April 2015 encourager

Easter Morning

By Morey Weldon

At 7:00 AM the plane roared down the runway, lifting up and soaring into the solid, dark, gray, overcast, almost rainy sky on that Easter Morning. As the plane banked left to head north over Corpus Christi Bay, a small hole opened in the clouds pouring out beams of pale pinks and yellows. The beams lit the water below turning it into multi-colored jewels.

The hole slowly enlarged expanding the jewel vision below the plane.

The plane finished banking and the vision disappeared from sight.

Holy Week at the Church of the Good Shepherd had been eventful. On Palm Sunday, we began our spiritual walk with Jesus in a procession around the church block following the donkey and laying palm branches in the street.

APRIL 2015 EUCHARISTIC LECTIONARY YEAR B

Sunday WORSHIP 7:45 AM 9:00 AM 11:00 AM

Holy Eucharist Rite I Holy Eucharist Rite II Holy Eucharist Rite II Children’s Chapel

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION 10:00 am Adult Classes

WEEKDAY WORSHIP 6:00 PM 12:00 PM

Wednesdays Holy Eucharist Rite II Thursdays Holy Eucharist & Healing (Chapel)

601 W. CREEK STREET FREDERICKSBURG TX 78623 830-997-5762 stbarnabasfbg@gmail.com www.stbarnabasfbg.org

Monday the meditation was on the withering of the fig tree and the cleansing of the Temple of the money changers, the sacrificial animals and birds.

On Tuesday, forgiveness was the focus of our meditation.

Wednesday’s focus was on the nameless woman who anointed Jesus with nard, contrasting her anointing of Jesus for burial.

Maundy Thursday, the most solemn part of our most sacred week, began with the preparations for the Passover meal. Jesus’ Last Supper was to become the First Supper of the Kingdom of God. Good Friday brought the humiliation, the agony, the incredible pain of the crucifixion. It also brought the sorrow, the desolation of loss as the man so many believed to be the Messiah now lay buried in a borrowed tomb.

As the vision disappeared from my sight a voice whispered in my heart and in my head: Your Lord is risen.

My Lord is risen indeed.

Alleluia

Alleluia

Alleluia

February 2015 Financial Report St Barnabas Financials as of February 28, 2015 Monthly $ +/Feb 15 Budget Budget Jan-Feb Income 34,257 36,063 -1,806 78,672 Expenses: Staff 18,374 20,675 -2,301 44,435 Operating 11,001 6,319 4,682 15,375 Ministry 2,309 3,385 -1,076 4,954 Apportionment 5,292 5,292 0 10,584 Total Expenses 36,976 35,671 1,305 75,348 Net Income -2,719 392 -3,111 3,324

YTD $ +/Budget Budget 72,126 6,546

Annual Budget 432,750

41,350 12,638 6,770 10,584 71,342 784

248,105 75,825 40,600 63,504 428,034 4,716

3,085 2,737 -1,816 0 4,006 2,540

Balance Sheet: There was a decrease of about $9K. The decrease was because of lock change expenditures of $2K, and operating deficits of $3K from the general fund and $2K from MMO. Significant activity from other funds was as follows: Copier Fund (-$880), Columbarium Fund (+$2911), Endowment Fund (+$2277), Building Fund (-$2,093), MMO Fund (-$2,174).

Monthly Operations: There was a $3K negative result this month. The significant expenses that were over budget were in Operating Expenses: 1) $2.4K payment for the last six months of color copies; 2) insurance payment of $2.6K; utilities were $600 over budget, due to high gas bill for heating. The pledge income was also under budget by $2K. There is still a surplus of $3.3K on a YTD basis.

MMO: MMO had a deficit this month of $2K, leaving a YTD surplus of $800. Enrollment is still running at a high level. With 39 children on Mondays and 37 on Wednesdays. If the higher enrollment remains for the whole year the expectation will be for a surplus at the end of the year.

Vestry Happenings The Vestry held its annual retreat on March 21, with Tom Christofferson facilitating.

Tom began the day with a team building exercise based the Myers-Briggs Test Inventory of communication/processing styles. He demonstrated with the Vestry’s participation how each individual brings different gifts and contributes to solving or resolving problems/issues.

The remainder of the retreat focused on these two areas: The “Everyone Belongs” Ministry: Jimmy Davis presented a plan for the Vestry and membership to move beyond our comfortable habits and become more involved with newcomers and help them become involved at St. Barnabas

New Senior Warden: Jim Spruiell

Major Outreach Projects Committee: Second, the Vestry tackled the concept of forming a new committee to be in charge of an annual or biennial major outreach project. Vickie Luckenbach and Pris Williams volunteered to lead the committee and recruit others to assist in the formation of this committee’s charter.

100% of the Vestry attended the retreat.

Thanks to Tom Christofferson for facilitating the retreat, Bud Parish for acting as our scribe, the entire Vestry, Fr. Jeff Hammond, and Jr. Warden Jack Oates for a productive and energizing retreat.

A Note on Knowing

By Tom Taylor Jesus asks of his disciples, “Whom say ye that I am?” We ask the question, too: of our mother and father, brothers and sisters, friends, colleagues, society…we ask it more or less of everyone and they all have answers for us, out of which we construct an answer for ourselves: this is who I am. I know myself.

