Just a note of thanks, gratitude and love. I know that this Thanksgiving will not be what you imagined regardless of whether or not you can be with your family. People will be missed. Yet we are continuing to find ways to connect. Advent will be full of opportunities for joy and hope and love. Please continue to find us online and know that we miss you and are looking forward to the start of a new year. It starts now! Advent 1. This Sunday.
This year has certainly been a different one! And Advent at St. Michael’s will be different, too. The Giving Tree, anticipated by many, will be missing. But the Outreach & Justice Council is still fulfilling its mission of outreach to those small, often local ministries for which our funds make a welcome difference.
With the first Sunday of Advent we begin a new year in the Church, and with a new year we have new opportunities dawning for how we grow together in the body of Christ. How will we, as a whole community, come to resemble the love and way of Jesus more fully in the year ahead of us? That question is at the heart of everything I (James Joiner, Associate Rector) am dreaming up for our Adult Education and Formation offerings this year, a project we’re calling Lift Up 2021.
Who knew back in the spring that the scourge of COVID-19 would still be with us as we head in to the holidays? Portland is suffering along with the rest of the country. Many members of our parish have been impacted by the loss of jobs or having had their work hours reduced.
Who sees the best in you, is willing to fight by your side, can fight for you? This is what she calls your pocket of revolutionary love.
The St. Michael’s Music Program is up and running! All three of our choirs are meeting over Zoom and doing amazing work in spite of COVID restrictions. The St. Michael’s Singers rehearse on Wednesdays at 7:00 pm, the Choristers (3rd to 12th grades) meet on Tuesdays at 4:30 pm, and the Saints & Singers gather to rehearse on occasional Thursdays at 7:00 pm.
In the spring, many St. Michael’s parishioners and friends offered to donate money to help those less fortunate, include some who lost most or all of their income and/or were not eligible for federal funds. At the beginning, volunteers bought and delivered actual groceries to two to four families. Then, as the number of families needing help grew to around 15, the team switched to giving grocery gift cards.
WE live in love through our Baptismal Promises to welcome and respect the dignity of every human being, care for God’s creation, and engage in the ministry of Jesus to bring light, healing, and grace to our world.
WE manifest joy through vibrant worship, beautiful music, and the active participation and nurturing of our children and youth.
WE embrace resilience by learning each other’s stories, proclaiming the Good News of God’s unconditional love, and strengthening our capacity to hope.
WE seek justice by advocating for political change, continuing our work as an Immigrant Welcoming Congregation, and striving to understand our role in social, economic, and racial inequality.
WE are rooted as an Episcopal Church, honoring our traditions from the creative perspective of our community, learning how to engage the bilingual and multicultural makeup of our congregation, and seeking silence and stillness to glean insight from the Holy Spirit among us.
WE live in love through our Baptismal Promises to welcome and respect the dignity of every human being, care for God’s creation, and engage in the ministry of Jesus to bring light, healing, and grace to our world.
WE manifest joy through vibrant worship, beautiful music, and the active participation and nurturing of our children and youth.
WE embrace resilience by learning each other’s stories, proclaiming the Good News of God’s unconditional love, and strengthening our capacity to hope.
WE seek justice by advocating for political change, continuing our work as an Immigrant Welcoming Congregation, and striving to understand our role in social, economic, and racial inequality.
WE are rooted as an Episcopal Church, honoring our traditions from the creative perspective of our community, learning how to engage the bilingual and multicultural makeup of our congregation, and seeking silence and stillness to glean insight from the Holy Spirit among us.
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