Week of Aug. 8-14, at St. Andrew's

Greetings: After six months of blogger inactivity due to blogger overload on the part of the blogger-in-chief, it's a new day. Outdated posts have been swept away, and the goal henceforth will be to remain current.

Although the blog has been inactive, the parish hasn't (among othe projects, we've replaced the air conditioning and are moving forward to replace the boiler, too --- why is it everything falls apart at once?) and we're looking forward to resuming our regular schedule come September. In the meantime, join us at 9:15 a.m. any Sunday for Holy Eucharist (Rite II) and fellowship.

This Sunday, Aug. 14, the Rev. Canon Richard Lintner will be the officiant and the Rev. Sue Palmer will spend the entire morning at Grace Church in Albia. This will be the final Sunday for our organist, Shelby Wilson, who has moved to Britt prior to starting a new teaching job (congratulations, Shelby!). Frank Myers will be lector. Here's the schedule for the week.

TUESDAY, AUG. 9

1 p.m. Planning session in the Parish Hall. We'll be talking about the fall schedule, about the possibility of an early-Advent choral evensong and other matters. All are welcome.

SUNDAY, AUG. 14

9:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite II

10:15 a.m. Coffee and Fellowship

Hospitality at Trinity Church

Morning Prayer at St. Andrew's Sunday morning was followed by a quick 40-mile drive down Highway 34 to Trinity Episcopal Church in Ottumwa for a Thanksgiving Eucharist followed by a pre-holiday dinner with all the usual trimmings and thensome. What a hospitable group our friends at Trinity are!

We've been talking this year about how we can work together more effectively here in the South Central Chapter of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa and Trinity stepped up to the plate first, inviting all (St. Andrew's of Chariton, Grace of Albia and St. James of Oskaloosa) to this special service and meal. St. Andrew's, in case you're interested, provided the pumpkin pies.

The service, the music, the sermon and the food and fellowship that followed were wonderful and we're extremely grateful for the kindness of our neighbors.

A bonus of any event at Trinity is the wonderful church building, without a doubt the best church building in Ottumwa, right up there with Iowa's allstars and a spectacular example of high gothic revival. Completed in 1895 to a design by Davenport architect Edward S. Hammatt and virtually unaltered, it is a stunner inside and out.

Congratulations Gene and Teresa!

Our friends and fellow parishioners Gene (right) and Teresa Wright were presented recently with plaques commemorating more than twenty years of service resulting in more than two million miles of safe and accident-free driving.

Presenting the Wrights with their plaques was Billy Williams (center), operations manager for Alan Ritchey, Inc., one of the nation's premier mail contractors, headquartered in Valley View, Texas.

"It's been a really decent job and has managed to keep the wolf away from the door while putting two girls through school,” Gene said in response to the presentation.