St. Barnabas Wisdom School Presents Two New Classes Beginning on January 12, and ending February 23, two new Wisdom classes will be held Thursday evenings in the Parish Hall. Participants may start at 5:45 p.m. in the Sanctuary for contemplative prayer and then proceed to the Parish Hall at 6:15 p.m. for announcements. The classes are held from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. The cost is $10 plus cost of text per person for each class. Please call the church office (830-997 -5762), Tom Christofferson (505-412-3470) or Richard Mickelson (830-456-1572) to sign up or for more information. All are welcome!
Embracing an Alternative Orthodoxy Richard Rohr on the Legacy of St. Francis
January 2017 EUCHARISTIC LECTIONARY YEAR A SUNDAY WORSHIP 7:45 AM Holy Eucharist Rite I 9 AM Holy Eucharist Rite II 11 AM Holy Eucharist Rite II Children’s Worship CHRISTIAN EDUCATION 10 AM Adult Classes First Communion Deep Blue One Room Encouragers WEEKDAY WORSHIP 6 PM Wednesday Holy Eucharist Rite II 12 PM Thursday Holy Eucharist & Healing (Chapel)
Embracing an Alternative Orthodoxy, featuring best-selling author and speaker Fr. Richard Rohr, invites you to explore a Christian faith informed by contemplation, mysticism, compassion, justice and centuries of rich Christian history. In a seven-session class using Fr. Rohr’s videos, we will explore such topics as Atonement Theology, Eco-Spirituality, the Cosmic Christ, Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxy and Mysticism over Moralism. (continued on page 6)
Violence Divine Overcoming the Bible’s Betrayal of Its Non-Violent God
Does “Christianity’s Biblical Express Train” thunder along parallel rails, one of divine violence and the other of divine non-violence? Are the Old Testament God of vengeance and punishment and the New Testament God of forgiveness and mercy simply twin aspects of God’s biblical character? Is the only path to shalom through a valley of capricious divine bloodshed? One of the world’s foremost historical Jesus scholars “helps the church rise above the greatest of Christian treasons: that everlasting peace can only be achieved through the onslaught of divine violence.” (continued on page 6)
Vestry Nominees Hi, my name is Shelly Kothmann! My husband, Rad and I have lived in Fredericksburg since 2004 and have been members of St. Barnabas for eight years. I grew up in San Antonio, then graduated from Texas A&M University Corpus Christi with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree. I worked in an adult ICU for 12 years, before deciding to become a stay-at-home Mom to our children, eight-year-old Cassidy and five-year-old Tess. I was raised in the Baptist Church, but began my journey to the Episcopal Church once I met my husband. Rad had wonderful experiences as a counselor at Camp Capers. Upon moving to Fredericksburg, we visited several churches with an open mind, but St. Barnabas is where we felt at home. Now that my children are in school, I am active in their school and our community. I volunteer in the classroom on a weekly basis, and provide vision and hearing screenings to our local elementary and middle schools. As an active member of the PTO, I assist with all teacher luncheons, fundraising needs and the yearbook committee. I have also served on the Kindernest Montessori School Board from 2013 until now. At St. Barnabas, I have served on the Mom's Morning Off Advisory Board and assisted with Vacation Bible School from 2009-2014. Someday, I plan to return to nursing, as it was such a passion of mine. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family, my husband's phenomenal cooking, working out and shopping! It is truly an honor to be nominated to serve on the vestry. The Lord has blessed my family in so many ways and I am so proud to call St. Barnabas my Church home. I look forward to serving our parish and making a contribution in our community of worship.
Ken Smith Fifty-five years ago, on December 23, 1961, Pearl and I were married in the Emanuel Episcopal Church in San Angelo, Texas. This year I lost Pearl, but not my love for the Episcopal Church that she introduced to me. I feel so blessed that she led me to her Church.
Before retiring to Fredericksburg, I was a senior executive of an energy company and before that, I retired from the US Air Force as a Lt. Colonel serving as a staff officer at 10th Air Force and as a line pilot during the Vietnam War. After a three-year military overseas assignment, I joined St. George’s Episcopal Church in Houston and served in various capacities including head usher, Sunday school teacher and a member of the Vestry. My two daughters grew up attending St. George’s. Since joining St. Barnabas Episcopal Church four years ago, I have been active in the Men’s Bible Study and Men’s Breakfast Group. I’ve made lifelong friends and am so thankful to be a part of these weekly activities. If I have the honor to be selected to serve on the Vestry, I would like to see the Church expand its programs for senior members and for the general community.
