Family has always meant much to me. I think of my parents and the six siblings I was privileged to grow up with. Then there is the vast Lake Union family of brothers and sisters. Good families are known to be supportive, and I am so grateful for the support of my Lake Union family. Your prayers, messages, flowers, and visits have sustained me and my wife Jackie during the last four years with my health struggle.

The Lord heard your prayers, and I am on the mend and doing very well. It feels so good to be back in the office, chairing committees, planning outreach, and preaching and fellowshipping in the churches. Thank you, from the depths of my heart, for your family care and love.

Then there is the family of Lake Union pastors. They are as fine a group as you will see anywhere. Each serves in their own unique way with the special gifts that God has placed within them. They pray for our needs, feed us wholesome spiritual food, marry the loving couples, baptize our trophies for the kingdom of Heaven, dedicate our babies, visit and pray for our sick and troubled, and bury our dead. And all the while, they help raise and nourish their own families.

I count it a special joy to honor our pastors in this month's Herald. We have been careful to select a cross section of these blessed servants of God from throughout our Lake Union territory. Maybe one of the selections is your pastor; maybe none of them. But there is one thing for sure: they belong to all of us, and we pay them special tribute and thanks. Ladies and gentlemen, these men represent Lake Union's finest. Please pray for them and support them as members of the family.

Walter Wright is the Lake Union Conference president.

October is Pastor Appreciation Month, a time set aside to honor pastors and pastoral families for their dedicated service. We invite you, our readers, to find creative and personal ways to acknowledge and celebrate your pastor's commitment to the call. In addition, you may nominate your pastor to receive a special gift by e-mailing your words of affirmation and appreciation to editor@luc.adventist.org. Pastors will be selected from various parts of the Union.