December 2010

Volume 113, No. 10

Houston, Texas

Earthquake Doesn’t Legacy Stewardship is Shake Model forHaitian Tellelpsen Spirit Family

Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori will celebrate at the 100th anniversary of St. Andrew’s, page 6.

Les Petits Chanteurs, a Haitian Episcopal children’s choir is touring to raise funds to rebuild their music school.

By Eliza McAllister

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n January 12, 2010, the Holy Trinity Cathedral complex in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was completely destroyed in the catastrophic earthquake that devastated the island nation. Les Petits Chanteurs (The Little Singers) is the boys choir of Holy Trinity Music School based at the Episcopal Cathedral complex. The choir is a select group of singers ranging in age from 8 to 18.

Les Petits Chanteurs has just completed a Texas concert tour to raise funds to help rebuild their school.

The spirited singers performed for more than 3,000 people at many benefit and school concerts, and chapel performances. In addition to raising more than $10,000, they also raised awareness of the musical traditions of Haiti and collected more than 80 donated musical instruments to take home.

I talked with three of the boys from Les Petits Chanteurs just before their performance at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, Austin. Though not related, they call one other “brothers.” They told me that all of the boys in the choir call each other brothers.

Dean’o is 12 and speaks perfect English. He spent six months living with relatives in Yonkers, New York, after the earthquake, but he’s back in Port-au-Prince now. Dean’o is very well-spoken and polite, and kindly offers to help me with translation.

Yesehua, 13, speaks little English other than the names of video gaming systems. “Xbox” seems to be universal. He is slight and has a lovely soprano voice.

December 2010

Beaunissant, 14, speaks some English. He is tall and athletic, preferring sports to video games. He’d like to be a scientist or a pilot one day.

When I ask the boys what life is like now in Port-au-Prince, Dean’o tells me that everything is changing a lot. “There’s lots of building, but some people still don’t have houses – they live in tents in the park,” he says.

“The cathedral broke off in the earthquake,” Beaunissant says. “At 4:22, everything was beautiful, and two minutes later, it broke off.” Beaunissant was in the music school when it collapsed. He said he didn’t know what to do – go get some help or help other people. “What did you do?” I asked. “I ran,” he said.

Dean’o, Yesehua and Beaunissant are all living in houses now, but they are all very worried about the cholera epidemic Dean’o explains is “ravaging Haiti.” Yesehua quotes that 6,350 people have died and nine million are in the hospital. (At press time, the actual death toll was 1,100 with 20,000 infected) They don’t know anyone who is sick now, but they are concerned for their families. While they are touring Texas, they fear that their families back in Portau-Price may be sick. Dean’o is afraid for his mother and his baby sister, but tells me that he can’t call them because they told him not to use the phone. He says the taxes on the long-distance call are very expensive.

I ask the boys what we can do to help make things better in Haiti and Yesehua says, “I don’t know how to make things better. I’m not the president.”

“If you can help us, we will be glad,” Dean’o says.

The Rev. David Cesar is the music school director. Before their final song See Les Petits Choir, page 19

INSIDE Bishops’ Calendars......................... 20 Bishop’s Column.............................. 2 Calendar of Events........................... 5

Diocesan News...................... 7-16 National & International..... 18-19 Sam Todd’s Column..................17 1

The new Texas Episcopalian quarterly magazine will begin publication March 1, 2011. Join us online for Texas Episcopalian • December 2010 breaking news at www.epicenter.org.

Go Tell It On the Mountain I

n the East Region of the Diocese of Texas, there is a small community called Uncertain, next to Caddo Lake. Well, if you’re uncertain where Uncertain is, you are part of the majority of East Texans! It is about three miles northeast of Karnack (home of the late Lady Bird Johnson) and straight north of Waskom. So why do I mention Uncertain? The name of this community reminds me, as strange as it may sound, of the Advent season. I am not uncertain of Advent and what the season means to Christians in the diocese. Again we begin the wonderful cycle of preparation and anticipation of the birth of the Savior of the world. Along this journey we discover anew our individual and corporate roles as Jesus’ followers, His Disciples.

In the second Advent Sunday Gospel reading, John the Baptizer points to his cousin as the One who will save the world. For me, John is not too subtle a model for each of us, as we are called on to continually point to Christ and His life and ministry. We know and believe we have been empowered by God’s Holy Spirit

at our baptism and confirmation to become Jesus’ disciples.

We are commissioned and commanded to point to Christ through our daily living of life, through our words of witness of His power in our lives, to invite others to join us in our faith communities in this diocese, and to make a difference in other people’s lives.

On a more personal note, I want to let you know that I have decided to retire at the end of April. I shared this news with clergy at our annual conference in late October so it may or may not be news to you. I wish to state what a privilege and honor it has been for me to serve as one of your bishops suffragan these past seven years of ministry. As I remember those bishops suffragan who have gone before me (and I have known each of them!), I am so very humbled to have served alongside them. And, I am equally humbled to have served with my long-time, dear friend and fellow bishop, Dena Harrison. During my almost 30 years in this diocese, I have been blessed to have as my bishops Ben Benitez, Claude Payne, Don Wimberly and Andy Doyle, all who have been and are very close friends.

Pat and I have served most of our 44 years of ministry in the Diocese of Texas. I spent the first 15 years in our daughter Diocese of West Texas. You all, clergy and laity alike, have been so hospitable and welcoming to us, and we have truly loved visiting congregations in our diocese. I will forever remember the delicious covered-dish meals after church, the hot sauces you offered me, the elaborate signs for my parking space, the wide range of ages of my “Bishop’s Chaplains,”

the uniqueness of the way each congregation does Sunday Eucharist (“By the way Bishop, here in this church we always do this…would you mind?”) We have been touched deeply by your warmth, and we have been excited about the diversity of ministries you carry out in Christ’s name. Bishop Suffragan Rayford B. High, Jr. You, the Diocese of Texas, have been and continue to be part of our family.

Bless you all as you continue to carry out Christ’s work and mission in the months and years to come.

Ed Note: There will be a reception in honor of Bishop Rayford and Pat High on February 11, 2011, following the opening Eucharist for the 162nd Council in The Woodlands. Tickets to the event are $50 and reservations can be made at: http://tiny. cc/mzgjj

The Rt. Rev. Rayford B. High, Jr. Bishop Suffragan of Texas

Advent: Retelling the Most Sacred Stories

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hen I was little I remember getting all dressed up with my mother and going to the Foley’s Department Store in downtown Houston. To this day we still go and dig out the old photos to see the corduroyjumpered siblings with Santa. We look back and remember who we are and where we have been. This seems to make some difference in where we are going and who we are to become.

In the Magnificat, Mary is praising God for what God has done for Israel in the past and for what God is doing in the present. God has freed Israel from Egypt. God is freeing his people again from hunger, poverty and oppression. God will be about the work of being faithful to all who remember Him and call upon God's name from generation to generation.

We can’t separate Mary's beautiful speech from our sacred story of Christianity. We remember how God delivered Israel, and also the mighty acts of Jesus Christ. We remember His healing of the sick and His preaching of a life transformed that we may join Him, laboring ourselves with Him for the reign of God. And, we remember His death removing the stumbling block of sin, and his resurrection and Pentecost which sends us forth into new life.

Advent is a time of retelling the most sacred and central story of our Christian faith: the unique revelation of Jesus Christ and the Good News of Salvation, transforming and changing the world. It is a time of reflection about how we have come to know Jesus and have followed Him. We do this so that in the days to come, we might join Jesus Christ in ushering in the reign of God. The world is longing to hear Mary's song again but this time, proclaimed with our voices as we leave our places of worship and herald the Good News of God's deliverance.

Our souls are leaping to magnify the Lord and our spirits are rejoicing in God our Savior.

God of the everlasting covenant, as your servant David leapt and danced before the ark, so John the Baptist leapt in the womb of Elizabeth when Mary came bearing within her the promised One. As Christ stands in our midst today, let our hearts leap with joy and excitement as we are beckoned into mission, and let us follow Him through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Texas Episcopalian (since 1897) is an official publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.

Mission: In the name of Jesus Christ, the Texas Episcopalian seeks to inform the people in the diocese of events and philosophies which affect the mission and life of the Church.

Publisher: The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle Editor: Carol E. Barnwell, cbarnwell@epicenter.org Layout: LaShane K. Eaglin, leaglin@epicenter.org The Texas Episcopalian (ISSN# 1074-441X) is published monthly except July and August for $15 a year by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, 1225 Texas Ave., Houston, TX 77002-3504. Periodical postage paid at Houston, Texas. Deadline is the 10th of the month preceding publication. Articles, editorials and photos should be submitted to the editor at the above e-mail address. Photos will not be returned. Address changes can be made at www.epicenter.org/infochange.

Postmaster: Address changes: THE TEXAS EPISCOPALIAN, 1225 Texas Ave., Houston, TX 77002-3504

IX Bishop of Texas

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December 2010

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PARISH NEWS

Austin Vestry Denounces Bullying D

uring its October meeting, the vestry at St. David’s, Austin, unanimously passed a resolution in response to the recent spate of bullying incidents related to issues of sexual identity.

“This is a simple thing to do, but it seemed important to us to state explicitly and publicly our commitment to ensure that our church be and remain a safe place for all,” said Timothy Parker, a member of the church’s governing board.

St. David’s associate priest for youth ministry, the Rev. Beth Magill, organized a November 14 program for youth focusing on the issue of bullying. The program included a discussion on “What is your responsibility when it comes to bullying - not only as a friend - but as a Christian?” and “How does bullying disguise itself in our everyday lives?”

“Bullying does not discriminate based on sexual orientation,” Magill said. “It is a tragic and deadly trend in our schools. Honesty and openness about sexuality is difficult at any age. As a teenager, it can be paralyzing. The good news is that we can do something about this. We each have a responsibility to be present in the lives of our youth, offering reminders of their belovedness as members of the Body of Christ.”

The St. David’s resolution on bullying reads: Resolution Concerning Bullying, Sexual Orientation, and the Parish as a Sacred and Safe Place for All God’s Children Whereas, the particular vulnerability of youth regarding matters of sexual orientation is especially evident in light of the five teens who took their own lives in the month of September: Raymond Chase, 19, Rhode Island; Seth Welsh, 13, California; Asher Brown, 13, Texas; Tyler Clementi, 18,

New Jersey; and Billy Lucas, 15, Indiana;

Whereas, by virtue of our Baptismal Covenant, we are called to "persevere in resisting evil," to "proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ," to "seek and serve Christ in all persons," and "strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being;" and,

Whereas, in the words of the 2009 Strategic Planning Phase One Draft Report to the vestry of St. David's, "we are called to provide a suspended, dynamic, creative space in which all the diverse elements of our community may be spiritually refreshed;" Therefore, Be It Resolved, that St. David's Episcopal Church unreservedly: 1. denounces all forms of bullying, including those directed towards young people on the basis of their sexual orientation, and

2. proclaims the entirety of the community of the parish, in its life together of worship and mission, in liturgical and educational activities, and in other events sponsored by the church, to be a safe place for all people.

An online petition sponsored by Integrity Austin, has been set up a petition against bullying. Learn more at: www. ipetitions.com/petition/texasclergybullying/.

Iconography: A Sacred Art Form Christ Church Cathedral to offer Icon Writing Class

By Wick Rowland

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ecently there has been a resurgence of interest in iconography by members of the many branches of the Christian faith. The word “iconography” comes from the Greek words ‘eikon’ meaning ‘image’ and ‘graphos’ meaning ‘to write.’

The practice of the sacred art of iconography began between the fourth and sixth centuries A.D. Its purpose was to ensure that the teachings of the Gospels remained clear and undistorted. The iconographer strives to represent spiritual truths as set forth by the Church instead of any personal interpretation of these truths. This is the main difference between icons and religious paintings, which show the artist’s opinion or perception of a particular figure or event.

