Tract Rack Ministry - Rector's Rambling for August 16, 2026

     The last two weeks in this column I wrote about welcoming newcomers, and how people find St. John’s through things like social media and google.  YouTube has become a wonderful way that people find us as well, or watch some videos to get a preview of what it may be like at St. John’s before they worship with us.  Just last Sunday a couple from San Antonio, Texas joined us for 5:30 Evening Prayer, and they said they googled us, and then watched a few videos to get a sense of the place!

Our Open Door Ministry is another way in which people discover St. John’s.  On weekdays when someone is in the office we have the front doors wide open, inviting people to come in.  In addition to Sunday morning while we are worshipping, on Sunday afternoon the doors are open for those coming and going for sporting events and theatre shows.

A majority of people who walk in the open doors get no further than in the interior doors between the narthex (lobby) and Church.  At this point they lift up their cell phone, take a picture, and leave.

But others walk into the church, walk up the aisle, look at the windows or the altar area from the chancel steps (we have a rope there).  Some sit or kneel in a pew for a period of time.

Many people take advantage of our tract rack located in the narthex.  These are materials available to take and read about Jesus and St. John’s.

In addition to our weekly Chronicle, the most popular item picked up and taken is the booklet “Why Jesus” by Fr. Nicky Gumbel of the Alpha Course.  In the last year or so we have had about 150 of these picked up and taken.  I pray as I put them in the rack that those reading it find, or renew, a relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Daily Bread, a bible study booklet provided by Suzie Decker quarterly, is also very popular.  Regular visitors and those in groups who use the building will come asking if the new Daily Bread has arrived because they have been faithfully reading the current one and they notice that it is nearing the end of that edition.

Other items are a series of teaching tracts, including “Why St. John’s? (formerly “Ancient Faith and Worship”) which introduces us to inquirers.  The other three about lighting votive candle, using incense, and “why does the priest have his back to us” helps to explain the faith and worship at St. John’s.  They are professionally printed in color on glossy paper (see the wish list on page 3 if you would like to help us re-supply the stock).  Other brochures on prayer, Lent,  and making a confession also make an appearance.

 

Lex orandi - Rector's Rambling for August 9, 2026

     Last week we had the wonderful occasion of the baptism of five of the Wilson children; Leonardo, Lot, Levi, Luke, and Leah.  And what a great moment of grace it was.   I got pretty emotional seeing their faces all aglow as they held their candles, smiles from ear to ear!  We are grateful to have them, as well as mom and dad Leo and Shay and daughter Kiylah as members of St  John’s

Last week in this column I wrote about welcoming newcomers into our midst.  We get a lot of visitors to St. John’s who come to us out of curiosity because they have seen the building, read something online, or follow us on social media. It is always interesting when I meet someone at the end of the service visiting from out of state who say that they have watched our worship and Daily Morning Meditations online and wanted to visit while in town for another reason,  Others, as I mentioned, find us via google because they are looking for a specific kind of traditional Anglican/Episcopal/Anglo-catholic church that uses the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  This is that place in Metro Detroit. 

Liturgy, how we worship, is a vital part of our identity.  And St. John’s is unique in it’s continued use of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Newer liturgies have been published since then and are in use around the rest of the denomination.  We are now the only parish left in this diocese using the traditional form.  

In my first interview with the Search Committee for this parish, I asked them why they continued to use the old prayer book.  I was looking for a specific type of answer, and Libby Schudel, on the other end of the phone with the committee, gave that answer. “It best expresses the faith that we believe at St. John’s.”.  That was the answer I was looking for!  Not a litany of the deficiencies of the newer liturgies, but a positive affirmation of the faith once delivered to the saints and expressed in the prayer book tradition as embodied in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.

In addition to the faith that is expressed in the Prayer Book Tradition, our worship is best classified at Anglo-catholic.  Every Sunday we profess during the Nicene and Apostles Creed that we believe the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.  Our worship supports and highlights the catholic teaching  that we profess to believe and is embodied in the traditional Anglican formularies.  There is an old adage Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi—the Law of Prayer is the Law of Belief.  In other words it’s prayer (and worship) that forms and encourages our belief system.

Being regular in the use of the Prayer Book for worship and prayer helps to form us in right belief!

