Dear Friends,

It is a remarkable thing to realize that July and August have fled, and we are already confronted with the "busy" time of the year again. Much has happened at Saint Andrew's over these two months, and much new is planned for the months ahead.

What I hope you find you are able to do in these days ahead is to remember how important it was for you, during these past two months, to be able truly to relax. And in the remembering, I hope that you will remind yourself (when the world inevitably presses in upon you in the months ahead) of that need to relax...to be refreshed...to find yourself.

Please heed that need and find those ways that best fulfill it...whatever they may be. Too often, we neglect the well-being of our souls, our inner-most beings, as we rush about doing those things which simply "must" be done. True, there are times when we must get on with the job at hand, but it is of great importance for us to know the difference between such times and times in which we are rushing about horribly concerned over something that really does not need our immediate attention.

Such care of ourselves will not only lead each of us to be stronger persons, but will allow us to be far more help to those around us who depend on us for some measure of their own strength.

I pray that each of us may find ways to grasp that peace, which we so often seek only on our Summer vacations, during the Fall and Winter months which now begin to confront us.

I also offer a most hearty welcome to any who might be reading this and seeking a Church home or Church in which to worship while on holiday in this glorious corner of God’s creation. Saint Andrew’s welcomes you in our midst and would rejoice to greet you amongst us.

Faithfully,

Bob Ficks +
The Reverend Robert L. Ficks III

Rector