Faces and features in icons are not realistic portraits but symbolic likenesses transfigured by the power of the Holy Spirit. For this reason icons are sometimes referred to as windows into heaven. Icons are not simply works of art although they can be admired as such. They are part of an act of worship, of prayer. Icons are “written” not painted, as the

writer is inspired by the Holy Spirit through prayer.

Christ Church Cathedral will offer an icon-writing workshop by master iconographer, Irene Perez-Omer, on three weekends in January, February and March of 2011.

Instead of a week-long class, planners hope this will allow participants who work during the week to attend. No previous art experience is required to attend. Space is limited.

Perez-Omer teaches the 15th century technique of egg tempera on solid wood panels in the Russian Byzantine style. This method reflects the holiness of the icon and does not contain anything synthetic or artificial. Materials used, in addition to the wood panels, are natural gesso and glues, clay, 24-karat gold leaf, pigments made from natural dyes and ground stones, eggs and water.

The writing of icons is a contemplative task. Prayer and contemplation begin and end each step of the icon writing process. Everything involved in the writing of a liturgical icon has spiritual meaning tied to Scripture and the symbolism of each step of the process is discussed in class.

This class will be writing an icon of Saint Mary Magdalene. The tuition is $575, which works out to about

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$12 per student hour of instruction and includes all supplies (gesso board, palette, brushes, gilding clay, 24-karat gold leaf and all necessary pigments and tools). Becoming a practitioner of this beautiful and sacred art form has been life changing for many.

For more information or to register, contact Wick Rowland at wickr@mac. com or 713.520.5611.

The historical and theological information about iconography used in this article comes from Irene Perez-Omer.

For a more detailed explanation about the history and practice of iconography see her website at www.

Mary Magdalene by Caroline Furlong iconarts.com.

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PARISH NEWS

St. Andrew’s, Bryan

CROP Walk raises funds to aid groups

St. Andrew’s, Pearland That’s a lot of Pumpkin Pie

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t. Andrew’s, Pearland, sold more than $60,000 worth of pumpkins this fall to net more than $24,000 for their outreach ministries. Their final stats: 4 loads of pumpkins, 37 days of sales, 185 two-hour shifts for 1477 volunteer hours, 3000 fliers, 450 trick-or-treaters and more than 5,600 pieces of candy and toys handed out, 100 bales of hay, 250 pallets, 75 wheelbarrows of stinky pumpkins hauled to the dumpster, visits from 20 school groups, 700 children and 50 stories read=one very active, happy faith community.

Good Shepherd, Tomball

Jim and Erin Kracht at the crop walk .

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t. Andrew’s, Bryan, joined other area churches to raise more than $12,500 in the annual Brazos Valley CROP Hunger Walk in late October to help “end hunger one step at a time” through Church World Service, the Brazos Church Pantry and the Brazos Valley Food Bank. St. Andrew’s coordinator, Carolyn Jaros, said that the event not only brings the Episcopal Churches together, but the funds raised help fight hunger both worldwide and at home in the Brazos Valley.

St. John the Divine, Houston Focus on Human Trafficking

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t. John the Divine will participate in a human trafficking conference in Houston aimed at educating and mobilizing the faith-based community, February 26, 201. From pastors to artists to truckers and attorneys, there is something for everybody. You will learn everything you ever wanted to know about local and global human trafficking and discover practical ways to combat this injustice. Choose from a variety of breakout sessions with speakers from IJM, Children at Risk, SMU, World Vision and a host of other speakers from academic institutions, law enforcement, non-profits, and faith based groups. View the topics and a partial listing of speakers’ biographies at www.freethecaptiveshouston.com.

Holy Trinity School, Houston Honor Veterans

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oly Trinity students honored veterans and active duty military on Veterans’ Day. The program included young student tappers who danced to It’s a Grand Old Flag, a color guard from student scouts, and a PowerPoint honoring our families who have served in the military. Included in those pictures were Richard Hawley and Deacon Jerry Critchlow of Good Shepherd Episcopal School. Critchlow also spoke to the students about his military experience at a young age. The other speaker was fifth grader, Hunter Burk, whose father is in Kuwait.

St. Catherine of Sienna, Missouri City Kids Rule

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aising Great Kids is an adult class to teach parenting with grace and truth. The church’s newsletter suggests bringing the kids to Sunday School, grabbing a cup of coffee and coming to the class. Interested in more information to do something similar in your congregation?

Contact Elizabeth Hendrie at efh@entouch.net.

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Tyler Chaplain Takes Gospel on the Road

December 2010

Taking it to the Streets, Literally

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So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.” Matthew 22:9 Good Shepherd, Tomball, had a float in the Tomball Parade, an annual city event parishioners met up early to decorate the float and tie-dye t-shirts so no one would miss them once the festivities started. The church annually offers their campus for the staging of the parade, a great way to show their hospitality and make others aware of the church.

Good Shepherd’s rector, the Rev. Dan Dunlap, has committed to be a mentor for a Tomball area fourth grader and encourages his parishioners to join him in serving the many young people who need a suitable role model in their lives. “Though the commitment is relatively small,” Dunlap said, “it makes a huge difference.”

The Rev. Kirkland Knight, chaplain at All Saints’ Episcopal School, Tyler, traveled to Lindale recently to be the visiting chaplain for the 2-5 year olds at St. Luke’s Episcopal School. He explained the story in Luke’s Gospel of Zacchaeus to the more than 50 students during a specially designed Morning Prayer service for their age group.

Holy Spirit, Houston

Holy Spirit Pits Dads Against Coaches

St. David’s Continues Its Work with GreenFaith Certification Program

By Jeannie Sablatura

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he designer and maker of the earth established the earth, not creating it to be a wasteland, but designing it to be lived in. Is. 45:18 Throughout the world, Christian communities are recognizing that they are called to care for creation and are putting their beliefs into action for the earth.

St. David’s parishioners will take part in the challenging GreenFaith Certification Program, the first-ever interfaith environmental certification program for houses of worship.

Over the next two years, St. David’s will undertake a large number of environmental initiatives to earn recognition as a GreenFaith Sanctuary.

The vestry adopted a resolution in support of the undertaking, and the Rev. David Boyd, rector, added his voice to the commitment. A Green Team, with members across many different areas of the church, will oversee and assist with the project and an Environmental Mission Statement will guide efforts in the coming two years and beyond.

It reads as follows: We believe that God entrusted all of creation to our safekeeping and that we are therefore called to be responsible stewards of God's beloved earth.

Accordingly, St. David's commits to take an ever active and holistic approach to environmental stewardship through education, service, and sustainable practices.

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he Rev. David Puckett, rector of Holy Spirit, Houston, donned a BIG bow tie to emcee the school’s booster club’s first ever dads vs. coaches basketball game. The Rev. Patrick Hall refereed while the “Saints” went wild.

Finally, the Green Team has recently conducted comprehensive institutional audits and is using the results to craft an environmental action plan for the next two years.

GreenFaith is one of the oldest religious-environmental coalitions in the world and will provide St. David’s with guidelines, assistance and resources to help it become an environmental leader integrating environmental themes into worship, religious education, facility maintenance, and social outreach. Parishioners will also be encouraged to take meaningful steps to green their own lives.

Through this process, St. David’s has the chance to play an important leadership role in the development of an environmentally just and sustainable world and to protect creation for future generations. This is one of the great moral challenges of our time, and St. David’s is committed to responding.

PARISH NEWS

Sandy Verses Lead to Deeper Contemplation

By Kit Wallingford

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Members of the Hannah Chapter Daughters of the King at Christ Church, Tyler, donated a window in the newly redecorated narthex. The Rev. David Luckenbach, rector, and The Rev. Stephen Stine, deacon and DOK chaplain recently dedicated the window.

Dear Editor: Regarding Bishop Harrison’s ‘startling’ revelation that atheists

and agnostics know more about religion than Episcopalians-Umm, where has the Church been since the middle ages?? We should have learned from the renaissance, if not the bloody wars from the Protestant Reformation through the English internecine struggles that blind teaching of a flawed religion yields ignorant, intolerant zealots.

Specifically, here is what is NOT taught: 1. People cannot prove the existence or non-existence of God, nor can they prove the Messianic Resurrection of Yeshua of Nazareth.

2. Prof. Kirk Gödel, a noted mathematician, proved that you can’t prove anything, not even that. Ergo, faith is faith, not proof. You need to accept that.

Also, the Bible is theology, not history.

3. The four gospels are not original source documents. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are derivations/variants of the Q Gospel. John is not derived from Q; nor is its original source known; however, the opening lines, “In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was God” were plagiarized from Philo of Alexandria (ca 45 BCE).

4. There were great gobs of Gospels before the Conference at Nicaea. The current ones were selected to end the bickering among the various bishops, evangelists and philosophers. The main reason for the consolidation was that Roman Emperor Constantine declared that he would make Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, provided that the various Christian sects could define a common set of beliefs and references. None of the rejected Gospels will ever be examined, and the reasons for their rejection shall remain forever sealed.

5. The Didache, really a better source document on Christianity than the Gospels, is missing in action when it comes to teaching our youth (aka high school students) our fundamental beliefs.

6. Jesus never said “Thou.” Thou is an Elizabethan English construct that was spelled “You,” the ‘Y” was pronounced as “th.”

7. Church hierarchy has always viewed any real examination of Christian history, philosophy and beliefs as heresy.

The Church educational culture still has the medieval view that only those students enrolled in a sanctioned university are permitted to question church doctrine seriously, and then only for the purpose of refuting politically incorrect doctrine (a la Martin Luder {often Anglicized as Luther} when he enrolled at Wittenburg and published his findings on a church door).

8. Christian formation will always remain ten miles wide and a millimeter thick because few people will go outside the bounds of the Sunday school comfort zone.

James A. Babb, Good Shepherd, Friendswood

here better than a beach to hold a poetry and prayer retreat? Parishioners and friends of St. Timothy’s, Lake Jackson, gathered at Surfside Beach on October 22-23 to “Upset the Ordinary.” Richard Osler, Canadian poet and retreat facilitator, led participants through an exploration of how the ordinary stuff of our lives can be the raw material of poetry-as-prayer.

Richard spoke of poetry—like prayer—as an offering to God, an offering of the truth of our lives. He read poems and encouraged us to pay close attention to the images the world offers, then to let the raw material of what we see and hear be transformed inside us. The miracle of creativity may happen: words may seem to write themselves on the blank page in front of us.

Or - we may struggle and suffer, and nothing whatsoever may happen. We all know that writing takes hard work, and Richard made us want to work hard, guiding us through exercises designed to draw out what is deep inside us, then turned us loose to write. It takes courage to go to those deep places, and even more courage to stand in front of a group and read our work out loud. Many of us wrote very personal poems, so we felt as though we were exposing not only our writing but our very selves. Through the whole process, the prayerful support of the community held us up.

By the end of the retreat, we knew more about how to write poems and, more importantly, we knew more about who we are in relation to the world around us, and in relation to the Source of all life.

The weekend was the brainchild of the Revs. Andrew and Liz Parker, and Andy has announced that Richard will return next year for a fall retreat. In the meantime, perhaps we can do a better job than before of upsetting the ordinary.

This Mary Oliver poem gives us hope.

It doesn’t have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones; just pay attention, then patch a few words together and don’t try to make them elaborate, this isn’t a contest but the doorway into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak. from Thirst (Beacon Press, 2006)

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Calendar

Calendar December

Presiding Bishop to Visit the Diocese of Texas in January

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Advent speaker series, St. Andrew’s, Bryan, Steven Bishop, associate professor of Old Testament at SSW will be the featured speaker. Guests are welcome to the potluck and presentation. A children’s program will be offered. Contact communications@ standrewsbcs.org or call 979.822.5187 for more information.

Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori will visit the Diocese of Texas January 14-16, 2011, to celebrate 100 years of ministry at St. Andrew’s in the Heights, Houston.

She will celebrate and preach at a choral Eucharist at St. Andrew’s on Friday evening beginning at 6:30 p.m. A reception follows.

Bishop Jefferts Schori will also visit several outreach ministries and attend the Lord of the Streets Eucharist at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning.

“We are honored, delighted and grateful for the opportunity to host the PB and to have her with us to celebrate this century milestone in our parish life of ministry,” said the Rev. Barbara Lewis, rector of St. Andrew’s.

Lewis sent an invitation to the Presiding Bishop more than a year ago asking her to attend the anniversary and was thrilled when she

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Musical Reflections on the Windows of St. Andrew’s organ recital series by Alan Strong, director of music at St. Andrew’s, Bryan. The recital at 2:30 p.m. will feature the Nativity window, including music of Advent. Visit www.standrewsbcs.org for more information.

accepted.

“This is a great gift to our parish. I believe she is a beacon of hope and source of confidence to so many in this and other dioceses,” she added. Watch the website at www. epicenter.org for further details about the visit.

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50+ Christmas Eucharist and luncheon at Christ Church Cathedral, Houston. Please bring a room deodorizers, Kleenex, shampoo, toothpaste or toothbrush for distribution at the diocesan retirement community, St. James’ House. Lunch $10.00. Reservations: Maggie Vaughner 713.524.7983. Eucharist is at 11 a.m., lunch at 12 noon. Contact Barbara Groves for more information at barbaras@grippingeyewear.com.

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Advent speaker series, St. Andrew’s, Bryan, Dean and President of the Seminary of the Southwest, the Very Rev. Douglas Travis will speak at 7 p.m. on the true significance of giving and receiving gifts. A children’s program will be offered. Contact communications@ standrewsbcs.org, 979.822.5187, for more information.

12-14 Retreat for recovering persons, their families and friends at Camp Allen. Soul Food Weekend will focus on the Twelve-Step Program, steps 11 and 12, meditation, prayer and spiritual awakening. For more information, contact Sandi Raney, 281.727.6917 or email Sandi_Raney@att.net. Register at http://tinyurl.com/24fay2n.

January 27

American Boychoir at Resurrection, Austin, at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale now for $20 ($30 at the door) through the church’s office. Call 512.459.0027 or e-mail ecraustin@ ecraustin.org for further information.

February 7

Seminary of the Southwest Online School offers four noncredit courses. Courses run through March 25, 2011, $170 per course, 20 hours CEUs per course. Details at www. ssw.edu/curriculum/online. Registration deadline is January 31, 2011.

11-12 162nd Annual Council of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, The Woodlands, hosted by the San Jacinto Convocation. Registration is now online at www.epicenter.org.

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2011 Free the Captives Houston Anti-Human Trafficking Conference, 8 a.m. - 12 noon at Lazybrook Baptist Church, 1822 W. 18th Street St., Houston, TX 77008. More information at freethecaptiveshouston.com

28-March 2 Abundant Living Retreat at Camp Allen. Visit www.campallen.org for information or call 979.825.7175. $185 per person includes lodging, food and program for caregivers, family and seniors.

Integrity Houston Eucharist (followed by dinner)

Third Friday of the month at 7:00 p.m.

Golding Chapel at Christ Church Cathedral 1117 Texas Avenue, Houston

Free P a r k i n g i n t h e C a t h e d r a l G a r a g e a t Te x a s a n d S a n J a c i n t o

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EDOT Gallery Features Icons in Advent

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cons and Saints at the EDOT Gallery features icons from St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Art Instructor Beatrice Baldwin and four of her students along with icons by Houston artist Caroline Furlong.

The show runs through December at the Diocesan Center, 1225 Texas Ave. in downtown Houston. A reception will be held December 3 from 5-7 p.m. The show can also be seen online at: www.epicenter.org.

To submit work for consideration in the EDOT Gallery, send 10-12 numbered images (in high resolution, jpg format) on a CD to the curator, Marilyn Biles, 29 Wynden Oaks Drive, Houston, Texas 77056; 713.840.1098. Include a biography/resume with a brief description of the work to be considered. Please include a hard copy of the numbered images, title, media, dimensions and date. All work chosen for exhibit must be hand delivered. Ten percent of any sales will be donated to the Episcopal Diocese of Texas to further programs of the gallery. Episcopal artists are encouraged to register with Episcopal Church Visual Arts (ECVA) online at www.ecva.org to receive notifications of national calls for art.

EPISCOPAL CHURCH WOMEN

Women/Children Benefit from ECW Grants The diocesan Episcopal Church Women awarded two grants for new outreach projects that benefit women and children within the Diocese of Texas. These went to the Horizon School, for developmentally challenged children, located on the grounds of Good Shepherd, Friendswood, and to the shower ministry at St. Mark’s, Austin.

The mission of the Horizon School, according to founder Lori Ferazzi, is to provide an educational opportunity for children with Down syndrome that will enable each student to reach their full academic potential.

The grant will help ensure that the newly founded school can continue to operate until it can enroll enough students to fund its operations. You can read more about the Horizon School in the November edition of the Texas Episcopalian online at www.epicenter.org.

Last summer, members of the St. Mark’s began participating in the Woman-to-Woman Program (W2W) at Trinity Center, a faith-based organization that serves the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of people experiencing homelessness and poverty in inner-city Austin.

Trinity Center is located at St. David’s Church.

The W2W Program is a time of devotion, breakfast and fellowship. Volunteers assist “neighbors,” as Trinity clients are called, “shopping” for clean, gently-used clothes, accessories, shoes and toiletry items from the Center’s clothing closet.

Approximately 40 neighbors participate every week. The women of St. Mark’s wanted to help provide the neighbors with facilities where they can bathe in a safe environment and not worry about their personal safety or their belongings being stolen.

Susan Willis said, “The volunteers from our women’s group noticed that the women we assisted on the third Monday often complained that their belongings had been stolen when they tried to take showers at other facilities, and that they had to rush through a shower to avoid having their gear taken. Trinity has a reputation for being a safe place for the women.

The women of St. Mark’s wrote a formal proposal to the executive director of the Trinity Center, Irit Umani, to offer showers to the women as they waited their turn to shop or as an alternative to shopping. They pledged to buy any and all supplies needed, and to clean the bathrooms afterwards, even offering to reimburse St. David’s for any increases in their water bill. “Irit and the staff jumped at our offer,” Wills said.

The women of the Diocese of Texas are happy to be able to help support ministries that reflect the Gospel imperative to reach out to those in need of sanctuary, to serve the community, to spread the love of Christ.

Please prayerfully consider whether you know of a new or expanding ministry that could use financial support to get started. ECW Outreach Grants are awarded up to four times per year, based on the applications received.

T

he Rev. Elizabeth Parker used St. Teresa of Avila as a model for Episcopal Church Women at their 109th Annual retreat in Beaumont, October 15 and 16.

Parker challenged attendees to be compassionately curious about their weakness, just as Teresa was, and said, “…for that is where God’s grace will manifest.”

The two-day retreat, hosted by the women of St. Mark’s, Beaumont, featured workshops and time for fellowship.

President Kaye Pendarvis addressed two fundraising initiatives with which the diocesan ECW is involved: Trees for Galveston and a Southern Malawi initiative. The first is an effort to replace many of the trees lost in the flooding from Hurricane Ike two years ago and the second is in conjunction with the partnership between the Dioceses of Texas and Southern Malawi in central Africa.

Because malaria kills more people every day than HIV/ AIDS, Episcopal Relief and Development has founded the Inspiration Fund to raise money for treated mosquito nets (and education) in Southern Malawi and 16 other countries countries in Africa. The Rev. Debbie Daigle and the Rev. Andrea Conklin told the women gathered from the diocese’s 153 congregations about NetsforLife and their desire to

The focus should be on women’s issues.

• There should be an Episcopal Church connection to the outreach ministry.

• Grant awards are to provide seed money to support new programs.

• A balance will be maintained in awarding grants across convocations.

• The grant award funds must stay within the diocese.

Contact your convocation coordinator to describe your outreach project and to request a grant application or download an application form from www.epicenter. org/Organizations/Episcopal Church Women/Outreach.

Applications are considered at each Diocese of Texas ECW board meeting. Applications must be received 30 days prior to each meeting in order to be considered.

Upcoming ECW Events, 2011

January 7 Submission deadline for ECW Outreach Grant applications February 18-19 Daughters of the King Spring Assembly March 23-26 Altar Guild Retreat at Camp Allen March 31 Submission deadline for Vera Gang Scott Scholarship applications April 15-16 Spiritual Growth Retreat at Camp Allen

ReLeaf for Galveston

ECW Takes on Local and Foreign Mission Initiatives

By LisaDiane Etheredge

Selection Criteria:

“Trees for Galveston”

raise enough money during Lent to provide one net from every family in the diocese. The two are available to give presentations at churches.

Kathy Culmer, the diocesan Mission Funding coordinator, captured everyone’s imagination spinning story after story at the retreat. The professional Biblical storyteller opened her presentation by explaining: “I strive to provide words of encouragement and inspiration through stories,” and she used stories that enhanced the weekend’s theme: Rhythms of Grace.

“Grace can be an extravagant grace from God, but grace can also be little reminders that God loves us with an everlasting love,” Culmer said. She will be joining the Episcopal Church Women as the presenter at the 2011 Spiritual Growth Retreat at Camp Allen in April.

Bishop Rayford High installed new board members including: Christianne Melanson, treasurer; Margaret Griggs, East Harris Convocational Coordinator; Ginny Reinhardt, Northeast Convocational Coordinator; Marjorie Juhasz, San Jacinto Convocational Coordinator; Dee Darby, West Harris Convocational Coordinator; Corlie Jackson, Spiritual Growth Coordinator; and Roberta Vallantyne, Vera Gang Scott Scholarship Coordinator.

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is a project aimed at helping the City of Galveston in their efforts to recover from Hurricane Ike. Because of the storm surge of salt water over the island, many of the trees on public ground became saturated and died. The diocesan ECW Board approved fundraising to assist with the project. The intention is to work with the Galveston Island Tree Conservancy and the City of Galveston Tree Committee on the “Galveston ReLeaf ” Project, to plant 5000 trees over five years. The fundraising goal is $15,000 by January, 2011. The Board encouraged each congregation to give at least $100, but to increase that amount as they are able.

Funds raised will help plant trees in parks and other public place where many people gather, as well as trees for each of the Episcopal properties on Galveston Island.

Please look for a letter describing the project, and a pledge card from your ECW Convocational Coordinators.

If you are a member of a church that does not have an active ECW, you can still participate.

C o n t a c t Jacque Ellis at 409.539.5578 or mdjmellis@ hotmail.com. All contributions should be sent to Ellis, 8 Lyncrest Drive, Galveston, TX 77550.

Texas Episcopalian

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2010

DIOCESAN NEWS

A Spirituality for the Streets

By Carol E. Barnwell

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here are some men and women for whom homelessness seems to be a chronic state-others who are temporarily down on their luck, working to get back on their feet. Many are Veterans, and today there are a growing number of women who turn up on the steps of Lord of the Streets seeking help.

“Do you know we are the mailing address for 2200 people?” asked the Rev. Bob Flick, the new part-time vicar of Lord of the Streets. Flick recently took over the ministry to Houston’s Mid-town homeless population when the Rev. Murray Powell retired.

After only a few weeks, Flick, who has snowy white hair and a much laid back countenance in his jeans and corduroy jacket, is energized by the new challenge.

