Crossings: Lent 2023 Christ Church Grosse Pointe

C rossings

The mission of Christ Church is to bring God and people together to know and live the good news of Jesus Christ.

`ōlelo i ku’u mau hoaloha

Dear Friends, It’s easy to think that stewardship is all about the money ... just a fancy name for the fundraising done in the notfor-profit world. Seen simply from the vantage of a business, it’s understandable. Not-for-profits, schools, arts organizations, and religious institutions all rely on the generosity of their members or community to support the programs and work they provide. The proverbial “bills must be paid.” And so, we must raise money to fulfill our purpose in society.

Yet, Christian stewardship is meant to be something more -something significantly more. The very language of steward takes us back to the first stories of creation, the making of the world, and the first people.

Formed in the image of God, Eve and Adam were called to steward God’s creation. With attentive care, they were called to tend and nurture the good creation of God’s hands. With wisdom and ingenuity, they were called to create good ourselves. And with generosity, they were called to nurture all life for the good of all creation.

As Christian men and women, not only do we take on the mantle of

Eve and Adam, but the very mantle of Christ! With gratitude to the one who first blessed us, we are called to bless our neighbors. With humility born of the mercy and love first shown to us, we are called to share God’s grace with the world. With devotion to the one who came not to be served but to serve, we are called to reach out our hands with generosity and care to all in need of mercy and care.

All of which is root in the generosity of God. It was God’s generosity that created the heavens and the earth. It was God’s generosity that formed the first people from the dust of the earth, and called them stewards of creation. And it is God’s generosity that proclaims our belovedness (a.k.a. blessedness), offers us grace, and tends still to the wounds of the world.

The Journey of Generosity is an opportunity to explore again our individual role as participants in, and stewards of, God’s generosity.

Yes, it touches on our financial lives – what part of our life and faith doesn’t? But, at its heart, it is so very much more. It is about our lives – who we are and who we are called to be as children of God and heirs with Christ.

With love and affection,

He

(a word to my friends)

Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.

(1 Peter 4:10)

The Great Vigil of Easter Christ Church’s Best Kept Secret

by Dr. Joseph D. Daniel

In 1998, I was a scholarship singer in my home parish, the Church of the Good Shepherd, Corpus Christ, TX. In the early hours of April 12, 1998, I was lined up to lead the choir into the Chancel prior to the service. When it was time to begin, the singer behind me leaned up to me and whispered, “Mind the Easter lilies.” A bit in shock, I walked into the darkened church unaware that I was soon to experience a life-changing liturgy.

The Church of the Good Shepherd celebrated the Great Vigil in the hours leading to dawn. Indeed, the start time was set so that the Easter Acclamation occurred at dawn. The nave is oriented so that the Great Doors open toward the Gulf of Mexico; those first rays of light flooding the altar as we sang the Gloria.

The Great Vigil is one of the oldest liturgies of the church, rooted in an ancient practice of gathering in the darkness before dawn on Easter Day to hear scripture and to pray culminating in the first (and arguably, primary) celebration of Easter Begun in darkness, fire is kindled and blessed. From candlelight, we hear the stories of our history interspersed with plainchant Psalms and prayers.

At Saint Matthew’s & Saint Joseph’s, Detroit, Pr. Shannon (now Bishop Shannon of Vermont) introduced the Vigil as family reunion – complete with telling stories from our ancestors. In the darkness and quiet, the profound gravity of our heritage washes

over you – for hundreds of years, Christians have told these same stories, a shared heritage with our Jewish sisters and brothers.

As we traverse our history, our candles burning, the Nave continues to darken. At its darkest, after we’ve reaffirmed our baptismal vows, Easter is acclaimed. I cannot adequately describe the goosebumps and emotional rush upon hearing that first “Alleluia”: lights come on, revealing Easter flowers and beautiful vestments; the organ roars to life, and the choir bursts into song! It truly is the end of Lent: Christ has overcome death and the grave.

