NOVEMBER 2013 • VOLUME 15, NUMBER 6

What’s In Your Pack?: 2The Color of Advent: 5, 8

Christmas Service Schedule: 7Lessons and Carols: 10

Feeding Christ’s Flock: 13

The 2012 Christmas Pageant “La Posada”

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In this issue:

World Missions ...................... 6

Family Ministry ................... 8 Music Ministry ....................10

Our Church Life .................11

Planned Giving ...................12

Youth Ministry ...................12

Outreach ..............................13

Pastoral Care ......................14 Calendar of Events ...........15

The Things We Carry

PATRICK GAHANRectorpatrickg@cecsa.org

F R O M

monasteries full of cloistered, silent, and – in our estimation – miserable monks. First of all, I have rarely known a miserable monk or nun. Secondly, holy habits and spiritual disciplines are necessary for all Christians. Monastics and mature Christians we know serve as role models for the rest of us as we serve in our various spiritual deploy-ments. In fact, when Saints Anthony, Pachomius, and the first cadre of soli-tary monks trooped their way into the Egyptian wilderness in the third centu-ry, they made it clear that they were not going out to these remote desert venues to escape but “to do combat with the devil.” Armed with habits and spiritu-al disciplines, they intentionally fought the devil without the false props of the polite society they had left behind.

We Christians step out each day into a wilderness of our own. We troop out to law offices, classrooms, surgery centers, shops, playgrounds, nursing homes, restaurants, real estate show-ings, gyms, courtrooms, carpool lines, the HEB, and even the church. In each place, we find the devil poised to trip us up and bring us down to his level. If we naively confront him unarmed, he will lay siege to us in that moment and capture our hearts for his dark designs. On the other hand, if our packs have been filled with time-tested spiritual disciplines, he will cower back into his hole without firing a single shot. James was speaking from his own combat ex-perience when he said, ‘Submit your-selves, then, to God. Resist the devil,

Sunday Services:

7:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite 1

9:00 a.m.Family-friendly

Communion Service with Music

10:00 a.m. Christian Education for

Children, Youth, and Adults

11:00 a.m.Choral Eucharist, Rite 2

6:00 p.m.Holy Eucharist, Rite 2

Cover photo bySusanna Kitayama

Back Cover photos bySusanna Kitayama

C.S. Lewis wrote, ‘He (Jesus) came to this world and be-came a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has — by what I call “good infection.” Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.’ 1 This is the third in a series of articles I offer on the subject of conforming our lives to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The goal of our faith, as Lewis boldly states, is not a self-serving one to merely be saved, or to brush some of the dirt off of ourselves. No, the goal of our faith is to be transformed into the likeness of our Savior. Such a goal will take a lifetime from which there is no retirement.

1 C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Harper Collins, 1952), 177.

“You can always tell the rookies,” said a new friend and Bible study col-league of mine, who has served as an army lieutenant colonel on military de-ployments to Afghanistan. “The new-bies either carry way too much or not enough. On the one hand, they may not be able to carry their overstuffed bags, but on the other they may not have packed what they need.”

Christians are on a lifelong deployment of our own, and the habits and spiritual disciplines we have taken on and carry with us matter considerably. Our ene-my, the devil, ambushes us with wave after wave of temptations and misfor-tunes. Our long conditioned habits and spiritual disciplines are the weapons we use to effectively defeat him in one battle after another.

At the same time, those habits and dis-ciplines will foster consistent growth within us, so that we become increas-ingly more mature in our life and wit-ness in Christ. Homeostasis is a foe of the Christian very nearly as destructive as the devil himself. We cannot stay in the same place. We must remain nim-ble and flexible, while not carrying so much spiritual luggage that we are un-able to engage with the real world and the everyday people where we live. The things we carry matter.

Most of us are “rookies” at this. The mere mention of habits and spiritual disciplines transports us into medieval

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From our Rector...

and he will flee from you’ (James 4:7). We must carry the right things in order to thwart the evil one.

Ironically, I seem to be better armed in the workplace and around town that I am at home. If the devil wins a bat-tle against me, it is usually when I am amongst those I know well and love most. I would imagine that’s because I let my guard down around the house, drop my backpack of holy habits, and foolishly respond to others in old, tired, stuck-in-the-mud ways. The peo-ple I most love expect more of me, and they should, for I must carry the right things around the house, too.

Admitting that you still get stuck and end up in the enemy’s prison camp, is a vital step toward gaining spiritual ma-turity. We are propelled to get strong in our faith walk because we cannot bear to foment another dramatic, dark episode. G.K. Chesterton, the late Ro-man Catholic essayist, poet, journal-ist, critic, and novelist, once said, “No man’s really any good till he knows how bad he is.”

Our deployments in Christ actually be-gin when we follow Chesterton’s exam-ple and come “to know just how bad we are.” Our packs have been filled with anger, resentment, greed, regret, envy, divisiveness, and wanton desire. We do not have nearly enough room for ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control’ (Galatians 5:16-26). When Jesus says, ‘You can judge a tree by its fruit,’ he was not talking about the other guy. He was speaking directly to each one of us who have enlisted in his fellowship (Matthew 7:16-20; Luke 6:44-45).

