear them on your behalf. It's a different year and a different kind of Lent. This is simply one more visible component of that.
Instead of ashes on your forehead this year, you will receive a bookmark. Mike Konieczny and I have designed a simple bookmark that will be included in your worship bulletin on Ash Wednesday. It will include a graphic of an ashen cross along with the prayer offered during the service:
Almighty God, thou hast created us out of the dust of the earth: Grant that these
ashes may be to us a sign of our mortality and penitence, that we may remember
that it is only by thy gracious gift that we are given everlasting life; through Jesus
Christ our Savior. Amen.
Remember that we art dust, and to dust we shalt return.
It is my hope that you will take this bookmark home and place it in your Lenten reading, whether that be your Bible, Bishop Ed's The Heart of a Leader book we will be studying, or another resource. Each time you see or touch that bookmark you will be reminded of our Lenten journey together.
Even as we step into Lent this year my friends I am aware that the days are gradually getting a little longer. I think about how this Spring will bring us a world where COVID-19 is a bit less threatening than last year and hopefully more controlled. I reflect upon what a long distance we've come together as a faith community, with a new priest, in the last year. And I am THANKFUL! May this Lent birth in each of us, and our congregation as a whole, a deeper and fuller hope in our Lord and in our next steps as a faith community here in LaPorte.
Mike will send the registration link for the Ash Wednesday services to you on Monday. Please register if you know you can attend in-person, or feel free to join us online. I can't wait to see you either way!
Prayers and blessings to you,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226
The Way of Love in Lent (with the Diocese)
Another Study Opportunity
Life Transformed - The Way of Love in Lent (revised for 2021)
Date: Saturdays - February 27, March 6, 13, & 20
Time: 10/9 a.m. (EST/CST) on Zoom
Facilitator: Bishop Doug Sparks
Register here!
The journey through Lent into Easter is a journey with Jesus. We are baptized into his life, self- giving, and death; then, we rise in hope to life transformed. This Lent, communities are invited to walk with Jesus in his Way of Love and into the experience of transformed life. Together, we will reflect anew on the loving actions of God as recounted in the Easter Vigil readings. Together, we will walk through the depths of salvation history into the fullness of redemption. This Quiet Day for Lent ties the Easter Vigil readings to the seven practices of the Way of Love. Drawing on the ancient practice of setting aside Lent as a period of study and preparation for living as a Christian disciple (known as the catechumenate), this curriculum encourages participants to reflect on salvation history; walk toward the empty tomb; and embrace the transforming reality of love, life, and liberation. As we stand with the three women at the empty tomb, we hear his call to go and live that transformed reality.
Session I: Introduction to the Way of Love and a Rule of Life; TURN: Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ (Romans 6:3-11)
Session II: PRAY: Israel’s Deliverance at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:10-15:1); LEARN: Learn Wisdom and Live (Proverbs 8:1-8, 19-21; 9:4b-6)
Session III: BLESS: A New Heart and a New Spirit (Ezekiel 36:24-28); REST: The Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14)
Session IV: WORSHIP: The Gathering of God’s People (Zephaniah 3:12-20); GO: The Empty Tomb (Luke 24:1-12)
LIVE from St. Paul's - February 7, 2021
News from the Red Doors - February 5, 2021
Beginning 2/25 for five Thursdays of Lent at 6:30pm we will journey into Bishop Ed Little's book "The Heart of a Leader: Saint Paul as Mentor, Model, and Encourager". Our Thursday sessions will being at 6:30pm with a short virtual Stations of the Cross service followed by the book study. The entire session will be hosted on Zoom in order to maintain our pandemic protocols and to allow for the best hearing and understanding of each other. If you'd like to join but have technical challenges, please contact Mother Michelle. Bishop Ed, himself, will join us on 3/18 ... from California!
If we place a group order, the book is $15 (without tax/shipping) via the church's Amazon account. (Kindle versions are available for $7.99 directly from Amazon.) If you'd like a copy of the book, please complete this simple form or let Mother Michelle know. If you are able to drop an extra $15 in the offering plate to cover the expense, that would be wonderful. If not, then please consider this St. Paul's contribution to your Lenten spiritual journey this year!
We really hope you will join us!
This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
Thank you so very much for your prayers, texts, emails, and understanding of my need to be out of town unexpectedly this week to be with my mother. It was a rollercoaster that many of us have experienced in our own lives and has left me rather exhausted, especially after a second middle-of-the-night trip to the ER on Wednesday night! I am blessed to report that she seems to be doing and we are hoping for a full recovery. I know what a miracle that is and I thank God for it.
I am also happy to report that I've made it back to Indiana ... just in time for the polar vortex!
On this Friday morning I will leave my weekly reflection to that of thankfulness for your prayers and warm wishes for you during this cold weather. Be safe out there, even if you don't leave your home over the next few days!
Blessings!
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226