January, 2013 Exalt Educate Equip Evangelize Extend Issue #231

FROM THE DESK OF BISHOP FELIX ORJI:

A Message From Bishop Felix & Lilian Orji Dear Friends, May grace and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all! This missive comes with our love, prayers and benediction. It has been a very busy and exciting year for us. We are still learning what it means to serve as Bishop & Bishop's wife! As we come to the end of this year, Lilian and I wish to express our gratitude to you for your prayers and support. Many of you have blessed us in several ways. May the Lord grant you his mercies now and for eternity. As we step into the new year, the year of our Lord 2013 I ask you to remember four things. First, the year 2013 is the year OF OUR LORD as I noted in the last paragraph. I am aware that the number 13 is seen as an ominous number in the United States! As a result many are fearful of what lies ahead. That is a pagan worldview! We are not pagans, we are Christians! This is God's year because the number 13 is God's number. I want to encourage you to step into the year with faith and great expectations because God is in con-trol of you and the new year. Everything is his! His plan for us is good and not evil. He wants to give us a blessed year. Praise the Lord! Second, remember that the love that God has for you will always be there. He is and will remain faithful to us even to the end. The reason for this is captured by the Psalmist: “Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as VAST AS THE HEAVENS; your faithfulness REACHES BEYOND THE CLOUDS.” (Psalm 36:5). Inexhaustible love and faithfulness! Consequently we can trust in him. Third, remember to love one another with the same agape kind of love. Our Lord Jesus said: "A new com-mandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."(John 13:34-35). Lov-ing one another is difficult sometimes but I want you to determine by God's enabling grace to love and a be a loving person in this new year. Finally, remember to walk in holiness in obedience to God. This is the evidence of God's saving and trans-forming grace in your life as a believer. The Bible says: "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the pas-sions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it

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is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."(1Peter 1:14-16). Holiness is not boring. As C.S. Lewis wrote in Letters to an American Lady, "How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing ... it is irresistible.’" The most powerful influence in the world, according to Blaise Pascal, is holiness: ‘The serene beauty of a holy life is the most powerful influence in the world next to the power of God.’ This is the way the world will be changed. It starts with us. St Francis of Assisi said, ‘Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.’ As we begin a new year, in this troubled and often dark world, we give thanks for the Gospel light of Jesus Christ and the manifold hope and blessings of which this Christmas season is a powerful reminder to us. The Lord will make this year a much better year for you than the last one. May He whose love, grace and power are boundless, bless, preserve, and keep you. I look forward to seeing the blessings that God has in store for you, your family, your ministry, our churches, and our countries in this coming new year. Happy New Year! Bishop Felix & Lilian Orji

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Deacon Daphne: Daphne Orgeron

2013 Greetings to all!! What I want to talk to you about this month will be very brief, but it's something that really made an impact on my mind. George and I enjoy watching football, and watched most of the bowl games this year. The University of Texas played Oregon State in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio last month. Texas was not picked to win. The night before the big game, two of the Texas players, Case McCoy and Jordan Hicks, were out partying on the streets of San Antonio. I will not address the disgusting situation they found them-selves in when the police arrived. What I will address is that they were out after the team curfew, on the night before a very big game. They were not thinking in a 'team spirit' way. They were thinking selfishly of themselves, and doing whatever pleased them at the moment. Even to the detriment of the team. Without a moment's hesitation, Coach Mack Brown sent the two boys home. They would not be able to play with their team the next day, and they wouldn't even be able to stand on the sidelines and help to cheer them on. Indeed, they wouldn't even be able to be in the stands. Case McCoy and Jordan Hicks were both important players. McCoy played quarterback, along with David Ash. And Jordan Hicks was a starting linebacker. Coach Brown must have known that he was putting his team at a disadvantage by weakening the lineup in this way. But for this man, right was right, and wrong was wrong, and there was no 'but what if's'. The boys were sent home, and Coach Brown would deal with the results. How often in our own lives do we compromise what's really right; and what we really know we should do, be-cause of extenuating circumstances. We convince ourselves that in this particular case, it's just not as simple as black and white. There must be room for 'gray.' And we figure that God will agree with us that in this instance, His rules must be bent just a little. After all, if the Longhorns had lost, the entire team would be punished for the foolishness and selfishness of 2 boys. Mack Brown could have told himself he'd deal with the transgressors when he got home, and in the meantime, he needed them in the game. But the rule was clear. 11:00 curfew, or you're out of the game. And Coach Brown stuck with the rule. Doing the right thing is not always easy. And it's SURE not always popular. But I encourage all of us to keep the parameters fixed in our minds. This becomes much easier if we do a daily Bible study/devotional. And when we come to crossroads, let's make sure we look back to our examples in Holy Scripture, and take the fork in the road which we KNOW that God would have us take. Regardless of the consequences. May He bless your 2013 with His Grace and Mercy. Oh yes! and Texas came back to win the game in the second half! Deacon Daphne+

