William Lyster

All Saints’, Brooklyn Christ Church, Adrian Christ Church, Pleasant Lake St. Aidan’s, Michigan Center St. John’s, Clinton St. Michael and All Angels, Cambridge Junction St. Peter’s, Hillsdale St. Paul’s, Jackson

Eight congregations make up the William N. Lyster Deanery located in the southwest corner of the Diocese. The Deanery is named after the Rev. William Lyster who financed the beginning of many of these congregations that run from Detroit through the picturesque Irish Hills and all the way to Marshall, Michigan. Born in Ireland, Rev. Lyster saw similarities in the topography of this region with that of his beloved homeland, hence the name, the Irish Hills. We are pleased to carry on Rev. Lyster’s dedication to sharing the love of God with all those in our communities today.

As we all are well aware, Covid has changed a lot for all of us. Our former Dean, the Rev. Sarah Hurlbert, kept us connected through frequent zoom calls and a zoom study of the most appropriate book We Shall All Be Changed: Questions for the PostPandemic Church edited by D.W Mark Edington. We are grateful for her guidance and commitment to our community.

All Saints’, Brooklyn is experiencing some of the same problems and difficulties as many other parishes in our deanery and diocese. The Covid epidemic has caused irregular attendance and income. Some have not returned to worship because of fear of infection, susceptibility because of age or physical conditions or other reasons associated with Covid. Loss of leadership in some areas is troubling. One of our late former members was always amazed at the resiliency of our members to fill in and keep everything going when faced with difficulties. Some of our previous areas of ministry have been suspended or most likely ended because of

Covid and dwindling attendance. Our very popular monthly community dinner has been suspended. In the past we participated in the Village of Brooklyn October Pumpkin Quest with a booth downtown. We continue to provide space for two AA groups, an Alanon group and a Yoga class. Our services are supported by recorded music as we have no organist. We have two worship leaders, three Eucharistic ministers, two who are also Eucharistic visitors, and five lectors. We have always adapted to any given challenge so we have concluded that we will continue to provide an Episcopal presence in the community as long as we can with the resources we have with the Lord’s help. Our definition of “an Episcopal presence” is non-judgmental, inclusive, non-political, forgiving, and welcoming place of safety for all who seek the Lord’s presence. We have three supply clergy who celebrate the Eucharist at least three Sundays a month. We are deeply indebted to their ministries. We experience walk-in visitors who occasionally attended services and sometimes return. We therefore challenge ourselves to continue providing an open church with regular services no matter what. We have discussed how we have provided funeral services for past members who still live in the community but have not attended services for some time. In the past we have provided funeral services either at a funeral home or in the church. Requests for graveside burials have also been provided. Oversight by Bishop Bonnie has been received. Maintaining a 162-year-old church building and two other buildings, a side yard and hedge to trim is always a challenge for our building and grounds endeavors. We have a faithful member who has mowed the lawn

Christ Church, Adrian has been without a priest (again) since January. We’ve been celebrating Eucharist only once a month when supply is available; Todd Johnson and Joyce Holden are licensed Lay Worship Leaders, and lead Morning Prayer all other Sundays. The only COVID restrictions we are still observing are not getting up to greet one another during the passing of the peace, as well as leaving an offertory plate in the center aisle for people to drop their donations in at any point during the service or afterwards. We continue to host a local woodworking group that meets once a month in the Parish Hall, as well as providing space for Pathways Preschool upstairs. We have a Food Pantry out by the driveway that we keep stocked for those in need. Joyce Holden is in her third year as a member of the Standing Committee and has served as its President since November of last year. Our Senior Warden, Todd Johnson, and one of our Vestry members, Sam Abraham, are constantly working to maintain lighting and plumbing repairs in the building. We now are looking into options to replace a huge section of our roof.

Although our numbers are dwindling, we are doing the best we can to stay focused on why we are there: community worship.

Christ Church, Pleasant Lake, has continued our two main Outreach ministries this past year. We operate a Food Bank serving the communities of Pleasant Lake and Munith with a monthly food distribution on the third Saturday of each month. We also have a Grief Support group that meets twice a month on the first and third Mondays from 6-7pm. One of the Catholic Churches in Jackson put a notice in their bulletin about our Grief Support Group as ours is apparently the only Church in the County doing this ministry. This summer we began broadcasting our Sunday Service on Zoom, so those who can’t attend in person can participate along with those in Church.

