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Celebrate!
We made it. The busy season (known as The Season) has come to a close. We made it through and I think we should celebrate. The Church calendar has us focus on what is next instead of pausing and celebrating what we’ve been through. For us at All Angels, we can celebrate the conclusion of the season. It takes a lot of work to do it, and we should pause to reflect and celebrate.
We made it through our first full post pandemic year (’22-23). In the years ’20 and ‘21 we had no idea what the future would look like. Now we do (and we should celebrate that). The experience of making it through helps us to plan the next season. There are four things we can count on. First, there is a need to continue and grow our online presence. Equally as important, there is a need to continue, and grow, our in-person experience of being a place of welcome and refreshment for folks who are here year-round, or for one weekend, or a month, or the season. Thirdly, we can count on our parishioners to continue traveling and perhaps do more traveling in the next season. Lastly, and equally as important, we can count on the fact that people need a place to connect with God and with one another. And, we can count on the Holy Spirit to continue to bless us as we make opportunities for all those connections.
We have transitioned one of our most important visible ministries – music. David Stasney is fully in charge and is breathing new life into this very important, public and performance-based ministry. He has recruited new choir members, revived the Bell Choir, and is occasionally bringing in professionals to enhance our program. We should celebrate this.
We have transitioned one of our most important invisible ministries – Altar Guild. With Jan Webb retiring as Altar Guild Director, Ginny Upshaw has taken over. We are moving ahead and I continue to see great things in the future. … most of which no one ever sees because it is the epitome of the behind-the-scenes ministry. Our financial processes – in-flow, out-flow, reporting, managing and directing – continues to impress and expand. We have more volunteers now helping the management of this vital ministry (which is also a behind-the-scenes-ministry). Sandy Wood continues to be a doer, a visionary leader, and a servant in this ministry.
In 2020, there was a point when we could only have ten people in worship which means we had to pause almost every other aspect of parish life. Of the ten people on the worship team, two were paid employees (Dale and myself), one was a retired priest; three volunteers have the last name of Marshall, and we had Ginger Shipp, Cathie Wilt, and Bob and Carol Erker. We need to celebrate the fact that we made it through the ’22-’23 season with a renewed Coffee Hour and Outreach ministries. A new group, the Party Planning Committee, has been created. The PPC has brought back the All Angels’ tradition of creating fellowship opportunities to get to know one another. We had the Fall Fling, the Annual Meeting, a St. Patrick’s Day event, Jane’s memorial, the Bishop’s coffee hour, the Spring Fling and more coming too. This too needs celebration.
I am hopeful by what I have seen and experienced this past season. I believe we will continue being good stewards of what we have been given at All Angels. We will continue the Christian tradition of connecting with God and with one another and in our mission of bringing the living Christ to those inside and outside the church. For me, and for my whole household, we give thanks for you all, and for All Angels, and for the privilege and joy to serve here. For all of this, we celebrate.
- Rev. Dave
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