Urban Renewal

Father Gary McGinnis presided over Mass today at St. Michael's. He also presided over the Mass we attended on Friday at the Genesee County Jail. When he ministers at the jail, he uses the readings from the following Sunday. So on both Friday and today, our group heard the readings for the fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time. For that reason, Fr. McGinnis told us on Friday that the homily for Sunday would be similar, almost the same -- so it would have been easy to be inattentive because of the familiarity.

The readings are about hope and renewal, and our growth in faith (Isaiah 55:10-11, Romans 8:18-23, Matthew 13:1-23). Those themes were wonderfully apparent throughout today's Mass, beautifully relevant for the St. Michael parish, and thoughtfully related by Fr. McGinnis in the homily. In fact, I would say even my understanding of his homily was renewed; even though I heard it just on Friday, the message was completely renewed and I was re-inspired. I can't say enough how beautiful that is.

St. Michael's has a reputation as a dying parish in Flint. It's the mother parish of Genesee County, founded in 1843, and the popular prognosis is that a shrinking congregation and the absence of a dedicated pastor signal the end of the parish, like several others in Flint that have already closed. Fr. McGinnis emphatically challenged that notion, intertwining Christ's parable of the Sower and the Seed with his assertion that St. Michael's can begin anew. And he pointed out that renewal at St. Michael's can't happen without the congregation's willingness to change.

At this point in the homily, Fr. McGinnis asked something of the parish that was an astonishingly simple request, an obvious suggestion, but something that threatens the comfort of one's habits -- something that was challenging and uncomfortable to put into practice. He asked the congregation to move closer together -- to congregate. To sit with each other, as a community, in the first few rows of pews.

There were perhaps sixty people spread throughout the sanctuary. They looked a little astonished, and but almost everyone agreed to move. And the sense of community, of togetherness, immediately increased.

In today's Gospel, Christ says the the seeds in rich soil "produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold" (Matthew 13:8). After the congregation moved together, its "Amen" and its other responses through the rest of the Mass resounded louder and longer throughout the sanctuary -- as if the community, or at least its sense of togetherness, had increased thirtyfold. The rest of Mass felt noticeably more joyful, more intentional. It was beautiful. Hopefully it's another step toward renewal at St. Michael's.

At the conclusion of Mass, a couple celebrating forty years of marriage received a blessing for the anniversary. The husband and wife professed their vows again, firmly promising their continued love, and demonstrating that today's message of renewal carries hope not only for a parish community, but also for two individuals.

You should come to St. Michael's some time.