March 2015 message by Christ Episcopal Church

March 2015 • Volume 17, Number 2

E P I S C O PA L

Christ Church bunnies and lambs know that Easter is coming

Getting to Work: 2 Musical Events to Stir your Soul: 6 Easter Egg Hunts and More: 8 “The Awakening of Everyman”: 11 From the Rector’s Book Stack: 14 Holy Week at CEC: 16

FROM

In this issue: Music Ministry ...................... 6 Youth Ministry....................... 7 Family Ministry .................... 8 Our Church Life .................10 World Missions ....................12 Planned Giving....................13 Outreach .............................13 Page Turners.......................14 Calendar of Events ............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

Work: The Grounding Discipline

ork was the only avenue to praise in my family. Scoring a dramatic touchdown would gain me a smile. Earning straight PATRICK GAHAN A’s would garner Rector me a slap on the patrickg@cecsa.org back. Only a hard day’s work would reap an exclamation of praise. I remember the occasion when this truth struck me. My grandmother was sitting at our dining room table drinking coffee with my mother late one Saturday afternoon. The entire day I had been working in Mr. Huffstuttler’s orchard. Soon after I arrived home, my mother asked me to place a heavy box on the top shelf of the dining room closet. I had taken my t-shirt off because it was soaked with sweat, black with dirt, and rather pungent. As I was lifting the box into place, my grandmother declared in her measured Virginian manner, “I see that Pat is really developing muscles in his back.” I was so startled by the unforeseen compliment that I could not turn around and acknowledge it. In my mother’s and grandmother’s world, the only noble way for a man to return home at night was hot, sweaty, dirty, and bone tired. Hard work was their sacred measure of worthiness. For a man to aspire to anything less was a pitiable character defect and one that made him wholly unattractive to women. My grandmother so fervidly pursued this rigorous Protestant work ethic that she would have made John Calvin blush. Her name was Lillian Horne, but to us she was known solely as “Greenma”. Her clan originally hailed from Surrey in the southwest corner of England, but she considered herself a Virginian for the entirety of her life. She spoke well, wrote in a beautiful hand, dressed modestly, and worked harder than any man I ever knew.

I loved to bait my buddies in my fifth grade class by asserting, “My Greenma can whip your daddy!” To which they would rejoin, “No way!” Nevertheless, when I invited them over to her apartment, which was across the street from Shades Cahaba Elementary School, I would ask Greenma to show them her muscle. To humor me, she would rise from her chair, pull up the right sleeve of her print dress, flex her bicep, and a mound of muscle would rise up higher than Popeye’s. “She can whip my daddy,” they would exclaim. “She can!” My Greenma humored me with this antic well into her seventies when I would bring fellow soldiers and later football coaching colleagues over for a visit. She earned every inch of those muscles working in a large industrial laundry. College educated and fully qualified to teach high school English, she could make more money in the laundry; so she toted hundred pound bags of dirty linens and uniforms eight hours a day, and then came home and cooked supper for a house full of six children. I could not earn her praise construing lofty thoughts. Sweat, dirt, and exhaustion was her measuring stick.

“I could not earn her praise construing lofty thoughts. Sweat, dirt, and exhaustion was her measuring stick” Her world, our world back then, was different. The middle class was expansive, and a carpenter, plant worker, and a maintenance man could make a good wage, provide for his family, take the kids to the doctor when they were sick, to the dentist two times a year, and get home at a decent hour to do the chores at home and even play ball with his children in the front yard. The nobility of their witness on every street of my neighborhood only

From Our Rector... strengthened my Greenma’s impact on my life.

“For the most part, however, work has grounded me, humbled me, and made me more receptive to the Author of all of our work.” My Greenma’s and mother’s influence has blessed me for most of my days. Admittedly, I have undergone seasons when I should have relinquished my work and submitted to rest and more time with my family. For the most part, however, work has grounded me, humbled me, and made me more receptive to the Author of all of our work. One of my favorite collects in the Book of Common Prayer directs us to ‘Behold God’s gracious hand in all of your works so that, rejoicing with the whole creation, we may learn to serve you with gladness…’ 1 Our work can be imbued with God’s holiness. At creation, God invited human beings to join Him in caring for creation: God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.” God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.” Genesis 1:26-28, Message Working in the midst of creation, makes us less likely in any way to diminish it. 1 Book of Common Prayer, “Collect for Joy in God’s Creation,” 814.

Note the reverence for the earth and its critters exhibited by avid hunters and fisherman you know. Human beings were never meant to maintain an abstract, hands-off relationship with our world. “Getting our hands dirty” resounds with a strong measure of Biblical holiness. Those who stay connected with living things perceive the entire earth as a cathedral.

night and day, so that we might not be a burden to any of you’ (1 Thessalonians 2:9). Likewise, later in the epistle, Paul enjoins the new Christians to ‘mind your own affairs, and to work with your own hands, and admonish idlers’ (1 Thessalonians 4:11 & 5:14). Paul’s strongest words about work occur in his next letter to the church at Thessalonica, where some Christians have altogether quit working so as to wait for Jesus’ second coming. To these Paul insists, ‘Anyone unwilling to work should not eat’ (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

