Dear Friends, 

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! There is so much to be thankful for. Thank you to everyone who filled out a pledge card or pledged online. This helps us plan for the future. If you have been giving online, we don't assume that you will continue at the same level. Please make a pledge and let us know your intention to give to our 2023 budget. 

Our Neighbor Day Concert was a blast! So many volunteers helped make that event happen. Episcopal School of Knoxville donated the stage, and some of our folks transported it back and forth. Ushers helped bring people in, organizers promoted the event, and arranged for food. Thank you for spreading the word and inviting friends to join us. 

Keep up the good work and spread the word about our neighbor day auction. Share it on social media or tell your friends about it. A donor has pledged to match gifts and sales up to $10,000. There is some great stuff in there. Check it out. 

Giving thanks is a way of blessing. Did you know that the English translation of "Eucharist" is "thanksgiving" or "good gifts"? As we celebrate the Eucharist, we take the gifts and name them as good by giving thanks. In return, we receive from God. The gift we receive and learn to know is the presence of Christ. The good gifts we receive aren't limited to the formal sacraments. We know Christ in relationship, in friends, and in strangers. It isn't always easy for me to see Christ in others, I forget the truth and believe that I am separate from others. Then I return to thanksgiving. Whether in the course of my day or at the Great Thanksgiving, the Eucharist. There I am reminded of the oneness of all in Christ. 

Thank you for being a community that gives thanks with your lips and in your actions. May know thanksgiving to be transformational to us and to others. 

Peace, 

Fr. John Mark