It was early December and that means we held Our Annual Christmas Fair. Our parishioners once again made and offered many things, such as crafts, baked goods, handmade candies, knitted blankets, quilts and more. We continued to have the successful Children's Room, where children were able to select gifts for their family on their own. You could have your picture taken with Santa.

In the evening of the Fair, we had a delicious Ham and Bean supper, which included potato salad, cole slaw and cornbread - all freshly made.

The Children's Christmas pageant was once again held this year. It was held on Sunday before Christmas. As usual, the children brought the true focus of Christmas to us all.

On Christmas Eve Day, there was the 1 PM 'Silver Tea' service as it is now known. This is a Holy Eucharist Rite II service with organ and song. Afterwards, St. Elizabeth's Guild (a women's group at the church) offers everyone tea (served from a Silver tea set) and cookies. Turkey Dinners are also passed out to those who need a great, delicious dinner.
At 7:30 PM there was also an evening Festal Christmas service, which was a nice celebration of Our Savior's birth, with song and joy!

We held the first (of what is hoped to be many) Computer Repair Day at St. Anne's. All of the software we used was free of charge, so you can use it in other systems. The (comparative) low price of $50 got you:

• Install latest set of patches for Microsoft Windows and Office.
• Install Microsoft Security Essentials virus scanner.
• Run spyware cleaner.
• Delete old temporary files.
• Answer technical questions about Windows, Mac OS X, Android and iPhones, tablets.

Our yearly Pet Blessing Service, in which our pets (of all kinds) receive a blessing to honor St. Francis of Assisi was held at month's end.

Welcome Back Brunch once kicked off another church year. Food and the company of others are often a nice way to start.

Annual Strawberry Festival with Craft Fair/Cookie Walk was held mid-month. Freshly picked strawberries made the Strawberry Shortcakes taste good as ever. Parishioners responded well for the Cookie walk, offering quite a variety of cookies, from standards such as chocolate chips, to more interesting ones, like ones made with coconut.

Our Annual Golf Outing again took place on a fair-weathered day. Our event consisted of a 9 hole golf tournament followed by a barbecue luncheon, awards and raffle prizes.

This year the children sang, and had a great mini-play to end the Church school year. Many thanks to people like Julie Whooley, Bob Peck Jr., and others for making our Recognition Sunday and our Church School year a special time for not only the children, but for us adults as well.

Rt. Rev. Gayle E. Harris, Bishop Suffragan, visited our parish on April 7. After our 2 PM service (bishops now visit 2 parishes each Sunday), a silver tea followed; then Bishop Gayle held a meeting with leaders of various groups and the vestry. Everyone really enjoyed her visit, and look forward to her visiting again.

Our Annual Meeting started off the new year. We thanked those who served, and welcomed those who came on to new lay leadership roles. Of course, we began with our favorite thing: a Potluck brunch!