Message November 2010

november 16, 2010 • Volume 12, Number 6

Christmas at Christ Church, 3 Children’s Ministry Advent Events, 4-5 A Personal Thank You to Christ Church, 8-10 Our Knitting Group at Christ Church, 11

From

In this issue: Our Church Life.................... 3 Christmas Season Schedule.................................. 3 Children’s Ministry............4-5 SAMM Christmas Gift Project............................. 5 Music Ministry....................... 6 Pastoral Care......................... 7 Community of Hope Class and Retreat.................. 7 World Missions................. 8-10 Knitting Group at Christ Church.................11 Calendar of Events.............12 A Christmas Flowers Offering envelope will be in your Sunday bulletins on Sundays, Nov. 28, Dec. 5, and 12. If you would like to donate in memory of or in thanksgiving for loved ones, please do so

by Dec. 13, 2010.

Cover photo by Susanna Kitayama, Christ Church Knitting Group, October 2010.

Advent W hen I was young I used to

things that have been think that Advent involved too much make-believe. How done in the Name of Jesus. do I prepare for the birth of Hospitals, care Jesus when I know he’s already been born? I now know for the poor better, and one of the things and helpless, Bishop Bill Frey Interim Rector equality of the that gave me a new perspecplusbill@aol.com sexes, literacy tive was a movie. and education, and advances in science all have roots in You’ve all seen, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It’s hard to avoid the Gospel. A major assumption of scientists, even those it—a few years back even who rail against “Intelligent the shopping channels were Design,” is that the universe carrying it. It’s a two-hankie is intelligible. movie, great for Christmas, and for an hour or so, can even make me forget my pes- But closer to hand—what would my life look like simism about human nature without the fact of Jesus? and the doctrine of original Where would I be without sin. But that’s not the most the knowledge of God’s love important thing. You’ll reand forgiveness? Without member that George Bailey is given a chance to see what the privilege of prayer, and thanksgiving? How could I his town would look like if live without the hope that he had never been born. the Gospel proclaims? How great the darkness without And Advent gives me an the coming of the Light! Adopportunity to think about vent becomes a time to think what the world would look about important things, and like if Jesus had never been in thinking, to praise. That’s born, had never taught and not make-believe. healed, lived, died, and been raised. The Church’s critics Bill Frey like to harp on the sins and mistakes of Christians—the Inquisition, the Religious Wars, etc. But they overlook the powerful and positive Christ Episcopal Church 510 Belknap Place San Antonio, TX 78212

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

CHurCHlIFe

Welcome, Norm J oin us in

welcoming Norm Hils, parish administrator, to our church staff.

Norm joined our team in mid-October, and will presently work part-time. If you need to contact Norm, please do so at 736-3132 or normh@cecsa.org.

Norm Hils was called to full-time Christian service in 1997 while serving in the U.S. Air Force. He holds a Bachelors degree in Aeronautical Science and a Masters degree in Management. He attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and received his church business administration certification in 2002. He has served on church staffs as a church business administrator and consults other churches. His passion is to provide competent, professional, business administration support to churches so the ministerial staff can focus their time and energy on ministering to their church members. As a certified church business administrator, Norm belongs to both the National Association of Church Business Administration as well as the local San Antonio Chapter.

Photo by Laura Shaver.

T he Hospitality Pantry will

hold its 10th Annual Christmas Dinner for our hospitality guests on Saturday, Dec. 4 from 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. We are inviting Christ Church parishioners to join us in volunteering to serve our guests and to provide holiday home-baked desserts such as cookies, brownies, etc., and to assist with various crafts, face painting and nail painting. Parishioners are encouraged to come and sit down with our guests and enjoy a meal with them. For information, please call Tina Honsaker at 859-5062, or Rita Millwater at 534-7042.

A Christ Church New Mem-

ber’s Class will be held Saturday, January 22, 2011, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. This class is for adults old and new who are interested in exploring the meaning of faith in Jesus Christ and how they can grow at Christ Church.

This day will also provide instruction for those wishing to be confirmed, received or reaffirmed when the bishop visits in the spring. If you are planning to come, contact Cherelle, 736-3132, or cherellel@cecsa.org, so that we can have materials for everyone. Childcare will be provided.

