August 2016 Encourager

AUGUST 2016 EUCHARISTIC LECTIONARY YEAR C

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 Encouragers

WEEKDAY WORSHIP 6:00 PM

Wednesday, Holy Eucharist Rite II

12:00 pm

Thursdays Holy Eucharist & Healing (Chapel)

Artwork and poem created by Sue Biddle

The Daughters of the King devoted their July meeting to decorating and filling bags with nutritious snacks for the Needs Council’s Food 4 Kids program. In this program, children identified by school counselors as needing supplemental food for the weekends receive these sacks that contain non-perishable items like fruit, cheese, crackers and peanut butter.

The Hymn of the Pearl: The Journey Home St. Barnabas Wisdom School is sponsoring a retreat on The Hymn of the Pearl, a text from the Acts of Thomas, written in the second or third century about the Apostle Thomas and his travels in India. St. Thomas fostered the spread of Christianity and ministered for 20 years in the southern part of India, where Christianity continues today. On the evening prior to his execution, tradition says St. Thomas received the Hymn of the Pearl, which he sang, or recited, throughout the evening.

Only recently, with the discovery of the Gospel of Thomas in 1945, has the beauty and importance of this hymn been realized in the Western Stream of Christianity. It has been used and recognized for a much longer period within the Eastern Christian Communities, in their liturgy and in their teachings.

During this weekend retreat, we will offer an introduction to the beauty of The Hymn of the Pearl and its relationship to our personal spiritual growth. We will be using music, image and text to broaden our openness to the metaphors, sacred symbols and other elements contained in the hymn.

Dates:

Friday, August 19 and Saturday, August 20, 2016

Friday Evening:

St Barnabas Parish Hall, 6:00—8:30 p.m., Introduction to Hymn of the Pearl

Saturday:

Way of the Wolf Retreat Center, 9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m.

Presenter:

Ron Poidevin with Facilitators: Richard Mickelson, Karen Poidevin, Tom Christofferson and Debbie Gorden.

Registration:

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church Office, (830) 997-5762.

Fee:

$30 includes a contemporary translation for the “Hymn of the Pearl” Bring a light lunch on Saturday.

Directions to Way of the Wolf will be provided Friday night.

Get ready for a mission trip to beautiful Honduras!

St. Barnabas has funded a water well in a rural village in the El Paraiso region of Honduras. The Texas Water Mission (TWM) is inviting a mission team to go to Honduras during the drilling, January 19-26, 2017.

We’ll stay at the Kellogg Center at Zamorano Agricultural University. The rooms are comfortable and it’s very safe. We will travel as a group to the drilling site and other places we’ll visit. The actual drilling is done by Honduran crews, but there is other work to be done at the project site. We’ll have daily devotional services and on Sunday, we’ll attend services at the local Episcopal church.

In addition to drilling the well, the TWM conducts Health and Hygiene (H & H) training for people in the surrounding area. The training focusses on how to use the clean water from the well, and how to maintain good hygiene in food preparation and other daily activities. While the H & H training is going on, the TWM also holds Bible school for the children in the area. The mission team will participate in all of these activities.

We will have two pre-mission meetings in Fredericksburg, in November and in early January The trip will cost approximately $1,400 per person, the major portion being the air fare. (Some financial support is available.) You will need to have a passport.

If you are interested in going, please contact David Spencer at (830) 995-2912, or Johnny Gorden at (830) 285-7867.

David Spencer (right) with another water well worker

Praise the Lord!

Where God’s need and your passion meet, there is your ministry.

In 2013, Debbie and Johnny Gorden travelled to Honduras to be part of the Texas Water Mission. Debbie reports that she and Johnny fell in love with the people—their faith and their unfailing ability to be peaceful and happy.

“What a new world! We met the Honduran workers, worked at the site, repaired the storage facility, and helped with a mother and child seminar on Diabetes and healthy eating. I gave a talk encouraging childhood immunizations. We worshipped twice daily. We prayed fervently!

At first, it appeared that the well would not produce the needed water, but on the day before we were to leave, water began to flow. We rejoiced in song and prayer at the Blessing of the Well. “

What a miracle!