LOTS began as an outreach program of Trinity Church in 1990. By 1997 they received additional support from Christ Church Cathedral, St. Dunstan’s, St. Francis, St. John the Divine and St. Martin’s, Houston and Good Shepherd, Kingwood. A grant from Episcopal Health Charities in 1997 helped to establish the recovery center at Holman and Fannin in Midtown Houston. Volunteers from these parishes and other groups still arrive every Sunday morning at 6 a.m. to prepare a hot breakfast for more than 250 homeless men and women who attend worship at Trinity at 7 a.m. The Rev. Bob Flick and Jerry Harris, who is homeless, often plays his own compositions on piano for worship at Lord of the Streets.

Today, the work and mission of Lord of “Francis always talked about embracing the leper, a three months short of graduation. the Streets Episcopal Church and the social “Something in me was saying, ‘I love the priesthood, metaphor to be able to embrace what was ugly and thought service arm of the ministry, Community of the Streets, is to minister to the spiritual, emotional, physical and social but I don’t know. I had never lived. I had to get a life!,” Flick to be un-embraceable, inside and out. The point is to find needs of individuals living in Houston who are homeless, in remembered with a self-deprecating laugh. He returned God in humanity and quite often that means finding God after a time and while finishing his theology degree, also in most difficult places,” he said. crisis or in transition.

“It’s always been a Franciscan thing to let go of the LOTS helps to provide hundreds of clients a day got a master’s in counseling psychology.

After serving as a missionary in the Philippines for stuff of life that most people think of as important and with the tools and support to reclaim their lives. The staff helps people find transitional housing, provides on-site three years, he returned to Ohio where he was ordained as go after God in the odd places. For me, that’s always been job training, access to state identification assistance, crisis a priest. He and two other clergy founded the Zacchaeus part of my spirituality -- a drive to seek after God in the House and worked on the streets of Cincinnati, taking in 14 needy, the poor and in the homeless, the struggling and the intervention, health care and case management programs.

Flick stops to talk to a woman in the waiting room on homeless men to live in community. “We gave them a place suffering,” he added.

After his studies were finished, Flick spent time in his way to our interview. “Jane” is articulate, clear-headed to live and helped them to reestablish their lives,” he said.

He describes the ministry as “touching the lives of folk Rome and Assissi getting to know the land of Francis, then and while homeless now, used to have a position in the attended the institute for spiritual leadership at Loyola health care industry. She wanted to thank Flick for walking who otherwise would have fizzled into oblivion.”

With his counseling degree and a background on the before leading the novitiate in Cincinnati for several years. her to the bus stop earlier when she had been afraid of being His first taste of Texas came in the late 80s when he mugged. She’s back today to get copies of her identification streets and in foreign missions, Flick was called to take further studies in Franciscan spirituality so he could run the was assigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Galveston where papers that will allow her access to other services. he served for six years. Again, Flick became restless and Flick has had an interesting journey to Lord of novitiate at the Franciscan seminary.

“The spirituality of Francis is finding God in the things asked for a leave of absence to reconsider the priesthood and the Streets, each step a kind of preparation for his new that God created,” Flick explained. Bonaventure (an Italian what he wanted to do when he “grew up.” congregation.

“It was probably a midlife crisis,” he said, admitting it Raised Roman Catholic, Flick received his high school theologian and philosopher who entered the Franciscan education at a Franciscan seminary. “It was very common order in 1243), in articulating Francis’ spirituality, wrote was similar to the time he left theological college. “It wasn’t in the 60s,” he explained. “I had more than 100 guys in my that, God wrote two books, the Bible and Creation. You quite right, I was just lonely.”

Flick had met his wife while she was studying medicine can’t read one without the other. class.”

“Francis’ journey and his call to his followers was to in Galveston and they remained friends while she did an After college in Detroit, he studied theology in Dayton, Ohio, where he was under formation for becoming read creation and the most magnificent of God’s creation is internship in Georgetown. Sarah returned to UTMB for her residency in child psychiatry and their relationship become a Franciscan (either via the priesthood or as a friar).” He left us – humanity,” Flick explained. continued next page Texas Episcopalian

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DIOCESAN NEWS more serious. They were married a year later.

“I didn’t leave to get married, but that’s the way it worked out,” he said. The Flicks have been married for 18 years and have a 15-year-old daughter.

They tried to remain in the Roman Catholic Church.

After meeting with the priest, Flick said, “the very next Sunday, he preached about the abomination of men who leave the priesthood and women who leave the convent and that it’s the ruination of the Church … well Sarah and I agreed ‘This isn’t going to work,’ so the next week we rolled up to Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Friendswood.”

He remembers driving up seeing the congregation gathered in front of the church, dressed in shorts for their annual picnic.

The Rev. Jim Nelson “was all over us” Flick said. “He wanted to know when I could be on the vestry!”

Flick said that much of the doctrine that was problematic for him in the Roman Church just didn’t exist in the Episcopal Church. “All the things I love about the Church are here,” he said. “I didn’t have to shift many gears and it felt that God was in this somehow.”

After serving as an active lay person at Good Shepherd for a while, Nelson brought up the idea of Flick becoming an Episcopal priest. He completed a two-year process and was received as a priest in the Episcopal Church in 2004, remaining in the job he held at the Gulf Coast Clinic until the bishop asked him to take a parish, St. Michael’s, LaMarque.

“I love parish ministry,” Flick said. “I never felt I wasn’t a priest, even after I resigned from ministry in the Roman Church. This Franciscan stuff is who I am, part of my nature. It was good to be back in active ministry.”

He will continue to serve St. Michael’s part-time and Lord of the Streets part-time. It makes for a busy Sunday morning with a 7 a.m service at LOTS for more than 200, followed by a hot breakfast. Flick stays to chat with folks and serve coffee, then heads to LaMarque for the 9:15 Christian formation class and Eucharist at St. Michaels. He is at the church on Monday and Wednesday and in Houston at LOTS on Tuesday and Thursday.

“It’s just wonderful, I love to preach and do liturgy and this week they applauded after my sermon. I said, ‘I hope that was for Jesus, not me,’” he chuckled.

The number of volunteers and the connectedness to the broader diocese is astounding, he said. Bible study with the clients of LOTS is “really powerful.”

“If you are looking to find God, all you have to do is listen to someone who has nothing but God. During prayers, I offer time to give thanks. I didn’t know what I would get.

I mean, what’s to be thankful for if you’re homeless and carrying all your stuff in a bag? … They are effusive, they pour it out … they are grateful for all the stuff we just walk through everyday.

At church, Flick said that if two out of 80 respond with personal petitions it’s a big day. At LOTS almost all of the 18 at the Tuesday worship have something to say.

“There is a freedom that comes with not having all kinds of stuff to protect. That’s the Francis piece,” he says.

While Flick has the professional background to do psychotherapy and clinical assessments, he wants to be the pastor at LOTS. He wants to pray with people, do Bible study and listen. There are others on the staff who can do the assessments.

Before our interview, Flick had sat with a schizophrenic man for an hour just listening. When the man left, he told

BBQ Pitmaster Comes Home to Help

Neil “Bigmista” Strawder

S

ick of leftover turkey? Neil “Bigmista” Strawder, a world-renowned pit master, will be cooking up brisket and chicken on December 11, at St. Augustine of Hippo, in Galveston, to raise funds for the church’s outreach ministries.

Strawder, who grew up at St. Augustine’s, now commands a high profile in Southern California cuisine from his Long Beach catering business. An award winning contestant on TLC’s BBQ Pitmasters, Strawder is also a Grand Champion BBQ competitor and has won six People’s Choice Awards, been featured in the LA Times and on Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic, Jonathan Gold’s list: 99 Things to Eat in LA Before You Die. According to the Rev. Chester Makowski, the congregation plans to use the funds from the BBQ as “seed” money to start a community garden. While the church building did not suffer major damage from Hurricane Ike, the Sunday School rooms, kitchen and parish hall were completely destroyed. The congregation has rebuilt their property and effectively reaches into the community with invitational events like their annual art show and sale and the upcoming BBQ. The community garden will be another way in which they will engage their neighbors and provide food for those in need.

St. Augustine of Hippo is the oldest African American Episcopal Church in Texas and is located at 1410 41st Street in Galveston. Sales open at 11 a.m. on December 11 and continue until sold out. Whole briskets are available by advance order only ($6 per lb). December 8 is the deadline for pre-orders. Call 409.763.4254. The day of the event, brisket and chicken dinners are $9 and $13. Tickets are available by calling 409.763.4254.

Flick that it was the first time someone had listened to him.

Even in his delusion, he recognized his need to make contact with another person and to be (even his ravings) heard.

“There is a new reality in homelessness now, and it will get worse instead of better in Texas in the next few years,” Flick believes. One third of the people who come to LOTS are veterans with chronic mental and physical illnesses.

“I think some of them are war torn. They’ve been through hell and are disturbed by that, some physically, some with brain injuries. Stress sets off people who may be genetically vulnerable to mental illness. You go to war and come home and you are not who you were when you left.

Coping is beyond what some folks can do,” he explained.

Veteran services are not able to manage the volume they have. And there are more women today.

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“There’s plenty to do,” Flick concludes with a broad smile, anticipating the opportunity to exercise the best of his Franciscan spirituality in this time and in this place.

LOTS and COTS welcome volunteer staff. Some programs may require highly trained professionals: doctors, registered nurses, pharmacists, counselors, social workers, attorneys and therapists but there are also opportunities to help with office work and miscellaneous jobs, seasonal projects and special events. Most opportunities are available during business hours Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or on Sunday morning. Groups who are interested in coordinating community drives for school supplies, holiday gifts and other special projects are always welcome.

For volunteering opportunities contact Myra Mitchell at mmitchell@lordofthestreets.org.

Texas Episcopalian

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2010

DIOCESAN NEWS

Starry Nights Sets Record for Camp Allen Fundraiser

W

ith more than 300 in attendance at the Junior League in Houston, the annual Camp Allen event known as Starry Night and Campfire Lights, set a record in several ways. The night grossed nearly a quarter of a million dollars with a lively auction and extraordinary underwriting. The evening honored Bennie and the Rev. Larry Hall for their 29 years of service at St. John the Divine, Houston. Chairs of the event were Susan and Jack Mayfield, Sheila and Tad Mayfield and Evelyn Howell.

It is always lively during the scholarships named for loved ones. This year the Rev. Patrick Miller was joined on stage by Bishop Andy Doyle as they read donor names for scholarships. Both Bishop Doyle and Miller were

scholarship recipients at summer camp at Camp Allen. When the bidding stopped, the scholarship fund had raised more than $38,000.

Reflecting on the evening, George Dehan, president of Camp Allen said, “It is amazing to see the outpouring of support by the community to send children to our camp and right there before us is our bishop, who may not be in that position today had he not had the camp experience in his formative years.” The evening was so exciting that the attendees did not miss having a band. However, Hall was talked in to singing and playing his guitar in a weak moment.

Not to be outdone, Miller started his auctioneering by playing his shiny chrome guitar.

People

The Rev. Margarita E. Arroyo continues as licensed clergy although she is no longer serving as assistant at St. James’, Austin.

The Rev. Michael W. Besson, formerly rector of St. John’s, La Porte, has accepted a call as vicar of St. Catherine of Sienna, Missouri City.

The Rev. Stephen Butts, rector of St. Paul’s, Kilgore and college missioner at Kilgore Jr. College has announced his retirement, effective November 1.

The Rev. Lee Ligon-Borden, formerly assistant to the rector at St. Bartholomew’s, Hempstead, is now non-parochial.

The Rev. Robert T. Flick, rector at St. Michael’s, La Marque is now serving half-time at St. Michael’s and halftime at Lord of the Streets, Houston, as vicar.

The Rev. Philip May, former associate at St. Luke’s on the Lake, Austin, is the new associate rector of Good Shepherd, Corpus Christi.

The Rev. A. William Phillips, former rector of St. Paul’s, Orange is non-parochial.

The Rev. Murray R. Powell, retired, is no longer serving as part-time, priest-in-charge at Lord of the Streets.