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Lay Pastor David: David Basch

OUR TRUE HOME

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only

saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on the

earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. (Hebrews 11:13-14,

NIV)

Newport, Connecticut. We mourn, we grieve, we question: Why? How? Who? We talk with friends about the events. We point fingers. We question gun control laws. We question the violence of today's society in media and video games. We question school safety. We look at the effects of broken homes. We look at the effects of God being removed from schools. We all know that this is not the way it is supposed to be. This is wrong, this is sad. Is this some mental illness that pills could have fixed? Why? Why, Lord? Children...children...what did they do to deserve this? A whirlwind of thoughts consume us. The dust begins to settle. More information is provided. We read. We gain knowledge on the details of the massacre. We hear stories of the children that were killed. We find out who they were, what they liked, what their dreams were. We cry. We pull our children closer. We tell them we love them. We see the flags at half mast, and we remember. No matter where we live on earth, we all want a country that is better. We do what we can to protect our kids from this terror. Community meetings. Restrictive laws. Educational programs. Mental health awareness. Then we read Scripture: "People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own." What do these people of faith say? That this world is not it. Here, things go wrong. Evil exists. We do what we can, but we ultimately resign ourselves: this world is not going to be perfect. Not even close. Our gaze turns up. Our heart yearns for heaven. Our hope turns from the horizontal to the vertical. "And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on the earth." No, this is not our home. In creation was perfection; then, in the fall, sin welcomed evil on this earth. Now, by faith, we have hope for a future country. Faith, hope and love. Yet only one of these is eternal. One day, faith and hope will be realized when we see Jesus face to face. The greatest of these is love. Love is eter-nal. We fix our eyes on Christ. This is not our home. Come, Jesus. Our Rock and our Redeemer. Come. -- Korky Kemp Copyright © 2012 Links Players International

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Bob Tipton: Resident Scholar

PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY

In general, we characterize Judaism as “keeping the Big Ten”—and as an afterthought; add “the little 600+.” In real-ity, true Judaism was a total way of life designed by Jehovah for the health and welfare of His people. Unfortunately we too often think of Christianity as having only two commandments: “Love God, and love your neighbor,” and conclude that being a Christian is easier. Nothing could be more deceptive.

Our first over-simplification of Christianity is the definition of “love.” As modern Americans we have a very sim-

plistic idea of love—a desirable emotion, a comfortable feeling. But the word used in these commandments is agape. This word has almost nothing to do with feelings and emotions, but rather focuses on priorities. It is a statement of will, personal decision, and acceptance of a rule of life. Agape is the parent who gives precedence to the welfare of the child: it is the mother’s love who nurses the sick child around the clock, resting only a few moments during the vigil. It is the love of the man who works two jobs to provide for his family, then has time to be with his wife and children to meet their, and his, need for personal affection and attention. It is the love of the emergency crew worker who works 36 hours (sometimes almost without food), takes a nap, then works another 24 hours in the hope of saving some. Agape is the expenditure of self for the good of others. Jesus expressed it as denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Him. Only this love can be, and is, commanded because only this love is decision and action; and it must keep the cor-rect priorities: God, neighbor, enemy.

