May 2017 message

May 2017 • Volume 19, Number 3

The Waving and Blessing of the Palms

Becoming 2 VBS - ROME: 6 Listen to the Music: 7 Singing the Praises of Sunday School Teachers: 8 Tweens From Another Planet: 10 What is Patrick Reading Now?: 12 Photo Album: 15

FROM

In this issue:

Becoming

Music Ministry ...................... 7

This is the final essay in a series of ten that Patrick has written on the lesser-known stained-glass windows in the nave of Christ Church.

Family Ministry..................... 8

“W

Youth Ministry ....................10 Our Church Life .................11 Page Turners.......................12 Great Commission..............13 Calendar of Events.............14 Photo Album........................15

Sunday Services: 7:30 a.m.

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

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

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

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

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

Cover photos by Susanna Kitayama

PATRICK GAHAN Rector patrickg@cecsa.org

hen did I become you,” I shouted from the bathroom to the kitchen on Thursday morning, while, at the same time, I attempted to clean the

yellow sunscreen off my favorite gray trousers. Striving for five minutes to evacuate the last drop of lotion from the tube, I was rewarded with a glob – not on my palm, but on my pants.

Kay would work painstakingly until she emptied every trace of liquid from the container – but without the mess, mind you.

a Friday night I waited for Kay to be released for our weekly date until all the dishes, pots, silverware, and pans were washed, dried, and placed in the cabinets. True, the McLanes owned a handsome, chrome, state-of-the-art dishwasher, but it was never used.

Mrs. McLane commandeered it to store potato chips, Fritos and pretzels. On the bright side, however, the children all received generous allowances for their work. Kay became her older

Kay is a Scot in every sense of the word, except her lack of belief in the Lochness Monster and her resistance to dress me in a kilt. She is thrifty and thoroughly drenched in the Protestant Work Ethic. Kay’s considerable austerity has been the brunt of the family’s jokes since Clay was old enough to know that his mother was unusual. Once when we were particularly impecunious, Clay asked why all the cans and boxes in our pantry were yellow and black, whereas other families enjoyed a flourish of colors amongst their foodstuffs. I didn’t know how to tell the little fellow that the Cost Cutter brand at Kroger was uniformly packaged in yellow, with its contents printed on the front in anonymous block black letters.

As one might have guessed, Kay’s Scottish manner was bequeathed to her. Mr. and Mrs. McLane had exacting expectations of their three children. Daily chores were not negotiable.

Many The Ascension Window

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From Our Rector... sister’s banker. Anita, a more spontaneous always broke, but Kay, earnings as a squirrel was dependably flush.

who exercised economy, was who stored her does her nuts,

That being said, Kay drives me nuts at times with her insistence that you must charge out the door to work each day but never race to spend your salary. As far as work goes, Kay knew from early childhood that she had been called to be a nurse. No other vocational avenue beguiled her in the least. Graduating early from high school, she waltzed directly into college. She earned her R.N. in two years, and at age nineteen was serving in a cardiac intensive care unit.

Adding to her industry is her innate sense of thrift. Kay combs the racks of every consignment shop in San Antonio before she makes a clothing purchase.

Her closet is filled with Neiman Marcus and Saks outfits that she procured for five or ten dollars. “Why should I pay full price?” she gloats when she models her finds between her dresser mirror and me.

As you can imagine, we learned early in our marriage that Kay should keep the checkbook – the only one. She hands me my $40 allowance and quips, “You’ll only get in trouble if I give you more.”

Furthermore, as I have admitted on numerous occasions, Kay is insistent we never cheat the Lord. Just yesterday she finished preparing our taxes for the CPA. The actual bottom line of our IRS 1040 is that we gave over 11% of our gross income to the Church. Without her, no telling how many corners I would shave in my commitments to our Lord and others.

Nevertheless, after 41 years of marriage, Kay continues to confound me with her frugality and even more so now that I have made the grand discovery that I am becoming her. I scrape every oat from my breakfast bowl each morning.

I complete all my puzzles in the paper before I tote them to recycling. I coax the last iota of toothpaste from the tube before grabbing another…and we use the HEB brand for heaven sakes! I compare ounces against prices, so those simple outings to the grocery store become math marathons. All the while, I dream of sleek hybrid cars, Pacific island vacations, and early retirement;

yet they keep safely to their place in my daydreams.

and healing. My wife had no idea that her meticulous search had such divine connotations. From that white frame They say a good marriage makes more of house, my sister Julia went off to you, and this Irishman is more Scottish college to became an RN herself. Gene, by the day. I’m not sure what I’ve added my youngest brother, broke out of his to her life, but I can easily see that I significant disabilities, and was able to have emulated more and more of Kay’s face his teenage years with the courage likeness. Rising above her qualities of to finish his education. Miraculously, industry and self-denial are those of Mother met the man of her dreams, contentment and quietude, which she who loved and treasured her for the has exhibited wherever we have landed. remaining twenty-five years of his life.

I recall when my military orders were Julia, Gene, and Mother are all dead suddenly changed from Ft. Lewis, now, yet I consider the days in that Washington in the verdant Northwest home as the brightest and most hopeful to Ft. Hood, Texas, which my Army we shared – a sort of return to Eden. contemporaries Kay prepared a called the “armpit place for those of the Lone Star who were hurting State”.

