The Message May 2010

may 11, 2010 • Volume 12, Number 3

Parish Picnic on May 23rd, 2 Spend a While on the Nile, 3 Adult Education Summer Program, 4-5 Children’s Ministry Summer Plans, 6-7

CHurCHlIFe In this issue:

Coming Soon...

VBS 2010................................ 3

Parish Picnic Sunday, May 23

Adult Education Summer Program..............4-5

“Paradise”

COW Recruitment................. 5 Pastoral Updates................... 5

8:30 AM: worship in the sanctuary & children’s chapel

Children’s Ministry............6-7

9:00 AM: continental breakfast

From the Olsons.............. 8-10

10:00 AM: Sunday school

Calendar of Events.............11

11:00 AM: service on parish lawn Picnic will immediately follow the 11:00 service.

Please note: There is no Children’s Chapel during the 11:00 AM service. Children 4 & up welcome!

Potluck Dessert: Bring your family’s favorite sweet treat to share! Suggested donation of $5 per person/$15 max per family appreciated!

Entertainment and activities for the entire family! Live music provided by Owen Duggan.

Nursery care provided for children 0-3 years from 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM. Dress casually, bring a blanket and come enjoy this time of fellowship, food, & fun!

“This is My Country” A July 4th Musical Extravaganza and BBQ, after the 11:00 service on, you guessed it, July the 4th! Join us for a family BBQ lunch featuring brisket as well as hot dogs for the kids. Sing along with the Christ Church choir and soloists in a musical program honoring our troops.

The choir will present patriotic songs as well as war-time songs from the first and second world wars. So, “Pack up Your Troubles,” listen to the nightingale sing “at Berkeley Square,” and “Keep the Home Fires Burning” for our brave men and women this July on our nation’s greatest day.

Please Note: The Friday 11:30 AM Holy Communion service will be suspended for the next several months due to clergy sabbaticals and vacations.

Cover photo by Susanna Kitayama, Children’s Liturgy of Light service, April 3, 2010.

Christ Episcopal Church 510 Belknap Place San Antonio, TX 78212

210-736-3132 office 210-733-1423 fax www.cecsa.org

Spend a While on the Nile June 21-25 - Register Now!

The Life of Joseph – From Prison to Palace - Egypt Marketplace VBS D ear Parish Family, Our two great VBS Directors, Brooke Peacock and Amy Case, and I encourage you to “spend a while on the Nile” by registering to be part of our Egypt Marketplace Vacation Bible School to be held from June 21 – 25 at Christ Church.

This summer’s VBS is based on the life of Joseph told in Genesis. His story is considered to be the most complete life story in the Bible with the exception of the life of Christ. Joseph’s story is one of true success based on his strong faith in God whether he found himself in prison or a palace. He succeeded wherever life placed him because he knew God was with him. Through Joseph, God’s people were saved and redemption was achieved as he forgave his brothers with his words, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20). Joseph pointed the way to Jesus Christ who through God’s people would save us all. This story of true success in the eyes of God and redemption are lessons much needed in the world today.

Make sure you and your children are here at VBS this summer to have these important lessons of faith reinforced.

We will once again be using the popular marketplace format: children divided into small family groups led by a mom or dad and assisted by a teen big

brother or sister. Bible truths will be taught in Egyptian family time each day. Each family will rotate to the Egyptian Marketplace for arts, crafts, and snacks in the marketplace shops; the pyramid playground for recreation; drama time with Joseph in prison and palace; and celebration time at the beginning and end of the day for music and praise.

We still have a need for more moms and dads and big sisters and brothers, as well as marketplace shop teen apprentices and playground teen helpers.

We also have room for many more children to round out our Egyptian family groups. We encourage you to register friends from outside of Christ Church for this great fellowship and evangelistic opportunity.

Click Here!