From the Senior Warden Are you ready for a New Year? 2017 promises to be a good one for St. Barnabas! Thank you to all who support St. Barnabas with your time and talents. We are a very blessed parish. Please plan to attend the Annual Parish Meeting on Sunday, January 15, 2017. This will be our first One -Service Sunday for the new year! The service will be held at 10:00 a.m. in the Parish Hall and a light lunch will be served afterwards hosted by the Vestry. We will be electing four new vestry members and diocesan council delegates. Please go to our website, stbarnabasfbg.org and view the vestry nominees and their “bios”. You can also look for information about our vestry nominees in the pew sheets and in this edition of the Encourager.
John Wallace I grew up in Austin and graduated from Baylor University with a BBA. I also received a MS in Economics from the London School of Economics. I moved to Fredericksburg in 2004 to be the president of the local branch of JPMorgan Chase. Currently Market President over the Southwest Texas market for JPMorgan Chase, I have spent my entire career in financial services. My Hill Country roots go back many generations; my great-great-great grandfather ran Lange’s Mill in Doss from 1859-1878 and my mother currently lives here. I was raised and baptized in the Baptist Church. I attended Highland Park Baptist Church in Austin and served on the finance committee there. Community service has always been important to me and I serve on the boards of the Hill Country University Center, the Texas Cultural Trust and previously served on the boards of Austin Lyric Opera, Austin Child Guidance Center, Baylor University, Boy Scouts of America, St. Edwards University and Seton Hospital. For over three years, St. Barnabas has been an essential part of my life. I was confirmed last year, attend the 9:00 a.m. service faithfully and serve as an usher. I have considered my nomination to the Vestry prayerfully and believe that the Lord has led me to this service. I was attracted to St Barnabas because of its active engagement in the community and, if elected to the Vestry, will work to see that engagement continue and grow.
John Youngblood I have been a member of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church since 2007, after moving to Fredericksburg from Austin. I was born in Stamford, Texas. My family moved to Dallas and I attended public schools through high school. I graduated from SMU and Tulane University School of Medicine. My post-doctoral training was at John Hopkins Hospital University School of Medicine. I moved to Austin to begin my professional career in 1970 and married Gay Ryan in 1975. We attended All Saints Episcopal Church, where I served in various positions and our children served as Acolytes. I retired from the private practice of medicine in Austin in 2005, but continued my medical career working part time in an academic medicine position as a physician clinical professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center and VA hospital in San Antonio. I love the Episcopal Church and would like to give back to the church so much that it has given to me and my family. I have been blessed by so many at Saint Barnabas and would be honored to serve the church by working on the Vestry. If I am selected I will work hard to continue our church mission.
The 113th Diocesan Council will convene on Thursday, February 23, at the AmericanBank Center in Corpus Christi. Find all the details on the Council website, dwtx.org, and view the Potential Nominees for Bishop Suffragan. The election will be held Saturday, February 25. Even if you are not a council delegate, attending a council meeting is quite a memorable experience. Hoping that everyone enjoys our new year as much as I have enjoyed being your Senior Warden!
Faithfully,
Vickie
November 2016 Financial Report St Barnabas Financials as of November 30, 2016
Income
Nov 16 Monthly $ +/Actuals Budget Budget
Jan-Nov YTD Budg- $ +/Actuals et Budget
40,101 40,230
441,744 442,530
-129
Annual Budget
-786
482,750
25,506 26,685 -1,179 304,928 293,535
11,393
320,199
Operating
8,134
6,449
1,685
72,668
70,939
1,729
77,400
Ministry
5,007
2,778
2,229
36,876
30,558
6,318
33,350
Apportionment
5,381
5,381
0
59,191
59,191
0
64,572
Total Expenses
44,028 41,293
2,735
473,663 454,223
19,440
495,521
-3,927
-2,864
-31,919
-20,226
-12,771
Expenses: Staff
Net Income
-1,063
Balance Sheet: There was an increase of $ 39,435. The following is the breakdown by area: Monthly Operations -$ 3,926 Moms Morning Off -$ 2,840 Prepaid Pledges $49,859 Restricted Funds -$ 3,924 Significant activity from funds: Outreach (-$4,984), Columbarium ($1,952), Rector Discretionary (-$1,098), Endowment ($863), Building (-$649) Monthly Operations: The November deficit was $3,926 versus a budgeted deficit of $1,063. Income was on budget, but expenses were over by $2,735 in these areas: Campus Upkeep was over by $874 in both property maintenance and grounds maintenance; Office Expense was over by $1,193 in
-11,693
copier and postage. Church Activities was over by $2,030 due to One-Service food, dining plates and utensils, as well as Wisdom School and Be Prepared costs. I am less optimistic that we will end the year on budget. It will take a December bump of $20-25K in over-budgeted income to do so. It has been done before, but since Christmas is on a Sunday we are losing a Sunday service this year compared to other years. YTD income is slightly under budget by $786 ($441,744 vs $442,530). YTD Expenses are over budget by $20,227 ($473,664 vs $454,223). MMO: MMO had a deficit of $2,840. Enrollment is at 40 children with 10 teachers, this means everything is running at full+ capacity. The YTD balance is a positive $6,694.