We no terribly and, at sooner unloaded the the same time, moving van when created a space of Kay left Clay and me joy and laughter. to our own devices, Compounding jumped into our my amazement vintage Nova, and for what she did began to explore. for my entire She arrived back at family is the fact our quarters with that for most of her handwritten list our childhood, of “fun things to Kay and I lived do” – probably the just a few blocks only list of its kind away from one in 1970’s Killeen! another. She did not race into our Securing a place lives from some to live at all was mystical locale, the challenge at Ft. but from just Benning, Georgia. down the street Far too junior to in Birmingham, merit quarters on AL – so much Kay with baby Clay on the front porch post, Kay began closer than we of the Georgia house scouring Columbus imagined. and the LedgerInquirer for suitable abodes. Eschewing Imagining those azaleas climbing up the all apartments and track homes, she white frame house, almost touching the discovered a white frame house, roofed tin roof and the scent of their flowers in slightly rusted tin, with azaleas mingling with that of fresh coffee and rising like ramparts around the edifice the chiming of mirthful conversation and so tall that they cloaked the from those I loved, moves me to recall windows. Sidewalks crisscrossed the Jesus’ promise to Thomas and the rest neighborhood and led east to the mile- of the twelve, ‘I go to prepare a place for long park just blocks away. you…that where I am you may be also’ (John 14:3). Jesus’ assertion here is the Kay could not have known, but God promise of his Ascension. He is leaving knew, that my mother, sister, and the disciples and us on earth, but we youngest brother would have to share should not fear or despair because he the house with us after Mother’s second is preparing a place for us with him husband abandoned them without in heaven. I believe the promise. It’s warning. The storybook dwelling Kay the geography that I think is wrong, discovered became a place of refuge which is depicted in the stirring tenth

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From Our Rector... stained glass window in the nave of Christ Church. The central panel loftily portrays the victorious Christ’s Ascension and return to the right hand of the Father. His regal enthronement garners so much of our attention that we may miss the smaller panel just below, where Jesus’ disciples are either looking down in desolation or looking up in abject awe. The two panels color the first chapter of Acts:

settled for a version of the Good News that is entirely futuristic and goes something like this: Jesus came to earth to die for my sins so that when I die I will go to heaven and be with God. While that statement is true, it is inadequate.

Jesus came to earth to announce that we can be with God right away. “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”

The King has taken up residence with us.

When Jesus had said this, as they The King Jesus embodies the truth were watching, he was lifted up, and prophesied by Jeremiah 600 years a cloud took him out of their sight. before the Lord’s earthly appearance.

While he was going and they were No longer shall people teach one gazing up toward heaven, suddenly another, ’Know the Lord,’ for they shall two men in white robes stood by all know me from the least of them to the them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, greatest…’ (Jeremiah 31:34). How will why do you stand looking up toward we know the King of the cosmos? His heaven? This Jesus, who has been kingdom is constantly breaking in to taken up from you into heaven, will our existence if we but open our eyes to come in the same way as you saw see reality. The three sources humanity him go into heaven.’ historically Acts 1:8-11 to “While the window captures used envision our imagination with its While the window God and captures our imagination draw close august majesty, it does not with its august majesty, to Him are accurately reflect gospel it does not accurately embodied reflect gospel geography, Jesus. geography, mainly because in mainly because it For one, it suggests heaven and earth Jesus is the suggests heaven and earth are worlds apart. emple. are worlds apart. However, TWhen However, from Jesus’ Jesus very first appearance in asserted, from Jesus’ very first Galilee, he announces ‘Something appearance in Galilee, he the “Kingdom of Heaven greater (God) has come near,” announces the “Kingdom than the and he spent the three T e m p l e of Heaven has come near,” is years of his ministry here’ showing his followers (Matthew how that was true (Mark 12:6), and 1:15; Matthew 3:2; 10:7). What Jesus ‘Destroy this Temple and I will rebuild desperately wants his followers to it in three days’ (John 2:19), he was know is that Heaven is not far at all jarringly claiming that heaven and from earth. In fact, they cross over earth come together in me – the Son of continuously. Unfortunately, we either Man. consider that news to be too good to be true, or we fear if it is true, our lives will Secondly, Jesus averred, ‘Something be cramped considerably. Additionally, greater than Solomon is here’ (Matthew we cannot fathom what good it does us 12:42). He is stating that the deep for Jesus to be hanging out in heaven, wisdom of the universe, the Torah of wherever it is located, when we need God, inhabits him. Jesus is the walking him here more than ever. around “way, truth, and life” of the Lord of Hosts (John 14:6). Furthermore, If heaven and earth are closer than we in the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus think and continually crossing over, the declares, ‘Do not think that I have come truth does border on the unbelievable, to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I which is the principal reason we call it have not come to abolish them but to Gospel or “Good News.” We have long fulfill them,’ he insists that the holy

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distinctiveness demanded by God at Mt. Sinai is fully realized in Jesus.

Thirdly, the great sign of God on earth is His people, Israel. Historically, however, they were hardly distinctive. Repeatedly unfaithful, disappointing, whining, and undeserving, Jesus becomes the New Israel. Jesus, therefore, asserts, ‘the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8; Luke 6:5). Amongst all of the commandments, the law to scrupulously keep the Sabbath was the most distinctive. Israel was different from the other nations in that they set apart one day of the week for rest and worship, and by doing so demonstrated that they, too, have been set aside.

