Hello everyone! I'm going to take a couple of minutes here to slow down and compose a little update.

Over the last couple of weeks I was hit with a disease that hovered somewhere between a cold and a flu. It wasn't bad enough to make me slow down completely, but it was bad enough that I had to slow down quite a bit. The worst however happened in the middle of the week, and I was able to give the sermon on our big feast day for St. Hilda, Nov 17! It was a wonderful day of worship, and we had escabeche soup and cake after the service, all of which was positively delightful!

We've made a few changes to our schedule recently: our Thursday evening time with the children is becoming a singing rehearsal for putting together a children's choir! There seems to be some interest, and a little bit of vocal exercises and good music seems to be holding attentions and inspiring some imagination. We'll see what comes of it.

We are now also gearing up for Advent and December, and the Christmas celebration that will eventually come. We've set our service times and plans, and now it's just a matter of getting things ready. There are songs and sermons to prepare, benches to nail, screws to install, locks to replace, children to hug, and a lot prayer, a lot of prayer, all to come in the next month. I'm looking forward to it, but it's still quite daunting as we prepare to dive in.

In preparation, I hope (Lord willing) to take a short day away this week, go to the coast and enjoy being somewhere else, even if it's only for 24 hours. Next week we will be having our annual Advent Retreat as the clergy of the diocese, and I'm sure it will be a fruitful time to compare notes and encourage one another.

So, please continue to keep me in your prayers! They are so important and so necessary, and I love hearing from you even if it takes me a while to write back. Have a wonderful week!