November 2017 message

November 2017 • Volume 19, Number 6

Processing out to break ground on our new outreach center

The Bible: 2 Making Time: 6 Advent Advice: 7 Welcoming a World Changer: 9 You’re Invited to Dinner: 11 What is Patrick Reading Now?: 12 Photo Album: 15

FROM

In this issue: Music Ministry ...................... 6

The Bible This is Patrick’s third epistolary essay in this series about the Christian ministry.

Youth Ministry....................... 7 Family Ministry .................... 8 Our Church Life .................10 Page Turners.......................12 Great Commission..............13 Calendar of Events.............14 Photo Album........................15

Sunday Services: 7:30 a.m.

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

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

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

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

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

Cover photos by Susanna Kitayama Back cover inset by Charles Parrish

2

D

ear Alex,

You write of your fear of going off to seminary in some unknown PATRICK GAHAN Rector locale, acquiring patrickg@cecsa.org loads of debt, and then being called to an inadequate job in an equally foreboding area. Hold your horses and catch your breath! You are getting way ahead of yourself. In our tradition, you must be invited to go to seminary by the bishop and people of the diocese to pursue ordination. Not one of us is a free agent, even though we may masquerade as one from time to time. We are ordained to serve a community of people under the obedience of Christ and those appointed over and around us. Far from being oppressive, the fact gives us comfort.

The community that sends you to seminary remains your community when you exit those ivy-covered walls of learning. You will not be alone, and you will not bear your challenges in solitary.

Let me be quick to add that I do understand your fears based on your family’s history.

I did know that your father lost his job at DuPont late in your high school career. Worse still, he was in his midfifties at the time, which shrunk his employment o p p o r t u n i t i e s considerably.

Because your parents are proud people, they kept those fears close to their chests. Until I received

your letter, I had no idea of the pain and uncertainty your family endured during that time. Your growing anxiety over seminary, debt, and relocation – all these unknowns – proceed from your deeper experience.

We Are Part of a Bigger Story No matter how hard we run, we cannot outdistance our past, but this is largely good news, not bad. We are living, breathing vehicles of a story that is both within us and, at the same time, much larger than we are. As much as I would like to aver that we are always dauntlessly breaking new ground, it is more accurate to say we are plowing fresh furrows in the much older story

Bible Window, chancel at Christ Episcopal Church

From Our Rector... that we’ve been given. We are the story that reaches back to ancestors unknown to us and stretches forth to progeny we cannot imagine or count. Looked at that way, you and I are both Abraham to whom the Lord said at first, ‘Go from your country and kindred and your father’s house to a land that I will show you’ (Genesis 12:1). In other words, “Go and live the story that I have implanted within you.” And later God will speak to Abraham again to assure him on his inscrutable odyssey, ‘Look into the sky and count the stars – if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be’ (Genesis 15:5). Abraham’s story will not end with him any more than ours are extinguished at our own deaths.

Those of us who live in faith will have our fields plowed anew, row upon row.

Consider St. Paul’s story chronicled in the New Testament, several hundred years after Abraham’s appearance in the Old. He offers his abridged biography in his Letter to the Philippians – ‘A Hebrew born of Hebrews, a Pharisee, a zealous persecutor of Christians’ (Philippians 3:4-8). In that one sentence, we can see that Paul’s story, which is served upon sterling silver, quickly descends into the dog bowl, and yet Paul confesses that the Lord uses every moment of it – the bad perhaps more than the good.

Your story will unfold the same way.

The fear you endured as a teenager, the anxiety you harbor now, the courage you are calling upon to venture forth into the unknown, all will be compiled to fortify and refashion you, like your forefather Paul, and make you a living, visible witness of the salvation of Jesus Christ.

Abraham was as equally flawed as Paul if you consider pawning off your wife as a concubine in order to save your own skin – not once but twice (Genesis 12:10-20 & 20:1-8)! Like Paul, Abraham had to live into his story, both the good and the bad, and so did David, Rahab, Jacob, Mary Magdalene, Peter, and Mark. We remember every one of these heroes because of the strength of their stories, the darkness within themselves that they overcame, and the fact that they lived in a story much larger than themselves, which rambles through the Bible like a thundering mountain torrent.

The Bible is Our Story You and I are part of that mighty, redolent cataract streaming off the pages of the Bible. We find ourselves, complete with our sterling and tarnished pasts, within the greater story. A pastor’s work is inauthentic until this discovery is made. Our words are empty lest they reflect the strange truth capering from those varied, discursive sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments.

We need the Bible because it tells us who we are. The origins of the written texts tell us as much. Most Christians accept that most of the Old Testament stories were shared orally before they were carefully written down. Yet why were many of these sagas of the patriarchs, Exodus, judges, prophets, kings, wars, defeats, victories, famines, and enslavement purposefully scripted during and after the Babylonian Exile (587-538 B.C.)? The answer is glaringly apparent. With the destruction of Jerusalem, along with Solomon’s glorious temple, and the displacement of the leading lights, luminaries, scholars, priests, and civic officials – the threat of the Jew’s complete dissolution was an imminent possibility. The Jews either got busy codifying and securing their story or the next generations would entirely forget who they were.

At this point, Judaism begins to be established and the Jews incrementally move from being a people centered on the temple to becoming a people centered on the Book. Of course, the temple is eventually rebuilt, twice in fact. Nevertheless, the Book, the Hebrew Bible, greatly rises in importance for the Jews due to their fear of losing their identity in the future. As an aside, this gives us a clue as to why the scribes and the Pharisees relentlessly confronted Jesus with their militant interpretation of the Bible.