Know thyself. One of the highest goals in life.

Or is it, always? The acclaimed British psychiatrist Adam Philips recently wrote, “When you think, ‘I’m agoraphobic’ or ‘I’m a shy person,’ whatever it may be, these are forms of self knowledge. What psychoanalysis, at its best, does is cure you of your self-knowledge. And of your wish to know yourself in a coherent, narrative way.”

This sounds counter-intuitive: you need to unknow yourself? That must be wrong. Psychoanalysis seeks to cure you of what you think you know about yourself?

Really? This is so much nonsense. No wonder people distrust Freudians…

And yet, isn’t this a secular version of our belief as Christians, that we are not who we too often think we are: unloved and unloveable, unworthy, incapable of rising above our origins? Or the other extreme: that we are wholly autonomous beings, creators and consumers of status and fashion, who need nothing for a fulfilling life but self-help books and more money?

What if we re-phrase Philips and say, “What religion, at its best, does is cure us of our self-knowledge”? Might we claim Jesus’ question for ourselves, with a small but significant change: “Whom say Ye that I am?”

Whom does God say that we are? The answer is the same for all of us, yet different for each of us. We are all children of God, made in his image, deemed worthy of redemption from our brokenness. Yet each of us has to find his or her own way, to risk becoming unknown to ourselves so that we can be open to God.

The Spirit breathes in a cloud of unknowing.

MMO MUSIC TIME IN ROOM 4

COOPER MORGAN ON THE PLAYGROUND

BILL & GWEN DUGAT MMO SCHOLARSHIPS Our scholarship fund has been such a blessing to the families of the six children who are receiving scholarships each month. However, the fund will be depleted by the end of May this year. The cost of a full “school year” scholarship for a child is $1613 (tuition and fees) and summer camp is $209. Unfortunately, there will not be any scholarship money available for Camp Barnabas in June.

Therefore, I am asking you to prayerfully consider donating to the Dugat Scholarship Fund. The blessing to the children and their young families is immeasurable and the parents are so grateful for your generosity.

Thank you, Sue Gustin

Mom’s Morning Off Director

Year Round Stewardship Endowment Fund by Ron Cottle All of us care about some things so much that we would like them to continue, develop and thrive even after we are gone. We want to make sure some things are around for the future. This is why we at St. Barnabas fund future outreach ministries by making planned gifts, so they will make a difference in the future.

The St. Barnabas Endowment Fund is the permanent structure put in place into which parishioners can make planned gifts that will fund future ministries. Endowments are long-term funds set aside and invested to provide a reliable source of income over time. While the principal assets usually remain invested, the income will be spent to advance St. Barnabas’ outreach ministries. Our Endowment Fund is managed by a committee with current members being Bill Burns, Ron Cottle, Lorri Kendrick and Sandy Wuest. Father Jeff provides advice and counsel.

The role of the Endowment Fund Committee is to manage the invested funds and to oversee disbursements from the Fund in accordance with the purposes and distribution policies as approved by the Vestry.

The total value of the Endowment Fund has almost reached $100,000 and the Committee is recommending to the Vestry that the first disbursement be made to an appropriate outreach ministry this year. This is the first small step forward in a process which we hope will be repeated many times in the future.

Success will be dependent on the generosity of and participation by our parishioners. If you want to ensure the things you care about continue in the future, please contact one of the Endowment Fund Committee to explore how you can participate.

For forty years, the Episcopal Church and the School of Theology at Sewanee—The University of the South—have sponsored a theological course of study called Education for Ministry (EfM.) EfM, a four-year course for lay people, integrates critical biblical scholarship, church history, theology, ethics and philosophy, and provides direction for service in the lives of its participants. The course is conducted through local groups, each having one or more mentors. There are many groups in the U.S. and internationally. Each group meets one day a week for the academic year, 36 weeks. While sponsored by the Episcopal Church, EfM is open to participants of all backgrounds and faith traditions and is not designed to be Anglican in approach.

The EfM program here at St. Barnabas is beginning its Spring recruitment period for those who might be interested in registering for Year One or for any who might want to continue the program from another seminar group. EfM utilizes published texts and essays as well as the Bible for its core curricula.    

Year One is a study of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) Year Two focuses on the New Testament.

Year Three is a study of Christian Church history.

Year Four presents theology and ethics.

Two information sessions are scheduled for Sunday, May 3 and Sunday, May 17, 2:30 –3:30 p.m. in the CEB. Registration for the new class will be finalized by Monday, June 8. The day and time for the group meetings will be determined before the registration deadline. Contact Debbie Gorden at 830–285-7668 (cell), 830-428-0297 (home) or email jdgorden@gmail.com for more information.

Everyone Belongs Everyone Belongs is a way of thinking about how the fellowship of believers at St. Barnabas reaches out to others and encourages them to want to be here because we want them here.

Everyone belongs is a way of utilizing appropriate tools to welcome and include others in the fellowship and ministry of St. Barnabas.

Everyone Belongs is a way of sharing opportunities for ministry and fellowship to all who attend St. Barnabas.

