As we celebrate Mother’s Day, I offer you a beautiful litany, written by Rev. Patty Lawrence and found on her blog (http://apearldownunder.blogspot.ca/2011/05/litany-for-mothers-day.html).  Marianne

We remember Sarai who was taunted by others in the household

because of her inability to have children.

All-encompassing God, we pray for those who feel excluded

when we emphasize one kind of family as normal.

We remember Esther, who was adopted and raised by her cousin.

God who embraces us all,

we pray for those who cannot be raised by their parents,

for a short time or permanently.

who placed him into a raft on the river.

Saving God, we pray for parents who struggle to raise their children

in oppressive circumstances.

We remember Hannah,

who loved her child so much she handed him over to another to raise.

Loving God, we pray for parents who have placed their child in another family.

We remember Naomi, who grieved the death of her sons.

God, who grieves with us, we pray for parents who mourn the death of a child.

We remember Ruth, who gave up her family to be family to another.

Inclusive God, we pray for those who choose to be family

to those isolated by culture or language or distance.

We remember Elizabeth, who had a child in old age

and we remember Mary, who had a child as a teenager.

Ageless God, we pray that as a community we accept people of varying life stages

and responsibilities and relationships.

We remember Rachel, crying for her children

God of justice and hope, we pray for those whose children are killed,

and look to a time when children can live safely in their communities.

We remember Lois and Eunice, who taught Timothy faith by example.

Faithful God, we pray for those who teach us faith by their lives,

may we remember that we also teach about you in the way we live.

We remember other people not named in the Scriptures,

like the mother of the prodigal son.

Companion God, we pray for those who wait for a phone call or a visit,

cut off from family and friends by distance and disagreement.

Nurturing God, we give thanks for those who enrich our lives by their presence

who teach us about your abundant love  and who encourage us to journey in faith. Amen.
 

Throughout the 14 months to come, I plan to work closely with Tyler, the staff, and leadership of St. Paul’s to provide for a good and healthy transition.  We are still working out the details of that process but I will do all I can to ease the way.  In the end, this is a rather ‘non-traditional’ process of pastoral change because even before my public announcement, the Cabinet had already begun working with our Staff Parish Relations Committee. In dialogue with the SPR and with Tyler, they plan that, upon my retirement, Tyler will continue as a pastor at St. Paul’s.   In the year to come, we will be looking at how we will continue our partnership with Covenant through HUMM (Helena United Methodist Ministries).  There is still much to explore but the process has begun.  As questions or concerns arise or, when you have words of encouragement, please feel free to contact our SPR chair Dave Nielsen, our Lay Leaders Marti Johnson and Matthew Dale, Tyler or me.   A healthy and good transition will be built on healthy communication and on our trust in God’s power working through us and through one another.

Gratefully,

Marianne

Good communication is important in today’s world. Communication is how we invite people in the Helena community to join with God and us to transform the world. Last month our Church Council met to define its goals for the next year and one goal is communication. Over the next year we will be learning about new methods of communication, seeing how well we share our message, and developing resources for our entire congregation to better share the things we are working on. St. Paul’s has a unique and powerful message of loving our neighbor that people are hungry to be a part of and we want more people to join us in this sacred work.

In a world with increasing complexity around ways to communicate, it is important that we use all the media available to reach people. Our pastors, congregation and staff work very hard to develop ministries that are hospitable, provide a chance for personal growth, allow us to serve, and to go into our world to share God’s love in action. One way we honor this as a church is helping provide professional and diverse communication to reach as many people as possible. I would like to share all the ways we currently communicate and encourage you to find a method(s) to stay connected to the life of St. Paul’s.

4. June 2 – 6:00 PM – What is happening at Annual Conference? – St. Paul’s Fireside Room
We will gather to look at issues that will be coming to us at Annual Conference. The primary discussion will be around the shared futures legislation (the plan to merge with the Rocky Mountain Conference).