Dear Friends in Christ,
RAYV #1 is finally in the books and it was so successful we are making plans for RAYV #2. In case you missed it, RAYV is a weekend for high school youth and its purpose is to bring our youth into a closer walk with Jesus. You can read more about RAYV in our Youth Coordinator’s article in this Tablet.
We are also gearing up for A4D (Anglican 4th Day) #3. This is a men’s weekend, and it looks as if we will have around 15 sponsors and candidates! We are drawing men from all over New England, bringing them together into one place, teaching them and then sending them forth to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Christ. When we began planning for A4D this was our hope: that we would be used by Jesus, in cooperation with our ecumenical partners of the Anglican Diocese in New England, to dare for a New England revival! This is still our prayer. We are planning at least two more A4D weekends in 2010. Why not pray about becoming part of New England’s new birth? Plan to attend an Anglican 4th Day next year.
But I don’t want you to think our attention has only been on spreading the Gospel throughout New England. We have spent considerable time and prayer on our own growth here at All Saints. Consider that we are continuing to enjoy the presence of 20-30 men and women each at our respective monthly breakfasts, Men of Integrity and Women of Purpose. We are also planning our second Slaying the Dragon Retreat (men only) for early 2010. Our youth activities for ages 4 through 14 are vibrant and well attended. And our Sunday School reaps the benefit of our own very talented volunteers, all who contribute writing, artistic and coordinating expertise.
This year is not over, either. Just look at what we will be celebrating together over the next two months:
- All Saints Day
- Our Fall Fair
- Our first (annual?) Thanksgiving Pot luck
- St Nicholas Day Celebration with St Nick himself
- Christmas caroling
- All Saints night at Trinity Rep to see The Christmas Carol
- Two Christmas Eve services and one on Christmas morning
At this point I know some of you are asking “why didn’t he put the days and times in?” Well those days and times are included in your calendar for the month. I wanted you to hang that up and circle the dates!
Well, as you can see I have a lot of work to do myself, so I’m going to cut this short for now. I’ll be writing to all ya’ll soon with a nice Christmas letter. Oh, and by the way, please take the time to check on what the Vestry has been up to. We post the vestry meeting notes and our financial report, each month on the Bulletin Board next to the Clergy office. God bless, and see you soon! Fr lance
