May 2018 message

MAY 2018 • Volume 20, Number 3

Studying: 2 Farewell: 5 Through a New Lens: 6 Faithful Families: 9

FROM

In this issue:

Studying

Youth Ministry ...................... 5

This is Patrick’s sixth epistolary essay in this series about the Christian ministry.

Music Ministry....................... 6

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Family Ministry .................... 8 Our Church Life .................10 Great Commission..............11 Page Turners.......................12 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

You ask if the ordained ministry ever gets boring.

The curt answer jumps right off PATRICK GAHAN Rector my tongue, “You patrickg@cecsa.org won’t have time to get bored.” A pastor serving a congregation of any size will have her or his days filled with pastoral calls, maintenance crises, newcomer contacts, Bible studies, personnel issues – both with staff and parish leaders – stewardship planning, burials, weddings, and preparation – truck loads of preparations.

The last item on the list calls to the deeper part of me. At times, I can get weary preparing three Bible studies, lesson plans for Christ Church 2.0 and 3.0, a sermon most weeks, and an essay that is always in mid-composition. With forty-nine burials and twenty weddings in the last twelve months, rare is the week that I am spared preparing a public message of some sort. I must admit, however, that even during the most crowded seasons, I look forward to sitting in the quietude of my home office, yellow pad on my lap, number two pencil in hand, and surrounded

by Bibles, commentaries, Greek and Hebrew word studies, and various theological reference books all strewn across the floor. Occasionally on those days, I sit in my wingback chair that I’ve had since the year of my ordination thirty years ago and satisfactorily muse, “I get paid for this?”

We Study

Front Cover photo by Barbie Walther Back Cover photo by Susanna Kitayama Editor Gretchen Duggan

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ear Alex,

for the

People We

serve

We’re often called “pastor” because we shepherd the people we serve.

That means, among other things, we must clearly articulate the context of the Christian faith. We are not merely functionaries leading worship, offering moral admonitions, and bandaging up physical and emotional injuries.

No, we must offer wisdom to those seeking ultimate meaning and hope.

We cannot perpetually speak or write off-the-cuff or rehearse the same tired responses without possibly deceiving the people to whom we have been called. Of greatest importance in this area of service is our understanding and articulation of Jesus’ incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.

To routinely study in order to gain greater understanding of these four is not mainly for our own self-edification but rather to offer people substantial hope instead of self-help strategies and piquant proverbs. Paul declared to the culturally urbane Corinthians, ‘If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still dead in your sins’ (1 Corinthians 15:17). If the clergy cannot espouse clearly why Paul’s statement is true and foundational to our faith, our fellowships will languish. We will have failed to offer them substantive direction and authentic hope.

Some years ago, I was asked to teach a class entitled “Values” at an Episcopal high school. Being younger and more arrogant at the time, I refused on the grounds that values cannot be taught when isolated from the Old and New Testaments. To be clear, as a Christian I know that my “value” as a human being is conferred on me by God. Thus, it follows that God’s holiness is my standard. Christ’s passion for me is the only avenue I can take to approach and be conformed to God’s holiness.

Paul is able to succinctly express the substance of this faith to a people he did not yet know: If we have been united with Christ in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Romans 6:5-7 From our own study of the Scriptures, we come to learn that the incarnation,

From Our Rector... crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord are not objective values but subjective ones. When we submit to the love of God, we are actually pulled into the Son’s life, death, resurrection, and his ascension to the Father. Furthermore, as we delve more deeply into the study of these four movements, we’ll discover they cannot be neatly separated from one another as tidy categories unto themselves.

Take the incarnation as a beginning point. As early as the second century, Irenaeus (130-202), Bishop of Lyon, contended that because of Christ’s incarnation, human beings could be “recapitulated” – that is radically reformed and reconstituted. He takes his lead from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians where the apostle states, ‘God’s plan for the fullness of time is to gather up all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth’ (Ephesians 1:10).

In the Latin, “gather up” is translated “recapitulate.” This astute ancient Gaul asserted that, in Christ, humanity has a new beginning, essentially a new Eden with a new Adam. Irenaeus wrote, “God commenced afresh the long line of human beings, and furnished us in a brief comprehensive manner, with salvation; so that what we lost in Adam – namely to be according to the image and likeness of God – we might recover in Christ Jesus.”1 However, God does not recapitulate us by magic. No, the Son has to be resolutely faithful to the Father and to us by submitting to the cross; whereas Adam was weak and unfaithful, submitting solely to his own desires. Jesus’ incarnation and crucifixion are yoked so that we may be made whole.

Two hundred years later, Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo, is dealing with a near apocalyptic disaster that Irenaeus could not have fathomed – the fall of the Roman Empire. In so doing, Augustine finds hope by linking Christ’s crucifixion with his resurrection and ascension in The City of God. Augustine’s task in the first ten chapters (books) of his opus is to refute the persistent drumbeats of his critics, who aver that Christianity is responsible for Rome’s downfall. (This indictment does not disappear. Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), in his six-volume 1 Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.18.1.

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, contends Christianity weakened the Empire – a contention vociferously recast by today’s AltRight regarding the future of Europe.)

