July 2015 • Volume 17, Number 4
E P I S C O PA L
Experiencing the Love of Christ at VBS
A Few Words from Patrick: 2 Summer in the Carriage House: 6 A Look Back at VBS: 8 Do You BELIEVE?: 10 Rally Day: 11 From the Rector’s Book Stack: 14
FROM
Two Words
In this issue: Music Ministry ...................... 6 Youth Ministry....................... 6 Family Ministry .................... 8 Our Church Life .................10 Page Turners ......................12 Calendar of Events.............14 Planned Giving....................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
Cover photo by Susanna Kitayama
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PATRICK GAHAN Rector patrickg@cecsa.org
The aim of education is to develop in the body and in the soul all the beauty and all the perfection of which people are capable. Plato
“F
abulous” and “nigger” were the two words Mother forbade us to utter, the former because it was trite and common and the latter because it was hateful and inhuman. If either slipped off our lips, she would have the offender bite deeply into a yellow bar of Dial soap, which Mother would subsequently extract from our mouths with relentless ferocity, raking curls of perfumed, waxy soap onto the inside of our front teeth. On the rare occasion that a white bottle of Lux liquid was available on the kitchen sink, she would squirt an ounce of it onto the roof of our mouths, with the greatest portion of the caustic cleanser erupting like Mt. Saint Helens in our throats. Mother disdained those two terms even more than the most graphic curse words. I think she rated “shallow” and “common” just inches above serial killer. Mother’s resolve to develop our linguistic deportment bordered on hilarity, if not absurdity, given the fact that she raised us in out-and-out poverty in the Deep South. We were “trailer trash” minus the trailer, yet Mother insisted we speak, act, and look as if we hailed from the most prosperous neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama. She was consumed with our elocution, etiquette, hygiene, industry, and intellect. In short, she demanded that the four of us waifs be thoroughly educated. We never doubted for a moment that Mother loved us, but we also never forgot that we were her projects, her greatest achievement, her architecture, and, like any great edifice,
people would esteem what she built. On the other hand, what people could not see was of less concern to her. We rarely had more than a pair or two of underwear, and one was held in reserve for going to a friend’s home or on a short journey. “I will not have my children show up at the emergency room with pitiful underwear,” she preached. Socks were in the same category. If there was a hole in the heel, we were taught to artfully readjust the sock until the gaping hole did not show. Underwear and socks were accoutrement unnecessary for our enlightened advancement. To this day, I jest with Kay “The two best things about being married to you are underwear and socks.” After almost forty years of marriage, I never open the top drawer of my dresser without a sense of surprise and gratitude.
“Books were mother’s magic carpet into enlightenment.” If underwear and socks were mere appurtenances, books were not. Books were mother’s magic carpet into enlightenment. We never had a television and could not afford a phone, but library books and second hand magazines were stacked on most every flat surface of our pitiful rentals. During our constant Bedouin moves due to evictions, better jobs, and, once, the thin promise of romance, we knew to pack the books first. The Old Man and the Sea, Profiles in Courage, The Norton Anthology of English Literature, The Sound and the Fury, and the Revised Standard Edition of the Holy Bible all saw the insides of places that would have made Hemingway, John F. Kennedy, Tennyson, Faulkner, and Moses blush. No matter, Mother would read to us so that the great fish, the Light Brigade, Jefferson, Mississippi, PT 109, and the Red Sea all came rolling into the room. Mother was the most genuinely erudite person I have ever known, and yet she garnered only a tenth grade education, a fact, like her dentures, she never shared.
From Our Rector... Mother did not hold a utilitarian understanding of education. She recoiled at the notion that a person would study as merely a means to advancement or economic prosperity. Hers was more
“To study is to see beauty more immediately and the injustice that despoils beauty more clearly.”
study this marvelous laboratory that surrounds and inhabits us or anesthetize our yearnings so that we follow one personal entertainment after the next. I thought about that choice as Kay and I made the strenuous hike up Dorr Mountain in Acadia National Park during early June. Bitterly cold winds set Kay to trembling, while the precipitous climb made our legs feel like thin twigs quivering against the wind, but the vistas of mountains, ponds, ocean, and trees spread out from atop that mountain endlessly. We could only look and gasp and wonder at the generosity that made such a gift to Americans, indeed, to all humanity.