St. Aidan’s, Michigan Center, has been in person since May of 2021. Our sanctuary size allows us to safely spread out. We have been doing a monthly fresh food distribution, working with Compassionate Ministries in Jackson. Our Spring and Fall rummage sales have returned also.

St. John’s, Clinton, is seeking to call a new Priest-In-Charge. Pastor Susie Shaefer left our church in January of 2022 to fill a position at the Diocese. We currently host a hybrid worship schedule; we worship in person and on Zoom each week. We have been blessed with some rotation of supply clergy to ensure we were able to celebrate Holy Eucharist at least once each month during our transition. St. John’s has begun to participate in the Village of Clinton’s Christmas parade and expect to continue that participation this year. Each year we provide backpacks and school supplies to the Clinton Community School District; and at Christmas we “adopt” a family to provide gifts and goodwill. We host a Bible study class each week, in person and on Zoom. We have members that reach out and travel on mission trips within the US and in other parts of the world on a semi-routine basis.

St. Michael and All Angels, Cambridge Junction, resumed in-person services at a joyful service on Easter Sunday 2022. St. Michael’s provides food to families in need during Easter/Spring school breaks. Their weekly Morning Prayer and Bible study at the Onsted American Legion and their ministry providing water and snacks to the Michigan State Police officers who work the events at Michigan International were suspended during the pandemic and have not yet resumed. The congregation is mourning the loss of their long-time organist, Michael Steveson, who died in September after a lengthy illness. Musician Roscoe DeLine has accepted an invitation to provide both keyboard and guitar music for St. Michaels and the congregation is looking forward to expanding their musical horizons.

St. Paul’s Church in Jackson has had an eventful and productive year. Starting in the early winter Pastor Sarah posited the idea that we provide a warming shelter for the Jackson homeless, in our church. This was necessary as many of the resources that traditionally were in place for that type of thing were shut down over covid and hadn’t geared back up. In partnership with

the Interfaith Shelter in Jackson, we jumped in with both feet and provided shelter for the homeless overflow throughout the winter months. We look at this as a great success. Homeless men, women and children were served with a cot, clean blankets, toilet facilities and a hot cup of coffee on the way out in the morning. This was made possible with volunteers from other churches and our own congregation to man the door and provide a safe warm environment. We also started returning to the church in person. This was a slow process for people to get back in the habit of getting dressed and going out on Sunday morning instead of their new habit of watching it on Facebook in their bathrobes. They are slowly returning, and new people are arriving also. As summer came on and things were getting back to full swing, we were hit with the news that Pastor Sarah had accepted a call to a Cathedral in another state. We have gone through the grieving/leaving part and are now in search of an interim minister to guide us through the process of calling another Priest. Our goal at this time is to keep the momentum and continue to make a difference in Jackson, MI.

The year 2022 began with St. Peter’s, Hillsdale, open for inside worship, socially

distanced and wearing masks. We held a Lenten program offering the Stations of the Cross every Wednesday at which we began collecting offerings for Ukraine. Through the course of the Diocesan 50 Days of Easter, we were able to send the Diocese nearly $600. In the spring, a local landscaping company removed all of the weeds and vegetation on the side of the church and laid down a weed barrier and attractive stones. Large flowerpots were purchased and filled with a variety of summer blooming plants. We have received many compliments from passersby. With a donation from the Diocese, we held an Ice Cream Sundae Sunday and were able to enjoy ice cream 3 Sundays in a row. We had no complaints from parishioners! We enjoyed our annual summer picnic with Trinity Lutheran Church at a local park, where we shared in the best burnt weenies and wonderful fellowship. St. Peter’s Free Clinic for the uninsured and underinsured residents of the county continues to meet in our parish hall every Tuesday evening. The Clinic joyfully celebrate their 20th Anniversary in September. St Peter’s parishioners continue to supply monthly meals for the dedicated clinic volunteers. Rozanne Pauze and her dedicated crew did another wonderful booth for this year’s Hillsdale County annual fair. Last year we took home our first ever first place ribbon! St. Peter’s continues to be a partner church with Hillsdale Love INC. St. Peter’s is a small but vibrant part of the worshipping community of Hillsdale.

Respectfully submitted,

The Very Rev. Judith Schellhammer, Dean