Rector's Message

Fr. Edward Kresowaty (kres-o-wah-ti) is 53 years old and has been ordained for 27 years. He's married to Lynn, an instructional facilitator, and they have two children, Jessica 18 and Joshua will be 17 in September, and two dogs, Nicki and Zeb.

Dear Parishioners:

I want to thank everyone who helped with our Vacation Bible School. Although I was at Camp Crucis, I was praying for you and the ministry you provided. I was very excited to hear that we had over fifty children participating in this exciting time of fun and learning. Thank You for all you gave to these children. I also want to thank those who helped moved the items out of the Choir Loft and out of the Music Room. Your help was greatly appreciated and made these two spaces ready for further improvement. It will be nice to use the Music Room once again and not have the choir loft be a storage area. Thank you for all your hard work and help. On July 25th we will be saying thank you to Dorinda, our organist. She has served faithfully as organist and we want to show our appreciation for all the many hours of practice and providing great music for our worship. If you have not donated towards the ÒpurseÓ we are collecting please do so soon. There will be a reception following the 10:30 Eucharist to celebrate her retirement. Our gratitude and best wishes to Dorinda as she retires. I guess we will have to find something to fill her spare time that she will now have---just joking Dorinda---maybe not?

I was hoping to announce our new organist in this newsletter article. We have interviewed and listened to a number of organists and then narrowed the field down to two. We have made our decision as to who we believe is called to this ministry, but as of this writing of this article, details are being finalized. Thus I cannot announce who our new organist will be until things are finalized. Be listening!

We had a gas leak in the Memorial Garden. The gas company came and turned off the gas to the whole facility. Unfortunately our main gas line that feeds the whole church was steel and has deteriorated over the years. It would not hold up to the air pressure test and thus will have to be replaced. The ditch has been dug and work will continue to replace the pipe located on the north side of the building.

The Columbarium is being built in the Memorial Garden. This will complete the major parts of the Memorial Garden. There are still some items like lighting and the memorial plaque needs to be purchased in order to be completely finished. Funds will be needed to complete these items. We have the funds to purchase benches and the development committee is researching the cost and style of these.

The new wall and fence are such an improvement to our playground area. I thank the donor who helped this much needed improvement to happen. The old bark has been scraped away and weed cloth put down. It is our hope that the playground will be an inviting place for our children now that it has been improved.

If you have not noticed we do have some new signs around the facility. Our one way signs have been replaced. The sign to the south side of the driveway is beautiful and welcomes people into our entrance. We had to replace a handicap parking sign also as well as a sign pointing out the entrance to the church and office. Inside the facilities some of the rooms have been better labeled as well as directions to differing areas. Hopefully this will help those unfamiliar with St. Alban's facilities find their way around and feel at home. Design plans have been finalized for remodeling the Altar and Flower Guild Sacristy. We are waiting on a bid or two before proceeding with the remodel. The repair of our vessels that were damaged when they were stolen has been approved. Since a few of them were badly damaged, a time line for their return has not been established. Hopefully we will receive them back soon.

While all these improvements continue around St. Alban's, remember that they are being done for a purpose. We want to have the tools and the ability to make and keep St. Alban's a warm and welcoming place for all who enter our doors. It is not just a matter of good stewardship, but a matter of discipleship. If our purpose is just to improve our quality of life at St. Alban's we have missed the opportunity to reach out and welcome. We will have missed the opportunity to witness to the power of Christ. We will have missed the opportunity to invite Arlington to know and live in the Resurrected Life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In August we will have our Rally Day. The date will be set at our all day staff planning session on July 21st. Rally Day is an opportunity for all to become involved in the different and various ministries of our Lord as expressed at St. Alban's. As you are escaping the heat of the summer; as you vacation or stay at home catching up on all that needs to be done---pray about your ministry in Christ and how God is calling you to be an instrument of His work.

In Christ,
Fr. K+