Beginning with Book Eleven, Augustine meticulously articulates the Christian hope of a new city not forged under the aegis of the Emperor, but under the

St. Augustine in his study, Botticelli, 1480, Church of Ognissanti

Lordship of Jesus Christ. Augustine has experienced the new life afforded him by the Lord’s crucifixion and the new community of faith raised up through Christ’s resurrection. Empires will come and go, Augustine muses, but the kingdom of the Son cannot die because the Son has utterly defeated death.

No matter how tattered and weak the Church (the body of Christ) may appear, it cannot be destroyed. Jesus, after all, seemed on the brink of annihilation as he stumbled toward Calvary. The last laugh is God’s and it echoes from within the empty stone tomb. Additionally, because Christ ascends to the Father, Heaven now defines the nature of this new kingdom. Hence, we realize Jesus’ prayer, ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven’ (Matthew 6:10). Augustine emphasized our new hope and our new way of living in this way, “Two cities have been

formed by two loves: the earthly one by love of self; the heavenly one by love of God, even to the contempt of self.”2 Excuse this brief foray into ancient Church history, but my point remains that without serious and persistent study, clergy cannot deliver the wisdom our people need. We serve up spiritual slogans and shallow moral ditties when our people are famished for clarity, substantive hope, and a new path of life. We cannot forget that Irenaeus, in his day, was reacting to and writing against the Gnostic teacher Valentinus, who proffered special knowledge and spiritual advancement for only an enlightened few Christians. Augustine, for his part, had to deal with the strident Donatists, who diluted the power of God’s grace and the Pelagians, who diminished the necessity of grace.

These distorted philosophies have not disappeared but only increased in our day. If anything, they have become more attractive. Gnostic enclaves abound with their promise to make us high-octane spiritual athletes and deliver us from the earthly vicissitudes of life and from association with the common people. Some parish leaders today openly profess a cross-less Christianity in the imperious notion that we can perfect ourselves. Clergy, shepherds of the people, must study in order to stay alert and doggedly lead our congregations to the higher ground of the true Gospel. As Paul said to the Ephesian church leaders, ‘Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the Church of God, that he obtained by the blood of his own Son’ (Acts 20:28).

We Study

for

Ourselves

As we mature as pastors, we can actually become more alert to our people’s needs. Going against the grain of the culture, our increasing age need not be an impediment but a benefit if we spend our days humbly acquiring the knowledge of the Scriptures, absorbing direction of other spiritual leaders, and falling more deeply in love with the fellowship to whom we have been called. So great is the accumulation of Christian wisdom and experiences available to us that we will never be 2 Augustine, The City of God, Book 28.

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From Our Rector... bereft of new adventures, no matter our age.

I do not, however, feel the glory of my advancing years when I am sitting in a doctor’s office – especially the dermatologist’s waiting room.

Surrounded by a company of others, all patched up in similar white gauze and bandages, we have all been relived of yet another slice of ourselves. Less than a month ago, I settled into my familiar seat in that room, a wad of bandages and medical tape crowning my head like the tiara of a zombie, and awaited the verdict of the pathologist as to whether more cutting would ensue. Surgeries are scheduled for Tuesdays, and I have learned not to torture myself in that antiseptic setting by watching the clock tick the coveted minutes of my one day-off. The people in the room are my age and older. Each one of the dozen or more are staring at one screen shot after another as they streak across their mobile devices, except for the seventyfive-year-old using his speaker phone to make a dental appointment. Who knew scheduling a root canal on a bicuspid could take so long? Realizing what the day would hold, I arrive with a Bible, commentary, yellow pad, and pencil.

Admittedly, I look like a doddering rabbi, but my books will keep me company and save me from my regret over the newly released cinematic crime thriller I’m missing with Kay. Regret, weariness, and an overall ennui can ensnare us. While we read in the headlines of celebrated pastors who have failed their congregations by lurid trysts, desperate gambling addictions, and calculated embezzlement schemes, far more of us quietly fall away from the ministry due to disillusionment with our call. The joy we once had in sharing the Good News of Christ has been lost in the weeds of the routine, and the fervor that earlier fueled our gallant witness has dissipated in the heat of parishioners’ demands and criticisms. Fully one half of all ordained persons in the U.S. abandon the parish ministry after five years or less.

Such disillusionment is not a new phenomenon experienced by pastors.

In the late fourth century AD, Evagrius of Pontus (345-399), a hermit monk and noted Christian philosopher, warned

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other monastics and religious leaders of the “Noonday Demon.” Evagrius drew this colorful personification of religious disillusionment from Psalm 90:5-6. In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures known as the Septuagint (c.

350 BC), the verses read, ‘Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night.

Of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday demon.’ Evagrius characterized this

and center us again in the prayer life we earlier enjoyed. Lest we imagine this fight against acedia is a simple mental adjustment, we should recall Paul’s urgent admonition to the Ephesians; For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 Regardless of a pastor’s conception of evil, the Bible consistently characterizes it as a personal, malevolent force intent on concealing God’s love for humanity in a mantle of darkness. Evil has no better avenue to alienate us from God’s embrace than a pastor who has lost his way, who no longer knows what he believes, and who cannot be roused by the message of the cross and the empty tomb.