Moreover, we ignore too often what we are to expend in agape. We are to love God with ALL (one-hundred per-

cent) our heart, mind, soul, and body. There is nothing withheld. In this context, heart refers to our will, our decisions. We are to dedicate totally our will, our goals, our dreams,

our expectations, our desires, and our entire being to God. Whenever anything—job, recreation, hobby, pleasure—conflicts with our service to God, we must present them as a total sacrifice to God just as the Jew had to present his whole burnt offering on the altar. We must train ourselves to deny everything that appeals to us so that we can subjugate all desire to serving God.

To do this, we must subject our mind to “stay in contact with God.” God speaks to us principally through his Word;

hence we must dedicate ourselves to reading the Word, to meditating on the word, to studying the word, and to internal-izing the word so that it controls our every thought, word, and action. Recently I read of a minister who dedicated a minimum of 15 hours of study and prayer to every lesson he presented. Then in his visits to the sick and in counseling he spent even more time in study and prayer. He thought this the minimum preparation for serving God. This is an ex-ample of putting God first in our mind.

This is also the way to prepare our soul to live with God. The soul is our everlasting being. What we see in each

other with our physical eyes is body. The body is a temporary dwelling place, a tent, for our soul; the soul will depart this body in death and return to God who gave it. Our soul itself must prepare to meet God. When the real person we are stands naked before God, it must have been prepared to totally submit to the will of God with joy and thanksgiving. However we define the reality that we are, we must be totally dedicated to Him in agape.

Finally, our physical body must be wholly subjected to the service of God. It is a gift from God for us to use to glo-

rify Him. Therefore, every physical action, every ounce of our energy, every fiber of our being should be dedicated to the glory of God. We must discipline the body so it can do the 36 hour shift serving others, so it has the strength to lift the wreckage and debris that obstructs our service, so it will be able to respond to every demand for service to others.

Each of us has a unique calling from God, but that calling will require everything that we are and have in His ser-

vice. It will be a total commitment that requires us to give up everything that conflict with our “reasonable service.” All too often we—every one of us—gets the feeling that this is too much, too great a demand. So let’s put this in perspec-tive.

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Jesus is infinite—He had and has no limitations. Thus He could do unimaginably far more than we can possibly do. So what did He do? He gave up heaven to come to earth to live our impoverished life. This means that he gave up joys and pleasures beyond anything that we can imagine. He gave up peace and contentment that we cannot even recognize. He gave up perfect communion with the Father and the Spirit to live in a truly alien place with truly alien peoples to serve truly alien needs. Because of our sin, because of our damnation, because of our destination in hell, He gave up everything holy and just and good to experience everything fiendish and hellish and evil beyond our ability to recognize. He loved—agape—100%. He suffered more than we could possibly tolerate; He was infinitely separated from God on account of our sins and bore them in an infinite death. Not once did He turn His attention from us and our needs to con-sider Himself. It is not accidental that He commanded us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. One translator attempted to make us understand by saying, be reckless (having absolutely no concern for ourselves), and

ready for our execution, and die with Him. This defines the agape of our Lord. Even when we are able to give all, we have only given the same 100% that He gave for us.

C. S. Lewis suggested this image of our life: our lives are to be mirrors to reflect the life of Christ in us. And reflect-

ing that life, that agape, requires that we put others before ourselves. And this is just the first commandment. The second, love your neighbor as yourself, is limited to the love we have

for ourselves—a piece of cake! Or it was until He defined neighbor to include everyone—even our enemies! This means that everyone around us takes precedence over us. If Christ truly dwells in us through agape, then everything we think, say, and do must be turned toward benefiting others before ourselves. It is in our service to those around us that our agape and commitment to God is demonstrated. Our service, our thoughts, our intentions, our actions must reflect the mind of Christ for it is Christ in us that is our hope of glory.