Not only do the creatures and plants need our work, but also our fellow human beings. What a different context our own work assumes when we perceive it as sustaining our neighbors. The meaning is clear here. While we Surely, one of the lingering fallouts of should maintain an open and eager the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) is posture for the Lord’s return, the only the deep fissure it has wrought between way to be truly ready for Christ is to the work we do and the people who remain faithfully engaged in the work benefit from it. Families were the first we have been given. Paul is merely victims of mechanization. Recall that echoing the strong words of Jesus, ‘As on family farms every hand was a vital long as it is day, we must do the works asset. Amongst the gritty smokestacks of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can of the nascent cities, family equaled too “While we should maintain work’ (John 9:4). many mouths to feed. an open and eager posture In Mark 13, known as the “Little Charles Dickens built for the Lord’s return, the A p o c a l y p s e , ” an entire literary career chronicling only way to be truly ready Jesus paints a vivid picture this dark shift. We for Christ is to remain of a person’s do need each other, for his just as Mr. Scrooge faithfully engaged in the readiness return. Keeping needs Tiny Tim, “watch” for Jesus only our vision has work we have been given.” is to keep at the been obscured by modernity. Real work amongst others work he has given us – no matter how in the creation restores our sight. I am inglorious we consider it: reminded of work’s sacred promise Jesus said, ‘But the exact day and each year when we pray the Labor Day hour? No one knows that, not Collect from the Prayer Book: even heaven’s angels, not even the Son. Only the Father. So keep a Almighty God, you have so linked sharp lookout, for you don’t know our lives one with another that all the timetable. It’s like a man who we do affects, for good or ill, all takes a trip, leaving home and other lives: So guide us in the work putting his servants in charge, each we do, that we may not do it for self assigned a task, and commanding 2 alone, but for the common good… the gatekeeper to stand watch. So, stay at your post, watching. You The value of work is a theme trumpeted have no idea when the homeowner in the oldest document we have in the is returning, whether evening, New Testament – 1 Thessalonians. Paul, midnight, cockcrow, or morning. in this very first letter he penned to a You don’t want him showing up congregation, reminds them of his own unannounced, with you asleep work during his preaching mission in on the job. I say it to you, and I’m Thessalonica – ‘You remember our labor saying it to all: Stay at your post. and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked Keep watch.’ 2 Book of Common Prayer, “Collect for Mark 13:34-37, Message Labor Day,” 261.

From Our Rector... Benedict (480-587) wrote unapologetically to his followers to “stay at their posts.” He entered the world’s stage when Christians’ collective sight and confidence was darkened due to Rome’s fall to vicious outside marauders and dissolute internal decay. Rather than offer adrift Christians grand idealistic crusades, Benedict gave them simple, pragmatic instruction to realign themselves with God’s will – regardless of their external circumstances. He described this way of life as the Opus Dei – “the work of God.” Certainly, the centerpiece of this “work” for Benedict was prayer. However, he did not differentiate between the prayer of the chapel and the prayer expressed by work in the fields, the kitchen, the barn, or elsewhere. Life for Benedict was all of one fabric. This fact is illustrated in Chapter 31 of his Rule where he matterof-factly declares: ‘Regard all utensils of the monastery and its whole property as if they are sacred vessels of the altar.’3

“...we are no less a vessel of God when we are at work in the back yard, the kitchen, the garage, the office, the plant, or the sewing room than when we are at worship in the church”

In all likelihood, Benedict knew the deeper metaphor he was issuing in his allusion to “sacred vessels.” You, others, and I are the true sacred vessels of God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Furthermore, we are no less a vessel of God when we are at work in the back yard, the kitchen, the garage, the office, the plant, or the sewing room than when we are at worship in the church. The Christian’s life is all one piece – work, prayer, rest, family matters, business affairs – all make up Benedict’s opus dei, the daily work of God in and through you and me. Paul expressed this in his Letter to 3 The Rule of Saint Benedict, trans. Leonard Doyle (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2001), 83

the Romans, ‘I beseech you therefore, support others and not primarily for brothers, by the mercies of God, that our own preservation and advancement. you present Recall what your bodies as a. Jesus said to “Above all, we embrace Jesus as his disciples living sacrifice, holy and our model for work. The fact that after he had acceptable unto knelt down God, which is Jesus worked with his hands as a and washed your reasonable carpenter emphasizes his witness their feet: service’ (Romans to us in this regard.” 12:1). The last ‘Do you two words of this understand passage are very telling, for in the Greek what I have done to you? You they read logiken latreian, meaning “to address me as “teacher” and place before God as an offering.” Note, “master,” and rightfully so. That however, that latreia is the root word is what I am. So if the teacher, the of “liturgy” – the service we render at master, and I washed your feet, worship.4 Perceived in that way, our you now must wash each other’s daily work is grafted seamlessly into feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for our daily prayers and worship. you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A While trying not to fall into 18th servant is not above his master; an century Puritanism, I must also add employee doesn’t give orders to the that our daily work will keep us from employer. If you understand what I so easily drifting into sinful actions am telling you, act like it—and live and thoughts. There is more than a a blessed life.’ little truth to the adage, “Idle hands John 13:12-17, Message are the devil’s workshop.” Our work has a centering effect on our lives. By the time Jesus undertook this Like an anchor, our creative, tangible powerful object lesson, he had been work demands our best attention and with those twelve men for fully three foremost creativity, and due to those years. In effect, he had been “working” demands, keeps us from wandering with them for all that time, slowly into lesser pursuits that can eventually forming them to carry his revolutionary turn destructive. If King David had message to the larger world. Jesus did been at the head of his army instead not assume that his followers would of lounging about the palace, he would come to a higher understanding of have never seen Bathsheba in the their work until he formed them. The tub and begun his evil procession of same is true for every Christian. We adultery, lies, and murder (2 Samuel do not assume a renewed sacrificial 11). Peter is painfully honest in his and collaborative understanding of our assessment of this danger, ‘Be sober, work without being re-formed by the be vigilant, because your adversary Holy Spirit and by other guides God the devil walks about as a roaring lion, sets in our path. Surprisingly, when seeking whom he may devour’ (1 Peter our view of work is finally untethered 5:8). We may consider our work as sort from our narcissistic notions of of an inoculation against the subversive getting ahead and merely taking care schemes of Satan. Think of our work as of our own, we are not ushered into preventative medicine. mediocrity—far from it. Once we make our work “a living sacrifice,” it will seek Above all, we embrace Jesus as our a new, higher level of creativity. The late model for work. The fact that Jesus Thomas Merton is a case in point. Prior worked with his hands as a carpenter to entering the Trappist monastery at emphasizes his witness to us in this Gethsemane, his creative expression regard. More importantly, Jesus shows was inconsistent and bubbled up us that we do our work to serve and only in fits and starts. Following that momentous day, December 10, 1941, 4 Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in when he walked through the gates of the Same Direction (Downers Grove, IL: IVP that abbey in rural Kentucky, he became Press, 1980), 64.

