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All of life is bittersweet. I write to you all with a balance of sadness and hopefulness for the future. Over the last month, I received a call to the care of souls and to serve as the Rector of Church of the Holy Trinity in North Augusta, SC. The sad part is leaving All Saints. We are a parish of people marked by peace, stability, good leadership, financial stability, and most of all, love for one another and those outside of our community. It’s hard to leave such a people.

Simple Christian hospitality is a natural and effective way of building relationships in Christ. Our Summer Suppers will, once again, be an opportunity to practice and discover the riches of Christian hospitality.

What’s the simplest way to change the world? It’s practicing Christian hospitality. All of us want to make a difference in our world for Christ. But frankly, days roll by and not much changes. Christian hospitality is an easy way to break the cycle. We all have neighbors that would much rather enter our living room than a church. Simple Christian hospitality is a natural and effective way of building relationships for Christ.

The Way of the Cross, or traditionally, the Stations of the Cross, is a spiritual practice of the worship and adoration of Jesus as we contemplate his journey to the Cross. The prophet Isaiah cried out, “He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed” (Is. 53:5). It is a pilgrimage into the sufferings of Jesus as we recall the scenes of his life prior to his death on the Cross.

Advent begins every year at the same time: the Sunday four weeks before Christmas, as it has since the 700s. Each year, I feel His Spirit among us as we anticipate the great feast of the Incarnation, Christmas. I feel like a little kid again except that my anticipation for Christmas gifts is replaced with the wonder of Christ’s Incarnation.

This past Lenten season, I walked with a group of people through a 40- Day Stay-At-Home Retreat. We based our experience on St. Ignatius of Loyola's The Spiritual Exercises. Simply put, it is a series of meditations on the life of Jesus: his Incarnation, teaching, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, reign in glory, gift of the Holy Spirit, and bodily return.