June 2016 Financials St Barnabas Financials as of June 30, Jun 16 Actuals Income 39,679 Expenses: Staff 25,137 Operating 8,348 Ministry 5,725 Apportionment 5,381 Total Expenses 44,591 Net Income -4,912

Monthly Budget 40,230

$ +/- Jan-Jun YTD $ +/Budget Actuals Budget Budget -551 253,632 241,380 12,252

Annual Budget 482,750

26,685 6,449 2,778 5,381 41,293 -1,063

-1,548 155,703 160,110 -4,407 1,899 39,040 38,694 346 2,947 20,300 16,668 3,632 0 32,286 32,286 0 3,298 247,329 247,758 -429 -3,849 6,303 -6,378 12,681

320,199 77,400 33,350 64,572 495,521 -12,771

Balance Sheet: There was a decrease of $22,641. The following is the breakdown by area: Monthly Operations -$4,912 (explained below) Moms Morning Off -$5,704 (explained below) Prepaid Pledges $2,440 Funds -$9,272 Building Fund: Sanctuary Balcony Reinforcement Improvements (-$8,507) Significant activity from other funds were as follows; Columbarium (-$428), Outreach (+$419), Endowment (-$487), Rector Discretionary (-$548) Monthly Operations: Overall there was a deficit of $4,912 versus a budgeted deficit of $1,063. The deficit is driven by a few non-budgeted expenses for the month. Vacation Bible School spent $1,500, EFM training, $630, grounds maintenance, $920. Income was also lower than budgeted by $551. At the mid-year point we are still in a very solid financial position. The YTD balance is still positive $6,301 versus a budgeted -$6,378.

MMO: MMO had a deficit of $5,704. There was little income against all expenses for the last month of programs. When the program starts up again in September, there will be collection of tuition in August before expenses occurring in September. The YTD balance is a positive $2,600.

Key Check, Please A couple of years ago, all of the locks in the Sanctuary, CEB and Parish Hall were re-keyed to improve building security; those needing access to the various rooms were issued numbered keys.

During a recent check of the keys and key records, it appears that three keys (#26, #106 and #119) are unaccounted for. Please check the number on your key(s) and, if you have one of these three keys, let Jack Oates at (830) 992-0584 know so the records can be updated.

To help keep track of the keys, when you turn your responsibility over to another person, please turn in your key to the office rather than just giving the key to the new person. Then, the new person can be issued a key and their name placed in the record.

From the Senior Warden Have you seen the addition to the Columbarium? It is so pretty and it looks as though it has always been there. The stonemasons did a beautiful job. Many, many thanks to our Jr. Warden, Jack Oates, for his long hours and hard work on making this project such a beautiful addition to St. Barnabas.

The vestry is not meeting during the month of July. We are taking this month off for some summer enjoyment.

Speaking of enjoyment……don’t forget that Vacation Bible School begins August 1st and we are looking forward to a great crowd of children!

When looking out over our campus and facilities, I feel that we are so blessed to have such a beautiful area to enjoy. There are many people who contribute to the beautification of our grounds, but especially Pat McCormick. God has given her such a talent and we, along with those who visit our campus, are the ones who benefit from that gift.

In the coming months the vestry will be seeking nominees for various committees and new vestry members as well as council delegates. We hope that all members of St. Barnabas will prayerfully consider their desire to either serve on a committee, be a council delegate, or becoming a vestry member. You will be blessed in your service! If you are interested in serving the church in any of the above capacities, please contact me or one of the other vestry members or committee chairs.

Faithfully,

Vicki

Abundant Living Retreat Mustang Island Conference Center

September 19-21, 2016

Hold the dates and plan to join fellow seniors, family members, and caregivers at the second Abundant Living Conference. Activities will include fly fishing, art workshops, meditation, bird watching, time for prayer, yoga, singing and break out discussion groups.

The Abundant Living Conference is a three-day retreat serving older adults (and caregivers) with programs designed to facilitate active lives and to help people deal with the effects of aging. This year’s conference will focus on the seasons of our journey, noticing where we are, where we’ve been, and where we going. We will continue the comfortable retreat rhythm of plenary speakers for the whole group and workshop offerings for you to choose. Come to the beautiful island, enjoy Kathy’s delicious food, spend time on the beach and live abundantly. Registration will be at www.dwtx.org.

Celebrate Our Saint’s Day August 18 is the day to celebrate Artemisia Bowden and her ministry, after her inclusion in “Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints”. Dr. Bowden is the only person from our diocese to be included on the calendar of the Episcopal Church. The Collect for the day is as follows: O God, by your Holy Spirit, you give gifts to your people so that they might faithfully serve your church and the world: We give you praise for the gifts of perseverance, teaching and wisdom made manifest in your servant, Artemisia Bowden, whom you called far from home for the sake of educating the daughters and granddaughters of former slaves in Texas. We thank you for blessing and prospering her life’s work, and pray that, following her example, we may be every mindful of the call to serve where you send us: through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

The St. Barnabas Wisdom School is offering two new courses this fall.

Exploring the Great Faiths Beginning in September, Father Jeff will teach “ Exploring the Great Faiths,” a course that features five world religions. Beginning with a discussion of primal religious practices, the course will then explore the rich diversity of the following faith traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

The study of these religions will provide perspective on the distinct ways others perceive their moral universe and their place in it.