Melancholia, Albrecht Durer, 1514

Noonday Demon, or acedia as it is often termed, as listlessness, futility, dejection, despondency, and a loathing of one’s call from Christ. Unattended, this languor can absorb the pastor and will not be dispelled without a fight. One way to eschew acedia is to attend sedulously to our pastoral calls.

Coming face to face with suffering is sobering and will remind us that we are to shepherd the most broken and vulnerable. Our other effective weapon against the demon is fastidious study of the Bible, sacred texts, and modern Christian witness accounts. As we take in new insights about our Christian vocation, acedia will have less room to roam the halls of our psyche. Prayer, of course, is our main line of defense against the Noonday Demon; however, when we are caught in the throes of his deceit, the peace of contemplation is elusive. Stepping out to serve others or immersing ourselves in challenging study can bring us back to ourselves

Sharing the first draft of this text with my wife, she somewhat whimsically recollected, “I can remember the excitement all of you had when in seminary. You delved deeply into the Bible to discover stories you did not know were there, and you read books with revolutionary ideas you had no inkling existed. During those years, I heard you and your friends fall into long conversations and issue one dream after another about the ministries to which God would lead you and the insightful messages and resourceful ministries you would offer.

What happens when a woman or man quits digging into those books and quits dreaming those dreams?”

I could not wrangle the right words with which to answer Kay, but in my heart I bitterly concluded, “That pastor’s days will progress in numbing indifference, for he has, indeed, become boring.”

Your brother,

Patrick U

MINISTRY Farewell

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ear Friends at Christ Episcopal Church, It is with true humility that I must inform you that I will be leaving Christ GAVIN ROGERS Church at the Youth Minister beginning of June. gavinr@cecsa.org The past four and a half years with you all at CEC has taught me so much and I have enjoyed the relationships built and work done while serving both The Thunderbird Apartments and the Student Ministry.

However, I have been extended an opportunity to work for another church as the Associate Pastor in downtown San Antonio and I have accepted the calling. In this final month I will help with the student ministry transition and complete the Guatemala Mission Trip.

I am very proud of the work and changes that have been made in the Student Ministry and look forward to seeing the work that is yet to be done in the lives of students at CEC. People such as Father Patrick, Father Rob, Father Scott, Tobin Simpson, Jennifer Berg, Heather and Ted Yun, and Kathryn Martinez have been tremendous guides and their leadership and friendship have encouraged me during my tenure.

Church family, I want to thank everyone here at CEC. Your kindness, prayers, and passion for true Christian community will be remembered always.

This is truly a special church with a heart focused on Christian discipleship, community, and outreach.

Parents and volunteers, thank you for taking this crazy guy under your wing.

Your love and support during the years taught me how important the entire family is within the area of student ministry. I cannot thank you enough for serving on youth retreats, taking trains all around America, serving people across the Gulf in Guatemala, and helping disciple students in the Carriage House. You all are, and will always be, the backbone of this youth

ministry!

Students, you all make this job the best job in the world! Your friendship over the last few years has been one to cherish for a lifetime. I will never forget our time together during Soul Train Trips, NYC, Taco Tuesdays, Happenings, and Mission Trips! Each one of you has blessed my life and made my love for the church grow even deeper. Always remember that God will never give up on you. So never give up on him! The Scripture says, He will not keep silent.

He will never slumber nor sleep. He is from everlasting to everlasting, and this God has an everlasting love, a love that never fails and will never end. That type of love for you can never give you a moment in your life to doubt that you could ever give up! So, keep on living and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and the true life God brings to everyone around you...all throughout life’s journey.

The youth of San Antonio are faced with tough challenges each and every day. However, I know there is plenty of hope left in the lives of our students because I believe the words of Isaiah still ring true...

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. God gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even the youth grow tired and weary and young people stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:28-31 Blessings on the years to come and may “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

In Christ,

Gavin Rogers 5

MINISTRY Looking Through

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t was the last thing I expected. If asked why I chose to attend a social media marketing conference, I would have said JOSH BENNINGER it was to listen to Director of Music and learn from and Worship experienced joshb@cecsa.org professionals.

Then, I would apply this knowledge to create innovative ways for our church to be more engaging in the virtual world and this is mostly what happened. I returned home encouraged and loaded with volumes of ideas to try out. However, something else extraordinary occurred at that conference: I encountered God. On the very first night of the conference I was introduced to Dave Adamson, or as he prefers to be called, Aussie Dave.

Dave loves photography and God. And he is in charge of all media production at Northpoint Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. He is an interesting character. Dave’s covered with tattoos, he’s hip, and he has an outrageous Australian accent. He left an amazing

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career as a sports broadcaster for ESPN Australia to work for God instead. But it’s the next part about him that really grabbed my attention.

At 6:15 AM, every single morning, Dave posts a beautiful photo along with a devotional and Bible passage to Instagram for the whole world to see.

He originally started doing this as a way to creatively teach the Bible to his daughters. Listening to him continue to tell his story about how God redeemed what could have most certainly derailed his life was like a punch in the gut, and I thought it was nothing less than amazing.

Thank you, Dave, for introducing me to a unique and public way to express my thoughts, prayers, and devotions to the Lord. Let us always keep our eyes on heavenly things, not earthly things.

