January 2016 message

January 2016 • Volume 18, Number 1

Some of our 5th Grade stars of the Christmas Pageant

What’s Your Exit Plan?: 2 Time for Pancakes: 5 Children’s Art Workshop: 7 Annual General Meeting of the Parish: 8 Mardi Gras Jazz Mass: 11 From the Rector’s Book Stack: 12 Christmas Pageant Photo Album: 15

FROM

Exit Plan

In this issue: Youth Ministry ...................... 5 Family Ministry..................... 6 Youth Ministry ...................... 6 Our Church Life ................... 8 Music Ministry ....................10 Page Turners.......................12 Pastoral Care.......................13 Calendar of Events.............14 Photo Album........................15

Sunday Services: 7:30 a.m.

Holy Eucharist, Rite 1 9:00 a.m.

Family-friendly Communion Service with Music 10:00 a.m.

Christian Education for Children, Youth, and Adults 11:00 a.m.

Choral Eucharist, Rite 2 6:00 p.m.

Holy Eucharist, Rite 2 Visit us on-line at www.cecsa.org

Front cover photo by Susanna Kitayama Back cover photos by Gavin Rogers

2

This is second in a series of ten essays Patrick is writing on the lesser-known stained-glass windows in the nave of Christ Church. knew this leave-taking was hard for y exit plan me – as most are. included filling every sink, I did not want to leave Alpha the bathtub, Company of the 1st AIT Training and even the Brigade at Fort Benning, GA. I PATRICK GAHAN Kenmore washer loved the work, and even more Rector with beer and so, I loved the men with whom I patrickg@cecsa.org ice. served. Captain James Wolfe was a steady, even-tempered, wise, exacting commander – cutting a I was leaving the enlisted ranks for dashing appearance like Ashley Officer Candidate School (OCS), and Wilkes in Gone With the Wind. First I wanted to say goodbye the right Sergeant Reed was as caustic as way, and I knew that I could not the lore of that office would have say a proper farewell to all my drill him. Fomenting the acidity of his instructor colleagues without beer – everyday demeanor was the fact lots of beer. So, every conceivable that he never receptacle changed out in our the coffee house was grounds in the filled with Orderly Room Miller and after Monday Budweiser, morning. He and before just added the night’s another huge end, we scoop of GI would send issue Joe each out for more. day at 0430 and perked Adding to the thick, that, Kay and corrosive my mother, concoction who was that he living with habitually us at the swilled for time, made twelve hours. homemade After thirtybiscuits three years of and filled service, the First Sergeant retired them with steak. That afternoon my first January in A Company, and before the gathering you would he was dead of a heart attack by have thought we had an indoor March. It seems he had no reason snowstorm, as every counter, chair, for getting up each morning any and carpet was amply dusted with longer. flour. The two turned out a hundred biscuits and cut up just as many On the other hand, Drill Sergeant portions of sirloin. Kay and mother Don Wildman was anything but did so agreeably enough, for they

M

From Our Rector... emblematic of his moniker. He was a gentle, soft-spoken, very able instructor, who had endured two tours in Nam but could never outrun the death that clung to him from that place. My favorite superior, however, was anything but tame. Senior Drill Sergeant Woody Woodruff was the epitome of the old line NCO. He had dashed across the ocean three times to serve in Southeast Asia, and had two Purple Hearts for his troubles.

A ladies man extraordinaire, two or three nights a week he haunted the Cusseta, Georgia honky-tonks south of the fort, drinking into the wee hours, and sleeping not a wink.

Often I would be in the orderly room at 0500 when he would race in, take a two-minute shower, break fresh starch, and lead the entire company in the morning five-mile run. If any of us junior NCO’s ever complained of being tired due to the previous evening’s activities, he spouted off, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!” I loved Woody like an uncle, and was devastated, though not surprised, when he was shot dead on his own front porch by an angry husband. I was a first lieutenant by then, and serving across another ocean.

“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.” --Gail Sheehy Leaving that particular group of men was hard, yet equally hard was my departure from that hypermasculine, hands-on, concrete, earthy, NCO way of life. True, I remained in the infantry after I was commissioned, but it was different, as I knew it would be. I was no longer “pushing troops” as much as I was pushing those whose job it was to push the troops. That’s why leave-

taking can be so difficult. My heart echoes with similar pangs in my present role as a rector. Not so long ago I was more on the “front lines” of ministry, more personally involved in the day-to-day Gospel offensive.

Now, I use most of my best energies

in the Church’s uppermost station.

