Dear Friends,

If you have not had a chance to read through the annual reports submitted by all the leaders of our parish, I hope you will do so. You will recognize how blessed we are by so many who give of themselves in such varied ways. And once you have read the reports, I hope you will take some time to marvel at how rich our life is together, sustained by the offerings of so many. Then,  I hope you will do this: in your own way, take the opportunity to say “thank you.” You can say it in person, you can write it in a note, you can say it in a prayer to God. As you come in on a Sunday morning, thank the ushers. When you see a member of the Children’s Choir, thank her. When someone is cleaning up after Coffee Hour, thank him.  When a person may have provoked you with a challenging word about what it means to be a disciple, thank her.   And thank God. Thank God for giving us each other, and for the opportunity to grow in love and service together. Gratitude is a means of grace, one of the ways in which God nourishes, empowers, and blesses us. I know I have so much to be thankful for here in this community. And so I will close with those simple words, “Thank you!”

Faithfully,

Tom