The Vigil is stunningly unique and incredibly different from the Easter Day liturgies. There are no hats, no frilly dresses, no new suits. It is a service with the most wonderful plot twist. As the conclusion to the Triduum, the Vigil begins in the silence of Good Friday. The arc of the Triduum takes us from

Thursday evening – a service interrupted by the stripping of the altar – to the cross on Good Friday and the bare contemplation of the crucifixion culminating in a vanquishing of the darkness to reveal a resplendent Easter! Here at Christ Church, the evening ends in the Undercroft with champagne and sweets – a welcome indulgence to conclude our Lenten fast.

Taken in whole, the Triduum is one of the most moving experiences in our faith. I encourage you to participate in it fully this year. These services are unique, intentionally so, to recall the uncertainty and fear the disciples experienced as they witnessed Jesus’ arrest and subsequent assassination. I promise you will be changed, for the better, and will see the Easter story with new eyes and a deeper faith. I’ll save you a seat!

1 From An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, ‘Easter Vigil’, courtesy of Church Publishing Inc., New York,

Birthdays & Anniversaries!

2 Abbey Schuetze

16 Kimberly Standish

Peter Ferrara

Robert Alltop

17 Ryan Lally 18 Ellen Durand

Steven Fehniger

Ursula Torp

61 Grosse Pointe Boulevard Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236

Church Office (Hours: 9 am–5 pm)

Phone: 313-885-4841 | Fax: 313-885-7019 www.christchurchgp.org

Pastoral Emergencies: 313-885-4841, ext. 4

The Rev’d Andrew Van Culin, Rector dvanculin@christchurchgp.org

313-885-4842

The Rev’d Maureen L. Martin, Associate for Parish Life & Community Engagement

mmartin@christchurchgp.org

313-885-4841 ext. 121

Joseph D. Daniel, Executive Assistant to the Rector rectorsoffice@christchurchgp.org

313-884-4842

Jessica Van Culin, Interim Director of Children and Family Ministries jvanculin@christchurchgp.org

313-885-4841 ext. 104

Scott Hanoian, Associate for Worship and Liturgy, Director of Music and Organist shanoian@christchurchgp.org

313-885-4841 ext. 102

Jackson Merrill, Assistant Director of Music and Organist jmerrill@christchurchgp.org

313-885-4841 ext. 103

Diane Ward, Associate for Finance and Administration dward@christchurchgp.org

313-885-4841 ext. 111

Colleen Fitzgerald, Member Engagement Coordinator cfitzgerald@christchurchgp.org

313-885-4841 ext. 115

John Waller

Sally Paddock

Sandra Heald

19 Beverly Walsh

Eric Pietsch

20 Allison Keelean

Emma Bowe

Susie Gavagan

21 Mark Higbie

William Cudlip

23 Michael Bowe

24 Carol Newton

Jim & Susan Kaler

25 Henry Darlington 26 Kate Everham

Jeff & Tracy Clarke

27 Josephine Fedirko

Mary Trost

28 Richard Rittenhouse March

1 Al Mazur

2 Maxwell Getz

Jonah Pietsch

3 Rebecca Anderson 4 Lynn Anslow

5 Jeffrey von Schwarz

Laura Hetzler

Mary Worrell

Page Heenan

Suanne Taylor

6 George Getz

7 Harold Marsh

Kenneth Walters

8 Stephanie Beattie

9 Linda Cotter

10 Charles Schuetze

James Flom

Margaret Woodford

Milissa Crowley

Sarah Teachey

Darlene Gibson

David Martin

Deborah Champion

Easton Reck

Jacob Mills

24 Anna Warren

Dennis Powers

25 Chase Niscoromni

Melissa Graff

Zach Carr

26 Helen Clay

James Flom

Terry & Laura Lynch

Drew & Jessica Van Culin

27 George Detwiler

David & Susan Tobbe

29 Elizabeth Trost

Katherine Trost

Walter & Edie Jacques

Mike & Robin Hartnett

Paul & Yi Vogt

30 Katherine Bush

30 Richard Baumgarten & Cheryl Wesen

Nicholas Walsh

Mark Higbie

23 Mike Bowe 24 Carol Newton

In Memorium

The Way of Love: Rest

by Dr. Garwood P. Anderson

ome, Labor On.” Most Episcopalians will know that hymn, #542 in our 1982 Hymnal, to the tune of Ora Labora (Pray Work). It’s not my favorite, probably because I have for so long identified with its sentiment that I recognize its sentiment as a lifelong adversary. Nobly the hymn calls us to vigorous, unceasing labors in the work of the gospel until the coming of our Lord: “[W]ho dares stand idle?”; “redeem the time”; “no time for rest”; cajoling us that while we sleep the devil is at work: “he slumbered not.” If you are among those who believe you are praying when you sing hymns, you may be disinclined to implicate yourself so thoroughly and take up humming instead.

