Diolog December 2011

THE BISHOP’S COLUMN | CAMP ALLEN | DIOCESAN NEWS

Diolog

DEC. 2011

VOLUME 1

NUMBER 4

The Texas Episcopalian

OPENING THE DOORS: SHARING THE WORD OF GOD page 09

ADVENT 2011 page 19

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epicenter.org

www.epicenter.org

Diolog: The Texas Episcopalian (since 1874) is an official publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.

Our mission is to bring you the wealth of stories from the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, to inform and inspire you and to deepen your spiritual life.

PUBLISHER: The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle EDITOR: Carol E. Barnwell, cbarnwell@epicenter.org STAFF WRITER: Luke Blount, lblount@epicenter.org DESIGNER: LaShane K. Eaglin, leaglin@epicenter.org

Diolog: The Texas Episcopalian (PE# USPS 10965, ISSN# 1074-441X) is published quarterly (March, June, September and December) for $25 a year by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, 1225 Texas St., Houston, TX 77002-3504. Periodical postage paid at Houston, TX. Address changes may be emailed to: txepis@epicenter.org

POSTMASTER: Address changes: Diolog: The Texas

Episcopalian, 1225 Texas St., Houston, TX 77002-3504

The Episcopal Diocese of Texas

Contents:

DECEMBER 2011

In This Issue: 04 EDITOR’S LETTER Carol E. Barnwell

Photo: Heidi Shott

06

OPENING THE DOORS

VOCATION 06 Bishop’s Column 08 Meeting Neighbors on Their Turf 10 Is There a Price Tag on Evangelism?

11 Finding God in Community

How hospitable are we willing to be? Any congregation can hang up a

12 An Open Table

sign that says: “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You,” but how do we

14 Let the Little Children Come to Me...

welcome our guests?

16 At the End of the Day...

18 Member of the Club or One of the Family?

19 ADVENT 2011 The Rev. Canon John Newton, IV

20 The Prophet Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath

ADVENT 2011 Advent reminds us of our call to welcome the stranger. Advent, a season of expectancy, means “coming.”

PROFILES

LuminaryHarley Savage page 21 24 Icon Exhibit Offers Visual Theology

Vivian Karayiannis

The Rev. Mary Green

Advocate, MEHOP page 28 Congregation, St. Mark’s, Bay City page 30 32 CAMP ALLEN 34 BISHOP’S CALENDAR & PEOPLE

Cover and Inside Cover Icon: Vivian Karayiannis

Diolog

| 3 | DECEMBER 2011

EDITOR’S LETTER

WELCOMEbienvenidosbienvenue

velkommenalohaBENVENUTI

welkom

haeremaikαλώς Ήρθες(kalós írthes)ようこ(yōkoso) “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You” so the sign says.

A better question might be, “How well do we welcome guests?”

One Sunday morning some time ago a young woman came in to the church just before the worship service started. I handed her a bulletin and held

worse, that you weren’t expecting them.

In this issue of the Diolog you will read several articles about “Welcome” and “Invitation.” I hope this helps all of us do a better job making room. A warm welcome from a prepared congregation isn’t a program or a project. It should be part of who we are.

We’ve provided lots of resources on the diocesan website at www. epicenter.org to help.

Take a look at www.sjd.org for a fabulous approach to

the interior door open for her, but she

welcoming people. Remember you website is in the first place they

hesitated at the back of the nave. She

are likely to encounter your church.

turned and asked me, “Is there room?”

When I looked into the church, I saw lots of room, but there

Sharing Faith: Dinner Conversations This spring, the diocese is planning a unique event Thursday,

was someone seated at the end of every pew. Not very welcoming

April 26. We hope to have more than 9000 people from our 156

from the guest’s point of view. The appearance was one of, “There’s

congregations gather in small groups to share their faith stories.

room here but you will have to crawl over me for a seat!” So

Trained moderators will be at each host’s home with questions

the short version of my advice on welcome is: “SCOOT OVER,

to help start the conversation. Learn more about how you can be

PEOPLE!” Change the point of view from which you see your

part of this exciting event at www.epicenter.org/sharingfaith or

church and consider the one who is not there.

contact the Rev. Gena Davis at genaldavis@yahoo.com or call me

When I am having guests for dinner, all the detritus I look past at my house suddenly shows up: a crack in the sheetrock,

at 713.353.2140.

Things are lively in Bay City. Profiles this month include

books piled in the corner of the living room, shoes on the stairs. I

Harley Savage, a rice farmer turned priest; St. Mark’s, a growing

start seeing my home like one of those real estate shows on HGTV

and vibrant church; and MEHOP, the health ministry St. Mark’s

where they “stage” for a good showing.

helped found that offers medical and dental support to the entire

I’m just saying … the first thing to do (before you scoot over) is take a look around. Are there papers left in the pews, dust bunnies in the corners, worn toys in the nursery, or boxes of Mardi Gras decorations under a table in the parish hall?

Just like the people at the ends of the pews, all of the things that might be invisible to you are obstructions and hindrances to guests. It appears you have not prepared to receive recieve them or

community. Our arts profile focuses on a current exhibit of icons at the Diocesan Center in Houston, one of which graces the cover of this issue.

Read and enjoy this issue, and then share it with your neighbors when you invite them to church.

Blessings, CEB

Carol E. Barnwell

Editor

cbarnwell@epicenter.org 4 |

epicenter.org

Photo: Gus Salinnas

THE D I S COVERY S E RIES EPISCOPAL CHURCH RELEASES MEMBERSHIP DATA INFORMATION St. Martin’s, Houston remains the largest church nationaly, and some dioceses see regional growth despite overall declining membership. Read more @ tinyurl.com/MembershipData

A Christian Journey

163rd COUNCIL REGISTRATION AND INFORMATIN ONLINE This year’s Council will be held in Bryan, TX, February 10-11, 2012. Read more @ epicenter.org/ council2012

Instructed Eucharist, prayer styles, history of the Episcopal Church?

It’s all here for you in the Discovery Series.

On DVD in English and Spanish. $200 and $150 Order the 15-segment video series for your next newcomers or confirmation class at this address.

epicenter.org/discovery

CALL FOR A BISHOP SUFFRAGAN The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle has announced his intention to ask the 163rd Council to call for the election of a Bishop Suffragan. Read more @ epicenter.org/suffraganelection

Diolog

| 5 | DECEMBER 2011

WELCOMING

OCCUPY THE SEASON WITH GOD’S LOVE

by the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle

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epicenter.org

In November the world’s population

enter into the season of Advent, then the

gather with our families and with our

surpassed 7 billion in human

celebration of the nativity of our Lord

friends, let us be reminded of God’s

inhabitants. The global economic crisis

Jesus Christ and the Epiphany.

special relationship with humanity. Let

has been framed with protests similar to the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Debates in our own political conversation are ones that amplify the divisions between the haves and the have nots.

In the midst of this season where the economy is the news, Robert Smith, an NPR reporter, posed a more humane question in an article about lifestyle choices globally. Smith asked, “What is a baby worth?”

He wrote, “Let’s set aside for a

It is a season in which we remind ourselves of our interconnectedness with God, our creator. We remember that we are more than the value we may have to a government, the local department bigbox stores or online retailer or any global economic system.

We remember in our celebrations, especially at Christmas time, that we have value because God chooses us as partners and laborers in his garden. We have value because God humbles himself and comes in the form of a man — the

us pause and take a time-out to see God’s love in the midst of those relationships.

Let us renew our commitment to church and to hearing the life story of Jesus once again; yet let us hear it as a people who have been chosen to be sons and daughters in the family of God. In the midst of holiday parties, in our Christmas Eve services and holiday celebrations with friends and colleagues, allow the value God gives us to overflow in your value of others.

Let God’s love for us and for

moment all of those goo-goo feelings…

incarnation. We have value because God,

our community flow so freely that we

A baby is an economic investment.

in Christ Jesus, calls us “friends.” We

become God’s incarnate hands at work

Businesses will eventually get a new

have value because throughout all of

in the world around us. Let us so be

worker and a new consumer for their

history, God chooses us and in the end

filled with God’s affection that we work

products. Parents will get someone

chooses to dwell with us — Emmanuel.

and value those who the world says have

who will support them in their old age.

Governments get a taxpayer — and a guarantee that the country will live on.”

