There are many things moving and shaking around St. Michael’s this week and the coming months.  The Peace and Justice committee is considering the possibility of hosting a new refugee in the Chicago area.  Plans for two additional small groups for the fall are in the initial stages of development.  A member of the vestry is wanting to find a way for us to help build housing in the Chicago area next year.  The Renk Ministry Partnership Team is sending out a letter to the Friends of the Theological College in South Sudan soon, exploring our future partnership possibilities there.  We are preparing to host a viewing of the Bishop Anderson House annual fund raising event on Sunday afternoon in the Community Room, where our own Kay Lewis will be honored.  We will confirm eight young adults and receive two adults on May 14 when the bishop visits St. Michael’s.  Fr. Al Johnson will be preaching and signing copies of his book, Grief Set Free, on May 15.  And June 5 is Pentecost Sunday, where we will have at least two baptisms, release ladybugs, and have food trucks!  Attendance in person is still down from before COVID, but our virtual worship attendance more than makes up the difference.  I cannot help but feel the Holy Spirit’s breath blowing through this place and I hope you can too. 

 

I just saw a meme on Facebook that said, in heaven, there is no poverty, no illness, no hunger, no homelessness, no desperation, no anger or hate… and it went on to name several more aspects of what Christians see as our life with God after this one.  And it simply asked, what if when Christians pray “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we were literally trying to make this earth look as much like heaven as possible?  And I thought, at St. Michael’s we are living into that mission.  

 

I invite you to find your place within the ministries and projects here at St. Michael’s.  In addition to all that is being developed as mentioned earlier, there are some basics that I might need some help with.  I would love to see a Fellowship and Food Ministry come to life again, able to not only help with coffee hours, but to also be able to send food to families who have had a death or illness. I would hope that you might find a place in our worship and music ministries to be a part of the weekly prayer and worship here: sing, acolyte, read, serve the wine.  God is doing some new stuff around here- don’t miss it.  

 

See you in church, 

Jesse+