Taken at face value, the hymn’s sentiment is a recipe for short-lived ministries, if not for short lives. As with most such calls to duty or vigilance, the dutiful and vigilant take it personally while the slothful remain oblivious to the call. For the former, the singing of the hymn opens a mental flood gate of “things left undone,” becoming a tool of the Accuser, which is no fault of Jane Borthwick, who was, unsurprisingly, a prolific hymnwriter.

I don’t suppose there would have been any place to have slipped in a verse or two about how the God who commissions our labors also commanded a Sabbath or that the Lord who drew our attention to the “fields white unto harvest” also

himself took leave of duty in order to rest. Such qualifications have a way of diluting the force of the exhortation, which is why we see so few hymns where verse three starts with “On the other hand, . . .”

and a glad sound comes with the setting sun, “Servants, well done.”

Yes, you have to squint a bit to see it, but the hymn affirms that even should rest be scarce here, it will be abundant there. The rest that the hymn defers for the sake of its robust exhortation is granted us by our creating and redeeming God, who affirms not only that we need it but that we were made for it.

Though it is neither my favorite tune nor perhaps the most balanced gestalt of the faithful life, “Come, Labor On” might nonetheless point us in the right direction, even the compulsively rest-less among us. The hymn finishes by reminding us that rest will be ours in the world to come:

No time for rest, till glows the western sky, till the long shadows o’er our pathway lie,

Rest is not just okay with God; it is established by God; it is modeled by God. On the seventh day of creation, he rested. Even allowing for a certain measure of anthropomorphism, the thought could not have been that God was worn out from his creative labors. To hear the story told, it didn’t take too much out of him to utter the cosmos and its furnishings into existence. No, God’s rest exhibits not his exhaustion from his work but his satisfaction with his work. And his enjoyment. When, following his lead, we take our permission to be absorbed into dusk or snow or starlight, we meet an inexhaustible God who rightly finds satisfaction in his works. And sharing in his satisfaction and noting that he made it not only for himself but for us, we ourselves are satisfied, rendering the quiet praise also known as “rest.”

God not only models rest, but he also commanded it in no uncertain

terms. If the dutiful forgo rest for the sake of duty, let it be noted that they are forgoing a more primary duty in doing so. On the face of it, one might not think that rest should have to be commanded. Bodies run out of steam; darkness bids slumber. What could be more natural? Yet rest is not merely the need of individual mortal bodies, but a communal prospect, a pact to be shared among us. Should we not agree together to cease from our labors, our agonism is sure to get the better of us — as it has — and we won’t yield to others our claim on scarce goods and honor. For any of us to rest, we all have to rest. This is a command that can only be obeyed by those who believe that God can supply, that God is enough, that God works while we sleep, that God doesn’t need us. Thus understood, our rest-lessness may be a sign of unbelief, even if we mean it as an offering of consecration.

As commandments go, the Sabbath is the wild card of the New Testament, neither repristinated nor repealed, but recast. “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of

man is lord even of the sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28 RSV). Here Jesus gifts what the law had commanded and, with an unassailable logic, shows it to have been gift all along. God, he reasons, did not create a Sabbath and then determine to populate the world with creatures obligated to keep this stricture; rather, having created human beings, benevolently, wisely, he sees what should make for their flourishing, and we come to see that the command was pure gift all along — as is the case with all commands for those who trust in him. However well-meaning his Pharisaical critics might have been — the urge to define precisely what is entailed in Sabbathkeeping and Sabbath-breaking is not unreasonable — by casting the duty as duty only, the gift only too easily becomes obligation alone, and resting, ironically, becomes striving.

