This last Sunday was the Sunday in the Church Calendar dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Trinity Sunday, auspiciously coincided with my first official Sunday as your Rector, and let it not be forgotten, Fathers Day. Words cannot express Al's and my appreciation for the gracious and whole-hearted manner of your welcome to us. Your enthusiasm and generosity has quite overwhelmed us. Al and I both wish to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!

I think it's fair to say that we all feel relieved that the long months of transition have now come to an end. I hope many of you will soon be on your way to well needed and recuperative summer holidays. We are delighted to be able to arrive for the glories of a RI summer, having escaped the searing temperatures of Phoenix. Al and I are looking forward to a couple of months of settling-in, both of us in the new house, which is proving to be a charming as well as a challenging experience, and me to my role as Rector. I suspect September will be upon us before we are ready for it.

My weekly message in the form of Rector's Recap will tend to focus on the theme of the previous Sunday in terms of lections and sermon. This last Sunday was the feast of the Trinity. The trinity is that distinctively Christian experience of God. In addition to preaching on this theme, I also posted a more extensive written sermon reflection on the Trinity on my blog. Each week I will usually post a sermon reflection in blog form as well as delivering the sermon. The difference between the blog and the sermon is the difference between writing and conversation.

For many of us the real meaning of the Trinity has become lost to us. For most of us the Trinity seems an esoteric, and philosophical conundrum. The important thing for me is that the Trinity is simply a reflection of there being at the heart of God an experience of community. Contrary to popular views of God as a solitary being or as an impersonal energy force, God is revealed in our Christian experience as a set of relationships within a single, self-sufficient community.  Because we are made in the image of God our need for seeking relationships in community is simply a mirroring of the relationality and community preceding us at the very heart of the divine.  If you find this a tantalizing image for God then I hope some of you might read-on at relationalrealities.com

In the meantime, Al and I are greatly looking forward to meeting many of you at the welcome meals being planned over the summer. Please look-out for a separate announcement about these in this edition of E-News.

Your servant in Christ, Mark+