Registration forms may also be printed from the Christ Church website.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church is excited to be joining us in this summer’s VBS; they are bringing their children, adults, and teens to participate. A VBS registration table with forms for all ages can be found each Sunday in the Tomlin Room on the first floor of the Family Ministry Center. Contact Halleta Heinrich at the church at halletah@cecsa.org or VBS Directors Brooke Peacock and Amy Case for more information. We hope to complete registration by the end of May in order to plan and organize, so sign up ASAP! Love In Christ, Halleta

eDuCaTIoN

C.S. Lewis Festival this Summer T his summer promises to be a

great adventure in Adult Education. Our three classes will collapse into one beginning June 6th and continuing until August 29th. Meeting in the Parish Hall, we will gather for a C.S. Lewis Festival. We will cover a wonderful breadth of Lewis’ works as taught by a number of our own in-house teachers as well as a few scholars brought in (thus giving our September to May teachers and assistants a rest).

Dr. Louis Markos, who was our Harry Parker Memorial Series lecturer a few years ago, will kick off the festival on June 6th by talking about Lewis’ influence and legacy as a Christian thinker. Markos, a professor at Houston Baptist University, will bring a great deal of enthusiasm and cogent scholarship to the class. The next Sunday will be The Rev. Dr. Justyn Terry from Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania.

He will speak on Lewis’ book Miracles. Justyn will be a great follow up to Markos because of his own love of Lewis. His British accent will help, also!

Browse the syllabus and read through the subsequent speakers, their assigned books, and topics. It is noteworthy, however, to mention that Mr. Doug McNeel will cap off the festival.

Doug, who is a seasoned teacher at First Presbyterian Church and native to San Antonio, is a Lewis scholar in his own right.

He is said to be an attorney by day and musician by night; so,

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto.com.

somewhere in between he has found time to be a remarkable Lewis scholar.

Class attendees do not have to read the given books by any means. We hope, though, that this festival will stir up some renewed interest in Lewis and that perhaps a few of us pick up some of his works and be fed by them, even today in the 21st century, some 50 years after his death. Ultimately we hope that our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is further strengthened, just as it was for this convert to Christianity, who dedicated his life thereafter to telling others about the truth and love of the Risen Lord through the written word.

H. Ray Chair in Humanities; he is author of From Achilles to Christ, Lewis Agonistes, and Pressing Forward: Tennyson and the Victorian Age.)

John Barrett Asst. Rector johnb@cecsa.org

June 13: Miracles, – Justyn Terry (Trinity School for Ministry) June 20: “The Enemy” Excerpts from The Screwtape Letters - Leon Fillyaw June 27: “The Screwtape Letters – Round Two: Screwtape revisited”- courtesy of Gene Mesick July 4: “Rival Conceptions of God,” utilizing Mere Christianity – Harry Parker July 11: “What is it that Christians really believe?” An introduction to the Trinity, utilizing Mere Christianity - Harry Parker July 18: Moral Law, Natural Law, Biblical Law – What is “Law”?

How does God use it, and how does Man respond to it? – Jed Morrison, utilizing Mere Christianity and The Abolition of Man July 25: Chronicles of Narnia “Narnia and The Shack”- Owen Duggan

June 6: C.S. Lewis Overview and Introduction - Louis Markos (Louis Markos, PhD, Professor in English and Scholar in Residence at Houston Baptist University, holds the Robert

August 1: Chronicles of Narnia - John Barrett August 8: The Road to Heaven The Great Divorce - Gene Mesick

Cloud of Witnesses - 2010 Recruitment

August 15: Surprised by Joy “Conversion: Lewis’ Conversion/Our Conversion - What is it? A process or one-time event?” - Leon Fillyaw August 22: Jed Morrison – Faith, Hope and Love - Observations on the three greatest Christian virtues from Christian Behavior August 29: Grand Finale - The Four Loves – Doug McNeel, C.S. Lewis scholar and lecturer (attorney by day and musician by night) - Paul affirms that love is the highest theological virtue and is the fulfillment of the law. The apostle John teaches that God is love. In his winsome book, The Four Loves, C. S. Lewis analyzes four types of love, affection, friendship, eros and agape, and shows that agape, as the highest form of love, gives meaning to all of the other loves and to all of life.