Yes, we just have two commandments: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with

all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. We must not and He will not accept anything less.

Judaism was God’s kindergarten to mold His nation in His image. Now we are His people so we don’t have “the

Big Ten and the Little 600+.” Our only goal is perfection.

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FROM THE EDITOR:

Auld Lang Syne was partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's, it was first published in 1796 after Burns' death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch tune, 'Auld Lang Syne' literally means 'old long ago,' or simply, 'the good old days.'

Here are the lyrics: however, many people seem to remember only the first verse.

Auld Lang Syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

and days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,

for auld lang syne,

we'll take a cup of kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

and days of auld lang syne?

And here's a hand, my trusty friend

And gie's a hand o' thine

We'll tak'A cup o' kindness yet

For auld lang syne.

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INTERCESSORY PRAYER: Jim and Martha Williams will be leading the Intercessory Prayer minis-try at St. Francis. Intercessory prayer will be offered in the library at 9:30am every Sunday morning. You are welcome to join. It’s a time to pray for God’s power and blessing on our Sunday service. I asked them to lead this ministry and highly recommend it to you. -Canon Felix

LAVERDE CASA GROUP: Meets on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month at 6:00pm Pot luck supper and bible study. We will be studying the book of James. Call Mike for more in-formation: 490-5402.

FLOWER CHART - A new flower chart sign up is posted on the bulletin board across from the gift shop. Sign up for flowers on the altar in memory of, in thanksgiving for, in celebration of, etc. The cost of a flower arrangement is $30 each. Call Sheila Huchton at 833-2382 for more information.

ADULT CHRISTIAN EUCATION: Meets downstairs in the conference room every Sun-day between 9:15 and 9:45 am.

FIRST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH: Parish Prayer Meeting at 6:30 pm. All other Wednesdays: Evening prayer with homily at 6:00 pm.

YOUTH BIBLE STUDY AND FELLOWSHIP: All junior and senior high youth are invited to participate. Wednesday’s at 6:30 for dinner at the Church.

ARBOL de VIDA: Thank you to the St. Francis members whose generosity enabled us to donate $1235 dollars to Arbol de Vida for the children to go Christmas shopping. If you bought an ornament, please pray for your child during your prayer time throughout 2013. If yu want to learn more about Arbol de Vida, go to

YOUNG ADULTS FELLOWSHIP: The Bishop has asked Jason and Stephanie Chapman to lead our Young Adults Fellowship. It will meet once a month. More information to follow.

A GIANT “THANK YOU”! To all who helped with the greening and decorating of the church and cleanup. Y’all did a marvelous job and the congregation was most impressed.

SUNDAY LUNCHES: Cookies and drinks will be available after both services on every Sunday Ex-cept The First Sunday, which will now be the pot-luck lunch. If you can help, call Linda Gunter at 203-4275.

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MEN’S BIBLE STUDY: Now Studying Exodus. Meets Wed. at 7:00 am (after 6:30 wor-ship). Breakfast included! All men are invited.

COMMUNITY CORNER - Ways to Help

Polly Harris Senior Citizens Center –

Provide cookies and punch the third Friday of each month for their Social from 1:00 to 3:00 PM

Angela Guevara Child Development Center – Rock babies and/or read to preschoolers

Kelly Memorial Food Bank – Donate staples for the hungry- beans, rice, cereal, etc. L B Johnson Elementary School –

Volunteer to mentor children once a month for 45 minutes beginning in the fall Rescue Mission – Provide bake goods the first Sunday of the month

Contact Sudy Todd for more information or to volunteer 490-5349 or sudyt@hotmail.com

PASTORAL CARE - Please pray for Ed Azar, Ann May, Kay Lassiter, Susan Smith, Heather Stevens, Ainsley Hines, Bill Bihn, Mary Lou Nelson, Karli Baldwin, Jenny, Sharon Carr Leamon, Sharma Brown, Mary Jane Brown, Clif Stevens, Midge McReynolds, Ed Moore, Pat Tipton, Loretta Ackley, and Gete and Barney Garbow.