How do we pack those nine gifts of the Spirit that Paul commends every Chris-tian “to not leave home without”? We cannot buy them like we would a new

car. We cannot inherit them like we would a family legacy. We cannot work for them like we would for a slimmer waistline. We cannot earn them like we

would for a military medal. No, the nine gifts of the Spirit are just that – “gifts.” Iron-ically, the only way to begin receiving them is to admit that we are “poor in spirit” and unable to pack any of those things into our lives

without the mercy of God (Matthew 5:3). The day we admit that we really do not have anything going for us other than God loves us and can make us lov-able through Christ is the day we start packing our bags for the great Christian deployment adventure.

Having served on two limited military deployments, I learned that obedience was the key to my mission’s success. Certainly obedience was “drilled” into me at every stage of my Army training – from Basic to my more specialized training in emergency deployment. Like most any soldier, the training re-mained mostly theory until I received that dreaded phone call at 7 PM on a Friday night. Obedience became pain-fully real that night when I had to imme-diately leave my wife, who was holding our one year-old son and peering into a half-load-ed U-Haul truck. After that stunned and teary good-bye, I would not hear Kay’s voice again for forty days. Only then would I learn through that three-minute overseas phone call how she and Clay were able to move into our new home without me.

When I stood before the flag in Mont-gomery, AL with my right arm raised, I vowed that I would be obedient to “defend the United States of American against all enemies foreign and domes-tic.” The content of my promised fi-delity did not become real during that heady moment when I was still dressed in civilian clothes. No, my promise of

obedience became real the moment I received that Friday night phone call, kissed my wife and child, and jumped into my car. In much the same way, my vow to Kay before the altar at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Birming-ham, AL “to love and to cherish until death do us part” did not become real during our honeymoon. Heaven’s no, it became real the moment life togeth-er became strained and threatened to rend us apart. The baseline of duty and loyalty is obedience.

The fuel of obedience, however, is hu-mility, and that must become the first and most important item we put in our backpacks. The maturing Christian knows that she or he is incomplete and woefully unprepared without the trans-formative strength God implants in us. Thus, as long as we imagine we are fully capable on our own to succeed on our life’s deployment, we will fail, and not just fail, but crash (Matthew 7:24-27)! To walk in obedience is to first admit our powerlessness to take on the devil on his own turf and second to become receptive, fertile ground (humus), so that God will fill us with Himself.

Our model for Christian humility, as with all aspects of the Christian life,

is Jesus. Paul un-d e r s t o o d C h r i s t ’ s d e m o n -strated hu-mility as the very linchpin of the Gos-pel and therefore the foun-

dational ingredient of the individual Christian’s life:

Let this same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on the cross. Philippians 2:5-8

...if our packs have been filled with time-tested spiritual disciplines, he

will cower back into his hole without firing a single shot

Our packs have been filled with anger, resentment, greed, regret, envy,

divisiveness, and wanton desire. We do not have nearly

enough room for ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faith-fulness, gentleness, and self-control’.

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From our Rector...

right. We all feel robust, hale, and ready to conquer the world during those first heady days of faith. Then the trials be-set us, the once open road narrows, and we are tempted to fall back into our old life. On those occasions, we are like our brothers the disciples when they com-pletely gave out and fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane – the one time Jesus begged them to stay awake with him (Luke 22:39-46). Just when the Lord needs us, will we, too, cease to be faithful because we are tired or disillu-sioned or perhaps bored with life? No, our model of fidelity must be Jesus, who in that same garden, abandoned and overcome by fear, prayed, ‘Not my will, Father, but yours be done’ (Luke 22:42).

Recently, Bishop Lillibridge greatly helped my understanding of how we undertake a life of Christian fidelity. Teaching all the priests of the diocese during our Annual Clergy Conference in October, he used Matthew 16:21-23 to make his point about our own call of radical fidelity to the Lord. The bishop noted that after Jesus tells the disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer at the hands of the religious leaders, and die – Peter objects. The blustery fisherman erupts, ‘God forbid it, Lord! That must never happen to you.’ Jesus then turns on Peter and issues his most scathing and sobering correction, ‘Get behind me Satan!’

What’s more sobering according to the bishop, is the actual Greek used in this memorable admonition: ‘Get back after me, Adversary,’ declares Jesus. In oth-er words, Jesus is telling Peter that it is not so much his words that are out of order, but where he has dared to place himself. Peter has stepped in front of Jesus to instruct and lead him. In so many words, Jesus reminds Peter of his first call to him there on the shore of the Galilean Lake, ‘Follow me’ (Mat-thew 4:19). Our fidelity to Christ is not a matter of our creativity, charisma, or

Jesus “humbled himself and became obedient” and that humility prepared him to take the terrible walk up Calvary Hill, his ultimate deployment. Without humility carefully placed in the very bottom of our packs, we are incapable of taking serious steps on the up and down path of the Christian journey. For me, the first three steps of Alcohol-ics Anonymous Twelve-Step Program are illustrative of the humility that all Christians must undertake in order to become obedient to Christ and refash-ioned to follow in his steps. We must “admit we are powerless; come to be-lieve that we need a Power greater than ourselves; and make a decision to turn our lives over to that Power – God!”

