Good Shepherd Sunday

Greetings, all, what a glorious Mother’s Day gift last Sunday to have so many children in attendance–24 by my count! Trust the families enjoyed the day together. It was a bonus to have so many children in church when I had planned to show the animated version of the parable of the lost sheep, a delightful illustration for children of all ages. Watch it by clicking on the following link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyWZeOlaRo4  It is wholly appropriate to celebrate Mother’s Day on Easter4. Good Shepherd Sunday, it seems to me.

I will be at church this coming Sunday, but following that I will be taking a week’s vacation. Eleanor and I will travel to Washington for most of the week, to attend the American Literature Association conference where I will present a paper as part of a panel discussion, sponsored by the Hemingway Society, on Ernest Hemingway and his relationship with the American Government. Should be fun. We haven’t been to Washington for some time and it’s one of our favorite cities, since we visited it on student trips several times and took our own children once as well.
I’ll be back in the office the afternoon of May 28 for the parochial committee/parish council meeting that evening at 7pm with Terry DeForest.

Shalom. wf

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Easter 3

Greetings, all:

There was great fellowship at the Assets workshop following the coffee time last Sunday morning. There is a great positive spirit among you; you are a wonderful lot of people. I was pleased to see a good turnout for the workshop, half from the early service and half from the later. You have much to be thankful for, and I enjoy working with you.

     The aim of the workshop in great part was to show you that you are rich indeed, with so many assets in so many areas, primarily in people. You are rich beyond your wildest dreams of avarice, rich in the things of the spirit, which last forever.

     The most challenging part of the workshop was to see the assortment of assets on the wall and to discern connections among them, with a view to discovering unimagined areas of fellowship and ministry. Fund-raising opportunities are a distant concern. Where fellowship and sense of mission are strong, finances follow. So that was the tough part, especially as it comes at the end of a stimulating hour. Hence, we’ll leave the assets wall up for a while to study it for patterns. While in the office today, Wednesday, I have transcribed the list of assets from the wall, which I will summarize along with the workshop for the Journal in order  to stimulate creative imaginative connections at our leisure.

     Well done last Sunday morning.  All will be well. There is no reason for doubt or anxiety.

     Shalom, wf

ps. morning homily from Easter3.Honest Thomas.