Fr Dan’s regular monthly message for our parish newsletter.
Beloved in Christ,
November is probably the dreariest month of the year in the upper Midwest. The beauties of fall are now behind us and whatever delights there are in winter (of which I have personally yet to be persuaded!) have not arrived yet. Fortunately, for us as liturgical Christians, there’s a lot to attract our attention. The month begins with a glorious celebration of the principal feast of All Saints (which actually falls on a Sunday this year), with the closely-following “echo” commemoration of All Souls (observed this year at St Anne’s on Tuesday, November 3, with a Requiem Mass at 7:15 PM). Beginning in the middle of the month, we shift into a sort of “pre-Advent,” with Sunday scripture readings that focus our attention on eschatology (Last Things), culminating with the feast of Christ the King on the 22nd and Advent Sunday on the 29th.
Of course, the civil and ecclesiastical calendars coincide with a celebration of Thanksgiving on November 26th (observed the evening before at our regular Wednesday 5:30 Mass). It is always “meet and right” to count our blessings, both personally and corporately as a parish family. Here are three things I’m thankful for about St Anne’s this year:
• This parish is a veritable beehive of activity and involvement. We currently have six functioning Life Groups, with two more in the making. The number of those participating in Sunday Christian Formation is higher than in many recent years. Mustard Seeds continues to quietly serve young families in need, and our Thanksgiving Basket outreach has a larger footprint than ever. Through Charlie Boring, and the ECW cookie chefs, we are even touching the lives of inmates at a state prison.
• We’re not shrinking. That may not seem like much to get excited about, but when compared with trends in the rest of the diocese and especially with the Episcopal Church nationally, we’re way ahead of the curve. Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) across the church has been in sharp decline for many years running. In 2009, St Anne’s has a good chance of posting a third consecutive year of ASA improvement—modest improvement, at best, but improvement nonetheless. We are being blessed.
• We have seen a sudden increase of interest and attention from members of the Grace College community—not normally a “natural” constituency for a liturgical-sacramental church. These are people who are already dedicated disciples of Christ, but are looking for the depth of worship and spirituality that is available in our tradition. Is the Holy Spirit up to something? I pray so!
So do give thanks with me for these and other blessings from the Lord. “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad indeed!” (Psalm 126).
See you in church!
Father Dan Martins
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