TESTIMONY:
By Selena Roth, Church Member
" WHERE YOU ARE WELCOMED TO FEEL LIKE YOU'RE
AT HOME WITH FAMILY"
By Selena Roth (10/30/2011)
My husband Eric and I moved from Florida to South Huntington, New York in July of 2009. We attended a nice St. John’s Episcopal Church in that area. We moved to Wantagh in August of 2010 to be closer to our jobs, so after getting settled we began looking for a new church because
we didn’t want to drive about 45 minutes each way. Upon trying the service at four different churches in a few towns, we began to feel frustrated and considered going back to Huntington. We didn’t get the peaceful feeling we seek after the service, the people there were not very welcoming, Eric and I like the service being kept focused on the
words of God without any politics and current news events, and we like the service to consist of the same traditional agenda that most episcopal churches feature. We searched and searched and the Lord seemed to show us to this nice church named St. Michael & all Angels Episcopal Church in Seaford.
During our first Sunday at St. Michael’s, I cried and thought about my Mother a lot. There were two of Mom’s favorite hymns sung. The sermon spoke to my heart and I felt that the Holy Spirit was truly present. I felt that Jesus and my Mom were helping me to release my grief and pain that I still had been feeling almost every day since her passing.
As Eric and I were driving away from the church that first Sunday, we agreed that we really like the way in which Father Fred celebrate and preach at the Holy Eucharist and also enjoyed the cheerfulness of the hymns that were sung. Father Fred focused on the teachings of Jesus Christ and we got the feeling from him that he really has love and compassion for guiding and teaching as many of each and everyone that he can. There were no negative news topics in the service and the congregation gave us a warm welcoming. We felt that if we want the news or politics, as we do enjoyed that, reading a newspaper or watching it on television are the ways we’d prefer to get it. Church should be for peace and the words of God. The Church is a house of prayer, where we seek to experience God’s love and care and get our nourishment of the sacraments. Eric and I want peaceful loving feelings as much as we can, and we get that from this wonderful church after every service.
As to the lay leadership of this parish, we were invited to Coffee Hour by many of you and Kathy (Junior Warden) never gave up on trying to get us involved in some activities such as Epistle Reading. We never thought we would be so involved with St Michael’s, but two weeks ago I asked Eric if he thought he’d ever stand at the podium and do a scripture reading and he said “yes,” which is a big change from “No, I’m not going to do that”. I felt the same way before, but well, here I am, not only reading the Scriptures, but testifying before you and doing volunteer work for this loving church. Thank you all for making us a part of St. Michael’s All Angels of Seaford family. |
|
|
 |
Dear Friends and Family,
We are pleased and proud of the many changes that has occurred with our church. We had the banquet hall renovated with beautiful tiles and curtains, so we are happy to accommodate weddings or any type of meeting or event for our town and surrounding communities. Our congregation has grown and we have great support from many of them. Like the shifting sands of time in the hour glass, the Passion Week of Jesus began with full sands on the top. On Palm Sunday, the people welcomed Jesus as King. The the sands went down low when the temple authorities plotted against him, the Jewish elders rejected him, Judas betrayed him, Roman soldiers crucified him, Peter denied him, other apostles deserted him. The sands in the hour glass emptied when he died and was buried on borrowed grave, Then the sands on the third day shifted again and became full
at the top, the high point of His Resurrection.
Life is like shifting sands of time; sometimes we're up, sometimes we're down. But in all of life, there is always hope. "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know, I know, He holds the future. My life is worth living because He lives!
Father Fred |
Lindsay and Heather have been members of our church since they were eight years old, and both of their parents are very active volunteers, as well as being Vestry members. They are former Sunday School attendees who chose to become Acolytes for St. Michael & All Angels in order to follow in their older sister's footsteps, whom is now away in college. They wanted to be able to make a contribution to the church and to help Father Fred in celebrating the Eucharist. Lindsay said "she loves our church because it's small enough to get to know everyone, everyone is nice, and she feels closer to God when she's there". Heather too likes the intimacy of the church and all of the members knowing each other in a very friendly way. She said "she can feel God's presence during services each Sunday, and feel's comfort in that". Lindsay and Heather always pitch-in during church family events as well, such as during our Chinese Auction and Night At The Races. Also, they recently represented the parish as Youth Delegates during the "Diocesan Convention." We look forward to there ideas in how to make our church a fun place for many teenagers and young adults, as the St Michael's for Teens events will expand this year!
YOU ARE INVITED TO ST. MIKE’S CHOIR!
Mission Statement:
“We are a multi-generational community of Christian faith that supports and strives to expand an active ministry of Jesus Christ through traditional and contemporary corporate worship, the unconditional embrace of all whom we can reach and the shared endeavor to grow spiritually through prayer, example, education and service.”
Download the Volunteer Form |
|