Gordon Williams was named 2010 Writer of the Year by Inspirational Writers Alive! Williams is a member of St. John the Divine, Houston.

St. James’ House Director Resigns M

Founder’s Day Convocation at the University of the South marked the formal installation of John McCardell, Jr. (inset) as the 16th Vice Chancellor of the school. McCardell, a past president of Middlebury College in Vermont, was installed before an overflowing crowd in All Saints’ Chapel on October 12 and spoke of Sewanee’s future, stating that “we do not seek to be more like some other place [but] a better, stronger, truer version of ourselves.” McCardell placed particular emphasis on the School of Theology, as a central part of the University and as an important and uniting voice in the Episcopal Church.

Grassroots Help for Genealogists Find a Grave is a free world-wide web page, compiled by individuals. Many people read obits and add these to the site. Pictures of markers and the person buried can be added as well as a note and flowers. Information on how to use the site or add information to it is included at findagrave.com. On right is “Search for a cemetery” click on and type name of cemetery or person then follow the prompts. Before you add a person or start a cemetery make sure they are not there and you have correct information Texas Historical Commission has a cemetery list for each county. When visiting cemeteries, take pictures so that marker pictures can be added to the site.

Texas Episcopalian

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ary Garcia, executive director of the diocesan retirement community, St. James’ House in Baytown, has submitted her resignation effective December 8, 2010, according to Kathy Tellepsen, chair of the St. James’ House board.

“The board has begun the search for a new executive director,” Garcia said, adding that they “have great enthusiasm for the long-term health and prospects of St. James’ House and its residents.” Garcia was director for 23 years.

For 50 years St. James’ House, situated on wooded acreage near Baytown, just 30 minutes from downtown Houston, has provided a secure and spiritually rich home for seniors. Today, St. James’ is home to more than 100 nursing residents and provides 40 independent living apartments.

Find more information at: www.stjameshouse. org.

DIOCESAN NEWS

It Takes a Village to Have a Council

By Emily Maas

T

he 162nd Diocesan Council is scheduled for February 11 and 12, 2011, at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, 30 miles north of downtown Houston. Preparations have been underway for more than a year by area Episcopal churches who will host diocesan clergy and elected delegates to this annual meeting.

“Come to Council! Even if you think you don’t like meetings, there is more to Council than that,” says Pam Nolting, one of the organizers and a member of Good Shepherd, Kingwood. “The Exhibit Hall showcases many of our diocesan institutions. I always learn about new things going on in our diocese that inspire me and make me so proud to be a part of it,” she said, adding, “I love the chance to see friends from all over the diocese, people I’ve worked with over the years. Council gives us the chance to renew that association. And it’s one of very few places where you’ll see so many Episcopalians!”

The Woodlands features a highly walkable town center with a beautifully landscaped waterway, and world-class shopping and dining. Following the opening Eucharist on Friday evening at Trinity, The Woodlands, at 6:00 p.m. there will be a reception honoring the Rt. Rev. Rayford B. High, Jr. and Pat High at the Marriott from 8:00-10:00 p.m. Bishop High announced his retirement in October and wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate his ministry while the diocese was gathered for Council.

(There is a $50 charge for the reception) The 162nd Council will begin its business meeting at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Although Council is more than two months away, planning began in September 2009. Rather than having one church host the meeting, three churches from the San Jacinto Convocation (Trinity, The Woodlands; Good Shepherd, Kingwood; and St. James’, Conroe) will host the 2011 conference. The San Jacinto Convocation is sponsoring the activities and providing additional volunteers.

According to Dick Johnson, general chair of the planning committee, “Drawing from three churches also provides a much broader perspective within the committee meetings. Anyone who

becomes active in the council planning process cannot help but learn a great deal more about the Episcopal Church. While a little hectic, the planning activities are fun and rewarding.”

Trinity, The Woodlands, planned and hosted the 2005 Council so there was a solid base of information and experience from which to start. Johnson was task leader for the business meeting audio/ visual and the worship service that year. In September 2009 he accompanied diocesan liaison, the Rev. Cecilia Smith, to the initial meetings with the Marriott and gave her details of what Trinity had done for the 2005 Council. “Without volunteering, I ‘suddenly found out’ that I was to be the committee chair. Because I had both project management and council planning experience and am active in my parish, I said yes. ”

represent St. James’ and help in facilitating the meeting since I have filled similar roles in professional organizations.”

Marrou was an alternate to Council a few times from Good Shepherd, Kingwood, as well as their treasurer and senior warden, and currently serves as treasurer at St. James’, having moved to the Conroe area five years ago.

“It has been both enlightening and satisfying to work with such a dedicated and knowledgeable group of people on the planning committee,” Marrou said. “I look forward to a successful meeting in February and seeing representatives from the entire diocese in one place doing God’s work.”

The Rev. Cecilia B. Smith, who also oversees the Safe Church programs for the diocese, serves as Council management chair, helping the host churches as needed, answering questions and smoothing the way as best she can.

With these dedicated parishioners and many volunteers, the 162nd Council promises to be a well-designed event that offfers the opportunity to gather with fellow Episcopalians, do the work of the Church and honor one of our bishops and his wife who have devoted more than 44 years in service to the Episcopal Church.

Registration is now online at www.epicenter.org along with information about hotels and other activities.

“It has been both enlightening and satisfying to work with such a dedicated and knowledgeable group of people”

Nolting has responsibility for operations, i.e. the business meeting, facilities, publicity/communications and lodging. “Truly, I took it on because I’m a Council junkie. I love going to Council and have felt that I needed to take my turn in the real work part of it.” Nolting has attended most Councils over the last 30 years and chaired the election process during three of the last four bishops’ elections. She has also served on the Bishop Quin Foundation, the Standing Committee and she currently serves as the executive chair of the Camp Allen board.

Trinity’s Joanne Welker is chair of the opening worship service, reception, food events and prayer room. She agreed to take this on because “I was a volunteer when Trinity hosted the event in 2005.

Seeing our diocese worship and work together was very exciting and inspiring.” Welker is a member of the Altar Guild and Daughters of the King, and also serves as a Stephen Minister and verger, as well as being a second year student in the diocesan program for spiritual directors. She also visits hospice patients in her community.

Verlin Hodges is chairing exhibits, hospitality, delegate workshops, registration and parking. Retired after many years working in the petrochemical industry, he felt he could be of service and had the time to devote to this task, his first involvement with Council. At Trinity, Hodges is an usher team leader, program chair for Primetime Guys and has served as pledge committee chair and vestry member.

Tom Marrou of St. James’, Conroe is treasurer for the planning committee, developing a budget and establishing procedures for procurement, invoicing and payments. When he was asked to serve on the committee, it was not a good time for him, as he had just changed jobs. “However after prayerful Council planning committee includes (l-r)Pam Nolting, Joanne Welker, Tom Marrou and Verlin Hodges, chaired by Dick Johnson (not pictured). consideration I felt a duty to both

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Pre-Council Meeting Schedule East/West Tuesday, January 18, 7:00 p.m.

St. Mark’s, Houston 3816 Bellaire Blvd.

Galveston Thursday, January 20, 7:00 p.m.

St. Michael’s, La Marque 1601 Lake Rd. Austin Sunday, January 23, 4:30 p.m.

St. David’s, Austin 301 E. 8th St. Central Tuesday, January 25, 7:00 p.m.

St. Peter’s, Brenham 2310 Airline Northeast Sunday, January 30, 4:00 p.m.

St. Matthew’s, Henderson 214 College Ave. Webinars online and at the Diocesan Center Saturday, January 22, 10:00 a.m.

Thursday, January 27, 7:00 p.m.

Texas Episcopalian

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2010

DIOCESAN NEWS

The Texas Churchman— Much more than a newspaper Much more than a career

By Lucy Germany

D

When you think about careers — those fields of endeavor that supposedly enable one to become elevated above the masses economically and in terms of personal fulfillment — the careers that come to mind are real estate, banking, interior decoration and perhaps show business or athletics.

But a career as a writer for a church publication never enters your mind — that is until you are in it—up to your neck and over your head and then of course, it’s too late.

It occurs to you after a period of uncertainty and subsequent immersion that you have the greatest job in the world.

You stand on the brink of an opportunity to help people understand the broad power of the church to which they have pledged membership, what that church means to community, as a member, what it means to be that community and the opportunity you, as a Christian have, to influence the world. Now — as the comedian Dave Barry was wont to say — “I didn’t make this up.”

As a writer, you have been given endless opportunities to quote bishops, clergy, Sunday School teachers, church secretaries, needle pointers, youth workers, theologians, writers and important people who have amassed marvelous quantities of knowledge on the place of the church in life around the world.

Particularly, as a writer for an Anglican publication, is this true for you find yourself seated on the edge of events that shape lives all over the world. You are made acutely aware, through the church’s printed word, of just how the church impacts people in high places and low. You feel the indescribable satisfaction of being on a team that is bringing truth and nurture, caring and understanding to the world. Though there are many forms of church communication which impact variously on the lives of Christians, none has exercised more influence than the diocesan newspaper.

For years, centuries even, the diocesan newspaper has faithfully communicated the work of the church to its people. The Texas Episcopalian has been an outstanding example of a publication loyally read, reflective of Christian commitment to all types of service, a binding instrument that has brought people together, helped them to become informed and which has significantly, Texas Episcopalian

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December 2010

strengthened their dedication to their faith.

A big job for a mere newspaper? Without doubt — but one that has been offered as a unique opportunity to bring together the action, the thought, the sense of purpose of a

community structured to serve God and man.

As an observer of, a writer for, and finally as an editor serving the publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, I have been welcomed in places where I never could have gone, have been challenged to make known in clear language the various positions of church leaders and members on so-called controversial issues.

And there have been many of those — controversial in the early stages before they could be examined and reconciled but after being exposed to the democratic process of church deliberation and being

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open to the power of the Spirit — issues no longer but keystones in the firm and confident structure of God’s holy church.

I stumbled through some minefields during my many years as a staff writer and editor of The Texas Episcopalian—called back in those days The Texas Churchman, a title sacrificed to the growing realization of the strength of churchwomen in deliberative processes.

I was thrilled by the Texas diocese’s wide reach into the lives of African Episcopalians—in the small country of Malawi—whose culture and faith captivated Texas church members who for many years would automatically equate the name Malawi with mission.

I was there—as some famous newscaster was wont to say— when the doors swung open on the new Camp Allen offering countless opportunities for service, faith building and learning.

I made a Cursillo there, I tramped the woodlands, readily convinced that God deliberately chose to be the architect of the church’s presence in that wonderful place. I stood with hundreds in Minneapolis when Massachusetts Bishop John Coburn called for silence before revealing the result of deliberation on women in the priesthood, shared the tears and soaring elation of those who received the triumphant message. I remember the power of the voice of Presiding Bishop John Hines as he put the church firmly into the ranks of those who believed in its responsibility for human equality.

I remember the first woman ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Texas — the Rev. Helen Havens who went on to serve the church faithfully in one of the leading Houston area Episcopal churches. I had opportunity to interview some of the key movers in the church’s constant effort to bring together key elements for common good — I interviewed leading women such as author Madelyn L’Engle and the Rev. Li Tim Oi, the first woman to be ordained in the Anglican Communion. I was privileged to ask questions of visiting church leaders whose ideas and convictions were to shape the church’s commitment to faith building all over the world. I was intrigued by the nation’s focus on the burgeoning charismatic movement, which achieved maturity in Houston’s Church of the Redeemer. Throughout my time as editor of what I believe to be one of the most influential purveyors of Christian principles and actions within the Episcopal Church in America, I continued to be fascinated by the determined action of people whose belief embraces scripture, tradition and reason — known to all of us as the bedrock of Christian life — to weather the crooked progress of God’s people, and to understand that Christian maturity is achieved only through adherence to all three.

Episcopalians discovered this long ago and the cherished three-legged stool continues to hold us up and together — as R. Kipling pronounced — “though we come from the ends of the earth.”