His point was that, as the concern

We also understand our value as one whom God blesses and invites into even greater relationship through the Resurrection. Through Jesus Christ we

of extinction was removed and people

know that God loves us. It is the kind of

lived longer, people in rich countries

love that cannot be undone. It is the kind

no value. Let us so be aware of God’s presence that we see the face of Jesus in God’s intimate friends, the poor, that we share the goodness of our blessings with them.

May the light of Christ’s presence in

invested in other things like getting

of love that, when we it embrace it fully,

our homes warm the world outside our

more money or more square feet in

no power or principality can divide us,

doors this winter. And finally, just as we

their homes. They bought nicer cars,

either from God or from one another.

spend ample time preparing and making

God blesses us in the nativity of

ready for our Christmas celebration may

more music, took more vacations and had more leisure time. Furthermore, in countries with declining populations, governments are incentivizing child birth.

With consumption swirling around

Jesus Christ. He brings us mercy and forgiveness. He brings justice and the promise of transformation. The singular incarnation of God in Christ offers a blessing and value for all humanity and

we share as abundantly with God’s world the news of the birth of his Son Jesus Christ that all may find favor and value in his embrace.

May we in our celebration of the

us, we Episcopalians (with our global

an exodus from the economy of the

incarnation of God this Christmas live

Anglican Church and other orthodox

world.

lives worthy of his humble nativity.

faiths) take a time-out. We pause as we

In this season of Christmas, as we

Robert Smith, “When governments pay people to have babies,” Morning Edition, NPR, November 3, 2011.

Diolog

| 7 | DECEMBER 2011

WELCOMING

Meeting Neighbors on Their Turf by the Rev. Dwight Zscheile

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epicenter.org

I grew up as an outsider to church. Raised in a secular

and hospitality from another angle. At the heart of the

home in California, I had no meaningful knowledge of

Christian story is the incarnation—God becoming flesh

the Christian story. Among my circle of friends, going

and relying upon the hospitality of the world. Jesus

to church was a rare and countercultural thing to do.

sends his disciples out into towns and villages to depend

The church has never been well established on the

upon the local residents for their well-being (Luke 10:1-

California coast. People are more likely to seek God in

12). He tells them to go “without purse, bag, or sandals”

a hike through the forest or a walk on the beach than

and to dwell in local homes, eating what is set before

through organized religion.

For me and the majority of my friends, it wasn’t enough for the church to be welcoming. We weren’t looking for a church—it wouldn’t have even occurred to us to try to find one. If there were friendly and gracious

them. They cannot impose their resources or culture on these villagers, for they come empty-handed. In exchange, they share the peace, preach the good news of the Kingdom of God, and heal the sick.

What might it mean for us to go to our neighbors

Christians waiting for us to show up at their churches,

to share God’s peace while we rely upon their

they weren’t doing us any good.

hospitality? The long history of cultural and social

No, the church had to come to us, on our turf.

Fortunately for me, God worked through people in my life to open up my spiritual awareness, and when some Christians knocked on my college freshman dorm door, I was ready to welcome them in. (They were not, unfortunately, Episcopalians, and it took me several years to discover the church in which I felt most at home.)

Often, the church’s conversation about welcome and hospitality is focused on treating newcomers well when they show up at the church door. By all means we should be prepared to do so for those who have the courage seek us out. Yet in today’s society, where increasing numbers of people (especially younger generations) have no link to a faith community, little background knowledge of the church, and a hunger for spiritual meaning and purpose, this stance is becoming less effective.

In this sense, I come from Texas’ future. If trends hold, the American South and Midwest, where the church still enjoys lingering cultural privilege, will resemble California, the Pacific Northwest, New England, and other increasingly unchurched areas in coming years.

The Gospel challenges us to understand welcome

establishment for the church in the U.S. and other western societies has fostered a “come-to-us” logic. The new apostolic era in which we live today invites us to adopt a “go-and-share” posture, where we join up with people in our neighborhoods and seek to discover what God is doing in their midst, in their homes and cultures.

This inevitably involves vulnerability. We Episcopalians are generally not used to going without money and baggage into our neighborhoods to develop community with people on their turf. Yet this is how Jesus comes to us, as well as how Jesus sends the church in the power of the Spirit. What is important to recognize is that God, the great host of the universe, is already there before us. We don’t go alone. The end purpose of our being sent isn’t just filling up the pews of our established churches, but participating in God’s reconciliation of all people in Christ. There are many neighbors in our towns and villages who may not be seeking a welcome, but who would gladly welcome us if we came to them in peace. I was once one of them.

The Rev. Dwight Zscheile is an Episcopal priest and professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. His latest book, People of the Way: Renewing Episcopal Identity (Church Publishing, 2012), explores the themes of this essay.

SHARING YOUR FAITH

E-NEWS

each of us has our own personal faith story, share yours with us @ www.epicenter.org/sharing

get weekly diocesan and parish news @ tinyurl.com/diologenews

Diolog

| 9 | DECEMBER 2011

WELCOMING

Is There a Price Tag on Evangelism? by the Rev. Mary Vano I’ll never forget the day St. David’s, Austin received an incredible

$1

bequest. At the time, I was the associate priest for Newcomers and Evangelism. There was money given for everything from youth ministries to music. One line item was pertinent to me: $10,000 designated for evangelism.

0,0

That brought up an immediate question: “How do we spend $10,000 on evangelism?”

Evangelism, in its purest form, is not something we can buy.

In its most effective form, evangelism happens when one person

lovingly brings the Good News of God in Christ to another. Unlike what we see in tent revivals and flashy TV broadcasts, the best

evangelism happens when stories of faith are shared authentically, when Christians take time to listen deeply and generously to

someone who shares his own stories, doubts and questions, and

3. Equip and encourage members to make an invitation. Printed materials, such as business cards showing service times or postcards advertising the Christmas schedule, give people an easy way to invite a friend to worship or to a parish event.

Printed materials must be professional and attractive, but they don’t have to be expensive. Some people put the cards out at their business, or tuck the Christmas invitation in with their own Christmas cards.

00

Teaching and equipping people of faith to be evangelists is

sometimes challenging and requires commitment, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming or expensive.

Are you wondering now how we spent $10,000 on

when we practice genuine kindness toward one another. That is

evangelism? We installed a new exterior sign, increasing our

evangelism, and it doesn’t cost any money.

visibility and making it easier for guests to find us. Then we

However, it does require intention. Just as we have to work to make our churches truly welcoming places, we also have to give some attention to teaching and equipping our members to be evangelists. Of course, most of our members would say that

designed nine beautiful, compelling invitations, including redeemable coupons for breakfast, coffee and gifts, and mailed them over a period of months to 3000 of our closest neighbors.

There wasn’t a huge response. Evangelism doesn’t happen in

they don’t want to be evangelists! They “don’t believe in pressuring

mailboxes. But, I believe it was worth every penny, because our

others to join their church.” Most have a negative connotation

effort into that project and the resulting ads created a new kind of

associated with evangelism. Many are afraid to, and don’t know

energy and pride in our community. Most of the new members

how to, talk about their faith. It’s a challenge that we must face. For

that we welcomed did not receive the ads in their mailbox, but

seven years I led the evangelism efforts of this parish, and here are

rather from the hand of one of our members, personally inviting

some things I learned:

them to try out our community. Our church has hundreds of

1. We must redefine and reclaim evangelism, sharing by word and example the Good News of God in Jesus Christ. We need to teach evangelism so that so-called “evangelicals” do not get to define the practice of evangelism. Make evangelism part of your curriculum for newcomers, and have open discussions on this topic in classes for adults and youth.

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2. Help people learn to tell their stories and articulate their faith. Give people plenty of opportunities to share their experiences of faith, in small groups, classes and retreats.

People who practice are more likely to share outside the church as well.

epicenter.org

visitors every year because people have experienced the love of Christ and know how to share it.

Vano is now rector of St. Margaret’s, Little Rock, AR.

Finding God in Community

by Brother Michael Gallagher of his Rule is to try to achieve balance

lost the balance that Benedict so carefully

in a world that does not always hold

tried to lay out for his monks.

the same values. It seems almost contradictory that the more well-defined framework we have to operate in, the freer we are to be and become our best selves.

