Blogs/St.Paul's Willimantic

September 7, 2008

Dear Friends,

I will never forget our raised joy-filled voices singing Hallelujah during my years of ministry here at St. Paul’s.

I will never forget meeting the vestry for the first time – with strained looks and vague smiles but with hearts streaming with hope and love that they can find a way to survive.

I will never forget them asking me if I would come to be their priest and turning to the diocesan consultant and asking what the next step is and her saying “well you and Rev. Pat will need to go home and pray on it and decide what you want to do”.
A women sitting opposite me blurted out – “How long does it take you to pray”? I blurted back “not too long as I already prayed and that’s why I’m here”. Everyone looked at each other and hired me on the spot.

It was an incredible first meeting and all my first meetings with each of you have been the same. I was touched by your unwavering faith. I have truly never experienced a church community like St. Paul’s and I am sad but forever grateful for the lives that touched mine and allowed us to be one with God.

This church will survive here with the Soup Kitchen and out there in Africa with the Orphanage at Kakata.
The building isn’t the church you are the church and a finer and more grace-filled church would be hard to find anywhere.

So, remember, “Don’t Worry – Be Happy!!!!!!!!And know you are a people with heart and soul that will carry you any where you wish to go.
So…ooo happy journeying and please keep me in your hearts as I will keep you always in mine.

George Elliot wrote:
“Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love”.
I have a depth of love and gratitude for you all that fills me with a joy that will always be in my reach. Thank you.

Blessings and Peace,
Rev. Pat

First posted August 26, 2008: Rev. Pat is retiring and September 7 will be her last Sunday as our priest. We will miss her! Her stay here has been relatively short – just four years. However, during that time her leadership has brought new life and vitality to the parish. Old battles have been forgotten and we have become a cheerful place with a sense of mission.

Everyone is welcome – whether a UConn prof or someone close to the edge. Though quite poor – we share all the usual financial problems of a small urban church in an older neighborhood – we have invested significant effort and financial resources in other missions, especially our orphanage in Kakata, Liberia. At this point, I believe we have reached the stage where we will be able to not just continue, but to grow in our ministry to all those we touch. Some related opinions follow.

A week ago, on Sunday afternoon, Bishop Andrew Smith visited us. Besides discussing the support (non-financial!) that the Diocese can provide, he was enthusiastic about our future potential; we are the only parish in the Diocese that is not burdened with owning property. As a result, we are free from drain on finances and energy that come with property ownership.

Last Sunday, in her sermon, Rev. Pat had us do the following exercise: we drew two pictures, a trash can and a suitcase; wrote a list of our concerns about St. Paul’s in the trashcan, and a list of our blessings in the suitcase. Then we tore up the trashcan picture, with its list of concerns, put the scraps in a basket at the altar – but folded the suitcase with its list of blessings and put it in our purse or pocket.

Those of us old enough to have listened to Janis Joplin might remember a line from Me and Bobby McGee – “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose”. That line keeps coming back to me. No longer having any property is one part of that freedom and the other part is not having the financial pressure of paying a priest’s salary and benefits. (Unfortunately, in our society the distance between rich and poor at all levels is large; as a result the difference in the cost of supporting supply priests rather than a vicar is quite dramatic.)

Please understand that I don’t mean that a priest is an unnecessary expense. We are a small parish in a unique situation. Four years ago we would not have survived without Rev. Pat. Because of what’s happened in those four years I believe that we have reached a stage where we will be able to continue to grow in mission and ministry. For now there will be a Sunday service with some combination of supply priest, retired priest, and our own efforts (probably Morning Prayer once a month). Pastoral care will continue. And to make it work, more of our people will become involved in our ministry.

And so begins a a new chapter for St. Paul’s – stay tuned for the details!!

The following is a letter from a young man named Lee Birch.  He had been a guest at the soup kitchen where Al Scott volunteers.  They became friends, and with Al serving as mentor, Lee rapidly became an active member of St. Paul’s.  He attended most Sundays, participating  in the service, working in the kitchen for first Sunday breakfast and so on.  However,  his past caught up with him and he was sentenced to prison.  He was released last December 26th and returned to his active role at St. Paul’s.  At this posting he has a job – which has been limiting his Sunday attendance – and is attending classes at Eastern.

July 18, 2008
Dear Rev. Pat & the rest of St. Paul’s church,

Let me start off and say Thank you and I truly appreciate all of the help and support you have sent me in my time of need. I understand money doesn’t grow on trees and that its also a hard time for people to help others, but you all still help out of the kindness of your hearts. I whole heartily thank you for all the prayers and support.

I presently turned this bad situation into something good. I received my high School Diploma (which I have enclosed a copy along with my scores) and I’m taking business classes so I can prepare for my future. Hopefully I can use this little time I have left here to learn how to make better decisions and be able to change my life around. So please continue to keep me in your prayers.

I keep each and everyone of you in my prayers everyday. And twice on Sunday. I can’t wait to enter your doors for an awesome service from our beloved Rev. Pat. No one will ever replace you. Your what makes our church fun and new every Sunday. I love you all from the bottom of my heart and bless you for everything.

God bless you all with health and happiness

Love,
Lee Birch

May 28, 2008

Dear Bishop,
I have informed my vestry that I will be retiring early and have given them several months notice. My last day will be Wednesday, September 17th and then I will be moving to Florida. I hope that you will find time to see me personally before I leave.

St. Paul’s Willimantic, as you know, is a small band of rugged, scrappy and most importantly, Christian individuals. The parishioners of this parish know what it means to belong to the priesthood of God. Many of the people who frequent the Soup Kitchen also frequent the church on Sundays for our breakfasts and coffee hours. I have not once heard any one ask them to go to the end of the line or tell them there isn’t enough food for them. Rather they call them by name as they treat them the same as anyone else. This is the church’s ministry and they are honored to be a part of their lives.

The people of this church have also raised enough money to put in a foundation, and raise the walls, to build an orphanage in Kakata, Liberia for 40 children. Now I don’t know exactly what to call them other than fools… that is fools for Christ with eyes to see the pain, ears to hear the cries, voices to respond and hearts to love children in the streets anywhere. I can’t say enough about them and how it has been a privilege to work with them; and that personally I have met Christ walking in their midst and am deeply, deeply grateful to them for giving me four years of glorious ministry.

Hope this letter finds you well.

Fondly,

Rev. Patricia P. Gallagher

01/20/08: We are selling our property – church and office building – to the Covenant Soup Kitchen.  St. Paul’s founded the Soup Kitchen and Isaiah 58 Ministry in 1981, and the Soup Kitchen has been housed in St. Paul’s lower level ever since.

As part of the agreement, St. Paul’s will have continued use of the church and an office there for five years, with extension of that use anticipated for a second five years. The sale will relieve financial pressure on St. Paul’s, and it will give the Soup Kitchen a sure home and more opportunity to strengthen and expand its mission.

St. Paul’s intends to continue following whatever opportunities for ministry arise. We expect that our relationship with the Soup Kitchen will become even closer. We will continue to trust that longer term survival will be found in those ministries – essentially we’ve taken Matthew 6, and its message to trust Providence, to heart!

Mat.6:25-34: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink or about your body, what you will wear…   …And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?…  …But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”