Rector's Report to the 161st Annual Parish Meeting - January 31, 2021

 It is hard to fathom that at the end of next month I will have completed my TWENTIETH year as the Rector of St. John’s Church.  In these 20 years we are now on our 4^th President of the United States, our 4^th Governor of Michigan, 5^th Mayor of Detroit, 6^th Tigers Manager and 7^th Detroit Lions Head Coach.  Also in those 20 years we have witnessed together the tragedy of 9/11, military action in Afghanistan and Iraq (as well as military operations/interventions in at least 10 other countries), the opening of Ford Field (2003), the advent of social media (MySpace 2003, YouTube 2005, Facebook & Twitter 2006), the invention of the Smart Phone (2007), a major recession (2007-2010), City of Detroit declaring bankruptcy (2013), the announcement of the District Detroit redevelopment of the neighborhood (2014), and the opening of Little Caesars Arena (2017).  In 2018 and 2019 St. John’s underwent a series of major renovations including a new handicapped entrance at the narthex garden door, a new drop off/parking area behind the building leading to a new street and parking garage, a completely rebuilt Ministry Center, and renovated undercroft and kitchen. 

Also since 2001 we have had to pray about (and minister to parishioners with) outbreaks of the West Nile Virus (2002), Mumps (2006), E. Coli and Salmonella (2006), H1NI Swine Flu (2009), and Whooping Cough (2012) along with a yearly rotation of colds, flus, and other ‘regular’ health issues that our parishioners have had to deal with in their lives.  Thankfully SARS, MERS, Bird Flu, and Ebola never made it here to Michigan. 

NOTHING COMPARES WITH 2020.  We first got wind of a virus in China appearing in the USA about this time last year, and by the end of February we cancelled Shrove Tuesday dinner just in case, and only got a week’s worth of Lenten Activities underway before people started absenting themselves from attendance out of an “abundance of caution”.  By the end of March the Governor of Michigan’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” orders were in effect and the ecclesiastical authorities in the state of Michigan followed suit.  For the first time in 161 years no public worship was held on this corner of Woodward Avenue.   This prohibition lasted for 4 months, until the end of June.  We were allowed to reopen with safety precautions such as Masking, Distancing, and 25% occupancy, which was effective – we had no infections. Despite the successful safe worship the dioceses in Michigan further restricted the parishes to ‘9 plus the priest’ per service on November 21, which means we are now doing 10 Services every weekend.  Since the end of November we have had over 100 weekend worship Services.

I have to say that the time from March to June was incredibly frustrating.  Daily Mass continued but from my ‘chapel in exile’ in the guest room of my house.  Every day I offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for all the intentions of the parish, but no one was allowed to physically participate or receive Communion.  It is the greatest privilege as a priest to stand at the altar of God to make Jesus Christ present in the Sacrament.  But it was a gut punch every day to know that the faithful were being prohibited from attending and receiving – relegated to watching online.  This became even more frustrating as other denominations re-opened, publicly worshipped safely, and offered the Sacrament, months before we were allowed to do so.  Even when we were allowed to re-open for public worship St. John’s the only Episcopal Church (of the nine) in the city that did, and only a few others in the entire diocese did so as well.  

Because we have had a YouTube Channel since 2006 (now with 2.4 million video views) and have been livestreaming weekday worship since 2017, we were uniquely positioned to broadcast worship at the beginning of the shut-down.  The first few weeks, until other parishes got up to speed, we had upwards of 1500 live and replay views of the Sunday Services. Those numbers have settled down to about 400 per week.  We soon discovered that parishes around the country were sharing links to their parishioners of our YouTube videos of our choir singing hymns. I regularly get emails and letters from people who have discovered St. John’s through the internet.  One fellow called a left a message of encouragement from Liverpool, England!  We upgraded our broadcast ability to simultaneously livestream to our website, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter and will be upgrading again with a new camera installed in the church.   We have added a broadcast of Evening Prayer 5 days a week and in April I started a video series of “morning meditations” that I thought I would do for a couple of weeks - that was 279 days ago and still going.

As grateful as I am to be able to expand our reach through broadcasting of worship and teaching, it is still not the same as worship in person.   Livestream is passive for the viewer unlike the participation of being present.  Human interaction plays big part of worship.  And more importantly it is only face to face that one can receive Holy Communion – so vital for our growth in Jesus Christ (see John Chapter 6:47-58).  I know that there are some of us who are at high risk for infection or have been exposed recently and cannot attend.  But otherwise I do hope, especially as the use of the vaccine increases, that more and more parishioners will return to the regular worship of Our Lord in church.  If we continue to be limited to 10 people at a time I would be happy to do 15 Services if necessary to accommodate everyone!  And when we are restored to 25% occupancy the massive size of our sanctuary, and having multiple Sunday Services, makes for more than enough room for all of us and those guests from other parishes that are worshipping with us because their own parishes haven’t reopened.  It is my prayer that those who have gotten out of the habit of attending during these 31 weeks that we have been open for worship, have not gone from being ‘cautious’ to spiritually becoming a lapsed parishioner, or worse yet a lapsed Christian.   Schools, jobs, stores and now again tomorrow, restaurants are open – and so is your church.  I pray that Church as the outward manifestation of your relationship with Jesus Christ is a priority for you!

