By Suzanne McInroy
This Sunday, August 3, will be our family’s last Sunday at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in St. Paul before we move to Oxford, England. We believe this is the path God has for us and we are confident in our decision to leave, but it is still sad to leave this community after 14 years.
Mark and I moved to St Paul in 2011. We tried all the Episcopal churches in St Paul and a few in Minneapolis before we started attending St. John’s regularly. In that first year, we became new members and were welcomed into the community with these words:
We welcome you to Saint John’s. What you have to give we gladly receive. What you need from us we gladly offer. We will be here to celebrate your joys and comfort your sorrows. Join us in our work and in our study, as we sing and pray through the seasons and cycles of our Christian life. Together let us pattern our lives after Christ, walking in his ways of compassion and justice, inviting all people to God’s holy table.
I have found this description of belonging at Saint John’s to be very true.
What you have to give we gladly receive. Our gifts were gladly received as we served on the Vestry and committees, as Mark taught Adult Formation classes, and as Mark and Oliver read in worship. Our kids were gladly received in Children, Youth, and Families programming from Godly Play classes, to Youth Group, to the annual Christmas pageant. And we have joyfully given to Stewardship, pledging annually and increasing our gifts whenever possible.
What you need from us we gladly offer. When Oliver wasn’t even two months old, we moved from a rented apartment to a new house–and friends from St. John’s showed up to help, from carrying boxes to holding baby Oliver! After Fiona was born so many people brought us meals, including the Rev. Kate Bradtmiller who strapped a twin on the front and the back to carry in a meal to us. We have found babysitters in three of the four Krall children, cat sitters through the Weber-Johnsons, and childcare help from Judy Stack during the pandemic. And as we prepare to move again, we even found buyers for our house in Katie and John Madsen!
We will be here to celebrate your joys… What greater joy than our three kids, who were all baptized at St. John’s, and knowing they bring joy not just to us, but to this community.
… and comfort your sorrows. The St. John’s community comforted us through a job loss, family health issues, and the death of my father a year ago. The prayers we receive regularly from the Circle of Care group and others have been felt and appreciated.
Join us in our work and in our study, as we sing and pray through the seasons and cycles of our Christian life. Nearly every week, we show up on Sunday mornings–in the back pew on the right–to sing and pray in worship with all of you. It has helped to feed and sustain our spiritual life these past 14 years.
Together let us pattern our lives after Christ, walking in his ways of compassion and justice, inviting all people to God’s holy table. Through scripture and prayer, kindness to others, in raising our kids, and being part of the wider community, we have sought to pattern our lives after Christ. We have been encouraged as we joined others to work toward justice and welcome all people to God’s holy table.
We leave St. John’s at an exciting time. We feel the Holy Spirit moving in this place and we will watch from afar to see where she takes you. May you be strengthened greatly in your work, prayer lives, and fellowship together.
Thank you for inviting us into belonging these past 14 years.