Musing about these two men and my own retirement at some point in the future, I fear the same fate as First Sergeant Reed. Accordingly, as an Alabama native, the sudden death of Coach Bear Bryant was

“We Christians continually see old editions of ourselves in the rearview mirror, and that is actually good news ... we may prepare most of a lifetime for a singular event, only to achieve it and ultimately let that part of ourselves go. The letting go can be excruciating. Recall Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as he steeled himself to relinquish his life ... in order to become the crucified Lamb of God.” insuring that others are positioned and resupplied for service. While it is my present calling, I cannot concede that the march has been easy. Often, we say farewell – not only to a place and people we love – but also to a way of life that has become sort of a “home” for us.

Gail Sheehy, in her 1976 bestselling book, Passages, documents the succession of farewells experienced throughout our lives. She sees them as necessary to becoming a fully alive, fully actualized person.

She bluntly declares, “If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.” While that may be so, it does not make the goodbyes any easier – with or without bathtubs full of beer!

These passages have been very much on my mind as of late, as I contemplate our young president, who will retire in a year’s time.

What will he do after occupying the highest office in the land?

On the same hand, I think about our young bishop, who will retire shortly after the president. Several years my junior, I wonder how he will redefine himself after serving

poignantly painful when he died less than a month after his retirement. I was coaching at an Alabama high school at the time, and I recall tuning in to one radio station after another to hear the always-jovial disc jockeys and altogether composed news anchors sobbing uncontrollably across the airwaves. How do you say farewell to such an iconic individual, who could not make the passage we so wished for him?

But, of course, we must say farewell to them, just as we must say farewell to certain stages in our own lives. Perhaps that is part of what Jesus meant when he confided, ‘For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it’ (MT 16:25). We Christians continually see old editions of ourselves in the rearview mirror, and that is actually good news. For what is more pathetic than an adult stuck in self-serving adolescent limbo or one mired in a recurring cycle of infantile antics? On a more positive note, we may prepare most of a lifetime for a singular event, only 3

From Our Rector... to achieve it and ultimately let that a glimpse of them making their I am fond of stating, “No one who part of ourselves go. The letting go perilous march in the bottom right gives his or her life to Christ is can be excruciating. Recall Jesus in hand panel of that window. Often stuck,” by which I mean that Christ the Garden of Gethsemane as he camouflaged by the congregation, relegates no one to wallow in his steeled himself to relinquish his life the nave may need to be empty or her present sinful life. Matthew as a teacher of Israel, herald of the before you can study the secreted certainly typifies my point. His sin was not only against God, but Kingdom, pane.

“Christ called him out of his he was grossly separated from his and brother to the colorless existence into a brilliant Only Matthew own people because he chose to disciples the serve as a wolfish marionette of enterprise that has no equal. We are shares in order to saga of the the Roman Empire. On the other become the beckoned to book our own passage magi, and hand, we can read between the lines that Matthew was living a life of crucified they arrive on the same voyage.”

Lamb of and then exit stultifying sameness. Christ called God. ‘Going the story so him out of his colorless existence a little farther, he fell with his face swiftly that their origin and purpose into a brilliant enterprise that to the ground and prayed, “My is swathed with mystery. Yet they has no equal. We are beckoned to Father, if it is possible, may this cup resoundingly enter the stage of book our own passage on the same be taken from me. Yet not as I will, Matthew’s tale like the discomfiting voyage. Regardless of how moored but as you will’ (MT 26:39). first movement of Beethoven’s we feel in our present lives, Christ calls us to cast off for fresh, lifeFifth: giving exploration, where we will None of our crucibles of change quite compare with that of our Now when Jesus was born in even discover untouched regions of Lord’s, and yet the ordeals can be Bethlehem of Judea in the day of ourselves. rending. For example, we Christians Herod the King, wise men came spend a great deal of time with from the East, ‘Where is he who Second, I note that the Magi make those who are dying. Rarely do has been born King of the Jews? the precarious 1,000-mile trek; their we flee from our friends during For we have seen his star in the sole purpose being to “worship” those last days, for we know of the East, and we have come to worship the newborn king. According to the story, they kneel down before certainty of death and refuse to him.’ Matthew 2:1-2 the child, offer him extravagant ignore its eventuality. Often one of our declining friends will ask, “Can Eyeing this well-trodden passage gifts, and then, just as quickly, you tell me what it will be like when a bit harder, I am drawn to the “return home by another way” 2:11I die?” “How will I feel my death?” assertion, ‘We “The Christian must pass from (Matthew 12). Could they “Will I be thrust into darkness?” have seen his We cannot plausibly answer those star in the East.’ vanity to sacrifice in order to not have just queries, but we will remain with For the magi reach maturity, and there are sent a formal proclamation or our loved ones on this side of to see the star, no shortcuts.” a congratulatory the journey as they complete the they had to first letter by ultimate passage. be looking for it. Rather than surrendering to a life courier? No, because they could not “Passage” is surely the word that of numbing monotony, they were worship Jesus by fiat or through comes to mind when considering seeking their next adventure, their an intermediary. To truly worship the wise men or the magi, as they calling in the stars. In this, Matthew the King demands our absolute attention, complete are often identified. No physical seems to be disclosing himself, personal passage in the New Testament, for was he not settled at the tax devotion, and our entire selves. save that of our Lord’s torturous collector’s table, when he looked Furthermore, the two facts that we march to Calvary, compares with up to see Jesus, who beckoned him do choose to intentionally worship the 1,000-mile trek of these sages. with, ‘Follow me’? Matthew rose up, and that we have resolutely Nevertheless, you have to really much like the wise men before him, determined the object of our hunt for the magi amongst the and entered the great adventure worship tells the fundamental story of who we are. A line taken images on Christ Church’s second (Matthew 9:9-13). from a book Scott Kitayama gave or Advent Window. You can catch 4

