Hello fellow parishioners! Glory to Jesus Christ!

Five weddings (one with a daughter front and center, one in a dash to the Outer Banks), a college reunion week, the Parish Life Conference, a Mom’s birthday run to NJ, the biennial Clergy Symposium, two funerals, graduation parties, Antiochian Village Camp... that about describes as active a church and personal Summer as is recorded in my memory.

No doubt many of your Summers have been similarly frenetic, so it is likely that more than a few of us are breathing a sigh of relief that there is a light at the end of the tunnel that is the Summer of 2010. But there is no rest for the weary. Every ending is a new beginning and we have much to look forward to in the coming months. So, let us do our best to catch a quick breath and be ready for what is quickly coming to us.

Toward the end of August there are two events worth our special attention. One is our Summer Parish Picnic (Saturday, August 21). This year we are moving the picnic site from Mammoth Park to the more easily accessible Twin Lakes. The picnic will be an ideal place to kick back, relax and catch part of that aforementioned breath. Ahhhh, I’m feeling refreshed just thinking about it.

Hopefully, the picnic will find many of us reflecting on the Book Club gathering that will have taken place the night before (Friday, August 20). The short story, The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy, will provide the subject matter for that evening. Zlata Ryan, a Ligonier neighbor, fellow Orthodox Christian and experienced book discussion leader will present and guide our discussion of this Tolstoy classic which prods us to consider the meaning of our own lives.

Then, in early September, it’s ‘back to work’ as our 2010 St. Michael’s Feast arrives on Sunday, September 12. Each year we are blessed to find more of our neighbors and friends enjoying food and fellowship with us. There is no reason to think this year will be an exception. So, please, plan to come and work as we set up, entertain and feed our visitors, clean up and put things back in order. Let us cheerfully step forward to do the work required to make this event productive, both socially and financially. (See Valerie Flizanes or Sara Armanious if you have any questions about how you can help.)

Church School begins in September. The St. Thekla Pilgrimage ends the month. Our newly formed “Communication Committee” will be informing you of these and other opportunities for worship and growth in the Faith. 

Finally, and most importantly, let us never forget that we are members of the Body of Christ and that all these endeavors are worth the effort only when they support us in being better able to offer ourselves and each other the salvation that comes to us in Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. + + +

Contact Sara Armanious or the Church Secretary to add your material to upcoming Newsletters. Event dates, articles, etc.