almost ninety. And Dorr really lived. He awoke each morning to swim in Frenchman Bay, often breaking the ice along the shore before he could begin. He hiked the mountains of Acadia until he fell blind in his late eighties. A poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Justice of the United States Supreme Court (1902-1932), is rendered on the simple plaque marking the place of Dorr’s Bar Harbor home. Justice Holmes wrote the poem after visiting Dorr in 1890:
of a Jeffersonian view that concluded only an educated citizenry can protect From this fair home behold on democratic freedom and promote the either side common good of all people. To study The restful mountains or the is to see beauty more immediately and Once back on level ground, we restless sea the injustice that despoils beauty more discovered that it was George Dorr So the warm sheltering walls of clearly. Mother prized men and women (1855-1944) that gave Acadia National life divide who worked hard all day, attended to Park to the world. Born into great Time and its tides from still their families lovingly, but also took affluence in Boston, Dorr could have eternity. their places as informed, contributing whiled away his life in sumptuous (La Maison D’or (Bar Harbor), 1890) citizens. Calloused hands, a supple stimulation as one of the young mind, and a generous heart denoted “Brahmin” of that city. I like to think it Sitting in the shadow of the mountain the character of an educated ridge that would later person. bear Dorr’s name and “To live, one must embark upon the watching the waves of To that end, Mother reveled tempestuous, precarious breakers of existence. the harbor move in their in my half-sister’s academic dance, Playing it safe on the shore, never exploring unpredictable career. Virginia, who is twentyJustice Holmes caught the deep, blue water of creation, one will five years my junior, garnered sight of what stirred Dorr. fellowships at Vanderbilt and wade in the staid, never fathom the deep purposes of God for To the University of Texas in predictable waters of humanity, which are bound up in the very security, was no life at all. order to complete her Ph.D. in Pre-Columbian Art. Never To live, one must embark creation in which he has set us.” once did our mother confide upon the tempestuous, in me, “Now Ginny is set,” or precarious breakers of “I wonder what honor is coming her was during his matriculation at Oxford existence. Playing it safe on the shore, way next?” or “I bet she will command and Harvard that he chose a higher never exploring the deep, blue water a six-figure salary.” Mainly, mother was ground on which to live his life. One of creation, one will never fathom the enrapt by my sister’s strangely exotic thing is for certain, after a summer deep purposes of God for humanity, and thoroughly challenging adventures vacation in Bar Harbor, ME, his affection which are bound up in the very creation in Mexico and Guatemala, her long, remained with that northern land. in which he has set us. For as the taxing days of teaching mildly engaged Dorr harassed the Maine legislature psalmist cried: undergraduates, and her incalculable in Augusta and lobbied Congress in hours grinding out her dissertation. Washington for literally years to protect What is mankind that you are For mother, education drew one the lands that would become Acadia mindful of them, forcefully into life so that one could National Park. Furthermore, he cajoled human beings that you care become fully human and live humanely. one private citizen after another to give for them? The fact that Virginia now chooses their lands to the park as he had done. You have made them a little lower to teach mathematics to struggling In the end, he spent every penny of his than the angels pre-adolescents marks her as a true considerable fortune and every ounce and crowned them with glory renaissance woman within my mother’s of his creative energy establishing and honor. universe. the park. In fact, a friend of his stole You made them rulers over the $2,000 from Dorr just to make sure works of your hands; We do choose to be enlightened or there would be the means to give him you put everything under to thrash around in darkness – to a decent burial. Dorr lived until he was their feet:
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From Our Rector... All flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, The birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. Psalm 8:4-8
hike deep into the thick pine forest that began next to our home and not return for hours. Lady, my German Shepherd, was my sole companion. Once I entered the house, mother would stop everything, sit me down, and ask about my adventures. She wanted me to live fully awake to my world. How telling it is that every chance I get I am hiking up steep mountain faces, exploring placid, hidden ponds, or trekking across a stark piece of desert.
I do not recall my mother ever instructing me in the mechanics of salvation. My personal acknowledgment and acceptance of Christ’s grace and his lordship over my life would come later, in this very city of San Antonio, in fact. Also, I rather doubt Mother thought an Saint Augustine (354-430) had strong incantation hastily thrown up to the words for any of us who sleep through heavens our lives. He “Fascination accompanies was a asserted the sincere act redemption. What serious Christian i n a t t e n t i v e of faith. life is a sinful On the could help but continuously study the life, for the contrary, inattentive life yawning cataracts and bottomless b e f o r e is incurvates reservoirs of human existence?” one could in se – a life make an that curves in admission on itself (De of faith in God through Christ, he or she Trinitate (On the Trinity), c.410). To must assume the humble posture of truly be a student of the world is to the psalmist, ‘What is mankind that you mine its riches, foregoing the “shallow are mindful of them, human beings that and the common”, as my mother would you care for them?’ The miracle is not maintain. At the same time, anyone that we finally get around to receiving who delves deeply into the multifarious God. The outrageous miracle is that dimensions of our surroundings, God receives us, loves us, and, miracle people, and culture cannot long of miracles, trusts us with His creation endure “meanness and inhumanity” in (Genesis 1:27-30; Psalm 8:6-8). themselves or others. For Mother, as well as for George Dorr, pondering personal salvation apart from the submission to live a wholly redeemed life was futile, and, by Biblical definition, fruitless. A “saved” person is a voyager on the ocean of God’s greatness. Fascination accompanies redemption. What serious Christian could help but continuously study the yawning cataracts and bottomless reservoirs of human existence? If this life is but the anteroom of the next, how could someone profess an affinity for heaven while living in complete inattentiveness to the present? As a young boy, I recall my mother insisting, “Pat, get out in the woods.” Like an Alabama edition of Thoreau, she believed that humans should be lifelong students of the beauty that surrounds them on every side. Beginning when I was six and seven years old, I would
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Kingdom living, that is being part of the kingdom of God that Jesus professed the entire three years of his public ministry, leads one well beneath the trivial and well beyond prejudice. We become the antithesis of a disfigured life that is “curved in on itself.” That is what Jesus is getting at when he teaches the teeming crowd pressing upon him on the beach: ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, and what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all seeds on earth; yet when sown, and it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade’ (Mark 4:30-32).