Each year as our youth are being confirmed, we offer adults the opportunity to participate in the Cloud of Witnesses program. For many years now our youth have been covered in prayer. What an amazing and remarkable commitment from our church family!

On Sunday, May 16, our new youth confirmands will publicly acknowledge their love of Christ, and it is our desire to

assure them that the community of Christ Church will regularly support them in prayer.

Click Here!

Read more about the program by reviewing the questions and answers.

If you are interested in being a part of this anonymous but powerful ministry, please complete and return the response form.

CLOUD OF WITNESSES YOUTH PRAYER PROGRAM • RESPONSE FORM Please clip and return to Anna Jewell, church receptionist, (church fax 733-1423).

Yes, I would like to pray for one of our young people.

Please contact me!

Name: Home Address: Home Phone: Work Phone: Email: For more information, contact Carol Archer (829-3752).

Pastoral Updates Baptisms Owen William Bridger Ezekiel Jacob Arrendondo Kolton Stephen Joeris Kassidy Skye Joeris Margaret Elizabeth Griffin Pearl Marguerite Moore Wharton Hartselle Colby Gideon Wesley Colby Everett Hayden Colby Marriages Marianna Henckel Gose & James Houston Hill Rachel Thompson & Michael Gomez

Deaths Trudy Rae Hardison Peggy Joy Harman Susanna Phillips Kelly Nellie Esther Netzer Mayfield Charles Bryden Parker Info through May 2, 2010.

Prayer Requests Blanche Ashbrook Tom Cox Edna Noel Leita Carter Ruth Ann Keil Kim Yerly Paul Adams

Richard Batz Tom Ullmann Judy Countryman Lance Lewenthal Joan Brown Georgia Henderson Dick Davis Elsie Strickland Evie Bartholomew Cindy Holliday Carroll Schorlemer Paul Kenyon Greg Waters Donny Duggan Diane Buffington Beverly Hilton

mINISTry

Summer Time in Children’s Ministry Special Sunday School/ Chapel Combo Double Feature Sundays: June 6 and 13 Halleta Heinrich Director of Children’s Ministry halletah@cecsa.org

Summer Sunday School Locations in the FMC: Preschool 3 year olds - graduating kindergarteners: rooms 205 and 206 Graduating 1st graders – 5th graders: 3rd floor village classrooms 301, 302, and 303

We will kick off the summer

with two great animated feature films - “Joseph King of Dreams” on June 6 and “Moses Prince of Egypt” on June 13. These award-winning family movies will help provide a foundation of interest and learning for our Old Testament Summer Sunday School focus and our Joseph in Egypt VBS theme. Popcorn will be provided! Movies will be shown during regular Sunday school and 11:00 Chapel time in the FMC movie theater room 302 from 9:45 – 11:30 AM. Children will be brought into the church as usual during the announcements at the 11:00 AM service. Parents are welcome to join us for these family films!

Hands On Bible Summer Sunday School Featuring Old Testament Heroes: Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Esther; and The Ten Commandments June 20 – August 22

I t looks like it’s going to be an

Old Testament summer, but all teachings will point to the hope of Christ! We will get our hands on the Bible and have a lot of fun while we’re doing it using Group’s “Hands On Bible” curriculum. Our Old Testament emphasis will target the lives of Bible heroes Joseph, Moses,

Joshua, Esther, and teachings on the Ten Commandments.

These Old Testament teachings will provide a great balance for the year which has heavily emphasized the New Testament.

These teachings from the Old Testament will also be supportive of our Joseph in Egypt VBS theme this summer.

Parents and others who love kids will be our summer Sunday school teachers. Sign ups for summer teachers are located in the Tomlin room on the first floor of the Family Ministry Center, on FMC classroom doors, and in the conference room adult classroom.

