Dear Siblings,

Last Sunday was a wonderful and joy-filled gathering for our Annual All-Parish Picnic! It was a celebration of our life together as a diverse and multi-cultural parish family, and it was a beautiful occasion of thanks and appreciation for the ministry of Padre Beto. We sent him forth with love and blessing. My heart is overflowing with gratitude for all that we are as the people of St. Michael’s, and full of hope in looking toward God’s future together.

As we are on the cusp of autumn and a new program year for the parish, I am mindful – and I know that you are mindful, too – that we are entering into some unsettledness and uncertainty after Padre Beto’s departure. Here I would like to share a few notes about our plans for the next few months, as we work on bigger plans for longer-term ministry to the 1:00 worshiping community. 

First, and most importantly, we are fully committed to being a multicultural community and to continuing worship and pastoral ministry in Spanish. This commitment is unwavering. This means that you can know for sure that, however we have to be flexible in the short term to support Spanish-language and Latino/a/x ministry, we are working toward calling an associate rector to be the primary priest and pastor for the 1:00 Community.  

Secondly, we all must understand that it will take some time to be ready to call another associate rector. We need to create a ministry description for this position, engage work on the 2025 budget, and engage a search for the right person to embrace our vision and join us in ministry. You should know that there are not many candidates for this ministry in Oregon or close by. In order to recruit someone from further away, we may need to explore financial options to expand the role to full-time and include additional ministry responsibilities for the whole parish.  This may or may not be possible, but it is important to consider all of the needs, opportunities, and possibilities while we are in this transition period.

Finally, please know that we have plans in place for the next few months. I am excited to share more of my own time with folks who worship at 1:00, and there will be Sundays where we will have associate or guest clergy at the 9:00 service to help me serve better at the 11:00 and 1:00. For September, October, and November, we will have a schedule of clergy who will preside and preach in the 1:00 service – including myself, The Rev. Marla McGarry-Lawrence, The Rev. Scott Dolph, The Rev. Laura Truby, and guest clergy from further in the national church. We will rely more heavily on Los Ministerios (coordinators of the ministries) in the 1:00 community to help foster consistency and attention to needs throughout the community.

We all know that this will be an intense time, with more pressure on the staff and me to support all expressions of our parish community. I ask your prayers, and your patience, and your persistence as we navigate some unfamiliar waters together. In all of this, let us remain convinced that we are better together and that God is calling us forward into a good future.

With you,

Scott+

The Rev. R. Scott Painter, Rector

Email: ScottP@stmaa.org