One of the best parts of being on Diocesan Staff is that we we get to travel around this very pleasant peninsula to connect with people, parishes, and communities. AND, even when we are in our offices and not on the road, we still get to do cool and meaningful work to support Episcopal ministries in our diocese.
Here are some highlights from our team for the week of June 8, 2025.
Alan James, Interim Executive Director
St. Andrew’s Big Rapids is a small church with a big heart and a history of collaborating with others in support of the community. Today I blessed items they collected for the AuSable Inclusion Center‘s hygiene clinic. In 1989 they started the Manna Food Pantry, which is now an independent non-profit housed at St. Andrew’s and supported by them, other churches, and community groups. Their parish hall has temporarily been turned into a theater for a local group’s upcoming production. And these are only a couple of groups they support!
Rachel Rose-Ravellette, Director of Communications
On the road again this weekend! I started my journey in Mt. Pleasant at the city’s first proper Pride Fest, which grew out of a few years of a pop-up Pride celebration. It was good to see the people of St. John’s, Mt. Pleasant and meet their Pride Capybara with a goose on its head (because why not?!) which was a gift from a late parishioner’s daughter who knew how important LGBTQ+ inclusion was to that community. I forget the Capybara’s name (George, maybe?), but it definitely added extra joy to an already-joy-filled space!
The folx from St. John’s are clearly a staple in the Mt. Pleasant Pride community. Sr. Diane took a few moments to share with me why being active in the LGBTQ+ community is important to St. John’s. She said, “It’s important to let people know that there is a church in town that accepts them for who they are and it lets our folks know there’s a whole wide world out there where God is already present.” As a bonus, I got to hear another performance from the Great Lakes Bay Pride Harmony Diversity Choir!
From Mt. Pleasant, I got back on the road to Trinity in Bay City for choral evensong and a celebration of Mtr. Sue Rich’s 20 years of priestly ministry! The music and prayers of evensong are such a beautiful part of our Anglican tradition and it was a holy thing to be able to pray with so many people who have ministered with Mtr. Sue over the last two decades. We give thanks to God for her faithful witness and the ways Mtr. Sue has brought communities along with her in the work of Love!
Tuesday marked another celebration in our diocese. The people of St. Paul’s church in Elk Rapids, after many, many years without a rector, have officially called the Rev. Dr. Derek Quinn! The Celebration of New Ministry Service is a wonderful liturgy. On Tuesday, we used the liturgy from Enriching our Worship which includes beautiful moments of the church calling the rector into the nave, and intentional exchanges between the congregants and the priest of many symbols of our worship including a Bible, a prayer list, a priestly stole, and the elements of the Eucharistic Feast.
I love getting to travel around the diocese to see the ways in which God is at work in the Mitten. Today especially I’m grateful for the last week and being able to witness a congregation going out into the world to meet God in the community, a milestone of active and impactful ministry, and an official new beginning.
