By the Rev. Canon Dr. David and Shirley Barker

Shirley and I thank you for your grace and kindness as we drew to a close this precious time in our church family when I was interim priest-in-charge. It was an honour to serve again for these past two years. The friendships that we have built together over the past decade and more have been deepened and enhanced during this time of ministry.

We are grateful for the time of rest that we are enjoying now. And yes, we are catching up on the many things we had set aside until we could get some time to devote to our art, and to other creative channels.

Thank you for your kindness in the gifts that you gave us, at Christmas, and then even more on our last day of the year.

Some have asked what was in the gift box, so we thought we should share that with you. We received a beautiful water colour painting of St. George’s.

To help us relax and unwind, we received a couple of books by Kevin Kelly: The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces that Will Shape our Future; and Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I’d Known Earlier. And just so that we don’t run out of things to read, we also received gift cards for Master's Bookstore. As a promise of good things to come, we also received season’s passes to both the Highlands Opera Studio and to the Highlands Summer Festival.

Finally, to spread the joy even further, a gift was made in our honour to FaithWorks, the outreach arm of the Diocese of Toronto.

Thank you for your kindness and your love. We look forward to seeing you again in March.

Blessings!