From Your Neighbor, The CT Lanyons
47 Long Hill Street	Patrick, Christine, David, Joseph
East Hartford, CT 06108	860/ 528-7205


Friday, April 8, 2022


Dear Neighbor,

It has been a long season of “winter” (2 years of a Pandemic, and all the discouragements of the past few years), and we all welcome “SPRING!” 
Every year it greets us with the promise of renewed everything: new leaves, new flowers, and new opportunities of life.

With this new season comes renewal of spiritual curiosity I have observed since I was in elementary school. I am enclosing in this letter an invitation postcard to the Easter Holiday services we have conducted every since the first service at Truth Baptist Church, June 28, 1980. 
	(1)Good Friday Service: April 15, 2022 at 7pm
	(2)Easter Morning Service: April 17, 2022 at 10:30am
Most of you may or may not know that I first came to CT that year from Chattanooga, TN to help in the church planting work we did for the month of June that year. I was a seminary student matriculating through my years there culminating in August, 1983. I moved here on the 26th of that month and have resided here ever since in two East Hartford locations, and as your neighbor since October 1992.

THE TWO MOST WELL KNOWN COMMANDMENTS OF THE BIBLE ARE:
	(1st) Love the LORD with all your heart
	(2nd) Love your neighbor as yourself.
(Here is a Bible quote in context:)
Mar 12:29-31  Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'HEAR, O ISRAEL, THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE.   (30)  AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' This is the first commandment.  (31)  And the second, like it, is this: 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

We live in a spiritual as well as physical world and most will acknowledge that truth. There are wars continuously all around us, and we have a grim reminder before us since February 24th of this year with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. No one wants war yet we’ve lived in America in an almost perpetual warfare state since I was old enough to vote in 1970. We want to be “peace-makers.”

The best way to become a perfect peacemaker is to make peace with the Creator. This is what is meant by the first commandment.
	You cannot love the LORD if you do not have a personal relationship with Him. Once you do, you will have made peace with Him and that enables peacemaking in everything you do. You come to know (acknowledge) Him in 3 ways : 1. You can read His revealed Word. (This is step #1, and it is crucial) 2. You can pray to Him, and 3.You can go to a church honoring to Him to understand #1 and #2.
For the last 38 years I can attest you will receive a warm and friendly greeting and rewarding time spent if you will at least attend once: 60 Burnham Street, S. Windsor.
Very Truly Yours, C. Pat Lanyon. (Ps. 40:3 = my life’s verse)