Unfortunately, Israel repeatedly denies their special relationship with God. Jesus steps into this breach, for he alone loves the Father completely and loves God’s people entirely. He alone demonstrates his fidelity and love through his sacrifice on the cross.

All of this sounds grand as long as Jesus was on earth, but what about our lives after he ascends to the Father. We need not fear because Jesus promises that we can still see him through the eyes of faith. Mark his words to his disciples at the last supper: ‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’ John 14:18-21 “Because I live, you will also live,” declares Christ to his fearful and confused disciples. Jesus is not giving them a modicum of solace that they will one day live with him in heaven, but rather that they will soon begin life on an entirely new level – even in their Lord’s physical absence. In this we start to make sense of the Ascension.

Christ steps across the thin veil from heaven to earth in order to share with the disciples and us the divine life. Essentially, Jesus’ words and actions graphically embody, that is

From Our Rector... incarnate, how human beings should live when they “love God and keep His commandments.” It is a convenient fallacy to imagine that the life Jesus models is completely unattainable. The goal of every Christian throughout our life’s pilgrimage is to become more and more like the Lord who loves and saves us. Anything less makes a mockery of our identity in Christ, and we have mocked him plenty.

At this point, we may be throwing up our arms in despair, knowing we can never approximate such a lofty goal. To become like Jesus Christ seems out of reach and the very idea of emulating him appears unreasonable.

Minus the Ascension, the goal is impossible. Recall that Jesus crosses the veil from heaven to earth to embody the divine life.

That is why I continually state, “If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus.” Paul says it succinctly, “The Son is the image of the invisible Father” (Colossians 1:15). What was once unknown to humanity has been made known, and the calling to become like Jesus is higher than any other. The great chemistry of God, however, is that when Jesus “ascends” to the Father, that is when he crosses the thin veil from earth to heaven, he takes our nature with him. Our lowly nature is elevated and sanctified to miraculously undertake the character of the Trinity.

Knowing this, Jesus’ pep talk to the weary disciples begins to make sense: ‘I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts.

Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.‘ John 16:4b-7 Jesus, fully human, returns to the Father, taking our very nature with him. During his brief three years of ministry, Jesus faithfully revealed the Father and his will to us (John 14:8-

9), yet his work is not finished. Jesus takes us, his body, to the right hand of the Father, places us within the life and love of the Trinity, and in so doing, advances the existential destiny of human beings. Looked at this way, the giving of the Holy Spirit, the Counselor and Advocate, is not some magic potion poured on us, a deific trance transmitted to our brains, or even a specter-like figure perennially hanging

Patrick and the dog on the porch about our shoulders. No, because of the Ascension, our companionship with the Holy Spirit is only natural because we actually share in the divine life of the Trinity. Heaven and earth are not worlds apart. They intersect incessantly. You and I are meant to be evidence of that.

In fact, if you join me at the altar as I am setting the table for Holy Eucharist, I offer these words that have remained with me from my Anglo-Catholic upbringing: By this water and wine may we share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share our humanity.

From the beginning, we were destined to share the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and Christ was destined to personally exhibit what our destiny looks like (Philippians 2:5-8).

We, of course, resist the calling to become like Christ because the hill seems too high to climb and along the

way we might have to give up far more than we desire. The problem here is with the way we envision our transformation in Christ. The question is not what we must give up, but rather how we will be taken up. That’s why St. Paul emphatically and excitedly encourages the new Christians at Colossae, ‘Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things; for you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God’ (Colossians 3:1-3).

Breaking loose of all this highminded talk reveals the very practical quandary, “If heaven is so close and our human nature has been delivered into the embrace of the Trinity, why do we seem to live most of our waking hours on the hard pavement this side of the veil?” For one, our expectations are too low. We think of this life as a grind and the next as a much needed rest. The truth is somewhere in the middle. When Jesus invites us, ‘Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28), he was not talking about an afterlife but the here and now. God’s desire from the beginning is that heaven increasingly breaks into our present existence as we mature in our walk with Christ.

Why else would Jesus have announced at his debut, “The kingdom of heaven has come near”? The door to Eden is reopened. The trudge of mundane life is crisscrossed with paths into heaven.

Cradling a grandchild, sitting beside a hospital bed, holding the hand of your spouse, listening to a co-worker, painting a picture are not merely tasks but on-ramps to the nearer presence of God. “All the way to heaven is heaven,” said the Italian laywoman Catherine of Siena (1347-1380). We resist that notion because we think of our faith in Christ as an add-on instead of an immersion.

As long as we consider our faith as an appendage, it will be little more than a series of duties and aggravations.

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From Our Rector...

We will seek to offer the minimum in prayer, service, worship, and giving.

In that vein, heaven is an unknown destination, where we hope to arrive at life’s end only because it sounds better than the alternative. Such thinking is illogical, for if we have not desired heaven in the present, why would we want it in our future. Catherine is right, “All the way to heaven is heaven.”

The two-fold goal of the Christian life is to live in heaven more and more of the time and to become increasingly like our Savior. Both require ongoing repentance.

Not to divinize Kay, but that is what I had to do in my marriage. We had been wed for over a year, when I finally conceded that I knew nothing about being married or about family life that included both a mom and a dad. My mother was intrepid in her determination to keep our family of five clothed, housed, and eating regularly, but she could not show me how a husband and wife relate to one another, keep their romance alive, and build a life together. Kay had

lived it, and was willing to show me, if I would only repent – that is retreat and change course – and “re-set my heart.”