Daughters of the King enjoyed an elegant Christmas lunch
on December 10, at the home of Judy Taylor.
CORE Becomes NEAT The Nature & Environment Action Team (NEAT) was formed in October of 2016 to continue the environmental stewardship efforts which began under CORE at St. Barnabas in 2012. Team members are Bruce Good, Jack Kendrick, Carl Luckenbach, Dianne Myers, Steve Neale, Julie Roseberry, Carol Schreider and Martha Zeiher. Pat McCormick is an exofficio member. Membership is open to others, so please contact Steve Neale at snealefbg@gmail.com or 990-1497. The mission of NEAT is to inspire, educate and encourage our congregation and the community to engage in activities for the stewardship of God’s Creation. The group decided to explore the use of programmable thermostats at St. Barnabas in order to reduce energy consumption as its first project. Future projects will focus on the use of more energy efficient lighting, glass recycling and the use of environmentally-friendly cups, plates and table utensils. NEAT members will continue to take the church’s recycling to the city recycling center. NEAT encourages each of you to take your recyclables to the city recycling center at Ufer and Lincoln. Further, St. Barnabas recycles items that the recycling center doesn’t take: batteries, cell phones, eye glasses, ink cartridges and compact & tube florescent lighting. You may bring these items to the baskets in the hallway by the Parish Hall. While you are here, take a copy of the comprehensive recycling list from the credenza across from the recycling baskets. You’ll be amazed at the things that can be recycled!
You are cordially invited to join
the Daughters of the King for coffee on Saturday, January 14, 2017, at 10:30 a.m. The St. Barnabas Chapter of the Daughters of the King invite all women who are interested in knowing more about this ministry to attend a coffee at Nan Mosley’s home. An informal presentation about the discernment process and dates for study will be provided along with information about membership and the activities of the Daughters. Please contact Wendy Bush at (830) 456-2171 or wcbush1970@yahoo.com for more information.
Daughters of the King are women and girls who desire a closer walk with the Lord. We are Christian women, both lay and ordained, who are strengthened through the discipline of a Rule of Life, and supported through the companionship of our sisters. We are all at different stages of our Christian journey – some have just begun and some have been on this path for a long time. But no matter where we are on our sacred journeys, our primary goal is the same – to know Jesus Christ and to make Him known to others. The mission of The Order of the Daughters of the King is the extension of Christ's Kingdom through Prayer, Service and Evangelism.
Wisdom Classes continued from page 1
Alternative Orthodoxy The class will watch and listen as Fr. Rohr stimulates thoughtful and heartfelt discussion among a small group of participants, facilitated by Tim Scorer, captured for you on DVD. Using a Participants Workbook the group will take off from there, delving more deeply into each session’s theme. Group members will become teachers for one another, following a personal, respectful and engaged model of adult learning. Richard Rohr is a globally recognized ecumenical teacher bearing witness to the universal awakening with Christian mysticism and the Perennial Tradition. He is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fr. Richard is the author of numerous books, including Everything Belongs, Adam’s Return, The Naked Now, Breathing Under Water, Falling Upward, Immortal Diamond, and Yes, And…. The Center for Action and Contemplation is also home to the Rohr Institute where Fr. Richard is academic Dean of the Living School for Action and Contemplation. Tim Scorer (DVD facilitator and Workbook author) is an educator, writer, facilitator, retreat leader and spiritual director. Tim lives on Bowen Island near Vancouver, Canada. He works part-time in adult faith formation at St. Andrews-Wesley United Church in Vancouver. Required Workbook: Embracing an Alternative Orthodoxy by Richard Rohr with Tim Scorer (workbooks will