We have an awesome God, that’s true; but it is equally true that He lays awesome opportunity at our feet. The divine seed of the very kingdom of God is sown within each one of us who surrenders to Christ’s grace and his rule in our life. So that just as Jesus Christ was born into this world to redeem it; we too, are born again to become agents of Christ’s redemption in this world – amongst God’s people and his creation (John 1:14; Colossians 1:15-20; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20). Each one of us who has accepted Christ’s healing grace is now called and commissioned to be healers of the environment, the human heart, the government, the community, the city, and the family. Once we have been “clothed with Christ”, we become fully awake to our purpose, which always demands giving what we have received. Jesus maintained, ‘From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked’ (Luke 12:48). By definition, no Christian is exempt. Serious lifelong study must, therefore, accompany our salvation. Exacting investigation and deep introspection accompany Christ’s call on our life. Saint Paul, who is the exemplar of Christian conversion, is also the paradigm of
“Serious lifelong study must, therefore, accompany our salvation.” study that prepares our heart to receive Christ and the knowledge to carry out his will in the world. While defending himself against his accusers during his two-year imprisonment in Caesarea, he outlined his strenuous study under Gamaliel, the most celebrated rabbi of that day (Acts 22:3). And while Paul initially misused his scholastic preparation, his rich understanding of faith, people, and the Hellenistic world equipped him to be the greatest evangelist in history. Paul’s call from Christ was informed and accentuated by his honed understanding of God and His world. Seventy
years
after
Paul’s
death,
From Our Rector... emerged one of the most prolific writers of the second Christian century, Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (130-202). In one of his two complete works that have been preserved, Against Heresies, Irenaeus wrote his most memorable line, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” Far from making a solely humanistic claim, the venerable bishop of what would become southern France was declaring that when God awakens a person, when that individual is born again, that person finds himself
along with defined hours of prayer and daily manual work, times of uninterrupted study. The old master could not have known that what he began on that lonely Italian mountain would keep the intellectual lights burning when the world turned dark for five and a half centuries. Europe could have swiftly fallen headlong into destructive, tribal paganism without the Church’s ineradicable devotion to learning.
We, too, risk falling and “The mature Christian remains a becoming someone far than we aspire to be serious student throughout his or less if we cease our march her life, for our particular religious to understanding. We will become increasingly heritage is an intellectual one.” clannish and narrow, more a product of our particular neighborhoods, politics, rapturously in love with God’s creation and economic station than of our faith. and his people. Consider the witness of Unchallenged by the rich demands Christians from Saint Francis to Pope of our Christian faith, we can become Francis. A person born again is one myopic, one-dimensional, trite, and who enters and engages the world more worse, fall into bigotry, indifference, fully – not less. and meanness. To stop learning is to stop growing, and our world becomes The mature Christian remains a serious as small as an unsown mustard seed. student throughout his or her life, for our particular religious heritage is an “To stop learning is to stop intellectual one. It is undeniable that growing, and our world the Christian Church was carried on the waves of the Hellenistic philosophical becomes as small as an awakening. Our faith was defined upon unsown mustard seed.” the metaphysical waters that roiled between Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome. Our understanding of the Trinity, incarnation, eternity, and sanctification With a surfeit of news services, blogs, – just to name a few – comes through podcasts, video feeds, tweets, and the church’s creative engagement with instagrams streaming unceasingly into Greek learning. In Acts 15, when James our homes and devices, we have an and the others of the First Jerusalem illusion of learning. Yet, when we look Council made special provision for the closer, the content is often shallow, admission of the Gentile converts, the biased, and altogether malevolent; so church’s willingness to continuously much so, in fact, that a young priest expand its knowledge of itself and the in our diocese confessed that he had world begins, never to abate. to quit listening to talk radio in his car because he became increasingly In the dark days leading to Rome’s fall angry throughout the course of the and dissolution, Augustine (354-430) day. Mature Christians should be writes The City of God (written from brave enough to break the shackles of 413-426), making ultimate sense from triviality and head out into the freedom what looks like, for all the world, the of deeper water. end of Christianity. A century later the foment has not quelled and Benedict John Shelby Spong (b. 1931) is a name (480-547) establishes his monastery at often vilified by more traditional Monte Cassino, in which he demands, Christians, including this author.
Nevertheless, Bp. Spong has been a model of lifetime learning for me. For much of his adult life, he chose a faith topic to exhaustively pursue for an entire year. Often he would spend an entire day each week and retreat for a month to plum the depths of his chosen subject. While many Christians do not agree with the controversial bishop’s conclusions, it’s hard not to appreciate his tenacious march to discovery. Christians do not fear learning, for we know that Christ is the ultimate end of our seeking. He is, as John affirms, “alpha and omega” (Revelation 1:8; 17-18; 21:6-7; 22:13). How curious that John uses the Greek alphabet to assert Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end of our intellectual and spiritual voyages, which portrays his rich and facile engagement with the culture in which he was set. What quest will foist you out of the familiar harbor where you are anchored? Will it be soteriology, the study of salvation; pneumatology, the study of the Holy Spirit; ecclesiology, the study of the Church; or eschatology, the study of ultimate things? Perchance you may be moved to delve into the topics that have risen to the top of the ocean in which we swim – racism, pluralism, ecumenism, and sexuality. The important thing is to cut loose and sail! Your brother,
Patrick U
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MINISTRY Wednesdays
are for
T
here’s nothing quite like worshiping God by singing His praises with heart, mind and voice! Our Episcopal tradition is filled with beautiful hymns and seasonal celebrations. Christ Church adds to that with special JOSH BENNINGER musical offerings Director of Music that enrich our and Worship joshb@cecsa.org worship, teach Biblical truths and draw us closer to the One true God. Our role as parents is to encourage our children to know and appreciate the joy of giving back to God with the talents he has given us. What better way to give back than by singing in one of our youth choirs! At CEC, we offer choirs for students in kindergarten through high school. Each group builds fellowships, provides vocal and musical training, emphasizes spiritual truths and offers joyful performances. No training is needed, and students of
Worship
all singing abilities are welcome. I encourage you to set aside your child’s Wednesday afternoons to experience the joy of praising God through song. You will be giving him or her a gift that will last a lifetime -- and beyond. Children’s Choirs Begin Wednesday, September 9 Minisingers (grades K,1,2) meet Wednesdays from 4:30-5:15 pm. Mastersingers (grades 3,4,5,6) meet Wednesdays from 4:15-5:15 pm. Sanctuary Singers (grades 7-12) meet seasonally, with various rehearsal options available. For more information, contact Ruth Berg (ruthaberg@gmail.com) or cell (210-422-9963).