Scripture’s final chapter on rest is rest itself, rest as destination, rest eternal. “So then, there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God; for whoever enters God’s rest also ceases from his labors as God did from his” (Heb. 4:9-10 RSV). Here

bodies burdened with the lifelong threat of mortality and psyches afflicted by fear and inadequacy, unburdened and immortal, join the very rest of God which has been our destination since his creation of the world — an eternal Sabbath rest.

“Come, labor on?” Yes. But “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28 RSV). Yes, also that. For the time being, though we may find rest elusive in the press of duty and our faith too weak to trust God with “things left undone,” “He himself hath made us, and we are his.” And the same one who bids us labor, call us into his rest: “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while” (Mark 6:31 RSV).

Dr. Garwood P. Anderson is the President and Provost of Nashotah House Theological Seminary, where he also holds a chair as Professor of New Testament.

First published by The Living Church, Covenant blog, March 29, 2021

Sundays 10:10 am

Hot breakfast provided by Brian Abner Culinary. Coffee provided by Tim Hortons.

A Sermon by Fr. Drew The 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany I

mentioned at the beginning of our service that we marked today the life and ministry of Martin Luther King, Jr. in our midst. Not only as a Christian community, but as a society. Now, there are any number of reasons why we might remember Dr. King, but chief among those no doubt is his great vision for American and global society. He cast a vision that still captivates the hearts of men and women, young and old today. A vision for a society marked by justice and equity, a society in which all would be judged by the content of their character rather than by the color of their skins or the size of their checking account. He envisioned a society marked by genuine brotherhood, a society in which his young daughter and sons would play happily with our young daughters and sons even today, that they would play and learn together in safety with joy and friendship. Remembering of course that the lives of his sons and daughters and the lives of his communities sons and daughters were marked not by friendship, but so often by violence. The tragic bombing at Ebenezer Baptist Church has marked his ministry, crosses a lit upon his front lawn, marked his children’s experience of the world, and yet he envisioned a society in which his children and our children would play and learn and live happily, joyfully as sisters and brothers.

He envisioned a world marked not by greed and consumption, but by peace and concord, a world in which the disagreements that inevitably come up between men

and women of all ages and of all class, and of all color, that those disagreements and conflicts would be mitigated and worked out with honor and respect and appreciation for another rather than through oppression and violence toward another. He envisioned a remarkable society for his children and for our children still today. But hear this, vision is cheap. He wasn’t the only one that had a vision for society in his day or our day. If we move out today, thousands of ministers cast the vision of God’s kingdom week in and week out, if not day in and day out. Moving outside of the church, we have of course, politicians. Every four years, the president and a competitor stand in front of us and proclaim a vision for American society, and not only American

society, but often for global society. Vision is all around us. Dr. King’s vision was remarkable, yes, but vision is cheap. What was remarkable, truly remarkable, about Dr. King wasn’t simply the vision that he cast, but the means by which he lived his vision day in and day out.

You see the vision. Each of those components of life that he proclaimed, he enacted on a daily basis. Woven through many of his speeches, is the recognition that the means of our life are the very ends that we aspire to. Put another way, he recognized that the seeds that we plant today through the simple actions of our life will grow into the tree that we envision for the future. He recognized that

any vision that we talk about, any vision that he were to cast or we are to dream about is rooted first and foremost in the life that we lead with one another. And so the vision he proclaimed was enacted in particular ways in his life.

He spoke of a world of justice inequity. He lived a life of truth, radical truth in the face of injustice and inequity. He spoke to society, a mirror of the society he experienced. Where there was injustice, he took note. Where there was inequity, he shined a light. He spoke with truth in order that we might see the injustice of

respect toward a neighbor. And so he lived that brotherhood on the streets of Selma and from a prison cell in Birmingham. He lived that brotherhood by respecting even the person who stood opposed to him, be it with a fire hose or a police dog. He demanded that he and those who would stand with him respect the dignity of every person they encountered, even if that person spewed hate toward him. He didn’t just proclaim brotherhood, he lived it each day. Finally, he proclaimed a world marked by peace and concord, that world in which brotherhood is lived out on

violence of word and fist be laid down even in the face of violence of word and fist picked up toward him. What was remarkable about Dr. King wasn’t simply the vision that he cast, but the very means of his life that he proclaimed that the means of truth, the means of respect, the means of nonviolence, would be the very seeds of a just, equitable, brotherly, peace and peace filled world he envisioned.