What follows is a sampling of my daily posts to Instagram. I hope you enjoy!

To see my posts on Instagram, search for my username: txjoshb. Oh, and don’t forget to check out Aussie Dave’s (aussiedave) Instagram feed as well.

Josh Benninger

I had been struggling with a way to maintain my own daily devotionals to God. After meeting Dave, I found the answer. I, too, love photography and our Lord. Now my photos are nothing compared to his, nor is my message as profound. I believe it was Oscar Wilde that said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” Mediocrity notwithstanding, I hope that the act of moving forward and trying something new that glorifies the Lord can’t be a bad thing!

Biltmore Estate Asheville, North Carolina

Have you ever felt a time when your way forward was laid out on a clear path? Then I’m sure you’ve also felt a time when you couldn’t see a path, and there appeared to be no hope.

When you felt there was no hope, did you surrender? I don’t mean give up.

What I mean is, did you surrender to God and admit your weakness? For, only when we come to the realization that we are powerless without the foundation of Christ as our foothold do we begin to move forward.

Trust in the Lord and he will fertilize our garden and tend to our crops.

Put the Lord first in your life and you will bear fruit.

“And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” - Isaiah 58:11

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New Lens

Adkins, Texas “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!” (Psalm 113:3) What does it mean to praise the Lord all day long? I’m sure most of us have a time set aside for our devotions and prayers. Beyond that though, are we glorifying God through our remaining waking hours? I struggle with this constantly. That’s the main reason why I started this photography-meets-scripture ministry, because it takes me more than just a few minutes to think about what I’m going to post. It takes various pauses throughout the day to finalize my thoughts, decide on what scripture to use, and what photograph to display.

What will you do throughout the day to praise the Lord?

Muisc Ministry...

Emerald Isle, North Carolina A nice day at the beach can change quickly. With the clouds and wind coming in, this photo makes me think of the song “Oceans” by Hillsong. Here is the opening verse and chorus:

You call me out upon the waters The great unknown where feet may fail And there I find You in the mystery In oceans deep my faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name And keep my eyes above the waves When oceans rise my soul will rest in Your embrace For I am Yours and You are mine

This song recounts the story of Peter being called by Jesus to leave the boat and walk to him in Matthew 14:25-31. “Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ ‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’

‘Come,’ he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’”

Atlantic Beach, North Carolina I wanted to give a devotion of thanksgiving by posting a picture of my wife, Deana, but she prefers not to have her picture taken.

So instead, I decided to use this picture I took of my daughter Emily. She is gazing out into the ocean at Atlantic Beach, NC, no doubt mesmerized by the waves.

When I look at Emily I can’t help but see a little bit of Deana too, and I’m reminded of how beautiful my wife is, and how much I love her. God brought us together and blessed us with a sweet little girl. I would do anything for Deana, lay down my life if necessary. She is my foundation and source of strength, and I thank the Lord for her every day.

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

Christ Episcopal Church When I was 12 years old, my dad bought me an electronic keyboard. He noticed a talent within me that I didn’t. At the time, I had no idea this gift would be a springboard for my growing fascination with music, eventually leading me to the privilege of performing on this Steinway piano at Christ Church. I often wonder what would have happened if my dad had not encouraged and nurtured my desire. I also think about what prompted him to do this. Lastly, I’m left wondering where I would be today if I had not received that keyboard. I know it wasn’t luck, so I give thanks to God and to my dad.

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

- 1 Peter 4:10-11

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MINISTRY

Children’s Summer Sunday School

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HALLETA HEINRICH Director of Family Ministries halletah@cecsa.org

an you believe that summer is almost here?!

Summer Sunday School and Chapel will run from June 3 through August 12. Here are a few of the highlights: Movie Sunday June 3 “The Life of Daniel”

We will begin Summer Sunday School with a Special Movie Sunday in preparation for VBS 2018 Holy Land Adventure “Babylon – Daniel’s Courage in Captivity.” Children will view movies based on the life of Daniel. Preschoolers will view an animated version of the life of Daniel “Daniel and the Lion’s Den” from the series Greatest Heroes and Legends from 10 to 11:30 AM in Children’s Chapel. Fun snacks will be

Congratulations

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Chapel

served. Elementary-aged children will view the full feature film of the life of Daniel “The Book of Daniel” from 10 to 11:30 AM in FMC Movie Theater 302.

Popcorn will be served.

study, art, and movies will be included in the course.

Summer Sunday School “Hands On Bible” and “The Gospel According to Paul”

We will have a Campfire Style Chapel this summer as we start each session with a summer favorite “I am A C” – meaning “I Am A Christian” spelled out in song.

“Hands On Bible” Sunday School will be the preschool Sunday School program beginning June 10 at 10 AM in FMC Room 206. “Hands On Bible” is a fun, activity-filled program suited to our casual summer time. “The Gospel According to Paul” will be the theme of Elementary Sunday School this Summer.

Class will be held in FMC Art Room 303 and Movie Theater Room 302 at 10 AM. We will learn about the life of Paul and search through his Epistles to discover the core of the Gospel that he spread throughout his world. Children will learn to share the Gospel — Good News of Jesus — as part of the class. Bible

to

Summer Children’s Chapel Camp “I AM A C” – Tell Me the Stories!