As you see in the financial reports, the Vestry spent their time this year being especially careful about budgeting and spending.  The budget passed initially for 2020 was revised in June due to the reality of the changes due to the shutdown.  Receipt and expense expectations were reduced, and with your generosity we were able to exceed the reduced income amount, which is now the benchmark for this current year.  I hope that we can exceed it again and approach pre-pandemic giving.  A hearty thank you to Treasurer Dave Schafer and our bookkeeper John Salisbury, to Wardens Peter Grim and Pat Walter, and to all the members of the vestry for their faithfulness and encouragement through these trying times.

One thing that the Vestry did this past year was a study on the book Made for Mission: renewing your parish culture by Tim Glemkowski.   In this we were reminded that the Church is not about maintenance but about mission!  And our mission is summed up in our mission statement to “Know Christ and to make Him known”.  As we are in the pandemic we can start with the first half of this mission by being more involved in knowing Christ in prayer and study.  The Alpha Course will be an additional way that we come to know Him more and is also a transition into the second half of our mission statement so that we can make Him known to others.  EVERYTHING WE DO at St. John’s (worship, learning, fellowship) is to be focused on the mission of making and equipping disciples to glorify Jesus Christ and share Him with others.  And as we move into my 21^st year of my being the Rector of St. John’s that is my hope and aspiration for this parish – whether we are gathering at 10 people, 25% of occupancy, or at full strength!

Under His Mercy,

Fr. Steven J. Kelly, SSC, 13^th Rector of St. John’s Church, Detroit

Conversion of St. Paul - Rector's Rambling for January 24, 2021

On January 25 we celebrate the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle.

Paul is an apostle, but unlike the other apostles commemorated, his feast day is kept on the day of his conversion, rather than the day of his death.  A person’s day of death is considered one’s “heavenly birthday”, since it is through earthly death that we pass to eternal life.  And in the case of all the apostles, except St. John, their death was by martyrdom – being killed because of their faith in Jesus Christ.  St. Paul was also martyred.  The church believes that under the general persecution of Nero in 64 and 65, both St. Peter and St. Paul met their deaths for being followers (and promoters) of Jesus Christ.  Peter, not being a Roman citizen, was crucified (tradition says head-down) and St. Paul, being a citizen, was given the quicker execution of being beheaded.

But the church commemorates St. Paul’s conversion to the faith.  It is one of those stories that is powerful because he was not just a non-believer in Jesus, he was an active persecutor of those who believed that Jesus Christ is Lord.  He consented to St. Stephen’s stoning, his executioners laying their jackets at his feet. (Acts 7:58, 8:1)  His journey to Damascus was to arrest followers of Jesus and bring them to Jerusalem for trial. (Acts 9:2)  Paul’s conversion is unique, but gives us hope that no matter what our, and others’, spiritual condition may be, God can intervene!

January 25 is also the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which began last Monday.  At St. John’s we have been praying for the unity of the Church not only this past week, but every day since Our Lord prayed that we all be one as he and the Father are one. (John 17:21)

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A reminder that next Sunday, at 1:30 PM, we will be having our Annual Parish Meeting via ZOOM, since we are still prohibited by the authorities of the four dioceses in Michigan from having larger gatherings of people.  To get the link to the meeting, please send an e-mail to Rector@stjohnsdetroit.org and you will also receive by the end of the week the PDF copy of the booklet for the meeting.

 

Upcoming Annual Parish Meeting - Rector's Rambling for January 17, 2021

     We are at the midway point of our short Epiphanytide.  On January 31, we will transition into the gesima Sundays (Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima) which is the pre-Lenten season.  A year ago we were in the middle of the planning for the upcoming Lenten devotions and classes.  This year things continue in limbo!  Yes, we will have pre-Lent and Lent, but how we will “keep Lent” here at St. John’s is still to be determined, depending upon whether the ecclesiastical authorities allow for reopening and gatherings.  Stay tuned!

One thing that is now changed will be our Annual Parish Meeting.  Scheduled in accordance with the Canons of the diocese in the month of January, we will have to meet via ZOOM.  I will be emailing a link to the meeting to be held on January 31, 2021 at 1:30 PM.  It is at the later hour because we do not know whether we will still be having 10 Saturday/Sunday services because of the “nine-person plus the priest” restrictions, or restored to the 25% of occupancy level and therefore fewer services.  Either way, let’s set the time for now at 1:30 PM on January 31 via ZOOM.

The Annual Parish Meeting is where we will look at the financial report for 2020, and the budget passed by the Vestry for 2021.  New Vestry members will be elected, and financial reports received from organizations/ministries of the parish.  Since things have been on hold for most of our ministries and organizations, we will not have to have other reports from them for 2020.

