From the Rector
Dear Friends in Christ,
Last Sunday’s (May 9) Youth Sunday—complete with its terrific homily and the conclusion of Solemn Communion for our young people—made me want to say thank you to folks who have kept our programs moving along online in this strange year. Rather than leaving kids (and parents) to wonder how God was at work in the middle of all of this, our Children, Youth, and Families Ministry team went to work bringing what we could online, visiting families at home, and staying in touch through the year.
The danger of saying thank you to anyone is that you will leave someone out. This is not a comprehensive list and if you know someone I’ve forgotten I hope you’ll let me know so I can thank them! There’s a greater danger in not saying thank you for risk of missing someone so, with joyful trepidation, on we go!
Thank you to:
Ms Harriet and Dcn Ruthie: for their love for and commitment to our children, for their enterprising willingness to try new ways to bring the Atriums and the love of the Good Shepherd into our families’ homes!
Dr Karrie and Ms Sonja: for all their amazing work to make sure the pageant came together this year in a way that was creative and, frankly, visionary, allowing our children to exercise their prophetic and evangelistic ministries and bringing the glory of Christmas home to so many.
Jonathan Sprinkle and Mtr Kelli: for pageant cinematography, filming, and editing, making sure the joy of the Incarnation could be shared far beyond the walls of Saint Philip’s this year.
Jonathan (again) and Mary Margaret: for all their help with our first Drive-in Movie Night!
Br Ayden and Virginia Kat: for their faithfulness to and love for our youth in helping them gather, whether online or in person, sharing with them in prayer and study, and helping them grow in faith.
Rev’d Jean: for her constancy and presence in Comfy Space, for her support of all that CYFM does and is about, for her care and compassion.
Elizabeth Brown: For sharing her considerable homiletical skills in Comfy Space and reminding our young ones of how God shows up in and through our everyday lives.
Angelina Hannum: For her help in keeping Zoom Atriums running smoothly when videos needed to be shown, helping our young folks stay connected to each other and the church.
Dr Justin and Dr Jeffrey: for helping so many kids sing regularly throughout the year lending their voices to our online worship.
All the parents: for their patience, their prayers, their ideas, their devotion, their commitment, their hard work, their support; for making sure that the Domestic Church was thriving in a difficult time.
All the children: for their questions, their honesty, their observations, for their leadership and their faithfulness; for abiding.
Finally, I want to thank Fr Mark Schultz for his flexibility and faithfulness this year. He never stopped trying to find new ways to engage our children, youth, and families. He was a pastor, teacher, and companion in an uncertain time when so many needed it.
There is much for which we can be thankful as we emerge from this past year, not least of which is the way families and friends have stuck together and grown in faith amidst the changes and chances of this time. There are many lessons we will all try and learn from the year but I’m most thankful that our CYFM ministers, volunteers, parents, and children have taught, with patient love, that God is with us in times like this with a love they strove to offer a glimpse of day in and day out when we all needed it so much.
Yours in Christ,
Fr Robert