In so doing, her love and wisdom have colonized my being and set me on higher ground.

“I should come clean here and confess that, except for brief snatches of time, I really never lived in the enchanted white frame house with the tin roof and bright green, white, red, and pink azaleas reaching skyward.”

I should come clean here and confess that, except for brief snatches of time, I really never lived in the enchanted white frame house with the tin roof

and bright green, white, red, and pink azaleas reaching skyward. For most of that early chapter in our marriage, I was in training. So I would only hear about life in the house from Kay on her weekly visits to the post or when I had an intermission between school and field exercises. Sitting together, Kay would tell me of the antics of my siblings, the kind solicitude of my mother, languid dinner conversations, and the changing flora surrounding the house. As she spoke, the olive drab world of the Army post would begin to merge with the one of the enchanted house, and I would feel as if I were living in two places at the same time. That, I think, is a portrait of our life in Christ after his Ascension.

He said, ‘In my Father’s house are many mansions… I go to prepare a place for you that where I am you may be also’ (John 14:2-3). As we cross over, heaven and earth are melding into one another, as we are becoming one with him.

Your brother,

Patrick U

June 5 - 8

9 AM - 12 PM 4-years to rising 5th-graders Join us this summer for an Italian adventure. We will head to first-century Rome to peer inside Paul’s Underground Church. Register online at www.cecsa. org – click on the Rome logo on our home page. Or just email us!

Amy Case, co-director (amygcase@gmail.com)

Lauren Vielock, co-director (lauren@brandingworksltd.com)

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MINISTRY Fantastic Bible Passages

I

enjoy reading scripture, but I am partial to Bible passages that either knit together a summary of the Christian faith or word paint our JOSH BENNINGER Director of Music desired longing and Worship for a closer joshb@cecsa.org relationship with God. The choral anthems you hear on Sundays oftentimes contain text that is derived directly from the Bible.

What follows is a small collection of my favorite Bible passages and my favorite choral anthems in which they are found. I have also included YouTube links to the music. Just copy these links into your web browser and enjoy!

and

Where

to

that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” – John 11: 25-26

♪

Music: “God so loved the world”

by John Stainer https://youtu.be/nzk5K-p6ScM

“I am the resurrection and the life: he

and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you and give you peace.” – Numbers 6:24-26

♪

Music: Agnus Dei, from Requiem

by John Rutter

♪

https://youtu.be/GB25SQrtQuw

https://youtu.be/LlqsM439TqA

Music: “The Lord bless you and keep you”

by John Rutter

“Like as the hart desireth the waterbrooks, so longesth my soul after thee, O God. My soul is athirst for God. Yes, even for the living God. When shall I come to appear before the presence of God?” – Psalm 42

♪

Music: “Like as the hart waterbrooks”

by Herbert Howells

desireth

the

https://youtu.be/JX_oSfHGK8g “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

– John 3:16

Find Them

“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death.” – Solomon 8:6

♪

Music: “Set me as a seal”

by René Clausen

“There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” – Ephesians 4:4-6

♪

Music: “One faith, one hope, one Lord”

by Craig Courtney https://youtu.be/sNpVF3DyC0s “Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come…to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood…”

– Revelation 1:4-5

♪

https://youtu.be/Qb6uY-y9HRI “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you

Music: “E’en so, Lord Jesus, quickly come”

by Paul Manz https://youtu.be/qjtMJxtoooI

Josh Benninger Upcoming Events:

Independence Day Celebration: The 4th on the 2nd We invite you to sit down to enjoy a wonderful BBQ lunch in the Parish Hall immediately following the 11 AM worship service on July 2. After we fill our bellies, the choir will entertain us with songs by George Gershwin, Alan Billingsley, Sheldon Curry and much more. The choir will finish off the program by leading us in singing traditional U.S. Armed Forces service songs as a tribute to those that have sacrificed so much.

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

– John 15:13

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MINISTRY

“I

sing a song of the saints of

D

o You Know Who’s Been Teaching Our Kids? They Are the Best!

I am so grateful to our faithful Sunday School HALLETA teachers, and you HEINRICH should be too! I’ll Director of give you some Family Ministries hints as to who halletah@cecsa.org they are and see if you can guess. One is an engineer and is Director of Bible Study Fellowship’s Children’s Program.

He does not have children in the children’s program but is truly called to teach. Another is a Child Therapist with grown children who is highly trained to teach our little ones. One is a loving mom who has for several years faithfully coordinated teams of teachers for our older kids. Another is a Director of a School and a Montessorian who has adult children.

One couple met at U. Penn’s Wharton School of Business, a pretty big deal, and one of them has an engineering degree from Stanford – another big deal! Two are beautiful single young women who just love kids, and the kids love them too! One is a missionary, two are MD’s, and I could go on and on!

All of our teachers are exceptional, with their most exceptional quality being their commitment to Christ and their love of children. They love Jesus and kids so much that they want them to

know about the unconditional love of Christ. They teach that God’s love will never leave them and they share the hope he brings to all, no matter what this life presents. They are not all Bible experts or master teachers, but these teachers are trusting in God that they will learn along with the children and are committed to just be there for our children. The following are a few words from two of these fine people, one who teaches our youngest and one who teaches our oldest children.

Please thank the following Sunday School teachers next time you see them!

Please know that you, too, can be a Sunday School teacher. Teaching is the best way to learn!

