Dear Family,
Whenever we have an event that takes the dedicated work of a lot of people, I always feel inadequate at thanking the folk who were so generous. Most of them remain anonymous, some by choice, some by being taking for granted.
I may have told you the story of a great woman I knew who had a remarkable faith. I don’t mean the things she believed. I mean the utter trust that characterized her life, even when her husband, a former Pan Am pilot for many years, developed dementia and she became care-taker par excellence. She always had a smile and always said all things were in God’s hands. God was using her hands for the heavy lifting. Anyway, one day I said to her that she was a powerful encouragement for all of us. Her response was, “Oh, please don’t say that. If I get all the praise now I won’t get it in heaven.”
I was thinking of her because I think she is being happily surprised with the welcoming arms of the Lord beyond anything she imagined. (“Eye has not seen,” etc...) The same great fate awaits all those who may have been anonymous here but whose good works preceded them.
So, all of you folks who made the Fall Festival happen, thank you, and wait until you see the neon sign with your name flashing on it in heaven.
I’ve got to tell you one story. When I heard that they had changed the menu from the Oktoberfest fare to beef stew, my first thought was, “Oh no! Stew????” Well, those of you who were there know that this was some beef stew, and totally delicious. It had a curious flavor and someone I ate with said it was rosemary. We asked T.J. Sharpe, the chef, if the rosemary assessment was right, and it turned out to be thyme.
After ten years of running the Oktoberfest, Elli Hurst called T.J. into service and was there to smile and encourage. The next day she flew to Timbuktu for her job. (Actually, all I know is that it was far away, so Timbuktu sounds good.)
The decorators did an outstanding job and here again I’m afraid to start with names lest I leave someone out. But Colleen did marvels and Judy, Sheri and Dottie were there with her. The folks at Church-By-The-Sea sent over some of their decorations, a wonderful kindness. Connie and her crew were great with tickets of all kinds.
The Men’s Club will do their Spaghetti Dinner on January 20, the feast of St. Sebastian. Our Fish Fry comes in early Spring, March 31st. I hope you have a chance to help with one or all of the events, because that might be the best part.
Lots of other events also populate the horizon. Our Women’s Fashion Luncheon and the Trinkets and Treasures. I tell anyone who asks about our parish, that we specialize in cramming 12 months of parish life into six. That explains why the feathers on the sunbirds are a little draggled around Easter. Nevertheless, we welcome the snowbirds fly-in for winter. For most of the year we host the peacocks who are coming through on their way to or from a cruise. I think our aviary is thriving. Those emus (rarely sighted in the western hemisphere) are still elusive, but perhaps with all this great activity word will get out to them that this is not such a bad “nest.” Did you know that the male emu sits on the eggs in their nest for 60 days? Maybe that’s why they’re not here too often. There is a joke in here somewhere about guys sitting around, but I think I’m going to pass on pursuing it.
If you are glad that this Twitch is ending, I completely understand. Somedays, it’s just too much fun to be the writer.
In Jesus,