We are just now beginning to connection and ever on-call status (via cell phones, pagers, telephones, and the like) we really do need pattern and rhythm in our lives to function

own, and are most comfortable with people just like us. We get set in our ways, really don’t like change as much as we say we do, and tend to compartmentalize (read: marginalize) those who don’t think like we do. How knowing is Homo sapiens!

monastery or determined to be human doings instead of human beings, there is a danger that people who come into our lives might be looked on as an interruption or

realize that in our world of instant

We are a clannish lot. We search out our

But whether we are cloistered in a

as healthy and whole human beings.

We observe the cyclic and seasonal changes in nature, but deny those rhythms in our own lives, even though we know deep down that we are a part of that very same nature to the very last fiber of our being. This plays a great part in fueling our frustration that we are too busy, too

distraction from that which we should be about.

St. Benedict realized this danger of self-absorption and reminded his monks not to forget why they were in the monastery in the first place: to search for God through the medium of community.

Both the members of the community and those strangers who come into our midst were to be welcomed as Christ (RB 53:1). I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Matt.

25:35).

Everyone is holy because we are all one in Christ, and we participate even now

Fifteen hundred years ago, St.

distracted, and that life is not as simple and

Benedict wrote a Rule for the monks in

satisfying as it used to be before we had all

his monastery, who were (and still are)

these “time-saving” devices. We are losing

probably some of the most scheduled

the instinct for knowing what is important

people on the face of this earth. Benedict

and what is not, and it is making us sick.

sets forth in great detail the times and

We have endless to-do lists and fret when

methods for prayer, work, study, meals and

we cannot accomplish the unreasonable

Gallagher serves at Holy Cross Monastery,

sleep for the community. The hallmark

goals we have set for ourselves. We have

Beaumont.

in the love and unity of the Trinity—but only to the extent that we cooperate as the hands, feet, eyes and heart of Christ in our world today. That is our sacred duty of hospitality, and that is indeed Good News!

Welcome! My name is Martin and I am an Australian Shepherd. I had the privilege of being an official greeter at a wonderful little church and I have written a book about my experience. I can’t wait to share it with you!

Written by Martin the dog, As dictacted to The Rev. Dick Elwood Illustrated by Riley Cohn Now available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and at your favorite bookseller.

Diolog

| 11 | DECEMBER 2011

WELCOMING

An Open Table by the Rev. Cameron Miller How hospitable are we willing to be? Any old congregation can hang up a sign that says, “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You,” but that is a passive gesture.

Did you hear the one about the guy who offered a woman in

a serious threat. Often when we read the Bible we need to release

labor and her strong silent-type husband a place to spend the

our contemporary assumptions in order to read between the

night in his barn because there was no room in the inn? The

lines of the story. In the case of hospitality, the ancients extended

punch line: stories about the hospitality imperative neither begin

it to total strangers because they were likewise dependent upon

nor end on Christmas.

such hospitality. The culture of nomadic and peasant life in the

Biblical hospitality, beginning in Genesis (18:1) when Abram and Sarah feted three strangers at Mamre, is an eighteen-hundredyear road leading to the four Gospels in which Jesus never saw a dinner party he didn’t like. Hospitality is not only a part of the Biblical story, it is the fabric upon which that story is woven.

In the ancient Near East, hospitality was not a pleasant luxury—it was a peasant necessity. The vast majority of the population was impoverished and there were no public safety institutions, such as local police and state troopers. Individuals and families taking the risk to travel, even short distances, were utterly vulnerable. Any weapon carried for protection was rudimentary and only as useful as the person who wielded it, and subsistence farmers and nomadic herders were not Kung Fu masters. Ordinary people were dependent upon the hospitality of strangers for a place to eat and sleep, even if only stale bread and the floor.

It is difficult for us to imagine life without motels, fast travel, clean restaurants and highway plazas that offer everything from Starbucks to video arcades. In our culture, autonomy and selfsufficiency are the norms and talking to strangers is perceived as

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ancient world was built upon mutual hospitality among strangers, just as thoroughly as our culture is built upon individualism and autonomy.

Jesus is the gold standard when it comes to hospitality. We are so completely immersed in Jesus stories that it goes almost unnoticed that Jesus ate with women, children, civil servants, wealthy patrons, peasants, religious authorities and, most likely, the diseased and unreligious. Our preachers have made it well known that tax collectors were not welcome dinner companions for Jesus’ pious contemporaries, but we may not be aware of the extremely strict caste system requiring a severe separation between men and women, and adults and children, not to mention rich and poor, healthy and ill, pious and profaned. No potluck or barbeque gatherings in the neighborhood in those days.

In first century Judah and Galilee, even when hospitality was offered, it was extended with the rules of segregation in force.

Jesus was the exception. He seems to have eaten with anyone and everyone, and when he was the host, his table was radically open. Such hospitality was too subversive to have been accidental.

Something about an open table was intentional, and at the core of how Jesus understood his mission. What about us?

The congregation gathers around the altar at St. Gregory’s of Nyssa, San Francisco for a renewal of ministry celebration. what we do in order to make our spiritual

as Jesus practiced it, undoubtedly means

Any old congregation can hang up a sign

How hospitable are we willing to be?

home and table of worship more accessible,

talking to strangers, changing what we do,

that says, “The Episcopal Church Welcomes

and more comfortable to those who haven’t

and eating with people we might otherwise

You,” but that is a passive gesture. Too often

found their way to us yet.

never have known. As we become agents of

the sign really means we welcome you if you want to come here and be like us. How many congregations ask, “Who is not here

Earnestly asking ourselves that question, and bravely following it as it

welcome in the name of Jesus, we may find ourselves subverting and changing our own

turns our assumptions upside down, may

parish culture as well.

lead us to become a very different kind of

Miller is rector of Trinity Church, Buffalo,

congregation. The hospitality imperative,

NY.

ABOUT YOU

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stay updated on the latest news @ www.epicenter.org/comm

find out how you can help @ www.epicenter.org/outreach

yet, and why?” Asking that question means being prepared to change who we are and

Photo: Richard Anderson

Diolog

| 13 | DECEMBER 2011

WELCOMING

Let the Little Children Come to Me… Family Worship at St. Francis, Houston by the Rev. Robert Wismer When my wife and I were young parents, we invited a child

encouraged participation and engagement.

safety expert to come and look at our house and to give us any

We offered them some buy-in and

suggestions on how to make it safe for our children. She arrived

ownership. We sang songs they enjoyed, and

on the appointed day and, after pleasantries, promptly got down

we offered a Bible lesson they could relate to.

on her hands and knees and crawled through our house! To accomplish her goal, she told us she needed to see the house from the child’s perspective. It made perfect sense, and her approach, although initially puzzling, has always stuck with me.

At St. Francis, we have endeavored to take a similar approach

way to bridge the church community with the school community,” said Becky Gottsegen, a mother who brought her three children first to the Wednesday service,

to worship for children and for families with children. We try

then to the Sunday family service. “We

to see things, as much as possible, from the perspective of the

found a way to include every child in the

children and their families. We try to determine what works for

service—be it puppets acting out the Bible

them. If the church can make the worship experience something

lesson, asking thought-provoking questions,

that is accessible and enjoyable for the children, it is easy to get the

or the beautiful prayer box that the

parents to attend.

children decorated and where they placed

For many years, our church offered little by way of accommodations to young people in the Sunday worship services.

The children were expected to behave, be quiet, and eventually appreciate the grown-up worship. A couple of years ago, we cut our teeth on a Wednesday afternoon children’s service in the parish hall. Children came immediately after school, and we experimented with the idea “what does it mean to worship as

their weekly prayers. After the service, we gathered for dinner, which we took turns preparing. We created a real sense of community. The best way to sum it up is that I felt like I was at home,” she said.

Now at our Sunday morning family service the children ring the chimes, read

a child?” With the help of some amazingly supportive parents,

the lessons, lead the prayers, sing the

we began to see that it is not necessarily the same thing as what

songs, act out skits, serve the table, carry

would be natural and appropriate for adults. One thing we did, for

things, find things and lose things! They are

instance, was to allow them to move. If a song mentioned running

learning both to feel at home in our service,

or skipping or shouting, we sent them off to do just that in the

while at the same time learning reverence

parish hall.

and appropriate worship behavior.

