I have recently got back from a lovely holiday with my wife at our cottage in Maine.   I hope that many of you get a chance to be away at some point over the summer.

For us, it was a time of physical and spiritual rest and renewal as we spent time hiking or reading by the lakeside.  I re-read Tolstoy's War and Peace, a book that had an enormous spiritual impact on me as a young man in my early twenties . In many ways the book  helped set me on the path to ordination. 

To me it is a reminder about how God speaks to us not just through overtly religious means such as in church or when we pray, but in a multitude of  ways - through nature, the arts and other people. 

But we were also spiritually fed  through the discovery of a beautiful  little Episcopal Church in the town of Norway Maine, about half an hour from our cottage. The congregation was warm and welcoming and the rector preached some really fine sermons.

We took "a selfie" of ourselves in front of the church to place on the bulletin board we are planning to put up at St Andrew's with photographs of churches that parishioners have visited over the summer on their travels. Please don't forget to take photographs of churches you visit over the summer and send them into St Andrew's.  You can email them to [email protected] .

I also wanted to let you know that this week, St. Andrew's has been playing host to a board meeting of the El Hogar home for abandoned children in Honduras.  El Hogar is  our parish's main international outreach partner.  They do remarkable work giving homes, love and care to hundreds of abandoned children. Education is a key feature of their work . They provide the children with education up to and including college level, so that they  have a real opportunity of making it in life.

On Saturday morning at 10am there will be a fun El Hogar Walkathon starting at St Andrew's  to which you are all invited to participate in. Please find details of the Walkathon below.