May 2015 • Volume 17, Number 3
E P I S C O PA L
Christ Church Children’s Choirs rocked their spring musical “The Rock Slinger and His Greatest Hit”
Service: The Discipline That Makes us Whole: 2 It’s the 4th on the 5th!: 6 Wacky Wednesdays: 6 Don’t Miss the Adventures of Flat Jesus: 11 From the Rector’s Book Stack: 12 New Life in the Old Chapel: 15
FROM
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
Service: The Discipline
T
hey are always there before us. Every Friday when Dr. Beauchamp and I are signing in at the James Madison School office, I see that PATRICK GAHAN Pat Darnall and Rector Garnett Wietbrock, patrickg@cecsa.org Jean Goetz, and Mary and Dan Sponhaltz have been there before us. Their signatures are inscribed neatly above ours on the “Mentor Log.” We never see them in the hallways of that little elementary school. Dr. Beauchamp and I do not cross paths with those five others, but we know they have been with
that
Makes Us Whole
the children earlier in the week. The fact that they always get there before us gives me confidence that our faith community has a larger, more complete, commitment to these vulnerable young children than I ordinarily see; yet, even more so, it provides a window into the ultimate purposes of God – to love and serve others. Holy Scripture states that loving service is at the very center of God’s nature. Recall Moses’ second ascent of Mount Sinai shortly after the people had rejected the Lord. God saved them from slavery in Egypt, and the people responded by rejecting God and making a Golden calf to worship. Moses clambers, yet again, to the pinnacle of the mountain, expecting God to pronounce his judgment on Israel.
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 Back Cover photo by Trent Timberlake “Angels at Mamre-Trinity, Rublev, 1410”
2
Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Angelsatmamre-trinity-rublev-1410.jpg#/ media/File:Angelsatmamre-trinity-rublev-1410.jpg
From Our Rector... Instead, God emphatically calls out to Moses with a message of inexorable devotion and love:
The longer we gaze at the icon, the one another, but in loving concert. more aspects we take in. For instance, What’s more, their love is expansive all three are making a gentle nod to the and moves out from their presence in other. No hierarchy exists within the great, continuous waves that engulf I am God, a God of mercy and Trinity. They live in submission to one humanity. This centerpiece of the grace, endlessly patient—so much another and the serene nod is a sign New Testament starkly articulates the love, so deeply true—loyal in love that their love is continually reaching unexpected, unreasonable, unmerited for a thousand across the table to tsunami of this love: g e n e r a t i o n s , “Neither the Father, nor the others. Also, the forgiving iniquity, only object on the Christ arrives right on time to rebellion, and sin. the Son, nor the Holy Spirit table is a chalice, make this happen. He didn’t, and Still, I do not ignore the doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He disregards our sin, but symbolizing sin. Exodus 34:6ultimate expression presented himself for this sacrificial each reaches across the of God’s love 7, Message death when we were far too weak demonstrated at rebellious to do anything to broad canyon we have dug Calvary. Sacrifice and At the very core of get ourselves ready. And even if we God is love. Thus, by our sin and “ransoms is at the very heart hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t Jesus states this of the Trinity. It is have known what to do anyway. We us” through the great love loving service that same truth about can understand someone dying for himself, ‘For the Son expressed in the Trinity.” binds the Trinity a person worth dying for, and we of Man came not to together. Think of can understand how someone good be served but to serve, and to give his it as the DNA of God that makes Him and noble could inspire us to selfless life as a ransom for many’ (Mark 10:45). whole. sacrifice. But God put his love on Neither the Father, nor the Son, nor the the line for us by offering his Son Holy Spirit disregards our sin, but each I learned about the power of Rublev’s in sacrificial death while we were of reaches across the broad canyon we Trinity from Methodist pastor and no use whatever to him. Romans have dug by our sin and “ransoms us” author, James Bryan Smith. Peering at 5:6-8, Message through the great love expressed in the the icon changed Smith’s understanding Trinity. Russian Christians have long of God. Smith confesses, “I picked up No matter how courageous, generous, understood and expressed this central the false narrative early on that has and costly our service may be, God has truth about God through art. been hard to shake, namely that Jesus been there before us. We Christians died on the cross to avert the wrath of do not try to impress God with our One particular Russian, Andrei God the Father. As if God the Father service, or earn points, or even grow in Rublev (c. 1360-1427), the famous were simmering in anger and ready to character. No, we serve others in order iconographer, provided a vivid window destroy humans, but Jesus, the good to join God in what He is already doing. into the nature of God. After all, that Son, steps in to take the punishment. Consequently, just as loving service is what icons do; they open windows This narrative binds the Father, “...we serve others in for us to better understand God, when leaves me with a Son, and Holy Spirit words come up short. In what may be nice Jesus and a order to join God in what together, loving, Rublev’s most famous icon, Trinity, we mean Father; it also sacrificial service He is already doing. see three angels sitting serenely around creates tension in will make us whole, a table. At first look, they remind us the Trinity, as if Consequently, just as loving as well. To live in of the three angels who visit Abraham they are at odds God is to act as service binds the Father, God – to extend and Sarah beside the Oaks of Mamre with one another.”1 (Genesis 18:1-15). Looking more ourselves in love Son, and Holy Spirit closely at the icon, which is what we are Rublev depicts to others. That’s supposed to do with icons in the first the true nature of together, loving, sacrificial how we are invited place, we discern that Rublev’s three the Trinity that the table service will make us whole, around angels are actually the Father, Son, is reflected in the with the Trinity. and Holy Spirit. You will note that the Bible. The Father as well” Father is dressed in gold, to identify is not angrily In that way, Him as the creator. The Son is clad in simmering in the corner. The Son is we become an effective, authentic brown, in order to show that He is fully not patiently trying to appease Him. Christian witness. ‘Go, therefore, and human, as well as fully God. The Holy The Spirit is not using his powers make disciples of all nations…’ demands Spirit is appareled in green to mark Him of persuasion to put the fire out. Jesus in Matthew 28:19. But the job as the giver of life and new birth. All No, the three are not at enmity with seems far too daunting for us to even three have additional blue raiment to begin. We imagine that we must become James Bryan Smith, The Kingdom indicate that they proceed from heaven. 1 some great apologist to defend the and the Cross (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarfaith or rouse others with our stirring sity Press, 2010), 17.