Christmas at Christ Church Nov. 24 Celebration of Thanksgiving (Eve) service at 6:00 PM Nov. 28 Hanging of the Greens in the Parish Hall, following the 10:15 AM service Nov. 28 Advent Evensong with Bishop Bill Frey and John Barrett Dec. 5 Children’s Christmas Pageant at the 10:15 AM service Dec. 8 Family Advent Event in the FMC movie theater room Dec. 12 Lessons & Carols at the 8:00 and 10:15 AM services Dec. 24 Christmas Eve 5:00 PM: Family Service with children’s choirs 8:00 and 10:30 PM: Services with festive music Dec. 25 Christmas Day 10:00 AM: Service with Christmas hymns

mInISTrY

Prepare Your Hearts for the Birth of Christ A New Family Advent Event C hildren’s

Halleta Heinrich Director of Children’s Ministry halletah@ cecsa.org

Ministry at Christ Church invites you to prepare your hearts for the birth of the Christ by sponsoring the following events...

Hanging of the Greens Come “deck the halls,” our Parish Hall, on the first Sunday of Advent, Nov. 28, after the 10:15 AM service. Join your parish family for a casual lunch, hot cocoa, cider, and cookies, as we decorate our gathering place for the holiday season. Children will decorate their own tree and take part in a Christmas cookie decorating contest.

There will be no losers, because they all get to eat their fantastic creations. Carols will be played and sung to set the tone. Our church family and our Parish Hall will receive an Advent blessing.

Please contact Halleta at the church at halletah@cecsa.org no later than Tuesday, November 23, if you are coming so we can plan for a casual lunch to be served. A $5 offering per person and $10 max per family is requested.

Come join us for a casual family dinner and a fun family hour in preparation for the new Narnia movie, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” on Wednesday evening from 5:00 to 7:00 PM in the Family Ministry Center. We will gather in the Tomlin Room for a casual dinner, then go up to the movie theater for singing, activities, and film clips in preparation for the latest movie release of the C. S. Lewis classic on Dec. 10. Each family will receive a family expedition music CD and an expedition map with activities families can do at home relating to this Christian adventure. A $15 offering is requested per family to cover costs of dinner and the family pack.

Don’t miss this opportunity for a meaningful fun and fellowship time with your parish family, and invite friends.

RSVP to Halleta at the church at halletah@cecsa.org by Monday, November 29 so we can order family expedition packets and lunch for your family.

Children photos on Sunday, Oct. 31, by Susanna Kitayama.

C ome see and hear. Our 5th

We Invite You To

“Santa’s Favorite Story” presented by the children of Christ Church Sunday, December 5 during the 10:15 AM service This year’s pageant is inspired by the children’s classic of the same title written by Hisako Aoki and illustrated by Ivan Gantschev. St. Nicholas, played by our own Bishop Frey, will help narrate the story of the first Christmas from the Gospel of Luke.

Don’t miss receiving this special Christmas gift to Jesus and Christ Church from our children!

graders will play the starring roles of Mary, Joseph, the Donkey, Angel Gabriel, the Bethlehem Angel, the Innkeepers, the Three Wise Kings, and the Camel. Three year olds will portray the sheep of the fields and fourth graders their shepherds. PreK and kindergarteners will be woodland and manger animals that witness and celebrate the birth of Christ. First and second grade girls will be Christmas angels, and first and second grade boys will be stars. Third graders will be all important Santa’s helpers. All age levels will have a special highlighted song to help tell the story of the first Christmas. Our parish family will be invited to sing congregational songs that express in music “Santa’s Favorite Story.”

All Sundays through Dec. 5: song practice in chapel and Sunday school.

Saturday, Dec. 4 from 10:00 to 11:00 AM: all-cast practice in the church. 5th grade stars should stay until 12 noon.

Sunday, Dec. 5: all children should report to their Sunday school classes at 9:00 AM to get ready for the pageant.

SAMM Christmas Gift Project Our prayer is that the most meaningful Christmas gift you buy this year may be for someone in need you don’t even know. We are sponsoring 10 families from the SAMM Shelter who are transitioning from homelessness to independent living. Sign ups are located in each Sunday school class from nursery to adults. We ask that Sunday school classes pray for their sponsored families by name each Sunday. A $5 - $50 limit is suggested this year.

Gifts are due at the church wrapped and tagged with recipient’s name no later than Sunday morning, Dec. 19.

