Founders Day and Farewell to the Alffs - Rector's Rambling for July 28, 2019

Over 160 years ago St. John’s Episcopal Church came into existence through the dream and desire of Henry Porter Baldwin to start a parish in the countryside outside Detroit.  He did so on the assumption that the city would grow to the north and not just along the river.  It may have seemed madness to those living downtown, but it was obviously prophetic as the apple orchard he purchased to raise this edifice soon found itself surrounded by housing, then commercial buildings, and now theatres and sports venues.  I am sure that Governor Baldwin, and the women and men who participated in starting this parish and participating in her ministry all these years, could not have envisioned the changes to come, just as in our own time we probably didn’t imagine the scope of the revitalization that has occurred since the announcement of the District Detroit plans just five years ago.

Today we celebrate the “goodly heritage” that is the prologue to what God is now doing here in this place now.  The ministry of the church has evolved and changed, but the faith of Jesus Christ as expressed in our Anglican formulary of Common Prayer has not changed, by God’s grace.  And by that same grace, and God willing, will continue to shape and form followers of Jesus Christ for generations to come.  May God continue to bless us as we seek to share the good news that Jesus is Lord.

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Today we bid “Godspeed” to Joe and Marge Alff, who are moving to the Chicago area to be closer to their daughter and family.  They will be missed, but I expect that as their legacy continues here, they will be a blessing to those on the other side of Lake Michigan