3
From Our Rector... words or cut some heroic figure with our magnetic persona. Not so, we need only serve others from the reservoir of love freely showered on us by God, and people will be irrevocably drawn to our . witness.
and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day-by-day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. Acts 2:44-47
‘You know about the rulers of the Gentiles. They hold power over their people. Their high officials order them around. Don’t be like that. Instead, anyone who wants to be important among you must be your servant. And anyone who wants to be first must be your slave. Be like the Son of Man. He did not come to be served. Instead, he came to serve others. He came to give his life as the price for setting many people free.’ John 20:25-28
“Daily loving service was Daily loving service Bishop David Reed was the witness of the witness of the new brought the necessity the new community of our witness home community under Christ, under Christ, to me when he last and people were and people were drawn to drawn to them in preached at Christ Church on April droves. Curiously them in droves.” 19. He quoted the for us moderns, Gospel for that day, this meteoric On Good Friday of this year, the where the resurrected Jesus suddenly growth of the early Church did not celebrated essayist and historian, A.N. appears to the terrified disciples, who occur because copies of the Bible Wilson, surprised his public by making are hiding in a locked room: were being rapidly printed in every this observation in the Financial Times language and distributed for people of London. What makes Wilson’s Then Jesus opened their minds to to study. True, once he came out of pronouncement all the more powerful understand the scriptures, and he hiding, Peter did lead a pretty powerful is that like C.S. Lewis, another great said to them, “Thus it is written, that evangelistic crusade in Jerusalem. He English intellectual, he was an avowed the Messiah is to suffer and to rise carefully interpreted the meaning of atheist before re-encountering the from the dead on the third day, and Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection and Church. By his own admission, it was that repentance and forgiveness connected it to the salvation drama the community of faith – as fallible and of sins is to be proclaimed in his long unfolding in the Old Testament broken as we are – that called him into name to all nations, beginning from (Acts 2:14-36 & 3:11-26). No doubt, the faith: Jerusalem. You are witnesses of proclamation of the Gospel story was these things. Luke 24:45-48 of great importance in the miraculous For while Christianity is sometimes growth of the Church. Yet we must spoken of as one of the “religions The key word in the text, according remember that the universal acceptance of the book” — the other two being to the bishop, is “witnesses,” which in of the New Testament books, composed Judaism and Islam — it would be the Greek is marturion, from the root by at least eight to ten authors, did not more accurate to call the Christian work martus, from which we derive the occur until some time in the fourth Bible the “book of the people”. English word “martyr.” The fact that century. I believe the first mention we Christianity, although it treasures Jesus calls these cowering, turncoat have of the twenty-seven books of the the scriptures of the Bible, has men “witnesses” on the scale of a noble New Testament occurred in a letter always been an organic faith, martyr is laughable. But Jesus is not written by Athanasius in 367 AD. growing from innumerable personal laughing. He is serious. These men will experiences of Christ, and passed be the heroic witnesses of Jesus’s Good The communities dotted all about the from individual to individual. 2 News, the heralds of God’s kingdom. Roman Empire spawned the substantial How can that be true? How will these increase of Sometimes pitiable mice carry out such a feat? For the Christian. the faith “...once we are touched by the that we must look at Luke’s second Church. In is passed volume, the Acts of the Apostles. Shortly those small saving love of Christ, we are drawn from one after Jesus ascends to the Father, Luke f e l l o w s h i p s , to another carefully reports the adopted, routine p e o p l e into the life of the Trinity, and at in a most behavior of these once frozen disciples witnessed and the heart of the Trinity we discover powerful amongst the new community they have experienced a way that loving service amplified” founded: different kind i s s u e s of communion powerful All who believed were together and that was not hierarchical – like the top- results. When Sara Miles, a recalcitrant had all things in common; they down Roman state and family – but atheist, showed up at an Episcopal would sell their possessions and egalitarian and sacrificial in practice. Church on a Sunday morning, the goods and distribute the proceeds to Jesus predicted this revolutionary faith was passed on to her in a way all, as any had need. Day by day, community while admonishing his that changed not only her life, but the as they spent much time together glory-seeking disciples: 2 A.N. Wilson, “The Easter Story, the in the temple, they broke bread at Resurrection and the Gospel Truth,” home and ate their food with glad Jesus called them together. He said, Financial Times, April 3, 2015