Accordingly, the formation of the New Testament is similar to the Old, albeit during a much shorter timetable. Paul, the first and most prolific author of the New Testament, writes to the churches he founded around the Mediterranean and to the individual disciples he tutored in those places in order to reinforce the story of Christ and his

death and resurrection. Paul’s first correspondence is composed less than 30 years after Christ was raised. In the same way, the four Gospels, Revelation, the General and Pastoral epistles are written to the earliest Christian communities so that the living witness of Christ would be indelibly inculcated within them. The last of these was written at the end of the first century, or some 70 years after the resurrection of our Lord. Excuse my brief academic survey, but it is necessary to emphasize this central purpose of the Bible, which is the transmission of the eternal story of God in a relationship with his people.

This is our story, the Greatest One Ever Told, which must be generously shared amongst believers. If the story is not consistently and accurately exchanged, the Christian church will be malformed and dwindle. We must harbor the same fear as the Jews of the fifth century B.C. If we lose this story, we lose it all.

Ours Is a Story of Grace I am but one grateful recipient of that great story’s retelling. When, at age 18, I arrived at Trinity University, I fully imagined that I comprehended the Christian story. After all, I had received my first unsettling call to the ministry two months earlier while working a summer job in a Birmingham steel fabrication plant. Because I have rehearsed my past with you ad nauseam, you may be surprised that I did not come to understand the Bible story until that first year in college. True, at age twelve, I began serving as the weekend sexton of All Saints’ Episcopal Church, and by age fourteen, I was enrolled at a church boarding school– both Christian institutions situated solidly in the Bible Belt. Nevertheless, in my poorly paraphrased conception of the Bible, Jesus did not need to die for me or be raised from the dead. Therefore, I inhabited a graceless universe.

Providentially, on the Trinity campus, I encountered volunteers from Inter Varsity and Campus Crusade for Christ, who relinquished their precious free time to extend the transformative gospel of Jesus to me. By the spring of my freshman year, I, at last, grasped the utter necessity of Christ’s sacrifice and the unsearchable grace of his resurrection. I was a changed man, who would carry that story into his marriage

3

From Our Rector... and into his vocation.

rudimentary parts of the Bible.” The mother’s experience is much like mine To understand the Bible through the or any other Bible reading Christian I unearned, unmerited grace extended to know. Connected to God’s story, a story me by Christ, broadened my spiritual so much bigger than our own, we find vision in a dramatic way. I can only our way out of futility and darkness. compare it to a backpacking trek I The Bible, when comprehended in light made with our oldest son Clay when of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection he was eight-years-old. We were hiking assures us that history is headed in the up and down, rocky terrain that somewhere. To receive the story in faith winds through the foothills of the is to realize we are going somewhere Appalachians, too because when the we have been The Bible story takes me to curtain of night swept up in descended that high place where I can see this chronicle upon us with countless beyond the humdrum daily unexpectedly. other pilgrims, Clay was routine of life and realize God living and dead, completely moving beneath is opening up something far worn out, and Christ’s Cross his dad was not by way of his greater for me and for you. far behind him. empty tomb.

Summiting a treacherous vertical slope, we found a Because we walk beneath the shadow small flat expanse, and hastily set up of Christ’s Cross, we realize that all our tent in the darkness. After a feast of of life is a dress rehearsal, for along sardines and Pop-Tarts, we slid into our the way we will experience death on sleeping bags and fell into a deep sleep. the outside and inside. The pain will The morning sunlight and a symphony be real, like that of the young mother. of birds awakened us, but when we Mostly, however, we will experience a unzipped the flap of our tent, we could procession of smaller deaths during scarcely believe our eyes. We were our life’s pilgrimage. Destructive sitting atop a pronounced promontory habits, disparaging proclivities, and that overlooked a vast verdant valley empty routines must be jettisoned. of innumerable hardwoods. I gasped These must be relinquished in order to think I was seeing Eden from above. that the greater story has room to Laboriously hiking amongst the giant grow in us. As the Bible’s story of boulders, underbrush, and towering grace increases within us, we will catch trees the day before, we had no idea glimpses of paradise within ourselves the vista God would set before us with and in other people, and in things we the sunrise. The Bible story takes me to once overlooked. Yet even with this that high place where I can see beyond succession of resurrections, we will the humdrum daily routine of life and realize that we have a long way to go realize God is opening up something in our transformation and to more fully far greater for me and for you. experience Christ. Again, in Philippians, the great apostle speaks for all of us on What’s more, our persistent reading of this journey: the Bible keeps us yoked to God’s story of grace. This larger story must embrace ‘I want to know Christ--yes, to us or we are fraught with rootlessness know the power of his resurrection and hopelessness. The certainty of and participate in his sufferings, this claim was illustrated for me one becoming like him in his death.’

Sunday night, just after the 6 PM Philippians 3:10 service. A young mother was present who had suffered the deepest sorrow Paul is confident that Christ has imaginable. Immediately following the changed his egocentric, destructive self end of the worship, she strode up to me from the inside out. He is now living and quietly offered, “I find my deepest a literally resurrected life, which has peace while reading God’s word. I can’t been a catalyst for his hyper-heroic coherently explain it, but a calm comes work crisscrossing the Mediterranean over me when reading even the most world. Regardless, Paul knows that

4

he must die to himself even more in the coming days because that is the character of one traveling beneath Christ’s cross – dynamic, unceasing transformation of life. We only have to look at the greatly humiliated and diminished King David, who cries out after he is confronted for his sordid, premeditated crimes of adultery and murder, ‘A broken and contrite spirit, O Lord, you will not despise’ (Psalm 51:17). In one way or another, we have all harbored adulterous and murderous hearts. The Big Story assures us of a heart transplant.

