³¹Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³²But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”’Luke 15

Spirituality is a Relationship: Who are the “others” in your life with whom you are called to be in relationship?Spirituality is never a private affair; it always brings us into connection with others. We are called to love by Jesus and to be in relationships of love, to be loving toward others, even toward our enemies.

We begin perhaps with those whom we find easy to love, with our family members and our friends; and how do we want to nurture those relationships? What can we do to foster intimacy and to grow closer together? What can we do to express our love and to protect our love and to nurture our love in these relationships?

The Christian message always brings us beyond those who are easy to love and challenges us to love God in the stranger, to find Christ in the stranger, in the outcast, in the marginalized, in the poor, in the oppressed.

Consider the following questions for your reflections this week.

• How am I called to relate to my enemies and how am I called to be in relationship with them, to pray for them, to love them?
• What does that mean for me and how will I put that into practice, as it were, in my life?

Spirituality is always very practical. It has to do with how our faith impacts how we live from day-to-day and how we interact with people.

We are commanded by Jesus to be a people of Love! (From the SSJE)

Rector’s Message:  Many thanks to all parishioners for coming out and participating in our first ever bowling and fellowship. It was a joy to see all of you gathered and continue to strengthen our relationship as a church family. A special thank you to Dave and Mavis Reynolds for organizing this event. Would anyone in the congregation be interested to organize our next church fellowship/event?

Last week, I spoke with one of our parishioners, Aster G., with regards to their participation in our Sunday Worship Service. She said that life is just too busy for her and her family. However, she remained committed to St. Michael’s and affirmed their membership to our church. My hope is that we could assist our parish in reaching out to other members of our church. Please encourage them to come back and participate in the life and mission to St. Michael’s. Perhaps, you could arrange for your rector to do a home visit. This is just one way on how you could help grow our church.

I would like to reiterate an announcement asking all parishioners to come on Sunday, Apr. 7^th, and participate in a guided conversation, after the 10am Service, about implementing the identified mission priorities of St. Michael’s. Our focus is to continue to develop our ministry for the future.

“¹¹ The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”Ephesians 4