On Sunday the 27th of November, the congregation of St. Michael and All Angels said goodbye to the building that has housed its congregation since 2014. Bishop Rose, former priest-in-charge of the parish, was with us for this important step, and spoke to the congregation from the chancel steps in place of a homily. He took time to commend the parish for this brave choice, and called the parish “heroes” for being brave enough to take it.
St. Michael’s has always been a community of “trend setters” he said, and have built and sold three buildings now within the life of the parish.
In a pastoral letter to the parish on the Saturday before the last service in the building, current rector, Fr. Jonthan Rowe, said, “Tomorrow’s worship will be much more stripped down and simplified, as many of the church furnishings will have been packed up for storage or for new homes. But we will gather to mark the beginning of Advent with hope and anticipation as we do every year. We will give thanks for the ministry that has taken place in our current building, and ask for God’s blessing on our future together on the move. And we will experience God’s grace and love through the Words of Scripture and the Sacrament of the Altar as we do every Sunday, and will continue to do into the future.” May we always feel the love of God in our lives and we strike out on this new adventure together.