From Our Rector... me for Christmas tersely states as much: “What a man is alone and on his knees before God, that he is, and not more.”1 Those few words disturb my homeostatic malaise with the certainty that if I do not make the passage from venerating myself to worshipping the King of Kings, there is little or nothing substantive about me at all. Charles Wesley illustrates the profundity of this passage in one simple line from perhaps his most beloved hymn, “All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood.”2 The Christian must pass from vanity to sacrifice in order to reach maturity, and there are no shortcuts.

Lest I take my rhetoric and myself too seriously, I had to chuckle 1 D.A. Carson, Praying with Paul (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1992), xiii.

2 Charles Wesley, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.”

when I typed the word – “shortcut.”

After all, my less than sterling military stint was characterized by the ultimate shortcut. I was, in fact, a “90-day Wonder.” Through the Army’s slight of hand, I went from serving as an enlisted man to becoming an officer in merely three months’ time – a far cry from four years of ROTC or West Point formation. Shortcut or not, I do profoundly remember the day of my commissioning 38 years ago.

We stood in a small, unadorned office in some forgotten annex of the Infantry School. Kay, very pregnant with our first child, pinned on my first lieutenant’s bar and then Senior Drill Sergeant Woody Woodruff pinned on the other. My future and my past were all standing there beneath the flag on that Saturday morning. Quite literally, just minutes later, I would be swept out of the room and marched over to the Airborne School to begin a whole new regimen of training. But

for that brief moment I realized that I was entering a passage of life with a destination yet unknown to me, and many other passages have followed upon that one, all leading me closer – in fits and starts – to the One I love but want to love more.

Before I left the room, however, SFC Woodruff came to erect attention, saluted me, and said, without comedy or restraint, “Good luck, sir.” I returned the salute and in that moment knew where we’ve come from is as important as where we are going. To the Lord, both make up the grand voyage. Our work is to love deeply, delight in the present, and yet, hold things lightly and stand ready with an exit plan.

Your brother,

Patrick U

MINISTRY

Are You Hungry

S T hrove

uesday

P S ancake

for

upper

Pancakes?

February 9

l 5:30 PM

5

MINISTRY Celebrating

the

Eternal Communion Banquet

O ur Communion Liturgy is so beautiful. It is a place where

HALLETA HEINRICH Director of Family Ministries halletah@cecsa.org

past, present, and our eternal future come together each Sunday. The Children’s Communion Class helps our children to better understand the great gift of Holy Communion – where Jesus Christ, Lord of

All Creation, gives His very Life to us. This class is available to all first and second graders and even older children who have not already participated. The Communion Class is an enriching experience and not a requirement for receiving Communion.

Communion Class is held on Sunday mornings during the Sunday School hour from 10 – 10:50 AM in FMC classrooms 205 and 206. Class will begin on Sunday, February 7 and conclude on Sunday, April 3 with a Communion Celebration honoring the class and their

families. A Parent Orientation for the class will be held Sunday, January 31 at 10 AM in Children’s Chapel for those interested in enrolling their child in the class.

