Pastoral and Spiritual Care (Clergy)
- If you have a child to be baptized…
- If you know an adult or older child seeking baptism in Christ…
- If you would like to celebrate your marriage in this church…
- If you know someone who is sick and would like a visit or to receive Holy Communion…
- If you would like to talk to a priest about a concern or unburden your conscience…
We are here for you.
See one of our priests or call the parish office at 886-7292.
Bautismos, comuniones, bodas y funerales también están disponibles en español. Contacto Padre Sotelo.
Education
St. Michael and All Angels offers numerous educational opportunities for children and adults:
St. Michael’s School was founded in September, 1958. It now educates over 300 children from kindergarten through eighth grades, fostering the intellectual, physical, artistic, ethical, and spiritual development of students from all social, economic, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. Contact the Director of Admissions at (520) 722-8478 ext. 259, email [email protected], or see the website at http://stmichael.net.
Journey Toward Baptism (Catechumenate) – Introduces Christianity to adults and older children contemplating the sacrament of baptism. It is a journey of questioning, education and contemplation.
Adult Education –
The Adult Study Group, led by Peter Schmidt, meets on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. in the Womble Library. Topics vary from season to season. During Fall of 2017 we are studying Gnosticism, an early heresy within the Church.
The Savage Writers meet Tuesdays at 10 AM in the Womble Library, to encourage all forms of writing.
Lay Ministries
Parishioners at St. Michael and All Angels carry out a wide variety of ministries, serving the church, their fellow parishioners, the community and the world. These fall under the general categories of Lay Participation, Pastoral Care, Outreach and Education.
Due to privacy and spam considerations, contact info for specific parishioners is not provided here. Please check with the church office, download the parish directory or speak with the party directly at church. Thanks!
Lay Participation:
Coffee Hour takes place Sundays after each of the morning masses in the Parish Center. Volunteers provide and/or serve hot and cold drinks, baked goods and other snacks. Contact the church office for more info.
Office Volunteers answer phones, hand out food bags, welcome visitors, proofread or fold bulletins, stuff envelopes, and just generally help keep things running smoothly. Contact Julie Rogers for more info, at [email protected] or 886-7292.
St. Margaret’s Altar Society—Altar Guild members work behind the scenes on Saturday mornings following the 8:30 AM Mass, cleaning, polishing, replacing flowers, candles and holy water. They prepare the set-up for all services, including memorial masses. Members change frontals, Epiphany green to Lenten purple, and decorate at Christmas and Easter. Contact Paulette O’Malley for more info.
The St. Michael and All Angels Choir sings at the 10:15 AM High Mass on most Sundays, at certain feast day masses, and on other selected occasions. Rehearsals are Thursdays at 7:00 PM and on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM. (Summer rehearsals are Sundays at 9 AM only.) The choir is always looking for new voices! See the music page, or contact choir director Douglas Leightenheimer.
St. Michael’s Contemplative Group Prayer meets every Saturday from 9:30 to 11:00 AM in Our Lady of the Desert House of Prayer, north of the church. Come join the group, learn about Christian meditation and enjoy a short social time together. You will find it relaxing, peaceful and rewarding. Contact Jim Reiter.
Subdeacons & Acolytes, Lay readers and Verger—Subdeacons help to celebrate the mass, assisting the priest with the readings and the Eucharist. Acolytes carry torches or the crucifix in procession, stand before the altar during the Eucharistic Prayer, and may act as Chalice Bearer at the distribution of the Eucharist. Taize service The Verger leads the procession at some High Masses, carrying a staff or “verge.” Lay readers read the day’s selections from the Old or New Testament to the congregation. Contact Proscovia King for more info or to volunteer for training.
Taizé is a contemplative service, mostly by candlelight, at the Marian altar. It is made up of music, prayers, spiritual readings, and silence. First and third Tuesdays at 6:45 PM. Contact Jim Reiter.
Ushers welcome congregants and visitors to church, hand out the day’s bulletin, help to find seats when the church is full, assist in controlling the flow of people receiving communion, and maintain counts of attendees for official records as required by the canons of the church. Contact the church office for more info or to volunteer.
