My dear friends,

On this Sunday, July 26, 2020 at 10 A.M., CDT, we will, as a community, have, for the first time, the opportunity for a Mass through the technology of Zoom! Our board met successfully last evening through this format and it was so good to “see” each other again!

These are new times that call for new ways of being Church and community–something we have been talking about during this time of pandemic.  I realize that many have already used Zoom for other meetings and gatherings, so this should be very easy for you.  Some may not have yet done this, so it will be something new, but because of the good prep work of my son-in-law, Adam, who will be standing by on Sunday; I think this will be a good experience for all of us who can join in.

This first Mass on Zoom will be a celebration of Mary of Magdala (feast day, July 22) and of all women, recognizing our loving God’s intention, as exemplified so well in our brother Jesus’ earthly life of inclusion of all, that we are,  women and men, equally called to serve as ministers at the altar.

As I pondered how to best do this Mass, knowing that only a few, (my personal family) will be present in the room with me to receive the Eucharistic bread; I am extending an invitation to you who join us on Sunday to participate in a special way, new to all of us, but one that other women priests have been using in their Zoom liturgies.

Those of you who are part of our Winona, All Are One community, know that I always invite you to pray the Eucharistic Prayer with me including the words of institution–” This is my body…this is my blood.  I humbly remind you that I have the privilege of being the presider, but you all are celebrants with me and together, through the words and our faith, we make Jesus present.  During this time of pandemic, in the absence of the physical bread, I have reminded us that Jesus is always with us and that we are being called to experience his presence in a different way.

So now my friends, again we have a new opportunity and your participation, that I spoke of above,  in a special way,  is my invitation to you,  if you wish, to bring your own bread and wine, or grape juice to the Zoom Liturgy and when we all say the words together, in our faith, Jesus will be present in the bread and wine of our “collective altars.”  This is what we do in our Masses at Lutheran Campus Center as you exercise your “priesthood of the faithful.”

I realize that this might feel strange to some of you, but the only difference is that we won’t be in the same room and I believe that the Spirit can make the leap!

Hopefully this makes sense and can rest easily on your hearts.  I shared this plan with the board last evening and they were in agreement to proceed.  And again, if you are uncomfortable with this plan, please know that it is an invitation and is totally up to you to decide what you want to do.

If you have questions or concerns, please be in contact and we can talk.  aaorcc2008@gmail.com or 507-429-3616.

I will send the link for the Sunday Zoom Mass plus some written material for your participation in a few days,

Love and peace,

Pastor Kathy

Dear Friends,

In addition to my earlier post–I must add two more gifts which I forgot in the first message!

1. The Crazy Horse Mountain Carving Foundation–our gift was given for the college fund to assist Native American youth get a running start for college through summer classes–$300
2. Lake Street Council–to assist small business owners rebuild after the riots in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd–$500

Again my thanks to all for your generous sharing with those less fortunate–peace and love, Pastor Kathy

Dear Friends,

It seems during this time of pandemic and the crisis of dealing with racism in our country  finally, perhaps, finally–a bit of good news is in order.  As a parish, you have been very generous financially during these difficult times when we are all trying to stay safe and well and can’t be together as a result.  It was the decision of your board to continue our gifting to those less fortunate during this time.  Please see below the gifts that were made in your name: All gifts were in the amount of $300 unless otherwise indicated:

1. April–Habitat for Humanity in Winona had an emergency drive because their two fundraisers had to be cancelled due to COVID 19.
2. May–Doctors without Borders  asked for funds to assist the Navaho Nation in our country to deal with COVID 19. (this was unusual for them because their work is usually outside our country).
3. The Rochester Franciscan Sisters sponsored what they called, “Diaper Dash” which assisted immigrants with everyday necessities for babies and children.
4. June–St. Anne of Winona Foundation has a project at present of building outdoor patio areas for their residents–in the beginning of the month, we gave a gift in honor of Eric Bartleson being that he was very involved there, as a member on their board and then living there several weeks during his illness.
5. After Eric’s death we gave an additional gift of $200–my stipend for doing his funeral–I had told the family that they didn’t need to give me a gift as Eric was a member of our parish, but if they still wished to, we would gift it back to St. Anne’s.

