My dear Friends.

The bell summoned me to the front door and there I met. a delightful man over from Perth, Australia. Usually such visitors who come to us do so because they were baptized, married or sung in the choir here or they have a relative buried in our churchyard. Roger was different. He came to visit because he was one of several apprentices who worked on the roof beams of St Andrews during the restoration work in the 1960's. He said he (and his mates) left his mark on one of the beams.

Well I guess several other workmen have done the same down the centuries when the church building has been extended, repaired or decorated and there is a sense in which countless others have done the same. We, the members of St Andrew's and St Peters, may not have left some physical mark like Roger, but surely each and every one of us, ever since the church was first built, have left our mark on the life of the church.

In my brief time here we have said goodbye to a significant number of people who have either died or moved arid each individual (no matter how long or short a time they were a member of our church, and no matter what jobs they did or did not do to aid the ongoing life of the church) will have left his/her mark. So there is a challenge for us all who are still here. To make sure the 'mark' we leave is a good and positive one which brings glory to God and helps our fellow Christians.

But there are others who have come along for a longer or shorter time and then for whatever reason gradually drifted away. Others stopped coming because of ill health, family or work commitments and perhaps meant to come back once things sorted themselves out but never have made it.

Well, the wider church has decided to make Sunday. 30^th September as 'Back to Church' Sunday. There will be nationwide publicity and we have invitation cards available in church. Why not use one to invite somebody you know who would like to return to church but has never quite got around to it. We will make sure our services have well-known hymns and will be suitable for anyone who has been away for a while. I am always thrilled to see people in church who have not been for a while so be assured of a warm welcome. We have missed you!

God bless you all.

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