Preschool Good Shepherd Teachers: Carmen Lewenthal and Carol Locke Preschool Summer “Hands on Bible” Teacher: Lisa Galloway First and Second Grade Good Shepherd Teachers: Leita Carter and Jennifer Davey Third Grade “The Story” Teachers: Stephen Archer, Sarah Kardys, and Sheila and Carter Mayfield Fourth and Fifth Grade “Grapple” Preteen Teachers: Michael Heinrich, Leslie and Sam Jones, Chris Kardys, Catherine Markette, and Sharon Miller If you are interested in joining these “saints of God” in teaching our children, or assisting our teachers, please contact Halleta.

Love in Christ,

Halleta “For the past five summers, I have been blessed to have the opportunity to teach THE Pre-K students. These children are like my nieces and nephews. Each week I look forward to the wonderful curriculum Halleta has chosen for us and how I can use my God given gift of creativity to make lessons more real life and interactive for the students. The blessing each Sunday is having each student use their own unique personality to teach me about emulating Christ.”

– Lisa Galloway, Preschool Summer Sunday School Teacher “Sharing the truth of the Gospel and the incomparable love of Jesus with the children growing up in this Church is a joy and an honor. With the false messages that they are constantly bombarded with every day, it is critical that they know the truth!”

– Chris Kardys, teacher of our preteen fourth and fifth graders

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God....”

Family Ministry...

It’s Time It’s An “I Am“ Summer!

Camp “I Am A C” Chapel And The Great “I Am” Summer Sunday School Art Camp June 4 – August 13

S

ummer Sunday School at Christ Church will have a “camp” feeling with Children’s Chapel turning into a Campfire Gathering with pews pushed back and us all sitting around a safe campfire. We will be singing the great kid’s favorite “I Am A C” by popular demand and learning each Sunday what

for

Summer Camp Sundays

it means to be a “C “ – Christian. Kids can dress camp casual! Our first through fifth-grade graduates will combine for Summer Sunday School and have Bible Study on one of the great “I Am’s” with Art Reflection Time following. These “I Am’s” will range from God’s message to Moses identifying His name as “I am that I am” to Jesus’ self- identification as “I Am” as found in the Gospel of John and Revelations. Art Reflection Time will include all types of art media from

water color and pastels to origami and shoe box dioramas. Summer Sunday School Art Camp will meet in FMC Art Room 303 on Sundays at 10 AM. “Hands on Bible” Preschool Summer Sunday School will return with an emphasis on the New Testament and Jesus. Beloved “Pockets the Puppet” will be there again to lead the way. Fun games, related art and snacks will take place to reinforce the Bible lesson of the day. Class meets in FMC rooms 205 and 206.

Congratulations

10 AM e t a D y Pla

Sunday, May 28

Elementary “Play Date” Christ Church Youth have invited our elementary age children to join them for a “play date.” Recently one of our first graders longingly looked into the Carriage House and wondered out loud, “When can we go in there?” I promised I would talk to Gavin Rogers, our Youth Minister, and he said, “Sure!”. It will be a great opportunity for our teens to get to know those kids coming to join them in the future. It will be an inspiration for our younger kids to see the special space set aside for them as they enter Middle School. Snacks will be served and a tour with some “hands on” experience with all the fun games available in the Carriage House. Parents welcome to join us! This Play Date is for first through fifthgrade graduates.

Love, Halleta Preschool “Play Date” On Sunday, May 28 our Preschool children ages 3-years through Kindergarten graduates will gather in FMC classroom 205 for board games and art, then go down to our beautiful playground for a fun “play date” during Sunday School at 10 AM. Popsicles will be served! Children should dress casual for play and popsicles. Parents are welcome to join us.

Congratulations to Children’s Communion Class 2017!

The following children participated in an eight week course designed to enrich their understanding of Holy Communion and were honored at the Communion Celebration Sunday on Sunday, April 23.

Alexander Alvarez Clarice Alvarez Marguerite Bethany Burton Henry Dodd Julia Dodd Katherine Harrington Smelko Hannah Valenzuela Vincent Valenzuela Weldon Wolff Eli Yun Class Mentors: Hank Wolff and Lucy Yun

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MINISTRY Pre-Teens

F

or the fall of 2017, CEC Youth and CEC Children are excited to announce a new ministry for our 5th & 6th grade students called “Planet 56!”

GAVIN ROGERS This program Youth Minister was created gavinr@cecsa.org specifically for our 5th and 6th graders — the age group often referred to as “tweens.”

Tween 5th and 6th graders are a unique group – they are not really little kids and not really teens. The Planet 56 ministry will include a preteen Sunday School with curriculum that meets the needs of this age group.

During the summer Gavin and Halleta will design a special room in the FMC

are

Outta This World!

just for Planet 56. We will begin the program the week after Rally Day 2017.

We also hope that by sharing in a few experiences throughout the year, the kids will develop closer connections with one another. As these children progress through this ministry at church, they will increasingly do things together, from worship to Sunday School to a pre-teen retreat weekend to bond and learn more about the Christian faith. Stronger relationships among the 5th and 6th graders of the group can only make those experiences more meaningful.

Our hope is that Planet 56 will help students transition more smoothly from elementary school to middle school, and from being active in Children’s Ministries to participating in youth group. Please know that all rising 6th

Join Us

Fun at the May Pool Party

as

We Take

If you have any questions about the new program or would like to help out, please contact Gavin or Halleta!

