Announcing our New Associate Rector

Special Announcement from the Rector

Dear People of St. Michael & All Angels,

I am very excited to share with you that The Rev. J. Antonio Álvarez (Padre Toni) has accepted my invitation to join us at St. Michael’s as Associate Rector for Latino Ministry and Formation. Padre Toni currently serves as Priest-in-charge of St. Francis Episcopal Church in Turlock, California. Prior to that, he was Latino Missioner Curate at St. James Cathedral in Fresno, California after earning his Master of Divinity from the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. A child of Mexican immigrants and a native of the San Joaquin Valley of California, he is a bilingual and bicultural person and priest.

Padre Toni is passionate about spiritual formation and education for all ages and across the spectrum of culture and language. Formerly employed in social services, he has been active in the world as an advocate for immigrant justice.

We will welcome Padre Toni and his husband Josh on July 6. During this time of transition, please hold them in your prayers as they say goodbyes, relocate to Portland, and prepare to join the parish community of St. Michael & All Angels.

I give thanks for the call of Padre Toni to serve among us, and I’m excited for us to welcome him and Josh into our midst.

With you,

The Rev. R. Scott Painter, Rector

Greetings from Padre Toni

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” –Psalm 118:24

Hello everyone! I am Padre J. Antonio Álvarez, but I prefer to be called simply Padre Toni. It is with great excitement and gratitude that I have accepted the call to be the new Associate Rector for Latino Ministry and Christian Formation at St. Michaels/San Miguel.

I’m from Central California, and I’m a second-generation immigrant; my parents are originally from West-Central Mexico. And I grew up in the old Mexican American barrio of Visalia, California, near Fresno. I am the oldest of five children and the first in my family to graduate from college in the United States. Like many, I was not raised in the Episcopal Church, but I discovered it as an adult.

I have been a priest for two and a half years. My passion is preaching the liberating love of Jesus for all and Christian formation. Being a teacher of the faith among a community of disciples is an essential part of my ministry. And I am excited to be among you very soon!

Peace and love,

Padre Toni Álvarez

Anuncio Especial del Rector

Querido Pueblo de San Miguel y Todos los Ángeles:

Me da mucha alegría compartir con ustedes que el Reverendo J. Antonio Álvarez (Padre Toni) ha aceptado mi invitación para unirse a nosotros en San Miguel como Rector Asociado para el Ministerio y la Formación Latina.

Actualmente, el Padre Toni sirve como sacerdote encargado de la Iglesia Episcopal de San Francisco en Turlock, California. Antes de eso, fue el vicario misionero latino en la Catedral de Santiago en Fresno, California, después de obtener su Maestría en Divinidad en el Seminario del Suroeste en Austin, Texas. Hijo de inmigrantes mexicanos y originario del Valle de San Joaquín en California, es una persona y sacerdote bilingüe y bicultural.

El Padre Toni tiene una gran pasión por la formación espiritual y la educación para todas las edades y a través de todo el espectro de la cultura y el lenguaje. Habiendo trabajado anteriormente en servicios sociales, también ha estado activo en el mundo como defensor de la justicia para los inmigrantes.

Daremos la bienvenida al Padre Toni y a su esposo Josh el 6 de julio. Durante este tiempo de transición, les pido que los mantengan en sus oraciones mientras se despiden, se mudan a Portland y se preparan para unirse a la comunidad parroquial de San Miguel y Todos los Ángeles.

Doy gracias por el llamado del Padre Toni a servir entre nosotros, y me emociona que podamos darle la bienvenida a él y a Josh en medio de nuestra comunidad.

Con ustedes,

El Reverendo R. Scott Painter, Rector

Saludos del Padre Toni

«Este es el día que hizo el Señor; gocémonos y alegrémonos en él». –Salmo 118:24

¡Hola a todos! Soy el Padre José Antonio Álvarez, pero prefiero que me llamen simplemente Padre Toni. Es con muchísima emoción y gratitud que he aceptado el llamado para ser el nuevo Rector Asociado para Ministerio Latino y Formación Cristiana en San Miguel/St. Michaels.

Soy de California Central y soy inmigrante de segunda generación; mis padres son originarios de México. Crecí en el barrio Mexicoamericano de Visalia, California cerca de Fresno. Soy el mayor de cinco hijos y el primero de mi familia en graduarme de la universidad en Estados unidos. Como muchos no crecí en la Iglesia Episcopal, pero la encontré ya de adulto.

Tengo dos años y medio como sacerdote. Mi pasión es predicar el amor libertador de Jesús para todos y la formación cristiana. Ser maestro de la fe entre una comunidad de discípulos es parte esencial de mi ministerio. Y esté entusiasmado de pronto estar entre ustedes.

Paz y amor,

Padre Toni Álvarez

Reflection of VSC Experience

Dear Friends,

On Sunday, we gathered for the second all-parish event to participate in St. Michael’s yearlong Vision & Strategy process. Thank you for showing up and participating in this process.

I’ve been thinking about the image of an iceberg. Most of an iceberg lies beneath the surface of cold water. What we see, experience, and hope for is essential—but it’s only a fraction of the planning, work, and time required to shape that experience. This image helps illustrate our purpose as a vision and strategy committee. We are called to identify the hopes we have for what’s visible above the surface—the experience of community, worship, and service. That’s the vision part. But we also have to name the steps and do the work that lies beneath the surface, what is necessary to make the vision a reality. Step by step, little by little, how will we intentionally move toward a renewed experience of our life together?

That’s why we are engaging a vision and strategy process: To answer the questions, What do we hope for our community? And, how can we move toward that vision with purpose and intention?

I also want to say that we are not here to “fix” St. Michael’s. We are here to dream—and to identify ways to help that dream come to life. We won’t be able to include every good idea in the vision or strategy, because there are so many. (Remember, this is a five-year plan, not a fifty- or hundred-year plan.) It must be realistic and attainable within that timeframe, and it must not be so ambitious that it overwhelms or extinguishes the life we already share. It will only be effective if we keep this in mind.

That’s why our congregational events have been so important. These gatherings are helping us observe and learn so much about ourselves and one another in the activity of coming together and sharing.

We are learning what is important to the people of St. Michael’s. We are discovering where relationships are strong and where they need strengthening. We are uncovering the barriers to leadership participation, what support and accommodation we need in order to say yes to opportunities and responsibilities. We are gaining clarity about our financial limitations—and how we will need to invite greater generosity and sharing of resources to accomplish big things. We are learning to speak the truth in love, to hold space for that truth, to stay present even when it’s uncomfortable, and to search our hearts for what that truth asks us to change, become, or do. We are learning how to share our physical space, even when a group is too large for a single room. We are learning what times work best for wider participation. We are hearing that not everyone feels cared for or supported in their wellness—and we are coming to see that a healthy parish must promote healthy boundaries, balance, and a spirit of reciprocity between giving and receiving.

I said in my sermon last week that making church together is hard work. It is! And, it is worth it. We have a wonderful gift in one another, in being together as the parish community of St. Michael’s.

Thank you for engaging this process wholeheartedly, authentically, and hopefully.

With you,

The Rev. R. Scott Painter, Rector

Para leer esta nota en español, presa aquí.