Once we turn our lives over to God and humbly step out into the fray of life possessed and directed by Him, we can finally live faithfully. The great para-dox of the Christian life is that we cannot live in con-formity with God’s desires unless He first inhabits us. My favorite collect in the Book of Common Prayer poetically acknowledges this fact:

O God, for as much as without Thee we are not able to please Thee,Mercifully grant that the Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts;Through Jesus Christ our Lord… Col-lect for Proper 19, BCP, p.182)

Placed just above humility in our back-packs is fidelity. When we finally grow weary of our self-serving and destruc-tive antics, submit to God, and are filled by His presence, we are equipped to faithfully serve Him. Make no mis-take; there are countless up-hill climbs to undertake in the course of our Christian deployment. Jesus was not kidding when he repeated, ‘If anyone would follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me’ (Luke 9:23).

Reflecting on Jesus’ words, I recall coaching high school football with a former NFL player who routinely chid-ed our team, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” That old crusty coach was

success. Our fidelity to Christ is a mat-ter of whether we are “following” him rather than striding arrogantly out in front of him. To be faithful is to get situated in the right order.

That does not mean that fidelity to Christ is devoid of action. Our fideli-ty to Christ is best expressed, in fact, through our charity to others. Charity, therefore, is the third essential trait that we must place in our packs. Clarifica-tion is needed here. Charity, most often translated as “love” in our modern Bible translations, is the quintessential New Testament word because of its unique definition and purpose in God’s call to us. Curiously, the word does not oc-cur in the New Testament writings until

Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Charity is best understood through Paul’s 1st Letter to the Corinthians, where in Chapter 13, Paul uses it nine times in quick succes-sion. (It should be noted that the word is only used

sixteen additional times in the New Tes-tament canon.) The careful editors of the King James translation of the Bible recognized the distinct meaning of this Greek word “agape”, and therefore des-ignated the English word “charity” for its use, instead of the much broader term – “love.”

According to David Reagan of Learn the Bible, charity is the epitome of perfection in the Christian life. Re-call that Paul called it “the greatest of the three abiding virtues” (1 Corinthi-ans 13:13); “the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14); and “the end of the commandments” (1 Timothy 1:5). Paul considered our Christian deployment rather hollow without the exercise of charity. Who could forget his ringing indictment, “without charity, I am noth-ing but a clanging bell” (1 Corinthians 13:1)? Our Christian witness must be bathed in charity or we will be just one more empty, clattering voice amongst the cacophony of so many others.

What makes the virtue of charity ring truer than the battalions of voices vying for our attention and allegiance? Char-ity directs its energies to others. Chari-ty, the outward distinguishing attribute

When we finally grow weary of our self-serving and destructive antics, submit

to God, and are filled by His presence, we are equipped to faithfully serve Him.

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of the Christian, is always visibly and concretely focused on another human being. This is where we see the shallow-ness of the often-issued statement, “I’m spiritual but not religious.” While not always the case, the statement confess-es a life tied up in luminous private no-tions about God devoid of any outward expression. James tersely dismisses this aberrant, self-serving notion of the Christian life by asserting, ‘Faith with-out works is dead’ (James 2:14-26).

My own military deployments may shed some light on this perceptible notion of Christian charity. My battalion’s orders were to reinforce a British unit situated at a particularly vulnerable area of what was then the border between West and East Germany. In the case of any per-ceived Soviet mobilization along that

portion of the border, my unit was im-mediately deployed. I knew the mission well, for I was to be the first soldier on the ground when the aggression began. One of my jobs was to assure our Brit-ish counterparts that we were standing beside them come what may. Because we calculated that our two units were outnumbered four to one in numbers of tanks, armored personnel carriers, and troops, the sincerity of our sacri-ficial commitment was essential to our brothers in arms.

Christian charity operates in that way. We know from our own experience that a battle is raging amongst the people around us. Our enemy, the devil, is in-tent upon distorting and diminishing human life. We are being attacked on every front. Christians cannot crawl

into a hole and request to “call me when it’s over.” Indeed not! We are in the trenches of life, offering our very best gifts to strengthen others and for-tify their flagging faith. That’s what it means to serve on Christian deploy-ment.

Our packing list is complete. Humility, the most essential virtue, is our com-plete dependence on Christ. Fidelity is our resolute devotion to the Lord. Charity is the outward exercise of that devotion in loving service to others. Without each one of these virtues, our backpacks are incomplete, and we are unprepared for our grand deployment with Christ.

Your brother,

Patrick U

From our Rector...

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

Our Church will be adorned in blue this Advent. Blue is the primary color of Advent, and thanks to a generous gift from T.R. and Lillian Fehrenbach, we will have bright new blue vestments this season.

The Rev. Eric Liles, Rector of St. Paul’s Church in Ivy, Virgin-ia explains the importance of the color blue for Advent in this way, “Blue represents hope, expectation, and heaven. It is also the color associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary in art and iconography.

Deep blue is the color of the clear, pre-dawn sky, the color that covers the earth in the hours before the sun rises in the east. Most of us are not looking at the sky at that hour – perhaps we’re still asleep, or too weary to notice it as we get into our car for our commute. Nonetheless, a deep, dark blue is the color that covers us in the dark, cold hours before the dawn.

Thus we use deep blue for Advent to shade the season with a hint of expectation and anticipation of the dawn of Christ. Advent is a time to recommit to our faith and to our God – no matter the color. The deep blue of Advent is meant to inspire in us the hope of faith, and to encourage us to keep watch for the promised light of Christ to break over the horizon, changing night into day, darkness into light, and filling our lives and our world with a holy and righteous splendor.”