Santa will deliver the gifts at the SAMM Shelter Christmas party at Christ Church on Sunday, Dec. 19, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM in the Parish Hall. Our older elementary students will help serve and direct craft activities for the children. Shelter participants will share their witness of the working of Christ in their lives through SAMM. All parishioners are invited to come help host the Christmas party on Dec. 19. You will be inspired! Call Halleta at the church or email at halletah@cecsa.org if you would like to help.

mInISTrY

Advent Evensong “From the rising of the sun to its going down, let the Name of the LORD be praised.”

Psalm 113:3

prayer can make us mindful of Christ, the Light of the World, as the true illumination for our lives.

A dvent Evensong at Christ

This Advent I the Chapel Boychoir of San Antonio, which has been resident to Christ Church since 2000, will join the adult Chancel Choir to offer choral works

by Tallis (one of the 16thcentury founders of Anglican liturgy), Weelkes, Rutter and Phillips. Our own organist Josh Benninger will play along with special guest and associate director of the boychoir, Mary Ann Winden. Dr. Owen Duggan will direct the choirs.

Church with the Chapel Boychoir of San Antonio will be held on Sunday, Nov. 28, at 4:00 PM in the sanctuary.

Evensong centers around the daily Anglican and Episcopal service of Evening Prayer developed over the past 400 years. The service contains a number of themes—interaction between God and his people as presented in the Psalms and the Biblical songs of Mary (Magnificat) and Simeon (Nunc dimittis), light both real and mystical, and finally fulfills its purpose as an extended grace before an evening meal.

owen duggan Minister of Music owend@cecsa.org

josh benninger Organist joshb@cecsa.org

We invite you to come and worship with us at this special, quiet service in the “beauty of His holiness.”

The ancient hymn Phos hilaron (“O gracious light”) calls to mind a time when darkness was a part of daily routine, a time before electricity when candles, fires, and oil lamps were expensive and beyond reach for many.

In this context, Evensong’s celebration of light, both in its physical presence and in sung texts such as, “a light to lighten the Gentiles,” takes on a deeper temporal as well as spiritual meaning.

At Evensong, listening and

Chapel Boychoir photo submitted by Owen Duggan.

Festival of Lessons & Carols Sunday, December 12 8:00 and 10:15 AM services “Once in royal David’s city stood a lowly cattle shed.”

CAre

Life After Loss A support group for those who have experienced the loss of a loved one

H ow do you cope with grief?

Some people act as if life should be” back to normal” within weeks or months following a death. That doesn’t always happen. The first thing you need to remember is that your grief journey is your own unique process, and you will experience it in your own way. Robert Zucker, grief counselor, said remember to gently care for yourself through the pain and loneliness that grief brings because that will be one of the most important parts of your healing.

I would like to invite you to attend a six-week support group sponsored by Christ Church Pastoral Care and Porter Loring Family Care Services. This program is designed by the American Cancer Society to help bereaved people better understand the process of grief and how to live through it in a way that transforms them. It also provides a place for people to share their experiences and support each other in their grief. The program will take place at Christ Episcopal Church, beginning Jan. 18 through Feb. 22 at 12:30 PM in our conference room.

The group will be facilitated

by Paula Loring and include a combination of teaching, discussion, and learning activities. Any one who has experienced the loss of a loved one is welcome, and there is no charge for the program.

For more information or to register, you may call Carol Miller, Pastoral Care Administrator, at 736-3132.

Baptisms Judd Woodward Kraft, son of Heather and John Kraft; Audrey Kathryn Hanzel, daughter of Erika and Teal Hanzel; Tracy Scott Brotherton Marriages Marian Nordon Hudson & Thomas Chad Burns; Julie Augusta Jones & Alexander Abbed Deaths Paul Woolman Adams Jr.; Raymond Phelps III

A Community of Hope class will begin on Jan. 13, 2011.

Sudie Holshouser and carol miller Pastoral Care Sherry O’Kelley Administrator will be the carolm@cecsa.org facilitators for the class, which will meet each Thursday evening with dinner at 6:30 PM. The speaker follows at 7:00.

This class will run for 13 weeks with the following outstanding speakers: Sylvia Maddox, Diane Thrush, the Rev. Mary Earle, the Rev. Eric Fenton, Bishop Frey, Betse Rockwood, Maria Wellish, and others. The class is limited to approximately 12 people. Call soon to assure your place.