 

Five Baptism Sunday at St. John's - Rector's Rambling for August 2, 2026

     Today we welcome 5 new members of the Body of Christ through the water of baptism, 5 of the 8 members of the Wilson Family.  Dad Leo has been attending weekday Masses for several months, and we are grateful that they have decided to make St. John’s the place to worship and to become a member of our parish family.  Already young Leo has found his way into the acolyte corps, and we look forward to the family’s incorporation into our fellowship.  Today we baptise Leonardo, Lot, Levi, Luke, and Leah!

We have already had three other baptisms this year, always a happy occasion for the church! 

We give thanks that St. John’s continues to grow again in membership.  Each week newcomers visit, curious about this beautiful old building on the corner of Woodward and I-75.  A first visit can always be a bit intimidating.  Where do I sit?  What will the Service look like?  Can I receive Communion?  Will I be underdressed or overdressed?  Will I be welcomed by people? These questions and more go through the heads of those stepping into our midst for the first time, as I have been told. 

When I first arrived at St. John’s in 2001 we already had an active website presence.  The late C.A. Hocker built our first website in 1997— a pioneering move.  When I was applying to be rector here I scoured that site for information on what the parish might be like!  I had visited once for a Christmas Eve Service while I was a seminarian, but I wanted insight into what the parish might be about.

In 2006 we started a YouTube channel to broaden our reach with now has 7400 videos uploaded and 3.7 million video views.  Then with the advent of Facebook and then Twitter we have yet more avenues to reach people.  And our presence on the search engine Google has been a blessing.  Many people who have visited and have joined have told me that they googled phrases like “traditional Anglican”, “traditional Episcopal”, or  “1928 Prayer Book near me” and St. John’s appeared at the top of the search!

Our internet and social media presence is certainly a great way to introduce ourselves to the world around us, and give those looking to visit us an opportunity to peek in in advance to see what the worship looks like and what they can expect.  And of course a personal invitation by you to family, friends, and neighbors is always a great way to have people visit and possibly join us regularly.

Once the visitor is in the door a kind welcome from the ushers, friendly smiles from parishioners and happy handshakes, introductions, and invitation to join us downstairs for coffee hour is the onramp to people feeling welcome among us. 

Ultimately it is God the Holy Spirit who moves hearts to join us regularly to Glorify God and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, but these are all a few ways that we cooperate in that mission ot let the world know about our Saviour, one guest or visitor at a time.

 

Founders Sunday at St. John's - Rector's Rambling for July 26, 2026

     

    Over 167 years ago St. John’s 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  a dozen 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 as we have on this corner of Woodward Avenue since our founding on December 27, 1858.  

(PHOTO circa 1936)

 

Summer slow down, or shift? - Rector's Rambling for July 19, 2026

 Fr. Ben DeHart of St. John’s Park Slope (Brooklyn, New York) recently posted this on Facebook.

 "Not sure if this is a city thing, but over the past few years I’ve noticed St. John's gets as many or more newcomers on Sundays during the summer than we do in the fall, winter, or spring. Someone told me today it’s because so many people move in the summer. Have you noticed the same?  Clergy definitely need seasons to slow down, recharge, and get away. But this pattern has changed how I think about summer. Instead of turning everything off, we slow things down while still offering fun, low-key ways to connect. The goal is to stay “sticky” for newcomers, and to keep enough going so that our regulars don’t face a yearly “decision” about whether to come back in the fall.

 We have seen a similar pattern here at St. John’s in Detroit.  The choir goes down to quartets, Sunday School goes on hiatus, and the organizations don’t have their regular meetings  during the summer.  But  not only does Sunday and weekday worship continue (weekdays being dependent on whether I might be at the St. Michael’s Conference or away a few days). but we continue to have guests and visitors on a regular basis.

Some of this is because we are a city parish.  Being here in the middle of the entertainment district we have visiitors to worship and the open building at other times attracts people walking but or going to events in the neighborhood.  More people are discovering they can come her to worship on Sunday and then walk over to the baseball game or a matinee show across the street at the Fox theatre.  And I meet guests who are in Detroit for business meetings or conventions and look us up on line to join us for worship while here.  And we even find tourists who wander their way into the building because the building is open.

I think Fr. DeHart is spot on when he talks about having summer ways to stay connected in addition to worship, which we have done with special events like our Outreach Sunday,  DOK new member institution, Independence Day Celebration, lunches/enhanced coffee hour, and next week’s Founders Day and Ice Cream Social.

