Rev. Russell Harding — for that I will ever be thankful to the people of Lot 16 . Your prayers, your support, your caring, carried us through those dark months. You may never know the great gift of God 's grace you rendered unto us in those days as we went through "the valley of the shadow of death." I shall never forget that day in December when Gail was on her long journey back to us and returned to Prince Edward Island and the . H. Needless to say I had given no thought to Christmas baking (not that I had any other year either). I arrived home one afternoon to be greeted by friends from Lot 16 , Bedeque , and Freetown with a car load of Christmas bak¬ ing for the Jay family - Grace, sheer grace! Lest you believe that I can only see food when I think of Lot 16 and its people, I assure you, I have many precious memories of compassionate people of great faith: faith in themselves, in each other, in their community, their church, and their God . I thank God for your ministry to me and my family in our time of great need. May God continue to bless and lead you in His ministry. Yours in Christ. Rev. Russell Harding , Minister from 1986-1989 Thoughts from the Hardings ( Rev. Russell and Paula) As we sit down to write this a few words from one of the children's hymns come to mind. We don't know who wrote it and can't remember all the words but these few do come to mind when we think of the peo¬ ple in Lot 16 ... "The church is not a building, the church is a people ..." In a very real sense, the life of a church is not just special events but the interaction that takes place in and around worship and storytimes; youth and adult activities including study groups; social and maintenance activities such as suppers and meet¬ ings. Such activities touch and enrich peoples lives, heightening their awareness of God 's love in and around them. We sometimes need to be reminded that, just as God revealed his love in human form by sending his son as 134 United Church and Its People