our society in order that we might work towards a more just society for one another. He proclaimed a vision of radical brotherhood, a brotherhood not marked by skin or blood relationship, but by genuine affection, love and

a societal and global level, and so he demanded of himself and those who stood with him, nonviolence toward a neighbor. The very means by which we would live into a peaceful and just and brotherly society. He demanded that all

Dr. King wasn’t the first to cast a vision. In fact, each of us, every one of us, has a vision of God’s kingdom within our hearts. A vision that has stirred us, a vision that we aspire to ourselves. But visions are cheap. The question is, what are you doing for that vision in your life? What seeds are you planting today to build up a world, perhaps a world of justice and equity, a world of brotherhood and peace? I

“Vision is cheap.”

When Good Boilers Go Bad

by Diane E. Ward

Maintaining a building that is almost 100 years old is not an easy task – CCGP staff performs daily inspections or “walk-throughs” of equipment when they arrive to work to make sure everything is running smoothly and operating correctly.

Stewardship of the building and grounds is a major component of our ministry – those who enter should feel the peace, joy and grace of Godit’s hard to center into your worship experience if you are too hot or too cold.

In Spring of 2021 a mini-flame flareup in one of the 3 boilers that heat and cool our building was discovered. This was one of two boilers that were installed in 1998, with the third replaced in 2015.

We called in our trustworthy heating and cooling company – Michigan Mechanical Ventures (formerly known as Mechanical Comfort). The unit was inspected, and we were hopeful as always that they would do their magic and get the unit operational, again. What they found was 25 years of wear and tear had finally taken its toll. The unit would have to be replaced.

Often, we do not see the results of major infrastructure improvements because they are “in the bowels” of the church.

The Building and Grounds Committee went to work. Michigan Mechanical Ventures does not do installs so the committee identified several companies to request

proposals from. A total of five companies were invited to quote the work. Proposals in hand, the committee performed their due diligence, interviewing each company and checking references. Mechanical System Services was chosen to perform the work.

We are very fortunate to have the Conservation Trust Endowment to fund capital improvements. But, to use Conservation Trust dollars, the Vestry must approve the project and request the funds from the Endowment Trustees. The project was approved, and work began in July 2021. The old unit and the concrete pad it sat on needed to be demolished and removed, then the new unit had to be transported down two floors (to the sub-basement!) for installation. The project, which totaled $95,000, was completed by September 2021.

Journey of Generosity

by Diane Ward

Lent is a season where we slow down and set aside time for introspection and reflection on our relationship with God and who God calls us to be. We ask you to spend part of Lent reflecting on God’s call to us to be good Stewards. Christian stewards are responsible for all God has given us and for sharing those gifts with others.

Yes, Lent is when we ask you to reflect on your financial generosity to the church and make a commitment. Christ Church relies on your generosity for our ministry work, and we will ask you to make your annual pledge on March 26th, Commitment Sunday.

Yet, being a good steward goes beyond our financial generosity. To explore all aspects of Christian stewardship, I encourage you read our daily Lenten reflections taken

from 30 Days on Stewardship: Reflections and Inspiration on Sharing God’s Gifts by Leisa Anslinger.

We hope that these reflections will help you to see the many ways that we each participate in the good and creative work of God who has called us to steward her creation!

An excert from Anslinger’s writing: Imagine that your parents have asked you to care for their garden while they take a long-anticipated vacation. You know that they have planted the garden with care and look forward to many meals with the fresh vegetables that are just beginning to sprout. Weeding, watering, and pruning the garden is a sign of your love for them, and a responsibility. They are counting on you to

nurture the plants and tend them, so that they will return to enjoy a rich and fruitful harvest.