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From Our Rector... lives of thousands of others in her community. The radically transformative experience of Christ is “passed from individual to individual.” Once a person is changed, the love of Christ cannot be held captive, he or she must extend it to another in their own unique way and in their particular setting. In the prologue of her book, Take This Bread, Sara Miles recounts the moment she was touched by another and the aftershocks that came later: One early, cloudy morning when I was forty-six, I walked into a church, ate a piece of bread, took a sip of wine. A routine Sunday activity for tens of millions of Americans — except that up until that moment I’d led a thoroughly secular life, at best indifferent to religion, more often appalled by its fundamentalist crusades. This was my first communion. It changed everything. I took communion, I passed the bread to others, and then I kept going, compelled to find new ways to share what I’d experienced. I started a food pantry and gave away literally tons of fruit and vegetables and cereal around the same altar where I’d first received the body of Christ. I organized new pantries all over my city to provide hundreds and hundreds of hungry families with free groceries each week.3 3 Sara Miles, Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion (New York: Random House, 2007), xi.
Not all of us will distribute five tons of fresh food per week like Sara Miles, but we will do something that gives life to others once we have been brought back to life ourselves. The Holy Spirit will not let us rest until we do. The “peace that passes understanding” will elude us (Philippians 4:7). That’s because once we are touched by the saving love of Christ, we are drawn into the life of the Trinity, and at the heart of the Trinity we discover loving service amplified. How do we start? James Bryan Smith
.
“...we will do something that gives life to others once we have been brought back to life ourselves. The Holy Spirit will not let us rest until we do.”
gives us three simple, yet important, avenues where we can embark on our new life of service. We can begin by listening. Smith urges us to approach a family member, friend, co-worker, or a church friend and ask them how they are doing. And then settle down and really listen to that person. We moderns are desperate to be heard. Everyone is talking it seems; yet no one is there to hear us. Smith goes on to advise us to help someone. He states we may slow down and be gracious enough to hold the door for another at the Post Office, let a harried mother cut in front of us at the grocery store, or allow another car to merge in the aggravating line of afternoon traffic. Smith states that this
may lead to other, braver endeavors, like offering to paint a neighbor’s home or landscape the front yard. Thirdly, Smith makes the most uncomfortable suggestion that we let others win arguments. He contends that we lovingly serve others when we no longer insist on having the last word. Considering how we have used our speech as a weapon, withholding words can serve as a sign of our own conversion, while, at the same time, it is a liberating gift to the other. As I have already mentioned, I end the workweek by accompanying Dr. Beauchamp to tutor struggling young boys at James Madison Elementary. I begin the week, however, by driving out to a nursing home to read news articles and religious essays to a friend who can no longer read for himself. He has recently lost most of his ability to speak, as well. I read and he listens, nodding in approval to the articles he likes and yelling “NO!” at the ones he doesn’t. (He can still voice that twoletter word forcefully.) Most Mondays, as I sit bedside his bed and notice his steep decline – even from the week before – I feel woefully inadequate. “What good am I doing this fine, suffering man?” I silently toss up to God. And then the answer comes as quietly as a spring breeze and as clear as the Blanco River, “Don’t worry. I was here long before you.” Your brother,
Patrick U
Learn about the Flat Jesus Project on page 11. Left: Flat Jesus has lunch with some of the staff Right: Flat Jesus takes the helm while Patrick is out of the office
5
MINISTRY “America! America! God
W
e hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving JOSH BENNINGER their just powers from the consent Director of Music of the governed, --That whenever and Worship joshb@cecsa.org any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. - American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 Independence and Freedom
shed his grace on thee....” with Massachusetts being the first state in 1781 to make it an official state holiday. Festivities typically included concerts, great food, parades, readings of the Declaration of Independence and the firing of cannons and muskets. The 4th on the 5th In this spirit of celebration, albeit without the cannons and muskets, our church family will sit down to enjoy a wonderful BBQ lunch immediately following the 11 AM worship service on July 5 in the Parish Hall. We are calling it, “The 4th on the 5th.” Once our bellies are full of brisket and potato salad, the choir will entertain you with songs by Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Joseph Martin and lead you in sing-a-longs to include Yankee Doodle Dandy, Dixie and You’re a Grand Old Flag. The choir also invites you to sing the traditional songs of the U.S. Armed Forces as a glowing tribute of our rich military heritage.