The top twelve children’s stories with a Christian message will be shared throughout the summer. The Children’s Ministry department has collected a true treasure of beloved and beautiful picture storybooks over the last thirty years. It will be hard to narrow it down to twelve for the twelve Sundays of Summer Chapel.

Halleta

Our Children’s Communion Class 2018

The following children completed the Communion Class this year. They were honored on Communion Celebration Day, April 15, 2018.

James P. Desbrow Henry Halteman James Harris Sarah Holloway Ansley McLaughlin Johnny McLaughlin Brenna Netting Caileigh Netting Alan Pulido Lyla Marie Rodriguez Luke Shelton Lane Tatum Cooper Walther

and

Family Ministry...

Faithful Families: Creating Sacred Moments

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hrist Church Family Ministry is excited to have Reverend Traci Smith, Pastor of Northwood Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, and author of “Faithful Families – Creating Sacred Moments at Home” (Chalice Press 2017) as guest presenter at a morning workshop for parents, grandparents, and all those who minister to children.

Traci’s book teaches how to weave tradition, ceremony, and spiritual practice throughout everyday life.

We all want Christ Church to be like a

second home for our kids, but there is no place like home for spiritual development.

Studies have shown that the number one faith influence in the lives of their children are parents. Traci will help us create times and places in our homes which are holy and set apart for God. Traci Smith is not only a pastor, but is a wife and mom of young children. She is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and comes highly recommended by many of our young moms here at Christ Church.

In the workshop, participants will learn many practical ideas for creating meaningful faith connections with their families. Traditions, ceremonies, and spiritual practices that are easy to implement and require very little preparation will be presented. Traci’s book, “Faithful Families,” will be available for purchase at the workshop.

It’s Time

for

Children ages 4-years through 5th grade will have a blast with unique crafts, exciting games, tasty snacks, great music all while learning about God’s love in a beautiful setting. Younger children are welcome with an adult volunteer. Look for the VBS logo on our website at www.cecsa.org to sign up!

ur Vacation Bible School is almost here and we need your help! First of all, please register your children,

Home

We hope to offer a four-week group study, created by Traci Smith and based on “Faithful Families,” as a follow up to the workshop.

Parents are encouraged to bring their children to the workshop. There will be childcare provided, but children will join their parents at the end of the workshop for some “hands on” experience working on some of the concepts Traci has taught. Brunch will be served for all from 9 to 9:30 in the Parish Hall, then children will be cared for in the FMC. Please RSVP to Halleta Heinrch at halletah@cecsa.org or 210-736-3132 no later than Monday, May 14 so we can plan for adequate childcare and brunch.

You are encouraged to invite friends!

Faithful Families Workshop

For Parents, Grandparents, and all who minister to children

Presented by Rev Traci Smith

Saturday May 19 9 AM to 12 PM In the Parish Hall

VBS!

grandchildren, neighbor children and friends! VBS is June 4-7 from 9 AM-12 PM. Kids will step back in time and explore ancient Babylon with Daniel and his friends!

O

at

the shade of our beautiful trees or in the air conditioning. We especially need teens graduating 5th grade and older.

Please register at www.cecsa.org/vbs.

Up to 20 hours of service credit can be earned.

Questions? Please contact Amy Case amygcase@gmail.com or Lauren Vielock lauren@brandingworksltd.com.

Next, we need VOLUNTEERS! This is an easy and fun way to help your church. There are jobs for all ages and interests and most jobs are in

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Love

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hrist Church is definitely in love with marriage. This past April and May the incomparable team of Susanna and Scott Kitayama led a four-week class on marriage entitled “A Model for Marriage.”

“Marriage is far from being static! It is a mysterious one-flesh relationship that a couple creates and re-creates as they move through each season of life together.1”

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Marriage

to just two. A quick survey of the room showed the class contained members from every season of marriage, from a couple just preparing for their wedding to couples in the retirement and sunset stages of their lives together. Everyone had something to learn.

In the second session, the group dove into a discussion about the model of marriage based on a God’s way of loving, the Covenant Marriage.

The class focused on the elements of covenant, grace, empowerment, and intimacy. As the group gathered in the third week, the conversation turned to communication. With great humor, the Kitayamas demonstrated how poor communication was really the root of so much conflict.

At the outset, Scott said he expected maybe 10 or 20 to attend. However, each week saw attendance reaching toward 60. Some came without their spouse in tow, others sat, hands touching while the class soaked in the humor and sage advice.

The hidden treasure of the class was Susanna. She is an engaging and humorous teacher. With her soft and gentle humor, she led the group through a summary look at the book A Model for Marriage by Jack O. Balswick and Judith K. Balswick. The authors were Susanna’s professors at Fuller Seminary where she received her degree in marriage counseling.

The Kitayamas modeled partnership by dividing the teaching each week. In the first session they gave an overview of the seasons of marriage and discussed how families of origin can color your approach to communication and marriage. The various seasons of marriage each come with unique stressors and rewards. The class learned about Honeymoon Marriage, the various stages of marriage with children from infancy through teenage, the challenges faced by childless couples, the transitional stage of launching adult children, the “sandwich stage” so many now face with children at home and aging parents, and the later stages faced as life returns the couple

________________________ Balswick, Jack and Judith, A Model for Marriage, p. 136

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If you were unable to attend this first marriage class, do not despair.

