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From the Standing Committees
 

Dear Friends in Christ,

We write today with a process update on the future of episcopal leadership over the next few years in our life as dioceses, following the resignation of our former bishop.

After lengthy discussion and consideration, and in consultation with the Presiding Bishop’s Office, the Joint Standing Committees have begun the process of seeking a shared bishop provisional for our two dioceses. It is the intention of the Standing Committees that this person would serve us full-time for 2-4 years, with the option to stand for election as a bishop diocesan at the conclusion of that time. 

According to the canons of the church (Canon 13, Sec. 1), a “bishop provisional” is an already-consecrated bishop (either already serving elsewhere or retired) who is elected to serve a diocese for a specific amount of time, holding all of the responsibilities and authority of a bishop diocesan. According to the process set out by the canons, the Standing Committee is charged with interviewing a slate and selecting one candidate, who is then formally nominated to the diocesan convention for election. We are on track to be able to hold this election at our joint diocesan convention in late October.

What about our current Assisting Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Skip Adams? We cannot understate our gratitude to Bishop Adams for his service as chaplain and advisor over the past several months. Bishop Adams has now served twice during his “retirement” (first in South Carolina, then with Eastern and Western Michigan) and as such, we’re learning he has extended his provisions allowed by the Church Pension Fund. In order to remain legal and to retain his well-earned pension, he will need to conclude (or pause) his time with us at the end of this September. After we have called and elected our new Bishop Provisional, and in discerning conversation with them and CPG, we are hopeful that there may be opportunity for Bishop Skip to serve with us again in the future.

We are pleased to report that, with the help of the Presiding Bishop’s Office, three candidates for bishop provisional will be interviewed over the next month. All of the candidates are enthusiastic about the possibility of working alongside our dioceses as we continue to explore our relationship with one another and as we process, both as individual dioceses and together, our experience of the last year under suspension and the pandemic. All three candidates would serve our dioceses on a full-time basis, departing the dioceses in which they currently serve.

It is important to note that, while the canons charge the Standing Committee with interviewing and selecting one candidate, our Joint Standing Committees have chosen to have broader representation on the interviewing committee, which will conduct the interviews and offer advice and feedback to the Joint Standing Committee. The interviewing committee is composed of six members of each diocese and includes all orders of ministry and geographic regions. Those members are:

The Rev. Nancy Mayhew, Co-Chair*
St. Alban’s, Bay City

Gary Grinn*
St. Paul’s, Gladwin

The Rev. Deacon Anna Leigh Kubbe*
Holy Family, Blue Water

Tanna Leclaire
Grace, Port Huron

The Rev. Curt Norman
St. John’s, Saginaw

The Rev. Canon Michael Spencer
Eastern Michigan Diocesan Staff

The Rev. BJ Heyboer, Co-Chair*
St. Mark’s, Newaygo

The Rev. Dr. Jared Cramer
St. John’s, Grand Haven

The Ven. Beth Drew
Trinity, Three Rivers

Nancy Foster
St. Mary’s, Cadillac

Carole Redwine*
St. Philip’s, Grand Rapids

The Rev. Canon Valerie Ambrose
Western Michigan Diocesan Staff

As a reminder, each diocesan website contains an information hub with up-to-date details about this process that can be accessed at any time. 

Please click here to visit this page on Eastern MI's Website.
Please click here to visit this page on Western MI's Website.


And as always, know that we pray daily for you, the people and congregations of our dioceses. We ask that you pray for us and one another in return. We look forward to updating you on the interview process as soon as we are able and to see one another in-person at our upcoming convention!

A Prayer for the Dioceses
Blessed God, who makes all things new: Grant that our two dioceses, as communities of Word and Sacrament, may be leaven for the world’s bread, and wine of delight for hearts in need; a gathering strong for service and glad in praise; and a people listening and responding to your presence in our midst; through Jesus our redeemer and steadfast companion. Amen.

Yours in Christ, 

The Standing Committees of Eastern and Western Michigan

News from the Covenant
St. Andrew's Prayer Partner Reminder


Even as we gather in person again, please remember to send your monthly note and prayers to your Prayer Partner! If you want to join this ministry, reach out to Mtr. Radha.
Concert by Alex Weller
St. Andrew's musician, Alex Weller, will be leaving this fall for college to continue her music studies. She is offering a concert to say thank you and farewell to her communities. You are invited to attend. 

The concert will be held on August 7, 2021 at 3:00 pm at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Big Rapids, MI. 
Invitation to Eagle Scout Ceremony


 
Gavin William Mathison will be having his Eagle Scout Court of Honor at St. Andrew's Church on Saturday August 14th at 2 pm. Gavin painted the St. Andrew's rectory as his Eagle Scout project. The family has extended the invitation to St. Andrew's and hopes that you can attend. There will be cake and refreshments after the ceremony. 
St. Mary's Feast Day Celebration


St. Mary's will celebrate our patronal feast day on Sunday, August 15. We will have a special service of Holy Eucharist, including a farewell to Rachel Whiteman. A boxed lunch picnic will be offered after the service. Bring a picnic blanket or chairs to sit outside. In case of inclement weather, the picnic will be in the parish hall. All are invited!
Service Time Change at St. Andrew's


On Sunday, August 22, St. Andrew's will change the Sunday service time to 10:00 am. All Sunday services will begin at 10:00 am after August 22. This change will enable St. Andrew's and St. Mary's to have the same service time, which will make it easier to have joint gatherings and will help out our rector.
St. Mary's Music Pew Folders
 

Theresa Williams and Mtr. Radha are beginning to work on updating the St. Mary's pew folders of hymns and songs. The new pew folder will replace both the current blue pew folders that are becoming worn and the Glory and Praise hymnal. 