The mid-week afternoon service died a natural death, for

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“Our Wednesday service was a great

It is at this family service that we honor

various reasons, but it did pave the way for a Sunday morning

our sports association, Cub Scout pack

family service, which now outnumbers our main service. We

and Girl Scout troop. At the Sunday closest

strove to involve the children at as many levels as possible. We

to Hallowe’en, for instance, we invite the

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children to come in their costumes (one

accessible to guests who visit our church,

God has given us and to live authentic lives,

of the riskier things we have attempted!).

and how to invite them to come and give

enthusiastically, passionately and joyfully.

All of this has meant that we have had to

us a try. Mary was extremely helpful in

Worship helps us to live a life that is deep,

offer two family services on Christmas Eve

guiding our thinking, reflection and action.

profound and free. This is what we offer to

besides our late night service.

How do children worship? Is it

the world around us, and this is precisely

Beth Hurst , a parishioner who has

something that we must teach them, or

what children can offer to us.

watched her boys grow up at St. Francis,

is it something that they must teach us?

and had a heart to see the church grow and

What did Jesus mean when he said that

Wismer is senior chaplain at St. Francis

develop, invited Mary Parmer, a consultant

we must become like children. Is worship

for the Diocese of Texas, to come and

a matter of how to behave? Or is it more

engage us in conversation about how to

about how to live? Worship, surely, is about

make St. Francis more welcoming and

how to live, how to step out into the life

Episcopal Day School and associate rector of St. Francis, Houston. For more information contact Wismer at bwismer@sfedshouston. org.

Diolog

| 15 | DECEMBER 2011

WELCOMING

At the End of the Day…

by Mary Parmer

Cultivating new practices of invitation, welcome and connection that are rooted and grounded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ will transform our congregations ...

Imagine what would happen if the clergy and laity of the Episcopal Church lived into the idea that we are a part of salvation history and God’s mission in the world. Imagine if we overcame our fear of invitation, if we obeyed Jesus’ gospel mandate to see and welcome the stranger into our midst, and if we cultivated the sacred act of listening. Compelling stories emerge from congregations around our diocese that take these imaginings seriously, and one by one they experience transformation.

St. Francis, Houston, a pilot congregation in the newly developed Newcomer Ministry Project, began using the assessment tools to evaluate their invitation, welcome and connection processes. They began to see the school on their campus and the families and students as their biggest mission field. Only 10 percent of the students’ families were members of the church; and, within six months of refocused effort, an additional 10 percent had joined the church or were attending regularly.

The Newcomer Ministry Project’s primary objective was the creation of tangible materials for congregations to use in the development of effective newcomer ministry. These are now available on the diocesan website (www.epicenter.org), and congregational coaches have been trained to assist locally with implementation of the ministry.

Complacency around newcomer ministry is the greatest challenge for Episcopal congregations today, and it might be our prevailing sin. We think of ourselves as a “friendly community” when in reality we are a “community of friends.” Observe, if you will, any average Sunday morning coffee hour and you will see people visiting primarily with friends, not the stranger in the 16 |

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room.

Action is another serious challenge. At the end of the day, our actions speak louder than our words. It is not what we say, teach or preach—it is what we do! At the end of the day, did we see Christ in the newcomers who walked in our doors? More importantly, did they see Christ in us?

Although there are no magic pills for turning around flat or declining church membership, failure to address the essentials of newcomer ministry will keep the revolving back door spinning in our congregations. These broad essentials make up the Newcomer Ministry Project and include: Invitation, Welcome, and Connection.

Invitation, a.k.a. Evangelism This is not only about inviting people into a relationship with you and your congregation, it is also about inviting them into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Bishop Claude Payne emphasizes the need for congregations to embrace evangelism as fundamental to their ministry in his book, Reclaiming the Great Commission.“Evangelism is not a program. It is an ethos,” he says.

David Gortner expands this thought in his recent book, Transforming Evangelism, “Evangelism is not a programmatic effort … It is a willful, joyful, spiritual discipline of seeing and naming the Holy Spirit at work in ourselves and those we encounter—giving voice to our own grace-filled experiences, and helping others find their voice.”

Welcome, a.k.a. Ministry of Hospitality The gospel tells us that welcoming the stranger is welcoming Jesus. Jesus modeled for us a new way of seeing people—the way of love, compassion and forgiveness. Christine Pohl quotes Jean Vanier in her book, Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition,

process for connecting the newcomer, giving them an opportunity to share their story, discerning their giftedness and encouraging them in their journey of faith. The sacred act of listening is critical, and Henri Nouwen speaks of this in Bread for the Journey.

“Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them into our very beings. The beauty of listening is that those who are listened to start feeling accepted, start taking their words more seriously and discovering their true selves.”

At the end of the day, our choices make us who we are.

When we choose to live into our sacred calling to be fully engaged in living out God’s transformative mission of hospitality to the world, we will “Welcome is one of the signs that a

comfort or just because it is fed up with

community is alive … A community which

visitors—is dying spiritually.”

all the desire to make that choice.

refuses to welcome—whether through fear,

Connection, a.k.a. Assimilation

Parmer is project consultant for the

Connection is having an intentional

Newcomer Ministry Project.

weariness, insecurity, a desire to cling to

be transformed. May God give us

IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE (SOME RESOURES) Believe that your life will be enriched when new people join our worship.

Shed your belief that people “want to be left alone” and embrace the spirit of the Seeking Shepherd (Luke 15) and Persistent Widow (Luke 18).

Respond to every guest with an intentional, prayerful and strategic follow-up plan, understanding that the Body will be healthier as others are welcomed into the family of God. “Scoot to the middle” on Sunday morning. Don’t sit at the end of the pew, blocking the way for others to sit. Move to the

Model personal invitation.

middle of the pew and leave the rest open as an invitation for

Organize strategic ways to invite new people to visit our

guests to join you in worship.

church, welcome and connect them with others so their lives and ours may be transformed.

Find someone new to speak to during coffee hour. If you are worried they may be longtime members of the church and not guests, begin with: “I don’t believe we’ve met . . .”

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| 17 | DECEMBER 2011

WELCOMING

Member of the Club or One of the Family?

by Elaine d’Lys McClurkan A cradle Episcopalian, I attended St.

home, a destination to travel towards and

membership. During that dinner the vicar

Andrew’s, Bryan, for 30 years. Over those

a mark to aim for. I want to be, and out

used the same metaphor in describing

years I visited many churches at home

of that being, to do. I want to be part of

what every individual should expect in

and abroad. The same liturgy, the same

something infinite, yet personal enough to

their parish life—a relationship. One week

hymns, the same bread and wine tying me

be intimate in the details of my life.

a six-year-old helped me write my name

to the same God, celebrated in different cadences yet still in common. How could I imagine the hardest visit of all would be

During my search I participated in a four-week book study at one parish, with no follow-up even

How can God’s heart, beating within each of us, be known without relationship to each other and to Christ? my move to Atlanta in 2009? Episcopal churches here were all happy, indeed anxious, to invite me to membership.

“Join Now! Plenty to Do! Something for Everyone!” What was not apparent was one church in particular over any other.

From their material I read, I’m not sure I can answer. How can God’s heart, beating within each of us, be known without relationship to each other and to Christ?

There is a vast difference in being asked to membership and being invited into the family. Our lives are full of, and often defined by, our memberships: book clubs, health clubs, service groups, even some ministries. Membership, alone, is the illusion of relationship. The appeal of online social networks and the community they represent is understandable. At their center is at least the hope for relationship and a place to come home, even if only in the imagination. My search was for a

though I met people and signed in each week. I filled out a visitor card with all my

contact information and a “yes – please call me, I’ll join!” Not enough. The office insisted on a membership form, to make

tag. Advent found me still visiting. During the peace, as they did with each other, I was also greeted by name. At Christmas, deeply grateful for God’s comfort and care during my journey, I dropped a check in the plate. When St Philip’s sent a letter blessing my giving for its use helping the body of Christ, they tugged at my heart because they told me what was important to theirs.

With that blessing I transferred

sure they had all my contact information!

my membership and started a new

Still no one called: not office, not lay, not

relationship. How many forms? Just the

clergy. The vestry did send a form letter

sign in at the newcomer dinner; after all,

about the $1m deficit and the importance

they already knew me.

of fulfilling my pledge. Clearly, they want

McClurkan is director of operations at LexisNexis in Atlanta.

paying members.

While chatting with a greeter at the Cathedral of St. Philip’s, I was invited by him to the upcoming newcomer dinner simply because, “It’s important to meet people in a new city so you won’t be lost!”

