A Weekly Message
from Bishop Robert Gepert

At my visitation to St. Paul's in Dowagiac on April 15^th, I shared in a joyous experience because there was a baptism of a young woman of 16. It's such a pleasure to baptize older people into the faith. This young woman's eyes were wide open to the commitment she was making to Christ and her community.

The Gospel Reading was John 20:19-31, the story of doubting Thomas. Given the spirit of St. Paul's Dowagiac, it was an appropriate story about the importance of community.

Thomas, for whatever reason, was not present the first time the risen Jesus appeared to the disciples. Thomas was guarded when his friends said with joyous wonder, "We have seen the Lord!"

The very doubtful Thomas said, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe," he said.

But a week later, when Jesus reappeared to his disciples, Thomas saw him and believed. "My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaims.

We learn an important lesson from Thomas.

When he was absent from the community of disciples, he did not experience the risen Christ. Community enables people to experience the risen Jesus.

The act of baptism, as we experienced last Sunday at St. Paul's, is another symbolic act that brings people into community.

I witnessed that St. Paul's in Dowagiac understands the importance of not only their faith community, but their larger community as well. They clearly have a ministry of hospitality. The parishioners minister to one another, and to people in their wider community, currently without the benefit of a settled priest, yet their identity and mission are easily discernible. I admired the words on their bulletin: "Traditional worship. Progressive message. Social outreach."

The senior warden of St. Paul's said they are a church that's growing spiritually, in part due to their outreach to the community.

Part of their ministry has been "St. Paul's Saturday." On the last Saturday of each month, the Mission Center at St. Paul's is turned into a cafeteria as members of the parish put on a free luncheon for 80-100 members of the community. Everyone is welcome at the table.

In addition, St. Paul's runs a food pantry and has sent people to Haiti for mission work.

It's amazing what small communities of faith can accomplish. I have seen it all across this diocese.

When parishes are outward-looking, they thrive. When parishes are self-interested only and inward-looking, they die.

The level of hospitality at St. Paul's was so great that it gave me a wonderful opportunity to talk to them about the mission work of the Diocese. Invariably when I am able to talk to people about our mission work, someone comes up to me and wants to go on a mission.

Few things are as transformative in the lives of Christians as the mission experience, and we in the Diocese are now able to pay the expenses for people to participate. When parishes pay their apportionment to the Diocese, we are then able to offer those types of transformative experiences by sending people to the Dominican Republic, New Orleans, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Appalachia, and more locally, Benzie County, Michigan – the mission work that changes their lives and the lives of the congregations.

Sincerely,

The Rt. Rev. Robert R. Gepert

VIII Western Michigan