Gavin

the

“SOUL TRAIN: ST. LOUIS” June 9-16, 2017 Our 2017 Train Trip will be to St. Louis!

This year we will board the Texas Eagle Amtrak Train and begin our journey to the “Gateway to the West.” We will have fun all over the city visiting fun sites, (The Arch, The City Museum, Cardinals Baseball Game), and eat lots of good food. More importantly we will be serving those in need each day at various local mission sites. During the train ride, we will have Bible Studies and time to fellowship with one another in the viewing and meal cars. ALL ABOARD THE SOUL TRAIN! Cost: $399 Spots: 13 youth.

COLLEGE AND UPPER HIGH SCHOOL MISSION: GUATEMALA MISSION TRIP 2017: June 19 – July 2 While serving in Guatemala and living in host homes, we will care for local children, teach art classes, vaccinate cattle, build stoves, and much more as we bond together during our 13 day outreach. An excursion to Lake Atitaln and local villages is also likely. We will travel with Students International whose mission is “to bring students and the poor together cross culturally

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grade students will be eligible to attend all youth events, special programming, retreats and mission trips. Look at the youth calendar for a list of events!

Gospel

on the

Road

to encounter God, share the good news, disciple and serve others in occupational ministries.” For more info visit www. stint.com. Cost: $1800.00 (Fundraisers and Scholarships available) ***An additional week can be added at the front or the back of the trip for private lessons at a Spanish School in Antigua. It’s a great way to learn more Spanish! School Spots: 15 HIGH SCHOOL MISSION: NEW YORK CITY: July 17-24 Our second Summer Trip will once again be to “the city that never sleeps.”

For our mission, we will partner with Dorothy Day’s Catholic Workers House and serve those in need in the city. We will try to live by the example Dorothy set while living in the home. She said, “Love casts out fear, but we have to get over the fear in order to get close enough to love them… As for ourselves, yes, we must be meek, bear injustice, malice, rash judgment. We must turn the other cheek, give up our cloak, go a second mile.” While we are in New York we will visit Central Park, a Broadway Show, a NY baseball game, the Statue of Liberty and other fun NYC Spots. Cost: $499 Spots: 12

A Summer Stroll

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will be leading a four-Sunday “walk through the Psalms” in the parish hall, the four Sundays in June, from 10:10 until 10:50 AM. We will be looking at the easy ones, and the tough ones (the ones that speak of personal righteousness and also those that invoke curses on enemies!) Recommended companion book for this Walk through the Psalms: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible (available from Amazon and other book sellers).

his summer the adult Sunday School class @1010Sunday, will be taking a walk through the Psalms.

Called the Lord’s Prayer Book, BRIEN KOEHLER the Psalms Associate Rector have provided for Mission and inspiration, Formation joy, comfort, brienk@cecsa.org and sometimes confusion to Christians for centuries. Brien Koehler

Brien Koehler

“Feed My Sheep” light breakfast on Sunday mornings.

Breakfast tacos, coffee, and orange juice will be available at 8:30 AM for the 9 AM service; breakfast tacos, fruit and muffins, coffee, and orange juice will be served starting at 9:30 AM. Also, an option of a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon will be offered along with the fruit.

Thursday, June 29 is the Ordination reception for Duane Miller. Volunteers will be needed for the event. Please contact Elizabeth Martinez at elizabethm@ cecsa.org or 736-3132.

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ummer is fast approaching and that means summer events for the kitchen ministry! In June, VBS volunteers will help the children with preparing bread.

Soft and delicious bread rolls’ aroma will fill the hallways.

Starting on Sunday, June 4 until September 10, the kitchen will prepare a

will work on menus for the fall/winter events. The kitchen will open on Sunday, August 20 just in time for Rally Day! The kitchen cabinet will host two volunteer training sessions during the summer. Lunch will be provided as Ferne Burney demonstrates and trains volunteers in the proper ways to prepare, to cook, and to observe kitchen hygiene. Training dates are still TBD so watch for dates to be announced.

Sunday, July 2 is the annual 4th of July BBQ in the parish hall. Volunteers are needed for this great event to prepare, set up, and serve. Please contact Elizabeth or Carol Miller.

The kitchen will close on Monday, July 31 till Sunday, August 13 for its annual cleaning. No breakfast, lunch, or dinner will be served during this time. August 14 – August 18 the kitchen cabinet

Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.

Matthew 25:34-35

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PAGE TURNERS – From

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uite honestly, I asked Darla Nelson to order Being Disciples: Essentials of the Christian Life,

by Rowan Williams, because I wanted some little pearls of wisdom to assist me in my work.

What better person to consult than the bright intellectual light and former Archbishop of Canterbury? Seeing that I am in the disciples making business, I figured that the venerable, learned man would deliver some clever quips and neat little strategies to spice up my classes and conversations. I was wrong on two counts. First of all, Williams is not interested in giving out bite-sized nuggets of instruction; rather, he is concerned with the inner-landscape of the believer. Second, while this book may show up in my work and relationships, I primarily needed to read it for me.

At only 87 pages in length, I imagined that I would fly through this volume.