Relationship versus

Dean Samuel Candler greets visitors at St. Phillips, Atlanta 18 |

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ADVENT 201 1

Live a Radically Hospitable Life by the Rev. Canon John Newton, IV Jesus invites us to live radically hospitable lives. As the author of Hebrews instructs, we must not “neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Heb 13:2). The world is full of gift-bearing angels. Sadly, our world teaches us to call them “strangers.”

The Bible is filled with accounts of people who welcomed the stranger only to be blessed in return. Abraham welcomed three men who revealed themselves as the Lord and announced that his wife would conceive a son. The widow of Zarephath offered Elijah food and a place to stay. She then discovered he was God’s prophet with the power to raise her son from the dead.

Two men traveling to Emmaus invited a stranger over for dinner. In the breaking of the bread that Stranger was revealed to them as Jesus himself. The consistent Biblical witness is that the stranger brings gifts to be shared.

Advent and Epiphany remind us of our call to welcome the stranger. Advent, a season of expectancy, means “coming.” The message of Advent isn’t only that Jesus came to us once in a manger but that Jesus comes to us now in the stranger. In the same way, Epiphany means “appearance” or “manifestation” and is a season of revelation.

In Epiphany we marvel that God manifested himself most clearly in the cross. If God manifested himself once in weakness, can God not do so right now in and through the sick, the dependent, the addicted, the elderly, the weak, and the stranger? “Just as you do it to one of the least of these,” Jesus

says, “you do it to me” (Matt 25:40).

In the midst of a hostile world our tendency is to cling to what’s safe and familiar.

But Jesus invites us to live differently—to offer all people a free space where they feel accepted, loved and at home. As Henri Nouwen notes, “Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place.” So where do we start?

First, we start with ourselves. We all have “strange” aspects of our character that startle and confuse us. Never forget that nothing is strange to Jesus. Create a space for Jesus to manifest himself in and through The Prophet Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath your weakness. Jesus has redeemed us at great cost to hostile, the God we worship is radically himself. It is insulting to God when we’re hospitable towards us. inhospitable with ourselves. Shame has no The Lord is coming. Jesus is always place in the Christian life. eager to manifest himself through the giftSecond, practice hospitality towards bearing angels we call strangers. Do not those closest to you: your spouse, your neglect to show hospitality to strangers, not children, your friends and your co-workers. because they need you but because you Let your actions and your attitude tell need them. Each one is bearing a gift. the people you’re closest to that they are Newton is the Canon for Lifelong Christian “welcome” just as they are. After all, God Formation for the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. welcomes us just as we are. Far from being

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| 19 | DECEMBER 2011

PROFILE: LUMINARY

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The Good Steward

Harley Savage turned 80 last spring and just celebrated his 60th wedding anniversary with his wife, Jane. A rice farmer and a bi-vocational priest, Harley was born and raised in Bay City and grew up at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. In 1952 he graduated from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio before joining the military and serving in Korea. He and Jane live with several of his children on a family compound with several of his children, built around a small lake where the grandchildren and great-grandchildren play and the extended family regularly gathers.

The Rev. Harley Savage

CEB: You served in Korea after college. What lessons did you

business, and now I have grandsons who have come back to work

bring home?

with us. We’re one of those family farms that people talk about.

EH: That you can have a little bit of nothing and make anything

CEB: What does that mean to you?

work and that you can endure hardships that you, hopefully, will

EH: All farmers ought to be stewards of the land—sort of the

never see at home.

restorers of the resources. I’ve always told my boys, “We really

CEB: Did you return to the family business right after you came

don’t own anything. We just use it for a while, so we need to take

home?

care of it.”

EH: Yes, Jane and I married in ’51, and I finished my schooling,

CEB: There are broad issues with the drought. How will this

then went into the service in 1953. We had one daughter when

affect your production?

I left. After I got out of the military I came back to Bay City and

EH: Probably ¾ of the rice grown in Texas is grown in Colorado,

went right into the family rice farming business. My grandfather started the business in 1929 and I worked with my dad and brother. When my dad retired, my two sons came into the

Wharton and Matagorda Counties. We are looking at losing ½ of our production next year if we don’t get a lot of rain.

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| 21 | DECEMBER 2011

The Rev. Harley Savage and his grandson Scott Savage, five generations on the Land.

Whenever we’re dependent on our food source from somewhere else, we are in trouble but it’s hard to sell that to people when you go to any supermarket, and

CEB: How has St. Mark’s shaped your life?

then, but when he walked in the room, you knew he was a bishop. He was in command when he walked in the room. He had that kind of presence about him. He was

it’s overflowing of whatever you want.

EH: Jane and I had five kids in 10 years.

very inspirational—he would talk about

But if you took all of the food that we

They all grew up here and were a part of St.

life—what does life mean to you and what

have today and divided it, we’d still have

Mark’s. We went to the church real often,

experience is life-giving.

hungry people in the world. I sound like

and they learned how to behave in church

the Chamber of Commerce, but I read a

[from the beginning]. Milton McWilliams

lot. We’re the only country with a surplus.

was [the priest] here for a long time, he’s 91

thought about and how you lived your life?

The Middle East and Vietnam export at the

now. I still talk to him pretty often. When

EH: Well, as a young person growing

expense of their own people.

I was a teenager, it was 1941 or ’42, Father

up—a man of that statute that was

Pat Malone made the biggest impression

speaking about life experiences, and here

on my life—that was my beginning of my

I was—I hadn’t had any yet. I would just

own spiritual journey. He was a young

like some of what you’re telling us about.

priest when he came and he was real

I think he was a kind of cheerleader in

active with us—the acolytes became very

the diocese. What I thought about was

important and we had an all-boys choir.

I would like to have some of the stature

The parishioners were so supportive of

that he had—be able to emulate some of

everything we did—it was one of [times]

the feelings that he had, be able to be an

that leaves an impression that you don’t

influence on some of the people around me

forget for the rest of your life.

like he had. He had a loving relationship

CEB: Here you are in Bay City, population 18,000, growing all of this rice, but you have to have a world view.

EH: Oh, yeah, because we’re tied to the world market on everything we do. We’ve been tied to the world market for years, so you’ve got to know what is happening in the rice-growing parts of the world.

For years Cuba was our biggest customer.

Everybody in the Caribbean basin is a rice eater. Rice is a staple for ¾ of the world’s

Of course, part of my learning came from

population. We own about 4,500 acres and

[our] bishops. Bishop Quin was here a lot.

lease another 12,000. With organic rice, you have to lay out for 10 years between

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crops—let cattle graze on it.

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I can remember—I was just a young boy

CEB: How did that inform what you

with everybody.

CEB: Do you feel like you’ve been able to do that?

EH: I hope so. I have a family that is as

large as a lot of parishes—you know—

you learn to point people in the right

with long relationships and a lot of

48 in my immediate family now and

direction.

children. My children were raised in a

one on the way.

CEB: What do you see as the best

house where we sat down together for

CEB: What led you to want to become

piece of advice that you’ve ever given

ordained?

your children?

EH: Well, I’ve always felt like I was

EH: Be honest and truthful in all you

called to ministry, but I always had an

do. Be able to sit down and talk and

excuse. I really felt at one time that I

communicate with everybody around

would go to the seminary, but at that

you. Communication is the most

time, I had a young family. I thought

important thing that we have in life

well, Lord, I can’t do that now. When

and then be able to sit down and have a

my father got sick, “somebody” had

conversation with God.

to run the family business, then I was

CEB: What is your personal rule of

sending kids to college, so, “not right now.” Finally, I ran out of excuses. I became the first bi-vocational priest in 1997 and served at Christ Church Matagorda for seven years. It’s been a blessing. But I’ve learned you can’t be a pastor to your own family!

CEB: What have you learned as a priest?

EH: The thing I think that you learn as a priest—or that you learn as a person first and then in your profession as a priest called by God—is that you don’t have all the answers, but you know people who have the right answers, and

life?

three meals. We work hard to keep the relationships open. In the summertime, we gather for a common meal every week. And we really work at it. If somebody—one of the younger ones— needs some help … we always pick up the slack. We never tried to make Christmas even. The ones who need the most, get the most help, because in a big family, with that many people, there is always somebody.

Somebody asked me a long time ago—

EH: For 40 years I’ve written in a

“How long does parenting go on?” I

journal daily. I read the lessons for the

said, “From the womb to the tomb.”

day, then I read the meditation from

That’s it. You can’t explain it any other

Forward Day by Day, and that’s what

way than that.