It is this sort of nurturing, caring, and tending of which we speak, in a much more profound way, when we explore the call to be good stewards. A steward is one who cares for, nurtures, and makes fruitful that which belongs to another. When we apply this meaning of the word “steward” to our lives, we see that understanding ourselves as stewards can be life-changing.

All you are, have, and will be is God’s and is entrusted to you. You are called to steward it very well. It is my hope this booklet will help you explore the varied dimensions of this deeply spiritual way of life.

Choir Recruitment by Jackson Merrill

The term “chorister” is applied generally in the choral world to refer to any member of a choir. Here at Christ Church however, we use the word in its more traditional sense: the young singers of our choir; boys from grade three until pubescence, and girls from grade three through high school. The same is true for churches and music programs in the Anglican tradition around the world. Our choristers occupy a central role in the life of our church. This life is rooted in our worship, and our choristers are as essential to our unique expression of worship as the beautifully carved wood, stained glass, and exquisite floral arrangements which adorn our space.

This year, our choristers will sing nearly 200 choral works. These are Choral Masses, canticle settings for Evensong, anthems, motets, and psalmody. This is a radically different program year than virtually any other school or youth music ensemble anywhere in Grosse Pointe. Most school or community

groups sing a few concerts per program year with months of preparation time. Here at Christ Church, the utter volume of music quickly but thoroughly learned and sung to such a very high standard is astonishing. The result is that each chorister gains a profound musicianship for life. They gain the ability to connect notes and text on the page to individual artistry; yet they also learn to listen to one another, musically and personally. From listening grows a respect

and appreciation of one another, a quality which is becoming more precious.

Here at Christ Church, our extraordinary music program enjoys the full and unwavering support of our parish community. While the Episcopal Church is broadly known by the wider culture for excellent church music, the fundamental importance and centrality of music to our community life here is somewhat unusual. Founded in 1930 by Beecher Aldrich, our choir has a long and distinguished history in the Grosse Pointe community and the Detroit metropolitan area. This church is known throughout our region as a place where the very best of the Anglican choral tradition is rendered with beauty, skill, and reverence. This year, we have begun to intentionally include in our repertoire composers who have historically been overlooked due to race or gender. Our work as a music program is not only essential for our spiritual life together, but also for our distinctive cultural

contributions to our wider Detroit community.

As with any Anglican church music program, we are not unaffected by the wider cultural shift away from religious institutions and “classical” music. We see, now, fewer potential chorister families inquiring about our offerings. In the world that has resulted from coming out of the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, some families are understandably more guarded with their time and the number of activities with

Choir Recruitment

an environment in which young lives are changed forever by great music.

Our choir represents a range of age and experience, with older choristers actively mentoring younger, beginning choristers. Our outstanding adult professional singers set an example of choral professionalism which is fundamental in shaping the skills and passions of our young people. Each year, older choristers graduate high school and new choristers must take their place in our novice class. Our novice class is the first step in a child’s musical journey at Christ Church. Novice singers learn the basics of singing, reading music, and fundamental musical structure. This program provides children and families with a first taste of our world-class music ministry in a fun group environment while providing an opportunity to explore the choir’s role in the life of our community. If you know of any young people with an enthusiasm for music, please contact me by email at jmerrill@ christchurchgp.org .

which their children are involved. A substantial commitment of time is essential for any worthy endeavor to succeed. This means, naturally, that other activities, such as sports, require a similar commitment of time and effort that we expect of our choristers. Still, the importance of our work has not diminished, and there exists hopeful signs that the value of music education and live performance is returning to our culture with renewed vigor. We at Christ Church hope to be an important part of this movement. We will strive to continue to sustain

Our best evangelists for our music program are our choristers. For those of you who are new to Christ Church, you can recognize the choristers after nearly any service or concert by their uniform, which includes a distinctive blazer. Please feel free to introduce yourself to them, and to find out what our program means to them. Also, I hope you will reach out to me or Scott Hanoian, Director of Music, for conversations about the Christ Church Choir and our musical life together.