From Our Rector... the greatest religious writer of the 20th century, penning over seventy books in his abbreviated lifetime. The formative discipline of the faith unleashed the great creativity that had lain dormant within him. In my own, much less illustrious life, I must confess that the strong witness of others has, time and again, burned off the dross from my life and elevated it to a higher plane. A procession of strong men and women has influenced my work. Two of them rise up in my mind as I write this. The first, LTC Thomas Johnson, was my commander in the 1/41st Infantry Battalion. He was the model of the chiseled, dashing warrior. Three tours in Vietnam as a Special Forces operative made him every ounce the seasoned combat soldier. Rather than be focused on himself, the secret of his adroit leadership was his incessant mantra, “Your men come first – always. They are first to eat, first to get rest, first to get paid, first to get liberty, first to go home. Your men are always first.” The result is what you’d expect. I was but one of his subordinates who would follow Colonel Johnson into the jaws of hell. I learned the hard work of leadership from him.

The second man who rises up in my memory is the Rev. M.L. Agnew. From the time I was fourteen years old, M.L. took an interest in my formation as a Christian and as a priest. Under his rectorship, both in Natchez, MS and Tyler, TX, I learned – not about the flash and dash of ministry – but the essential daily march of it. From M.L., I learned that faithfulness is the single most important characteristic of the Christian and certainly of one who would dare to serve as pastor to a congregation. No one ever loved being a priest more than M.L. Agnew, but no one ever poured himself out so generously for the fellowships he pastored. His voice rings in my ear constantly. “It doesn’t matter how you feel. You get up, get out the door, and bring the best you have to work each day.” Christians are not people waiting for the weekend so that we can kick up our heels and really live. No, we are people whose daily work has been consecrated by God; thus, we are living to the fullest day in and day out. Pushing a pencil or pushing a broom can be holy work. On this accord, many of us recall the simple witness of the French Carmelite monk, Brother Lawrence (1619-1691), who wrote of how his most menial

work merged with his most exalted experiences before the altar, ‘The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees before the Blessed Sacrament.’ 5 Lawrence’s life was a coherent whole. The wholeness did not come easily however. Having fought in the terrible Thirty Years’ War, he was injured. Lawrence returned home to recover, but found no peace until he entered the monastery in Paris. There he spent the residue of his life working in the kitchen and repairing sandals. Hardly glamorous, he was exactly where God could work on him. And so are we if we allow the Lord to direct us and to fill our daily tedium with light. Our lives, like Lawrence’s, will be grounded with purpose. Your brother,

Patrick U 5 Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2012).

Christ Church Recipes Old Fashioned Bread Pudding Makes 8 servings 2 C milk 1 t cinnamon ¼ C butter ¼ t salt 3 C bread cubes 2 eggs ½ C sugar ½ C raisins 1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. 2. Heat milk and butter over medium heat until butter is melted and milk is scalded. 3. Mix remaining ingredients in ungreased pan, stir in milk mixture. 4. Bake 40-45 min. until knife inserted 1 inch from edge of pudding comes out clean.

VBS 2015: June 8 - 11 9 AM - 12 PM

Register now: https://www.groupvbspro.com/vbs/ hl/christchurch/gpgs/Home.aspx For info, contact VBS Director Amy Case at amygcase@gmail.com 5

MINISTRY Where

the

Divine

and

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

o, the choir does not take a siesta during Lent. Just ask any of them and they will tell you how busy and demanding the choir rehearsals are this time of year. In addition to the regular Sunday worship preparation of the hymns and various choral anthems, the choir is working diligently on music for Holy Week to include Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and finally Easter. Hopefully, they will also tell you that they are having a fun time doing it!