I usually write about. My handwriting was better 20 years ago than it is today.

That’s just a part of me. It gets to be a

.

CEB: What is the best part of your

part of your life.

and Jane’s relationship?

CEB: To what do you attribute your

EH: We’ve been lovers and we’ve been

60-year marriage and strong family relationships?

EH: I’ve had a lot of models of people in my life of people taking care of

best friends forever. I think it’s being able to sit back and have all of these children around us and to be a part of their lives. That has been a blessing.

their family, taking care of themselves

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| 23 | DECEMBER 2011

PROFILE: THE ARTS

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Icon Exhibit Offers Visual Theology This Advent, two iconographers’ work will be featured at

has to surrender to the process and realize that it is a spiritual

Edot Gallery, in the Houston Diocesan Center, 1225 Texas

discipline of prayer, guided and enabled by the Holy Spirit.”

Ave., Houston. Vivian Karayiannis is a trained Byzantine iconographer and the Rev. Mary Green, originally a student of Karayiannis’, has now written a book on the subject. Both women will show their work and lead a Sunday school class at Christ Church Cathedral on icons, December 11. The exhibit is open November 10 through January 6, M-F, 9-5.

An icon is a painted panel of a religious figure or event.

Just as medieval monks copied ancient sacred texts, icon painters of long ago copied ancient, iconic originals, to serve as visual theology. To avoid the taint of idolatry, icons were created in a formalized, deliberately stylized manner that emphasized otherworldliness rather than human feeling or sentimentality. The process was codified in Russia in the 16th century and demanded strict emulation of the existing format so that artists would not depart from the iconographic canon.

Since icons are considered sacred images that convey theological truth, painting an icon is referred to as “writing” an icon. Each step in writing the icon, as well as the materials used, has sacred meaning. Many icons are written on traditional wooden boards, with an indented space within which the image is painted. Each board is first covered with linen and many layers of gesso (made from marble dust) before the image is outlined. The pigments used to paint the icon are ground minerals, and the colors are symbolic: red symbolizes the blood of Christ and martyrdom; white, purity; blue, truth; gold, the glory of God. A nurse by training, Green attended Seminary of the Southwest, Austin and was ordained in 1992. She served as vicar of Christ Church in Cedar Park before joining the chaplains group at St. Luke’s Hospital, Houston and now teaches at the diocese’s Iona School of Ministry. She began her training in iconography because she wanted to learn to paint portraits, to paint Christ’s face. Karayiannis tried to explain to her that—the process is not “that easy or logical.”

“It took me a while to realize that making icons is a religious art, it is sacramental and done for the benefit of the person who will interact with that icon,” Green said. “One

“It takes time to understand the importance of the process and the discipline. I cannot paint just any time. When I feel a divine intervention, it comes out on the icon—you feel it,” Karayiannis said. A classically trained Byzantine iconographer, Karayiannis was born in Greece, where she studied, then worked for one of the leading iconographers in Greece. After a brief time in Toronto, she moved to Houston in 1991, where she lives with her husband and two daughters.

The first images that appeared were influenced by complex historical contexts and many cultural dependencies as well as the war of the holy images during which the iconoclasts destroyed innumerable icons. The first images were paintings from the third century, showing Mary with the wise Men adoring the Child.

In the fourth century, Constantine’s conversion served to fuel an esthetic period for the next several centuries. Following the Third Ecumenical Council, held in Ephesus in 431, Mary, who was there proclaimed to be the Mother of God, began to appear in images with the divine child on her lap. In 730 a doctrinal war arose between partisans and enemies of icons, which ended in 842 when icons were once again exalted.

Byzantine icons became an integral part of the Orthodox faith during the Byzantine Empire. They were used to express in images the same Gospel message that Scripture communicates in words. Image and word illuminate each other, while neither can substitute for the other.

While they were suppressed in Soviet-era Russia, they enjoyed a revival in the 20th century, further stimulated by the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in the 1980s.

Icons are sacred paintings of Jesus Christ, Mary and many angels and saints characterized by vivid colors and often gold colored backgrounds. They are embedded with symbolic language, a “visual theology,” Green said. “They are huge with meaning.”

For example, the ears of Christ are large and his mouth is small to signify that he hears everything but only speaks words of holy wisdom. Icons only seem to have a width and a

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| 25 | DECEMBER 2011

Vivian Karayiannis and the Rev. Mary Green discuss the finer points of writing icons.

height, no depth as traditional paintings.

sacred nature of an icon, it follows that the

The third dimension of an icon is spiritual

icon “writer” be more than an artist. An

and therefore goes beyond what the eye

iconographer is a theologian as much as

can see. Icons are a window into the sacred

he is an artist presupposing a lifestyle of

and enable one who is praying to the

prayer and meditation.

person depicted to connect directly with that person. As St. Paul said, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15).

“When a person is learning, they don’t really have time to contemplate.

Students have to have patience to learn to get to a certain skill level so it can become

Illumination by the Holy Spirit is an

contemplative,” Karayiannis said. She has

important part of an iconographer’s ability

taught classes at St. Christopher’s and

to express the living truth. Because of the

St. Mark’s in Houston as well as private

Right clockwise: Our Lady of Sorrow by Karayiannis; Nole Me Tagere by Green; Angel by Karayiannis and Pantocrator by Green. The two artists will teach an adult class on icons at Christ Church Cathedral at 10 a.m. Sunday, December 11. The exhibit will be open following the class.

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lessons.

“Some people have the attitude that you can just pick this up,” Green pointed out. “It’s more than a skill, it is a spiritual discipline.”

It can take a month or several years to complete an icon. Gold leaf used to cost has doubled, today it has doubled. Boards on which icons are painted come from two sources in the Unite5

Scan to view more Icon in the EDOT Gallery online

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| 27 | DECEMBER 2011

PROFILE: ADVOCACY

MEHOP Finds New Ways to Do ‘God’s Work’

by Luke Blount Life changes fast at the Matagorda

are uninsured. Payment is determined on

Episcopal Health Outreach Program

a sliding scale system based on income.

(MEHOP). In 2008, the clinic received

Alhough MEHOP takes all types of

3,370 patient visits, but by 2010, that

insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, their

number had almost tripled to 10,079. In

patient visits are still 70 percent self-pay.

that time span, the clinic was recognized

“That means we have to write tons of

as a federally qualified institution, received stimulus funding and hired a full-time medical doctor, therapist and dentist.

distinguishes MEHOP from most doctors’ offices is that we also have a case manager and outreach people working for her. She is

“It’s a good thing I like change,” said

a social worker and does case management

executive director Celeste Harrison. Since

for all the clients who go through MEHOP.”

2008 she has overseen the expansion of the

The clinic also offers health education

nonprofit clinic in Matagorda County.

But as the saying goes, the more things

for the community on subjects such as diabetes and high blood pressure, which are

change, the more they stay the same.

typical ailments in their client base. Most

Recently, MEHOP started offering a mobile

of the people visiting live on fixed incomes

clinic, an idea that formed the basis for the

and many of them make too much money

clinic in 1998. In 2007, MEHOP found a

to qualify for government funding, but

permanent site in Bay City, but they are

not enough to afford their own insurance.

now returning to their roots by sending

Currently, MEHOP is working on building

a mobile clinic to St. Thomas, Wharton,

their client base as they continue to gather

twice a week.

more resources.

“In many ways I’ve grown to appreciate

As MEHOP has expanded, so has the

St. Thomas in Wharton,” Harrison said. “I

face of the staff. Many of the providers and

have to highlight them as a church that is

administrative staff left jobs in completely

truly focused on outreach.”

unrelated fields to be a part of the work at

The mobile clinic parks outside St. Thomas’ Thrift Shop on Wednesdays and

MEHOP. “Many of us came to MEHOP because

Fridays, taking scheduled appointments

we were really and truly called to be here,”

and walk-ins.

said Harrison, who left a life as a stay-at-

MEHOP primarily serves those who

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grants,” Harrison explained. “And what

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home mom with a background in chemical

engineering.

“Our lives will never be the same.

Almost everyone has a story as to why they are here,” Harrison said.

Dentist John Ferguson left his practice in Indiana after 25 years to work for the nonprofit clinic in May of 2010. MEHOP is now the preferred medical provider for the area, ahead of other for-profit businesses.