Biblical Muscle Memory Our call as ministers is to teach this story, but not as cardboard cutouts moving lifelessly across the stage. No, we teach the Bible story more like a coach forming his athletes, so that their movements become instinctual.

While coaching high school football and basketball for many years, my goal was to inculcate muscle memory in my athletes. I did not want a defensive end in football to ponder what to do when the opposing quarterback screamed down the line-of-scrimmage indicating an option play was afoot. Depending on the defensive set, I wanted him to either tackle the quarterback, who was to make the pitch or deck the tailback, who was to receive the pitch. If he had to think about it, one of those two would be scampering down the sideline towards our end zone. In the same way, I didn’t want a forward on our basketball team to ruminate even for a nanosecond what to do when an opposing guard lofted a shot at our defensive basket.

No, I wanted him to reflexively jab his rear end into the hip of the nearest different colored jersey he could find and secure the ball for our side. That’s muscle memory, and the great Bible stories must be implemented in the same way. The story must live within us or a different one will certainly set up home in our psyche.

During a most unexpected encounter, a meeting with the mayor in early October, I ran headlong into the veracity of this claim. Some thirty pastors and Christian leaders from all across San Antonio were invited to meet with the mayor, in order for him to share with us his vision of a more compassionate city. His words revealed

From Our Rector... a man with a deep desire to make our varied neighborhoods healthier, safer, friendlier, and with all sectors of this sprawling metropolis sharing equitably in our collective good fortune.

When the mayor completed his address, he asked for questions and responses from the assembly. All of the comments were positive and supportive, yet one young pastor added the most important insight. He stood and meekly stated, “Mr. Mayor, all of us Christian leaders in the room are determined to call others to live in a bigger story,” and without offering a syllable of editorial, he sat down. In one sentence, the young pastor served up the undeniable truth.

Unless individuals repent, go through a change of heart, and begin living the bigger story of God’s eternal purpose, the compassion called for by the mayor will be adhered to us as a thin veneer.

Only lightly glued to our hamlets and

neighborhoods, the compassion will peel off with the slightest amount of heat. The same can be predicted about our families, workplaces, and government. If we continue to live in a small graceless story, the results will surely disappoint us. Biblical muscle memory changes all of our relationships one grace-full person at a time.

The Bible, therefore, is far more than a collection of rules, adages, and curious yarns. The Bible connects us with God’s higher vision for humanity. He is, after all, “mayor” of the universe. His Book gives us the broad sweep of His purpose and love experienced at creation, with Israel, and through Jesus. It connects us to the story we must inhabit if we wish to live life to the fullest with God and others.

that in Christ, those stories have lost their power over us. You wear the strain of your family’s financial crucible. I bear the wounds of an alcoholic father.

Another friend carries her abuse and another a destructive marriage and yet another an addiction. Because we are in Christ, those past chapters cannot define us, for they are only footnotes in a story that transcends them.

‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us. And let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.’

Hebrews 12:1 Your brother,

Patrick U

And, Alex, while it is true that we cannot outrun our old stories, it is also true

Advent Service of Lessons and Carols On December 17, at both the 9 am and 11 am services, members of the San Antonio Symphony, Christ Episcopal Church adult and children’s choirs and guests will perform the following selections at the 2017 Advent Service of Lessons and Carols: “Death shall be no more” by Josh Benninger “For unto us a child is born” from Messiah “A spotless rose” by Tom Shelton “The Annunciation” by Tom Fettke “Carol of the Children” by John Rutter “Sure on this shining night” by Morten Lauridsen “Hallelujah Chorus” from Messiah “Candlelight Carol” by John Rutter “This Christmastide” by Donald Fraser

Christmas Services

December 24 3 pm Child Friendly Communion Celebration

5 pm Family Service with Junior Choirs

8 & 11 pm Rite II Eucharist with Brass and Choir

December 25 10 AM

5

MINISTRY 24

“I

JOSH BENNINGER Director of Music and Worship joshb@cecsa.org

f it is important to you, then you will make time for it.” I inherited this wisdom from Patrick Gahan months ago. We allow ourselves to be crushed under the weight of our busy lives and

forget what matters to us most. Ask yourself this: What percentage of your life is wasted on non-essential desires?

I interpret Patrick’s message like this: If you want to spend more quality time with your family, then make time for it. This may mean removing our eyeballs from the TV and our mobile devices to become fully present with our family and friends. If you want to read the Bible more, or get fit and lead a healthier lifestyle, then make time for it.

This may mean waking up earlier in the morning to fit this into your schedule, or carving out time during the lunch hour. Making time for something may require giving up something in return.

While serving in the Air Force, I enjoyed a high level of fitness. Running was my primary tool to achieve it, and I ran a lot.

However, I’ve been out of active duty service for over seven years, and up until 25 days ago my level of commitment to running had waned. I had trouble finding an appropriate time during the day in which to exercise. Running in the morning was problematic, because I usually experienced headaches for the remainder of the day. Running in the afternoon in the soul-melting South Texas sun, except for maybe the months of December and January, is reserved for gladiators and people who have lost their minds. Because of this, my attempts at running were feeble and infrequent.

