The Leadership Team would like me to highlight the many movements that are happening within and because of our community and get us ready for a conversation of where we want to go next.
We continue discussing our SEC effort in two pillars. Community and Networking. This time, we dive deeper into seeing what we’ve accomplished in terms of building a network. I heard one of our members was asked, “you still belong to that group?”. Some people may have a mistaken mindset or perception of who we are and why we continue. You can educate them about what you see in the community and how we continue to evolve. Point them to our values and activities at https://servantsentrance.com.
But because we do collaborate so often, you also may not know some of the things that we are helping to make happen. Some don’t have a “Servants’ Entrance” brand on things, so we thought we’d make it clear.
Pillar 2: Fostering the Kindom through Networking and Collaboration (continued)
The Growing Servants’ Entrance Community Network:
Let’s take a moment to think about all the people and organizations we are connecting with on this path we are on. We mentioned some new names in Part 1. ValLimar Jansen and her husband Frank (the musician behind her) are out in California and we will be seeing her next March. She is an OCP composer and nationally known treasure and now a member and promoter of the Servants’ Entrance Community.
We also mentioned Rev Erik (St Philips Episcopal). We will likely be doing a lot more with St Phillips since some of our members went there and are having a very positive impact on that parish and Rev Erick is AMAZING and truly a collaborator. He plans to use our Season of Creation service to help reinvigorate the Rochester ecumenical collaboration which has been quiet. Sr Grace of St Mary of the Hills has (perhaps sadly for us), moved out to a significant position out east to work climate justice at a regional level. Perhaps we can still collaborate with her in her new job! Meanwhile, even though she’s left, we still have the Rochester Family of Parishes as one of our solid partnerships in the SE Michigan Interfaith Climate Justice Initiative we mentioned in Part 1.
One of our deep desires is to take care of the future church and embrace young adults. We have Brian Wigman and Rebecca MacMaster (Ss Peter and Paul Jesuit), and Michael Horka (Wisconsin Capuchins) on regular rotation for presiding at our services and participating in planning events when they can (see our note about Rebecca below).
Speaking of Michael Horka, he continues to report in as he settles into a year of being a postulant – a person living in community with and being formed by the Capuchins as he discerns becoming friar/brother with 24 fellow pilgrims in Wisconsin. If you want to understand the ins and outs of becoming a friar/brother you can click here (https://www.capuchin.org/vocations/faqs/). Continue to pray for him that he listens deeply to God in this first year process of postulancy.
Let’s also look at the rest of our diverse presiding group: we have members emeritus Stephen and Beata (Australia), and Dr. Mary Dumm (St Blase). Our priests: Fr Jerry, Fr Mike (Owen), Fr Gary (SS Peter and Paul), Fr Jim (Cleveland), Fr Bill (CTR), Fr Kasza (St Therese). Even our regular community presiders are scattered across MI and belong to numerous parishes (some Catholic, some not) like Barb, Lisa, Rainy, Kirsti and I, Elizabeth, Liz, Kristine, Kevin and Susan, and Nancy and Bob.
We are starting to see a pattern:
It seems that the Holy Spirit has taken the seeds that existed all in one parish (SJF) and scattered them outward to allow us to develop this larger network based on shared values of building the Kindom. We are intentionally expanding our identity as the Servants’ Entrance Community to include diverse perspectives on living the SE values we hold so dear and it is having a positive impact on all the communities we touch.
Taking Networking to the Next Level: The Detroit Synodal Collaborative (DSC)
The SEC partners with some of these same people above plus our friends at Strangers No Longer and Elephants in the Living Room to help foster Synodality in the Detroit area. Rebecca MacMaster is part of the small core planning team of DSC. Last year, she went to Rome as part of a young adult cohort from Discerning Deacons (DD) to get involved with the first Rome session of the Synod on Synodality. DD is the organization that fosters discernment on women being ordained to the diaconate and they brought a group of women to interact with the Synod delegates! One of Rebecca’s comments to the delegates made it into the formal document, so we were represented here in Detroit!
Great News! We are sponsoring Rebecca to go back to Rome for the second part of the Synod on Synodality and to come back and share with us insider views and insights and help us in Detroit discern what we need to do next.
Keep praying for Michael and Rebecca and all of our networking efforts to help revitalize our church in its mission of building Kindom.
Much love, Terry
Next time in Part 3: Is a New Pillar Emerging?
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