Why all this labor? We work extra hard during this season because music is needed more than ever. You, the people, need us. You need us to help reach deep down where our souls strive to understand and connect with the Passion story. Our job is to use music to enhance the biblical word in order to instill a deeper meaning of Christ’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 Music conveys the Lenten message through the notes we sing and play. Without a doubt, music exists at the crossroads where the divine and human intersect. Though the liturgy during this meditative season is powerful, it is music that puts the icing on the cake and tells the story of Holy Week. “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” – John 19:24b This year on Good Friday, we are doing something a little different in the effort to create a more profound emotional connection with the liturgy. During the “Way of the Cross” worship service, the choir and members of the San Antonio Symphony will perform excerpts from major choral works such as Bach’s Mass in B minor, Handel’s Messiah and Fauré’s Requiem. The music will be interlaced between the readings that occur during the 14 Stations of the Cross, thus reinforcing the story of Christ’s march to Calvary. Backing up a bit, another big event to mark on your calendar occurs just two weeks before Holy Week. On March 22, David Kauffman will join us to worship and sing at the 9 AM and 11 AM celebrations. David is a popular Christian songwriter, recording artist and filmmaker whose music career spans over 25 years. If you attended the most recent Festival of Lessons and Carols, then you

Human Intersect

probably remember hearing the choir sing Behold, one of David’s signature, and possibly best-loved, compositions. Later that afternoon at 3 PM, David and songwriting partner William Gokelman will perform a concert where they will entertain us with their very own music, both new and old.

Josh Benninger Other upcoming music events: Camerata San Antonio Concert Saturday, March 28 at 7:30 PM Dvorak: Humoresque Borodin: Polovtsian Dances Enesco: Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 Musical Offerings Concert Tuesday, March 31 at 7:00 PM “Jazz Meets Classical” pays tribute to Billy Strayhorn as part of the national Centennial celebration. Camerata San Antonio Concert Sunday, April 26 at 3:00 PM Bach: Four Fugues from The Art of Fugue Stravinsky: Pieces for String Quartet Ginastera: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 20 Piazzolla: La Casita de Mis Viejos Rovir: A Evaristo Carrigo Piazzolla: Five Tango Sensations Christ Church Mastersingers Spring Musical Sunday, May 3 at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM Join our children as they perform “The Rock Slinger and His Greatest Hit”, a musical comedy with a powerful message about the story of David and Goliath. Performances at the 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM celebrations.

MINISTRY

The Excitement

Building!

“See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.” Isaiah 42.9

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

saiah speaks these words of comfort to the chosen people of God in their hardship. The people of Isaiah’s

age are beaten down, languishing, and loosing hope for the future. But, in their despair, God promises that the best is yet to come. Good words for the people of God in Isaiah’s age as well as ours. Youth Ministry at Christ Church has had its fair share of ups and downs. Our ministry with Youth has languished but….there are some new things happening in our ministry with Youth at Christ Church. Have you been paying attention? The Carriage House is filling up once more with Youth excited about engaging in life with one another, study, and worship. The cacophony of drums is once more flooding the quad after Christian Formation. Youth are

attending Sunday Fun Days, Service Projects, and most of all growing in community with one another and with God. Adults are getting involved as well. We completed our Youth Visioning Retreat, February 20-22, and met with great success. The firm we contract with in regard to our Youth Ministry redesign, Ministry Architects, led us through a thought provoking time in developing a mission statement and core values for our Youth Ministry. These foundational tools will help us greatly as we press on into the future God is calling this ministry. The Renovation Team, a group made up of Christ Church parishioners, is truly living into their role to lead us through this time of resurrection with hope, passion, and dedication. If you see Mark or Nancy Wright, be sure to thank them for their wonderful leadership of this Renovation Team. Pray for them and all concerned that each person involved in this great work will be blessed with all the gifts needed to accomplish their tasks.

I would join with Isaiah in proclaiming the good news that the former things are passing away and something new is breaking forth. The Lord is moving in a powerful way and it is marvelous in our eyes. Won’t you be a part? Here’s how: 1. Get your youth to Sunday Morning Christian Formation 10 - 11 AM. 2. Send Rob an email to volunteer for Sunday morning help, transportation help for Sunday Fun Days, Phone Tree, or be a prayer warrior. 3. Introduce yourself to a Youth on Sunday and shake their hands. Let them know you are happy they are here. 4. Attend a sports activity in one of the many school districts our Youth attend and support our Youth. There are many more ways to be a part of the new thing that God is doing in our midst: be creative! The Lord is willing and waiting to work through us in this re-start, but it’s going to take us all. After all, we are the Body of Christ.

Rob Harris

MINISTRY Celebrating

the

here is nothing more beautiful than seeing the glow of candlelight on our children’s faces when they and their parents receive the Light of Christ at our Liturgy of Light service that precedes the Easter Egg Hunt. Just as beautiful is the look of awe and wonder on each child’s face as they receive this symbol of the risen life of Christ. HALLETA The combination is overwhelming HEINRICH and a sure sign of the presence of the Director of Holy Spirit in Children’s Chapel each Family Ministries Easter Saturday morning. Following halletah@cecsa.org the service, we all go down to our lush Christ Church lawns to celebrate in another way with the annual Easter Egg Hunt. Please make sure you and your children, grandchildren, friends and neighbors are here on Saturday, April 4 at 10 AM for this traditional celebration. We will gather in the Tomlin Room on the 1st floor of the FMC to prepare for

Prepare Ye

the

Way

of the

Lord

t wouldn’t be a proper Palm Sunday without the voices and palm waving of our children to lead the way! All children should gather at the front of the church before both the 9 and 11 AM services to receive palms to carry and wave as part of the Palm Procession on Sunday, March 29. First to arrive will get the largest palms and will lead the procession. Participants at the 9 AM service will join their parents after the procession. Children at the 11 AM service may continue on to Children’s Chapel for a Palm Sunday lesson, then rejoin their parents at announcement time. Church staff will accompany these children to and from Chapel.