Josh Benninger
Children’s Spring Musical
Known as the Fourth of July and Independence Day, the U.S. Congress made July 4th a federal holiday in 1870. However, the tradition of celebrating our Independence from Great Britain on July 4th goes further back to the 18th century,
MINISTRY
The Youth
are
Getting Wild
C
hrist Church Youth have some outrageously fun activities planned for the summer. All youth entering 6th through 12th grade are encouraged to join the party. Bring your friends. Some events are free and others have a fee, but scholarships are available so that all may participate. More details will be sent out closer to each event. Don’t miss out - RSVP to Rob Harris at robh@cecsa.org.
6
and
Wacky
this
Summer
Wacky Wednesdays June 17 9 a.m.—5 p.m. Fiesta Texas:$30
July 22 11 a.m.—2 p.m. Pool Party: $5
June 24 10 a.m.—1 p.m. Mini Golf: $15
July 29 7 p.m.— 10 p.m. Movie Night @CEC: FREE
July 1 7 p.m.—9 p.m. Bigger/Better Hunt: FREE
Aug 5 1 p.m.—3 p.m. Laser Tag: $15
July 8 6 p.m.—9 p.m. City-Wide Scavenger Hunt: FREE
Aug 12 11 a.m.—3 p.m. Pool Party: FREE
Youth Ministry...
It’s Not All About You! The Messiah
O
ROB HARRIS Interim Director of Youth Ministry robh@cecsa.org
nce there was a monastery that for years had sunk deeper and deeper into poverty. Its walls were crumbling and no one had the wherewithal or the will to repair them. The grounds were overgrown with weeds and
thistles and no one cared to care for them. Visitors rarely came to the monastery any longer for learning or to deepen their spirituality. The monks themselves began to neglect their prayers, worship, and service more and more each passing day. The great Abbott of the monastery was deeply concerned about this turn of events, this cycle of depression and death that seemed to be consuming the once hallowed halls of that venerable place. He spent his days locked away in his cell, deep in prayer. One day, while in the midst of his lonely contemplations, a vision appeared in his mind. He saw a quiet cottage in the middle of a great wood. A light shone from the single window of that cozy home and the Abbott knew immediately that he must leave his monastic cell, seek out this place, and seek the wisdom the vision seemed to beckon the Abbott to obtain. So the next morning, armed with his walking stick and laden with provisions from the kitchen, he set out into the great wood. He traveled all morning, long wandering through the wood, but found nothing but the chirping birds and chattering squirrels. At the noon hour he sat down in a small meadow to say his noonday prayers and fortify himself with lunch. As he began his prayers, he began to pick up the scent of a fire and, as the smell grew stronger and stronger, his prayers ceased and he felt once more the beckoning to seek that house in the woods he had seen in the vision. So forgetting his lunch,
is
he followed the smell further into the green wood and, to his surprise, he came upon the very house he had been seeking. Everything was exactly as he had envisioned and the sense of expectation began to grow, like butterflies fluttering in his stomach. The door to the cottage was ajar, but maintaining his polite sensibilities, he knocked gently on the frame. “Come in,” a quiet voice beckoned. The Abbott crossed the threshold and there sat a solitary man staring back at him. The hermit had a ragged beard, a wiry frame and, most intoxicating of all, a bright smile that radiated joy. The Abbott ventured further into the cottage and sat at the table. “What do you seek?” the hermit asked. The Abbott related the dismal state of affairs that existed at the monastery and shared with the hermit his great concern to seek the remedy to the situation of decay and apathy that existed at that once great citadel of godliness and service. After a moment, the hermit looked deep into the Abbott’s eyes and said, “The Messiah is among you.” That was it. That was all he said. He got up and showed the Abbott the door and the confused monk could do nothing else but leave. He ventured back to the monastery and called all of the brothers into the meeting room and related to them the message of the hermit, “The Messiah is among you.” The brothers immediately began to question in their minds, “Could it be Brother Andrew? Maybe it is Brother Simon? Who could it be?” That day things changed at the monastery. The brothers began to take special care about their business about the place. They wanted to put on their best because who knew, perhaps the one they served alongside was the Messiah himself. The grounds began to be transformed, the walls were rebuilt, prayers were renewed and worship became majestic once more…who knew, if the Messiah was among them, they should give only their best, no?
Among Us! Visitors once again began to stream to the monastery for learning and for spiritual growth; the place had been transformed. As the Abbott sat in the courtyard one afternoon and surveyed the new life that had sprung up in this once dead place, he thought to himself, “What caused such a change? Who was the Messiah and when would he reveal himself?” X X X That monastery was restored because the brothers no longer served themselves, but served the Messiah, Jesus in the other…the Messiah in you and the Messiah in me. They learned the lesson that it is not all about me…it is about God…and it is about us. The same is true for our life together and I speak specifically about our life together in our ministry with teens. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU AND IT’S NOT ABOUT ME; IT’S ABOUT US. We live in such a consumeristic culture that often we pick and choose what we will do based on our personal desires rather than for the good of the “other” or for the good of the community. It is important that we all show up, no matter how hard, for who knows, you might be the Messiah for someone. You might have the word that someone else needs to hear; your story may be the one that touches another’s life with salvation. But how can you know if you never cross the threshold? Our youth ministry is in the great process of renovation as we speak. The walls are being rebuilt, the weeds trimmed away, renewed prayers are being offered, and joy is once more present in the walls. The Messiah is among us. Will you seek him out with me and join in this great work? You too have a word to share that we cannot live without. * Author Unknown, accessed with abridgment at storiesforpreaching.com.
