hs3rd

At the vestry meeting on Sunday I complimented the people of Good Shepherd for your functioning during and after the summer storms and the water damage to the parish house. We did not assess any blame for the damage. Nor did we seek help from inappropriate sources. These are two very common failings when troubles befall parishes. And we did neither one. We stayed on schedule. Nothing was postponed or canceled. Essentially, we took responsibility for the things about which we have responsibility. That really is all we can do, and that includes the renovations required to bring the parish house back to its condition at the time the water damage began. And plans are underway for those renovations.

And at the vestry meeting we learned that we shall again have Family Sundays during the Sunday School year. Normally, Family Sunday will be the fourth Sunday of the month. But in October it will be on the third Sunday, reserving the fourth Sunday for a special event in the Sunday School. I am very grateful to Laura Hopkins for her leadership in the important ministry of the Sunday School.

Lastly, on Holy Cross Day (September 14) I launched a new website, Catechesis Topics (www.catechesistopics.com). I invite you to have a look at it and to let me know what you think about it. The website I intend to be a basic setting forth of the Christian faith as the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church have received it. It is based on The Book of Common Prayer (1979) and particularly the Catechism in it. Check out the “About” and “Table of Contents” pages for the general idea and a bird’s eye view of the whole. All of the photographs in the website are of Good Shepherd and were taken with an out-of-date telephone and edited with the Photos app on my laptop.

This comes with every good wish for you as together we worship and serve, asking the Lord to “bring forth in us the fruit of good works” (BCP, page 233).