Let’s greet Advent with great expectation in the belief that Christ will be reborn in us!

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M I S S I O N S

Making Mission Work(What I’ve learned the hard way,

in 15 years of mission work)

By Terry Koehler

I am one of those people who got “hooked” on mission work after my very first mission trip. I know that is part of my personality type, a tendency to “jump in with all fours.” Although my enthusiasm was a good thing, my wisdom certainly was lacking. It took us a number of years, and numerous trips to begin to “work smart,” be wise, and realize what was really important in mission. I can tell you that I’m still learning, even after going to the same country to work for 15 years. Our fa-vorite saying is, “If you think you have it figured out, YOU DON’T!”

North Americans tend to have a sense that we know best, and we can fix any-thing. Once, we were asked to provide Sunday School materials to a deanery. No problem. We knew best! We bought lovely and expensive Bible flip charts with excellent pictures and narrations, only to discover that the lay leaders didn’t know how to read. Oops! Back to square one! The next year we start-ed a literary education program for adults!

The most important element in good mission work is building RELATION-SHIPS over time, in the same place in-stead of one-time visits to many places.

We once visited an orphanage in El Sal-vador. A little boy sat down nearby and stared at me. After a few minutes, he said in perfect English, “What did you bring me?” I can picture in my mind the endless groups who had come to visit and give the children stuff. Yes, the orphans loved the toys, and the ten-nis shoes, but if a group had built re-lationships over time, they would have discovered that the orphanage was us-ing news-paper be-cause they had no toi-let paper.

A 67-year old Hondu-ran named P o r f i r i o taught us best about r e l a t i o n -ships in Christ. We were the first North Amer-icans to ever visit his remote village. Porfirio said to us, “I know you are here because we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. You let us know that we are not alone.” YES! What a wise man! Por-firio entered our education project, and learned to read, so that he could share the Bible with his village.

Working in partnership with people builds relationships. We once painted a church, inside and out, in a small village in Honduras. I stepped outside to take a photo and I saw the North Americans painting away in the intense heat. They were sweating but happy. The Hon-durans were all standing in the shade, arms folded, watching. There was defi-nitely something wrong with that pic-ture! We now send word ahead about our plans and needs, and we enlist local help and support for every project. No spectators! Without partnership, there is no local ownership.

The most wonderful thing that has ever been said to me by a Honduran was this, “I have been using the welding ma-chine you gave me to help support my family. But I’ve also helped others for free, because they had no money to pay

me. You taught me that, to help those in need.” That is us sharing Christ with the world, and the people sharing Christ with each other.

So what are good guidelines for mis-sion work?

Go to the same place for several years and watch, listen, ask, and learn. I know a lady who taught

women to make bathroom rugs and toilet seat covers to sell. They then dis-covered the ladies had no bathrooms or toilet seats! Make Jesus the most important member of your team and be humble brothers and sisters in Christ to those you serve.

Perhaps the most important thing you can do is smile, hug, encourage (instead of handing out stuff).

And pray, for them and with them, and ask them to pray for you.

I began a new venture (always learn-ing!) in November through a San Anto-nio ministry with deep roots in Christ Church. Threads of Blessing ministry teaches ladies (primarily in Uganda) to do embroidery that can be sold to supplement family income. Threads of Blessing teaches not only a skill, but also self-esteem, creativity, group dynamics, and principles of micro-en-terprise. Threads of Blessing began its work years ago in Honduras, and my goal is to re-establish it there among ladies with whom we’ve already built a relationship of trust. It is a “teach a man (or woman) to fish” plan.

Mission work begins with people who want to go, and do, and give. That is vitally important. Good mission work continues with people who are sensi-tive to building relationships, caring enough to listen and learn, and being willing to grow with whom they serve.

Sharing Christ With the World

“...I’ve also helped others for free, because they had no money to pay me. You taught me that, to help those in need.” That is us sharing Christ with the world, and the people sharing Christ

with each other.

Threads of Blessing embroidery

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With a Spirit of Thankfulness...

World Missions..

It is about 6 AM right now, we just arrived in San Antonio last night after about 24 hours of straight travel. I am awake, still wearing my travel clothes, and David Julian (age 9) is awake too. He asks me to play chess with him and I say I will, but first I need to write something to our home church here in San Antonio. I ask him, what should I say? He thinks, and he says, tell them thanks, that they are a good church and thanks for making it possible to live in Nazareth while we did.

It is that spirit of thankfulness that I want to make sure comes through loud and clear, first and foremost. And it has been a fruitful five years in Nazareth. Men have become pas-tors and deacons, the intellectual depth of the evangelicals

in Israel has easily doubled, I would think, and God has been glorified. A new generation of leaders who have been trained in outreach to Muslims is taking the reins slowly.

And so, we leave the seminary there in good hands. And we enter a new stage of our own ministry. We will continue on as your missionaries, working with Anglican Frontier Missions as before, based out of San Antonio. As it became clear that staying in Israel was not an option, we looked around the Middle East. The bishop in Egypt invited me to teach there, some others invited us to work in Turkey. Cairo is not very safe right now, though, and learning a whole new language (Turkish) did not seem desirable. So when AFM proposed a position doing training, discipling and mobilization, we prayed about it and felt this was the Lord’s calling.