A few weeks ago, I finished reading Living with a Seal, by Jesse Itzler. Being 42-years-old (same age as me), Jesse was fit for his age having run multiple marathons, but he wanted to improve, not just physically but mentally. In comedic fashion, Jesse tells the story of

6

of

25

how and why he invited Retired Navy Seal David Goggins to live in his highrise New York apartment home with his wife and toddler son for 30 days to be his personal trainer. David is among the elite, ultra-endurance athletes, and has competed in more than 50 endurance races, setting top five finishes in many of them.

As you can imagine, the training regimen Jesse is thrust into is amazingly difficult, painful, but also rewarding. Jesse comes out of the other side of those 30 days running farther and faster than ever before. Jesse also becomes more resilient by learning how to more effectively manage his stress.

Things he once thought difficult were now easy. One significant thing Jesse had to change was to make time for it.

He had to get up earlier in the morning.

He spent less time doing things that were either not productive or, in reference to Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, he removed things from his life schedule that did not give him joy. Running gave Jesse joy, so he made time for it.

After reading this book, I changed tactics. Even though I didn’t enjoy running in the morning, I decided to give it another try, but this time with two twists: one intentional and one accidental. The first one was that I would run every day, early in the morning, no matter what. Rain or shine, I would get up and go. The second twist was related to the java bean.

The first day I got up at 5:30 AM and went for a three-mile run. Waking up early wasn’t the tough part. It was the coffee. For some reason, probably because I did something so outside my normal schedule, I forgot to drink coffee that day. You need to understand that for the past 20 years, with only a few minor exceptions, I have had at least one cup of coffee each day. In my eyes, it was a necessity to get through the day.

I did endure a headache that first day, but I assumed it was due to the lack of caffeine. So, for fun (I know, I have a strange sense of humor), I decided to give up coffee, cold-turkey. It was

hard. The headaches did return the second day after running, and the third, and continued to last for over a week. But, once my caffeine withdrawal symptoms disappeared, the headaches disappeared as well. This surprised me, since I frequently experienced headaches in the past after a morning run even with caffeine surging through my bloodstream.

I don’t pretend to be a medical professional, but the combination of running and coffee, at least for me, was causing a conflict. More to the point, I realized I didn’t miss coffee. Coffee was something I held onto out of routine and ritual, but it never truly gave me joy. So, I got rid of it.

Run Josh Run

Out of the past 25 days, I have laced up my sneakers and gone running for 24 of them. I am now running faster and farther. With the removal of coffee my head is clearer and more focused. I sleep more soundly. The daily obstacles and hurdles that appear in my path during any given day feel easier to cope with and surmount. I am also finding time to fit in personal prayer time while hitting the pavement. Running is important to me. Prayer is important to me. So, I made time for them. I had to give up an hour of sleep, go to bed earlier, and stop drinking coffee to make it happen.

What are you willing to do to make more time for what gives you joy?

Josh Benninger

MINISTRY How

to

Pay Attention

A

dvent is a crazy time for the entire family and especially for students.

Apart from all the holiday parties, pageants, and planning, there GAVIN ROGERS is still school Youth Minister work, finals, gavinr@cecsa.org and sports to complete before we celebrate Christmas. The season of Advent is a time when we should slow down and wait for the long-expected Jesus. However, how can families (and students!) find the time to slow down and really pay attention to what God wants us to hear?

For this Message article, I have found FOUR simple devotionals you can share with students, parents, volunteers, and so on. The devotions are a handy way to maximize our connections with Jesus throughout this most festive season— and beyond.

Gavin The Week of Dec. 3rd: Advent 1: “BE STILL” “Be still, and know that I am God!” Psalm 46:10 The psalmist reminds readers that amid life’s troubles, Jesus is our refuge and strength. Craziness might be caused by calamities, relationships, hectic schedules, and more. But Jesus is present and speaking equally in times of peace and in times of insanity; sometimes we just need a reminder to slow down and see his face and hear his voice.

1. Read the Bible. Yes, this seems super obvious. But it’s often one of the last things we think of doing.

Any passage is great, but why not focus on the Christmas story? Our favorite Scripture to ponder during this season is Luke 2:1-20.

2. Sit near your Christmas tree at home. Take time to breathe in and out, asking Jesus to fill you with his

to

God During Advent

Spirit.

3. Visit a family member who doesn’t get much company and listen to his or her stories. If no one comes to mind, go as a family to a local senior facility.

The Week of Dec. 10th: Advent 2: “BE LOUD” “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” Psalm 98:4 Jesus makes Christmas amazing! He actually became one of us and then sacrificed himself completely for us.

That level of love and grace invites a response. We can respond to Jesus in many ways, but the writer of Psalm 98 urges us to shout and sing for joy to Jesus.

1. Go on a “light drive.” Cram a bunch of people into your car and drive around to look at Christmas lights.

Roll down your windows, crank up the Christmas tunes, and sing along in your car.

2. Go Christmas caroling with friends.

Sing loudly for all to hear. If you go house to house, you need to learn only two or three songs. Extra points if you break out in song flash-mob-style and post a video on social media.

3. Go all-out with Christmas gear.

Break out the ugly Christmas sweater, funny Christmas shirt, battery-powered lights, and Santa hats.

The Week of Dec. 17th: Advent 3: “BE POSITIVE” “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.

Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8 When it comes time to sing “Happy Birthday” at a party, can you imagine someone saying, “I’m not singing; I don’t like that song?” Christmas music is so great because it helps us celebrate Jesus’ birthday. Our culture has a bad habit of complaining about pretty much everything. Don’t fall into that

trap–especially around Christmas. Be the positive voice that says positive things, brightening everyone’s day.

1. Say nice things. It’s unfortunate that we need this reminder, but we do.

To quote the yuletide philosopher Buddy the Elf, “Don’t be a cottonheaded ninny muggins!”