Hands On Bible curriculum is Bible-based and really “hands on” with fun learning activities used to

Photos by Halleta Heinrich, children’s Communion class celebration, April 11, 2010.

support the Bible point each week. Summer is a great time to get your feet wet and teach.

It’s casual and fun with a great opportunity built in to welcome summer visitors and get to know our Christ Church kids and their peers in a small group setting. Grab a friend and sign up to teach for a week or a month or all summer. You will be blessed! Contact Halleta at the church halletah@cecsa.org for more information.

Summer Children’s Chapels “Kids Ten” - Teachings on the Ten Commandments as a Gift of Love from God June 20 – August 22

O ur children will learn about

God’s rules based on his love for us and our love for him and our neighbors, The Ten Commandments, this summer in 8:30 and 11:00 AM Children’s Chapels. We will view and discuss the animated series “Kids’ Ten” each Sunday which illustrates each commandment in an entertaining and meaningful way. These lessons will tie in with our Old Testament Sunday school emphasis on Moses and the Ten Commandments. The children will be reminded each week of God’s unconditional love for them through Christ as a basis for his giving us the gift of these rules to live by for our own good and the good of others whom he loves also.

Our goal for the summer will be to apply these rules based

on God’s love to our lives and memorize them with understanding by the end of the summer.

“Kids’ Ten” Series: Commandments 1 and 2: The Not So Golden Calf – Do not worship any other gods. Do not make idols of any kind.

Commandments 3 and 4: The Rest Is Yet To Come – Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Remember to observe the Sabbath day.

Commandments 5 and 6: A Life and Seth Situation – Honor your father and mother. Do not murder.

Commandments 7 and 8: Stolen Jewels, Stolen Hearts – Do not commit adultery. Do not steal.

Commandments 9 and 10: Toying With the Truth – Do not testify falsely against your neighbor. Do not covet.

Photos by Susanna Kitayama, children’s Easter egg hunt, April 3, 2010.

From the Olsons...

D ear friends at Christ Church, This morning I had a conversation with one of my friends who came by to borrow something.

This is what he said: Egsa, that tree over there is called a biringen. Lenggam lives there – they eat people. They live in and around the tree. We have seen them in our dreams. They are very mean and they eat people.

Such was the description of one of the main tree spirits the tribal people fear here. I asked him if we went over there if we could see the lenggam, and he said we could not because they only see them in their dreams.

But they fear them greatly. To them the lenggam are very real 20-foot tall human-like creatures covered in hair that eat people who choose to go near them at night. If they don’t eat you, they may make you sick by firing a spirit dart at you.

Even though they only see the lenggam in their dreams, these creatures (along with a host of others) are as real to them as any other human being.

This is life among the Palawano tribe! The spirit world is foremost in their thoughts and their actions. We are learning more and more about this every day, because we are growing deeper in our understanding of the language, the culture, and the relationships we have with the people here. We are praying for the day that we are able to open up and share the Gospel of Christ with them. It is coming!

Hot Season Hot season is here! As I write this in March, the weather is

Photos submitted by George Olson.

hot and dry in this part of the Philippines. Our latitude is only a few degrees north of the Equator, and the prevailing winds in this section of the archipelago make our days very hot (upper 90s) and our nights very cool (mid 60s). The nights will get warmer.

The burnings have begun again— this year seems especially dry due to the El Niño effect, which even our tribal people have heard about (though they don’t know what it means). They have all told us how during the last El Niño the entire jungle burned down! We had heard about this, though undoubtedly a significant number of trees survived, since that was only about 12 years ago.

They always say “every tree” was killed by the fires, and then if you ask them how old a particularly big tree is, they say, “about 60 years.” As we have gotten to know them better, we realize that in their thinking it is not at all a problem for two things that contradict each other to both be true. And that is only one example among many.

The tribal people are very happy that their fields are burning well. A good burn has the effect of killing off insects and weeds, and providing much needed fertilizer for a good crop. Of course, their rice crop will also depend on the rains coming at the proper time. If this year is a particularly strong El Niño, making the weather too dry,

then it is not at all certain that they will get a good harvest.

