the The Newsletter for Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church
November 2017
Keep the Momentum!
the
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Evening with the Bishop at ESD
Jubilee 20 Year Gala at the Omni
11 12 15 18 23 24
Distinguished Lecture Series Eric Law
Hope in Caregiving
Vestry Meeting
Farmers Market
Thanksgiving Holiday Church Offices Closed
Volume 29 No. 11
This past month has seen a lot of momentum at Saint Michael: Annual giving is off to a great start, major projects for the Refresh project are nearing completion, new mid-week adult groups are flourishing, and our children are more active than they’ve been in years! Years ago, when I was active in Cursillo and Happening, we used to say, “The best is yet to come!” That’s how I feel about Saint Michael! At the end of October, we celebrated work that we have done together this fall and began to look toward 2018. We elected new vestry and diocesan leadership at our Parish Meeting and began to dream about the kind of church we are becoming. It’s natural for churches to look back and fondly remember a time gone by, but what we are doing now is looking forward – and I don’t take that for granted. Saint Michael may be approaching its 75th anniversary (that will be in 2020), but we are not resting on our laurels. There has been amazing work done together in this church, but so much is left to do. The creativity and vision I sense in the leadership of this church excites me and I’m proud to be a part of it. As we look ahead, I’m reminded of the sermon The Rev. Mary Lessmann gave before our Parish Meeting. She spoke about the process of building cathedrals: Those who make the plans and begin to build are rarely ones who get to see the finished product. Instead, they begin their work knowing that they will only be a part of the journey. Those leaders and dreamers do all they continued on page 19
Vestry and Diocesan Convention Delegates Elected at Parish Meeting Five new Vestry members and delegates and alternates to the 2018 Diocesan Convention were elected at the Parish meeting on Sunday, October 29. The new Vestry members, serving three year terms beginning January 1, are: • • • • •
John Ellerman Jane Green Jay Lipscomb Kyle Moore Anna Paccone
They succeed Eric Conner, Mark Demler, Kathy Kelley, J.C. Snead, and Margaret Spellings whose terms expire in January. Delegates elected to three year terms as Diocesan Convention delegates are Terry Demler, J.C. Snead, and Scott Wilson. Alternates serving in the following order are Heather Lorch, Blair Oden, and Jack Rubarth. They will begin their service with the convention in the fall of 2018. Following the election, the Rector, Chris Girata, updated the significant initiatives that are underway in the parish including: the 2018 Stewardship Campaign, the new technology solutions and member portal, formation and music programs, the campus planning following release of the Preston Center Task Force report, and our membership and evangelism actions. You can view the Rector’s report online at saintmichael.org.