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Saint Michael and All Angels
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A Message from the Rector - "Deep Gratitude"

Ash Wednesday ushers us into the holy season of Lent, a season that has always been held as a time set apart to prepare our hearts and minds for the annual celebration of Easter. This season, we have a special set of gifts for you as you journey.

Over the centuries, Lent has been a chance to take on a special spiritual discipline, but recently those disciplines have looked less and less spiritual. I can remember friends over the years saying that they were giving up caffeine or chocolate, or perhaps they were going to start exercising daily or drinking more water. Although I would never claim to know the mind of God, I’ll go out on a limb and say that I don’t believe God’s overly concerned about our caffeine intake or whether we get to the gym. Instead, I think Lent can be a deeper experience with a bit more intentionality.

In the first century, Jesus’s followers would gather each year to celebrate his resurrection. Their celebration was most often held in secret for fear of retaliation, but for those early Christians, that Easter celebration was the most important moment of the year. Yes, they celebrated Jesus’s resurrection, but what made the moment so special was not the celebration itself, but the opportunity to welcome new followers into the Body of Christ through baptism. Easter, for centuries, was the moment when new disciples were fully welcomed into the Church.

Fast forward to the 21st century, and the idea that Lent is the main entry point into Christian discipleship has mostly been lost. Many of us are baptized as babies or as young people, and those baptism moments are often whenever the time is right. We have disconnected baptism from Easter, and for some solid reasons. Yet, Lent can still be an opportunity for us to intentionally prepare ourselves for growth in our discipleship.

To start off, I want us all to pray each day in Lent. Prayer is a gift for our souls. Prayer fills us up, renews our spirits, and keeps us properly focused on God. This year, your Saint Michael clergy have prepared a podcast to help you begin or deepen this habit. Each weekday, from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday, your Saint Michael clergy have prepared a simple offering of prayer, scripture reading, and meditation, that you can listen to at a time that works best. The recordings will be available as a podcast or to stream on our website.

Daily prayer is not something that most people find easy to do well. My guess is that most of you reading this article like the idea of daily prayer, but don’t quite make it happen. I am beyond sympathetic – life is busy! – but I want to push you to make the time. Each of the daily episodes lasts less than 10 minutes, and we all have 10 minutes to give back to God. Last fall we kept track of moments of grace and gratitude, and this spring, let’s turn those moments into sacred prayer together.

In addition to daily prayer in general, I encourage you to focus your prayers on one specific idea: your spiritual gifts. I admit that when I first learned the concept of spiritual gifts, I thought they sounded a bit fluffy. Spiritual giftedness is a complicated matter and one that takes energy. One’s spiritual gifts are not simply worldly skills, nor do they stay in the realm of potential, but rather an intentional meeting of the two.

To put it another way, spiritual gifts are anchored in the grand mystery of God but can be expressed in tangible ways. Here is a quick primer of Spiritual gifts: First, spiritual gifts are not the same as the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to each of us in our faith to support our work, but when we do our work, our own spiritual gifts guide us. Second, spiritual gifts are abilities given by God for the service of others, not human talents. Third, spiritual gifts are the means to achieving a good goal, not the fruits of the process. Finally, spiritual gifts are not offices with the Body of Christ (the church), such as prophet, priest, teacher, or elder. We are all gifted to help bring about God’s kingdom, and the roles we play do not validate our gifts any more or less.

Finally, make a commitment to regular worship each weekend with our brothers and sisters. This Lent, the clergy are offering a sermon series titled Reorder the Disorder, a specific look at the ways in which our world influences us toward spiritual disorder. We hope to be transformed by the gospel, and by sticking together and reordering our priorities, we can move forward on the path of discipleship together.

My hope is that we will center ourselves in the season of Lent in order to launch with energy into the season of Easter. This year, our preparation will be good for our souls because we will prepare to live out our call to discipleship in new ways that will challenge us, fulfill us, and transform the world around us.

I invite you, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a Holy Lent, and I look forward to being with you on the journey!

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The Rev. Dr. Christopher D. Girata
Rector


Tags: Blog & Newsroom / Rector's Blog

The Archangel Lent 2020

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A Message from the Rector - "Deep Gratitude"

Instead of giving something up as our Lenten discipline, Rector Chris Girata offers a few ideas for how we can put into practice our call to discipleship during this Lent.

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2019 Compass Rose Society Annual Meeting

Rector Chris Girata and Senior Warden Jay Lipscomb recount their recent trip to England to attend the Compass Rose Society annual meeting.

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How Teddy Bears Make A Difference

Children's Minister Madelyn Ivy outlines the significant impact of last fall's prayer bear drive benefitting Dallas CASA.