Everyone Belongs means, “Whether you have been attending this church for years, or whether you are new here, you are a part of this church family, and you belong!”

Over the next few months you will begin to notice the methods we plan to use to make Everyone Belongs a reality—a lifestyle—among our church family. We truly are committed to the mandate of the Great Commission given by our Lord to us: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20) This is not the Great Suggestion. It is not for over there in some other place. The Bible is very clear as to our mandate: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” (Matthew 25: 35.)

Certainly we face challenges. One challenge is to overcome complacency. We think of ourselves as a “friendly community” when in reality we may be just a “community of friends.” We must recognize the truth of our confession: “We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.”

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!. Did we see Christ in the newcomers who walked through our doors? Just as important, did they see Christ in us?

It has been said, I hope jokingly, that the average Episcopalian invites someone to church once every 37 years. Some people don’t have that long to wait for us to reach out to them.

We are all in this together. Commit in your heart to ask the question. “Who would I like to sit in the pew next to me next Sunday?” If someone comes to your mind, just invite them. You, and they will be glad you did.

Jimmy Davis

EASTER BASKETS FOR

HEAD START KIDS

Jan and Hazel took the lead in filling over 100 Easter Baskets for the Head Start kids.

Pictured are Deborah Edwards, Elizabeth Coe, Hazel Hansen, Harvey Coe and Jan McGrath.

THIS LOVELY DISPLAY OF THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS WAS DONATED TO ST. BARNABAS BY PATTI JONES IN MEMORY OF HER MOTHER ANN MAGUIRE .

EASTER EGG HUNT

GRACIE BUSH

GUS SUMNERS

ADRIANA Prado

April

MEETINGS & MINISTRIES

Birthdays

ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS Wednesday—6 p.m. in CEB

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

4/1

Sun Mon Tues Wed Fri Sat 8 p.m. in CEB Spanish Speaking Meeting (Sun & Mon) 6:30 p.m. in the CEB Thurs, Closed Meeting (Women) 7 p.m. in CEB

AL-ANON

Monday—6:30 p.m. in CEB Friday—6:30 p.m. in CEB

BELL CHOIR

4/3 4/4 4/5 4/7 4/10 4/12 4/13 4/14

Wednesday—4:30 p.m. in CEB

BIBLE STUDIES

Monday—7 a.m. in Library Thursday—10 a.m. in CEB

4/16

Roylynne Brocksch Reece Harris Sharon Smith Rex Jones Ellen Pieslak Tracy Donley Betty Ethel Nicole Mansfield Christi Sumners Nate Aubin Jonathan Godfrey Somsee Pornphet John Donley Augustus Sumners Moye Hooper Jeanne Thomas

BOY SCOUT TROOP

Tuesday—7 p.m. in CEB

CHOIR

Tuesday—7 p.m. in Encourager Room

DAUGHTERS OF THE KING

2nd Saturday of the Month—9:30 a.m.

—Sanctuary

LIBRARY GUILD

1st Thursday of the Month—10 a.m. in Library

MEN’S BREAKFAST

Thursday—7 a.m.—Parish Hall

MMO (MOM’S MORNING OFF)

Monday & Wednesday—9 a.m.

VESTRY

3rd Monday of the Month—5 p.m. in Conference Room

WISDOM SCHOOL

Tuesday—11:30 a.m. in Library Thursday—7:00 p.m. Parish Hall

EASTER 2010

4/16 4/20 4/22

Ginny Thomas Mary Lou White Meagan Laman Miles Hammond

4/26 Lyda Slayton 4/27 Cay Meadows Barrett Burns 4/28 Ernest Miller 4/29 Emilie Cox 4/30 Deborah Edwards

Anniversaries 4/5 4/6 4/15 4/16 4/20 4/22

Darrell & Deborah Edwards Ron & Karen Poidevin Robert & Allison Drury Jefferson & Sally Brinker Bud & Kathy Parrish Joe & Angie Cross

Return Service Requested

CHURCH CLERGY AND STAFF: Rector: The Rev. Jeff Hammond Lay Pastoral Minister: Morey Weldon Clergy Associate: The Rev. Dr. Dyana Orrin Clergy Associate: The Rev. Anne Finn Parish Administrator: Rachael Cole Office Assistant: Carol Schreider Director of Music: Hazel Hanson Lay Ministry Coordinator: Steve Neale Mom’s Morning Off Director: Sue Gustin Nursery Director: Madeline Clanton Housekeeper: Patty Ramirez

Camp Barnabas 2015 This year’s Camp Barnabas will run from June 8 through July 1, on Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Activities will be based on the theme Weird Animals and will include Bible stories, music, playground time, crafts, Imagination Station, games and snacks. This camp is for children one year old through Kindergarten (just completed.) Afterglow will be offered for an additional charge.

Enrollment/Supply Fee is $25 per family and the tuition is $184. Enrollment forms are available on the bulletin board outside the MMO Director’s Office or by calling 997-5762.

Enrollment forms along with the $25 fee are due by Thursday, April 30th Tuition will be due Wednesday, May 13th. If you have any questions or would like more information, contact Sue Gustin.