via
Ruth Berg
MINISTRY
In
S
ummertime is a special time in which we can do things a little differently. In these great three months, with no school, it is nice to take a break, BREATHE, and have some fun. Our youth ministry is going through a similar transition as we segue into summer. First, our Christian Formation on Sunday mornings in the Carriage House is ONGOING. We meet each and every Sunday in the Carriage House for Middle School AND High School breakouts. There is always a Bible study, always a life application offering, and always tacos. Please join us for these important times in which our youth community gathers. Though school is out, our journey with God never ends. I invite you to take this unique gift of summer to re-connect with the church
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the
Good Old Summertime
and with the God we find in Scripture. Second, each Wednesday, Youth of all ages (including rising 6th graders) are invited to join us for a Wacky Wednesday. Each Wednesday, there is a special fun outing planned and we hope to see you there. Please, look over the schedule below and find an event (or two, or three, or all) that you would like to attend and make it a priority to be there and build community with the other youth of our parish. It is always good to invite friends as well. Finally, our Renovation Team continues to work in re-fitting our Youth Ministry for maximum impact. Our committees are working hard to add structure, volunteers, and vision to our ministry with teens. We are also in the process
of receiving resumes from prospective Youth Ministers and are currently narrowing that field and inviting potential candidates to interview. Please pray for this important task. In the meantime, continue to pray for the youth of our parish that this summer will be one filled with refreshment and joy, hope and promise, a deeper walk with God, and a stronger bond with their brothers and sisters in Christ. Blessings,
Rob U Wacky Wednesdays July 22: Pool Party 11 AM - 2 PM July 29: Movie Night at CEC 7 - 10 PM August 5: Laser Tag 1 - 3 PM, $15 August 12: Pool Party 11 AM - 3 PM
Youth Ministry...
Resurrection Happens
I
ROB HARRIS Interim Director of Youth Ministry robh@cecsa.org
f you drive to San Leon, down on the Gulf Coast of Texas around Matagorda Bay, you may hear the tale of Chester’s dog. No one knows if Chester ever named the dog differently, but everyone around San Leon just knew him as
Chester’s Dog. The dog was just an old mutt and Chester himself was not much more than a mutt himself. Chester and that dog were nearly inseparable. Year after year they grew old together. In fact they needed each other. The folks in San Leon usually clear out of town on holidays because a lot of the big city folk come to town for their vacations. It is on these holidays that Chester and his dog would usually drive out to the lake and spend a few days on the water fishing. It was early morning and Chester had the truck all packed up. As he was backing up he heard a thump, and immediately he knew what had happened. He had hit his dog. The heartache that ensued! Chester was at a loss for some time, just sitting there in the driveway in shock.
After a while, he picked up the dog, put him in the back of his truck, and decided to drive down to the country store. He knew the owners quite well (as did everyone in San Leon). He asked the owner and his wife if they would be willing to bury the old dog down by the river behind their store. He just didn’t have the heart to do it himself. They readily agreed (these were the days when folks helped one another no matter the cause). Chester got back in his truck and sullenly got on the road to the lake, not willing to go back to the scene of the accident. Well, the store owner and his wife took Chester’s dog and carried him down the well-worn path to the riverside. The man dug a hole, placed Chester’s dog in it, and shoveled the earth on top. When the necessities were completed it seemed appropriate to offer a few kind words on behalf of the old dog who had been such an integral part of their friend’s life. “O Lord, this dog was a friend in hard times and good,” he began. “He was loyal, and never got in no trouble. He didn’t cause Chester no grief and Chester loved him so.” Just as the shop owner was about to break into a chorus of Psalm 23, the ground around the grave began to
rustle. The man and his wife looked down and the ground started to move. Suddenly, the nose of Chester’s dog wriggled out of the leaves and dirt and, soon enough, all of that dog came scrambling out of the grave! It seems the dog was only stunned and that couple had a grand story to tell Chester when he got home. And that’s the story of Chester’s dog.1
X
X
X
Resurrection happens at unexpected times in unexpected places. Just when we think all hope is lost, restored life comes scrambling up from the dust and is born anew. Do you feel like you’ve been hit by a truck? Are you stunned or shaken by the storms of life? Fix your hope on something greater than yourself and your own power. Fix your hope on the Lord of life, the Lord of resurrection, for we are called to be resurrection people. We are called to be a people that hope with wild expectation that even though it seems dark, grace is just around the corner.