Lay Eucharistic Visits—Lay Eucharistic Visitors, who are appointed by the Rector, are available to take Communion to parishioners on request. This service is offered particularly to those who are unable to attend mass. Requests for a visit should be made through the church office at 520-886-7292.
Lay Pastoral Care – ten parishioners have obtained training from Community of Hope International (COHI) on lay pastoral care giving. Two members of the group also serve as Lay Eucharistic visitors, of a total of three present Lay Eucharistic visitors at St. Michael’s. Parishioners in need of a visit should contact the church office, or loved ones may request a visit on their behalf.
Read more….
Outreach
International Holiday Bazaar – Each December we offer free space for over 25 socially-committed, non-violent nonprofit groups to sell their wares. Parish artists also participate. It’s “Holiday Shopping with a Conscience!” and features food, music & fun. Contact Ila Abernathy or the church office for more info, or see our Facebook page.
Angel Tree – At Advent a Christmas tree goes up in the back of the church, filled with the names and ages of children of prisoners and others in need of presents.
Casa Maria – prepares lunches for Casa Maria Soup Kitchen, every four weeks on Friday evenings in the Parish Center. We make 1,000 sandwiches for 500 sack lunches with sandwiches, cookies and fruit. Community service credit is available for High School students. Contact church office for schedule and information.
The Reverend Deacon Michael Meyers, pedorthist, with Lozeya de la Cruz, 11 yrs. old, from Caborca. Photo by Vicki Fitzsimmons.
Deacon’s Shoebox— Serving the footcare needs of Mexican children at St. Andrew’s Children’s Clinic, Nogales, Arizona, the Deacon’s Shoebox is led by our Deacon, The Reverend Michael Meyers, in his capacity as a Board Certified Pedorthist. As he explains, “a Pedorthist (or C.ped) is a person trained in lower extremity ailments, such as diabetes, metatarsalgia, plantar fasciitis, foot pain, and many more.” The Deacon’s Shoebox accepts donations of cash and used footwear in order to provide for the needs of these indigent children.
Epiphany Gifts for Primavera—During Epiphany we collect warm clothing, blankets, towels, new socks and underwear, and toiletries for folk at Primavera Shelter. Contact the Social Action Committee or the church office.
Women’s Ministry (formally Episcopal Church Women)—meets on the third Wednesday of every month at 10:30 AM in the Parish Center. ECW supports the parish and the needy through various projects, partly funded by several bake/casserole sales held each year. One of its main missions is the Bereavement Program. ECW provides a reception after memorial services, if needed. ECW also provides meals for families at Thanksgiving and Christmas. All women in the parish are considered members.
Food pantry—St. Michael’s gives many hundreds of food bags each year to people who need them. Food is distributed on M-W-F from 9–10 AM. St. Michael’s Food Pantry is stocked with items donated throughout the year, or purchased using cash donations. St. Michaels’ Parish Day School also holds a large food drive during Thanksgiving week. Contact Lynette Emory.
Fowler Fund—St. Michael’s Fowler Community Service Fund, named for St. Michael’s first rector, provides resources for St. Michael’s continuing commitment to service, action, and advocacy in the local and global communities. Recent local grants have benefited St. Michael’s Guatemala Project ($1,000 response to health crisis in Guatemala); and $500 for CIVIC [Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement] to set up a national hotline available to persons in detention, who sometimes have no other way to make contacts, at request of involved Parishioner.
Guatemala Project—St. Michael’s Guatemala Project is a non-sectarian, non-proselytizing informal partnership with the Maya of the CPR-Sierra [Communities of Population in Resistance of the Sierra], who became refugees in their own country as they fled massacres during Guatemala’s 36-year internal conflict. It builds upon a relationship begun in 1993, during the war years. Teams travel each summer to isolated villages, bringing medical supplies, medical care and training. For more info see our Outreach page or http://www.cprguatemalaproject.org.
“Just” Coffee—fair traded, from cooperatives in Chiapas, roasted by a cooperative in Agua Prieta. Just Coffee is available for sale after Masses.
Migration Spirituality—St. Michael’s and St. Philip’s joined together in March 2015 to organize a day-long retreat about migration spirituality. About 45 individuals from seven different Christian denominations attended the event in our Parish Center. A weekly prayer list of migrants is circulated to the participants and other interested individuals. If you would like to pray for migrants with us, please contact us.
