In the opening of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina we hear that "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." I am not sure that I have studied the matter enough to have an opinion on the differences in happy and unhappy families, but I do find that there seems to be one characteristic that generally divides the happy from the unhappy and this has to do with the focus of their world. Unhappy people and families tend to think that reality centers upon them and that every action is either done for them or against them, there is no neutrality. Happy people and families tend to see themselves as part of a larger world. Some actions may be done with them in mind while others simply may not. They see themselves as participants in something large and wonderful. Unhappy people are hunkered down waiting for the next offense while happy people are up and about, open to whatever may come their way.

And this seems to be the same for churches. Unhappy churches tend to be those that spend a large amount of time grousing about the world and each other, whereas happy churches seem to spend their time thinking about what they can do for others and then actually doing it. And it pleases me to no end to report that St. Margaret's is a happy church. In the past few weeks we have distributed food and presents to needy families. We have continued to support our local food pantry with cereal and peanut butter. And on December 11^th we announced our intention to once again become a parish. And while all of these are wonderful things, they are not ends in themselves, but rather serve as indicators of the health, vitality and happiness of this place. They say that we as a church want to continue actively and vibrantly serving Christ as his body on this earth. Unhappy churches want to retreat into themselves and criticize the outside world (and often times each other) but happy churches cannot wait to show the world who they are. Happy Churches both want to serve others and bring others into their community so that they can share with others what they have found.

As we begin a new year it is of course a time to look back with joy on what we have done in the previous year, but it is also a time to think about how we want to express our joy in the upcoming year. It should be another wonderful year in St. Margaret's and I look forward to seeing how it displays itself.

+Fr. Philip