Welcome to Zion Episcopal Church, located on the Point in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We are already a month into the new year and a new chapter is well under way. At the Annual Meeting, I presented and we discussed a vision for the future of Zion. I invited all of you to add your voice to the conversation that will determine what actions we take as we move forward. I hope to hear from you soon and often. May God guide us through the changes soon coming – not changing who we are, but being more of what we are and what we are called to be. The slides and notes from the Vision presentation will be available soon. I mentioned in my presentation that the "Father Knows Best" model will not help us as we move forward. In case you’re not sure what I mean by that, I hope to explain it here.

The term "Father Knows Best" is a recent one borrowed from the television show by that name. In this situation comedy from the 1950s, Jim Anderson, a wise family man, and his common-sense wife, Margaret, guide their family of three children through various situations. Whenever the kids need advice on anything, they can always turn to their father, because father knows best. (Dylan Self, IMDB.com) The practice of relying on the parish priest for wisdom, prophecy, Scriptural interpretation, and guidance in all things practical and spiritual has been a practice in the church a lot longer. In many cases, the Father Knows Best model is good and useful. It is commonly understood now, however, to retard the spiritual growth of individuals and communities, at least, and can actually be abusive at worst.

Given Zion’s history and the desire to empower you to explore and grow spiritually and grow into who you are called to be as a Christian, an Episcopalian, and as a member of this particular faith community at Zion, our Vestry and I are working on various ways to enhance our common and individual experience of Christ and to teach and empower you to share your experience with others. Zion is full of folks with a variety of gifts that are daily put to use for God’s kingdom. Our goal is simply to discover how we might best use all our gifts for the glory of God and to invite you and others to share in the mystery and glory of experiencing God through Christ. And we can do that through worship, fellowship, welcoming those who visit us, and reaching out to help those we can help.

May God be in the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts.

 Fr. Michael +