Theresa has written up a list of possible hymns and songs to include in the new pew folder. Copies are available on the table in the narthex of St. Mary's. Please look it over and let Theresa or Radha know if your favorite song or hymn is missing! They would also appreciate suggestions of any hymns that could be removed from the list.

This Sunday, August 1, is the deadline to turn in your suggestions.


You can also review the list here. The completed list can be mailed to the St. Mary's office, or emailed to Theresa Williams at pondhousefarm@hotmail.com.
News from the Diocese
Feast Days with Bishop Skip
Saint James the Apostle
Join our assisting bishop, the Rt. Rev. Skip Adams, for an ongoing series of reflections on the major feast days of the calendar. Today's reflection commemorates Saint James the Apostle.
Full text of Bishop Skip's reflection:

I am intrigued by the juxtaposition of the readings from Matthew and Acts for this day.  It is in Matthew that we hear of the desire of the mother of James and John - and I am guessing she is speaking her sons’ desire too - that they be given places of honor next to Jesus.  In the book of Acts we learn that James is martyred at the hands of Roman power exercised through the person of Herod Agrippa.  So James did indeed drink of the cup from which Jesus drank, but certainly it was not for what he or his mother was asking.

 Ambition within a community, even a community gathered around Christ, is not unknown, but it is not Jesus’ way.  He models a leadership style of the self-offering of the servant which ushers in true freedom.  In the Collect for Peace from the Daily Office we pray, “…to serve you is perfect freedom.”  This freedom which comes from being bound to service to another is a paradox.  It is not unlike a kite, which when tethered to a string is able to live fully into its “kiteness,” that is, to be truly free to fulfill its purpose to fly and drift with the wind.  If one was to cut the string, in a misguided attempt to set it free, it would come crashing to the ground and no longer do what it was created to do. Oddly, human beings often mistake the way of destruction for freedom, such as in the refusal to wear masks.

Obedience is not a popular concept in today’s world.  Yet, when we make baptismal promises, or take vows in ordination, we are making promises of obedience not because it restricts our freedom, but because in giving ourselves to these promises we are set free to be and become who God has created us to be.  The ordained deacon is called to be the icon of such obedient service, thereby calling all of the baptized to this vision of faithful living.  Baptism is, if you will, our expulsion from slavery in Egypt, an old way of life that destroys and diminishes, into the exodus of moving with and toward God.  All along we are invited to feed on the manna of Eucharist freely given, indeed to drink the cup Jesus drank in our desert journey leading us home.

Part of what we celebrate in the person of James the Apostle is his grounding in service to Christ that moved beyond the desire for power to the deeper place of servant.  It set him free to where he could offer even his life in joyful service to God and God’s people.  Christ offers this freedom to us all.
News from the Wider Church
Arab- and English-speaking Episcopalians
form unique faith partnership in Michigan

[Episcopal News Service] Two Episcopal congregations in Dearborn, Michigan — one Arabic-speaking, the other English-speaking — have been sharing worship space, liturgy, Bible study, conversation and food, and are partnering to create beloved community together.

Partnership in Faith is a unique relationship between Christ Episcopal Church and Mother of the Savior, a blended Episcopal-Lutheran congregation in Dearborn, a Detroit suburb. It fosters intercultural relationships, said the Rev. Terri C. Pilarski, rector of Christ Church, and presents an opportunity to welcome people who may feel isolated or marginalized.

Christ Church is working on being “adaptive to others, listening, learning and loving our neighbor,” Pilarski said. “It’s also about Mother of the Savior as this amazing congregation of Arabic-speaking Christians offering a powerful witness to the world. Arabic-speaking Christians have been part of the Christian tradition since the first Pentecost, yet they have and continue to suffer as a marginalized community. They have a faith that is deep and beautiful.”

“This is the first time The Episcopal Church in the United States has joined with Arab and Middle Eastern Christians, and the first time the liturgy has been translated into Arabic and that there is worship in Arabic,” the Rev. Halim Shukair, priest-in-charged of Mother of Our Savior, told Episcopal News Service.

Read more at Episcopal News Service.

Episcopal Word of the Week
The Word of the Day is going to do a walk-through of everything that we use at the altar for a service of Holy Eucharist. We begin with the stack that is on the altar.

Corporal -  A corporal is a linen cloth placed atop the altar cloth but beneath the chalice and paten used at Mass. Traditionally, the fabric is linen, as was that which wrapped the body of the Lord in the tomb; hence the name, too: corporal, from the Latin word corpus, “body.” The corporal’s purpose is to collect any fragments from the Eucharistic body of Christ during the Mass, which are then enfolded within the corporal at the end of the Communion Rite.

