My Saint Michael’s Story: Dan DeLucca
My name is Dan DeLucca and I’m originally from the Philadelphia area. I was raised Roman Catholic in a faith that was dutiful, clinical, and not very emotional. I was never able to make a connection with the faith of my youth. I never lost faith in God but I did lose faith in organized religion.
Read MoreMy Saint Michael’s Story: Teri Quaranta
I grew up as a cradle Episcopalian. For as long as I can remember, which was when I was still in the nursery at Emmanuel Episcopal on Mercer Island, our family rarely missed a Sunday. My parents were well connected and both sang in the choir. I stopped going when Mike and I got married and moved to Portland, although I knew I intended to return once we had children because I felt it was an important part of their education.
Read MoreMy St. Michael’s Story: Jenny Hunter
My St. Michael’s story is one of reconciliation. To understand how meaningful my experience has been with St. Michael’s, you first need to understand a bit about my past. My relationship with the church and, for that matter with God, was deeply affected by my relationship with my father. His unconditional love for me was the template for which I built my understanding of God’s love for all of his children. I grew up in the Episcopal church and through the liturgy, traditions, music and celebrations I felt a great sense of connection to a larger family in Christ.
Read MoreMy St. Michael’s Story: Tola Marts
For most of the last thirty years, I was what I would describe as cheerfully agnostic towards the subject of faith. “It’s not a music I hear,” I would tell people. “I don’t have anything against people who do, but it’s just not my thing.” I had joined a church as a teenager, but had drifted away. Even when my Mom died ten years ago, that didn’t change. In her last days, I was able to spend some time with one of her brothers. There were five kids in my Mom’s family, and Rick was the next oldest. He was a man of quiet faith, and he shared it with me as we spent time with my Mom. Not in a pushy way, but with great humility. Rick had the type of life that some people describe with the phrase “rode hard and put away wet.” There had been a number of heart attacks at that point, and he had been sober for about 20 years. But he persevered, and later he even reunited with his high school sweetheart.
Read MoreMy St. Michael’s Story: Tina Blondino
I read an author who said he wasn’t sure he could say that he was a Christian–but he was comfortable saying he was a “becoming-Christian”–and that’s true for me too. My life has been an amazing series of joys and tragedies–and through those experiences I have come to learn more about myself, God, and my ability to trust God’s love. St. Michael’s has been a key and vibrant part of my growth in faith. The weekly Sunday liturgy is a continual joy. The Sunday Eucharist and the steady and familiar march through the church’s seasons seems both enriching and uniquely fresh.
Read MoreMy St. Michael’s Story: Lori Birrell
Doug and I have attended St. Michael’s for 26 years. Some of you have been coming longer. What keeps us at St. Michael’s? Every Sunday we get together in this beautiful church with friends who are fellow Episcopalians. We are educated every Sunday by our outstanding priest, Rev. Katherine, teaching us through lessons and gospel readings of how these stories are still relevant today and how they impact our lives. We are fed every Sunday, not only through communion but our great coffee hour.
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