My time of serving as Priest in Charge during Fr. Bill’s sabbatical was a very rewarding experience for me. And I do truly appreciate your expressions of thanks for my service in that capacity. I am hoping to continue to be able to serve as a priest whenever it could be helpful to the life of our parish family. But between those occasions, I am ever so happy to be returning to my place in the pew.

The vows on which I want to concentrate now are my baptismal vows. I believe one of the most beautiful pieces in the Book of Common Prayer, 1976, is the Service of Baptism. I really appreciate the Prayer Book authors augmenting the Baptismal Covenant to include the questions that follow the creedal statements. Those questions really allow us, each of us and us together as a parish family, to visualize specific ways we can live into our promises. The Baptismal Covenant can be found on pages 304- 305 in the Prayer Book. Once when I was asked to do a confirmation class with some teenagers who really were not very enthusiastic about participating, I ditched the traditional materials and concentrated solely on the Baptismal Covenant. The kids chose to make a movie illustrating the covenant and how they intended to own those promises for themselves. It was an amazing statement of faith.

An interesting study can be had by doing a comparison of the Service of Baptism in the 1928 Prayer Book and today’s Book of Common Prayer. The ’28 service seems to me to be filled with “the world, the flesh, and the devil” language. Not only does this approach seem misdirected to me, it seems far less than helpful in empowering us for active ministry.

Active in ministry is how I hope to be as a member of the Good Shepherd family, working with several different ministry groups and offering what talents I might to further the mission. I treasure my relationship with you, my parish family. And I look forward to working with you, from my place in the pew.

Love and gratitude, Bev+