To My Brothers and Sisters at St. Matthew's,

Grace and peace be with you!

This evening the sky was crystal clear after several days of rain and fog. Winter and I rode our horses out to the edge of the bluff and could see for miles and miles, all the way to the Smoky Mountains. The valley and mountains were a mixture of purples and golds. To the west the sun was a huge glowing orb gilding the sky with gold, and in the east pastels of blues and pinks softened the coming darkness. Later after the world faded into hues of deepening blue, the stars began to appear. How sharp and bright and beautiful they appeared in the dark sky where only an hour earlier they were nearly invisible!

It made me think about how little we in the twenty-first century notice the heavens; and yet centuries ago, the stars guided travelers and sailors through the night. I thought about how God used them to guide the wise men to the Christ child. Imagine how some small point of light could make them find their way to Christ. In some ways we are like stars in the darkness pointing the way to the Christ. And then I thought about how early man might have wondered about the sky and what the stars were. Did they suppose they were satellites like the moon? They may have thought that they merely reflected the light of the sun as we merely reflect the light of Christ in this dark world.

I thought of John the Baptist, who stood out in the darkness of the world as a star pointing out that there was hope for mankind, that there was a light, a true light for us to see, to really see by. For him, when Jesus came to be baptized it was as awkward as if the sun were to be bathed in starlight. Just as the stars grow dim with the coming of the sun at dawn, so too John understood that he was to diminish before the light of Christ. And he realized that Light was so good, so filled with Life, that it was all right. He realized that God empowered him to be who he was: the prophet who prepared the way. He came to the Lord just as he was, so that God could make him what he was to be. And his faith was so great because he was so humble. It wasn't all about him and he knew it. In this season of Epiphany, when the world is dark let us be as stars in the winter dark sky. Let the love of Christ shine through us as we help point the way to the Light of Life.

This month we have a lot to look forward to. Bishop Charlie will be with us on Sunday February 12. Dawn is looking forward to being Received into the church and Jacy will be Confirmed. It has been a few years since Bishop Charlie has been with us to celebrate Eucharist. The last time, Jack was Confirmed and Carol Ann was still with us. We are looking forward with joy to this celebration and will be having a potluck following the service to celebrate together.

This follows the Diocesan Convention on February 2nd and 3rd. Deloras, Jack and I will be serving as delegates, and Dawn will accompany us. Please keep the convention in your prayers. It is an exciting time when representatives from all over the Diocese come together to celebrate the Lord's Supper, visit with each other and discuss and vote upon the needs of the Diocese.

If you haven't seen our new website, you need to. Dawn has done an excellent job. In fact the Diocese has asked her to help them upgradetheir websites. Can you imagine? She helped put St. Matthew's Dayton on the map! Way to go Dawn.

We will be working on a new project on Thursday nights. This year during Holy Week we hope to celebrate the Stations of the Cross at Point Park and invite the public. On Thursday nights, starting in February, we will be making banners for each of the stations. Come join us for the planning and the artwork.

And continuing in the tradition, we will have a Mardi Gras party. . . "Fat Tuesday" Fillmore used to call it before the fasting of Lent. And then on Ash Wednesday, we will have a traditional service at 7:30.

Recently, Deloras put together a wonderful little book with everyone's address, phone number and e-mail. It is really handy to have your brothers' and sisters' phone and address right at your fingertips. If you haven't received one make sure you pick one up after church on Sunday. Thank you, Deloras!

Please continue to pray for our church and each other as we grow in love and faith. Thank you all for all you do to make this little vessel float along. You are all a blessing to this church.

May God bless you all! Love in Christ, Always,
Ellie