Notes for the Week Presentation of Our Lord February 2 2020

Dear friends,

You know a parish is alive and well, when all who belong to it feels called to come together to support, to celebrate, to mourn and to rejoice for two straight days.  Such was the life at St. Aidan’s last weekend.

A sweet farewell…..
On Saturday, almost the entire parish arrived to pay lasting respects to a beloved member of the Vidito family.  We brought Angelina Marie to her final resting place and gently bathed her memory in love and remembrance.

Many of the very beautiful flowers brought to the church in honor of Angie, were left for us all to enjoy for our Sunday service, and for our Annual Meeting.  Thank you, Mike and Shirley.  Rest in peace, Angie.

Recognition of faithful service…..
On Sunday, our Annual Meeting was long, and I cannot imagine that there is anything left for the Vestry to tell our congregation about the state of the church!  After almost an hour talking about budgets, the meeting ended on a high note, as we celebrated a lifetime of service to the church, especially to  St. Aidan’s, by Byron McKinlay.  Byron was our recipient of the Third Annual St. Aidan’s Service Award.  Congratulations, Byron!

One of the things I love about St. Aidan’s is that, even though we all are aware we are at the beginning of, what we know will be a conservative year, everyone knows what it is to which we must pay attention, and what it is we will or will not be able to accomplish.  Yet, no matter the depths of our valleys or the height of our mountains, we still walk together, still filled with love and caring for each other, still filled with hope and confidence in the future, and still faithfully following the footsteps of Christ, serving God and God’s people how and where we can.

Our congregation is called now to invite, inform, and educate people they know from other communities within which they move, about every aspect of life at St. Aidan’s:  our worship, our art camp, our Celtic Festival, our rummage sale, our music and our meditation, and more.  At our annual meeting, everyone present was given two St. Aidan’s cards to offer to prospective members or contributors to the life of St. Aidan’s.  We are ready to tell out the good news of how powerfully  God works in the world, and how the awareness of God’s presence in one’s life can change that life from struggle and hopelessness, to strengthening trust, hope and joyful anticipation of the future!

We have a story to tell, and we can make that story richer and even more compelling by working hard this year to accomplish some of our goals set before us: to build a safe harbor for children and their families, to build a labyrinth that calls to all who need to walk softly with quiet acceptance, to make our presence known by the sound of a bell, by the sound of our music, by the sound of our singing, our laughter, and by the sound of our love.  My friends, it is not ours to convert the world, but it is ours to make a loud noise and be glad in it!

We journey together,
Mother Esme+

“Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things.
Shout with joy to the Lord, all you lands,
Lift up your voice, rejoice and sing” (Psalm 98:4,5)