Dear, St. Richard’s Church Community,

The most important words to say in Church are “thank you.” Thank you for the many gifts that you share with our community and the world.

The familiar expression “can’t see the forest for the trees” is most often used to describe that occasion in which the big picture is lost while the details seem most important. The big picture at St. Richard’s is our mission to change lives and the world. The impact we have on our community, the ways that week after week we come together to celebrate our faith and praise God. This is the forest.

And each individual, we are the trees. From the small shoot reaching out from its seed and finding the sunlight, to the mightiest tree, standing tall, showing strength, offering sheltering love to those who need it. You are those trees, each drawing strength from our meal and showering the world with the love and grace you have come to know here. Here in our congregation, we can see both the forest and the trees!

When I walk through a forest, I am aware of the tangle of roots, how one tree is connected to another. Trees use these networks, secretly talking to each other through their roots, passing information along. Adult trees share their sugars with young saplings, a dying tree can send its remaining resources back out to help the community. These networks, these roots of abundance, keep trees in place just as much as they free them to grow and share.

The theme of our annual pledge campaign this year is Rooted in Abundance, and we are reminded that we are a mighty forest composed of ancient trunks and sprightly saplings, each of us contributing our gifts to a world that needs us. As you hear the messages and stories of abundance this year, take note of how generosity spreads and widens our root structures of faith and action.

In gratitude,

Alison P. Harrity

Rector, St. Richard’s Episcopal Church