Rob Harris 1 Leon Hale. A Smile from Katie Hattan. “The Story of Chester’s Dog” [paraphrased], Bryan, Texas: Shearer Publishing Company, 1982.
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MINISTRY Thank God and You
for
VBS: A Reflection
V
iewed from my assignment as gatekeeper for VBS at the church gazebo, I observed most importantly how truly happy all the children were – a diverse mixture of Christ Church kids, James Madison kids, Thunderbird Apartment kids, and Respite Care kids, as well as grandchildren of members and non-members, friends of our kids HALLETA from other parishes, and who knows HEINRICH where else – all 128 of them. All were Director of so happy to be here at Christ Church – Family Ministries so filled with peace and joy. The adults halletah@cecsa.org and teens helping, all fifty plus of them, were the same way- peaceful and happy. Amazing! A little voice in my head kept repeating, “They must become greater; I must become less.” It’s my version of John 3:30, of course, where John the Baptist recognized he needed to take a back seat to Jesus. His mission had been accomplished. He had prepared the way for the Messiah. Now, I’m not John the Baptist and dear, sweet Amy Case, our VBS Director par excellence, is not the Messiah, but there was truth in that little voice I heard. God was doing a mighty work during VBS this summer. I had prepared the way for 27 years, and now it was time for me to peacefully observe the fruits of preparation. If you know me at all, you know I have been
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and
Confession
a type A personality with a penchant for detail and lots of meetings, etc. I was a polite control freak and a perfectionist with a gentle touch. Life has humbled me. Through my own weakness, Christ has become strong through the Body of Christ here at Christ Church. I got out of the way of a very responsible Amy Case and her co-leaders Jennifer Colglazier and Julianne Reeves. I was there to support, but I let them lead. I learned to trust them and God that His will would be done without my interference. It worked! Praise God! A long time ago, when former Rector Ted Schroder hired me, he confessed that he only had one concern about me. He thought I might be a “bottle neck” in trying to do too much of the ministry by myself and not let others lead. I was probably insulted at the time, but I have to admit, he read me well. He told me that my main job was to enable others to have ministry. It took me a long while to catch on, but I do get it now. It brings me such pleasure to see others take the lead for Christ and our children here. Now they can experience the same joy I feel when I “Let the little ones come to Him” through their leadership for and in Christ. Thank you, God! Thank you, Christ Church! Because of you, I am still learning and growing. Love,
Halleta
Family Ministry...
Blessing of the Backpacks Sunday, Agugst 23
C
alling all students from toddlers on up, and all teachers too! Come to church and receive a blessing for the new school year during both the 9 and 11 AM services on Sunday, August 23. Bring your backpacks, brief cases, etc. as a symbol of the work God has given you to do at this time in your lives. You will all receive a token to place on your backpack or key chain as a reminder of God’s unconditional love for you through Christ, and also of the love your Church Family has for you.
It’s Family Time Septmeber 25 - 27
M
ake plans to be part of CEC Family Camp Friday, September 25 to Sunday, September 27 this fall. It’s truly a bonding experience for our Christ Church families, large and small, young and old. We will be staying in Capers’ beautiful new lodges (luxurious by camp standards), enjoy really great food from the Camp Capers Chef (Yes, they do have a trained chef now!), swim, hike, go on a hayride, roast marshmallows, climb a climbing wall, do the ropes course, play games, watch movies, sing, be in a Talent Show, stargaze, do fun creative crafts, and much more. Watch for more details soon. There are scholarships available! Oh, I forgot. There’s also a lot of bonding that happens. Don’t miss. We are family! Contact Halleta for more information and/or if you want to help in the planning. halletah@cecsa.org or phone (210) 736-3132.
VBS 2015 - photos by Susanna Kitayama
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City-Wide Bible Study
and
Preaching Series
B
eginning this fall, Christ Episcopal Church will take part in a city-wide, multi-denominational, year-long, collaborative study of God’s word. We will be participating this year in Believe, a church-wide Christian formation experience created by Randy Frazee, Senior Minister at Oak Hills Church San Antonio. Frazee is also the architect of The Story, a journey through the major stories of the Bible. He created Believe in order to help churches to live out The Story in the lives of their members. Frazee leads Oak Hills Church in partnership with pastor and author Max Lucado. Christ Church is honored to be one of the twelve San Antonio churches invited to be part of the initial launch of Believe. Christ Church will vary just slightly from the city-wide script in order to follow the church seasons and lectionary in common use in the Episcopal church. The first six-weeks of our journey are outlined below.
I. Key Beliefs: WHAT DO I BELIEVE? 1. God September 13, 2015 – Proper 19 Theme for the Week: I believe the God of the Bible is the only true God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Matthew 3:13-17 2. Personal God September 20, 2015—Proper 20 Theme for the Week: I believe God is involved in and cares about my daily life. John 1:43-50 3. Salvation September 27, 2015—Proper 21 Theme for the Week: I believe a person comes into a right relationship with God by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. John 3:1-8 4. The Bible October 4, 2015—Proper 22 Theme for the Week: I believe the Bible is the Word of God and has the right to command my belief and action. Matthew 5:17-20 5. Identity in Christ October 11, 2015 – Proper 23 Theme for the Week: I believe I am significant because of my position as a child of God. Matthew 18:1-5 6. The Church October 18, 2015 – Proper 24 Theme for the Week: I believe the church is God’s primary way to accomplish his purposes on earth. Matthew 16:13-20
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Our Church Life...
