The weekend of September 9 – 10, will be an important weekend for all of us at St. Theodore's. That weekend we will express ourselves as a “church,” in many different and vital ways.

On Saturday, it is our turn to work all day at Helping Hands, one of our very important outreach projects. I will also be conducting the Youth Confirmation class and the women of St. Anne's will be preparing for the luncheon on Sunday. The Altar Guild will be hard at work. That evening some of us will worship together at 5 p.m.

On Sunday, our bishop will join us for his last official visit to St. Theodore's. We will all gather together at one service at 10:30 a.m. and I will present to him my first class of confirmands as your rector. After the service we will have our parish family portrait taken and then we will enjoy a time of food and fellowship in the parish hall.

AND in the whirl of all that activity we will also express our mission as a church by beginning our Christian Education classes. Of all that we do together as a church this is one of THE most important things we do!

One of the ways we are all fed, especially our children and our youth, is not only in the bread and wine of the Holy Eucharist but also in the food of good solid Christian Education. Our Christian Education Committees, have worked hard to be prepared to teach our congregation about how to live life as a Christian. It is not easy being a Christian in America today and it is not getting any easier. As scholars have said, the church is always one generation from extinction unless we pass on to the rising generations our Biblical heritage, our history, our traditions, our worship, our witness of faith, and our commitment to Jesus Christ.

This year our children will have offered to them the wisdom of Godly Play, Bible Quest, or an exploration of the Fruits of the Spirit. However, most of them cannot drive themselves to church so we must help them if necessary attend class.

While our children are in class so will be the adults. This semester we are offering a unique class for all parents, grandparents, and those who work with children called Godly Parenting. The class will help all of us brush up on our parenting skills.

Two other adult offerings on Sunday morning are a study of the weekly lectionary called “The Gospel Truth” and the class “Coffee with the Rector” - an informal discussion of how to live in our society and world as a Christian. There will also be other Adult Education classes on a variety of subjects during the week as named in this newsletter.

I deeply believe that the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a person is to name them a “teacher.” The second highest honor is to call someone a “student.” I also deeply believe that our mission as a church must be to honor one another in the name of Christ and that one of the significant and important ways we can do this by praying for one another including all our teachers and our students. Pray diligently for all who teach and all who learn.

Fr. Ken †