Rob Harris 7
MINISTRY The Gospel
of John
- God’s Word Brought
I
tell the kids often that I didn’t read through a whole book of the Bible until I was a freshman in college at UT. Go Horns! God placed me with a roommate I had not known before who happened to be a very committed Christian. I will never forget getting down on my knees with her praying with me the prayer asking for Jesus to be Lord of my life. HALLETA I had gone to Sunday School regularly, HEINRICH if not always willingly, in my years Director of before college, but this was a deeper Family Ministries conversion experience I am grateful for. halletah@cecsa.org My faith deepened more and more as time went on and as life happened. I want our kids to get through a book of the Bible before they go to college! The book I read first was the Gospel of John, and I want our children to be able to do this with me and my co-teachers this summer. It is a beautiful book written with great love and depth by the beloved disciple, John. As I tell the kids often, “He was Jesus best friend,” sort of like a little brother, too.
Surprised
to
Life
I came across something very special a few years ago that I want to share with our children this summer as we study the Gospel of John. It’s from a project called the “Visual Bible.” It is a film of every word directly from John from the Good News Bible acted out. Nothing has been added or subtracted. It brought the Gospel to life for me in a way I had never experienced. It is beautifully acted and narrated. Jesus is played in such a natural way, even including the sense of humor I had always discerned that he had. The film really humanizes Jesus, even though it is clear he is also Creator God come to Earth -- the Light of the World, as John’s Gospel emphasizes from the beginning. I welcome any others to join us this summer. It will be an intergenerational learning experience. We will make sure each lesson stands alone, since I realize many are gone during parts of the summer. I will issue a schedule to parents, so they can read and discuss the chapters of the Gospel of John with their children when they have to miss.
Halleta by
God
I
f any of you know me at all, you know I am a planner! On the Meyers Briggs personality test, I am a pretty high “J,” which means I like to plan ahead in detail and know ahead what’s coming. That’s a good quality for an administrator, but sometimes takes away from spontaneity. Well, I had planned, as usual in detail for Family Camp last fall, but God had other plans! Surprisingly to me, His plans were better than I could have imagined. It rained tons and that blew much of my agenda out with the water. It so happened that the kids LOVED the rain and mud and playing in it. It brought our whole group closer together as we huddled under an awning roasting marshmallows on a camp stove set on cement. They were the best s’mores we had ever had. The rain pounding around us added to the flavor. God was really with us last fall at Camp Capers. Flying by the seat of our pants, we adjusted our plans. Those of us who attended were brought closer together as a Church family. Some were new members, some were old, but we bonded in a way a camp setting can only bring about. I love those people who were my Family Camp friends from last fall. I think they all love me and each other, and I know they love Christ Church! It was Christ Church at its finest – a church with a big, loving heart, and inclusive of all as Children of God. I pray more of you will experience Family Camp with me next fall. Save the dates NOW. God might surprise you, too!
8
Love in Christ,
Halleta
Family Camp September 25 – 27 At Camp Capers
Family Ministry...
What VBS Means
S
even years ago, my daughter Mary attended her first VBS at Christ Church. She was four years old and loved the activities, energy, music, friends and helpers that surrounded her that week. Upon picking her up each day at noon, I knew I wanted to be a part of this special week as a volunteer. At VBS the next summer I was a tribe leader. None of my own three children were in my tribe - I had 10 other wonderful children to interact with each day. They were all so inquisitive, eager and precious. The curriculum provided for me made it so easy to teach and engage the kids in my group and we all had a ball. That experience was such a positive one that I told Halleta that week that I would be a volunteer at VBS until my youngest child George finished 5th grade. She looked at me like I was crazy - after all, he was only 8 months old at the time. Now he is six-years-old and we all still look forward to Christ Church VBS each year. My daughter Mary is now old enough to be a teen helper! We have made some changes here
to
Me
and there to VBS over the years, but we have found that a simple formula seems to produce the best results: keep
McAlpin). It also helps that we have the BEST group of adult and teen volunteers that come together once a year to make this week truly memorable. Please join us as a volunteer at VBS this year and experience the joy for yourself!
Amy Case
the schedule moving, include plenty of time in the air conditioning, start on time and end on time, and engage the children with activities that seem to be special to our VBS (captivating dramas, unique crafts, bread-baking, water play and especially prayer time with Ms. Pat
June 8-11, 2015 (Monday-Thursday) 9 am-12 pm Register online at: https://www.groupvbspro.com/vbs/hl/ christchurch call or email me: amygcase@gmail.com/210-723-6350
Summer Sunday School Sunday, June 7 – August 23 “Hands On Bible” for three-year-olds to Kindergarten Graduates FMC Rooms 205 and 206 10 – 10:50 AM Lisa Galloway – Lead Teacher, Assisted by Pockets the Kangaroo Puppet The Gospel of John – The Visual Bible For First to Fourth Grade Graduates FMC Movie Theater Room 302 10 – 10:50 AM Teachers: Stephen Archer, Andrew Barton, and Halleta Heinrich
9
The Christ Church Bible Study
and
Preaching Series
Summer 2015: Christians are Different Because...
dif·fer·ent
ˈdif(ə)rənt/ adjective 1. not the same as another. 2. distinct; separate.