“I love being here,” Ferguson said. “I do see a lot more patients that have issues with their general health, not just dental health.

In that way, it is a little more challenging, but it’s interesting.”

Nina Sicking was a nurse and diabetes educator at MEHOP a few years ago when she decided to go back to school to become a nurse practitioner. Already in her 60’s, Sicking took classes for three years in order to help the clinic.

“The hardest thing for me is finding ways to treat these patients that they can afford,” she said. “Since I worked in education so long, I’m really big on diet and exercise.”

MEHOP is currently in the process of moving all of their records to electronic databases. Harrison expects this process to increase efficiency and lead to better care, but the process has forced them to slow the pace of patient visits while they catch up.

The landscape at MEHOP continues to evolve and expand, but

what God expects us to do, and in my view what he expects us to

the message is still the same. Since it began as a project funded by

do is to be out there helping others. We are open to God’s work.

The Episcopal Diocese of Texas and Episcopal Health Charities,

When you go to church, you expect God’s presence, but we’ve

the clinic has found new funding from different sources and has

begun to live it as part of our lives and our work here.”

worked to serve new clients. But Harrison and her colleagues have

To learn more about MEHOP visit www.mehop.org or contact Celeste

the same mission.

Harrison at 979.245.2008 ext. 302 or charrison@mehop.org.

“I don’t know how you could work here and not understand

Diolog visited MEHOP’s mobile unit in Wharton (top left). Celeste Harrison (top right), MEHOP executive director, gives a tour of Dr. John Ferguson’s dental office in Bay City (below).

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| 29 | DECEMBER 2011

PROFILE: CONGREGATION

Fabric of Life in Bay City

by Carol E. Barnwell The “Ladies Orchestra” was indirectly responsible for the death

building was dedicated in 1906, destroyed by a hurricane in

of a mule. Sunday School teachers were “devoted” and funds

1909, and rebuilt the following year. By 1913, the relatively young

for the church’s organ came from a lemonade stand at the ladies’

congregation gained parish status, no longer needing a subsidy

baseball game in 1919. Apparently, women in Bay City carried

from the diocese.

the day when it came to getting things done, although the mule might take exception.

St. Mark’s organized in May 1895 when Bay City was

City since its inception. St. Mark’s has been a witness to rapid industrial growth in the area and has survived two World Wars,

founded as the Matagorda County seat, a center for business and

the Depression and other hard economic times. The congregation

the railroad. Many of the town’s founding members belonged to

provided the town’s first college preparatory school and raised up

St. Mark’s.

a number of clergy.

Rice farming and a population “boom” arrived with the railroad at the turn of the 20th century; and St. Mark’s first church

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St. Mark’s has been woven into the fabric of life in Bay

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An animated and colorful history describes church life as “robust.” May fests and Christmas pageants involved “every” child.

St. Mark’s sunday school classes continue to grow.

The ladies’ orchestra, known as the Melody

who are active in the decision making and

established nearly 20 years ago, and they

Six (with two saxophones), was established

ministry of St. Mark’s and in Bay City. A

helped found a local clinic and social

to raise funds for the organ, and one member,

recent renovation of the large kitchen has

service agency, Matagorda Episcopal Health

Lurline Wadsworth, served as an organist

made it possible for the church to join with

Outreach Program. (Read more about

at St. Mark’s for 54 years. During a church

other local nonprofits to serve breakfast to

MEHOP on page 28),

event in 1971, she confessed the group’s

less fortunate members of the community.

involvement in the death (in 1921) of a mule that belonged to Seth and Ella Taylor. Dr. Sam Sholars had been the orchestra’s “official chauffeur” and hit the mule while driving the group home from a dance in Wharton where they had played.

“When the impact came, we were

St. Mark’s has a strong history of leaders and indeed has produced three bi-vocational

School and outreach are also important,” she

priests in recent years. The Rev. Hoss Gwin

said.

is an attorney who currently serves at Christ Church, Matagorda. The Rev. Dr. Jim Ely is a physician and served at St. John’s, Palacios.

The Rev. Harley Savage runs the rice farm

thrown from our seats to the floor,”

founded by his grandfather in the 1920s (see

Wadsworth told church members at the St.

page 21). All three credit an engaged and

Mark’s Day celebration in 1971. “In a state of

supportive congregation.

shock, we dug out amid instruments …” and no one said a word about the mule.

The Taylors noticed the broken

Ely said he had a difficult time deciding whether to give up his role as a physician to enter seminary and was thrilled at the

headlights and surmised how their mule had

prospect of being able to do both. Ely plans

died. Although they suspected their fellow

to retire from his obstetrics practice soon but

church members, the Melody six, “no one

will take up a part-time position using his

knew for sure,” Wadsworth said.

medical skills at Matagorda Episcopal Health

Reading these early accounts, it is easy to see the humor and the strong relationships that resulted from life at St. Mark’s. The

Outreach Program, a community ministry of St. Mark’s.

Savage, who was baptized at St. Mark’s

young people’s service league was established

in 1938 and confirmed by Bishop Clinton

in the early ‘20s and was a focal point for

Quin in 1942, agrees with Ely. He and his

young people in the community for many

wife, Jane, raised five children at St. Mark’s.

years.

He thinks St. Mark’s has entered a pattern of

In 1962, when the Colorado River opened to barge traffic, Celanese Chemical Company moved to Bay City. The South Texas Nuclear Plant was being constructed and both added to the area’s traditional economic base of rice, cattle and oil. An economic downturn followed the growth of

growth today similar to one experienced in the 60s. “If we continue to grow, we will be thinking of having three services on Sunday morning again,” he said. The town has swelled to 18,000 from the 4,000 of Savage’s younger years.

Kennard is part of the area’s ministerial

the ‘50s and ‘60s as the congregation aged

alliance and makes sure the community

and people transferred away.

knows about St. Mark’s. The congregation’s

Today, the Rev. Susan Kennard leads a gifted and renewed congregation of leaders

Church growth is not magic. “I’m very faithful as a pastor,” Kennard said. “Sunday

ministries include an annual medical and dental mission to northeastern Honduras,

Savage puts credit for church growth directly on Kennard’s lap. “Susan is one of most compassionate people I know.

That’s had a big impact—caring for people goes a long way.” Her pastoral model has invigorated the Lay Eucharistic visitors, he said.

St. Mark’s also has consistent clergy leadership when Kennard is away from church, as Savage and Ely fill in during her absence.

Savage believes the church’s ability to integrate young people into the literal life of the church is critical to growth. “You have to train leaders and give them an opportunity to participate and the ability to make decisions,” he said. He points to his adolescence and influence of the priest and earlier bishops as guiding examples in his life.

“They did everything to make me a part of the church, not just a ‘stand-in.’ That has an impact on young people.”

Kennard said she looks for expansion in the near future. Sometimes the pews are not ful,l but there is little room left in the nursery with 10 toddlers. She hopes to increase the church’s capacity to meet the needs of Bay City’s poor. “That’s a ministerial alliance project,” Savage adds, but that shouldn’t be a problem for St. Mark’s. Maybe they can reconstitute the Melody Six for a benefit concert.

Diolog

| 31 | DECEMBER 2011

CAMP ALLEN “We have become known for our Christian hospitality in event planning and sponsored programs.”

Hosting more than 52,000 guests

facility that has a friendly environment and

annually is a hospitality challenge, but

with a staff that has a passion for customer

Camp Allen has established itself as one of

service. This is inherent in the Christian

Camp Allen has a chapel that seats nearly

the leading Christian Conference Centers

hospitality that we provide,” he said,

1,000 people, three large wooden crosses

in the U.S.

adding, “Our guests drive our mission—

on the property, an outdoor chapel, two

they are the ones who really sign the

meditation areas, daily worship services

“Camp Allen guests are looking for a retreat experience that they can’t receive from a typical hotel environment,” said the camp’s president, George Dehan.

32 |

“Camp Allen delivers that experience

epicenter.org

a facility that offers Christian hospitality.

paychecks, and they let us know when we

and a full-time chaplaincy program—all

need to adapt to something new.”

created to welcome Christians.