Pantano Rotary Shoebox Project—Each year the parish collects shoeboxes, gift wraps them and fills them with Epiphany gifts for poor children of Nogales, Mexico.
Primavera 5 Points Transitional Housing meal serves up to 30 residents, the first Tuesday of each month. Join a longstanding team.
Primavera Shelter Meal for 120 homeless men, second Sunday of each month. A dedicated, well-organized team divides preparation and serving responsibilities. New cooks and occasional backup are always needed!
Social Action Committee—practices the gospel through service and advocacy. Meetings are open to all, third Sunday of the month. The committee periodically holds house mass and potluck meetings. Contact Peggy Van Norman.
TIHAN—Tucson Interfaith HIV and AIDS Network. Once each year, St. Michael’s sponsors and hosts the monthly Poz Café meal for people living with HIV/AIDS. Contact TIHAN, (520) 299-6647.
Read More about our Outreach Programs.
Stewardship
Contributions to St. Michael and All Angels take many forms, not all of which can be shown on a chart or a spreadsheet. Volunteers greet visitors, stuff envelopes, prepare and serve food, make prayer shawls, buy groceries for the food pantry, give classes, visit the sick, perform music, serve at mass, serve on committees, and carry out many other vital activities in service to God, our parish, the community and the world. All this is in addition to the good works carried out by clergy and staff. The faithful giving of our time, talent and treasure starts with our contributions to the church’s operating fund (General Fund), which enables us to do all the rest.
Sometimes parishioners make “in-kind” donations of food, supplies, equipment, items for sale, etc. These are not reported in parish finances, but are nevertheless much appreciated.
Certain church groups maintain their own separate finances, which are not included in the parish’s financial reporting. These include the Social Action Committee, the Altar Guild and Episcopal Women’s Ministry (formerly called ECW).
Donations to the church can be made by cash or check, or by Bill Pay through your bank. A Paypal account is also available.
Our Finances
Like many churches, St. Michael and All Angels has experienced financial difficulties since 2007, when the local housing boom went bust on the eve of the Great Recession. However, due to a combination of good stewardship from our parishioners and careful use of resources by parish leadership, all bills were paid and all clergy and staff were compensated. The strategic use of memorial and special purpose funds helped to meet the most urgent needs when the General Fund was strained. Even in difficult years, our overall financial position across all funds remained strong.
In 2010, the Rev. John R. Smith instituted a budget line item entitled “Faith Promise,” encouraging parishioners to give to the parish in commemoration or thanksgiving for particular events in their lives, in addition to their pledge contributions. In 2012, the parish instituted special collections at Easter, All Saints’ Day and Christmas, with a letter explaining the purposes to which the money would be directed. Proceeds from these are usually recorded as Faith Promise income, but some was placed in the Building Restoration Fund when major building repairs were needed. At present, the General Fund has a small negative balance.
Since then, the 1953 building (with numerous additions over the parish’s 62-year history) has had a new roof, major repairs to adobe walls outside and water-damaged plaster inside, restoration of old, damaged wood, major repairs to the kitchen’s exhaust system, the rebuilding of the Walsingham altar after an arson incident, and new chairs and carpeting in the Smith Parish Center, the latter two items paid for with proceeds from our annual sale of homemade candy. In 2014 the parish finished paying for the purchase, installation and expansion of the A F Schultz Aeolian-Skinner Pipe Organ, a 45 rank organ first built in 1959. In 2015, repairs were made to the organ due to damage from termites and packrats. Also in 2015, the church was fumigated for wood termites, with further treatment in the offing for subterranean termites. Numerous repairs to in the kitchen, and to heating and cooling systems in the church, have been carried out in 2016 and 2017.
Although the parish has suffered many losses of beloved parishioners in recent years as the congregation ages, we have worked together to keep the church vital and the building standing. Our many ministries are supported with parishioners’ time, talent and treasure, and our Family Mass and other efforts encourage participation of the next generation of churchgoers. A large bequest in 2015 did much to stabilize the parish financially. Although many challenges remain, St. Michael and All Angels is continues to meet its fiscal obligations.
Thanks to all for your time, talent and treasure, as we work together to make possible our many ministries!