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Saint Michael Tornado Relief Report

Thanks to the generosity of our parishioners, Saint Michael was able to provide significant aid to our community in the aftermath of last October's devastating tornadoes.

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Women of the Passion

The Rev. Mary Lessmann explains the uniqueness and importance of the Women of the Passion service that will be offered Monday in Holy Week.

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Easter Day Offering

On behalf of the Mission & Outreach Committee, M&O Coordinator Christi Morrow announces the 2020 recipients of our Easter offering, 100% of which will be given away. This year's beneficiaries focus on the theme of addressing violence against women and human trafficking.

Read More »

Read the full issue

Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church
8011 Douglas Ave
Dallas, TX 75225
(214) 363-5471

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Sunday Services:

9 a.m. Traditional Service (Rite II)
9 a.m. Joy: A Children’s Service
11 a.m. Contemporary Rite II Service in the Parish Hall
8 p.m. Compline in the Church

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Under normal circumstances, Saint Michael offers more services every day of the week. Learn more about our full worship schedule here.

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Saint Michael and All Angels is a member parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. We practice The Way of Love as members of The Episcopal Church.

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Sunday Services:
9 a.m. Traditional Service (Rite II)
11 a.m. Contemporary Rite II Service
8 p.m. Compline

More about services at Saint Michael and All Angels here.

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Saint Michael and All Angels
8011 Douglas Ave
Dallas, TX 75225

Contact Us
(214) 363-5471

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Welcome Children Service Times Getting Here & Campus Map Membership

Welcome! | Saint Michael and All Angels is a community of passionate people seeking to follow Jesus in a meaningful way that impacts both our own lives and that of the community around us. We are blessed with our parish home and so glad to share it with you. If you find yourself in Dallas, we would love to have you join us for worship!

- The Reverend Dr. Chris Girata, Rector

Welcome to Children and Family Ministry!

Our team in Children and Family Ministry provides children, ages 0 – 5th grade, and their parents with the tools they need to become faithful disciples of Christ. We achieve this through fun and interactive programming that allows children and families to explore their faith together.

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Sunday Services:
7:30 a.m. Traditional Service (Rite I) in Saint Michael Chapel
9 a.m. Traditional Service (Rite II) in the Church
9 a.m. Joy: A Children’s Service in Saint Michael Chapel
11 a.m. Traditional Service (Rite I) in the Church
11 a.m. Contemporary Rite II Service in the Parish Hall
5:30 p.m. Evening Prayer and Eucharist Rite I in Saint Michael Chapel
8 p.m. Compline in the Church
Saturday Services:
8:30 a.m. Eucharist in Bishop Moore Chapel
5:30 p.m. Candlelight Mass in Saint Michael Chapel
Weekday Services:
7 a.m. M/W/F: Morning Prayer in Bishop Moore Chapel
7 a.m. T/Th: Holy Eucharist (Rite I or II) in Bishop Moore Chapel
10 a.m. Wed.: Healing Service in Bishop Moore Chapel
Click here for service descriptions and more info

We are located just south of Northwest Highway off of Douglas Ave. at Colgate Ave. Via Northbound Tollroad: Exit Lovers Ln, continue straight on Lomo Alto a few blocks to Colgate. Church is on your right. Via Southbound Tollroad: Exit Northwest Hwy, turn left to Douglas Ave. Turn R on Douglas and church is a few blocks down on your right. Via US 75: Exit Northwest Hwy and go west to Douglas Ave. Turn R on Douglas and church is a few blocks down on your right.

Maps & Directions

If you are new to Saint Michael, curious about the path to membership, or simply want to learn more about life at our parish community, we invite you to join us for two different class events we have throughout the year: "Saint Michael 101" is an introduction to life here at SMAA, and "Episcopal Christians", where we explore what it means to walk as a Christian in the Episcopal tradition, discussing topics like our Anglican heritage, worship, the Bible and formation etc.

Saint Michael 101 Episcopal Christians
Give Now Flower Memorials The Foundation Legacy Planning Stewardship 2021

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Flowers in our holy worship spaces are a beautiful gift to God and those who attend services at Saint Michael as well as those being honored or remembered. A contribution to the Flower Fund is a meaningful way to honor or remember a loved one for special life events such as birthdays, anniversaries, baptisms, confirmations, thanksgivings, or in memory of a loved one.

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The Foundation of Saint Michael and All Angels is essential to the vitality, growth, stability and success of our parish. Its grants support the mission of the Parish, consistent with priorities established by the Vestry and the Rector.

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As God’s stewards, we build on the foundation left by those who came before us. We, in turn, have the opportunity, with a bequest to Saint Michael, to sustain and enhance our parish ministries and programs for the benefit of future generations.

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Building the Kingdom

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