For more information, call Sudie at 828-8468 or Sherry at 828-0780.

Community of Hope West Texas Retreat at the Mustang Island Conference Center March 5-6, 2011 “Contemplative Compassion” with the Rev. Sarah Butler Berlin Learn more at: http://www.cecsa.org/events

mISSIonS

Mission Trip to Port-au-Prince, Haiti Dear Christ Church,

M y name is Brady Morri-

son and I am writing you to thank you for your financial and prayerful support of my mission trip to Port-auPrince, Haiti, with Campus Crusade for Christ. I am back home after three weeks of living missionally in Haiti, and I have much to share about how God moved in Haiti while I was there. The Lord gathered me and 61 other college students from around the US to serve and grow together in His name.

While we were there, we spent time building foundations (metaphorically and literally) for buildings to be constructed by the end of this year. We lived on a property owned by a local ministry, Nehemiah Vision Ministries (NVM). On that campus, there are building projects currently underway to build a church, school, orphanage, hospital, warehouse, orchard, and housing facilities to serve the community around NVM. God is doing a great work there to serve Haiti both physically and spiritually. Medical care and education will be offered free of charge to anybody who needs it. Children who have been orphaned by the earthquake will find a home there.

The agricultural component

Photos submitted by Brady Morrison.

will bring in income to help support the ministry long term. It is very clear that God is moving on that campus to bring about a revival in Haiti.

Some of the money that you donated for my trip has gone [to] directly support this wonderful ministry!

Our work in Haiti extended far beyond the campus of Nehemiah Vision Ministries.

When we left that campus, we spent time going to IDP (Internally Displaced People) camps, also known as “tent cities� to share the Gospel with the people there. We would break into teams of four Americans and one Haitian translator, and we would walk to the Haitians living there and start up conversations with them.

Sharing the Gospel through a translator is an interesting experience, and seeing God work through the language barrier was amazing. Some people we met were already Christian, and some had just become Christians the day of the earthquake on January 12. Some people we met did not practice a religion, and others we suspected practiced voodoo. But regardless of the background, every person we met was willing to hear the story of Jesus Christ, and through those conversations, we saw many people come to know and accept Christ!

There was one woman who I met that blew me away with her faith and love for the Lord. We went into an

IDP camp and it was smaller and more impromptu than other camps we had been to.

I met a lady who had been a Christian for 17 years and whose son was the pastor of their local church. Her tent was very small and in fact had nothing in it, just the ground. After learning that she was a Christian, I asked her how God had been faithful to her since the earthquake. She replied, “I woke up this morning, our God is so faithful!” I was blown away by her love for the Lord, regardless of her circumstance. Experiences like that taught me how to be joyful no matter the circumstance. The Apostle Paul talks about that in Philippians 4:12-13: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Knowing that there are believers like that in the country of Haiti gives me even more hope that the hand of God will move swiftly through that country, using faithful followers of the Lord Jesus Christ to bring about a revival.

I saw the power of fasting and prayer while in Haiti.

The building projects I described above all require a lot of materials to be shipped into Haiti and brought to our property. These materials come on cargo ships in large metal containers. The Haitian agency in charge of releasing these containers that are imported is corrupt. They keep the containers for as long as they want to, charging large amounts of money to the people who need the containers. We currently have six more containers sitting at the port, waiting to be released. We used to have eight that were being held, but God had mercy on us to release two of them.

The day after we prayed and fasted for 24 hours, asking for the containers to be released, we received news

that two containers were on their way to us. It was amazing to see such a quick, clear, and definitive answer from God, giving us hope that He was blessing our building projects. God also moved through prayer in an interesting way.

While at an IDP camp, my team spent 25 minutes talking to a woman who was a Christian and who had just given birth to her first baby, a one-day-old boy. We talked to her about the earthquake and also about her son. She told us that she had trouble trying to conceive a baby, and how she prayed to God to give her a baby. She was three months pregnant on the third floor of a building in Port-au-Prince when the earthquake hit. She survived and felt like she and her

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unborn child had been protected by God. We learned that her son did not have a name, and she asked us if we had any suggestions. A member of my team suggested the name Samuel, because of the similarity to the story of Hannah and her son Samuel from the Bible. The woman liked the name and her husband agreed. They named the boy Samuel on the spot!