A marriage retreat is planned for the weekend of September 7 – 9 at Camp Capers. Susanna’s professors, and authors of the book A Model for Marriage, Jack and Judith Balswick, will be leading the weekend. The retreat promises to be a time for couples to renew their relationships surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation in the Hill Country. All adult couples are invited to attend whether they attended the class or not. It is an “adults only” weekend, so begin making preparations for child care now, if that is your season of marriage. Scott assured the group that couples will not be bunking in the cabins but will stay in the lodge. Spaces are limited, so contact Scott Kitayama at scottk@cecsa.org or 210-736-3132 to get on the list. Full details for the weekend will be shared next month.

Gretchen Duggan Rules

For the last class gathering, Susanna taught the group how to “fight fair.”

Various conflict styles were described with class members having a chance to own up to their unique conflict approach or avoidance style. The class learned that conflict is an inevitable part of a relationship, but dealing effectively with conflicts can open spouses up to new levels of intimate connection. The message of the evening was we must deal with our angry feelings while treating each other with utmost respect.

“Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving on another as God in Christ has forgiven you.” – Ephesians 4:31-32.

for

Fighting Fair

1. One issue only. Identify the issue and don’t veer from it.

2. Choose the time and place. Agree on a neutral place and time.

3. Be prepared. Know and abide by the rules. Bring a proper attitude.

4. The past is past. Refuse to “throw up the past” in a current fight.

5. No surprise punches. Emotionladen areas are off limits.

6. No hitting below the belt.

Sensitive areas divert the issue.

7. Don’t dismiss. Don’t be flippant or make light of problems presented.

8. No Why questions allowed. Blame or accusation often lies behind the why questions.

9. Dyad vs. triad. Keep it between the two of you - no third person allowed 10. Don’t ridicule. Ridiculing is rude.

No put-downs or name-calling.

11. Veto power. Signal technical error when rules are broken.

12. Break at the end of each round.

Short breaks ensure bodily rest.

Balswick, Jack and Judith, A Model for Marriage, p. 124

Our Church Life...

SOCIETY

Getting Around

M

y first and last tea party with Evelyn Camp occurred on Wednesday, November 8 at 3 PM, only weeks before she died. Always elegant and genteel, she showed me into her den, which was brightly lit by the garden windows.

Ostensibly, I was there to speak with Evelyn about her cancer diagnosis and her decision not to seek treatment, yet it became an hour for two friends to speak about the people whom we loved, and the projects to which we were devoted. Her enduring ardor for Christ Church and my emerging fidelity

to It

were unmistakably the backdrop of our relaxed conversation.

from which neither woman would be deterred.

Evelyn hid the ravages of her illness until she stood up to fetch our refreshments. Her movements were careful, labored, and painful to witness.

She did not refuse my offer to help.

Returning from the kitchen to the den carrying fruited iced tea and leftover delicacies gleaned from Halloween, I remarked, “Your home is lovely and so full of light.” Considering my remark for a full thirty seconds or more, she responded, “I really wanted to update this place, but I never got around to it.”

In my mind, Evelyn “got around” to the things that mattered, so I was not surprised when Brad approached me after her burial reception. “Mother remembered Christ Church in her estate.” In a few weeks time, we received Evelyn’s generous bequest.

It seems providential that her gift put our Buildings and Grounds Endowment over the one-million-dollar mark -$1,088,00 to be exact. Thanks to Evelyn and to so many other faithful souls, we are on our way towards our goal of three million in that endowment, which is vital to safeguard and continuously beautify our verdant grounds and stately campus.

Our conversation then meandered to other things, but since her death, I have pondered her words, “I never got around to it.” No, Evelyn did not get around to a “facelift” or an “extreme makeover of her home.” More important opportunities crowded her life, like adoring her grandchildren, keeping her friends close at heart, and quietly knitting prayer shawls for those who were ill or grieving. Regarding the latter, she was like Odysseus’s Penelope, who attended assiduously to her weaving throughout the day as an act of devotion, an act of love

I ask each one of us, regardless of our financial stature, to imitate Evelyn and remember Christ Church in our wills or other testamentary instruments. It is high time we “got around” to that final act of love.

Your brother,

Patrick U 11

Our Church Life..

PAGE TURNERS – From

C

ompleted just two days before his 80th birthday, Harold Bloom has lost none of his deep intellect, humor, or rancor in The Shadow of a Great Rock, his literary appreciation of the King James Bible. His comprehensive understanding of ancient Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic and his chronicle of the finest scholars in the broad waterfront of Biblical genre, allow him to present both the majesty and the mundane aspects of the Old and New Testaments. Consistently weaving the work of the Tanakh, the Jewish canon of the Hebrew Scriptures, William Tyndale’s translation (d.1536; his Bible published 1535), the Geneva Bible (published 1560), and the King James Version (published 1611) – he magnifies the most penetrating passages of the Bible. Be warned that Bloom attests his love for the King James Bible for literary reasons, not the revelatory ones harbored by the believer. In his lengthy introduction, Bloom confesses the nature of his affection: ‘For those to whom the KJB is the Truth, rock of their faith, a literary appreciation is redundant. I write however for the common reader, who can be moved by the Bible’s eloquence and beauty. Originally the culmination of one strand of Renaissance English culture, the KJB became the basic source of American literature: Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, Emily Dickenson are its children, and so are William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and Cormac McCarthy.’