At the Parent Orientation on January 31, parents will have the opportunity to sign up to be Class Helpers, Communion Retreat Leaders, and Special Projects Leaders. All parents are asked to participate in the class on a rotating basis and are a vital part of the class. Please contact Halleta Heinrich at halletah@cecsa. org or phone at 210 – 736 -3132 for more information.

The ritual of our Communion Class and Celebration is a wonderful Christ Church tradition. Feel free to invite those who do not have this tradition from outside of Christ Church to be part of the class. Their participation will be welcomed!

Halleta

Children’s Communion Class February 7 – April 3 Parent Orientation Sunday, January 31 10 AM in Children’s Chapel

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Family Ministry...

“Helping Hands” Children’s Art Workshop

A rt teacher, artist, and Christ Church member Susan Gleye will lead our first through fifth grade students in a creative art workshop during the Annual Parish Meeting on Sunday, January 24 in the FMC Tomlin Room. “Helping Hands” is the focus of this exercise in synergy.

Webster defines synergy as “the

increased effectiveness that results when two or more work together.”

Bible teachings stressing that we are the actual “hands of Jesus” as members of His Body here on earth will be included in the workshop. We will work together in creating art using our hands as the basis of some beautiful decorative art.

Our display of “Helping Hands” will create a colorful art gallery which will be displayed in the first floor FMC Tomlin Room for all to see.

for preschool 3 year olds through kindergarteners during the Annual Meeting. Please make sure to attend this important Parish Meeting and bring your children for this fun and creative opportunity. Parents should accompany their children to the FMC before the meeting to check them in and pick them up at the same location at the conclusion of the meeting. Nursery care will be provided for infants through toddlers and young threes in the first floor FMC nurseries during the meeting.

A “Mini Art Workshop” using the same theme of “Helping Hands” will take place in FMC room 206

Looking Ahead Through

the

Dark

and

Toward

Kid’s Art Workshop “Helping Hands” A Creative Exercise in Synergy During Annual Parish Meeting, Sunday, January 24 In the Family Ministry Center

the

Easter Light

E aster comes early this year – March 27, so mark your calendars now to include our Christ Church Easter Egg Hunt and Liturgy of Light Family Service. Our annual celebration will take place on Saturday, March 26 beginning at 10 AM. All will gather at 10 AM in the Tomlin Room on the first floor of the FMC to prepare for the procession to the Liturgy of Light Service in Children’s Chapel. The Egg Hunt will follow on the Church lawns. There will be a hunt for toddlers through second graders and an Easter Scavenger Hunt with great prizes for third through fifth graders.

Bring your baskets and cameras for great photo opportunities with the Easter Bunny as our special guest.

7

Seeking Community

Jhadennifer Berg a dream

ROB HARRIS Interim Director of Youth Ministry robh@cecsa.org

and she has not quit chasing it because she knows it comes straight from God.

One day Jennifer Berg was looking around the church and noticed the few 20-30 somethings in the sanctuary and realized there was not much in the way of community specific to their age group available. So what did she do? She built it. She started having dinner in her contemporaries’ homes.

She started a regular brunch on Sunday afternoons. She started calling folks to join her for happy hours at local restaurants on Tuesdays and what do you know?

In getting TOGETHER, something happened…community was formed.

It was recently stated by the rector that in considering new church membership, guests in the 20-30 age range are the most abundant.

What a great blessing that our community is welcoming so many new, young families and individuals!

But for lasting and meaningful community to take place we have

to get TOGETHER. There are a few new ways to get TOGETHER in the works currently.

First, every Monday we offer “BBQ & Bible.” This fellowship and study event takes place in the Carriage

House, 6:30 to 8:00 PM. We are currently studying the Gospel of Mark (the shortest of the Gospels, but still mighty in spirit). I hope that you will join us sometime, go deeper into the gospel that forms us, and further immerse yourself in the community that surrounds us.

Of course, there is also our monthly brunch as well as our monthly happy hour. These are great ways just to hang out and meet some new people. We host a brunch one Sunday a month and a Tuesday happy hour.

Check your e-news blast for times

and locations. Again, this is a great way to form community in a unique and powerful way with your fellow 20 and 30 year old Christ Church members.

Jenn and I are currently looking at creative ways to take our ministry of being TOGETHER outside of the church walls as well. We are in conversations with a couple of venues in town that are willing to host an offsite worshipping community for Sunday evenings.

Stay tuned for that!

I have begun to send out weekly e-news blasts specifically for our community of 20-30 somethings to keep you in the loop about upcoming events, as well as life events in our community. Check it out and take advantage of at least one opportunity each month. If you’re not on the list, contact Rob Harris at robh@cecsa.org to be added.