Light

Christ

the procession to Chapel for the Liturgy of Light. After this brief family service, we will head to the lawns for an Easter Egg Hunt for toddlers through fifth graders. Older kids are welcome to come help! Toddlers through second graders will partake in a traditional hunt, while the third, fourth and fifth graders will participate in an Easter Scavenger Hunt around the church. Great prizes will be awarded, and much will be learned along the way. Bring your cameras for some priceless photo opportunities. The Easter Bunny will be here to pass out special prayer eggs for each child. Don’t forget the Easter Baskets! A Cookies and Punch Reception awaits you after the hunt, along with a Family Craft for each family. This year each family will decorate their own Easter Paschal Candle to take home and light together on Easter morning as a reminder of Christ’s victory over death and darkness for all of us. Our preschool parents make up this year’s Easter Egg Hunt committee, but all are welcome to help. Please contact Halleta at halletah@cecsa.org or Sarah Wymer, Children’s Ministry Special Events Coordinator, if you would like to join this team.

Flowering

the

Easter Cross

ll children should gather at the front of the church on Easter Sunday, April 5, before the beginning of the 9 or 11 AM services to prepare for the Flowering of the Cross Procession. Children should bring their favorite flowers from home with which to transform a bare wooden cross into a sign of life and color as a symbol of the Resurrection. After the procession, children attending the 9 AM service will join their parents in the service. Children at the 11 AM service may attend an Easter Children’s Chapel after the processional and will be accompanied by church staff to and from Chapel to rejoin their families at announcement time.

Family Ministry...

Only

the

Best

for

Our Little Ones

a Lay Eucharistic Minister and Lector.

eet Our Nursery Director – Lily Fenton. Our Christ Church Nursery is the entry point for our youngest members and their parents. The good news is that our nursery population is growing, and we want to provide the safest and most loving church experience possible for our youngest members. Therefore, we have called Lily Fenton to be our Nursery Director. Lily will be able to devote her full attention to this important ministry, presenting positive leadership and having a specialized educational background to make our nursery the best. Lily Fenton has been a member of Christ Church since 2002. In that time she has assisted with the Mastersingers and Minisingers Children’s Choirs. She has taught preschool Sunday School, has been active in Junior Daughters of the King, leads the Wednesday Night Children’s Program, and has served as

She received her Associate of Applied Science in Early Childhood Studies from San Antonio College and a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Science majoring in Family and Child Development from Texas State University in 2012. Lily also received an Associate of Arts in Music with a major in piano from SAC in 2014. Lily just started her fourth year as a teacher of two and three-yearolds at The Acorn: A School for Young Children. As you can see, we are very fortunate to have Lily as

part of our Children’s and Family Ministry staff. Lily recently stated “I have always loved this church and am delighted that God has given me a new way to serve Him through the nursery.” Welcome, Lily!

Lily with the Wednesday Night Kids

2015 Children’s Communion Class

he 2015 Children’s Communion Class will be honored on Sunday, April 12, during the 11 AM service. These children will have completed a six session course and experienced an all day Communion Retreat designed to enrich their Communion experience. Parents of the children also participate as Class Helpers and Retreat Facilitators so it’s truly a family commitment. Please come be part of this celebration on April 12. It’s one of the most uplifting Sundays of the year. The whole parish is invited to congratulate the children and their families at a reception on the lawn following the 11 AM service. The 2015 Communion Class is listed at right. Please pray for them and their families as they learn more about the true gift of Life Christ gives through Holy Communion!

Halleta

Katie Byrd Albert Colglazier Ivory Hanzel Abigail Harris Maddie Hunt Jake Jones Luke Jones Noah Kitayama

Belle Losack Spencer Mayfield Luz Peche Hank Wolff Class Mentors: Quinn Jones and Carter Mayfield

Jesus said,

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14 9

The Christ Church Bible Study

Preaching Series

Lent - Easter 2015: Perseverance in a Novel World

per·se·ver·ance

/pərsəˈvirəns/ noun 1.  steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

and

ome years ago, I read Eugene Peterson’s now classic text, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. The book is centered on the fifteen Ascent Psalms, 120-134, which faithful Jews recited on their pilgrimages “up” to Jerusalem. Stepping away from their day-to-day routines in villages scattered all about the Judean and Galilean countryside, they walked and sang these fifteen psalms, reflecting on their lives in God.

How arresting it is that Peterson begins his book with this memorable line, ‘The world is no friend to grace.’ Those of us who have committed ourselves to Christ may feel like a lonely sojourner in our everyday lives, misunderstood and marginalized in the contemporary culture. That’s all the more reason to make this sacred journey by reading, studying, and reflecting on these fifteen psalms through Lent and Easter. We will remember who we are, whose we are, and why our perseverance is key to our life of meaning. Patrick U

Day Proper Lesson Psalm 123 March 15 Lent 4

Theme Inspiration ...Like servants watching and waiting Service

March 22

Lent 5

Psalm 124

Blessed be God, He did not leave us

Help

March 29

Palm Sunday

Mark’s Passion

Truly, this man was the Son of God

Sacrifice

April 2

Maundy Thursday Psalm 125

God encircles his people

Security

April 5

Easter Sunday

Psalm 126

We laughed, we sang

Joy

April 12

Easter 2

Psalm 127

If God doesn’t build the house

Work

April 19

Easter 3

Psalm 128

Revel in goodness!