Coming
to you
LIVE: Two Tables
T
his Fall Two Tables is Taking it Up a Notch!
Our Wednesday evening fellowship, Two Tables, is a mixture of fellowship, teaching, and communion. We share a meal around the dinner table and we share an even holier meal around the Lord’s Table.
Come Celebrate What We BELIEVE As We Aim To THINK, ACT, and BE More Like Jesus “That if you confess with your mouth: “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
Come celebrate who we are as believers in
Christ and learn how we will be equipping our parish to THINK. ACT, and BE more like Jesus at Rally Day, Sunday, September 13. We will worship together as a Church Family at a parish-wide 10 AM service, followed by a Sunday School Open House at 11 AM where Children’s, Youth, and Adult Education offerings will be presented by leaders in all areas. A fun Church Family Picnic will follow the Open House at 12 noon on the church lawn.
RALLY DAY
Sunday September 13
Parish Wide Church Service 10 AM Sunday School Open House 11 AM Church Family Picnic Lunch 12 Noon
Every Wednesday evening this fall, we will host a special speaker. These presenters are some high quality folks that will each have a relevant and inspirational story to share. Each evening will begin with a delicious dinner prepared by our Kitchen Staff. Following dinner, we will enjoy a 15 minute presentation. After the presentation there will be an opportunity for questions and answers. Finally, each evening we will conclude with a celebration of Holy Communion. Two Tables always begins at 5:30 PM in the Parish Hall and concludes by 7 PM. There is always a children’s program provided and there is always a place for you. Two Tables Fall 2015 September – Grace & GRATITUDE 16 As a Lifestyle - Bishop Bill Frey, Lover of Jesus, Bishop, Friend, and all around good guy 23 In Loneliness – Mrs. Elizabeth Black, author of A Walk Through the Psalms 30 In Oppression - TBA October – Stewardship & SURRENDER 7 Creation - Celebration of St. Francis Day (Pet Blessings) - Rev. Rob Harris 14 The Body – Dr. John Beauchamp 21 Money – Mr. Tom Frost, Philanthropist 28 The Church – Bishop David Reed, Bishop Coadjutor of West Texas November – Prayer & POSSIBILITY 4 Praying with Scripture – Mr. & Mrs. Tom Hardin, Devoted Christians 11 Healing – Rev. Jack Sheffield, Founder: Christ Healing Center 18 Miracles – Rev. Jack Sheffield 25 NO TWO TABLES (THANKSGIVING BREAK) December – Scripture & REVELATION 2 The Second Coming - Dr. Joel Rosenberg, author of Epicenter 9 The Bible in 15 Minutes – Dr. Duane Miller, Biblical Scholar 16 Revelation as a Book of Divine Liturgy – Dr. Nathan Jennings, Seminary Professor 23 NO TWO TABLES (CHRISTMAS BREAK) 30 NO TWO TABLES (CHRISTMAS BREAK)
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Our Church Life..
“I A Month
in
Turkey: Istanbul, Antioch Mesopotamia
and
By Duane Miller
have not left you as orphans.” on. Finally, I enjoyed conversing with a number of young workers who are devoted to church planting there. Shortly after giving the lectures, I
A
lthough we are presently based in the USA, there is no doubt that the reach of our ministry is international. As such, I spent a month in Turkey over the summer. What a wonderful country and a strategic place for ministry. My first two weeks were in the city of Istanbul. There are four Anglican churches in the city; one is an expat church in English, one is led by a Turkish priest (and convert from Islam) and they worship in Turkish, and the other two are buildings with no congregations. I was working with the Turkish congregation. Most of these Christians are relatively new believers, so the pastor asked me to teach about the history of Christianity in Constantinople (the old name of Istanbul) and the Gospel in Islamic contexts today. I also preached the homily on the Feast of Pentecost. During this time in Istanbul, I visited some historical sites with an American student who is considering a future in ministry. He is a bright young man, a new Anglican who is almost finished with his undergraduate degrees—a BA in Biblical Studies and another BA in Intercultural Studies. We delved deeply into liturgical studies, Church history, contextual theologies, and so
Duane with student Ben Poland and Fr. Gabriel in Mesopotamia
was asked to record them for a local satellite station! I went in to record these lectures at the TV studio the day before I left.
The second half of this voyage was in the south, where many people speak Arabic (which I do speak, whereas I don’t know much Turkish). With this in mind my student companion and I traveled to ancient Antioch, and then to the Mesopotamian city of Mardin. I showed my student View of the Bosphorus from Rumeli Hisari how to do contact evangelism and modeled for him Christian apologetics—responding with kindness, but clarity, to common Muslim misconceptions about the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Cross, and so on. So people who never would have heard the Gospel did hear, and people who had never even met a Christian did! But
12
we
were
also
intentional about visiting with, learning about and encouraging the tiny community of indigenous Syriac Christians. Unlike the Turkish Christians who are a growing community of converts from Islam, the Syriac Christians are an ethnic minority of a once-great church that, like so many other Churches in the Middle East, are barely holding onto existence. I asked an ancient priest at one monastery what verse from Scripture touched his heart, and he said, “I have not left you as orphans.” The local Christians were much encouraged by our concern for them, and were delighted to learn that more Muslims are coming to faith in Christ today than ever before in history. Many of them had not even considered that possibility. Special thanks to the churches and families that support our missionary work, especially Christ Episcopal Church and the Church of the Resurrection. Thanks also to St. Mark’s and St. Luke’s who gave one-time gifts for this specific mission.