DIOCESAN NEWS

The More Things Change, the More they Stay the Same

I

n looking through archives of the Church Bell, the Texas Churchman and most recently the Texas Episcopalian that spanned more than 140 years, I could not help but be inspired. The unwavering dedication of thousands of clergy and lay leaders over the decades shows up in every page, every report to the bishop, every council report and every bishop’s diary entry.

I saw names of people that were familiar because a building or church hall is named after them. They came alive as young campers on Trinity Bay, where Camp Allen used to be. They received lay licenses from the bishop to become readers in their congregations. They went to war.

Some returned, others did not. The diocese prayed for our military, after the Civil War, after the First World War, after the Second World War and Korean War. There are reports from the Lambeth Conference in 1930. The brief listing of topics they covered isn’t any different than the topics at the Lambeth Conferences I’ve covered.

There are towns I’ve not heard of, churches in small, rural settings that were closed a long time ago, and others that are not so large now that were the center of the diocesan universe for a long time, a long time ago.

Bishop Clinton Quin writes of “telling the Boys Scouts a ghost story” and recounts briefly of being called to Mr. and Mrs. Roy Cullen’s home for a meeting, which resulted in a million dollar gift to found St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital.

One 1915 letter to the editor told of a crowd of people watching a group of “young Negroes” do drills on a downtown Austin street and pointed out how the crowd’s encouragement and pleasure made the boys want to do their best. In contrast, the writer also witnessed a group of soldiers who were doing drills a few blocks away. They were being heckled by young men “of ill breeding.” He said the heckling served to demoralize our young soldiers and should not be tolerated. There is a resolution from St. David’s vestry on page 3, a statement on bullying, reminiscent of this earlier letter. One example from WWI, the other from 2010, nearly a century later. The church continues to speak out.

In 1926, Reddy Kilowatt made his debut and by WWII the character was used to encourage electricity users to conserve manpower and critical materials for the war effort. The current movement to “greener” churches echoes these earlier admonitions.

In a 1915 letter to the editor, there were shades of a growing lay movement in the Church: Taylor, Texas Editor Texas Churchman: Let me compliment you very strongly on the fine breadth of tone discernable in your paper. I must remark one thing, that is, that most of the articles, etc. are written by clergymen. I think it would be very nice if the laity would See The More Things Change, page 15

Read the Covenant to Have Accurate Debate says ACO Rep

By Alyson Barnett-Cowan

M

any things have already been said in the public arena about the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant. As Provinces around the world continue to discuss this important document I think it worth clarifying some points about it. I am not arguing here for or against the Covenant, merely pointing out that it should be debated fairly, with an accurate reading of the text.

The first thing to say is that for any Anglican or Episcopalian to be able to properly enter into a discussion about the Covenant it is vital that they first read it for themselves here: http://anglicancommunion.org/ commission/covenant/final/text.cfm Having done that, let me then clear up some misconceptions that some people have about the document.

The Standing Committee is not new; it is made up of elected Primates and elected members from the Anglican Consultative Council and it co-ordinates work in the Communion. Regarding the Covenant, it would have the role of monitoring developments and has no power other

than proposing to the Instruments of Communion (the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates’ Meeting) steps to be taken to encourage discussion and discernment about disputed questions among the Provinces, or, if processes of mediation have broken down, what the relational consequences might be.

The point of the processes outlined in the Covenant is precisely to encourage one part of the Communion, when seeking to respond responsibly in its own context in mission, to consider how that will affect other parts of the Communion It is not that one Province would exercise a veto over another, but that there would be collaborative discernment.

In a globalized world, it is no longer possible (if it ever was) for one church to act entirely for itself; decisions have ramifications, and the intention is for these to be explored together.

Some critics in the Church of England have suggested that Provinces would become subordinate to the judgements

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Diocese Prepares Covenant Study for Lent, 2011 The Diocese of Texas is preparing a Covenant study curriculum for use by congregations during Lent. The three-session study guide will be available in January on the website at www.epicenter.org.

The Executive Council’s final day for anyone to make comments to the Episcopal Church’s Executive Council concerning the Covenant is April 24 and this course of study will allow time for interested persons to study the covenant and add their comments before the broader church takes up discussion of the Covenant at its General Convention in the summer of 2012.

Members of the curriculum design team include: Carol E. Barnwell, the Rev. Mark Crawford, the Rev. Patrick Hall, Carol Nyberg-Cavortiotis, the Rev. David Puckett and Janie Stevens.

of the Standing Committee. This is not true. The Covenant explicitly says in section (4.1.3): “Such mutual commitment does not represent submission to any external ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Nothing in this Covenant of itself shall be deemed to alter any provision of the Constitution and Canons of any Church of the Communion, or to limit its autonomy of governance. The Covenant does not grant to any one Church or any agency of the Communion control or direction over any Church of the Anglican Communion.”

It is also not true that non-signatories would no longer count as part of the Communion. There will be Provinces which have adopted the Covenant, and there may be (though one hopes not) Provinces which have not. They are equally members of the Anglican Communion, according to the Constitution of the Anglican Consultative Council.

The difference would be that signatories will have made a commitment to live in that communion in a particularly enhanced way, and to a process of consultation and common discernment.

The assertion is often made that the ordination of women could not have occurred if the Covenant were in place. It is not at all clear that this would have been the case.

The consultative processes of the Anglican Communion actually resulted in the discernment that this was an issue about which Anglicans were free to differ. That is exactly the kind of discernment that is needed when any new matter emerges: how do churches in communion distinguish between that which may further the Gospel and that which may impede it? There are never simple answers, but the intent is that the Anglican Communion Covenant provides a way of doing this in a collaborative and committed manner.

Barnett-Cowan is director for Unity, Faith and Order at the Anglican Communion Office, London

Texas Episcopalian

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December

2010

DIOCESAN NEWS

Diocese has Rich History of Communication

By Carol E. Barnwell

T

he Texas Episcopalian will be published as a quarterly magazine beginning in March, 2011, after more than a century of monthly issues.

In addition, a new, interactive website will be launched in February, 2011. These alterations in our communications will cut costs and allow a reallocation of time to a growing, electronic communications package. The changes prompted a look at the archives with some memorable results.

The very first publication from the diocesan office to members of the missionary diocese began in the mid1840s when Texas was still a republic.

The small bulletin was four- to eightpages and contained reports from the few number of clergy working over vast areas of the Republic. This first effort at communicating with new Episcopalians lasted only a few years and, it was not until 1873 that the Diocesan Council approved another official diocesan publication from the bishop’s office. The Diocese of Texas, The Church Bell, The Texas Churchman and more recently The Texas Episcopalian has been printed uninterrupted (albeit, with differing names and sizes) since then.

In an article in the first issue in 1873, Bishop Alexander Gregg wrote: “… the Council thereon, sufficiently indicate the importance attached to such a publication.

The necessity for something of the kind has been long and painfully felt by me, in connection with the work of the Diocese in every part, and also as to that frequent and direct communication, which I so much desire, with the people of my charge. The secular press has always been kind in printing any matter sent to it, and I wish to acknowledge the many favors in this way extended through the past; but that kindness ought not to be too heavily taxed. Our leading Church paper would fail entirely of accomplishing the ends desired, because taken by so few.

Hence the necessity for some medium of this kind, at little cost, in order, if possible, to reach all.”

The publication was to include: “Communications from the Bishop, with notices of Episcopal acts performed from time to time; the work of the Parishes and matters of interest connected with

Texas Episcopalian

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their life and progress; missionary efforts and experiences; [and] successful methods of Church work …”

Bishop Gregg further underscored the importance of regular and credible communications within the diocese: “Thus sustained it will stand on its own merits, and be worth the full amount, $1.00 per annum, to all who have any heart to work for the Church. This is the sole capital upon which it is projected—the good will of the churchmen of Texas. Not one dollar independent of this source is expected, as not one dollar is to be made by its publication except that paid to the printers.

With these pledges we invite the clergy and laity to secure as speedily as possible their lists of subscribers, and to interest others in the work of a general canvass. The clergy (and such of the laity, as may be so thoughtful), we look for constant communications from the Parochial and Missionary Districts, relating to the ‘ups and downs,’ the joys and sorrows of their various fields of labor. Tell us what you are doing, what you hope to do, and what you can not do. This Department of ‘Monthly Reports’ can be made delightfully entertaining and profitable, if the clergy will only lay aside somewhat their reserve and ‘give in their experiences.’

Churchmen of Texas! ours is a new, growing diocese, with an area nearly as large as Europe; we are too far apart, and too much out of sympathy with one another. This being so, we can not work with enough heart. Let us, then seek a point of rendezvous, at least, in ‘The Diocese of Texas!’”

Wise words in 1873. The message is no different in 2010. We still intend to stay in contact with all our members who “have a heart to work for the Church” and we still need you to send us your news and we still need your support for the ministry of communications in the Diocese of Texas. A remittance envelope is included in this issue for your tax deductible gift.

You may also sign up to receive notice of publication online only and opt out of receiving a physical copy. But we are committed to sending the new Texas Episcopalian to every member’s home. As we move toward strengthened electronic communications, we will continue to share our diverse and many ministries and plans for the future through the publication of

December 2010

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this 137-year-old publication even into its new magazine format in 2011.

In the Church Bell, published in Waco in September, 1879, this article stated the mission of the diocesan publication: “Let it be your motto, to cleave to ‘the old paths,’ and in doing this, ever to hold up that famous rule which can never grow old—‘In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.’

A rule which made immortal the name of him who set it forth and becoming the church of God, which is the pillar and ground of truth!

In doing this, the CHURCH BELL will ring out clearly and sweetly, no uncertain sound, as it is wafted in the breezes and carried through the land.

May its mission ever be one of unity, peace and love, with the blessing of God to prosper it, and the spirit of truth to strengthen and to guide.”

The Church Bell/The Texas Churchman/Texas Episcopalian changed names and formats several times in the ensuing decades while it continued to deliver news to members of the diocese. A 1944 change was announced with this explanation: “The Texas Churchman beginning this month comes to you in a new size and format.

A year ago The Texas Churchman

DIOCESAN NEWS embarked upon an experiment in publishing a 16-page booklet partly financed through advertising. In normal times the advertising would have justified the increase in the number of pages; but under war conditions the amount of advertising purchased did not come up to expectations.

In accord with the sum allowed in the 1944 diocesan budget, the Department of Promotion has accordingly ‘cut the garment to fit the cloth.’ In spite of the decreased size, we plan to publish an effective, compact, and easily read digest of the work and plans of the Diocese of Texas and its constituent congregations.”

We make no claim of infallibility, and some readers will possibly criticize us for omitting a story. At times this omission is dictated by lack of space …”

Bishop Clinton Quin’s diary documented his long episcopacy including mention of the $1 Million gift from Mr. and Mrs. Roy Cullen to found St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, approval of a lay license for Thomas Bagby, who later became founding vicar of St. John the Divine, Houston, and encouraged members to join reconstruction efforts following World War II. An entry in 1940 noted the bishop’s communication efforts beyond the publication—a forerunner of Bishop Andy Doyle’s podcasts.

“March 29—Made a record for the broadcast. At 6:30 p.m. enjoyed a covered dish supper at Trinity Church, Houston. Made an address and later confirmed 34 persons.

The rector was ill and the senior warden, Mr. Sims, presented the class.”

Life in the diocese has grown, expanded and transformed many lives, both those of our members and those we serve beyond our church walls. Come along with us as we continue to bring you the good news of the Good News, lived out in this place and in this time. Join us online for the latest news at www.epicenter.org, where you can also sign up to receive Twitters and blog postings from Bishop Doyle.