Happiness

April 26

Easter 4

Psalm 129

They could never keep me down

Perseverance

May 3

Easter 5

Psalm 130

I pray to God…and wait

Hope

May 10

Easter 6

Psalm 131

I kept my feet on the ground

Humility

May 17

Easter 7

Psalm 132

How he promised God

Obedience

May 24

Pentecost

Psalm 133

When brothers live together in unity

Community

May 31

Trinity

Psalm 134

Lift your praising hands

Blessing

Our Church Life...

“The Awakening

ome see “The Awakening of Everyman”, a play directed by Karla Pollock, our Drama Team Director, and starring The Christ Church Players on Wednesday, March 25 in the Parish Hall as part of “Two Tables.” Dinner will be served from 5:15 – 6 PM, and the play will be presented from 6 – 6:20 PM. Communion will end the evening from 6:40 – 7 PM. “The Awakening of Everyman” is based on the Medieval Morality play “Everyman” which was originally conceived and performed by the clergy of Western Europe in the 1400’s. The purpose of the play was to teach parishioners how to live according to God’s Word in a language they could understand. Morality Plays employed allegory to dramatize the moral struggle that all Christians encounter in their daily lives, therefore “Everyman” is all of us. In the play, Everyman encounters Death who informs him of his eminent

oming Up in Adult Formation:

The Lenten Series THE CROSS OF CHRIST continues through Sunday, March 22. LIVING INTO THE WORD Most Sundays Facilitated by Marthe Curry, PhD and Scott Rose The Apostle Paul encouraged the believers in Rome to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Rms. 12:2) The best place for Christians to find renewal is in the Holy Scriptures, and our rector Patrick Gahan has provided a weekly study guide that makes this both easy and challenging! Please join us each Sunday morning in the Capers Rooms as we explore a passage of Scripture from the weekly lectionary through Patrick’s search questions. Discussions are open to all.

Everyman”

end. Everyman must work through his despair and fear to arrive at Christian redemption. Everyman is deserted by his false friends, his knowledge and worldly goods, and at the end has only his good deeds to save him. The play makes the point that we can take with us from this world nothing that we have received, only what we have given.1

Everyman encounters Love

“The Awakening of Everyman” is a tragicomedy and a contemporary version of the medieval play. Director Karla Pollock states that in this brief presentation “...you will find yourself laughing as well as crying.” The play is suitable for all ages. Starring in the play are: Nick White, 1 Jokinen, Anniina. “Everyman: An Introduction.” Luminarium. 4 March 2015. <http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/intro. htm>

Christian Education

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BOOK STUDY OF UNCONDITIONAL April 12-April 26 If Christianity is not about forgiveness, it is about nothing at all. In this book readers will be confronted with the stark reality of how deeply we are called to show Christ-like forgiveness and mercy to those to whom we may feel least inclined to offer forgiveness or mercy. In a three- week study, we will look at the several sections of Zahnd’s book where he uses Jesus’ direct teaching to powerfully convict us of the Christian’s need to practice radical forgiveness. Recommended Reading: Unconditional, by Brian Zahnd THEOLOGY OF MISSION AT HOME AND AROUND THE WORLD May 3-May 17 Presented by Marthe Curry, PhD and George Olson.

Narrator; Rob Harris, Prologue; Patrick Gahan, Voice of God; Eric Fenton, Death; Andrew Barton, Everyman; Owen Duggan, Fellowship; Janet Fenton, Charity; Virginia Peche, Compassion; Sharon Miller, Love; Helen Browning Silantien, Temptation; and Marina Lewis, Money. Guitar accompaniment and vocals will be performed by Dow Patterson. Janet Fenton and the Fenton family will provide costumes and set.

Spring Great Commission ministry is the responsibility of the Church—the whole Church. Each member has a part to play in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and making disciples in every place. How can an effective theology of mission be implemented today? What makes mission work effective? What can each person, lay or clergy, old or young do to be part of the Great Commission? In this three week presentation, our class leaders will bring their experience of Christian Mission across the world to the foreground in sessions designed to inform and inspire. Marthe Curry is Director of World Mission Development for the Diocese of West Texas. George Olson is a member of Christ Church engaged in full time mission with his family through New Tribes Mission in the Philippines.

MISSIONS Make Your Summer Plans

BRIEN KOEHLER Associate Rector for Mission and Formation brienk@cecsa.org

n only a few short months the scheduled summer missions trips of Christ Church will be on their way. The teams are taking shape, and space is still available. Look at these three offerings and contact the leaders for more information.

The Missions Committee provides grants for the Honduras and Waco mission trips covering up to 100% of the ground arrangements (transportation on the ground, housing, lodging, tips, water, food, etc.). Participants are expected to cover their transportation to the mission site or country (from their own funds or in fund-raising partnership with family, friends, and parish). The Missions Committee is ready to assist in the fund-raising aspect of mission trips. No one should be discouraged from participating by the cost, because we believe that God will provide for those whom he calls to serve in these ventures. (Youth mission trips are funded according to policies set and administered by the youth department of the parish. Contact the Guatemala mission

Serve God

leaders for details). In July, Christ Church will offer three organized short-term mission trips. Here are the details: 1. Honduras for adults (July 6-13, 2015) This short-term mission trip will engage its participants in construction, women’s projects, and Bible School for children. Terry and Brien Koehler will be the team leaders. Airfare (as of March 1) is about $650. 2. Guatemala for youth (June 29July 12) This short-term mission trip will engage our youth in a varied program of mission service in Guatemala. It is offered in partnership with St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Kerrville, and Gavin Rogers will head the leadership team. Contact Gavin for costs at gavinr@cecsa.org. 3. Short FUSE, our introduction to a mission trip experience for all ages