Duane Miller To see more photos and descriptions from Duane’s mission trip go to: https://duanemiller.wordpress.com The Orthodox church of Ss. Peter and Paul in Antioch, Turkey
SOCIETY
Quite
T
he response to our Buildings and Grounds Endowment Fund Match has been inspiring. Thus far, the total of the challenge grant plus the matching gifts and pledges is $287,000*. When all of those gifts come in, we will have quadrupled our Building and Grounds Endowment. Our Parish Treasurer, Herb Hill, made these observations about the importance of these generous gifts: Editor – Herb, what impact will this increased endowment have on the parish? Will we see the effects of the increase? Herb – We will see a significant difference over the years. Once the gifts are in, invested, and the corpus begins to grow, the Endowment Committee will begin awarding 3.5 to 4.0 percent of Building and Grounds Endowment’s earnings for capital improvements. Based on the giving and pledges so far, it would amount to as much as $16,000 each year. Editor – Is that enough to fund our annual capital improvements for the campus? Herb – No, we spend $75,000 to $100,000 per year in necessary capital improvements, repairs, and
a Jump!
replacements on our campus. Editor – Why award only 3.5 to 4.0 percent from the fund? Herb – Prudent management of endowment assets over long periods of time involves proper asset diversification and a distribution rate of no more than 4%. Our Endowment Committee carefully reinvests a portion of the investment gains each year so that the corpus of the fund will continue to grow and can provide the church a steady stream of payments to support our ongoing facilities upkeep. Editor – What is your goal for the Buildings and Ground Endowment? Herb – Looking at our present and long term needs, $3 million dollars. That would bring the Buildings and Grounds Endowment to the level of the Ellison Scholarship Endowment, which awards approximately $100,000 in gifts each year. Editor – How will that money be raised? Herb – We hope more money will come in through this matching gift effort. $113,000 more would completely
match the donor’s generous gift. Also, people can remember Christ Church in their wills and testamentary giving. Estate gifts can greatly increase this fund in a relatively short time. Editor – Do you have any other goals in mind for the Christ Church Endowment? Herb – By all means, we would like to establish strong endowments for our Music, Outreach, and Mission programs. In that way, our ministries will remain strong no matter what winds blow through our economy. *In May, we announced a generous gift from a family in our parish that is matching – dollar for dollar – all gifts to the Buildings and Ground Endowment up to $200,000.
At left, Flat Jesus joins the children at VBS in Chalmeca, Honduras Above, the CEC Choir entertains at the 4th on the 5th BBQ
13
Our Church Life..
PAGE TURNERS – From
T
he Nine Tailors, by Dorothy Sayers, was loaned to Kay by April Groos, and Kay enjoyed it to such an extent that I had to filch it from my wife’s bedside table. Written in 1934, the novel has all the ingredients that conspire to make Sayers one of the greatest mystery writers of history – characters that are unique to their time and place, dialogue that reflects earnest human discourse, landscapes that demand the reader’s fascination, and suspense that carries the story toward its denouement. One additional feature of Sayers’s writing that delights me is her rich, inside understanding of the Christian faith and the Church of England – our own worship tradition. In fact, the novel begins with the protagonist, Lord Peter Wimsey, being stranded on New Year’s Eve at Saint Paul’s Church in the fen country of East Anglia. This sodden, marshy land crisscrossed with canals and dikes drenches the novel in dark drama. (I should note that Ralph Vaughan William’s first enduring composition is the penetrating, “In the Fen Country.”) The most curious elements of the plot, however, are the “nine tailors” themselves. With that in mind, I invite you to pick up the book at the library or at April’s house to see if I have recommended a “ringer” this time! Kay Bashara gave Run with the Horseman, by Ferrol Sams, to Kay and me. I had read the novel years before when I was teaching high school English, but, as is usual with books, this second encounter hit me in an entirely different way. Sams and his wife Helen, served as physicians in rural Fayette County Georgia from 1949 until 2006, when Sams turned 84. He published this first novel in 1982, when he was but sixty years old. He began writing this account as a journal of his boyhood on a red clay Georgia farm during the years of the depression. The book records the story of young Peter Osborne, Jr., whom is most often referred to as “the boy.” His intelligence, resourcefulness, and
14
the
Rector’s Book Stack
sometimes lack of veracity lead him into one raucous mishap after another, and all the while he matures in fits and starts. Not only is this the saga of a boy’s coming of age, but the novel is a story of the Deep South during those lean Post-Reconstruction years. For all its scarcity, the boy apprehends the stirring nobility of his world that is quickly passing: In unspoken collusion with his wife, his mother, and his sister, the father set such an example that the four children were convinced that being a Southerner in that particular spot and in that particular family was such an enviable condition that comparison was an idle exercise. They believed, almost as devoutly, in Jesus Christ, Santa Claus, and the Democratic Party. Very early they knew the difference between “genteel,” “common,” and “tacky,” which they learned from the ladies, but the difference between “big” and “little” they learned from the father. Note: This may be a particularly pertinent time to revisit Sams’s work, with recent tragic events of Charleston in mind and the banishment of the Confederate flags across the Deep South. We must seek to understand our collective history – the bad and the good. Man of the Family, by Ralph Moody, is the second in an eight book series about a young family growing up at the turn of the century. The family makes its way from an established city life in New Hampshire to work a stark farm in Colorado. The novel centers on young Ralph, the oldest son of the family, who the local cowboys rename “Little Britches.” The story of Ralph learning to ride and eventually race horses, milk cows, farm, drive cattle, read, and eventually undertake the male leadership of his home at age ten is lively and entertaining. However, it is the deeper story of the family’s work ethic, stamina, dependence on one another, recovery from illness, death, and financial disaster, and their unshakeable faith in God that really