So, my friends, I wanted to let you know of the ways we were able to share your gifts to the parish!

Peace and love, Pastor Kathy

Dear Friends, 

For those of you in the Winona area who knew Eric Bartleson, but because of the pandemic, couldn’t attend his funeral, I thought you might like to read the homily that I gave. –Pastor Kathy

June 13, 2020

I wanted to begin my comments today by expressing my deep gratitude to you, Paul, Jennifer, and Ann Marie in giving me the privilege of officiating at your Dad’s funeral liturgy—really a celebration of his life.  Eric was a good and trusted friend and I came to know him and your Mom, Cathy, over the years as I pastored All Are One Catholic church.  As you all know, Eric was a founding member of All Are One, a fact, it turns out, in getting the whole venue changed for today!

I thought for those of you who may not be as familiar with our little “renegade” church here in Winona, it might be helpful to share a bit of our history—that which Eric was so much a part of when we began nearly 13 years ago.

This church has always been and will continue to be one that is inclusive of all—anyone who wants to pray with us is welcome and as a result, we have many Catholic folks, but Lutherans and a Methodist—by background, also pray with us regularly.  It seems that this is, as Jesus intended, when he prayed the night before his death, “that they all would be one,”—thus the name of our parish.

The majority of our parishioners believed in the changes of Vatican Council II, yearning for a church that lived out these changes, only to be dialed back under the papacy of John Paul II.

So, the two dozen or so people who answered a letter from me in the fall of 2007 after I was ordained a deacon through the Roman Catholic Womenpriests organization, inviting them to a discussion about having a Catholic parish that was inclusive,  barring none from the communion table, accepting the idea that God calls women to serve as priests, just as men are called, included Eric Bartleson.

The next year, I was ordained a priest in apostolic succession just as the men are and we were off and running.  Eric was with us from the beginning, supporting the work we do in this community—among other types of outreach, trying to give back in financial assistance as much as we possibly can, locally, nationally and internationally to those in need.  In fact, in serving on our board as its president from its inception for 10 years, Eric was fond of telling others that his favorite task, along with other board members, “was giving our money away.”

Because our parish is so generous in giving, many quarters showed a negative balance as we always wanted to give one more gift and were receiving donations right along to make up the difference!

We were and are in a unique, symbiotic relationship with the Lutheran Campus Center in sharing a ministry space—rent-free, which allows us the ability to give so much away, yet support the mission of the Lutheran Campus Center as well.

I believe what Eric so appreciated about our parish was its openness, which, guided by the Spirit allowed, “love,” not “law” to rule.  He was an integral part of our parish and will be solely missed. He will live on in our parish though, through his soul-mate of these last 5 years, Pat Przybylski, of which we are so grateful.

I will now briefly tie in the Scripture readings chosen for today.  We began with the Old Testament reading from Ecclesiastes which has been loved across the ages—put to music by some, as it speaks so well of the “turning” of our lifetimes.  With every funeral that I do where this reading is used, I always say when we get to the end that I don’t think God would mind if we list some of the things that uniquely reflect the person that we are remembering and celebrating.  Thus for Eric we could say, “There is a time for being with and loving family, there is a time for fishing, for being on the water, for running, for traveling and so on.”

The second reading, the 23^rd psalm is again a loved reading—many know it by heart across the denominations and I especially like a newer version from the translation, The Message.  In the original we read, “Only goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in your house for days without end.”  The Message has this beautiful line:  “Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.  I’m back home in the house of God for the rest of my life.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but I rather like the idea that our God “chases” after us throughout our lives, and on June 8^th, our loving God caught up with Eric, after a life well-lived and took him home to one of the “many dwelling places” prepared for us, you and me, as our brother Jesus spoke of in the Gospel today.  Amen? Amen!

Dear Friends,