St Columba

Dear Friends,

It has been a long time since I have written to you, over two months in fact but that does not mean that the church has forgotten you or that we have been fallow over here on 52nd Street. So please forgive me for not writing I have been busy planning and working for the church and somehow or another could never sit down and write a letter.

Christmas was a true celebration of the Birth of the Messiah at St. Columba. The sanctuary glowed with the red and freshness of the flowers on the altar and the candlelight flickering on the windowsills lighting the stories of the Old Testament and Gospel for all who came to share.

Just to fill you in… We opened our doors for a Community Thanksgiving Dinner and served 85 hungry souls, held our annual Longest Night of the Year, Memorial Service for the Homeless, on December 21st, celebrated with three services over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day followed by a festive Christmas Dinner in the parish hall. It was really great and since we have been involved in these large dinners very well organized, pretty and delicious!

We celebrated the New Year, with “hoppin’ John and corn bread” following the service on January 1st and have moved with vigor into the winter months down here in Marathon. The weather has been unbelievable, really gorgeous, lovely and warm and it looks like we all are enjoying it.

I am writing to remind you and to invite you to our Annual Meeting tomorrow morning, January 29th, following worship. We will have some short presentations about where we have been and where we hope to go (which will include this year, Missions to Honduras, Haiti and a Pilgrimage to Ireland, Scotland and Wales in September to visit the Iona and other places of worship and significance).

We have launched our new website, as of yesterday, please make sure to visit www.stcolumbamarathon.org to take a look at this beautiful and informative work with many thanks to Steve Mainero for his dedication to bringing this into being. We will be keeping the website updated throughout the year.

Today (Saturday, Jan 28th) we are going to be helping children with a craft project over at the Community Park, from 10 – 2, if you would like to join in the fun just drop by the park sometime today and help out.

This Week:

• Tuesday (6 pm), an information session and Pizza dinner on our trip to Honduras
• Wednesday, Choir Rehearsal
• Friday, World Mission Spaghetti Supper (6 PM)

May God Bless You,

Debra