2. Give to charity. Our CEC Food Pantry is Great! But many organizations are doing fantastic outreach, so join in their efforts.

3. Make someone feel special. It might be at school, at church, on your team, in your band, etc. If someone looks like they need grace, give it generously.

The Week of Dec. 24th: Advent 4: “BE PRESENT” “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” John 1:14 Jesus’ Incarnation is perhaps his most significant gift to us. He chose to become fully human and live among us in order to show his great love. In our culture, the gift of presence is a big deal. Tons of things distract us from people, so giving the gift of attention is like receiving a charger when your phone has 1% battery.

1. Take regular breaks from electronics. For many people, phones are the biggest barrier to being fully present with others. Be on social media less, so you can be social more.

2. Be inquisitive. Ask people what’s going on in their lives, and listen carefully to their replies. Extra points if you ask at least two follow-up questions.

3. Give your family your attention this season. Don’t check out when things start to drag a bit; instead, break out in a rousing rendition of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.”

(Of course, Bruce Springsteen’s version is the best.)1 1 Levert, Tim and Tasha. “How to Avoid Post-Christmas Letdown,” youthministry.com, November 30, 2016, youthministry.com/freebie-avoid-post-christmas-letdown/, November 1, 2017.

7

MINISTRY

Preparing

our

Hearts

for

“…and a little child will lead them.” Isaiah 11:6

C

ome prepare your hearts for the birth of Christ this Advent and let our children help lead the way.

HALLETA HEINRICH Director of Family Ministries halletah@cecsa.org

Advent is a time of preparation and there are no better people than our children to lead the way.

Isaiah describes a peaceable kingdom in Isaiah 11 which will be brought about in the future by the coming of a Messiah. This kingdom will be so loving and peaceful that a little child can lead the way. I am so fortunate to be able to be led by children each Sunday in Children’s Chapel and Sunday School. They inspire me to grow closer to

Christ each week and to develop the child-like faith Jesus calls all of us to have. Come be part of the events which will be led by and include our children this Advent season.

Love in Christ,

Halleta

Family Advent Event Sunday, December 3 In the Parish Hall 10 – 10:50 AM On the first Sunday of Advent, December 3, we will gather as a Church Family to make Advent Wreaths. All families, young and old, small and large, are invited to craft this traditional symbol of preparation for the birth of Christ. Fresh greenery, candles, ribbon, and wreath forms will be provided. Christmas cookies will be shared as we get into the Advent Spirit. At the conclusion of our time together, we will all light the first candle of our wreaths and witness the spreading of the Light of Christ as the Body of Christ here at Christ Church. Bring a plate of your favorite Christmas cookies to share!

8

Christ

Family Ministry...

The Children

will give the

“The Clown of God” Children’s Christmas Pageant Sunday, December 10 During the 11 AM Service “The Clown of God” Christmas Pageant will be presented by the children of Christ Church on Sunday, December 10, during the 11 AM service. Each age group will play a role in telling the story of a little Italian clown who gives his all for the Christ Child one wintry Christmas Eve in Sorrento, Italy.

The inspiration for our pageant is Tomie De Paola’s classic children’s book “The Clown of God.” In the midst of this story, the little clown, who is then very old, witnesses the Procession of Gifts at the Cathedral in Sorrento. He hears the story of the Nativity of Christ with an open heart for the first time and accepts Christ. He gives the only gift he has – the gift of juggling,

Gift

of their

and something miraculous occurs.

Come let our children share their gifts with you and help you prepare your hearts for the Birth of Christ. Let the children lead you! Our two and threeyear-olds will play the Lambs at the

n honor of our veterans and as an inspiration to our parents, Christ Church is excited to bring Gold Star mom and best-selling author, Karen Vaughn, to speak at Christ Church.

Vaughn is the author of “World Changers - A Mother’s Story,” the bestselling account of her life. Her son, Aaron Vaughn, a member of the elite Navy SEALs Team VI, was killed in action over Afghanistan on August 6, 2011 when a chopper carrying thirty Americans was shot from the sky

to

Christ

Manger. Preschool four and five-yearolds and kindergarteners will be Little Clowns who announce with joy the birth of Christ. Our first and secondgrade girls and boys will be Stars and Clown Angels. Our third-graders will be the Lords and Ladies of Sorrento who light the way for Mary and Joseph as they enter Bethlehem. Fourth Graders will play their traditional role as Shepherd to the Lambs.

Our fifth-graders will be the Stars of the pageant playing the traditional roles of the Nativity and the three stages of the life of the Clown of God. A Celebration Reception with an Italian flare will be held for all in the Carriage House in honor of our children after the 11 AM service. Please come!

A “World Changing” Event

I

Hearts

for

Parents

while rushing into battle. Losing Aaron changed everything and put Karen on a new path of service to God and those heroes who sacrifice for us in the service of our nation. Spread the word about this great event and invite friends!

the Parent Forum at www.cecsa.org/ special-events.

On Saturday, November 18, Vaughn will present a Forum for Parents entitled “How to Raise World Changers.” The event will begin at 6:30 PM in the Parish Hall. Desserts will be served and childcare will be provided for 5th-graders and younger. Register for

There will be opportunities for Karen to sign her book “World Changers” between services on November 19 and at the conclusion of the Parent Forum on November 18.

On Sunday morning, November 19 Karen Vaughn will be speaking on the topic of Christian Sacrifice at both the 9 and 11 AM services.

Books will be available for purchase.

9

From

the

Award-Winning Christ Church Kitchen kitchen cabinet and our wonderful volunteers prepare delicious meals.

