Students are coming back to town, and life on "The Corner" is picking up. Truthfully, things are a bit slow in Charlottesville without them; the students give this community its purpose, and that has been so since Thomas Jefferson built the University of Virginia.The last two Sundays, we've had families coming to our worship services bringing with them their young adult students, helping them get settled at school. I am very thankful they've made St. Paul's part of getting settled into student life. I have much enjoyed meeting so many new people, and they come from all over the country. More will come this Sunday; next week is the major onslaught of undergrads into Charlottesville.
We have a terrific Canterbury program for students, led by The Rev. Neal Halvorson-Taylor. This year we are augmenting the program with the help of Hannah Trible, a recent Virginia graduate who will be a full-time ministry intern with us for the academic year. If you are a student, please stop by our church and introduce yourself. We'd love for you to get in touch with Neal and Hannah.
We are also asking that year-round members of St. Paul's bring cupcakes or other goodies this Sunday that we can give to students next week as they arrive. Please bring them in Sunday or Monday to the office. And please introduce yourself to our new and continuing students. Ministry to the University of Virginia community is a major mission of this parish, and we are much blessed to live on The Corner.
