I have heard for years how no one ever reads The Invitation. That is just not true. A week never goes by without someone making comment about the article in that week’s Invitation. I never questioned what I was told about people not reading the newsletter. I do now because my experience has convinced me that people do read the weekly publication. I wonder how often we accept what someone tells us and never question it? Our Lord gave us the ability to reason and if we do not use it then it is our fault. Where am I going with this?  I’ll tell you. I have heard someone make a suggestion for evangelism and someone else say we tried that back so and so ago. That only has to happen a few times and all evangelism efforts die. Let’s not handicap ourselves with bad altitudes about our future and what it will take to make our Parish grow. It all comes down to being part of the solution and not part of the problem. Your Vestry is looking for ways to improve our Parish and make it more attractive to people. The retreat they had recently dwelt with this to some degree or that is what I was told. I am not on the Vestry now, nor do I ever intend to be in the future. I have served on the Vestry some thirty years and I think I have paid my dues. That said, I also see this as a time of great opportunity and would like to take 15 years off my record so I could serve again now. That leaves me with what I can do as a member of this Parish. I can support the Rector and staff. I can support the Vestry. I can be in Church every Sunday and I can keep a smile on my face to all I meet. A long and faithful member of the Parish who is now deceased used to say that his ministry was of Presence. I was never sure what he meant until I begun to get older myself and was no longer able to do some of the things I had done in the past.  We all have a ministry of presence and we need to use it at all times. We also need to be the face of Christ to the world at all times. Are we doing our part?

Herb