Dear Family,
Before I forget, at the doors of the Church today there is a sign-up sheet for helping at the Fall Festival (nee The Oktoberfest). The worker bees decided that after ten years our steins were getting a little cracked, so they shifted themes. It seems like a great idea and saves us the challenge of traveling north to cooler climes to see color. Of course cool right now seems very inviting.

There is also some word that because there hasn’t been much rain in various parts of the north, the leaves might not even bother turning colors, but just say to themselves, “The heck with it” and drop off. But whatever turns or doesn’t turn, nevertheless we will celebrate Fall with all the color we want. Isn’t Michael’s great?

Dear Family,
Last week, a good friend, Rabbi David Auerbach, died after an illness. He was the rabbi emeritus at Bet Shira (which means House of Song) Congregation. It was four blocks down 120th street from St. Louis parish in Miami.

In the mid-eighties Rabbi Auerbach gathered 200 families and formed the congregation. By May 1988 they had built their synagogue. During the latter part of the construction, four teenagers defaced the building before it was even completed. At first everyone thought it was skinheads or someone else weird. Imagine their surprise when they found out they were teenagers from the neighborhood, good families, etc. etc. etc.

Dear Family,
It’s hard to believe that is has been 15 years since “9/11.” Everyone knows what that means. Perhaps a teenager wouldn’t have the same reaction as we do. For them it becomes an event that’s in the past that people talk about, but for us older than 20 something, it is a real memory of our lives.
I’m writing this last Tuesday but I’m sure that by the time you read this there will be much in the news to bring alive the sorrow and sense of terrible tragedy that made 9/11 a seminal event in our lives. But then I think to last Sunday and the canonization of Mother Teresa. That event celebrated a person who we twenty-something-plus also remember very well. Her canonization even made the news reports.

Guest Twitchers: Little Rock Scripture Study Team
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
At some point in the wee hours of Monday morning, I (Annie) awoke with the thought: “There is no one lined up to write the ‘Twitch’ for the coming Sunday!” The thought of asking someone to write a letter of some 400-500 words at the last minute was not at all appealing, so I felt a “Plan B” was in order. Should this week’s ‘Twitch’ page be blank - affording you the opportunity to write your own reflection?.... Should I find a relevant graphic to fill the page?... The thought finally occurred to me (Thank you, Holy Spirit!) to have some of the members of our Little Rock Scripture Study Team share their thoughts about beginning this program with St. Sebastian Parish Family. So... here they are!