J
ust recently on a late night flight home, I sat next to a 28 year-old Muslim gentleman. As both of us were too exhausted to read, we struck up a friendly conversation. What struck me about this attractive, professionally successful young man was his enthusiasm for his faith and how he arranged his family’s life around religious observance, study, and fellowship. Equally impressive was the clear manner with which he could articulate his faith.
I listened respectfully, as did he when I expressed the significant differences between our traditions – especially in the areas of Jesus, grace, and forgiveness. Mostly, however, I tried to exemplify what a Christian is – loving, receptive, non-judgmental, and, at the same time, passionate about my faith in Christ. That late night interchange convicted me that each one of us – children, youth, and adults – must know what makes our faith distinctive, and, more importantly, be able to embody our faith in Jesus Christ. Let’s spend this summer doing just that! Your brother,
10
Patrick U
Sunday, June 7
Proper 5-B
Mark 3:20-35
Christians ACT On Our Faith
Sunday, June 14
Proper 6-B
Mark 4:26-34
Christians Commit to GROW
Sunday, June 21
Proper 7-B
Mark 4:35-41
Christians TRUST Our Lord
Sunday, June 28
Proper 8-B
Mark 5:21-43
Christians Reach for New LIFE
Sunday, July 5
Proper 9-B
Mark 6:1-3
Christians TRAVEL LIGHT
Sunday, July 12
Proper 10-B
Ephesian 1:3-14
Christians Are Given a DESTINY
Sunday, July 19
Proper 11-B
Ephesians 2:11-12
Christians BRING OTHERS TOGETHER
Sunday, July 26
Proper 12-B
Ephesians 3:14-21
Christians Are GROUNDED IN LOVE
Sunday, August 2
Proper 13-B
Ephesians 4:1-16
Christians Strive for MATURITY
Sunday, August 9
Proper 14-B
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Christians CONFRONT EVIL
Sunday, August 16
Proper 15-B
Ephesians 5:15-20
Christians MAKE THE MOST OF TIME
Sunday, August 23
Proper 16-B
Ephesians 6:10-20
Christians STAY ALERT
Sunday, August 30
Proper 17-B
James 1:17-27
Christians DO THE BIBLE
Sunday, September 6 Proper 18-B
James 2:1-17
Christians Are GENEROUS AND KIND
Our Church Life...
Christ With Us - The Adventures
A
s Christians we are called to keep Christ at the center of our lives and to spread the gospel wherever we go. This summer in your travels and adventures take Jesus along...and tell us about it! Who
is
of
facebook.com/ChristChurchSATX or email pictures to gretchend@ cecsa.org. 5. If you have access to a laminating machine, laminate your Flat Jesus. This way if he attempts to walk on water or spills a lot of wine, he’ll be protected! 6. Take your Flat Jesus everywhere
Flat Jesus with you and take plenty of pictures. Share your pictures with us. Photo prints will be added to a bulletin board in the hallway. 7. Talk with family and friends about what you and Flat Jesus experienced. 8. Have Fun!
Flat Jesus?
The original “flat” character was Flat Stanley, star of a book by Jeff Brown in which a boy has remarkable adventures after waking up one day to discover he is flattened to half-an-inch thick. This was the beginning of the Flat Stanley project in schools to help children with literacy and geography and from this grew the Flat Jesus Project. The Flat Jesus Project “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 Flat Jesus reminds us to keep Christ at the center of our lives even, or especially, when we are far from our church home. As you are out and about this summer, take Jesus along for the adventure. You’ll love taking Flat Jesus out to dinner or the park, to exotic locations such as Europe or Port Aransas, to the zoo or to camp wherever you and your family go. Then document the adventures with pictures you share with your Christ Church family. This project is for EVERYONE, not just families with children. How to create your own Flat Jesus 1. Copy the template here onto heavy cardstock paper if possible. (Or, pick up a copy at the church) 2. Get creative! Decorate Flat Jesus - what color hair does he have? What color skin tone? How should his robes be decorated? How do you see Jesus? 3. Make one for yourself and one for a friend. 4. Place a reminder on the back on how and where to upload pictures. Upload pictures to our Christ Church Facebook page at:
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Our Church Life..