There is a big difference between a

“More than 200 churches gathered at our

camp last year in addition to the Episcopal churches we hosted from

experienced the Discovery Program with their fourth- or fifth-

our own diocese,” said Toni Christopher, Camp Allen’s marketing

grade class,” Dehan said. Many groups plan their events annually on

director. “We have become known for our Christian hospitality

the same dates to share their experience on the 1100-acre, wooded

in event planning and sponsored programs,” she said. An event

property. After a guest departs, the group leader receives a full

coordinator on the Camp Allen staff calls every guest group one

survey from Camp Allen to assure both Camp Allen and our guests’

month prior to their arrival to ensure the camp meets goals and

coordinators that everything was as they wished.

aspirations for the best guest experience possible.

The mission begins during the hiring process. Camp Allen hires

“A heart-felt welcome, consideration of a guest’s needs and a positive response encourage guests to share their experience with

staff members who embrace customer service as a goal rather than

others and to come back. The results speak for themselves. Our

a task. An employee cannot just be a quiet dishwasher doing their

many, many returning guests are a good sign that there is Christian

job. “The conference center dishwashers are present at the window

hospitality at work,” Dehan said.

where guests return their trays and they thank the person they see in that window,” Dehan explains.

To learn more about Camp Allen or to see a complete listing of upcoming events, please visit: www.campallen.org or call 936.825.7175.

“Think about how important this is. Our dishwashers know how our guests feel about their meals before anyone else. That same concept applies to the campsite kitchens,” he said. Campsite kitchen crews welcome 7,200 impressionable children each year. The food quality is important but the welcoming atmosphere is also very important. Campers notice and they respond positively. All staff members— the front desk receptionists, maintenance people, camp counselors, housekeepers, and administrative personnel—consider a welcoming spirit as an important part of their job.

The welcoming atmosphere at Camp Allen affects multiple generations and transcends all of the programs that are offered. Parents have sent their children to Camp Allen for 90 years. Parents and grandparents want their children to experience the same environment that they experienced in a spiritual and nurturing sense. Though the programs, equipment and facilities are improved each year, the clergy and youth leaders bring a faith-filled week to a new generation each summer, articulating their love for Christ.

“We have seen unchurched people attend a Camp Allen program after their child Photos: Lauren Day

Camp Allen staff member Alice Mock assists child with special needs off a horse during Joni and Friends Family Camp.

Diolog

| 33 | DECEMBER 2011

NEWS & EVENTS Bishop Doyle’s Calendar December

2

6 p.m.

Diocesan Clergy Christmas Party, Camp Allen

4

7 a.m.

Lord of the Streets, Houston

10:30 a.m. Trinity, Houston, CF

The Rev. Carol Blaine accepted the appointment as interim rector of Good Shepherd, Friendswood.

The Rev. Todd Bryant accepted a call as rector of Ascension, Houston.

He was formerly associate rector of Palmer, Houston.

The Rev. Howard Castleberry accepted a call as rector of Christ Church, Nacogdoches. He was formerly the assistant to the rector of Christ Church, Temple.

The Rev. Gena Davis is now the vicar of Grace, Houston. She previously served as assistant to the rector of Trinity, Baytown.

The Rev. Mifflin H. Dove resigned as rector at St. Paul’s, Katy, and the Rev. Robert E. Wareing will serve as interim rector.

4 p.m.

Blessing of New Property & Buildings, St. Francis School, Houston

6-7

Executive Board, Camp Allen

7

6 p.m.

Holy Apostles, Katy, CF

11

11:15 a.m. St. Martin’s, Houston, CF

18

10 a.m.

Holy Cross, Sugar Land, CF

24

11 p.m.

Christmas Eve Eucharist, Christ Church, Houston

26 11 a.m.

Feast of St. Stephen Day Mass & Boxing Day Celebration, Houston

Lorinda Driskell, an Iona School student, was appointed pastoral leader at Trinity, Anahuac.

The Rev. Glennda Hardin will serve as a deacon at St. Stephen’s, Liberty.

The Rev. Rich Houser accepted the appointment as pastoral fellow at St. Luke’s Hospital, Houston. Houser was previously the assistant to the vicar of St. Aidan’s, Cypress.

January 5

11 a.m.

Northwest Convocation Clericus, St. Paul’s, Waco

8

11 a.m.

St. Philip’s, Palestine, CF

The Rev. Steve Kinney is now the assisting priest at All Saints, Austin.

9-10

HOB Committee with Presiding Bishop, Episcopal Church Center

10-13

Society of St. John the Evangelist, Cambridge, MA

The Rev. Kirkland “Skully” Knight accepted a call as middle school chaplain for Episcopal High School of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Knight previously served as chaplain at All Saints’ School, Tyler.

15

10:30 a.m. Holy Comforter, Spring, CF

22

10 a.m.

The Rev. Doug Lasiter is no longer the acting rector of St. Michael’s, La Marque.

Christ Church, Eagle Lake, CF

6 p.m.

Three Choirs Festival Evensong, St. Thomas’, Houston

Mark Marmon, an Iona School student, was appointed pastoral leader at All Saints’, Hitchcock.

26 9 a.m.

St. Luke’s Health Charities Grant Conference, Camp Allen

The Rev. Tracie Middleton has moved out of the Diocese of Texas. She was previously deacon at St. John’s, Silsbee.

29

St. Mary Magdalene, Manor, CF

The Rev. Lance Ousley accepted a call as Canon for Stewardship and Development in the Diocese of Olympia. Ousley was formerly the rector of St. Thomas, Wharton.

The Rev. Josephine Robertson was fully licensed as a priest. She was previously conditionally licensed as a deacon.

The Rev. Brad St. Romain accepted a call as rector of St. Francis’, Temple. He previously served as associate rector, St. Paul’s, Waco.

The Rev. Paul Wehner, formerly the rector of Grace, Galveston, is now the rector of Calvary, Richmond.

The Rev. Aaron Zimmerman is the new associate rector in charge of outreach, families and young adult ministries at St. Martin’s, Houston.

He previously served in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

11 a.m.

February

1 7 p.m.

Howard Castelberry Celebration of New Ministry, Christ Church, Nacogdoches

5

Epiphany, Houston, CF

10-11

163rd Diocesan Council, Bryan-College Station

16 5 p.m.

Diocese of West Texas Annual Convention, McAllen

19

10 a.m.

10:30 a.m. St. Matthew’s, Austin, CF 5 p.m.

St. Mary’s, Bellville, CF

23 11 a.m.

Southwest Convocation Clericus, St. Mark’s, Bay City

25

Wardens & Vestry Conference, Houston

28-29

Abundant Living Conference, Camp Allen

34 |

People

epicenter.org

Deaths

The Rev. J. Patrick (Pat) Hazel of St. David’s, Austin, died October 1.

The Rev. J. Allan Green of Lakeway, Texas, died August 9.

Please keep the Hazel and Green families in your prayers.

EDOT

Gallery

THURSDAY

APRIL 26, 2012

benefiting St. James’ House epicenter.org/edotgallery

Artists from throughout the Diocese of Texas have donated works to enhance the surroundings at St. James’ House, the diocesan retirement community in Baytown.

“We are grateful to all the artists who have donated pieces for the enjoyment of the residents at St. James’ House,” said Kathy Tellepsen, chair of the St. James’ House Board.

“We have a lot of space to hang photographs and paintings and they add so much to the atmosphere.

We hope others will join in the project,” she added.

Pieces will be exhibited at the Diocesan Center in January and at Diocesan Council before being hung at St. James’ House. To donate a piece, contact Carol E. Barnwell, cbarnwell@epicenter.org.

All donations are tax deductible.

EDOT Gallery is located in the Diocesan Center in Downtown Houston and is open from 9-5, M-F. Call 713.520.6444 for group tours.

White Rose by Carol Andrews Jensen

SHARING

FAITH Encounter faith with a simple meal and fellow Episcopalians.

Sign up to host a gathering of 8–12 at epicenter.org/sharingfaith. A trained moderator will attend each dinner.

Share your own story of faith at: epicenter.org/sharing Contact the Rev. Gena Davis for more information at genaldavis@yahoo.com.

Diolog

| 35 | DECEMBER 2011

The Episcopal Diocese of Texas 1225 Texas Street Houston, TX 77002-3504

P

lan Your 2012 Meetings Now

Camp Allen is within an hour of Houston, and it is the best site possible for conferences and retreats. The food, the facilities, and the stadd represent the very best in Christian hositality.

Why do more than 200 churches meet at our facility each year?

Visit campallen.org to find out.