Violence Divine Filmed before a live audience in a workshop setting, professor and author John Dominic Crossan summarizes the essence of his bestselling How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian: Struggling with Divine Violence from Genesis Through Revelation and shows a way forward for those seeking to reconcile these two seemingly contradictory views of God. Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at De Paul University, John Dominic Crossan is often thought to be the premier historical Jesus scholar in the world. A Roman Catholic monk for nineteen years and a priest for twelve years, Crossan is a former cochair of the Jesus Seminar and chair of the Historical Jesus Section of the Society of Biblical Literature. Violence Divine is an eight-session DVD-based program. The basic format for each 1.5-hour class includes chapter breaks and discussion questions related to each 40-minute video segment. By creating sacred space and adopting a listening stance only, group members become teachers for one another, following a personal, respectful and engaged model of adult learning. Required Text: How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian: Struggling with Divine Violence from Genesis Through Revelation, by John Dominic Crossan. Facilitator: Tom Christofferson
Meetings and Ministries A LCOHOLICS A NONYMOUS
D AUGHTERS OF THE K ING
Sun Mon Tues Wed Fri Sat . 8 p.m. in the 2nd Saturday of the Month, 9:30 a.m. in CEB (Christian Education Building the Sanctuary Thurs, Closed Meeting (Women) 7 p.m. in K NIT -W ITS (K NITTING G ROUP ) Wednesday—3 p.m. in the CEB the CEB L ADIES ’ L UNCH
A L -A NON
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men
Monday—6:30 p.m. in the CEB Friday—6:30 p.m. in the CEB
3rd Thursday of the Month, Fredericksburg Herb Farm
B ELL C HOIIR
L IBRARY G UILD
B IBLE S TUDIES
Monday—7 a.m. in the Library Thursday—10 a.m. in the CEB
M EN ’ S B REAKFAST
B OY S COUT T ROOP 137
MMO (M OM ’ S M ORNING O FF )
Saying, Where is he that is born
King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Matt.2:1-2
Thursday—7 a.m. in the Parish Hall
Tuesday—6:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall
8 a.m.—2 p.m.
C HOIR
V ESTRY
Wednesday—7 p.m. in the Encourager Room
3rd Monday of the Month—5 p.m. in the Conference Room
Birthdays
from the east to Jerusalem,
1st Thursday of the Month10 a.m. in the Library
Wednesday—4:30 p.m. in the CEB
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 8th 10th 12th 13th 14th 17th
Austin Spruiell Ron Hamby David Herbig David Plesko Brian Agnew Suzanne Brockmeier Ruby Cottle Hazel Hanson Mary Lee Marschall Eleanor Loggie Rex Hill Idell Looney Marcia Manhart Sandra Esterling
18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd
24th 25th 26th
Elizabeth Coe Pat Sadd David Tuttle Walt Biddle Johnny Gorden Robert Welch Gail Eager Kathy Parish Debbie Agnew Linda Wilson Linda Zehnder Jimmy Davis Katie Day Sue Thompson Shirley Crooks
26th
27th
28th 29th 30th
31st
Coy Earley Stacy Rodgers Ray Smith Austin Campbell Mollie Lastovica Joan Puryear Barclay Hammond Tim Squires Carl Luckenbach Angie Cross Saeng Keow Pornphet Joe David Shearer Susan Sumners Linda Kemp
Anniversaries 2nd 3rd 7th 8th 9th
Mike & Sandy Wuest Fred & Judie Mooney Ron & Kathryn Hamby Jim & Pam Spruiell Edward & Robin Cowser
January 6 January 12 January 14 January 15
16th 23rd 27th 27th
Bill & Sally Klekotta Wolf & Shalmir Benner Bruce & Jane Good Ann & Dennis Rea
Epiphany Wisdom School Classes Begin Daughters of the King Membership Coffee One Service 10:00 a.m. Lunch and Annual Meeting February 23-25 113th Diocesan Council March 1 Ash Wednesday April 16 Easter
Return Service Requested 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
A Prayer for the New Year O LORD, Length of days does not profit me except the days are passed in thy presence, in thy service, to thy glory. Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour, that I may not be one moment apart from thee, but may rely on thy Spirit to supply every thought, speak in every word, direct every step, prosper every work, build up every mote of faith, and give me a desire to show forth thy praise, testify thy love, advance thy kingdom. I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year, with thee, O Father, as my harbor, thee, O Son, at my helm, thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails. Guide me to heaven with my loins girt, my lamp burning, my ear open to thy calls, my heart full of love, my soul free. Give me thy grace to sanctify me, thy comforts to cheer, thy wisdom to teach, thy right hand to guide, thy counsel to instruct, thy law to judge, thy presence to stabilize. May thy fear be my awe, thy triumphs my joy. Dr. Samuel Johnson, a prolific writer and devout Anglican, wrote this prayer for the turning of the year.