drive these eight novels. Parents: I strongly urge you to consider one or more of these books to read to your elementary age children. The Kitayama family gave the first three of this series to us, and Kay and I have read them aloud to one another. The character and spiritual lessons laced throughout these easy to apprehend sagas will enrich your deeper discussions with your sons and daughters, as the girl heroines shine as brightly as the boys. A warning is in order, however. I found myself in tears more than once as I have read to Kay. The mother’s strength is so reminiscent of my own mother that I scarcely contain my emotions. The fact that I have just finished Blood of Victory, by Alan Furst, is evidence that it is truly summertime. By my count, this is my sixth Furst novel, and I have relished every one of them. As you may recall, the novels all take place during World War II or pre-World War II Europe and examine parts of the conflict unknown by most Americans. Furst’s heroes are always understated and rarely prepared for the perilous tasks assigned them. Ilya Serebin, a rakish and resourceful Russian journalist is the protagonist in Blood of Victory. The mission assigned him is nothing less than to destroy and, therefore, disrupt the oil production from the Romanian oil fields destined for the Nazi war machine. Nothing goes the way it is planned, which is a hallmark of Furst’s novels. Along the way, the reader learns a great deal about Eastern Europe during War World II, the dislocation of thousands of the people there, and the inventive ways they endured Hitler’s onslaught. Kay picked up The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, at Half-Price Books for us to bring up to the Maine Rectory. I had read this excellent series of essays some twenty-five years ago when the book was first published. The book is a series of semiautobiographical, interrelated essays about O’Brien’s experiences in the 46th Infantry Regiment in Vietnam from Continued
OF EVENTS July 16 - 19:
Short FUSE Mission Trip to Waco
Christ Church Staff:
July 22:
Wacky Wednesday for Youth - Pool Party, 11 AM - 2 PM
The Rev. Patrick Gahan, Rector patrickg@cecsa.org
July 28:
Movies by Moonlight - CCF Event, 7 PM in Travis Park
July 29:
Wacky Wednesday for Youth - Move Night at CEC, 7-10 PM
July 30:
Community Health Care Fair, Temple Beth El, 9 AM - 12 PM
August 5:
Wacky Wednesday for Youth - Laser Tag, 1 - 3 PM
August 12:
Wacky Wednesday for Youth - Pool Party, 11 AM - 3 PM
August 18:
Memorial Service for Artemis Bowden, 5:30 PM
August 23:
Blessing of the Backpacks, 9 & 11 AM
August 28:
Movies by Moonlight - CCF event, 7 PM
August 30:
No Sunday School
September 6:
No Sunday School
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 Halleta Heinrich, Director of Family Ministry, halletah@cecsa.org Joshua Benninger, Music Minister & Organist joshb@cecsa.org
September 7: Labor Day, church offices closed September 13: Believe San Antonio begins RALLY DAY - Service at 10 AM, Rally Day Open House at 11 AM, Parish Picnic at 12 PM September 20: Fall Sunday School begins for all ages, 10 AM September 25 - 27: CEC Family Camp at Camp Capers
Ruth Berg, Director of Children’s Music, ruthb@cecsa.org Robert Hanley, Parish Administrator robert@hanleypmservices.com Darla Nelson, Office Manager darlan@cecsa.org Donna Shreve, Financial Manager donnas@cecsa.org
PAGE TURNERS cont’d 1969-1970. O’Brien’s terse, illustrative prose makes the wartime experience of Vietnam a concrete, observable reality for the reader. Take this excerpt from the opening essay from which the celebrated book gleans its name: They carried the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing—these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight. They carried shameful memories. They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide, and in many respects this was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down, it required perfect balance and perfect posture. They carried their reputations. They
carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of honor or heroism, just the need to avoid the blush of embarrassment. They crawled into tunnels and walked point and advanced under fire. Each morning, despite the unknowns, they made their legs move. I should note here that Tim O’Brien has held the endowed writer’s chair in the School of Fine Arts at Texas State University since 2003.
Gretchen Comuzzi Duggan, Director of Communications, gretchend@cecsa.org Anna Jewell, Executive Assistant to the Rector, annaj@cecsa.org Donnis Carpenter, Receptionist donnisc@cecsa.org Elizabeth Martinez, Kitchen Manager elizabethm@cecsa.org Robert Vallejo, Facilities Manager robertv@cecsa.org Rudy Segovia, Hospitality Manager rudys@cecsa.org Joe Garcia, Sexton joeg@cecsa.org
Your brother,
Patrick U 15
Christ Church Young Professionals out for an evening of fun and fellowship in June
The Message (USPS 471-710) is published bi-monthly by Christ Episcopal Church, 510 Belknap Place, San Antonio, TX 78212. Periodical postage paid in San Antonio, TX. Postmaster: Please send address changes to Christ Episcopal Church, 510 Belknap Place, San Antonio, TX 78212. Volume 17, Number 4.
E P I S C O PA L Christ Episcopal Church 510 Belknap Place San Antonio, TX 78212 www.cecsa.org
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