Dear Parishioners:

St. Michael’s continues to be a healthy, active congregation. Following are some of our activities in the recent past, and also some upcoming events of which you should be aware.

• Recently, we were fortunate in having a visit from someone who was extremely helpful to us in the early life of St. Michael’s Church. Fr. Geoffrey Neal came from England to attend our Diocesan Synod in Greenwood, SC, in April. He was invited to the synod to preach at the Chrism Mass and also to introduce the banquet speaker. He returned from the Synod with us, and concelebrated and preached at St. Michael’s on the 27^th. As usual, the congregation provided a magnificent brunch following the service, and at that time, we had an opportunity to hear Fr. Geoffrey speak informally about many of the problems facing the Anglican Communion and the Traditional Churches, in particular.

• The Annual Diocesan Synod was held in Greenwood, South Carolina on April 23 – 25. St. Michael’s was represented by a full delegation. Our three lay delegates were Tannor Kopp, John Campbell, and Patricia Watson, and of course, I attended.

• One of the Synod highlights was a clergy (and laymen’s) retreat with Fr. Jerry McKenzie, from Durango, Colorado, as the leader. Fr. Jerry is outstanding in this role, with thought-provoking meditations of a varied nature. As we listen to him, we feel we are in the presence of a deeply religious person who is totally committed to God and completely unselfish. I have been privileged to be with Fr. Jerry at other clergy retreats.

• Also on the program – as the banquet speaker – was the Rev’d Canon Arthur Middleton, who is a friend of Fr. Geoffrey, and also from the UK. The two are active in the Anglican Association in England, and Canon Arthur is a frequent contributor to the Forward in Faith publication, New Directions, and author of several books.

• At the synod, the Examining Chaplains and the Standing Committee approved Mr. Jeremy Boccabello for ordination to the Diaconate. Although he is from Columbia, SC, he lives in Northern Virginia, and his ordination will be of special interest to us, because it will take place at St. John’s Church in Marshall, on May 17 at 10:30 AM. After ordination, he will assist Fr. Craig Young at Epiphany in Columbia. If you have never seen an ordination (or even if you have!) – please consider attending this one. It is an inspiring experience for all in attendance. This one will be close enough for some of our congregation to attend.

• St. Michael’s served as the host church for a diocesan-wide retreat for laity sponsored by the Anglican Church Women of the Diocese, on the weekend of January 25–27. The retreat leader was the Rev. Canon Jonathan J. D. Ostman, SSC – our neighbor, and rector at St. John’s, Marshall. His meditations were on "The Magnificat." Although the attendance was sparse, there were representatives from several of our churches, and Fr. Jonathan’s meditations were most interesting and helpful.

• Organist update: We are still fortunate in having such a wonderful pool of organists from which to draw. Bryan Thomas has helped us several times throughout the winter, but will be spending two months in Germany with an opera group during the early summer (he really is a singer – the organ is his "second" vocation!) Bernetta Jenkins has agreed to help us on most of the Sundays during this time, and Loretta Johnston will play for a few, to give Bernetta a break from time to time. We hope to have Ron Johnston occasionally, although he is tied up elsewhere for a while. When they are with us, please extend your thanks to all of these wonderful musicians, who add so much to our services!

• Bishop Paul Hewett will be with us on the 27^th and 28^th of September, as close to the feast of our patron, St. Michael, as we could arrange for a Sunday visitation. If you are interested in confirmation or reception, now is the time to speak to me and make plans.

• I will continue to remind you of the following: Several of you have talked with me about pre-planning for funerals. This is something that I strongly recommend, and I urge that more members of the congregation do so. In order to make it a little easier, I have written a few guidelines and a little checklist, which puts together the basic framework for a service. We keep your information on file, ready if needed. Advance planning can be of tremendous help at a difficult time and may prevent missing an important item. If you wish to do this, please tell me and we’ll arrange a time to meet.

• Please keep me advised of those in our congregation who might need some particular attention, and also tell me if you have sickness, or hospitalization, or other need, in order that we may include you in our prayers and visitations. I appreciate your helping me keep the prayer list up to date, and particularly your notifying me when someone no longer needs our special prayers.

• Again, I remind you of our Wednesday evening service. We begin with Evening prayer at 6:45 PM, led by one of the lay readers. At 7:00 PM, we begin a simple service of the Holy Eucharist – without music, and usually without a sermon unless it is perhaps a short homily on a saint’s day. We conclude with Holy Unction for those who wish, and then several of us usually go to a local restaurant for a bite of supper. This is a very meaningful service and can be a real "picker-upper" at the midweek point. Please consider joining us regularly or just occasionally if your schedule so dictates.

• The vestry and I are concerned that St. Michael’s is not showing a little more growth. We have lost a few people over the past year – mostly because of moving from the area – and gained a few, so that our numbers are remaining fairly constant. I feel that there must be many people in our communities who would be very interested in our church if they knew about us. All of us must keep that in mind and let our friends and acquaintances know why we attend St. Michael’s, what we like about it, and that they are most welcome to visit us.

• Thank you all for all of your help and devotion in keeping St. Michael’s operating smoothly. Our level of volunteerism is exceptional! St. Michael’s is very special – and very blessed!

Yours in the Faith,

Raleigh+