A letter to the congregation of All Saints,

   Happy New Year to you all! I hope and pray that you enjoyed some rest and fun during the holidays. It was a joy and honor to preside at two services on Christmas eve this year. The children's pageant was the largest I have ever experienced. Heartfelt thanks to all of the families who participated and especially to the McGibneys—Katrina for directing and Matt, Jasper and Ian for sharing their musical talent. There are so many people to thank. We lift everyone up in the light of God's love for making this Christmas season so meaningful. 

   Frederick Buechner wrote about the wise men, "The gifts that the three wise men, or kings, or Magi, brought to the manger in Bethlehem cost them plenty but seem hardly appropriate to the occasion. Maybe they were all they could think of for the child who had everything. In any case, they set them down on the straw—the gold, the frankincense, the myrrh—worshiped briefly, and then returned to the East, where they had come from. It gives you pause to consider how, for all their great wisdom, they overlooked the

one gift that the child would have been genuinely pleased to have someday, and that was the gift of themselves." The most memorable holidays are the ones where we give others the gift of ourselves.

   Mark your calendars! The New Year is bringing many new opportunities. Be sure to check

out the Pastoral Care Training on Tuesday, January 7 at 2 pm on Zoom. Contact the Rev.

Lyn Burns (annlynburns@gmail.com) if you need to join or arrange to meet at a different

time.

   The Rev. Ann Boyd's class on the great Franciscan theologian, Richard Rohr, starts on

Sunday, January 12 at 9am in the DeForest Room.

   You may have noticed that St. Paul's is missing from this Messenger. After careful

consideration, we decided to revive St. Paul’s newsletter, the Epistle. This will ease

administrative workloads and both churches may still subscribe to each other's newsletters.

   Please pray for us as we prepare for the annual meeting after church on Sunday, January 19.

Anne+