(middle school minimum), crossgenerational family participation encouraged, in Waco, Texas (July 16-19, 2015). Singles welcome and also encouraged. The Short FUSE is a cooperative ministry with Christ Church Outreach. The ShortFUSE (FUSE=Family Urban Service Experience) is conducted in partnership with Mission Waco, one of the premier urban ministry organizations in the U.S. Our team will experience a “sampler” of ministry opportunities serving children, the elderly, and the homeless. This is an easy opportunity: it is close to home, it doesn’t take much time, and it isn’t expensive. We have doubled the capacity for this trip in 2015 based on highly positive feedback from 2014 participants. Participants in 2014 ranged in age from 14 to 80! Cost is about $70/person. You can start supporting these three mission trips now with your prayers. Pray for God to lead the planning of each so that his will is always our primary goal. And pray about your own participation. If you can’t wait for information, please call Brien at (830) 200-1905 or send an email to brienk@ cecsa.org.

Brien Koehler

“This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.”

2 Corinthians 9:12

SOCIETY

Shade From Trees We Did Not Plant

hen I had an arborist attend to my oak tree in the backyard, I mentioned to him that I thought the tree must be quite old due to its massive size and height. He told me that he considered the tree to be at least 250 years old. Since I live in the near north side of San Antonio, I had visions of Crockett, traveling from Tennessee, passing by this tree on his way to the Alamo. I imagine it has seen tribes of Native Americans come past, and certainly many a milk cow since this was once a dairy farm. I warn any person doing work in my yard that the tree will be preserved at all costs. It provides warmth under the branches in the winter and cool shade to the back of the house in the summer. We have all rested in the shade of trees we did not plant. Each of us has benefited from the work and gifts of the many who have preceded us. The question remains of what our

legacy will be to future generations. It is often difficult to miss the broad-brush strokes of large gifts or deeds, but the reality is that many little gifts and deeds add up to make a giant benefit to our descendants. What will your legacy be at Christ Episcopal Church? Will you look into your estate plans and decide to include our beautiful church among the beneficiaries? Can you leave a legacy gift today from your accounts? The church will continue as it has for the century-plus of its existence. It will be able to continue to reach out to our community, to provide services, and to take Christ into the world if it has a solid financial foundation. Please join those of us who have made the commitment to our church. I like to think that the little tree that I recently planted in the front yard will one day join branches over the top of this old house. It will certainly not happen in my lifetime, but caring for it and leaving it for future generations seems to me to be a good gift.

Ferne Burney

12 x12 Monthly Missions

here are two more Monthly 12 x 12 Missions to be undertaken before the summer mission trips begin. On Sunday, March 22, volunteers from Christ Church will gather in the Parish Hall from 12:30 - 4 PM and prepare 10,000 meals for people in need, under the direction of Stop Hunger Now. This international organization distributes food and other life-saving aid to vulnerable children and families around the world. Their mission is to end world hunger. The event on March 22 will be a fun, hands-on and rewarding experience for all involved. According to SHN, a group of just 40 volunteers can package 10,000 meals in as little as 2 - 3 hours! Take on the challenge and come help end hunger. Leaders from SHN will help facilitate the packing.

To volunteer, contact Gavin Rogers at gavinr@cesa.org. For info: www.stophungernow.org.

On Sunday, April 26, under the leadership of the CEC choir, volunteers will spend the afternoon working and celebrating at the Thunderbird Fiesta. Watch the e-news for details. 13

Our Church Life..

PAGE TURNERS – From

ila, by Marilynne Robinson, is like stepping into an ode that sweeps you both upwards into majesty and downwards into desolation and often does so on the same page. This is the third book of Robinson’s trilogy that began with the Pulitzer Prize winner, Gilead. The second in the series is Home. All three take place during the 1950’s in the rural Iowa town of Gilead and center on the lives of two clergy families. Lila has spent her life homeless when she encounters the Rev. John Ames, an aging widower, who loves and weds her. The clash of their worlds is expressed through Lila’s tumultuous and, at times, torturous interior monologues. The effect on the reader is like stepping into another self, such that Lila’s anger and tears and unanticipated joy become our own. Days after the birth of their son, Lila contemplates her life once John dies – a fact that is never far from their thoughts or conversation: The problem is, she thought, that if someday she opened the front door and there, where the flower gardens and the fence ought to be, was that old life, the raggedy meadows and pastures and the cornfields and the orchards, she might just set the child on her hip and walk into it, the buzz and the smell and the damp of it, the breath of it like her own breath, her own sweat. Stepping back into loneliness, a dreadful thing, like walking into cold water, waiting for the numbness to set in that was the body taking the care it could, so that you knew you didn’t have to feel. I can only compare the deep poetic, human understanding of Robinson’s trilogy to Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy, All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain. All six should be read in measured cadences so as not to miss the dark beauty of every line. Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas, edited by the Plough Publishers staff. Josh Benninger

