GOOD NEWS

I haven't said anything here because I'm, well, bluntly, a pessimist. If something can go wrong, it will.

However, being a pessimist means that I am never disappointed and always pleasantly surprised.

So my parish in Sheridan needs a new roof. You can see a semi-decent picture of the building here. Over the years, we've collected about $9700 in our roof fund. This thing started well before I arrived on the scene, but the roof is getting worse. One of my parishioners says, "We don't need a new roof .... it's not leaking."

Um ... yeah.

So late last year, early this year, I decided to submit a grant request to the United Thank Offering (UTO). For long-time Episcopalians, this is the "Little Blue Box" organization. They gather money and then disperse it to congregations in need or ones that have specific programs they are trying to start. Parishes have requested money for daycare startups, elevators to become handicapped accessible, and a whole host of other things.

So I thought, "Why not?"

I sent in a request with a bid for a new roof and said, "This will keep the critters out of our building," or something like that.

Well ... it worked!!! We got the balance of the money needed to replace the roof. Work starts Tuesday.

Now, of course, I'm worried that there's something under there that couldn't be seen during the first inspection and we'll owe another $15 Grand.