Greetings St. David Parishioners:
I am honored to serve as St. David’s new Sr. Warden. I am deeply dedicated to the well-being of our Parish and each of you. I am a relative newcomer to St. David’s and still getting to know all of our members and traditions. Yet, l feel that St. David’s is my “home” and all of you are an amazingly loving extended family. I look forward to all of us working together to grow our family and keep St. David’s a beacon of loving light shining in the community.
During my short time as Sr. Warden, several parishioners have brought two significant concerns to my attention that I want to share with all of you so everyone is in the loop with my responses: To be sober means to be serious. God through Paul instructs us to be serious about practicing the Christian virtues: faith, love and hope.
1. In-Person Services – Why are faces masks still being required and why isn’t wine being served with communion?
Response – Out of an abundance of caution, the Vestry decided to take all steps to minimize any potential risks of spreading the Covid infection, especially the Delta Variant, among our parishioners and to protect young children in our families who are not yet vaccinated. There is a particular desire to protect young grandchildren and great-grandchildren from being infected if any of us who are vaccinated should unknowingly become infected without symptoms and spread the virus to them. Therefore, it was decided that during in-person Sunday services we will continue wearing face masks, maintain social distancing, and forego sharing wine during communion. We know the risks are low, but would rather be safe than sorry.
Since resuming in-person services, we are averaging 25-30 attendees every Sunday; and
15- 20 individuals continue viewing our livestream services on YouTube every week. Six guests have joined our in-person services over the last few Sundays. Let’s pray that they return to join us as new parishioners! All are welcome in our home.
Response – There has been a delay in depositing Offertory contributions in to St. David’s bank account. However, Patti Case, Treasurer, is aware of the issue and taking steps to correct it. Please continue making your generous Offerings; they are needed and GREATLY appreciated.
My “Unique Accent”
Those who have heard me talk know that I speak with a really unique accent that is often difficult to understand. I was born with cerebral palsy, which is a neuro-muscular condition that affects my speech and some fine motor functioning. Please tell me when you cannot understand my speech! When I talk, the speech that I hear in my head sounds completely “normal” to me so I don’t know when others cannot understand what I’m saying unless they tell me. You will not embarrass or make me feel uncomfortable.
Some refer to my CP as an affliction or disability. Please do not look at me that way. I choose to refer to it as a blessing from God. I live a blessed and charmed life that only gets more wonderful the longer I live and the more that I learn to love.
I retired in 2020 as Deputy Director of the Washington state Vocational Rehabilitation agency after 45 years working to advance the equality, employment and prosperity of people with disabilities. I bring a wide array of professional skills to the role of Sr. Warden that I believe will be useful.
I look forward to working with all of you to create St. David’s future as we eventually get on the other side of the Covid pandemic. Please contact me anytime with your thoughts, questions or concerns.
Blessings to all of you and yours. -Don
Don Kay, Sr. Warden
Email: mardon12@comcast.net
Cell/Text: 360-789-5528