Bishops!

You might have heard that we will be electing a bishop coadjutor for the diocese of Southwest Florida next month, and you might be wondering what a bishop “coadjutor” is. Perhaps you have other questions about how the call process for finding a new bishop works, or what a bishop does, or who is involved in this important event in the life of a diocese. 

You might not know that Saint Michael’s has three lay delegates and 2 clergy delegates who will be voting to elect the next bishop. You might not be aware that the candidates have been identified and will be doing “walk-a-bouts” where you will have a chance to meet them later this month. Well, you have an opportunity to find out about these things and more.

If you are curious or have questions, I encourage you to come to this Sunday’s Coffee Hour Forum. Beginning at 9:30 a.m., I will be giving a presentation on bishops and the bishop search and call process. There will be plenty of time for your questions. The forum will also be livestreamed, and the link can be found here:

https://livestream.com/smaa/events/10231748 

Later this month, we will be welcoming a bishop to St. Michael’s for a weekend parish retreat. Bishop Brian Prior, retired Bishop of Minnesota, will be with us March 25-27 for a retreat entitled: The Road to Emmaus: The Three Days of our Faith Journey. The weekend will include a lovely dinner on Friday evening and lunch on Saturday, so we need you to RSVP by contacting the parish office or registering on the home page of our website. 

In between, we will be offering 2 Wednesday evening forums on Zoom where parishioners will be sharing a bit of their faith journey: where they have been, the bumps in the road and next steps on the walk of faith. The forums are on March 16 and 23 and begin at 6:00 pm (on Zoom). Details can be found in this Brief. 

Peace, Bill+

Wednesday Evening Forums on Zoom

This Wednesday, March 16^th and again on March 23th, we will be offering 2 Lent forums on Zoom. Beginning at 6:00 pm this Wednesday Carolyn Clark, John Mason and David Vaules will be sharing a bit of their faith journey based on the theme for our parish retreat: The Road to Emmaus, the three days of our faith journey. They will talk about where they have been, bumps in the road, and the road ahead. The sessions will be ZOOM ONLY, click on the following link (Meeting ID: 833 9252 2678) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83392522678.

Stations of the Cross

Each Friday during Lent stations of the cross will be prayed beginning at noon in the church. Stations of the cross is a simple, yet meaningful way to prayerfully make the journey with Jesus from his trial to the tomb. Service booklets will be located near the first station. Please contact the church office if you would like to lead a service this Lent.