We have accepted this new position for the period of two years. We will be getting settled in here in November and December—we need to buy a car, find a house and navigate the esoteric regulations of Obamacare! And so, beginning in January, we will be starting our new work in earnest. E-mail updates will be forthcoming, so if you don’t get those please let us know. And as soon as we have a phone number and transportation here, we’ll let you know.

And let us pray that God would bless us and you as together we engage in this new phase of our mission, and the accom-plishment of our goal to see the Kingdom of God expanding and advancing, especially among Muslims.

Duane and Sharon Miller (xphilosopherking@yahoo.com)

A n n u a l P a r i s h C h r i s t m a s D i n n e r

Wed., December 11 6 PMRSVP at www.cecsa.org or by calling the church office at 736-3132

Christmas Services

December 243 PM

Child Friendly Communion Celebration

5 PM Family Service with Junior Choirs

8 & 10 PMRite II Eucharist with Brass and Choir

December 2510 AM Blessing of the Toys

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I’ll Have a Blue Christmas....

er, light the first candle on our Advent Wreath, and learn about our new Advent color – BLUE! This event is for all Christ church families, large and small, old or young and will be an All Sunday School Intergenerational occasion. All materials for your Advent Wreath will be provided includ-ing a brass Advent Wreath base, fresh greenery, fine wire for wrapping, candles, and a limited number of snippers for wire and greenery. Bring your own snippers if you have! An offering is asked of $15 per family to help pay the cost of materials or $10 per family if you have your Advent Wreath

base from past years. Our Rector, Patrick Gahan, and Associate Rector, Brien Koe-hler, will be on hand to teach us about the meaning of Advent and explain our new Advent color –Blue! Also available will be a booklet containing prayers for lighting the candles at

home each Sunday of Advent, an Advent Activity Calendar for families, and a special chil-dren’s Advent Calendar activ-ity for each Sunday of Advent with devotionals. Refreshments will be served. Please bring a dozen of your favorite Christmas cookies to share with our Parish Family! A serving table will be present at the opening of the Parish Hall containing platters on which to place your cookies. They were a hit last year!

Contact Family Advent Event Team: Pam and Bob Broadnax and Family, Liecie Hollis, and Robin Crowe or Halleta Hein-rich if you would like to help or have questions.

HALLETA HEINRICHDirector of Family Ministrieshalletah@cecsa.org

It’s Going to Be a BLUE Advent!

Come to the Family Advent EventSunday, December 1At 10 AM in the Parish Hall Come join your Christ Church Parish Family on Sunday, December 1, the first Sunday of Advent, as we make our Ad-vent Wreaths togeth-

M I N I S T R Y

Come Follow the Star

Children’s All Sunday School Epiphany CelebrationSunday, January 510 AM in Children’s ChapelFollowed By King’s Cake, Punch, and Prizes in the FMC Tomlin Room

Children will follow the Star and the Wise Kings on the journey to find the Christ Child this Epiphany Sun-day, January 5 at 10 am. The journey will begin in the second floor FMC Children’s Chapel where the children will bring the greatest gift they can offer to God – their Hearts. They will venture with the Wise Kings, follow-ing the Star to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and finally out into the World. They will offer their Hearts to Baby Jesus in

Bethlehem and receive in return the Star representing the Light, Hope, and Love of Christ to follow always. They will then carry this Star into the World where they can share the Light of Christ with all. King’s Cakes and punch will be served in the Tomlin Room after the journey. A prize representing the Truth of Christ will be won by the child in each Sunday School class who finds the Baby Jesus in their piece of Cake. Win-ning children will be asked to share their gift with their class.

This is a great Sunday to invite a friend to Sunday School. This event is fun and spiritually meaningful, so don’t miss. It’s a wonderful way to start the new year off right with Christ at its center.

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The Children of Christ Church Invite You To“The Donkey’s Dream”This Year’s Christmas PageantSunday, December 8During the 11:00 Service

Come receive the best Advent gift ever by witnessing our children’s pre-sentation of “The Donkey’s Dream,” this year’s Children’s Christmas pag-eant, on Sunday, December 8 during the 11:00 am church service. “The Don-key’s Dream” is the story of the first Christmas as seen through the eyes of the little donkey who accompanied Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem for the birth of the Christ Child. “The Don-key’s Dream” is based on the beauti-fully written and illustrated children’s book of the same title, written and il-lustrated in the early Renaissance style by Barbara Helen Berger. Each children’s Sunday School class and age level will play a special role in the pageant, leading a song which moves the nativity story along. Our fifth graders will be the Stars of the pageant, playing the leading roles of the nativity. Preschool 3 year olds will portray the Sheep, shepherded by their fourth grade Shepherds as they visit the newborn Jesus. Preschool PreK’s and Kindergarteners will serve as the Garden and Water bringing life to the

desert as a symbol of the unending and life giving water Christ brings. First and second grade boys will be Sailors accompanying a ship which represents the Ark which holds Jesus. First and

second grade girls will be Rose Angels who sing a lullaby to the Christ Child – the rose being a symbol for Mary and Jesus. Third graders will play the roles of the Citizens of Heaven and Doves who introduce the story and express the hope Christ brings.