the

Rector’s Book Stack

gave me this book on the occasion of my 60th birthday. I put it aside until the first day of Advent and then began my reading of it. The readings are so rich, challenging, and enthralling that I will bring the volume out next on November 29 – the First Sunday of Advent, 2015. The essays, poems, and sermons in the book proceed all the way from Thomas Aquinas, Soren Kierkegaard, T.S. Eliot, and John Donne to C.S. Lewis, Annie Dillard, J.B. Phillips, and Kathleen Norris. Warning: This book is not for those who are seeking an evergreen covered, gift wrapped, carefree Christmas. This book is for those who seek Christ and the kingdom of peace that humanity has scorned. On that accord, one of my favorite readings from the collection is Brennan Manning, best known for his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel: The shipwrecked at the stable are the poor in spirit who feel lost in the cosmos, adrift in the open sea, clinging with a life-and-death desperation to the one solitary plank. Finally, they are washed ashore and make their way to the stable, stripped of their old spirit of possessiveness in regard to anything. The shipwrecked find it not only tacky but utterly absurd to be caught up either in tinsel trees or in religious experiences – ‘Doesn’t going to church on Christmas make you feel good?’ They are not concerned with their own emotional security or any of the trinkets of creation. They have been saved, rescued, delivered from the waters of death, set free for a new shot at life. At the stable in a blinding moment of truth, they make the stunning discovery that Jesus is the plank of salvation they have been clinging to without knowing it! Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, by Atul Gawande, is not only a good book, but also a very important one. A bright, unknown angel delivered the volume at the church offices, and for that person I am most grateful. Gawande is a physician, a cancer surgeon, who practices in Boston. Reflecting on his own practice and the practices of his colleagues –

oncologists, gerontologists, hospice nurses, and others – he takes a candid look at where medicine, families, churches, and friends are failing those who are moving towards death. In regard to medicine, what becomes glaringly obvious is that physicians and hospitals are primarily remunerated for completed “procedures.” This primary medical transaction is often at odds with what is the best course for a person’s last stretch of life – whether that is weeks, months, or even years. Gawande tells us this hard news through his clear poignant prose. He will take his place in the lineage of our most accomplished writing doctors. (Among other places, you will often find Gawande’s pieces in The New Yorker.) Adding to the power of this text is Gawande’s story of his revered father’s decline into death. Through the lens of his physician father’s end-of-life medical and family decisions, the book moves powerfully from the objective point of view to the emotionally-laced subjective. In one of the Gawande’s last paragraphs, he weaves the lessons from his father’s death into new lessons he is learning as a physician: When I was a child, the lessons my father taught me had been about perseverance: never to accept the limitations that stood in my way. As an adult watching him in his final years, I also saw how he came to terms with limits that couldn’t simply be wished away. When to shift from pushing against the limits to making the best of them is not often readily apparent. But it is clear that there are times when the cost of pushing exceeds its value. Helping my father through the struggle to define that moment was simultaneously among the most painful and most privileged experiences of my life. Your brother,

Patrick U

OF EVENTS March 14-15:

Community of Hope Annual Retreat, Mustang Island

Christ Church Staff:

March 15:

Third Sunday Lunch at Order Up in Lincoln Heights, 12:30 PM

The Rev. Patrick Gahan, Rector patrickg@cecsa.org

March 17:

St. Patrick’s Day

March 20 - 22: Confirmation Class Retreat at Harrison Ranch March 21:

Community of Hope Training Class Begins

March 22:

12 x 12 Mission: Stop Hunger Now, 12:30 - 4 PM in the Parish Hall David Kauffman in Concert at CEC, 3 PM in the Sanctuary

March 25: “The Awakening of Everyman” presented by CEC Players, 6 PM in the Parish Hall

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

March 29:

Palm Sunday

March 31:

Jazz Meets Classical Concert, 7 PM in the Sanctuary

April 2:

Maundy Thursday Service 6 PM

April 3:

Good Friday Stations of the Cross 12 PM

April 4:

Liturgy of Light and Easter Egg Hunt, 10 AM in the FMC Holy Saturday Baptism Service 5 PM

April 5:

Easter Sunday

April 11:

Children’s Communion Class Retreat, 10 AM - 3 PM in the FMC

Darla Nelson, Office Manager darlan@cecsa.org

April 12:

Children’s Communion Celebration 11 AM Sunday Fun Day for Junior High Youth 12:30 - 3 PM

Donna Shreve, Financial Manager donnas@cecsa.org

April 19:

Confirmation with Bishop Reed Third Sunday Lunch at Order Up in Lincoln Heights 12:30 PM

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

April 26:

Camerata San Antonio Concert, 3 PM in the Sanctuary 12 x 12 Mission: Fiesta Party and Work Day at Thunderbirds, 5:30 PM

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

May 3:

Children’s Musical “The Rock Slinger” 9 & 11 AM

Donnis Carpenter, Receptionist donnisc@cecsa.org

May 10:

Mother’s Day

May 24:

Pentecost

To have your CEC event added to the Calendar please submit a CALENDAR and SPACE REQUEST All church related activities, events, meetings, etc. MUST have a calendar/space request submitted to the church receptionist, Donnis Carpenter. EVEN events that take place off-campus must be submitted in order to be added to the church’s master calendar. Submission forms can be found on the Lucite racks outside the reception office.

Halleta Heinrich, Director of Family Ministry, halletah@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

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

Reading to James Madison Students for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Read Across Americaâ&#x20AC;?

Holy Week at Christ Church

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 2.

E P I S C O PA L Christ Episcopal Church 510 Belknap Place San Antonio, TX 78212 www.cecsa.org

Periodical Postage PAID San Antonio, TX