A survey of Bloom’s should be added here:

assessments

vv Regarding William Tyndale, “He should be considered one of the greatest writers in English, standing only after Shakespeare.” vv Regarding Jeremiah: “He is very difficult for me to admire, though I may be eccentric in that regard.

12

the

Rector’s Book Stack

His sufferings are extraordinary and vociferous; and for him they constitute the stuff of redemption.” vv Regarding Mark: “Mark is weird.

I intend no deprecation of Mark by that distinction. J (the central writer of the Torah) is a great writer, comparable to Homer and Tolstoy, while Mark reminds me of Edgar Allen Poe…” vv Regarding John: “The Merchant of Venice” is a Shakespearian masterpiece, however morally flawed, and the Fourth Gospel, at least in Tyndale and his revisionists, merits the same aesthetic judgment.” vv Regarding Paul and himself: “Paul insists ‘the crucifixion and resurrection of God’s Messiah is the ultimate revelation in weakness of God’s power.’ I myself cannot think of anything so foreign to Yahweh as that insistence.”

I am grateful for April and Edward Groos’s gift of this book. I have been careful not to crease it in order to give it to Clay, our eldest and most literary, on his 40th birthday.

All through reading Wait Till Next Year,

by Doris Kearns Goodwin, I would break off and hum Joni Mitchell’s 1970 hit, Big Yellow Taxi.

You will recall the refrain, “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” Goodwin’s memoir drew me into the America of my early childhood.

Without turning saccharine or nostalgic, the historian reminds us of what we have lost, and more importantly what our children and grandchildren will only experience in snatches because that version of America is gone.

Goodwin takes the reader into postWWII Rockville Centre on Long Island.

However, she could have just as easily transported us to a middle-

class neighborhood outside of any of America’s great cities. Once her father was named a state bank examiner, Goodwin’s family left their tiny home in Brooklyn to their more prosperous community on the rail line of Long Island. The family takes with them their deep Roman Catholic faith, love of family, and their adoration of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Those were the days of bicycles left unattended on the front lawn, lazy summer afternoons, unlocked front doors, and baseball games humming from radios on screened in porches. Goodwin recounts, “I knew the exact layout of every house on our block as well as I knew my own.”

Her bevy of childhood friends, Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant, were in and out of each other’s houses so often that she was completely at home in her world.

Goodwin’s bond with her father orbited around the Dodgers. She could keep a detailed scorebook from second grade, and she raced to read the box scores the moment the paper arrived.

Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Duke Snider, and Pee Wee Reese were her Olympic gods, and she would calculate their daily batting averages in her head before she made the walk to school each morning. The Brooklyn Dodgers, eternal bridesmaids, lost to the New York Yankees in five World Series over fifteen years before they took the crown in 1955. On that night, Goodwin’s family left their tiny hamlet for New York City and celebrated with thousands in the streets deep into the night.

The magic spell protecting her world was shaken first by the McCarthy Communist Trials held in April to June in 1954 and later shattered by the violent Little Rock School desegregation of September of 1957. Distrust and fear shattered her Long Island Camelot and the Dodgers left Brooklyn for Los Angeles without even offering a “goodbye.”

We’ve grown so accustomed to lobbing criticisms at Canada for its place on the world stage that I was humbled and downright embarrassed to read

Our Church Life...

From And No Birds Sang,

by Farley Mowat, the author’s dark recollection of his military service in Sicily and mainland Italy.

Many will recognize Mowat as the preeminent Canadian naturalist and environmentalist of the 20th century. My first introduction to Mowat was through Never Cry Wolf, his tender and often humorous chronicle of living amongst the wolves in northern Manitoba in 1948-49, enduring winters of 40 degrees below zero. I considered this as Mowat’s most courageous enterprise until I read his WWII account.

Serving as a First Lieutenant or subaltern, as the Canadians then termed junior officers, Mowat is assigned to the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, affectionately known as the “Hasty Peas.” No affection seemed to be extended to them in 1942-43. While their first campaign in Sicily was akin to desert warfare, their German enemy was in desperate retreat. However, on the mainland of Italy, they encounter a determined, dug-in, relentless enemy.

Mowat sees his regiment decimated, whole companies reduced to mere platoons, and yet the orders to attack never wane. The repeated, chilling orders handed down to the tattered Hasty Peas is that they will serve to “spearhead the advance.” Premonitions of the horror that awaits them at the Moro River Campaign come when an officer of the British 78th Division, whom they are relieving, tells them they had already lost 500 men in the engagement. “Thank God, you’re taking over, Canada. You can have this show!”

What comes to haunt Mowat is what

the

Rector’s Book Stack...

he calls the “Worm.” He first hears of the Worm from his father, who earlier perceived the Worm as a hardened WW I veteran: ‘Keep in mind during the days ahead that war does inexplicable things to people, and no man can guess how it will affect him until he has had a really stiff dose of it… The most unfortunate ones after any war are not those with missing limbs; they are the ones who have their spiritual feet knocked out from under them.