It is our hope, that as our community matures, we can have fun, grow, seek and serve TOGETHER. Jenn had the vision in the beginning and it flourished. Be a part of what God is doing now!

Rob Harris

Annual General Meeting of the Parish Sunday, January 24, 2016 12:30 PM in the Sanctuary following the 11 AM service Don’t miss this important meeting. Senior Warden Charles Huey and the Vestry have some important items to discuss with the parish at the AGM, including future plans for our campus. We will have a sandwich lunch on the grounds, and then come back into the Church at 12:30 for our meeting. We will be electing five new Vestry members, hearing from the Treasurer, and other news from the Rector and others.

8

Our Church Life...

The Christ Church Bible Study

and

Preaching Series

Believe Key Practices – WHAT SHALL I DO?

Y ou say you believe in God…even the demons do as much (James 2:19). James minces no words when writing to his 1st century community. Things have not changed. Belief in God is one thing, but doing something about it is key. Unless we step out in faith, take the risk, and trust God will walk with us – ‘believe’ is just a religious word we can put on the shelf next to our other old trophies that are gathering dust.

We now begin the second phase of the City-Wide BELIEVE Series. Joined by churches of all sizes in every corner of San Antonio, we will ask ourselves, “Now that I believe, what shall I do?” Make a New Year’s resolution to be consistent in your worship, so that the Word and the Holy Spirit may nudge you out of your comfort zone and into a real, dynamic life in Christ.

Jan 17 Epiphany 2

Luke 4:1-13

Worship

We Worship God for Who He Is

Jan 24 Epiphany 3

Mark 1:32-39

Prayer

I Pray To Know God

Jan 31 Epiphany 4

Luke 4:16-30

Bible Study

I Study the Bible for God’s Truth

Feb 7 Last Epiphany Luke 9:51-62

Single-Mindedness

I Focus on God to Set my Priorities

Feb 14 Lent 1

Matthew 26:36-41

Total Surrender

I Dedicate My Life to God’s Purposes

Feb 21 Lent 2

John 13:12-20

Biblical Community

I Keep Fellowship with Christians

Feb 28 Lent 3

John 21:15-19

Spiritual Gifts

I Use My Gifts for God’s Purposes

Mar 6 Lent 4

Matthew 4:12-22

Offering My Time

I Invest My Time for God’s Purposes

Mar 13 Lent 5

Matthew 6:19-24

Giving My Resources I Give my Wealth for God’s Purposes

“If you.. believe in your heart.. you will be saved” Romans 9:10

We Believe San Antonio

9

MINISTRY The Way

of the

Cross: A

reflection on

Good Friday

“And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?”

And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.”- Mark 15:12-14

Ja esuspunishment suffered JOSH BENNINGER Director of Music and Worship joshb@cecsa.org

reserved for the lowest of society’s low.

Crucifixion was the preferred

method employed to dishonor and execute a person in a public setting. The brutal beating and flogging that Jesus endured prior to this was an extension of this punishment. Christ’s true humility was displayed for all to witness when “the Word became flesh” was subjected to this degenerate form of physical abuse, of which Jesus could only suffer by assuming the physical vulnerabilities of the human body.

Stations

of the

Cross

The Stations of the Cross is a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and also a set of prayers said when contemplating those images. On Good Friday at 12:00 PM, a series of 14 images will be arranged in numbered order around our church nave. A priest and crucifer will move from image to image, in order, stopping at each “station” to say the selected prayers and reflections.

The Chancel Choir, guest singers and a chamber orchestra will provide music selections interlaced with the prayers and readings to further commemorate the final hours of Jesus’ life. In the Episcopal faith we call this service “The Way of the Cross.”

And being found in human 10

form, Jesus humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

- Philippians 2:8 Reflections First Station: Jesus is condemned to death Jesus stands before Pilate and mutely accepts his fate. Trusting in God’s plan allows this—the promise of resurrection and salvation. This was the light that led Jesus through the darkness.

Second Station: Jesus takes up his Cross With the beam of the cross cutting into his whipped and bleeding back, the pain Jesus endured must have been unbearable. The acceptance of God’s will allowed him to put one foot in front of the other.

Third Station: Jesus falls the first time Jesus teaches us humility. We must strive to become examples of his self-giving love. Through his example our weaknesses are made stronger and we become more accepting of the weaknesses of others. We must be humble.

Fourth Station: Jesus meets his afflicted mother Jesus is covered in blood, sweat, and spit. His body is contorted under the weight of the cross. He is subjected to angry and hateful shouts. And Mary, seeing her child suffer and knowing his ultimate fate, feels her soul crushed. All she can do is offer her son the comfort of her presence.