Again, I was wrong. Williams’ points must be pondered and prayed over. For Williams, to be a disciple is not so much to live within the fixed boundaries of religion, as it is to recoup the vivid wonder we had as a child. At one point, he declares that a disciple must live with the awareness of a birdwatcher, believing that the extraordinary may pop into view at any time. Regarding “love,” which St. Paul attests is the highest quality of discipleship, Williams ups the ante by averring, “Love simply as doing good isn’t enough. Love has to be delight in another, the refusal to be glad at another’s failure and the willingness to receive truth as a lifegiving, joy-giving thing. Being loved generates love; it is not that we loved God, but that he loved us, says the first letter of John (1 John 4:10). And if you or I want to be “holy,” Williams states, “A holy person makes you see things in yourself and around you that you had not seen before; that is to say, enlarges the world rather than shrinking it.” On every page, the archbishop insists that our ideas of following Jesus are far too small. To take hold of the “abundant

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the

Rector’s Book Stack

life” that Jesus promises we will have to open up doors into our selves that we have long kept shut.

Dr. Earl Stanley excitedly threw a few snippets at me from Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari, and then to make sure I read the expansive volume, he sent me a copy. For weeks now, Kay has endured my outbursts next to her in bed, “No way!” “I never knew that!”

“You won’t believe this, Honey!” “Whoa, that’s a scary thought…”

Harari grabs the reader from the second page. He asks us to imagine we’re on a hike across East Africa two million years ago. “You might well have encountered a familiar cast of human characters: anxious mothers, cuddling their babies; temperamental youths chafing against the dictates of society; weary elders who just wanted to be left in peace; chest thumping machos trying to impress the local beauty; and wise old matriarchs who had already seen it all.” The difference, Harari insists, is that these humans had no inkling that “their descendants would one day walk on the moon, split the atom, fathom the genetic code, and write history books.”

At that point, and for many thousands of years, humans were the middle of the food chain – foragers, nomads, and attractive prey for mammals and reptiles that stalked us. We were nowhere close to the top, where we presently imagine we have been forever and will remain.

About 200,000 B.C., Homo Sapiens, our species, appeared in the long history of humankind. 187,000 years of struggle later, Homo Sapiens broke from the pack of seven other species of humans and dominated earthly life. Energy was diverted from our muscles to the brain, and we developed the ability to complete intricate tasks, plan longterm strategies, and – most importantly for our dominance of our environment and other species – organize large

numbers of people. Out of our species’ ascendency, followed the Agricultural Revolution, the mass production of good; the Unification of Humankind, through economics, government, and religion; and the much-vaunted Scientific Revolution, which appears to have no endpoint. Homo Sapiens have been in a dead sprint for the past 15,000 years, and we don’t seem to be slowing down. Will we be here in the next 10,000 years, asks Harari?

Perhaps, but most definitely not in the way we expect.

Needing a break from anthropology, genetics, and sociology, I treated myself to an English translation of the Indian novel, Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man by U.R. Arnanthamurthy. I imagined this would be an exotic escape into traditional Indian cultural and Hinduism. I did not fathom, however, that the novel would guide me in my own faith journey, and yet it has.

The protagonist, Praneshacharya, is the achyara, or senior Brahmin, of his village. On the very first page, a major challenge is issued to Praneshacharya.

Another Brahmin has died, who has turned his back on the faith publically and without remorse. He has sent his wife away, taken up residence with a lower-caste prostitute, kept company with Muslims, and regularly drunk liquor and eaten meat. The company of Brahmins in the village does not know how to proceed with the man’s ceremonial cremation. They turn to the venerable Praneshacharya, who is to seek the sacred texts to determine a solution.

Fasting for days, studying, and praying, Praneshacharya discovers he is not as far along the path to enlightenment that he and others think. Thrown into his own personal crisis, Praneshacharya strikes out on a journey of selfdiscovery. Like Dante, who found himself in the “middle of a dark wood,”

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continued

our protagonist can no longer pretend enlightenment or abbreviate his voyage of spiritual maturity. It is there in the dark forest that I join him, knowing full well that I have a long way to go.

Identity in the Midst of Life’s Storms, and I set out to read it right away. I wanted to know how a man stands up after being cut by four NFL teams in a row.

quarterback in 2011. By the time the dust settled, he led his team to their first AFC Championship since 2005.

Within months, however, he was traded to the Jets, and his star began to set.

Being dumped once is hard. Being dumped four times in view of the entire nation is excruciating. Tim Tebow knows how it feels, because he lived it. Bartlett Cocke gave me his book, Shaken: Discovering Your True

Before he hit his nadir in the football world, Tebow was the child of promise.

Two times leading his Florida Gators to become National Champions, Tebow also led his team to two Southeastern Conference titles, and he personally won the Heisman Trophy in 2007, the first college sophomore to do so. Furthermore, Tebow’s NFL career started off golden, as well. The Broncos were 1-4 when he took over as starting

Truly heartbroken, Tim Tebow does not react with bitterness or self-pity.

His Christian faith directs him to the higher ground of looking to God to find his strength and looking to others to identify his purpose. Here is a man who knows that Christ has poured out his life for him, and so now he must give his best gifts to others. Tebow’s call is the one we all receive and must heed… once we get over ourselves!

SOCIETY

P.Y.O.B. - Plan Your Own Burial core, she knew the hymnody would set the mood of the celebration. In the end, she selected Hymn 287 as her processional. I remember standing at the second pew on the Gospel side of Grace Church as the cross, priests, and choir entered:

♪For all the saints, who from their labor rest, who thee, by faith, before the world confessed, thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed, Alleluia, Alleluia! ♬

Patrick’s mom at the Georgia house (see p. 2)

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wo years before Mother died, we sat down with a Prayer Book, Bible, and hymnal and planned her burial.