Serving “The Cup of Love” and serving our Lord, as mom puts it.

The Kitchen Ministry will be busy in the coming months. Holidays are upon us! In October, we held the annual St. Francis Pet Blessing. The outdoor event was a success! Robert Vallejo grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. Yum! Robert also grilled hot dogs for the Trunk or Treat on Halloween. What a great service he is to Christ Church and the kitchen ministry.

O

n the last weekend of September this year, my family and I traveled to our hometown, Dell City, Texas for the Hudspeth Dell Valley County Fair.

My mother and I each entered baked goods to be judged on Friday morning.

My mother, Alicia, baked a delicious New England apple cake and I baked Christ Church’s famous praline bars.

Both recipes have been served at Christ Church and both won 1st place in the culinary judging!

These award-winning recipes, along with countless other recipes, are prepped, baked, cooked and served in the Christ Church Kitchen Ministry.

Each week for Sunday breakfast, Wednesdays and choir dinners, and luncheons throughout the month, the

Serving

During the month of November, the kitchen ministry is working on delicious menus for the World Missions meeting and other upcoming events.

Award-winning Christ Church Praline Bars 2 2 2 1 1 1

eggs cups brown sugar sticks (1 cup) butter, melted 1/2 cups flour teaspoon vanilla cup pecans

Beat eggs and blend with the sugar. Stir in the butter and add flour. Add vanilla and pecans. Pour into a greased 9” x 13” pan. Bake at 325 degrees in a convection oven for 20 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.

Volunteers, mark your calendars! On Wednesday, December 6, we will host our annual Parish Christmas dinner.

Volunteers are needed to help set up, decorate the parish hall, prep for the dinner, and serve. Please contact Mary Reynolds at mereynolds2001@yahoo. com or Elizabeth at elizabethm@cecsa. org.

The kitchen will be closed December 23, 2017-January 1, 2018.

Elizabeth Martinez

our

Neighbors

at

Christmas Time

Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Luke 14: 12-14

T

he Hospitality Food Pantry will be holding its 17th annual Christmas luncheon for our guests on Saturday, December 2, 2017, from 11 AM – 1 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, bars, and brownies, and to assist with various crafts for the children.

Parishioners are encouraged to sit down with our guests and enjoy a meal with them. Come and be blessed! For information, please call Tina Honsaker at 210859-5062 or Rita Millwater at 210-534-7042.

10

Our Church Life...

Looking

L

ooking for a place to serve? The Community of Hope offers training that will equip you for any ministry at Christ Church. Both practical and spiritually enriching, you will discover the richness of Benedictine Spirituality, the uniqueness of your gifts for ministry, useful relationship skills, and the treasures found in the Book of Common Prayer.

Have you ever wanted to help someone but didn’t know how? Did you ever

for a

Place

to

Serve?

want to comfort someone but didn’t know what to say? Have you ever wondered how you could show the love of Christ to people in need? Have you ever wondered how you could serve God with the gifts he has given you?

you can identify and use the gifts God has given you in pastoral care ministry.

Two modules will be covered on alternating Saturday mornings. A day retreat on Saturday, March 31st will conclude the sessions.

The Christ Church Community of Hope has been equipping lay pastoral caregivers for 18 years. Here we recognize the strength of a caring community that is revealed as ordinary people reach out with Christ’s love to their friends and neighbors in need.

Lay pastoral caregivers include hospital visitors, nursing home visitors, lay eucharistic visitors, caregivers for the elderly and those who walk alongside friends in sickness, grief or personal crisis.

Benedictine Spirituality is the foundation as it provides a model for disciplined prayer and Christian community that keeps God’s Grace flowing in and through the caregiver.

We will learn how to use the Book of Common Prayer for personal devotions as well as a resource for ministry tools.

Practical skills will be taught including Listening Skills, Grief: Coping With Loss and Care for the Caregiver.

The next Community of Hope training class will begin Saturday, January 20.

Using a combination of video and live presenters, it will cover 12 modules that will equip you to understand how

Coping with Grief During the Holidays Have you ever wondered what you would do after a loved one passes away? How do you get through the next step without them? How can you continue with your life? That is a big question, and we have the answers. First, come to a workshop held at Christ Church on Tuesday, Nov. 21 in the Conference Rm. at 12:30 PM, sit and listen to others tell their story of losing a loved one, whether parent, spouse or child. Come find out how you can handle these holidays without your loved one.

Porter Loring Family Care Services and Christ Episcopal Church Pastoral Care Ministry will help you through these rough times as you continue to heal. Lucy Ziegler, a Licensed Professional Counselor, will be our facilitator. There is no charge.

Contact Carol Miller if you have any questions at 210-736-3132 or email carolm@cecsa.org.

Care to know more? To sign up or for questions please contact the Rev. Eric Fenton at 210-887-0067 or efenton1@ mac.com, or Carol Miller at the church at 210-736-3132 or carolm@cecsa.org.

Annual Parish Christmas Dinner Wednesday, December 6 6 - 8 pm in the Parish Hall

RSVP to Elizabeth Martinez at www.cecsa.org/parish-christmas-dinner or 210-736-3132 Volunteers are needed to prep, serve, set-up and clean-up. To help contact Mary Reynolds at 210-621-4875 or mereynolds2001@yahoo.com.

11

Our Church Life..

PAGE TURNERS – From Mary Sponhaltz loaned me Abide with Me, by Pulitzer Prize winner, Elizabeth Strout.

No sooner did I bring it home, than Kay grabbed it from my hands and commenced to devour the novel.

