It doesn’t seem possible that it has been a year since I stood before the Bishop and vowed that you, the people of St. James, and I would work with him and the rest of the diocese in the spreading the light of Christ to all people. We have been doing that as we come together each Sunday to worship and then go out into the world "loving and serving the Lord."

What are some of the more concrete examples of what we have accomplished this past year that invite others to "check out" St. James and enable us to serve God better? The first thing that comes to mind is our new sign on the corner of the property welcoming passers-by to come and worship. The sign, also, by it permanence makes the statement that we are here to stay.

Along with the sign, we have a bright, fresh, Parish Hall, not to mention a kitchen that is the envy of many churches in the diocese, both which allow us to come together for parish celebrations, Sunday morning breakfasts, Lenten dinners and other events. I anticipate that there will be plenty of fellowship and fundraising events planned for this next year thanks to the newly formed Parish Life Events Team.

Also, the newly renovated office space and the added conference room where such events as Thursday Morning Bible study, Cursillo groups, and Vestry meetings take place are both well used and much appreciated. We plan to do some landscap-ing of the area surrounding both the sign and around the Parish Hall sometime this next year. And, I still have hopes of building the proposed screened-in porch to be located in the area where the now existing children’s play ground is located. We simply need the space for parish events.

We can now offer a Christian formation program for young children. To accomplish this goal, we desig-nated the room off the side of the Chapel and dedicated the space for Godly Play, a program where our young learn the sacred stories of the Bible. In addition, to make us more "child friendly", plans are in the works to relocate the children’s play ground to the area off the kitchen. This will get our children out of the hot Florida sun with the added bonus of being closer to the Godly Play room.

Our efforts towards our younger members does not stop with our children. As I am writing this newslet-ter article, our youth are spending the day together on the river enjoying fellowship with each other. Over this next year, thanks to our Youth Leadership Team, our youth will be joining together often for a well-rounded Christian formation program of study, ministry and play.

With all that we have accomplished over the past year or so, our biggest and best assets are you, the people of St. James. I said it two years ago when I found my way to you (in spite of Map Quest’s crazy directions) and it holds true today — this is still the friendliest and most loving parish I have ever had the pleasure of serving. Don’t believe me? Look around you any given Sunday when we all greet each other at the Peace. Or ask Gracie’s family or John and Patti Lovett — or the 25 new people who have come and stayed this past year. We must be doing something right. Not only are we "family" in all ways that count — as a family we also reach out to those less fortunate than we are with food, cloth-ing and funds. We truly are doing our share to spread the Light of Christ to all people. Well done, good and faithful servants.

Faithfully, Mthr. Michael+