Life Together @St Mike's
Saint Michael's was founded in 1956. Bishop Mallett divided the Cathedral of Saint James' in downtown South Bend, giving the new mission his residence on the corner of Jefferson and Ironwood for the new church to meet in. At our former location, and always a lively congregation, Saint Michael's was known in South Bend for its Dickens of a Faire music and arts & crafts festival. Bishop Mallet's residence was adapted with the addition of a nave and sanctuary but we eventually outgrew that space. For more details about our history, please see the diocesan archives page.
In 1997 we moved into our newly built church just south of Cleveland Road and still on Ironwood. We are still actively engaged in the life of the city and the community around us. Today we are often well known for our Service on Saturday lunches every third Saturday of the month. This lunch is free and open to all and is as much about the hospitality as the great meal being served. The food and fellowship nourishes the body, mind and spirit. Utilizing the approach of Asset Based Community Development, this lunch-time event is a place where "guests become friends and friends become family."
Saint Michael's is also known in the community for our seasonal cultural events, music concerts and recitals. Our music director, Dr. Marvin Curtis, is the dean of the Ernestine Raclin School of the Arts at IUSB. Under his leadership we are blessed to host musical events of the highest quality on a regular basis. A few years ago, when we hosted a musical concert to raise funds for our new grand piano most of the professional musicians in the concert came from the congregation. We are also the home for the River Bend Chorus chapter of Sweet Adeline's.
Over the last half dozen years, Saint Michael's has been undergoing a renaissance in our life in Christ. Our mission is to Know, Live and Share the Love of Christ. In fulfilling our call from God, we have witnessed an expansion in all of our outreach ministries; a musical renewal in our worship and community engagement; a robust expansion in our pastoral care; and growth in our Christian education, particularly with our teenagers.
Since our founding Saint Michael's has always had a regular and substantial proportion of children and youth as part of our life together. It is an important part of our ministry to nurture and bring up our young people in the faith. Our teenage ministry, in particular, has grown in recent years to provide events and experiences that support them in their journey to adulthood. Journey to Adulthood is the curriculum we have embraced for them and are implementing in their trips to Chicago and a pilgrimage to a destination of their choosing. In 2017 we took our first youth pilgrimage to Canterbury.
We have also been freed from our mortgage debt thanks to God's grace and a successful Capital Campaign. We began a Capital Campaign in 2013 to pay down our long-lingering mortgage and help us grow our most vital ministries. In 2009 our mortgage stood at over $353,000. By God's grace and the dedication of our congregation, we retired our church's debt and held a liturgy for burning our mortgage in March, 2017.
At just over 60 years old, our congregation is blessed to have a life together that is free to follow Christ's call, blessed with the resources to move forward in strength, and the desire to more deeply Know, Live and Share the Love of Christ.
In 1997 we moved into our newly built church just south of Cleveland Road and still on Ironwood. We are still actively engaged in the life of the city and the community around us. Today we are often well known for our Service on Saturday lunches every third Saturday of the month. This lunch is free and open to all and is as much about the hospitality as the great meal being served. The food and fellowship nourishes the body, mind and spirit. Utilizing the approach of Asset Based Community Development, this lunch-time event is a place where "guests become friends and friends become family."
Saint Michael's is also known in the community for our seasonal cultural events, music concerts and recitals. Our music director, Dr. Marvin Curtis, is the dean of the Ernestine Raclin School of the Arts at IUSB. Under his leadership we are blessed to host musical events of the highest quality on a regular basis. A few years ago, when we hosted a musical concert to raise funds for our new grand piano most of the professional musicians in the concert came from the congregation. We are also the home for the River Bend Chorus chapter of Sweet Adeline's.
Over the last half dozen years, Saint Michael's has been undergoing a renaissance in our life in Christ. Our mission is to Know, Live and Share the Love of Christ. In fulfilling our call from God, we have witnessed an expansion in all of our outreach ministries; a musical renewal in our worship and community engagement; a robust expansion in our pastoral care; and growth in our Christian education, particularly with our teenagers.
Since our founding Saint Michael's has always had a regular and substantial proportion of children and youth as part of our life together. It is an important part of our ministry to nurture and bring up our young people in the faith. Our teenage ministry, in particular, has grown in recent years to provide events and experiences that support them in their journey to adulthood. Journey to Adulthood is the curriculum we have embraced for them and are implementing in their trips to Chicago and a pilgrimage to a destination of their choosing. In 2017 we took our first youth pilgrimage to Canterbury.
We have also been freed from our mortgage debt thanks to God's grace and a successful Capital Campaign. We began a Capital Campaign in 2013 to pay down our long-lingering mortgage and help us grow our most vital ministries. In 2009 our mortgage stood at over $353,000. By God's grace and the dedication of our congregation, we retired our church's debt and held a liturgy for burning our mortgage in March, 2017.
At just over 60 years old, our congregation is blessed to have a life together that is free to follow Christ's call, blessed with the resources to move forward in strength, and the desire to more deeply Know, Live and Share the Love of Christ.