Fifth Station: The Cross is laid on Simon of Cyrene Simon is forced to help Jesus carry the cross, and it’s an unexpected detour from his plan. We don’t know why he is appointed for the task, but he does it anyway. Jesus tells us that carrying the cross is the calling of all authentic followers of his, a cost of true discipleship. How we deal with our crosses, then, makes all the difference for us and for the people with whom we associate.

Sixth Station: A woman wipes the face of Jesus A woman gently wipes the sweat and blood from his face. In return, Jesus leaves the imprint of his image on the cloth, and he blesses her.

“He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me.

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”

- Matthew 10:40, 42 Seventh Station: Jesus falls a second time Earlier in the life of Jesus as the center of attention: people climbed trees to see and hear him speak; others reached out to touch his garments. Jesus had once been surrounded with love and acclaim; now he is rejected and scorned.

Eighth Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem Crowds of people surround Jesus as he drags his cross through the

Music Ministry... lifeless on the cross, until he is at last taken down and placed in the arms of his grief-stricken mother.

Let us pray that we never look upon this scene without remembering the hardship, sorrow, and love that Mary endured and felt. Let us pray that we too may come to know the sorrow of Christ’s death.

streets. Most are yelling and spitting at him, and some are filled with grief. Encountering the women, he turns to them and shares a hopefilled message that this is not the end of the story. There is hope.

Ninth Station: Jesus falls a third time As he nears his place of execution, he falls a third and final time. Why does Jesus get up? Why does he use his dwindling energy to deliver himself to the pain of the cross?

Christ changes weakness and death into something glorious. Jesus allows us to see light where there appears only darkness. He gives us the confidence to get back up, and continue our journey no matter how bad things get.

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. – Psalm 22:14 Tenth Station: Jesus is stripped of his garments Crucified people in Jesus’ time were stripped of all of their clothes.

It was just another step in the

process of humiliation. Imagine the embarrassment. When we are subjected to humiliation, we can be confident that Jesus knows how we feel.

Fourteenth Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb Death without burial was typical for a crucified criminal. Joseph of Arimathea shows courage in approaching Pilate for permission to bury Jesus. He shows tenderness in preparing Jesus’ body and he shows respect in laying Jesus to rest quickly. Even as the disciples fled, this man teaches us so much about being devoted to Jesus.

Josh Benninger

Eleventh Station: Jesus is nailed to the Cross Reflect on Jesus and the excruciating pain he suffered as thick nails were pounded through his hands and feet. This pain was endured as a sign of his overwhelming love for us.

Jazz Mass with Jim Cullum

Twelfth Station: Jesus dies on the Cross Shortly before this dark day, Jesus was transfigured before his disciples, confirming his identity as the Son of God. But now he is dead, so surely his disciples were confused. Some of them must have doubted who Jesus really was.

Should we be surprised that they fled? Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is part of it.

Concert with CEC Chancel Choir March 16 at 7 PM

Thirteenth Station: The body of Jesus is placed in the arms of his mother Christ’s body hangs limp and

February 7 11 AM Jazz Mass with the Jim Cullum Jazz Band. Gumbo lunch following in the Parish Hall.

Bryan College Chorale

“The Way

of the

Cross”

March 25, 2016 12:00 – 1:30 PM On Good Friday, we invite you to take up your cross and follow the path Jesus took to Calvary.

Only in the shadow of the cross are we able to make any real attempt to love one another with the kind of love that Jesus has for us – so please join us.

11

Our Church Life..

PAGE TURNERS – From

the

Rector’s Book Stack

And talk.’

Louis stared at her, watching her, curious now, cautious.

‘I’m not talking about sex,’ she added.

‘I wondered.’

We don’t have to “wonder” that people are lonely the book asserts, and that stark, painful honesty drew me to it. I read it straight through in the air from Dulles to Charles De Gaulle.

True to its opening, the story meanders sweetly around Addie and Louis’s present and past lives until family members show up, who, heretofore, 1892, Bibliophile Priest Reading Book had ignored their aging parents. These ur Souls at Night, by Kent Haruf, young people have no conception of has a most unforgettable opening. the stony isolation and strangling Addie Moore, who has lived only a seclusion the two have endured, block from Louis Waters for a half and so they storm into the story century, shows up unexpectedly at like the older brother in the Parable his door one afternoon. The two of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:25-32). had known each other in passing at Perhaps Haruf’s book is just that – the supermarket, post office, and a parable of the heart. such, and they knew that both had lost their spouses to death in recent I picked up The Pastor Theologian: years. Outside of that, they were Resurrecting an Ancient Vision, strangers; thus, Addie’s proposal by Gerald Heistand & Todd Wilson to Louis on page three of the novel for reasons of self-preservation.

