Plans are coming together for our Eucharist and picnic next Sunday, August 27, with the gathering beginning at 10:00 am and the service at 11:00. Please note that there WILL be a 7:30 am service but NO 10:00 am or 1:00 pm services at the church. We’ll be gathering at Wilshire Park in Northeast Portland in sites A and B.
A new day is dawning at St. Michael & All Angels. Last Sunday, we joyously celebrated the ministry of Rev. Sherman Hesselgrave. We will be forever grateful for his guidance and leadership through a difficult transition. He has earned some well-deserved rest and relaxation, and we wish Sherman safe travels in the coming weeks.
Yesterday, we had the first meeting of the Lenten book group that is discussing Bishop Emma Ineson’s Failure: What Jesus said about Sin, Mistakes, and Messing Stuff Up. When I started out in parish ministry, there was no internet or email, Google or Facebook. Bp Ineson reminds her readers that, “God may take your sins and misdemeanours and put them in the deepest sea, but anyone with a search engine can fish them out again and serve them to you for breakfast.”
This is the place to view a series of Sunday history forums exploring the roots of the attributes that make this such a special place.
Shrove Tuesday is on February 21! We’re looking forward to enjoying a delicious pancake supper for the first time since February 2020. The MOWs are joining forces with the youth to offer this event to the parish. For Ash Wednesday, February 22, we will offer two services, at 12:00 noon and 7:00 pm. Both services will include Eucharist and the imposition of ashes.
Our Annual Meeting is coming up next Sunday, January 29, at 12:15 pm in the Nave (following the 11:00 am service). We hope many of you plan to attend! The meeting will be livestreamed and you’ll be able to vote online, but it’s wonderful to attend in person for this communal event if possible.
After the first sunrise of 2023, I intentionally took my first steps into the New Year along the Columbia River. The outline of the I-5 Bridge emerged through the morning fog and was reflected in the river below. It became a beautiful metaphor for this time of transition between the year just ended and this new one just beginning. The time between what has been known and familiar and what is yet unknown in this new year. A liminal space, an in-between-time, a sacred space inviting a pause and reflection.
I found myself, typical morning decaf in hand, sitting on my front porch on Monday morning making a valiant effort to find a regular breath. Inhale… exhale. It’s been a long week. The parish profile is finding its final version. We’re moving forward into the next phase of transition, God willing. The world continues to move in ways that confound, with challenges in our news feeds. The turning toward summer is upon us, with heat and the mountains visible on the horizon.
Our June book exchange is over, though there are still a couple of tables of books in the Nativity hall for you to peruse. July is jigsaw-puzzle and board-game exchange month! Do you have stacks of puzzle boxes and board games filling up your shelves? Bring gently used jigsaw puzzles and the board games you’re ready to share to St. Michael’s Nativity Hall for “The Great Puzzle Exchange!” on the next two Sundays, July 10th & 17th.
Who doesn’t love to read books, especially in the summer? We’re holding a parish-wide book exchange on Sunday, June 12, after the 9:00 and 11:00 am services.
Sunday Services
7:30 – Rite I Traditional language with no music.
9:00 – Rite II Holy Eucharist with choir
11:00 – Inclusive language with choir
1:00 pm – Misa en Español
© 2023 St. Michael & All Angels