The beer halls and gutters are full of such poor bastards from my war and nobody understands or cares what happened to them.

Lieutenant Mowat comes to understand those men lost in the terror of their wars on Christmas Day 1943, when he holds his best friend in his arms as he dies. The Worm gnawed the insides of Mowat, yet I have to believe that is what sent him packing into the Canadian wilderness to find life there amongst caribou, bear, wolves, and birds of every kind. In all, he sold 17 million books that were translated into fiftytwo languages. The Worm had hold of him, but the Worm did not have the final word.

Forget the anger therapy. Try reading this book first.

Tattoos on the Heart, by Gregory Boyle infused such Christ-centered hope into my days that I knew I was in the presence of a wise and compassionate sage.

Fr. Gregory Boyle is a Jesuit priest who has spent his entire adulthood ministering to the most violent gangs

cont’d in the most depressing projects of Los Angeles. The gang members, whom he calls “homeboys,” have come to love and trust Fr. Boyle, whom they affectionately term “G.” Out of his goliath reservoir of love, G has been able to disciple hundreds of homeboys out of gangs and into constructive work and meaningful lives. More importantly, G has revealed Jesus Christ to these hardened outcasts, not so much by preaching at them but by showing them Christ’s heart of love in others and himself.

The Easley family gave the book to Kay and me for Christmas, and Kay quickly squirrelled away the prize before I could gather a syllable of objection.

(Kay reads two books for my every one.)

Sitting beside me in the bed, she would repeat, “Pat, you’ve got to read this.

You’ve got to read this.” Providentially, Kay and I were visiting the Easley home for Bella’s 18th birthday, when Kay spied the still sealed audio CDs for Tattoos on the Heart on the credenza.

Kay, not lacking an ounce of temerity, asked Catherine if we could borrow the CDs. We then proceeded to listen to G himself read every line of his book.

Afterwards, I listened to his every word again, as I trekked around the Medical Center, made pastoral calls, and ran errands. Hearing G’s escapades with the homeboys, some humorous, some hopeful, and many tragic, I felt my spirit lift. Furthermore, G’s courageous witness pushes me to be a better man and pastor. Of the more than thousand boys he has saved, he has buried at least two hundred of them due to gang violence. I doubt I have ever had a week anywhere close as challenging as his.

So, turn off NPR and Talk Radio for a season, and listen to G’s story with the homeboys. Your anger will subside and your love will soar.

A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only once.

– George R. R. Martin 13

OF EVENTS May 5:

Sidewalk Saturday, 9:30 AM outside the Carriage House

May 6:

Children’s Musical, 9 & 11 AM in the Sanctuary Pictorial Directory Photos after the 9 & 11 AM services

May 10 - 20:

“Thy Kingdom Come” world-wide prayer initiative, info at: christianformation-dwtx.org

May 13:

Mother’s Day

May 19:

Faithful Families Workshop, 9 AM - 12 PM in the Parish Hall Sidewalk Saturday, 9:30 AM outside the Carriage House

May 20:

Pentecost Noisy Offering & Food Pantry offering, 9 & 11 AM Senior Graduation Brunch, 10 AM in the Parish Hall Pictorial Directory photos, after the 9 & 11 AM services Safeguarding God’s Children training, 12:30 PM Third Sunday Lunch gathering, 12:30 PM at Order Up in Lincoln Heights

Christ Church Staff: The Rev. Patrick Gahan, Rector patrickg@cecsa.org The Rev. Scott Kitayama, Associate Rector, scottk@cecsa.org The Rev. Brien Koehler, Associate Rector for Mission and Formation, brienk@cecsa.org The Rev. Rob Harris, 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

May 27:

Trinity Sunday

May 28:

Memorial Day, church offices are closed

June 2:

Sidewalk Saturday, 9:30 AM outside the Carriage House

Gavin Rogers, Youth Minister gavinr@cecsa.org

June 4 - 7:

VBS - Babylon, 9 AM - 12 PM

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

June 10:

Summer Sunday School begins, 10 AM

June 16:

Sidewalk Saturday, 9:30 AM outside the Carriage House

June 17:

Father’s Day Noisy Offering & Food Pantry offering, 9 & 11 AM Third Sunday Lunch gathering, 12:30 PM at Order Up in Lincoln Heights

Lily Fenton, Nursery Director lilyf@cecsa.org

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 18 - July 2: Guatemala Youth Mission Trip

Donna Franco, Financial Manager donnas@cecsa.org

July 1:

July 4th BBQ Lunch, 12:30 PM

July 4:

Independence Day, church offices are closed

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

July 7:

Sidewalk Saturday, 9:30 AM outside the Carriage House

July 11:

Summer Wednesday Evening Discipleship Series begins, 7 PM

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 either on the paper forms or on-line.

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 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 or at www.cecsa.org. Scroll to the bottom of the page and look for the “event scheduling” link.

14

Monica Elliott, Executive Assistant to the Rector, monicae@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

ALBUM

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

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 20, Number 2.

One of our little hunters gets a lift out of the hedge during the annual Easter Egg Hunt.