PAGE TURNERS – From
T
o say that All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr, is a luminous novel may sound trite until you read it. To be honest, it is one of those books that I did not want to end, so I drug out reading the last few pages for days. Anthony Doerr crafted each line of his novel as if he were writing an evocative poem. Take these three sentences where the narrator describes the effect of Nazi occupation on a once idyllic French seaside village: If there are fireflies this summer, they do not come down the rue Vauborel. Now it seems there are only shadows and silence. Silence is the fruit of occupation; it hangs in the branches, seeps from the gutters. The novel centers on two unlikely protagonists — Marie Laure, a blind French girl, who has an unmitigated love of the natural world, especially mollusks, snails, and small crustaceans, and Werner, an orphaned German boy, who has an equal affinity for mathematics, electronics, and radio waves. Their two lives collide in a most unexpected and dramatic way that ends in a certain salvation for both. After putting the book aside, I have come to think of Marie Laure as a Bartimaeus figure, the one who cannot see, but actually sees far more than those around her. As the darkness of Nazi occupation descends on what was once a bright place, Marie Laure can still “see” the smallest vestiges of beauty un-touched by terror. Werner, on the other hand, emerges as a Pauline figure. Enveloped in the gray ugliness of the Nazi war machine, he finally bursts free to save his enemy. With sacrifice, the light reappears. This is not only a fine novel for adults, but a good one to read aloud to children — allowing for a bit of sensible censorship of the Russian assault on Germany and a few other graphic wartime scenes. Note: This book review was published in the May 3 edition of The Living Church
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the
Rector’s Book Stack
magazine. On Monday, April 20, the novel was awarded the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Desiring God’s Will: Aligning Our Hearts with the Heart of God, by David Benner, has already changed my foundational understanding of what it means to live moment-by-moment as a Christian. Benner, a distinguished professor, lecturer, psychologist, retreat leader, and spiritual guide, moves his reader to reconsider the most elemental Christian question – how do we really live in the presence of God? Far from offering a muscular answer to this query, Benner insists that our task is not to try harder, but rather to surrender. The Father is always present to us. Only our egocentric willfulness blocks our continual communion with Him. Willingness to submit to the Father’s love – as Christ did – is all that is needed. An echo of Jesus’ admonition to Martha fills Benner’s short volume, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her’ (Luke 10:41-42). Benner deftly uses the great saints of the Spirit who have preceded him. Ignatius of Loyola, Simone Weil, Thomas Merton, Rollo May, Brother Lawrence, Henri Nouwen, Francis Schaeffer, and those still living today such as Margaret Silf and Richard Rohr all parade through the 120 pages of this thin volume. Benner grasps their witness and then offers us his challenge: Choosing God is, as we have seen, choosing life. Choosing God’s will is allowing ourselves to emerge from a cave of our egocentric gratification and come home to the loving Father who patiently waits to throw us a party. How blind we are when we fail to see God’s dream for us and for the world. It is a dream full of abundance. It is a dream of healing and wholeness. It is a dream of life together in the reign of Perfect Love. Time to confess… I ordered Brendan, by Frederick Buechner, for our own Brendan McLaughlin on the occasion
of his eighteenth birthday. Yet, once I unwrapped the book from its Amazon box, I could not help but read it again. Buechner has long been my favorite Christian author, and the raw charm of this novel that drew me to its pages twenty years ago captured me again. Buechner’s novel follows the bold travels of the mysterious, muscular sixth century Irish saint, Brendan of Clonfert, or, as he is better known, Brendan the Navigator (484-577). Filled with stark images of the Irish landscape and harrowing accounts of Brendan’s tiny band of monks on the unforgiving sea, the book connects us Anglicans to our rich and earthier Celtic heritage. We enter a shadowy, less certain, more spontaneous side of the church within Buechner’s story. As for Brendan, his life-long quest is to find Paradise, which in the ancient language is Tír na nÓg, or “Land of the Youth.” Much like Odysseus, Aeneas, and Saint Paul, Brendan seeks his true home. In that way, Brendan is all of us Christians. We want to find that place where heaven and earth meet. Towards the end of his life, Brendan acknowledges that his heroic voyages have not led him to Paradise, but they have led him to understand what God would have us each do on our small patch of earth with the little time we are given: (Brendan uttered), ‘We was cripples all of us.” For a moment or two there was no sound but the bees. ‘To lend each other a hand when we’re falling,’ Brendan said, ‘Perhaps that is the only work that matters in the end.’ Cripples helping cripples – Buechner has, again, led me to a deeper understanding of our Christian vocation. As for Brendan McLaughlin, he will receive a slightly dog-eared copy of Brendan, and it will now have to serve as a graduation gift! Your brother,
Patrick U
Our Church Life..
Pop
vs.
S
omething new and “completely different” for Sunday mornings in June. We will be listening to popular songs from the 1960s to 2000s and comparing the BRIEN KOEHLER Artists’ meanings. Associate Rector Then we’ll apply for Mission and Formation the test of brienk@cecsa.org Scripture to see if the Pop can stand the test of “The Rock”.
Rock - The Ultimate Show Down Zeppelin (Stairway to Heaven) will be part of the series. The discussions will be lively and are open to all generations age 15 to 100+. Please bring your Bible and a desire to dive into Pop Culture contrasted with “the Rock” of God’s Word. This short course will be presented by Christ Church’s own Stephen Archer, and will be hosted by Brien Koehler, 10 AM, Sundays in June in the Parish Hall.
