St. Anne's Church, Evensong, and the Diagnosis Mackinac Island, Michigan Day 35-36 - June 7 & 8, 2002  Back   |   Next

Winter at Saint Anne's Catholic Church Mackinac Island, Michigan St. Anne's Church It is Sunday and my ankle is still sore despite Advil and ice. I attend church, slightly worried that Mackinac Island will be as far I go on this journey, that I will have to call my family in Grand Rapids, and get a flight back to Washington D.C. "What on earth is going on?" says Father Williams as he begins the homily. He cites a New York Times article, "Will capitalism lead to the downfall of capitalism?" First, there is trouble in the church, and now there is Enron, WorldCom, and Martha Stewart. Whatever is going on, it has something to do with our culture. I look around and wonder who might be visiting from Petoskey or Charlevoix and staying at the Grand Hotel. He ties these headlines into the gospel reading. He denounces materialism and consumerism, which comes from living on a fleshly plane as opposed to a spiritual one.   Interior of Saint Anne's. The church was built in 1874 while the parish records date back to 1695. The interior has a large mural of Saint Anne, the grandmother of Jesus. His mother Mary, kneels at His feet in prayer. After Mass, he announces that the church is always in need of volunteers to help them out with weekly services such as the square dance, and dinners they provide for island workers. I tell him about my situation, that I now have an injury, that my ankle is sore and swollen from over working it on my way up to Mackinac. I will volunteer for the church while my ankle heals if he can find a place for me to crash. He says I can stay in the rectory and tells me to see Val Porter who works downstairs in the museum gift shop. I meet Val in the church basement where the museum, gift shop and parish-dining hall are located. She has me help her count money for raffle tickets they have been selling. Fr. Williams later tells me that back in the Middle Ages Catholics sold indulgences. Now we sell raffle tickets. As Val and I count money I learn that she is married to Phil Porter, who is a writer and once attended Kenyan College. It is a small liberal arts school in nowhere, Ohio. I know this because I had read about the college in Kluge's Alma Mater last fall in a religion class (consequently, it also the same class that I first heard of Mackinac Island). They have five children. Before I leave Val invites me to help tutor English to Mexican workers at the Grand Hotel on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Evensong at St. Anne's Dusk on Mackinac Island At 10 PM, I go back to St. Anne's for Evensong. The nave is dimly lit with candles. Phil leads the Evensong. Val and several others sing and chant praises to God. The lead singer, sings "Let our prayers rise like incense," as the congregation goes up before the altar to place a pinch of incense on a candle. The Diagnosis Day 36 - July 8, 2002 I go to a place the Mackinac Island guidebook hopes I "will not need to visit." The doctor checks out my ankle. It is a "strained ankle," and I should be good to go in about a week. She gives me an ankle brace and anti-inflammatories.