Although many of our members are away for periods of time for the summer, we have had several people from other parishes and denominaitions in the last few weeks stop by to worship with us to experience for themselves what they have heard about St. John’s from others, or discovered through our social media sources.

Your being here to welcome the visitor and newcomer is a blessing to the parish, and I am grateful for the gracious way that so many introduce themselves to visitors and encourage their returning to be with us again.

 

St. Mike's Thank You - Rector's Rambling for July 12, 2026

     Thank you to all for the prayers and financial contributions in support of the St. Michael’s Conference for Youth, Midwest.  What a wonderful blessing this parish is to the conference, and we were remembered in the daily prayers while there.

I am writing this mid-conference to meet the publishing deadline.  For 28 years I have been on staff of this conference, in addition to the 2 years on staff of the original one out east. 

This year was particularly interesting in that after last year’s conference being at full occupancy, we made the bold move to spin off a new St. Michael’s Conference for Youth, South, which is scheduled to take place in Stanton, Tennesse July 19-25.  This meant we split the staff (a few are doing both conferences in this transition year), and the Michaelites got to choose whether to come here or the new Conference. 

The majority of those attending the  Michigan one over the last few years have been from Tennessee, Kentucky, and South Carolina and they for the most part chose the new one.  And with last year being at the limit of 50 youth attendees (limited by the number of accommotations at the retreat center for students and staff), the split has resulted in the attendance at both conferences topping out at over 75 with more applications pending for the new conference in a week. 

The majority of students heading to the Tennesssee conference means that ours was considerably smaller, a community of 30 of us.  And although we missed friends from last year, we also were hopeful that this will be an opportunity for growth for both conferences in the coming years!  After all, we were a spin off of the conference that was in Massachusetts (now Connecticut), and the conference in Texas spun off from us nearly 20 years ago and operates at capacity at their retreat center.

So we are already praying for next year’s conference and look forward to what God may be doing next !

 

This week I will be out of the office Wednesday through Saturday because I am competing in USRowing’s Master’s National Championship regatta, which takes place this year on Ford Lake in Ypsilanti, Michigan.  My son Andrew and I are racing in singles in our age groups, and then we are racing together in the Father/Son Double race.  We will also be there supporting teammates and friends and volunteering with regatta operations too.  One good thing to come out of the covid shut-downs was my taking up the sport of my youth, and training for a couple of regattas a year: this one and one or two in the fall in Boston and Philadelphia. 

 

Independence - Rector's Rambling for July 5, 2026

     In the Anglican Tradition in the United States Independence Day is a Prayer Book Holy Day, Even though today is actually Fifth Sunday after Trinity and yesterday was the Holy Day, we are commerating it today in honor of the 250th Anniversary of our country’s founding. 

It makes perfect sense that this would be in our prayer book calendar, since our country’s founding document, the Declaration of Independence, was signed by a majority who were members of what would become The Episcopal Church.  According to Gregory Elder of Redlands Daily Facts, “32 of the signers, well over half, were Episcopalians, or Anglicans, the old state Church of England.  There were 13 Congregationalists, 12 were Presbyterians.  There were two Quakers, two Unitarians, and one Roman Catholic.”

Being that Episcopalians were accustomed to praying for the King and his government in the Daily Office, it would be understandable that that would be converted into a daily prayer for the President and all others in authority, as well as a celebration of our God-given liberties, along with the responsibilities that come with that freedom.  We are blessed to have this freedom, and it is our bounden duty to glorify God and to make sure that those liberties are preserved and equality applicable to all.

This evening the St. Michael’s Conference for Youth, Midwest, begins at the Manresa Retreat Center.  This is a wonderful week of prayer, instruction, and a fun for the Michaelites (the students attending), and the staff as well.   Daily Office, Daily Mass, Compline (nighttime prayers) are part of the scheduled, three morning classes, afternoon freetime with organized activities, and evening group games.  It is a wonderful time!  This will be my 27th year on staff of the Midwest Conference, in addition to 2 years on staff of the original conference on the east coast. 

Thank you for all the financial support that St. John’s members and organizations have contributed to the Conference.  Without that support this Conference could not exist!

Could I please ask that everyone pray for us this week.  If you pray for us at 7:30 AM, 8 AM, or 5 PM you will be praying for us while we are assembled in chapel for Morning Prayer, Solemn High Mass, and Evening Prayer.   And of course we will take your prayers any other time of the day as well!

God willing we finish the Conference about noon on Saturday.