Definition is from Adoremus. https://adoremus.org/2020/09/q-what-is-a-corporal/

Worship
Upcoming Services
St. Mary's, Cadillac
    August 1, 10:00 am
    • Holy Eucharist (in-person, in the sanctuary)
    • Streamed to Facebook
    August 8, 10:00 am
    • Morning Prayer (in-person, in the sanctuary)
St. Andrew's, Big Rapids
    August 1, 10:15 am
    • Morning Prayer (in-person, in the sanctuary)
  • August 8, 10:15 am
    • Holy Eucharist (in-person in, in the sanctuary)
    • Streamed to Facebook
Readings for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

August 1, 2021

First Lesson: 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a
Psalm: Psalm 51:1-13
Second Lesson: Ephesians 4:1-16
Gospel: John 6:24-35
Worship Serving Schedules
St. Mary's, Cadillac
      
August 1: Holy Eucharist 
       Officiant: Mtr. Radha Kaminski
       Reader: Diane Wilson
       Intercessor: Ross Maxwell
       Greeters/Ushers: Jim & Anita Hunt

August 8: Holy Eucharist
      Officiant: Pat Foster 
       Reader: Jerry Hoekwater
       Intercessor: Diane Wilson
       Greeters/Ushers: Jim Williams & Karlene Hoekwater 
St. Andrew's, Big Rapids

August 1: Morning Prayer 
       Officiant: Isabel Kempton 
       Reader: Coleen Dice 
       Intercessor: Janie Shepherd-Worthington
       Opener/Closer: Betty Stolarek
       Music: Alex Weller

August 8: Holy Eucharist 
       Celebrant: Mtr. Radha Kaminski 
       Reader: Anne Stanton
       Intercessor: Isabel Kempton
       Opener/Closer: Betty Stolarek
       Music: Bob Garrels 
St. Mary's DME Lending Pantry Schedule
August 2: Mike & Ross 
August 5: Fosters
August 9: Jerry H. 
August 12: 2 people needed
August 16: 2 people needed 
August 19: Peters
To sign up to volunteer in the DME Lending Pantry, contact Mike Paulin at Paulin1985@live.com or sign up on the calender in the DME.
Coronavirus Response
The Episcopal Dioceses in Michigan are currently in Phase 3 of the Plan for Re-Entry for Great Lakes Episcopalians. From the Diocesan announcement:

"This Phase of “Deeper Participation” is focused on best practices with only a few hard requirements, encouraging and empowering responsible local decision-making as you determine what level of re-entry is appropriate for your community at this time. 

Because Phase 3 had not been modified since it was originally drafted in March 2020, the statewide group has instituted some changes to the original document reflective of what we’ve learned over the last sixteen months. Here is an overview of Phase 3, including areas that have been modified:

  • Masks are encouraged indoors and not required outdoors. Masks are especially encouraged in the following circumstances: ministry with immunocompromised populations, children’s ministry (while children remain ineligible for vaccination), and when distributing communion.

  • There are no capacity restrictions nor distancing requirements. It is advised that precautions be in place to avoid crowding. 

  • The preparation and serving of food is permitted. Self-serve buffets are not allowed. 

  • Communion is permitted in one kind using bread or wafers. 

  • Communal spaces must be cleaned on a regular basis. However, it is no longer required that this take place before and after every gathering.

Please read “Phase 3: Deeper Participation” within the Plan for Re-Entry for Great Lakes Episcopalians for additional detail and recommendations.  

Remember that the pandemic is ongoing and while some aspects of our “normal” lives become more accessible, this may not be true for all people or all communities. Please remain generous and compassionate to folks who may not be able yet to return to in-person activities and to those that will continue to wear masks to protect themselves for whatever reason. We encourage you to continue to monitor the COVID Risk Map and consider instituting extra precautions should your county enter orange or red status."

Read the St. Mary's plan here or on the church website.
Read the St. Andrew's plan here or on the church website.

Contributions are welcome!
If you would like to submit something for the e-newsletter, please email it to Tara, the Covenant Administrator, (standrewsbr@gmail.com or stmaryscadillac@gmail.com) by Tuesday of that week.
Contact Us
Church Office Hours

St. Mary's, Cadillac
Tuesday: 9 am-noon
2nd & 4th Wednesday: 9 am-noon

St. Andrew's, Big Rapids
Monday-Thursday: 9 am-noon
Rector's Office Hours

St. Mary's Church Office
Tuesday: 9 am-noon
2nd & 4th Wednesday: 9 am-noon

St. Andrew's Church Office
Thursday: 9 am-noon
1st & 3rd Wednesday: 9 am-noon

Other times by appointment.
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                        St. Andrew's Episcopal Church                              St. Mary's Episcopal Church
                               323 South State Street                                           815 Lincoln Street
                                Big Rapids, MI 49307                                            Cadillac, MI 49601

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Central Michigan Episcopal Covenant · 323 S. State St. · Big Rapids, Michigan 49307 · USA

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