Dear Friends in Christ,

I write to you often about relationship. It is the cornerstone of our shared vision for Grace. Belonging is perhaps the deepest of our core values.

I shared with you in August that relationship is also my primary goal for this program year. I don’t think of what I want us to do as much as I think of how I want us to be. I hope for this church to be a place where we experience divine love through the medium of human love: acceptance, inclusion, connection, authenticity, and vulnerability.

This weekend offers two opportunities to deepen relationship.

On Saturday (October 24), our diocese is hosting a fiesta to celebrate the vibrancy of Latino ministries among us. Starting at noon at St. Timothy’s, Herndon, there will be music, food, and worship. (There will also be children’s activities, during which I will exercise my secondary vocation in face painting.) It’s a great chance to cross cultural lines and build relationships based in joy.

On Sunday (October 25), our parish is holding our annual Trunk or Treat from 3:00-5:00 p.m. Even if you haven’t signed up to prepare a trunk, you can still come and connect over Elsa costumes and miniature Snickers bars. It’s a great chance to cross generational lines and build relationships based in joy.

These two events highlight two of Grace’s particular gifts. We are unusual in that we are a bilingual and bicultural congregation. And we are unusual in the degree to which we lift up families and children.

I hope you will relish our identity. And I hope you will deepen it by building ever stronger ties amongst us.

Yours in Christ,
Anne+