Faces on Faith: Legacy of outreach, service and love
This month St. Michael’s celebrates 65 years of worship in our beautiful sanctuary on Periwinkle Way. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about our church’s history as we have prepared display boards with pictures and stories detailing the early history of the church.
Prior to worshipping in the present sanctuary, Father Madden (our founder) gathered folks at Casa Marina, where the ferry docked. It seems the roof of the space used as a cafe had begun to leak, so the owners offered it to the Episcopalians to use for church services. Since the cafe had served beer, it could be said that St. Michael’s first baptism (Merrell Rushworth, May 28, 1958) took place in a bar!
After Hurricane Donna destroyed that building (and most everything else) in 1960, our forebears purchased this property on Periwinkle and constructed the sanctuary we use today (fully restored after Hurricane Ian).
St. Michael’s has a proud history on the island. Father Madden was a leader in racial integration of the church and Sanibel school in the early 1960s. He and other church leaders were successful in efforts to provide affordable housing by establishing the County Housing Authority. They worked to care for God’s creation, especially stray pets and the wildlife on our islands. This church also has a long history of outreach to people in need though the funds raised and items donated at Noah’s Ark Thrift Shop.
We sometimes think of a church or place of worship as a space where walls seek to keep God in, but this church’s legacy is a reminder that as much as we might come to a church, synagogue or mosque seeking refuge (“sanctuary”), these sacred places are training grounds where we learn how to be God’s people and to speak and act in ways that build God’s kingdom of justice, love and peace here and now.
In the case of St. Michael’s, people have gathered for 65-plus years to be shaped and formed in “The Way of Love.” As followers of Jesus, we seek to be shaped and formed in his image and likeness so that we will be Christlike in what we say and do. This means we will seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourself, and that we will strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being (our baptismal covenant).
We gather to be shaped and formed in these values and then we go forth to put them into practice: standing against racism, discrimination and hate, finding shelter for the unhoused, caring for creation and reaching out to people in need.
I am proud to stand in a long line of people who have called St. Michael’s Episcopal Church their spiritual home and look forward to being part of continuing this church’s legacy of outreach, service and love in God’s name.
The Rev. William “Bill” Van Oss is the rector at Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church.