During the week of Thanksgiving Day, faithful parishioner Steve Camp spotted an appealing sales coupon in the newspaper. It looked like a good deal, so he clipped the coupon. Although not in a particularly good mood, Steve decided to take a short walk to the corner store where the coupon could be “redeemed” (a word that would prove to have profound meaning). It was not a place he would have gone that day; in fact, it is located in the direction opposite of the way he would normally walk. Holding the coupon in his hand, Steve decided the “good deal” was worth a journey into that area “on the other side” of his world.

On his journey he was approached by a young man. "Do you belong to that church on Ideal?"  Steve didn’t recognize the young man and was not expecting a conversation at that moment. “What?”  The young man repeated, “Do you belong to that church on Ideal?"  “Yes,” Steve replied, “I do.”  The two men stood face-to-face for a few moments, gazing into one another’s eyes.  The young man seemed very sad. It looked to Steve as if the young man’s eyes were about to cry.  Tears began to fall from those sorrowful eyes as he began to speak.  “I can’t live with what I did,” he said, “and I don’t want any reward.”  The young man spoke with great emotion.  He seemed desperate. “I only want to make things right and return the book I stole from the church.”

Then a miraculous thing happened. Both men broke down in tears. They hugged each other. It was, according to Steve, an emotional couple of minutes. The young man begged for forgiveness. “All can be forgiven,” said Steve as he consoled him, “you are doing the right thing ... thank-you and God bless you.”

Filled with joy and relief, Steve raced to the rectory to show the Holy Gospel book to Father Vlad.

On the Sunday following Thanksgiving Day, the faithful of Saints Peter and Paul Church venerated their precious Holy Gospel book. In his moving sermon, Father Vlad spoke about giving thanks, repentance, forgiveness, and redemption.  There were tears of joy upon the faces of the faithful; and a special kind of blessing through their encounter with an unknown young man.