PRAY ACROSS THE MILES: If your children are away at school or getting into the work-force, they need prayer support. Join us to hold our children and each other before the Lord in an informal prayer group which meets every other Tuesdy (please note day change) from 6:00 to 6:30 pm at Mark and Martha Heath’s home: 5709 Bonneville. Anyone is welcome. For more information, call Nancy Hill, 479-5513.

TRANSPORTATION MINISTRY: If you are unable to drive due to illness, recent surgery etc., please call the church office and speak with either JoAnn or Lea . We will try and find you a ride to church, doctor appt. etc.

CHURCH FAMILY CHRISTMAS TREE: An exciting idea for decorating next year’s parish hall Christmas tree has been suggested. Yes, we know that is almost a year away, but as you are packing up your Christmas decorations, save a special ornament. Bring it to church in a sandwich bag (protected if fragile) and labeled as to how you would like your family identified-ie-Uphoff Family or all the family's names etc.. A red plastic box will be in Fries Hall; just place your ornament in it. For and questions, call Lynn Payne (581-2740) or Jim or Neva Uphoff. (581-1292).

WOMEN’S RETREAT: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Women’s Retreat scheduled for Febru-ary has been cancelled. We will instead have a Parish Retreat in the fall with Bishop Terence and Hazel Kel-shaw here in El Paso.

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JUST FOR FUN ETC….

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within

the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice

religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar

year 2013, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great (not

to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only "AMERICA" in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the

race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms: This greeting is

subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to

actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the

wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application

of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion

of the wisher.

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Inside this issue:

EVERY WEEK AT ST. FRANCIS…

Sunday 8:00 am Worship Service 10:00 am Worship Service 10:00 am Children’s Sunday School

Wednesday

6:30 am Morning Prayer & Bible Study weekly at the church. 7:00 pm Bible Study; Parish Prayer Meeting—1st Wed. of the month 6:00—8:00pm Youth Bible Study

Thursday

7:00 pm Choir Practice

CLERGY AND STAFF

BISHOP FELIX C. ORJI, Rector

THE REV. DAPHNE ORGERON, Deacon

THE REV. Dr. MYLES CALVIN, Asst. Priest

THE REV. CINDY ANDERSON, Asst. Priest

DAVID BASCH, Lay Pastor

THE REV. H. EUGENE MYRICK, Rector Emeritus

MIKE LAVERDE, Lay Pastor (Pastoral Care)

PAUL COLEMAN, Lay Pastor (Bible Study and

Discipleship)

STEVE ANDERSON, Lay Pastor (Evangelism and

Missions)

RANDALL CROSSLAND, Chair of Buildings and

Grounds

Dr. BOB TIPTON, Scholar in Residence

LEA MAGRUDER, Director of Music, Church

Secretary

JOANN CASPER, Parish Administrator

SONIA LOPEZ, Sunday School Director

LEA MAGRUDER, Secretary

VESTRY

Bill Burton, Sr. Warden

Bill Stevens, Jr. Warden

Mark Musgrave, Treasurer

Justin Benedict, Sonny Brown, Bill Burton, Jason

Chapman, Elvia Crossland, Sonia Lopez, David

Moody, Bernard Moye, Ron Munden, Kirk

Rosenlund, Pam Slusher, Melinda Skillern, Bill

Stevens, Kevin Coleman (Youth rep.)

* * * * FRANCISCAN : Editor; Jim Uphoff Staff; Neva

Uphoff, Loy Doty

From The Bishop Page 1

Deacon Daphne Page 3

Lay Pastor David Page 4

Bob Tipton Page 5

From the Editor Page 7

St Francis Happenings Page 8

Just For Fun Page 10

Child care is provided