Parents please note the following im-portant pageant dates: Fifth Grade Practice and Lunch – Sun-day, November 17 from 11 am – 2:00pm. A read through of the pageant will take

place as well as costume fittings and lunch in the Tomlin Room FMC. All Cast Practice, Saturday, December 7, from 10 am – 12 noon in the church. Younger children should be finished by 11 am. Fifth graders are asked to stay until 12 noon. Parents and teachers are encouraged to stay and help. This will be our only practice in the church, so all children should attend. “The Donkey’s Dream” Christmas Pag-eant will be presented during the 11:00 service on Sunday, December 8. Chil-dren should report to their Sunday School classes at 10 am to get dressed in their costumes, have last minute practice, and line up in order for pag-eant procession. Please be on time! We begin lining up at 10:40 am. “The Donkey’s Dream” songs CD, Song Sheets, and copies of Parent Letters will be available in the FMC Tomlin Room on first floor for parents to pick up be-ginning November 3. I hear that prac-ticing in the car really helps and gets everyone in the Christmas spirit! Contact Halleta at the church at 736-3132 or halletah@cecsa.org for further information.

Family Ministry...

The Donkey’s Dream

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OWEN DUGGANDirector of Music and Worshipowend@cecsa.org

M I N I S T R Y

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messi-ah, the Lord.” Luke 2:8-11

which will take place on “Rejoice” Sunday, Advent 3. This year, placed among the old favorites like “This Christmastide” and Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus”, we have chosen an extraordinary new piece, a setting of the poem, “Sure on this Shining Night.” The words evoke the same sentiments described above while un-derscoring the healing and restoration that can only come from the holy babe in the person of Jesus Christ at his nativity. The author, Pulitzer Prize winner James Agee (1909-1955), was educated by Episcopal monks at the St. Andrews School for Mountain Boys in Sewanee, Tennessee, not far from where he grew up. Coinciden-tally our esteemed rector Patrick is a graduate of the same school.

Sensitive to the simplicity as well as the spiritual depth of the poem, Morten Lauridsen, one of my favorite con-temporary choral composers and recipient of the Na-tional Medal of Arts, set it to music. Some of you may know the piece from a wonderful documentary about the composer entitled, “Shining Night,” while others will become acquainted with it for the first time at Les-sons and Carols. Come and worship with us and invite your friends to this special Anglican observance of the Advent season at one of two worship times, 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. on December 15.

Owen Duggan

The stories of the shepherds, as well as the star that brought the sages to Bethlehem, portray the birth of Christ as a nighttime event. Poignant and mystical, they ignite our most child-like imagination and bring us to ‘that Christmas feeling.’ Once the children are snug and nestled in their beds, there comes that in-evitable moment when we gaze at the angel at the top of the tree, or the crèche at the front of the church, or that picture of a departed loved one who once was a part of the festivities at home, and we pause, lost in wonder, cognizant of an indescribable grace in our lives and in the universe that brings us closer to the creator and to each other, present and departed.

I am writing this as I listen to the children learning their songs for this year’s Lessons and Carols service,

LESSONS AND CAROLS ~ December 15Sure on thiS Shining night

Sure on this shining night Of star made shadows round, Kindness must watch for me This side the ground. The late year lies down the north. All is healed, all is health. High summer holds the earth. Hearts all whole.Sure on this shining night I weep for wonder wand’ring far alone Of shadows on the stars.

James Agee, 1934

Morten Lauridsenphoto courtesy of mortenlauridsen.net

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The Bible puts great stock in know-ing. The Hebrew word for “know” is yada, which Jerry Seinfeld made hilar-iously famous during one of his sitcom episodes. The word, however, is not a laughing matter, for it means “deep in-timate knowing”, as in a long, abiding romantic relationship. Thus, it is far more than surface knowing when the Psalmist sings:

Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).

Or the prophet Jeremiah declares for God:

For I know the plans that I have for you (Jeremiah 29:11).

Advent - Epiphany 2013-2014: Come to Know Christ...Christ Church Bible Study & Preaching Series

Date Day Scripture We come to know Christ...

Sunday, December 1 Advent 1 Matthew 24:36-44 …by staying awake

Sunday, December 8 Advent 2 Matthew 3:1-12 …by the voice crying

Sunday, December 15 Advent 3 Matthew 11:2-11 …because he’s the one

Sunday, December 22 Advent 4 Matthew 1:18-25 …because he is Emmanuel

Tuesday, December 24 Christmas Luke 2:1-20 …by the sign

Sunday, December 29 Christmas 1 John 1:1-18 …for he is the Word

Sunday, January 5 Epiphany Matthew 2:1-12 …by the star

Sunday, January 12 Baptism of Jesus Matthew 3:13-17 …for he will fulfill righteousness

Sunday, January 19 Epiphany 2 John 1:29-42 …because he is the Lamb of God

Sunday, January 26 Epiphany 3 Matthew 4:12-23 …because he makes something of us

Sunday, February 2 Presentation of Jesus Luke 2:22-40 …because of the promise

Sunday, February 9 Epiphany 5 Matthew 5:13-20 …because he fulfills the Law

Sunday, February 16 Epiphany 6 Matthew 5:21-37 …by what he commands

Sunday, February 23 Epiphany 7 Matthew 5:38-48 …the ones he loves

Sunday, March 2 Last Epiphany Matthew 17:1-9 …by Who he really is

Or Solomon prays before the Temple altar:

So that people of the earth may know that the LORD is God and there is no other (1 Kings 8:60).