Guest speakers from each religion will introduce the origins, beliefs and practices of their faith. We’ll examine how these religions differ from each other in the explanations they give to the mysteries humans have always confronted: What is the nature of the divine? What is the meaning of life? Why do we suffer? What is sin? What happens after we die? And many more….

The Enneagram Journey The Enneagram is a model of human personality which is best understood as a typology of nine interconnected personality types. This course, taught by Suzanne Stabile in a DVD format, will provide opportunities for exploration, growth and transformation, as well as intellectual understanding. Transformation and growth take place as a community of people experience the Enneagram together. That is why Stabile has called this curriculum ”The Enneagram Journey”—it’s a shared experience designed to help you connect with the other members of the class and learn with and from each other.

The course describes how you see and inhabit the world. The wisdom of the Enneagram helps all who know it to understand differences, practice compassion, and find ways of being in the world that add meaning to what poet Mary Oliver calls our “one wild and precious life.” The course will be facilitated by Carolyn Stewart and Gwynne Juett.

Dates: Time: Place: Registration: Fee:

Thursdays, September 8 through November 17 5:45—6:15 p.m.— Meditation (optional) 6:30—8:00 p.m.—Classes meet St. Barnabas Parish Hall St. Barnabas Church Office, (830) 997-5762. $10.00—Required texts available for purchase at first class.

Community of Hope There is still time to join the latest Community of Hope (COH) class forming this fall. If you would like to enhance your spiritual journey, discover a meaningful personal ministry and deepen your understanding of Christian pastoral care, COH could be what you’re looking for. You will be joining an enthusiastic group of volunteers who reach out to serve others. They meet every other month for a potluck meal, fellowship, mutual support and continuing education.

Community of Hope is a nation-wide ministry dedicated to creating communities of lay pastoral caregivers. It is shaped by the values of Benedictine spirituality: faith, work, peace, community, self-discipline and moderation. Members select their own ministry following the original training.

To sign up or for more information contact Steve Neale at (830) 997-5762 or snealefbg@gmail.com.

M EETINGS & M INISTRIES

AUGUST

ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS

B IRTHDAYS

Wednesday—6 p.m. in CEB

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

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

1st 2nd 4th 5th

AL-ANON

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

BELL CHOIR

Off for the summer

BIBLE STUDIES

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

6th 7th 8th 10th 11th

BOY SCOUT TROOP 137

12th

CHOIR

13th

Tuesday—6:30p.m. in Parish Hall Off until further notice

DAUGHTERS OF THE KING

2nd Saturday of the Month 9:30 a.m. in Sanctuary

13th 14th

Ric McCormick Sheila Dubois Kathryn Hamby Bob Quinn Beverly Hall Kathy Hooper Gerry Bishop Gracie Bush Karen Poidevin Bernadine Swanzy Patty Jones Stella McMurrey Donald Teer Bettye Roquemore Katharine Brundrett Amanda Hinton John Wallace Emily Bowyer Cynthia England Aaron Beeman George Edmonston Saeng Phet Pornphet Bud Arnold

MEN’S BREAKFAST

Thursday—7 a.m. in Parish Hall

MMO (MOM’S MORNING OFF)

9th 10th 13th

Mike & Shari Massengale Dick & Jane Elwood David & Linda Kemp James & Virginia Muncey Jack & Bernadine Swanzy

Resumes late August

VESTRY

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

WISDOM SCHOOL

Hymn of the Pearl August 19-20

18th 19th 21th 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 27th 28th 30th

31st

Belton McMurrey Jaydean Young Henry Alvarez Dale Looney Cassidy Kothmann Diane Smith Bill Agnew Meredith Plesko Mary Priestly Hall Hammond David Kemp Thomas Marschall John Brocksch Bill Klekotta Charlie Wilson John Pankratz Bailey Reynolds Sarah Campbell Judy Chase Carol Schreider Mike Shaw, Sr. Beverly Bowie Jeff Hammond

A NNIVERSARIES

LIBRARY GUILD

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

16th

14th 19th 26th 29th

Bob & Linda Bates Robert & Abban Lastovica Walt & Sue Biddle Fred & Nancy Grimes

Hold the Dates September 11 October 16 November 6 January 15

One Service with Meal Following One Service with Meal Following Thanksgiving Potluck—12:15 p.m.

One Service with Meal and Annual Meeting Following

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

Return Service Requested

With the temperature hitting the high 90’s, it’s nice to remember that it will be cool, even cold, again.

This photo is from February 2010, the last time we had snow that stayed on the ground for a few hours.