We welcome people from all denominations and locales to this parish. Saint Michael's is a strong, faithful and growing intergenerational congregation whose ministries are enriched by visitors and parishioners. Whether you are here for a week, a season, or year-round, we welcome you to this household of faith and we invite you to make this your home.

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THE-red-door6 — TheRedDoor

Red Door Newsletters

flag_lg1 — Sermons

Ellen's Final Sermon

Links to Services

Lighted Church

LIVESTREAM SERVICE 4/5

SERVICE BULLETIN 4/5

BOOK OF PRAYER .PDF

Help for Livestream

To watch the current service either LIVE, or afterwards, just click on the LIVESTREAM SERVICE (date) link either on the website home page, or in the weekly email from the Parish Office.

If the service has started, it will say "LIVE" and the video and sound will appear in a few seconds.

If the service has not yet started, you will see a digital clock like this: Time till Event

displaying the time remaining until the scheduled start.

Please be patient - the service video will appear 5 or 10 minutes before the scheduled time. DO NOT PRESS "Log in" or GO LIVE - that is for people streaming a service out.

If you join the service AFTER it has started, you can use the sliding bar at the bottom of the screen to go back to the beginning, or you can just watch it live from the current point in time.

If the service is finished, then press "Watch Again" to view the enitre service.

To watch a previous service, you can see a complete catalog of events by clicking on the SERMONS button on the home page, or click here: http://livestream.com/SMAA

A Message from Our Priest-in-Charge

Reflection 4/3/2020

The Palm Sunday liturgy is seriously odd, at least in my opinion. At the beginning of the liturgy we celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem for Passover. Jesus rides into town on a colt that has not been ridden before. The crowds gather and cheer. They wave palm branches and even throw their cloaks in the pathway. This is the traditional welcome procession for a new king coming to Jerusalem to assume his throne. Because we know, as Paul Harvey used to say, “The rest of the story,” we recognize that this is not just a king of Israel coming to the capital, but the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. However, did the people crying “Hosanna!” know this? From Matthew’s narrative, evidently not. Many in the city who heard the commotion asked, “Who is this?” and the answer they received was “Jesus the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” It was one of those answers that was correct as far as it went but revealed a woeful lack of understanding of Jesus’ full identity.

But then, the liturgy turns from joy and praise, to the story of Jesus’ trial, beating and execution. All this in the space of an hour. Odd combination, wouldn’t you say? Apparently this combining of Palm Sunday and Jesus’ passion is an attempt to recover an old practice. In that practice, Lent was observed as a time of teaching and preparation for baptismal candidates, and an intense Holy week prepared people for the Easter celebration. Nevertheless, in my experience, most people would prefer to be taken, liturgically, direct from the joyous entry to the even more joyous resurrection. Whether intentional or not, the combination of Palms and Passion does serve to ensure that we don’t entirely miss Jesus’ suffering on his final walk to the cross.

Especially now, during this COVID-19 pandemic, as we are physically separating ourselves from each other and worshiping “online,” it is essential for us to be mindful that Jesus, hailed as king at the beginning of the week, was condemned as an enemy of God, or at least as an enemy of the religious establishment five days later. At noon next Friday, we will gather, electronically this time, to recall his suffering for our sake and to pray for his mercy for ourselves and for others throughout the world. Until then, may God bless you and preserve you in health and strength.

Blessings, Alan+