The Greek word for “know”, ginosko, is equally strong and signifies knowing through personal experience. Young Mary expresses this existential knowing clearly when she questions the angel Gabriel regarding his announcement that she soon will be pregnant:

How will this be since I do not know a man (Luke 1:34).

Jesus himself promises:You shall know the truth, and the

truth shall set you free (John 8:34).Or as Saint John wrote:

I write these things to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13).

This upcoming 15-week series is all about coming to know Christ – from his own peculiar words and examples and through the words and examples of others. The goal is to delve deep-ly beneath the shallow surface of our lives to discover a richer, more substan-tial faith – one that knows Christ and knows how to surrender to his love and serve him.

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CLARK NILESDirector of Youth Ministryclarkn@cecsa.org

M I N I S T R Y

All Christ Church youth and their friends are invited to take part in a new class being offered this coming spring semester. We are starting the 2.0 series written by our rector, Patrick Gahan, and spe-cially adapted for youth. The goal of

Christ Church 2.0 for Youth

this series is to come to know the Gos-pel and conform our lives to it. We will be using the Bible and Book of Com-mon Prayer to guide us, as we delve into our main worship celebration, the Holy Eucharist. Through this study our Sunday worship experience will become more meaningful and alive. We will be processing and sharing what we learn in small discussion groups, and will

strive to “Keep it Real”. What I mean by that is we will only ask questions that deserve real answers. We are all in different places on this faith journey, and we value and celebrate everyone right where they are. It is our goal to continually challenge our youth to stay “Open, Honest, and Willing” as we jour-

Mark your calendars for the SAMM Christmas Dinner on December 8. This outreach event is our opportunity to show Christ’s love.

Wednesday December 4th we will be wrapping gifts for these families from 6:30-8:00 PM.

Sunday, December 8th – We need to arrive at 4:30 PM for set up. We will then help serve, meet and greet the families. Clean up afterwards will last until 7:00 PM. This was awesome last year! Don’t miss out. Come whenever you get free from school stuff.

ney together, with our Lord leading us as we go. (“Christ Church 2.0 Introduc-tion”, Gahan)

The 2.0 series is a perfect fit for the young people who are preparing for confirmation this spring. The confir-mation class will be joining us on Sun-day mornings at 9:45 AM.

We hope you are as excited as we are to offer this new class to our young peo-ple and will be praying faithfully for a great turnout. Come join us on our journey together this spring.

In Christ,

Clark

Our Church Life...

The Great Commission Planned Giving

My old-er daughter was hoping to further her educa-tion. With a young family, she also wanted to be sure

that they would be financially secure while she was not working and that she could pay her tuition. On the very evening she discussed the possibility of my helping her pay for her school-ing, my sister died. My daughter, her sister, and her two cousins were beneficiaries of my sister’s estate. Though modest, the inheritance she left my daughter allowed her to move confidently toward her new school-ing while not compromising her fam-

ily’s lifestyle. Each of the nieces and nephew were blessed in different and dynamic ways that would have made my sister very happy. She had made her first will just two years before her death; and in doing so, she guaranteed that her wishes would be carried out.

Knowing the blessing that an estate inheritance can have on those who are left behind is the reason I have named Christ Episcopal Church in my estate. It is not in my will, but in my retirement account. Having experienced the pain of deciding what to do with an inherited retirement account, I have found that leaving it to an entity such as a church is a much easier thing to do, at least as the law governing it is now. My hope is that fund will continue to grow and be-come a blessing to all I love. It seems that my blessings have grown once I committed to tithing at Christ Church.

Those first fruits into the storehouse, and the cup overflowing are absolute realities to me. While continuing to tithe, I realize that giving from an in-surance policy, a retirement account, or from securities is an absolutely painless way to continue giving. My direction is that Christ Church will receive a double tithe out of this account. And, the blessings will at least partly ensure that the beautiful ministries of this church will continue without concerns for where the funds will come from. So many lives have been changed within those 100 year-old walls. I know that funds are used wisely and well, and I want to support the church even after my death.

Ferne Burney

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Feeding Christ’s FlockThen Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may in-vite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a ban-quet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Luke 14: 12-14

The Hospitality Food Pantry will be holding its 13th annual Christmas luncheon for our guests on Saturday,

December 7th, 2013 from 11:00 - 1:00 p.m. We are inviting Christ Church parishioners to join us in volunteering to serve our guests and to provide holiday home-baked desserts such as cookies, brownies, etc. We are also asking members to assist with various crafts for the children.

Parishioners are encouraged to sit down with our guests and to enjoy a meal with them. Come and be blessed!

For information, please call Tina Honsaker at 859-5062 or Rita Millwater at 534-7042.

2012 Food Pantry Luncheon

SAMM Christmas Celebration

Save the Date!

Our annual SAMM Christmas Celebration will be on Sunday, December 8th at 5pm. We need your help!

Here’s how you can get involved:

1. Sign up to be a “SAMM Family Shepherd”2. Sign up to purchase a gift or gifts for family members3. Donate money for the Gift Card fund

You can sign up on Sundays after the 9:00 and 11:00 ser-vices or in the Parish Hall after Sunday School.

Contact Julie Zacher (210) 396-6615, jmzacher@sbcglobal.net or Laura Heinrich (210) 315-2288, lauraandkatetoo@aol.com, for more information on how you can help!