After reading the work myself, I can understand Kay’s enthusiasm. I, too, was drawn in by the unusual and painful story. Centering on a new pastor, his dying wife, and his desolate eight-yearold daughter, Strout demonstrates an almost uncanny understanding of the trials that beset the minister and his family. For me, the great pathos of the novel emerges in the final pages when the pastor, Tyler Caskey, stands in the pulpit and declares, with tears raining down his cheeks, “I can’t do this anymore,” and he leaves with his traumatized daughter to hide within his old seminary.

Sleeping on and off for days on end at his old professor’s home, he finally recovers and sits across from his old mentor to receive words he did not expect: Professor: “I suspect the most we can hope for, and it’s no small hope, is that we never give up, that we never stop giving ourselves permission to try to love and receive love.”

Tyler nodded, gazing at the rug.

Professor: “Your congregation, it seems to me, has given you love.

And it’s your job to receive it.

Perhaps before now they gave you an admiring, childlike kind of love, but what happened to you that Sunday—and their response to it—is mature and compassionate love.”

The next morning Tyler telephoned and arranged a meeting with the deacons and the board and stepped back into ministry.

No book has ever taken me into Advent anticipation like Father Elijah, by Michael D. O’Brien. I was expecting

12

the

Rector’s Book Stack

a long yarn with a theological glaze.

Instead, I received a novel so prophetic and Biblically astute in its content that I was actually shaken throughout the long, evocative story. The parts of our sacred Christian story that I had conveniently tamed came roaring back into my psyche thanks to O’Brien’s skillful and faithful writing.

I should have known more was afoot here, as Fred Shockley has been after me for months to read the novel. Once engaged in the volume, Fred disclosed the true instigator – the literary sage, Bishop Frey!

The protagonist of the novel is the reclusive Carmelite priest, Father Elijah Schafer, who is living in peaceful seclusion when suddenly summoned by the Vatican. We come to learn that Father Schafer was once David Schafer, a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust in Warsaw, and vetted to be a world leader. After terrorists murder his wife, he converts from Judaism to Christianity and undertakes austere monastic vows, thereby stepping aside from the world’s stage. The pope calls him out of his coveted obscurity to combat a most attractive, sophisticated, and well-orchestrated evil set upon eradicating the faith. All through the novel, I continued to recall C.S. Lewis’s admonition that we should not imagine “the Devil as a comic figure in red tights.” No, we will most likely find the Devil in a finely tailored pinstripe suit. That is where Father Elijah finds him and unmasks his identity and intentions.

I found it nothing short of humbling to read The Radical Disciple, by John Stott, knowing full well that the great Anglican evangelist completed the book less than a year before he died at age 90. We speak of Sam Capers with reverence, and rightly so;

yet imagine John Stott’s service at All Souls in central London that extended from 1945-2010. During that time, he saw so many in the cosmopolitan city turn to Christ, due to his courageous faithfulness.

Merely 137 pages and pocket-sized at that, even those who read very little these days can risk the journey. Stott begins by stating the word “Christian” is only used three times in the New Testament, but “disciple” is used 261 times! We are called to an altogether closer and more serious relationship with Christ than being obliquely identified with him as an ethnic identifier. We are summoned by Christ to be his student and come under his “discipline.” Thus, the short chapters cover such subjects as “Nonconformity, Christlikeness, Creation Care, Simplicity, Balance, and Death.”

Stott concludes that he is “putting down his pen,” but not before he leaves us with his valedictory: Death is unnatural and unpleasant.

In one sense it presents us with a terrible finality. Death is the end. Yet in every situation, death is the way to life. So if we want to live we must die.

And we will be willing to die when we see the glories of the life to which death leads. This is the radical, paradoxical Christian perspective.

Truly Christians are accurately described as ‘those who are alive from the dead.’

So moved by those words, I started reading the book again from page one.

Dr. Earl “Gunny” Stanley entrusted me with his copy of With the Old Breed, by E. B. Sledge. Before reading this memoir, I only thought I knew about the terror of combat in the WWII Pacific and the inestimable valor of our Marines who fought there. As a private and later corporal serving in Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, E.B. Sledge, “Sledgehammer,” chronicles

Our Church Life...

PAGE TURNERS – the battles for the tiny coral island of Peleliu and the expansive island of Okinawa, which sits next to mainland Japan. I can state this with certainty now: We only imagine that we know what these boys went through. I made so many notes that I cannot list them all, yet allow me to let Sledgehammer speak for himself: On Emotion and Fatigue: I shuddered and shook. Tears flowed from my scratchy eye. I was sickened and revolted to see healthy young men get hurt and killed every day. I felt I couldn’t take it any more. I was so terribly tired and so emotionally wrung out from being afraid for days on end…

On the Smell of Death: It is difficult

continued

to convey to anyone who has not experienced it the ghastly horror of having your sense of smell saturated constantly with the putrid odor of rotting human flesh, day after day, night after night.

before Shuri, we were surrounded by maggots and decay. Men struggled and fought and bled in an environment so degrading I believed we had been flung into hell’s own cesspool.

On the Soldiers You Relieved: It was the same old weary shuffling of one tired, depleted outfit into the line to relieve another whose sweating men trudged out of their position, hollow-eyed, stooped, grimy, bearded zombies.

Sledgehammer kept his notes hidden in the pages of his Gideon’s New Testament. Like so many of our veterans today, he returned to his home in Mobile, AL, but he could not escape the horror of it. Only his deep studies and research in science kept him from terrible flashbacks. Finally, in 1981, thirty-five years after he left the Marines, his wife begged him to take out his notes and write his memoir, so that at age 64, he might achieve a modicum of peace. She did not realize the gift she conferred on all of us.