Transitions Ministry

by The Rev’d Maureen L. Martin

Last Fall, Kimberly King, a coordinator for the Transition Services Program in the Grosse Pointe Public School System approached us about becoming a training site for students from South high school. I am very happy with how things are shaping up in this ministry partnership, which began in midJanuary. We have been assigned three students, Will, Sophia, and Titan, who work, with their student supervisor, Mary Schaefer, three afternoons a week.

The program goals of the Transition Services program are to help students gain work skills through exploring a variety of working environments. A church is a really interesting work environment if you think about it. Our space runs the gamut from the imaginatively rich, through serene and on into practical workspaces.

When crafting their schedule I wanted to make sure they experience the whole range of our facility. I wanted them to know that we trust them with beautiful and costly objects, not just with scrub brushes and window cleaner. Though they may have greater limits in terms of how the world sees them they are unlimitedly worthy in the eyes of God. The greatest work that humans can avail themselves of is the work of contemplation simply because our time with God is what makes us most human. I think this is something we are learning from recent developments in AI. Much of what we consider the work of human hands can be done by hands

other than the human variety, while the most human work of all is done in the presence of the Divine, regardless of the task.

All of this is to say, be careful when you ask a Priest to consider what it means to gain skills necessary for a successful entry into paid employment. With that in mind, they clean the education wing, bake muffins, and set the tables in the undercroft; all practical, satisfying, and worthwhile skills. But they also handle, polish, and restore with great reverence the beauty and order of our Nave.

They are a delight to work with and I am filled with gratitude for Kimberly for reaching out to us last Fall.

Flood Relief

by Mtr. Maureen L. Martin

Late last Fall I began to dig into the issue of flood relief in the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood. I was saddened to learn that nearly two years after the flood families in Detroit are still living in damaged homes, sometimes without heat or hot water. Generally speaking, those who are dealing with the worst of the issues are also the most impoverished. The simple things that would help them move on in their recovery from the flood are out of reach and often times the funding for these types of projects doesn’t exist. For example, wood structural supports that were damaged are outmoded and were outside the scope of what FEMA will repair or replace. Same for furnaces and water heaters that were damaged but not destroyed at the time but have failed since due to the flood event. Foundation cracks that were deemed to have been there before the flood were not qualified to be repaired with FEMA funds, even though they leave these homes vulnerable to future flood events.

All of these issues create unsafe living environments as well as undermine the repairs that were made to homes in the aftermath of the flood. While there are other sources of funding beyond FEMA on the state and city level, they will often only cover half the price of essential repairs, leaving the family with no real options other than abandoning their homes or resorting to unsafe practices, such as heating homes with kerosene heaters.

It is important to note and celebrate that with the help of FEMA and other programs the majority of those who were affected by the flood waters are now fully recovered. However, those families which fell through the cracks still need help. I have been in conversation with Joshua Elling, the CEO of Jefferson East Inc. to see if the funds for flood recovery raised here at Christ Church could be used to assist the families that turn to JEI for support. The answer has been a heartfelt yes. Recently Joshua sent me a list of 20 families and their ongoing unmet needs.

Due to the factors I spelled out above each family on the list is in need of a wide range of help from rebuilding the entrances to homes which makes it possible for new furnaces to be installed to black mold remediation, new sump pumps, and elevated platforms for furnaces, water heaters, and appliances.

JEI is finding the gaps and knitting together local and state agencies, non-profits, church groups, and other organizations to fill them and help build hope and resilience into the fabric of Detroit neighborhoods. Your generosity at the time of the flood will go far in helping families to finally put the flood behind them while also helping them to be better adapted to the challenges of climate change as we experience it here in Southeast Michigan. Additionally, I look forward to getting to know JEI and other organizations working for the betterment of our nearest neighbors as we all work together to live into God’s dream for us.

Stabat Mater

Franz Joseph Haydn

Palm Sunday, April 2 | 4 pm

Pre-concert lecture at 3 pm

Christ Church Chorale with Orchestra

Portraying the suffering of Mary during the crucifixion of Jesus, Haydn brings the text to life through his colorful use of the chorus and orchestra. Often considered his most beloved sacred work, Haydn masterfully captures the grief, despair, pain, fear, and hope of a mother witnessing the death of her son. Tickets $25.

For tickets go to www.christchurchgp.org/concerts