The feast of the Epiphany, which we recently celebrated, speaks strongly of the fact that Jesus, the Son of God came into the world, not just for the good and the salvation of the people of Israel, but for all people (who are represented by the Gentle Magi who visited him and brought him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh). His vision and outreach was indeed far and wide, and that of us, his disciples, should be the same. This coming week, our country celebrates the birthday of the great civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. His vision was certainly broad as he sought to bring greater respect and opportunity to people of all colors. His tireless efforts and those of others in his day and all the way to the present, has brought many blessings through changes in laws and more importantly changes of minds and hearts to recognize that all people are made in God's image and likeness and should receive respect, love and mercy from each other. This Tuesday (January 18) begins the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. While the efforts to come together to do the work of the Lord as his followers continues, we should pray in a special way this week and on an ongoing basis for greater unity of belief and practice in all those who acknowledge and worship Jesus as the Savior of the world and as God present among us. More than a few of our parishioners belong and are active in civic organizations in the Village that meet for fellowship and that do wonderful things for others. I applaud those who do so, and encourage them to invite some of their fellow parishioners to join as well. In these instances, we have people, many of who are active Christians doing the work of the Lord together especially in caring for our youth, the poor, and others in need. God bless all these efforts and all who participate in them. Let us pray that all of us in the new calendar year will have a love that is broad and reaches out and cooperates with our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord and others, just as Jesus himself did.