Senior Warden
A little spelling help is needed. How do you put in writingthe sound of the ocean’s waves? Is it “whoooosh?” Or isit more krshhhh?” I don’t know, but as I write this thatsound still plays in my mind. The extended Howell family, joined by our new in-law family, which adds up to a lot ofvery different people, just spent a week on the OuterBanks. In one house. And everyone found a way to makeit work. Everyone put differences in politics, views onsexual orientation, immigration, everything, aside. We’vehad some pretty spirited conversations in the past onthese and other subjects before, and frankly it was a bitof a worry. But it was wonderful. It was awesome. Weall just bonded in a common cause, to enjoy this week ofparadise together. The week was great, not crowded, Ibanked a lot of beach time, a lot of way up high crow’snest deck level time at night, a good bit alone, and it gaveme a lot of time to just think, sitting there on the beachor on the top of the house. And part of what I thought ofwas St George’s. Why, you might ask? Well, when youhave the luxury of time your mind tends to wander tothings that matter to you, and are important to you. AndSt. George’s is one of those things to me. It is my churchhome, and you are my church family.And so my wave induced hypnotism led me to a lot ofthoughts. Why does A not like B at church? Why is C soangry about things that happened years ago? Why, sincewe are all there for the same reason, to love and praiseand worship God, do we seem to have so many differentagendas and issues? Why is anybody mad at anybodyelse? Then I came to the realization that we, each of us,are just one person in a greater, extended family. And weare people. And we bring to church the same thoughts,ideas, prejudices, fears and everything else that we lugaround with us each and every day. We are all a cautiousand suspicious lot, we human beings. Always guardingagainst being taken advantage of, always fearing, basedupon experiences, the worst to come out in people, forpeople to have negative agendas and to impose that on us.Expecting the worst from people and in people and ofpeople. So, not surprisingly, we often think we find that.Something of a self-fulfilling prophecy.Here is what I ask each of us, me included, to do. Reallythink about why we come to St. George’s. Really considerwhat it is we expect generally, what we expect to receive,and what we expect to give, from our being part of theSt. George’s family. If we all do that, honestly, I amwilling to bet not one of us has “get mad at anyone, carrygrudges against anyone” on our mental list. Just as noneof us, as we drive to the beach, have on our list of thingsto do “really lay into Cousin Ernie for what he did to me in8
th
grade.” Being human, sometimes that still happens.But as a family we try to not do it, and even if we do wefind common ground and move forward, together. And weremain a family. And so, as a member of the St. George’sfamily, I ask each of us to try to do the same. Our houseon the Outer Banks was large, but it still took a communaleffort to make it work so well for a week. St. George’s isa big place, too, but it takes the same effort. Don’t youthink it is worth it? I do. We are, after all, family.
-Bryan
Fellowship
Parish Retreat
We are so excited about this year’s retreat onOctober 9-11 atShrine Mont. We haveexceeded our goal inpeople attending.Thank you! At thetime of this printing,we have nearly 160 St.George’s and ChristLutheran parishioners going. Many thanks to all on thecommittee that have put many long hours into planninga great time for all of us.
Saturday Night Supper
The October Saturday NightSupper will be held at thehome of Norris and DeliseDickard, 109 Hawk’s NestDrive, Fredericksburg, 22405on October 3rd and you areinvited. Please note the earlier start time of 6:00 pmin order to enjoy the sunset on Potomac Creek overCrow’s Nest. Please bring a beverage for social timeand a dish to share for dinner. Call the Dickards at540-372-3059 to let them know you will be attending.
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