The More Things Change, Continued from page 13

also contribute. There is plenty of scope for a lay movement in the Church at present. I don’t say this is the fault of the clergy, but it is nevertheless true. …”

Over the years, the size of the publication changed, the location of its printing changed. After seeing a number of variations of the Church Bell and the Texas Churchman that were in a folio format, the coming change of the Texas Episcopalian to a magazine format seems hardly new. There were colored covers, a lot of hand engraving, and — bless his heart — one man who kept every copy he received, which provides our archive.

In reviewing the archives for this final newspaper, I realized something important. Whether we publish a newspaper or a magazine doesn’t matter as much as sharing the stories of our efforts to live a Christ-centered life in this place at this time. We will continue to share those stories and more in our first edition of the Texas Episcopalian magazine, to be published in March, 2011. Share your stories of ministry and evangelism with us so that generations from now, others will see our reflection in their continuing service to the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Carol E. Barnwell, editor cbarnwell@epicenter.org

Call for Art for the 162nd Council and for the EDOT Gallery scarlett by elli barnwell

E

CVA plans to show work of member artists at the 162nd Diocesan Council, February 11-12, 2011 at the Marriott, in The Woodlands. If you are interested, please contact Carol E. Barnwell by email, cbarnwell@ epicenter.org). Details will be forwarded to you. All artwork must be delivered to the Marriott early Friday and picked up on Saturday afternoon. Works may be offered for sale.

Opportunities for 2011-2012 Diocesan gallery calendar are available. The EDOT Gallery is located at the Diocesan Center, 1225 Texas Ave., Houston, TX. 77002.

Original works not done under supervision in all media will be accepted. Send 10-12 numbered high resolution images

in jpg format on a CD with biography/resume and a brief description of work to be considered. Please include a hard copy of the numbered images, title, media, dimensions and date. Incomplete submissions will not be reviewed. All work chosen for exhibit must be hand delivered. Send EDOT Gallery submissions to: Marilyn Biles, Curator, 29 Wynden Oaks Drive Houston, Texas 77056; 713.840.1098. Ten percent of sales to be donated to the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.

Register to join the ECVA (Episcopal Church Visual Arts) at www.ecva.org and contact Nancy Denmark to join the diocesan chapter at ndenmark@hotmail.com.

By the Rev. Tony Clavier

Advent Sunday begins yet another year. It sets our sights on the miracle of Christ's birth, that God invaded this planet in the form of a helpless child. This vulnerable God walks with us, takes our flesh, re-creates the human race, suffers, dies and so is in all our sufferings and in our deaths. He rises again giving us the hope of resurrected life in a new heaven and a new earth.

We perhaps moan about a secularized Christmas that begins before Thanksgiving and ends abruptly on the day after Christmas. Rather than moaning, we can meet the challenge it presents. We can be subversive by keeping Advent in holy preparation. We can keep Christmas by observing the twelve days in joy, gratitude and compassion for God's poor and needy, rather than throwing out the tree on December 26!

Above all we can humble ourselves before the baby who is King, and offer him our lives in obedience and hope.

Advent: Subverting the Secular World; Beginning a New Year

W

e have to tackle a number of years. There's the school year, the secular year, the shopping year, and the poor neglected church year. In a sense we live in all of them, and keeping our feet planted in each reality is no easy thing. All too often we only remember that the church has a year when we look at the bulletin on Sunday and try to figure which Sunday after what we are in.

Of all these years, the Christian year presents the greatest challenge. It reminds us that we are citizens of another place and owe our allegiance to another ruler. The early Christians were persecuted and killed because they claimed that "Jesus is Lord." Perhaps today we are regarded as rather eccentric when we whisper the same words. They remind us that our faith is no private, personal thing, but that we are citizens of the kingdom of God. We are subversive. We seek to bring the love of Christ into the secular world because we believe that ultimately the world will be restored to God. In the meantime, we work and pray to transform what is into what shall be.

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Clavier is rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, La Porte, in the Diocese of Northern Indiana.

Texas Episcopalian

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December

2010

SEMINARY OF THE SOUTHWEST NEWS

Does your church make any difference to the world?

Mission Oriented Leader to Speak at Payne Lectures, February, 2011

R

eggie McNeal, Missional Leadership Specialist for Leadership Network of Dallas, Texas, and author of Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church, will speak at Seminary of the Southwest on February 10, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. McNeal’s lecture titled “Leading a Missional Movement” is open to the public at no charge.

McNeal’s past experience involves more than a decade as a denominational executive and leadership development coach. He also served in local congregational leadership for over twenty years, and he has lectured or taught as adjunct faculty for multiple seminaries and contributed to numerous denominational publications and church leadership journals.

The annual lecture series in February is hosted by the Board of Trustees of the Seminary and is focused on mission, congregational leadership, evangelism or congregational development in honor of the Rt. Rev. Claude E. Payne, Bishop of Texas (1995-2003).

Tools to Reach Youth Topic of SSW Seminar

Seminary of the Southwest will host Conversations in the Bible: Tools for Teaching, Pastoring, and Leading Youth in the Church, January 17- 21, 2011. The session will examine a variety of conversations that take place in both Old and New Testaments and will discuss the variety of moral, theological and educational strategies for equipping youth in their ministry in and outside the church. Taught by Daniel Heischman, executive director of the National Association of Episcopal Schools. Cost is $1,200 and includes room and board. For more information, contact Jana Struková at 512.472.4133, ext. 342 or by email: jstrukova@ssw.edu or register online at www.ssw.edu.

Students Praise Spiritual Formation Degree

O

ne year into the newest accredited master’s degree in spiritual formation (MSF), the first class of students have given the program at Seminary of the Southwest high marks.

The program brings together study of Christian spirituality and its practice and reflection upon theology.

The task force that designed the degree put “formation” in its name to signal the unity of doctrine and spirituality, of learning and living, a unity that effects personal change.

The founding class includes an Episcopal priest, a youth minister, a journalist and others seeking a course of study emphasizing practical application for work or for their own development.

“The best part of the program has been the number of opportunities to articulate my faith in writing and in discussions with students and instructors,” said Marty Calliham. “I co-facilitated a workshop in my parish’s regional conference this spring. Before entering seminary I would not have had the confidence to accept this commitment and do the long and soul-searching preparation for it.”

Intended as a three-year, part-time program, the degree is taught by seminary and associated faculty. More information is available at: www.ssw.edu or from the Office of Recruiting and Admissions, admissions@ssw.edu.

Texas Episcopalian

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December 2010

There was an ad for The Episcopal Church splashed across the Reuters digital billboard in New York City’s Times Square, November 17, highlighting the church’s welcome to Hispanics. Space for the 15 second ad was won in a drawing during May’s Hispanic PR & Social Media Marketing Conference in Dallas. The family in the photo are members of Todos los Santos Episcopal Church in Highland Park, California.

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GUEST COLUMNIST

Who Came Down From Heaven aristocracy. In 1381 the English priest John Ball, preaching

it when offered. It is infuriating to see governments of

to peasants asked, “When Adam delved and Eve span, who

poor countries which have suffered natural disasters deny

then was the gentleman?” Father Ball was soon hanged,

that much has happened, insist they have everything under

drawn and quartered in the presence of King Richard II.

control, and refuse foreign assistance. Their false pride

Many crowned heads of Europe were not dethroned until

dooms the people who depend upon them.

Truly evil are those officials who accept free food and

the 20th century.

F

Watching the thirty three Chilean miners being drawn up, one by one, to new life and light was deeply moving. They were trapped 2,400 feet below

ground on August 5th. For seventeen days they were alone.

“They weren’t sure that someone would look for them,” Mario Gomez later told his sister (New York Times 10/14/10 A6). They had a very limited supply of food and drink.

What were they to do? How would they behave? Some arguments broke out; some fights occurred.

Their plight could have led to a “war of all against all” resulting in lives that were “poor, nasty, brutish and short” (T. Hobbes, Leviathan xiii).

Little less impressive were “the people above ground

supplies from abroad, then steal and sell them to the poor

who believed (when the belief seemed improbable) that

and hungry. One wonders if they will suffer the fate of the

the miners had survived the accident, that their rescue was

woman in Grushenka’s story: “Once upon a time there was

a matter of top national priority, and that the ingenuity of

a peasant woman and a very wicked woman she was. And

the world could be enlisted to make it happen. …Jeff Hart,

she died and did not leave a single good deed behind. The

the 40-year-old drill operator who broke through to the

devils caught her and plunged her into the lake of fire. So

miners … is an American from Denver. NASA provided

her guardian angel stood and wondered what good deed of

design requirements for the extraction capsule, while Japan,

hers he could remember to tell to God; ‘she once pulled up

Germany and other nations provided crucial technology.

an onion in her garden,’ said he, ‘and gave it to a beggar

“Particular credit belongs to [democratically-elected]

woman.’ And God answered: ‘You take that onion then,

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera. It was Mr. Pinera who

hold it out to her in the lake, and let her take hold and be

insisted on an all-out rescue effort, ultimately involving

pulled out. And if you can pull her out of the lake, let her

three separate extraction methods, when a more cautious (or

come to Paradise, but if the onion breaks, then the woman

fatalistic) politician might have feared raising expectations

must stay where she is.’ The angel ran to the woman and

that could easily have been dashed” (The Wall Street Journal

held out the onion to her; ‘Come’, said he, ‘catch hold and I’ll

10/14/10 A20). Paradoxically Pinera had the self-confidence

pull you out.’ And he began cautiously pulling her out. He

to have the humility to ask for help, to accept the help offered

had just pulled her right out, when the other sinners in the

and use it honestly and competently.

lake, seeing how she was being drawn out, began catching

President Pinera said at a news conference that doing

hold of her so as to be pulled out with her. But she was a

things “a la chilena … now means to do something well, with

very wicked woman and she began kicking them. ‘I’m to be

dedication, with faith, to not leave it for tomorrow but with

pulled out, not you. It’s my onion not yours.’ As soon as

urgency, to bring together the best machinery and human

she said that, the onion broke” (Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, Modern Library Paperback, p. 423f).

But competence is not a matter of race, sex, or class. No one is born competent.

Competence must be learned.

To avoid this state men enter

into a social contract. The miners settled down; they made a compact; they established a civil society.

Most impressive to me is that they did not fight over food, the strong grabbing what they willed and the weak suffering what they must. Not knowing what lay before them, each man was given “just two spoonfuls of tuna, a cup of milk, one cracker and a bit of a peach topping every other day” (NYT, 10/14/10 A6). No one claimed more than an equal share; there were no privileged persons, no

This month we celebrate a rescue effort. “He came down to earth from heaven, who is God and Lord of all, and his shelter was a stable and his cradle was a stall; with the poor, the scorned, the lowly, lived on earth our Savior holy.” He will show us not only the determination of God’s

resources” (Houston Chronicle 10/15/10 A17). Competence

mercy but also the essential magnificence of human nature.

is too little praised, emphasized and insisted upon in our

He will return whence he came, but he means to pull us up

country today. To stress competence is deemed by some to

with him. “And our eyes at last shall see him, through his

be “elitist” (a word we now use to denigrate excellence). But

own redeeming love; for that child who seemed so helpless

competence is not a matter of race, sex or class. No one is

is our Lord in heaven above; and he leads his children on to

born competent. Competence must be learned. It can be

the place where he is gone” (Hymn 102:2, 5).

learned but not without our leaders and teachers insisting on it.

It is frustrating to everyone in helping professions that

Email Todd at: stodd2423@att.net

some of those who most need help do not seek it or refuse

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Texas Episcopalian

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December

2010

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Grieving Christians mourn dead from Iraqi Church Attack

Bishop Pierre Whalon Welcomes French Offer for Injured Iraqi Christians

By Jere Skipper

B

Mourners accompany the dead in Baghdad

By Sammy Ketz (AFP)

B

AGHDAD — Two priests, who were among dozens of Christian hostages killed by Al-Qaeda gunmen in a Baghdad church, were buried as heroes on November 2 after a tearful funeral that drew hundreds of people.