My most satisfactory hours, other arrests the reader like a gunshot: than Tuesdays with Kay, are times ‘I wonder if you would consider of critical reading, studying, and coming to my house sometimes to writing. Also, I believe those hours essential for our common parish sleep with me?’ Addie ventured. life. How dangerous would it be for ‘What? How do you mean?’

‘I mean we are both alone. We’ve a senior pastor to neglect serious been by ourselves for too long. For study, reflection, and expression, years. I’m lonely. I think you might such that he continuously serves be too. I wonder if you would come up to his congregation a bland and sleep in the night with me. soup of superficiality? If the clergy cannot offer a compelling, Biblically

O

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grounded, battle-tested, historically reliable, reasonably articulated explanation for our Christian faith, then we are in deep weeds. The authors make this admission in the first chapter: Correct understanding cannot get us all the way there, but wrong understanding is often all that is needed to shipwreck one’s faith.

And it is the pastor’s duty, above all others, to guard the theological integrity of the people of God. While this is the part of our vocation that clergy most earnestly want to pursue, it is the part that often ends up at the very bottom of our priority list due to more pressing needs. For the good of the Church, we must rearrange our days and dig in to the wealth of God’s revealed truths.

Call me hopelessly romantic, but I read Beau Geste, by Percival Christopher Wren a few weeks ago. In September, the Wall Street Journal interviewed a well-known writer and asked about his alltime favorite books. Somewhat embarrassed, the man admitted that he had read Beau Geste repeatedly since childhood. So, with visions of a kepi-clad, black-and-white cinematic Gary Cooper flooding my brain, I ordered the 1924 book for $1.50 on my Kindle.

I was not disappointed, but surprised that the book was not so much a swashbuckling book about the French Foreign Legion as it was an Edwardian mystery novel in the tradition of The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins. Notwithstanding, the book was a great warm-up for Kay’s and my anniversary adventure in France.

Page Turners Cont’d...

Call me boring if you like, but I was thoroughly immersed in the book, How to Read Job, by John H. Walton and Tremper Longman, III. I warned you at least two years ago that I am a Bible commentary junkie. Either I will read a book of the Bible a chapter at a time and follow it by studying a particular Bible commentary, or, as I did in this case, I will read an entire book in the Old or New Testament and then read the respective commentary.

Not only did I enjoy Walton’s and Longman’s treatment of this oft misunderstood work, but also I was challenged by their suppositions.

For the authors, the entire Book of Job hangs on “the satan’s” query to God, “Does Job fear God for nothing” (Job 1:9)? In other words, does Job fear God for the rich benefits he has

received? Does he fear God because he feels as if His hand is continually on him? Does he fear God because his children are faring well? Does he fear God because he is admired in the community? Of course, by the end of that very first chapter, all those assumed blessings are stripped violently away from Job. “The satan’s” question then reverberates throughout the next thirty-seven chapters of verse until God addresses Job, but not hardly in the way Job had wanted or anticipated.

Do we fear God because we have tucked a promise of eternal life in our hip pocket? But what if all those things were taken away? Would we still fear, love, and revere God? The authors end the commentary with this unsettling assertion: Christ did not just save us from our sins, but, more importantly, he saved us for a relationship with God. If we had nothing left but that relationship… would we still fear God? See, Bible commentaries are not merely cerebral and hardly boring!

Your brother,

The question of “the satan” should shake each one of us down to the marrow of our bones. Do we fear God because we have received some measure of prosperity? Do we fear God because polite people consider us respectable or upstanding?

Patrick U

CARE

Journey With Jesus

C h r i s t E p i s c o p a l Church will again be sponsoring our CAROL MILLER Community Pastoral Care of Hope West Administrator carolm@cecsa.org Texas Region Retreat which is scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 12Mar. 13, 2016 at the Mustang Island Conference Center.

Our speaker will be The Rev. Bruce McNab from Montana. His topic will be “Our Journey With Jesus.”

Rev. McNab is an author, spiritual director, and retreat leader. He

to the

Beach

and his wife were also missionaries in Thailand for nearly three years.