Brien Koehler
Each Sunday in June we will hear and study one song. Music from John Lennon (Imagine), Frank Sinatra (My Way), U2 (Vertigo), and Led
First Communion Class photo Susanna Kitayama
Youth Confirmation Class (with 1st Communion Banner) photo Trent Timberlake
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OF EVENTS May 24: Pentecost Recognition and Remembrance of WWI & WWII Veterans Sunday School Break Christ Church Fellowship (CCF) Lunch at Chester’s, 12:30 PM
Christ Church Staff:
May 25:
The Rev. Scott Kitayama, Associate Rector, scottk@cecsa.org
Memorial Day - Church Office closed
May 31: Trinity Sunday Sunday School Break CCF Lunch at Luby’s, 12:30 PM June 1: Mission Classic Golf Tournament to support Youth mission to Guatemala June 7:
Summer Sunday School Begins
June 8 - 11:
Vacation Bible School
June 17:
Wacky Wednesday for Youth - Fiesta Texas, 9 AM - 5 PM
June 21:
Father’s Day
June 24:
Wacky Wednesday for Youth - Mini Golf, 10 AM - 1 PM
June 29 - July 12:
Youth Mission Trip to Guatemala
The Rev. Patrick Gahan, Rector patrickg@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 Ruth Berg, Director of Children’s Music, ruthb@cecsa.org
July 1:
Wacky Wednesday for Youth - Bigger/Better Scavenger Hunt, 7-9 PM
July 4:
Independence Day
Robert Hanley, Parish Administrator robert@hanleypmservices.com
July 5:
The 4th on the 5th BBQ Celebration after the 11 AM service Recognition and Remembrance of Korean War Veterans
Darla Nelson, Office Manager darlan@cecsa.org
July 6 - 13:
Mission Trip to Honduras
July 8:
Wacky Wednesday for Youth - City-Wide Scavenger Hunt, 6-9 PM
July 16 - 19:
Short FUSE Mission Trip to Waco
July 22:
Wacky Wednesday for Youth - Pool Party, 11 AM - 2 PM
July 29:
Wacky Wednesday for Youth - Move Night at CEC, 7-10 PM
To have your CEC event added to the Church Calendar please submit a CALENDAR REQUEST All church related activities, events, meetings, etc. MUST have a Calendar Request form 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.
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Donna Shreve, Financial Manager donnas@cecsa.org 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
SOCIETY
400
4
00…that’s how many combat missions Bill Fugit completed in Vietnam. Jim Berg, another helicopter pilot who served in that war, explained to me that is what Bill’s decorations and citations designated. Bill flew his Bell UH-1 Iroquois or “Huey”, as it was popularly termed, on to one hot LZ after another. Consider for a moment that Bill did that 400 times. Yes, consider a twenty-two yearold, hardly out of adolescence, flying a fragile machine with metal about as thick as your Toyota Camry into a deluge of 7.62 small arms fire and into the ubiquitous caustic fumes of Agent Orange. It was the latter that would destroy Bill’s body. Looking twenty years younger than his actual age until the day of his death on Sunday morning, May 10, Agent Orange nonetheless ravaged him like a tsunami of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Bill’s stoic gallantry during his two and a half year demise in two local nursing homes outstretched even his courage
as a young warrior in Vietnam. Linda, Bill’s wife of 19 years, wants to remember Bill’s love and valor in a solemn and beautiful way. She and a few other parishioners have made gifts to reestablish the Children’s Chapel on the main floor of the Christ Church
offices. Newly outfitted with adult sized pews, kneelers, a refurbished altar, upholstered chairs, and votive candles – the Chapel is a sanctuary for individual prayer, small Eucharistic celebrations, Morning and Evening Prayer, tears, and quiet devotions. Sally Watson and Anne Wright, who have so ably chaired the 100th Birthday of our sanctuary building, first voiced
the desire to reopen the Chapel. The two only needed Linda and others to make the dream a glorious reality. The Chapel’s wide open doors cry out to each one of us, “We do not forget!” The Chapel is essentially Bill Fugit’s testamentary gift to his church that he loved unreservedly. That’s what our planned gifts do – they bespeak our love long after we have left the dark oak pews of Christ Church to enjoy the nearer presence of our Lord. I hope that every time we walk past the Children’s Chapel or the newly restored and refurbished Caper’s Room or stroll through our verdant grounds and gardens or survey the shimmering splendor shown across the chancel by the repaired skylight that we will consider our own testamentary gift to this parish we dearly love. One lady well into her 80’s stopped me on the sidewalk a week or so ago and said, “Patrick, I was baptized in this church, and I have been here all my life, but it has never looked this beautiful!” You have made it beautiful because you refuse to forget. Your brother,
Patrick V
Window in the Chapel, photo by Tommy Tomlin. The Sundial before and after.
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Christ Church Youth show off their muscles at the Wacky Olympics on April 26. Join them on Wednesdays this summer for Wacky Wednesdays.
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 3.
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