On Preferring to Die: I existed from moment to moment; sometimes thinking death would have been preferable. We were in the depths of the abyss, the ultimate horror of war… In the mud and driving rain

SOCIETY

Legacies

and

Pledges

I had flipped out. Talk about lonely.

E

ach of us has a story. A major portion of my story started about twenty-five years ago in a one bedroom apartment with a view of the hill country. I had walked out of a tumultuous board of directors meeting at the company I had merged my business with. The deal was, I lost everything I had, after over twenty years of hard work. My wife and I had divorced through all this. My children all lived far away. My friends all thought

I had just begun to attend Christ Church while going through these massive life changes, seeking a place to pray and worship. I knew God was not abandoning me, He just wanted my attention. Then one Friday, I walked into an 11:30 AM Eucharist. The chapel was filled with about twenty-five women, a priest, and me. After the service, Fr. Bob Carabin kindly told me this was the ladies bible study Eucharist. I felt kind of dumb. Nevertheless, he and they welcomed me each week thereafter.

Thus began a journey that continues to this day. Fr. Bob and I remain dear friends as well.

Several of the ladies befriended me.

Through these friendships, I was invited to attend various programs in ministry at CEC. I became a Eucharistic visitor. I participated in the early formation of the CEC chapter of Community of Hope, which provides enhanced training in home and hospital visitation. During this time, my personal life was recovering thanks to the good

Lord’s grace. I met and married a wonderful woman. I found profitable work in rebuilding a business. Doing the visitation work at church led to a revelation that I felt called to become a hospice chaplain. In spite of many obstacles, this calling became a reality in 2006.

On Sunday October 1, 2017, as I looked around at CEC and heard the talk about giving and legacies, it became very clear to me that I should be intensely thankful for all the people who had come before, who contributed to what is CEC today.

Were it not for these people, my life would be so radically different.

Christ Church has brought me untold grace and spiritual peace. Many people cared enough to give of themselves to create this place. I shall be eternally grateful as I live, continue in hospice chaplaincy, and hopefully benefit others as they have benefited me.

Thank you doesn’t really cover it, but, thank you Lord for all of it.

Doug Gillaspy 13

OF EVENTS November 5:

All Saints Sunday Celebration with orchestra and choir Daylight Savings Time ends The Well Brunch at Tycoon Flats, 12:20 PM

November 10-12: Junior High & Planet 56 Retreat November 11: World Missions Symposium, Parish Hall, 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM

The Well goes to Wurstfest, 7 PM in New Braunfels November 12: Noisy Offering & Food Pantry Offering, 9 & 11 AM

Youth Confirmation Classes begin, 10 AM November 18: Parent Forum “How to Rise World Changers” by guest Speaker

Karen Vaughn, Parish Hall, 6:30 PM November 19: Guest Speaker Karen Vaughn at 9 & 11 AM

Youth Outreach to St. Jude’s Ranch, 3 - 7 PM

CCF Thankful Gathering, off campus, 5:30 PM November 21: Coping with Grief, 12:30 PM in the Conference Room November 23: Thanksgiving

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

November 24: Church offices are closed

Lily Fenton, Nursery Director lilyf@cecsa.org

November 26: The Well Brunch at The Bottling Dept, 11 AM & 12:20 PM

Gavin Rogers, Youth Minister gavinr@cecsa.org

December 2:

CCW Christmas Angel Brunch, off campus, 10 AM Food Pantry Christmas Lunch, Parish Hall, 11 AM

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

December 3:

Advent 1 Family Advent Wreath Making, Parish Hall, 10 AM

Ruth Berg, Director of Children’s Music, ruthb@cecsa.org

December 6:

Parish Christmas Dinner, Parish Hall, 6 PM

Robert Hanley, Parish Administrator parishadmin@cecsa.org

December 8:

CCF Riverwalk Caroling by Barge, 7:30 PM

December 10: Advent 2

Children’s Christmas Pageant, 11 AM

Youth Christmas Party, Carriage House, 12:30 - 3:30 PM December 12: The Well Christmas Dinner, 7 PM December 17: Advent 3

Lessons & Carols 9 & 11 AM

CCF Riverwalk Caroling by Barge, 5 PM

Darla Nelson, Office Manager darlan@cecsa.org Donna Shreve, Financial Manager donnas@cecsa.org Gretchen Comuzzi Duggan, Director of Communications, gretchend@cecsa.org Anna Jewell, Executive Assistant to the Rector, annaj@cecsa.org

December 24: Advent 4

Christmas Eve services at 3, 5, 8 & 10 PM

Donnis Carpenter, Receptionist donnis@cecsa.org

December 25: Christmas Day service at 10 AM

Elizabeth Martinez, Kitchen Manager elizabethm@cecsa.org

December 26: Church offices are closed

Robert Vallejo, Facilities Manager robertv@cecsa.org

December 29: Church offices close at noon December 31: CCF Downtown New Year’s Party, off campus, 7 PM January 1:

14

New Year’s Day - church offices are closed

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

ALBUM

15

The Message (USPS 471-710) is published bi-monthly by Christ Episcopal Church, 510 Belknap Place, San Antonio, TX 78212. Periodical postage paid in San Antonio, TX. Postmaster: Please send address changes to Christ Episcopal Church, 510 Belknap Place, San Antonio, TX 78212. Volume 19, Number 6.

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

Breaking Ground on our new Outreach Center; Breaking Ground on the FMC in 1991 (inset)