She chose the Bible readings and who would read each one. She selected the preacher, the celebrant, and a speaker from the family. She decided which Eucharistic Rite we would use and the collage of flowers to be ordered for the altar. Mom lingered most over the music. Being Episcopalian to her very

I smiled and said to myself, “This is all mom. Without a doubt, this is her witness to the people she fiercely loved and to the Lord she sincerely adored.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, even as I choked back tears. Mom had her final word.

If we had not sat down that day to plan her burial, well-meaning family members and old-time friends would have piped up, “I know Marie would have wanted this Scripture passage read.” “I remember she loved this song.”

“She was always close to Fr. McGill.”

What satisfaction I had in knowing this service exhibited my mother’s final wishes – and not someone else’s, and the result was beautiful. The burial

celebration was a piece of art, regal, meaningful, and without an ounce of triviality.

With my mother very much on my mind today, I implore you to p.y.o.b. – plan your own burial. Don’t put it off, and know that you can change your plans later if you desire. Anna, Josh, and I have put together a simple, self-explanatory planning sheet, which you can easily complete in an hour or so. We will then keep your record in a fireproof safe in order that your wishes will be realized at your death. If you like, a member of the clergy will come to your home and assist you in this work.

What are the requirements for burial from Christ Church? You must be a member in good standing – attend regularly, give financially for the mission of the church, and assist in the ministry of the church. (Obviously, some of these are mitigated with encroaching age.)

How do you get started? Contact Anna Jewell at the church offices 210-7363132 or annaj@cecsa.org.

Your brother in this life and the next,

Patrick U

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OF EVENTS May 7:

Children’s Musical, 9 & 11 AM Youth Pool Party, 4 - 8 PM, off campus

Christ Church Staff:

May 14:

Mother’s Day

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

May 15:

Deadline to register for VBS Vestry Meeting, 5 PM in the Conference Room

The Rev. Scott Kitayama, Associate Rector, scottk@cecsa.org

May 16:

Christ Church Men’s BBQ, 6:30 PM, off campus

The Rev. Brien Koehler, Associate Rector for Mission and Formation, brienk@cecsa.org

May 19 - 21: 1st Annual Fishing for the Hungry Retreat, Mustang Island Conference Center May 21: Youth Sunday Noisy Offering and Food Pantry Offering 9 & 11 AM

Seniors 2017 Graduation Brunch, 10 AM in the Parish Hall

Third Sunday Lunch Bunch, 12:30 PM at Order Up May 29:

Memorial Day, Church office closed

The Rev. Rob Harris, Associate Rector for Community Formation, robh@cecsa.org Carol Miller, Pastoral Care Administrator, carolm@cecsa.org Halleta Heinrich, Director of Family Ministry, halletah@cecsa.org

June 4: Pentecost

Christ Church Fellowship Lunch and Movie, 12:30 PM in the Carriage House

Lily Fenton, Nursery Director lilyf@cecsa.org

June 5 - 8

Vacation Bible School, 9 AM - 12 PM

Gavin Rogers, Youth Minister gavinr@cecsa.org

June 9 - 16:

Youth Soul Train Mission Trip to St. Louis

Joshua Benninger, Music Minister & Organist, joshb@cecsa.org

June 11:

Trinity Sunday

June 18: Father’s Day Noisy Offering and Food Pantry Offering, 9 & 11 AM

Third Sunday Lunch Bunch, 12:30 PM at Order Up June 19 - July 2: Youth Mission to Guatemala

Ruth Berg, Director of Children’s Music, ruthb@cecsa.org Robert Hanley, Parish Administrator parishadmin@cecsa.org Darla Nelson, Office Manager darlan@cecsa.org

June 20:

Christ Church Men outing to Top Golf

June 29:

Duane Miller Ordination, 6 PM in the Sanctuary

July 2:

4th of July BBQ Luncheon, 12 PM in the Parish Hall

July 2 - 10:

Adult Mission to Honduras

July 4:

Independence Day, church office closed

July 6:

Women’s Summer Bible Study

Donnis Carpenter, Receptionist donnisc@cecsa.org

July 16:

Noisy Offering and Food Pantry Offering, 9 & 11 AM Third Sunday Lunch Bunch, 12:30 PM at Order Up

Elizabeth Martinez, Kitchen Manager elizabethm@cecsa.org

July 17 - 24:

Youth Mission Trip to New York City

Robert Vallejo, Facilities Manager robertv@cecsa.org

July 20 - 23:

Short FUSE to Mission Waco

To have your CEC event (on or off campus) added to the Church Calendar please submit a CEC EVENT SCHEDULING FORM to the church receptionist.

All church related activities, events, meetings, etc. MUST have a CEC EVENT SCHEDULING FORM submitted to the church receptionist, Donnis Carpenter. EVEN events that take place offcampus 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

Rudy Segovia, Hospitality Manager rudys@cecsa.org Joe Garcia, Sexton joeg@cecsa.org

ALBUM

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Eagerly awaiting the Easter Egg Hunt

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 19, Number 3.

Periodical Postage PAID San Antonio, TX Christ Episcopal Church 510 Belknap Place San Antonio, TX 78212 www.cecsa.org