About 700 worshippers and representatives from the government and every religious and ethnic community in Iraq packed the Saint Joseph Chaldean church in the heart of the Karrada district, where coffins carrying the dead lay on the ground.

In a solemn mass during which mourners sobbed openly, only the coffins of priests Taher Saadallah Boutros, 32, and Wassim Sabih, 23, who were shot dead by the gunmen, rested on a table.

Before the service began, seven coffins were inside the church, surrounded by wreaths of flowers sent by churches from around Baghdad. But prayers were interrupted several times as more coffins were brought in. Each entry evoked subdued applause, and mourners tossed candies onto the coffins.

Mourners and witnesses said both priests had showed heroism during Sunday’s hostage drama at a Baghdad cathedral, pleading with the hostage takers to kill them but not harm the parishioners.

“These are the true heroes of Iraq, not the politicians or soldiers, but these two men who followed the teaching of

Texas Episcopalian

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December 2010

AFP Photo

Christ and sacrificed themselves while trying to persuade the killers to spare the lives of the worshippers,” said Firas Chill, 30, who attended the funeral.

The two priests, said to have been inseparable friends in life, were buried next to each other at a cemetery next to the cathedral.

Witnesses said heavily armed men burst into the church during Sunday mass on October 31 and took about 80 worshippers hostage. The drama ended with a raid by Iraqi special forces, with US troops acting in an advisory role.

Forty-six Christians were killed and 60 wounded, Iraqi officials have said, adding that seven members of the security forces also died.

The attack, claimed by an Al-Qaeda affiliate, was one of the deadliest against Iraqi Christians and provoked a wave of international condemnation.

And Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar, Islam’s oldest seat of learning, in Cairo, called the massacre a “heinous act,” his spokesman said.

Tayeb affirmed that “Islam and Muslims have nothing to do with such acts, which harm Islam and violate Islamic precepts,” state news agency Mena quoted spokesman Mohammed al-Tahtawi as saying.

The Iraqi government said it would treat the wounded, compensate families of the dead and repair the church, starting immediately.

The number of Christians in Iraq numbered about 800,000 before the invasion, but have fallen to 500,000

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ishop Pierre Whalon welcomes the initiative of the French government to work with the Association d’Entraide aux Minorités d’Orient (AEMO) to bring relief to Iraqi Christians wounded October 31, 2010, in the Syriac Catholic Church in Baghdad, Our Lady of Salvation Church.

Fifty-eight people, including two young priests, died in the attack.

The Office of the French Prime Minister yesterday informed Bishop Whalon, who is president of AEMO, that France will spare no effort to offer refuge and medical care to those victims who request it. This follows on Foreign Minister’s Bernard Kouchner’s promise of October 25 to empower AEMO to bring out of Iraq more Christians and members of other religious minorities who have been threatened with death because of their faith.

Since 2008, Episcopalians in Europe, Iraqi Chaldeans, and French Catholics have been working together to protect the lives of these persecuted Iraqis. To date, AEMO has facilitated the transfer of 1,240 Iraqis, bringing them safely out of Iraq and into France. The group includes not only Christians, but also Muslims and Mandeans whose lives were endangered.

On Oct. 31, gunmen linked to Al-Qaeda stormed the cathedral during Sunday Mass, taking more than 120 worshippers hostage. After the Iraqi military raided the church to free the hostages, 58 people, including two priests, were killed.

Several weeks following the attack, archbishops in Iraq said they are “losing patience, but we have not lost faith and hope.” They asked for prayers, moral and fraternal support. “Your friendship encourages us to stay in our land, to persevere and to hope,” they said in a message on All Souls Day. “Without that we feel alone and isolated. We need your compassion in light of all that has touched the lives of innocent people, Christians and Muslims.

Stay with us, stay with us until this pestilence has passed.”

The communiqué was signed by: Athanase Matti MATOKA, Syrian Archbishop of Baghdad, Louis SAKO, Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk, Emil NONA, Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul, Basile Geoges CASMOUSSA, Syrian Archbishop of Mosul and Bashar WARDA, Chaldean Archbishop of Irbil.

Skipper is Canon for Communications for the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Anglican Health Network Grows Threefold in One Year

Following the successful launch of the Anglican Health Network in June 2009, a group of 10 participants gathered at the end of October in Geneva to consider progress.

The membership of the network has grown from 80 to more than 250 in that time. Drawn from more than 40 countries and a range of ministries and disciplines represented, the network has a vibrant community now to engage with and support.

Lee Hogan, a member of St. Martin’s, Houston, was instrumental in founding the AHN, serves on the Coordinating Board and attended the Network’s latest meeting.

High on the agenda was the health micro-insurance program. The Pilot programs in India and Tanzania are starting to yield results and lessons. More than 40,000 people were drawn into the project in South Kerala, India.

Twenty-one parishes in Dar es Salaam participated in marketing the 'Imani' ('faith' in Swahili) health policy during October and November.

The pilot programs were designed to provide

communities served by Anglicans with a risk pooling mechanism to help stabilize individual health expenditure and to develop a more robust business model for Anglican health facilities by drawing a more reliable revenue from insured claims.

These aims are critical to the future of Anglican health care. Those on low incomes have seen their health decline because they cannot afford to pay for treatments when they need them. Health micro-insurance leverages the skills of the private insurance sector to harness the pooled resources of local communities. Families who take the insurance know exactly how much they will spend on healthcare in a given year and are assured that they can access health services without any further pressure on their limited budgets. This means they access treatments more often and more swiftly. Anglican hospitals and clinics see demand rise and are assured of a more sustainable income for their work.

Among the challenges the advisory council reviewed was a proposal to transfer surplus medical equipment from hospitals in the United States, a program of clinical and management education and the demand for capital investment.

The council mandated the Coordinating Board of AHN to develop systems for both supply and demand of medical equipment, and to pursue opportunities for

The Heartbeat of God, Finding the Scared in the Middle of Everything

By The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori

“

Explore our connections—as human beings with each other, as one nation with all other nations, as the human species with the whole of our environment—through the lens of faith.

Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church, examines these connections as she looks at the intersections of faith with the major issues of our day: • How does faith speak to poverty, climate change, the economy, healthcare and what is the faith response?

• How can believers from many faith traditions find common ground while honoring the The Most Rev. Jefferts Schori divine, serving one another and creating deeper community?

• How do we best use the resources of faith to connect us to the hearts of our neighbours and to the heart of Available God?”

on Amazon.com 19

academic courses and professional exchanges to improve skills and competencies amongst Anglican health providers.

The matter of capital investment will remain under review.

The advisory council also clarified its view that primary care and clinical care are mutually interdependent.

Anglicans are active in both - both have much to offer.

Any health program needs to promote health enhancing behaviors within communities, but people everywhere also need skilled clinical support. The Coordinating Board will continue to seek out best practice around the communion so that the skills of each sector can be leveraged to bring improved health outcomes not just for certain individuals, but for communities as a whole.

For more information check out the AHN website: www.anglicanhealth.org The most recent newsletter includes information on: • The expansion of hospital care in South Kerala • An overview of the health services provided by the Church of Uganda • Growing opportunities for faith-based health services in South Africa • A report of a global consultation on TB • The launch of the health micro-insurance program in Tanzania • Anglican health services in Yemen, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea • To join the mailing list, email the network coordinator: paul.holley@anglicanhealth.org

Les Petits Choir, continued from page 1

offered gratitude and inspirational words for the future of Haiti.

“I would like to thank everyone for being a part of this concert tonight. Music is very special for us in our lives. On January 12, we lost almost everything.

This last piece is called ‘Bel Haiti’ or ‘How Beautiful is Haiti.’ Most of the time you hear about Haiti, you think about bad news. This song shows another image of Haiti, a positive image of Haiti. With this piece, give us the opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to American people for being side by side with my brothers and my sisters in Haiti after the earthquake. You brought food, water and health care. Thank you for your love, your support and your prayers for Haiti. We will never give it up. Haiti will rise again. Thank you.” To contribute to rebuilding Holy Trinity Music School, please make your check payable to St. Stephen’s Episcopal School with Les Petits Chanteurs in the memo line. Mail to: St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, c/o John Moon, 6500 St. Stephen’s Drive, Austin, TX 78746.

Texas Episcopalian

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December

2010

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Doyle

Bishops’ December Calendars 1 10 a.m.

7 p.m.

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Program Staff, Diocesan Center Holy Apostles, Katy, CF Bishop Quin Foundation, Diocesan Center Ministry Chairs, Diocesan Center Regional Clergy Christmas Party, Doyle Home, Houston Trinity, Houston, Sunday Forum Trinity, Houston, CF Trinity, Houston Vestry Meeting, Trinity, Houston Executive Board, Camp Allen Standing Committee, Camp Allen Episcopal Foundation of Texas, Diocesan Center Trinity, The Woodlands, CF Central Convocational Clericus, Camp Allen Diocesan Staff Christmas Party, Houston St. Paul’s, Waco, CF James Abbott Ordination to Priesthood, St. Alban’s, Waco Ted Smith Ordination to Priesthood, St. Stephen’s, Liberty Christ Church Cathedral, Houston Feast of St. Stephen Day Mass & Boxing Day Celebration for Lord of the Streets, Houston

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St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, Austin St. Luke’s, Lindale, School Chapel Services Camp Allen, Executive Board Meeting Camp Allen, Executive Board Meeting St. James’ House, Baytown, Staff Party St. James’ House, Baytown, Residents Christmas Party Houston, St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System Board meeting

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10 a.m.

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Texas Episcopalian

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World Mission Committee, Austin St. Thomas, Wharton, CF St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System Finance and Audit Meeting, Houston St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Executive Committee, Austin Clergy Christmas Party, Austin St. Luke’s on the Lake, Austin, CF St. Paul’s, Pflugerville, CF Episcopal Diocese of Texas Executive Committee, Camp Allen St. Stephen’s Executive Board, Austin Good Shepherd, Austin, CF Epiphany, Burnet, CF St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, The Woodlands, Board Meeting St. David’s Austin, CF St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System Executive Committee El Buen Samaritano Board Meeting St. Francis, College Station, CF Susanne Comer Ordination, St. James, Austin St. Michael’s, Austin

December 2010

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Boxing Day with the Bishop at the Mucky Duck

Bishop Andy Doyle will once again celebrate Eucharist at Houston’s famed pub, McGonigle’s Mucky Duck on Boxing Day, December 27. Participants are asked to bring goods to donate to homeless ministries in the Houston area.

Historically, Boxing Day is the day that Church of England churches would open their alms boxes and distribute money to the poor. It is also the day that servants, who had worked serving other families on Christmas Day, were able to take a day off. The service begins at 11:00 a.m. and a pub lunch will be available following the service. See the Mucky Duck website at: www.mcgonigels.com for more information.

In the Anglican Communion A global community of 77 million Anglicans in 500 dioceses in 164 countries Archbishop of Canterbury The Most Rev. Rowan Williams Lambeth Palace, London, England, SE1 7JU Anglican Communion Office 16 Tavistock Crescent Westbourne Park London W 11 1AP United Kingdom www.lambethpalace.org www.anglicancommunion.org In the United States A community of 2.5 million members in 120 dioceses in the Americas and abroad Presiding Bishop The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori Episcopal Church Center 815 Second Ave., NY, NY 10017 1.800.321.2231 www.episcopalchurch.org In the Diocese of Texas One Church of more than 85,000 members in 153 congregations in the eastern quadrant of Texas, established in 1849 Bishop The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle dotbp@epicenter.org 1225 Texas Ave. Houston, TX 77002-3504 1.800.318.4452 1.713.520.6444 FAX 1.713.520.5723 Austin: 1.512.478.0580, 1.800.947.0580 Tyler: 1.903.579.6012 www.epicenter.org editor: cbarnwell@epicenter.org