Hope Rising Update #59

Dear Friends,
 
"This is holy ground, we are standing on holy ground for the Lord is present, and where God is, is holy."  I sang that opening line from a song that epitomized this past weekend, when we were able to return and stand on the holy ground of St. Michael's on Sanibel and give praise and thanks to our God for leading us home.   We aren't back in our main sanctuary yet, but we are surely back on Sanibel and bringing the warmth, welcome and spirit of St. Michael's to so many. 
 
The ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday was spectacular.   We had a great turnout of Chamber members, community partners and parishioners. You can watch a video of the ceremony here:  We are happy to be helping the entire island community recover by offering space to Santiva Islanders (formerly Island Seniors) and F.I.S.H. In her remarks, Maria Espinoza, Executive Director of F.I.S.H. stated, “One of the things we have not been able to do is case management and offer mental health services on the island and do additional social services and we are able to do that now because of The Gathering Place. They just didn’t think about bringing back St. Michael’s, they looked to the community and said how can they help? After our dry wall distribution in February that happened in this parking lot I got a call from Sue saying what else can we do? I told them that we had been operating in our facility without a/c and she said, “how would you like to come and provide your services here at St.Michael’s?’ and I don’t think she finished her sentence before I said Yes!”
 
When we sang "All Are Welcome" at the services this past weekend, with almost 200 in attendance at the two services, it reminded us that when we say all are welcome, all are equally valued and loved, we mean it in a very human, humble way. Ian showed us how much we need each other and how important it is in the midst of our struggles to never cease gathering and being caring neighbors to one another. So we hope everyone has the opportunity to walk through the open doors of The Gathering Place.
 
We will be offering free events for people to simply connect. Our kick off event is a Coffeehouse Music Night TONIGHT July 26 from 6:30pm-8:00pm. The theme is Broadway show tunes and there will be live music, coffee and espresso beverages and treats. Please enter off Dunlop Road.
 
At The Gathering Place This Week: 
 
Our church office is now open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm. Please enter off Dunlop Road, park in the spots in front of the ark or on the side, and enter by walking up the front ramp. Please do not use the back loading dock door. We have a conference room space that is available for meetings, book studies, etc. To schedule any space in The Gathering Place, please contact Susan Gonzalez. 
 
Vacation Bible School Camp  for St. Michael's children, hosted by Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in Valrico and St. Hilary's Church in Fort Myers. Thirty youth and adults are running the camp and doing work projects around the island.. In just the first few days they have helped clean up a parishioner's home, installed the blinds at The Gathering Place, built partitions and stairs at a CHR property, cleaned up yards, and assembled 100 backpacks at F.I.S.H. They are very hard working and motivated volunteers.
 
F.I.S.H. is partnering with us in creating a Resiliency Hub.  See the flyer below for the services they will be providing. All of these services are open to all our parishioners, whether you live on island or off island. You can receive help with FEMA and SBA issues, learn more about disaster financial assistance and participate in several different mental health services including group therapy, 1 on 1 mini sessions, and open discussion on post storm trauma, decision making, mental exhaustion and financial fears. 

Tuesday, August 1 we begin our partnership with Santiva Islanders formerly known as Island Seniors. Tuesdays and Thursdays they are hosting a coffee bistro from 10am-3pm, exercise classes, a book club, card and other games, and lunch events. Again, all are welcome to participate and you will find more information on the programs of both groups in this Friday's brief.
 
It is so joyful to hear the sounds of children at The Gathering Place, to see the determined look on faces helping people they don't know, and the sense of hope that comes with being back on our holy grounds.  "This is holy ground, we are standing on holy ground for the Lord is present, and where God is, is holy." 

Peace, 
Bill+