Our language skills continue to improve. We find that our understanding is growing with an ever- increasing vocabulary. In this kind of language, with no grammar rules written down, we have to figure it all out ourselves. One of my jobs on the tribal team is to write up an analysis of the grammar for the purpose of helping us understand the patterns that are regularly spoken here.

The Spirit World As I wrote above, we are learning about how deeply their lives are affected by the spirit world.

We are surprised that they are opening up to us sooner than we expected. Before, we knew it was a big part of their lives from observation and from talking to other missionaries who have been in neighboring tribal areas. Now, we are learning even more as they tell us directly things that they were not telling us in the beginning.

It is good that they are telling us these things, because it means they trust us, and also that some of them are looking for something different.

In their minds, the spirits effect everything. Here are some examples. When they catch some fish, they have to offer a fish to the spirits or they will get sick. When they work during a yellow moon, they will get injured. When a certain bird chirps before leaving, they have to delay their departure about ten minutes or some disaster will happen. If they laugh during lightning or thunder, they will offend the spirits and get struck by lightning. When the groom gets sick at a wedding, it is because an ancestor spirit shot him. When their fields don’t burn correctly or they get a poor harvest, it is because they failed to have the correct talisman at the time of burning and planting. If they see something in their dreams, it is just as real as being awake. The list goes on and on.

How different is their view of the spirit world from what we see in the movies! In “Avatar” the tree spirit was a benevolent loving deity that protected the people. Real tribal people live in fear of the tree spirits and want only to avoid them so that they are not killed by them.

We don’t know everything about their culture. As we get to know them more and more we realize that right now we are only scratching the surface.

Ultimately our goal is teach them about Christ in their own language, and show how He is relevant to their culture. This is important because if we don’t show them how He is relevant to their culture, He will only become part of their culture, and they will maintain their allegiance to the spirits.

We recently had a group of missionaries from another organization come hiking through our area talking to the people.

We met with them and they told us that what they do is go into an area, build a church building, invite people to come in, and teach them about Christ in the Tagalog language.

This is not at all new—this has been a very common approach to missions all over the world.

However, in these remote tribal cultures that are mostly unexposed to historical and outside influences, our mission has found that teaching first, before building a church building, is far more effective.

The reason we have chosen an even longer path—learning their language and culture first before teaching them about Christ and then teaching them about Him in their own language—is because the people here don’t understand Tagalog. Also their ideas about the spirit world are all wrapped up in their language, so that a direct translation by a travelling preacher is certain to be misinterpreted through the filter of their own spiritual beliefs. If someone came and taught these people about Christ without un-

derstanding what they believe, they might end up thinking that Jesus is the river god (or something like that). It happens all the time where a shortcut approach to evangelism is used.

If someone wants to really take God’s message to people like this, he or she has to be committed to staying at it for a long time.

It is amazing to think that we are working with a tribal group that has a belief system similar to many of the different pagan tribes in the Roman Empire around the time that the apostles went out teaching about Christ. They have multiple deities and a strong adherence to the spirit world, magic charms, and mantras. The problem with all this is that there are clear scriptural prohibitions on con-

tacting the spirit world, which they do on a regular basis. They also have many other destructive and sinful practices in their culture. Without listing them, just imagine the sins listed in the Bible, and they are here among the Palawano (except, ironically, for one: there is no homosexuality here among these people struggling to survive in the jungle). So they are guilty, as Romans 3 says about all people. They are sinners that are lost without Christ, but soon, Lord willing, they will be brought into the light.

As I noted above, we are only scratching the surface of understanding what they believe about the spirit world. Our mission requires that we learn the language and culture well before evangelism. Now that we are doing that, we can see the wisdom of that policy.