I am so grateful that so many parishioners are signing up and attending worship at St. John’s.  We continue to be the only parish in the city that is open for public worship.  And as long as attendance is limited to 10, we will offer as many service opportunities as necessary!  Fill up all the spots on SignUpGenius.  Last week we had 75 people present at the nine services, and I would be willing to add more to get us back up to our Average Sunday Attendance of 150 from before the pandemic.

 

New Years Resolution Update? - Rector's Rambling for January 10, 2021

     If we are like most people, we made New Year’s Resolutions.  And if we are like most people we have already had most of them go by the wayside.

It is human nature, I guess, for most of us to have the best of intentions to improve, and yet that human nature is fallen, affected by original sin.  And what frequently starts as the best of intentions with a desire to improve oneself, often ends when some extra effort is required, or an obstacle met.

Last year, for 2020, I made a resolution to exercise regularly, and to lose weight.  Nothing new about that resolution…I have probably made that one almost every year!  In 2020 it stuck however.  The first six months of the year I worked out every day on a stationary bicycle, and then started rowing with a rowing team.  I changed how and what I ate, and the cumulative result is that I am now hovering near my high school graduation weight.  That was certainly a positive in a year full of lots of negatives brought on by the Corona virus!

The good thing about Resolutions, however, is that they don’t only have to start on January 1!  In fact, every morning, every new day, is a chance to resolve to improve in an aspect of your life by removing something negative and adding something positive.  Exercise and diet are frequently cited, and not as often actually done.  Each day, however, is a chance to make new start.  And the best day to schedule a change is TODAY, not tomorrow or the next!  And once started, it has to gain the momentum of regular use and routine to become a good habit.

I also hope that an overarching resolve in all of our lives is for us to become more spiritually healthy as well!  Pray, meditate, read the Bible, attend worship regularly – these are all great things to resolve that we may come to know and love Our Lord better each day.

And each night, before bed, we have the chance to review the day past, decide where amends need to be made, and gratitude expressed in prayer for the blessings of the day.  And then resolve to glorify Him upon waking.

 

Feast of the Circumcision/Feast of the Epiphany - Rector's Ramblings for 1/1 & 1/6, 2021

 

Happy 2021. 

              On January 1st the Holy Communion was celebrated here at for a special Holy Day.  Not “New Year’s Day” (the Church New Year started on the first Sunday in Advent back in November), but the Feast of the Circumcision.

              Jesus, born into a family of the original Covenant with the people of the Hebrews, was circumcised as the outward sign of his membership in that Covenant between God and His chosen people. 

There are several theologically important things happening at this event on Jesus’ eight day of life.

1) Jesus, as the fulfillment of the promise of God to send a Messiah as the fulfillment of the Law, keeps the law by being Circumcised.

2) This covenant, as all ancient covenants (agreements between two parties), was sealed in blood.  An agreement between two parties involved a shedding of blood of some sort as a sign of the importance and long term effect of it.  The shedding of this first blood through circumcision was also a permanent reminder of that membership in as God’s chosen people.   MORE IMPORTANTLY it is a foreshadowing of how the NEW COVENANT would be sealed - by the shedding of Jesus’ own blood on the hard wood of the Cross!

3) On this eight day another very important thing happens in the life of the Jewish male - he officially receives his name!  And of course, the Name of Jesus is not only the name given by the Angel to Mary when she conceived Him by the Holy Ghost (Matthew 1:21), but the Name of Jesus is THE ONLY NAME UNDER HEAVEN BY WHICH WE ARE SAVED! (Acts 4:12).

So while many were recovering from the celebration of the new secular calendar year we have started this year off with a wonderful remembrance of our Salvation through Jesus Christ.

Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 

1 Corinthians 15:57

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The Feast on January 6 has two names, but both mean the same thing.  To have an “epiphany” is to have something made manifest, or to have something shown to you.  In the 1928 Book of Common Prayer the title for today’s feast is The Epiphany, or the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.

In the Christmas story we hear that the shepherds in the fields heard, by the proclamation of the Angelic Hosts, the good news of Jesus’ birth.  The shepherds represent the people of the Jews, since they would have surely been Jews in that region.  They come and adore Jesus.

The Magi (Wise Men or Three Kings) are not Jews, but Gentiles.  We hear in scripture that these wise men came from the East, having seen in the stars an amazing, celestial event which they understood to be the portent of the birth of a new king.

So, they went to Herod, assuming that this would foretell the birth of his heir, but of course there was no baby there.  Herod, whom secular history confirms was a man of great jealously and wrath, tries to convince these men to let him know when and where they have found this king (“…bring me word again, that I may come and worship him”).  Obviously Herod had a poisonous intent; not to worship but destroy him.  However, the Magi were warned of God in a dream and Herod’s plan was thwarted.

As the shepherds represented the people of the Jews coming to worship Jesus, since is the fulfillment of the promise to them to send a Saviour, so the Magi represent the rest of us.  Gentile basically means, “not Jew”.

Jesus’ birth is Good News not only to the Jew, but the Gentile as well.  He is Lord of all, and all are included in the New Covenant sealed in His blood on the cross.  He was made manifest to the Jews in the persons of the shepherds, and to the rest of us through these wise men who also came to worship.

And the wise still come and worship Him!