Bishop Frey, who was Bruce’s bishop in Colorado, wrote this about one of his books, Finding the Way, “Bruce McNab knows that following Jesus is a costly yet exciting adventure. And fortunately for us he has a way of talking about it that is both an engaging description of Christian Faith and practice, and a winsome invitation

to the reader to take the trip.”

If you would like more information, please call Carol Miller at (210)7363132. We invite you to join us as we continue “Our Journey With Jesus.”

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OF EVENTS January 19:

Christ Churh Women’s meeting, 10 AM in the Capers Room

January 20: Two Tables Speaker: Rev. Lisa Mason on “Invite, Welcome, Connect” January 24:

Annual General Meeting of the Parish, 12:30 PM in the Sanctuary Youth Confirmation Classes begin, 10 AM in the Carriage House Kids’ Art Workshop “Helping Hands” in the FMC, 12:30 PM

January 25:

Young Professionals BBQ & Bible, 6:30 PM in the Carriage House

January 27:

Two Tables Speaker: Jay George on “Calling and Community”

January 31:

Children’s Communion Class Parent Orientation, 10 AM

February 1:

Young Professionals BBQ & Bible, 6:30 PM in the Carriage House

Christ Church Staff: The Rev. Patrick Gahan, Rector patrickg@cecsa.org The Rev. Scott Kitayama, Associate Rector, scottk@cecsa.org The Rev. Brien Koehler, Associate Rector for Mission and Formation, brienk@cecsa.org The Rev. Rob Harris, Assistant Rector for Community Formation, robh@ cecsa.org Carol Miller, Pastoral Care Administrator, carolm@cecsa.org

February 3: Two Tables Speaker: Thomas J. Preininger, counselor, on “An Anxious Age”

Halleta Heinrich, Director of Family Ministry, halletah@cecsa.org

February 7:

Jazz Mass with the Jim Cullum Jazz Band, 11 AM Gumbo Lunch, 12:30 PM in the Parish Hall Children’s Communion Classes begin, 10 AM

Lilly Fenton, Nursery Director lillyf@cecsa.org

February 8:

Young Professionals BBQ & Bible, 6:30 PM in the Carriage House

February 9:

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, 5:30 PM in the Parish Hall

February 10: Ash Wednesday Services at 7:30 AM, 12 PM, 6 PM February 14:

Community of Hope Renewal Luncheon, 12:30 PM

February 15:

Young Professionals BBQ & Bible, 6:30 PM in the Carriage House

February 17: Two Tables Speaker: Kelly Harris, counselor, on “On the Battle Ground with PTSD”

Gavin Rogers, Youth Minister gavinr@cecsa.org Joshua Benninger, Music Minister & Organist joshb@cecsa.org Ruth Berg, Director of Children’s Music, ruthb@cecsa.org Robert Hanley, Parish Administrator robert@hanleypmservices.com Darla Nelson, Office Manager darlan@cecsa.org

February 21: Noisy Offering: Camp Sunday, 9 & 11 AM

12 x 12 Outreach - Stop Hunger Now Meal Packing in the

Parish Hall, 12:30 PM

Donna Shreve, Financial Manager donnas@cecsa.org

February 22:

Young Professionals BBQ & Bible, 6:30 PM in the Carriage House

Gretchen Comuzzi Duggan, Director of Communications, gretchend@cecsa.org

February 24:

Two Tables Speaker: Gavin Rogers on “A Voice for the Voiceless”

February 29: Young Professionals BBQ & Bible, 6:30 PM in the Carriage House

Anna Jewell, Executive Assistant to the Rector, annaj@cecsa.org

March 1:

Ellison Scholarship Applications due

Donnis Carpenter, Receptionist donnisc@cecsa.org

March 2:

Two Tables Speaker: Brien Koehler on “The Holy Eucharist: Blessed”

Elizabeth Martinez, Kitchen Manager elizabethm@cecsa.org

March 3:

Christ Church Women’s Luncheon, 11:30 AM

March 6:

Sunday Funday for Youth: Lazer Tag, 12:30 PM

March 7:

Young Professionals BBQ & Bible, 6:30 PM in the Carriage House

March 9: Two Tables Speaker: Gordon Atkinson, author, on “The Holy Eucharist: Broken”

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Robert Vallejo, Facilities Manager robertv@cecsa.org Rudy Segovia, Hospitality Manager rudys@cecsa.org Joe Garcia, Sexton joeg@cecsa.org

Our Church Life...

2015 Christmas Pageant: The Bethlehem Trail

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Youth Ministers Lena Bozzo and Gavin Rogers on DWTX mission trip to Kenya

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