A Personal Note We have been in the Philippines for three and a half years. Even though we are eligible for a oneyear home assignment in Texas, we believe the Lord would have us continue on in the tribe right now in order to have better progress in the language and speed up the process of these people hearing the Gospel for the first time. That is why we are planning to return to Texas for the months of June and July this year, and then return to the Philippines to continue the ministry. Our partners in the tribe, fellow New Tribes missionaries from Australia, have passed their language checks and are beginning to prepare the Gospel lessons. Lord willing, we will be far enough along in the language in the fall to assist them in teaching so that we can 10

Photo submitted by George Olson.

see the Gospel penetrate the hearts of these Palawano for the very first time!

Our kids are doing well. Isaac and Sarah are at Faith Academy in Manila—Isaac was selected as MVP of the Junior Varsity Rugby team, and Sarah is enjoying 8th grade! Abby is doing well being home-schooled here in the tribe, making the most of every opportunity to be out with the tribal kids when they are around.

We are very thankful for you all at Christ Church being a part of this ministry to reach the Palawano for Christ! We are excited about what the Lord has in store for this next year. You all at Christ Church have been with us in this endeavor from the beginning, and we pray that the Lord will fill you with hope and encouragement even as His gracious hand reaches out to the tribes around the world!

Blessings to you all in Christ, George & Ginny Olson Isaac, Sarah, and Abby

alender oF eVeNTS

May 16: Confirmation Sunday with Bishop Reed, adults at 8:30 AM and youth at 11:00 AM May 16: 3rd, 4th, and 5th Graders, Spring Malibu Castle Event.

Gather in Tomlin Room at 12:15 PM May 18: Vestry Meeting May 23: Parish Picnic following outdoor 11:00 AM service June 15: Vestry Meeting June 21-25: VBS 2010! Click here for registration forms.

July 4: July 4th Musical Extravaganza and BBQ, after the 11:00 AM service * All events at Christ Church unless otherwise noted.

Christ Church Ministry Staff: The Rev. Chuck Collins, Rector chuckc@cecsa.org The Rev. John Barrett, Asst. Rector johnb@cecsa.org The Rev. Scott Kitayama, Asst. Priest, scottk@cecsa.org Carol Miller, Pastoral Care, carolm@cecsa.org Halleta Heinrich, Director of Children’s Ministry, halletah@cecsa.org Richard Peacock, Director of Student Ministry, richard@palomablanca.net Megan Gensch, Asst. Director of Student Ministry, meg.faye@gmail.com Dr. Owen Duggan, Music Minister, owend@cecsa.org Joshua Benninger, Organist, joshb@cecsa.org Ruth Berg, Director of Children’s Music, ruthaberg@gmail.com

Christ Church Support Staff: Gary Birdwell, Parish Administrator, garyb@cecsa.org Cherelle Liddle, Executive Asst. to the Rector, cherellel@cecsa.org Darla Nelson, Office Mananger, darlan@cecsa.org Donna Shreve, Financial Manager, donnas@cecsa.org Laura Shaver, Director of Communications, lauras@cecsa.org Anna Jewell, Receptionist, annaj@cecsa.org Pat Wilson, Administrative Asst., patw@cecsa.org Elizabeth Martinez, Kitchen Manager, elizabethm@cecsa.org

Children play on the new Christ Church playground, early March 2010.

Click Here!

View more pictures.

Robert Vallejo, Facilities Manager, robertv@cecsa.org Rudy Segovia, Hospitality Manager, rudys@cecsa.org Joe Garcia, Sexton, joeg@cecsa.org

Photo by Susanna Kitayama.

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Send submissions for The Message, website, email newsletter, and Sunday announcements to Laura Shaver, phone: 210.736.3132, fax 210.733.1423, email: lauras@cecsa.org.

Material is published according to timeliness and relevance to the vision of the church. Deadlines for submissions are as follows:

July 27 issue: July 13 deadline Ministry info: August 1 - September 17 The Message is published bi-monthly by Christ Episcopal Church, 510 Belknap Place, San Antonio, TX 78212.

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