We could not believe that we were able to name a baby in Haiti! When the whole team reconvened that night at our campus, we told the story of baby Samuel, and another student started laughing and told us how two nights prior, he had read Hannah’s Prayer from 1 Samuel 2. In prayer, he petitioned to God, asking God to rise up spiritual leaders in Haiti in the coming generation. He specifically asked God to rise up ‘Samuels’ in the next generation to lead Haiti into God’s kingdom. We had no knowledge of his prayer to God when we named that baby! His request to God and our story of baby Samuel gave us all great joy and it became a favorite story for the team throughout the trip. Our God is a creative God! Because of its amazing potential to serve the Lord in Haiti, the work of Nehe10

Photo submitted by Brady Morrison.

miah Vision Ministries is a long-term interest of mine.

I would recommend that if you feel called to continue to give financially to help Haiti (you have already helped in a great way, through supporting my trip), then know that the Lord is moving mightily through this ministry and your money would go directly to serving and loving the people of Haiti. If you are interested, their website is www.nehemiahvisionministries.org. I would like to personally thank you again for supporting me and my team in our efforts to serve the Lord and love the people of Haiti. The Lord blessed us to let us be a part of his rebuilding of the country.

The stories and blessings of Haiti could fill a book and I feel that I lived a year’s worth of life, crammed into three weeks time. There is no question that Haiti is a country of poverty, both physically and spiritually.

Walking the streets of Portau-Prince made that clear as day. But the hope we all have in Christ shines brighter than the sun! The hope in our Lord who is powerful, redeeming, joyful, and active is much more overwhelming than the effects of the earthquake in Haiti. Surely our God is moving in Haiti and around the world!

Light up the darkness, Brady Morrison

The Knitting Group at Christ Church

. . . knitting for those who “might need a hug.�

T he knitting group at Christ Church meets each Tuesday afternoon in the library, as they

have for a few years now, knitting beautiful and vibrant prayer shawls for those in need. If you are interested in joining the knitting group, please contact Evelyn Camp at 828-2776.

Photo collage by Susanna Kitayama.

11

alender oF evenTS

November 24: Celebration of Thanksgiving (Eve) service at 6:00 PM

Christ Church Ministry Staff:

November 28: Family Advent Event in the Parish Hall, following the 10:15 AM service

The Rt. Rev. Bill Frey, Interim Rector plusbill@aol.com

November 28: Advent Evensong, 4:00 PM November 30: Christ Healing Center Open House, 5:00 to 7:00 PM, 135 W. Olmos December 2: Holiday Parents’ Night Out, 5:30 to 9:00 PM in the Family Ministry Center December 4: Children’s All-Cast practice at 10:00 AM December 4: Food Pantry’s Hospitality Luncheon in the Parish Hall, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM December 4: Jr. Daughters of the King Christmas caroling, 2:30 to 6:30 PM, meet in the Parish Hall December 5: “Santa’s Favorite Story” children’s Christmas pageant at 10:15 AM service December 8: Family Advent Event in the movie theater room in the Family Ministry Center, 5:00 to 7:00 PM December 11: Quiet Day Advent Retreat, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Bishop Jones Center, 111 Torcido December 12: Lessons & Carols at the 8:00 and 10:15 AM services December 19: SAMM Shelter Christmas Dinner in the Parish Hall December 21: Vestry Meeting at 5:00 PM December 24: Christmas Eve services at 5:00, 8:00, and 10:30 PM

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 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: Norm Hils, Parish Administrator, normh@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

December 25: Christmas Day service at 10:00 AM

Pat Wilson, Administrative Asst., patw@cecsa.org

January 9, 2011: Blood Drive at Christ Church, 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM

Elizabeth Martinez, Kitchen Manager, elizabethm@cecsa.org

January 22: New Member’s Class, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Robert Vallejo, Facilities Manager, robertv@cecsa.org

January 23: Christ Church Parish Annual Meeting, immediately following 10:15 AM service in the sanctuary Visit our Church Life page online for more information: www.cecsa.org/feature2 12

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

Children’s Chapel, October 31, photos by Susanna Kitayama.

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: January 4, 2011: December 7 deadline Ministry info: January 8 - March 11 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