Anglican church welcomes back snowbirds/ tourists
To the editor:
There is a sense of excitement in the air here at St. Raphael’s by the Sea as we anticipate the return of our seasonal friends and family to Fort Myers Beach. Hopefully, some of you will make it down here in time to celebrate St. Raphael’s Saint Day with us on Sunday, Oct. 23. St. Raphael, our patron saint, is the Archangel traditionally assigned to watch over travelers and for healing. Every Sunday at St. Raphael’s by the Sea we offer prayers for travelers and for those seeking healing. If you can’t be here to celebrate with us, then please send in your prayer requests to be lifted up at the altar for St. Raphael’s Day. In celebration of St. Raphael’s Day, Roxie Smith has kindly offered her beautiful historic cottage for a potluck dinner following our Sunday morning worship service.
We also began our first Alpha program last week with a kick-off dinner of homemade chicken and dumplings at Roxie’s historic cottage. Thanks Roxie for opening up this wonderful place for us to fellowship and study together about our Savior, Christ the Lord. This Thursday we will focus on Jesus through the teachings of Nicky Gumbel followed by group discussion. Dinner begins at 6 p.m. Class time is from 6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. So if you can’t make it for dinner, then please join us for the Alpha class. For those unable to attend the fall session, we will be offering another Alpha session beginning in January.
I am delighted to share with you the launching of another outreach program to reach others for Christ via postcards and rack cards. The postcards, which are offered freely to you as evangelical tools, are already reaching others here at the concession stand in the Beach Theater and the rack cards are on display at the Fort Myers Beach Chamber headquarters. These beautiful cards were designed by Cris Zach and Andrea Hedricks, using a photograph of Fort Myers Beach by Jim Marcrum. Special thanks to Hazel Anlauf and Roxie Smith for funding this important outreach and to our volunteer design team in doing such a terrific job!
As you can see, step by step we are seeking to fulfill our mission statement “to know Christ and to make Christ known” through various innovative ways. Please pray for favor as we continue to reach others for Christ. And don’t forget to let others know about the live streaming webcast of our Sunday morning worship services on our website! Thanks again for your generous support! We look forward to welcoming all of you back to your beach home by the sea.
Blessings,
Pastor Alice+
Fort Myers Beach