Calling all Jr. Daughters of the King for caroling on Saturday, December 7, 2013 from 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm. Please bring one dozen cookies to give as gifts. We’ll gather at the Parish JDOK Caroling at Chandler Center Dec. 2012

Hall, go caroling, & then have a Christmas party. Bring a friend! Please call Tina Bigley @ 215-3435 or Elizabeth Martinez @ 736-3132 / 393-6456 for more details.

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C A R E

CAROL MILLERPastoral Care Administratorcarolm@cecsa.org

How do you cope with grief? Some people act as if life should be “back to normal” within weeks or months following a death.

That doesn’t always happen. The first thing you need to remember is that your grief journey is your own unique process, and you will experience it in your own way. Grief counselor Rob-ert Zucker said, “remember to gently care for yourself through the pain and

Life After Loss A Support group for thoSe Who hAve experienceD the LoSS of A LoveD one

loneliness that grief brings because that will be one of the most important parts of your healing.”

I would like to invite you to attend a six weeks support group sponsored by Christ Church Pastoral Care and Porter Loring Family Care Services. This program is designed by the American Cancer Society to help bereaved people better understand the process of grief and how to live through it in a way that transforms them. It also pro-vides a place for people to share their experiences and support each other in their grief. The program will take place

Christ Episcopal Church Community of Hopeinvites you to a

Quiet Daywith Sylvia Maddox

Author, Retreat Leader, Professor of Spirituality, UIW

The Gift of a Listening HeartAdvent is a time of expectation and hope. In all the voices of this world, we often miss the mystery of God speaking to us. In this Quiet Day, we will have the gift

of silence and blessing as we listen together with an open heart.

Bishop Jones Center, Cathedral House111 Torcido Rd., San Antonio, TX 78209

Saturday, December 14, 20139:00 AM - 12:00 PM

12:15 Communion Service

RSVP by Dec. 11 to Carol Miller 736-3132 or carolm@cecsa.org

at Christ Episcopal Church, beginning January 15th and continuing through February 19th at 12:30 in our Confer-ence Room. The group will be facilitat-ed by Celeste Miller from Porter Loring Family Care Services and include a combination of teaching, discussion, and learning activities. Any one who has experienced the loss of a loved one is welcome. There is no charge for the program.

For more information or to register, you may call Carol Miller, Pastoral Care Administrator at 736-3132.

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November 22-24: Happening #126 in Corpus Christi

November 24: Christ the King Sunday Thanksgiving Celebration

November 28: Thanksgiving Church Offices closed

November 29: Church Offices closed

December 1: First Sunday in Advent Advent Wreath Making Event 10AM Christ Church 1.0 at the Gahan’s home. Contact Anna Jewell

December 3: Musical Offerings 30th Anniversary Concert 7:30 PM at CEC

December 7: Food Pantry Christmas Luncheon 11 AM - 1 PM JDOK Christmas Caroling 3 PM

December 8: Second Sunday in Advent Children’s Christmas Pageant “Donkey’s Dream” 11 AM SAMM Christmas Dinner 5 PM

December 11: Parish Christmas Dinner 6 PM

December 13: Church Offices close at noon December 14: Quiet Day sponsored by CEC Community of Hope - Bishop Jones Center. Contact Carol Miller Youth Christmas Caroling Party 3 PM

December 15: Third Sunday in Advent Lessons and Carols 9 AM and 11 AM

December 22: Fourth Sunday in Advent

December 24: Christmas Eve Church Offices close at noon Services at 3 PM, 5 PM, 8 PM and 10 PM

December 25: Christmas Day Christmas Service 10 AM Church Offices closed

December 26: Church Offices closed

December 31: Church Offices close at noon

January 1: Church Offices closed

January 5: Epiphany

January 15: Life After Loss begins (six-week program) 12:30 - 2:00 PM contact Carol Miller

January 26: Annual Parish Meeting

Christ Church Staff:

The Rev. Patrick Gahan, Rectorpatrickg@cecsa.org

The Rev. Scott Kitayama, Associate Rector, scottk@cecsa.org

The Rev. Brien Koehler, Associate Rector for Mission and Formation, brienk@cecsa.org

Carol Miller, Pastoral Care Administrator, carolm@cecsa.org

Halleta Heinrich, Director of Family Ministry, halletah@cecsa.org

Clark Niles, Director of Youth Ministryclarkniles82@gmail.com

Dr. Owen Duggan, Music Minister owend@cecsa.org

Joshua Benninger, Organist joshb@cecsa.org

Ruth Berg, Director of Children’s Music, ruthb@cecsa.org Robert Hanley, Parish Administratorrobert@hanleypmservices.com

Darla Nelson, Office Managerdarlan@cecsa.org

Donna Shreve, Financial Manager donnas@cecsa.org

Gretchen Comuzzi Duggan, Director of Communications, gretchend@cecsa.org

Anna Jewell, Executive Assistant to the Rector, annaj@cecsa.org

Donnis Carpenter, Receptionistdonnisc@cecsa.org

Elizabeth Martinez, Kitchen Managerelizabethm@cecsa.org

Robert Vallejo, Facilities Manager robertv@cecsa.org

Rudy Segovia, Hospitality Manager rudys@cecsa.org

Joe Garcia, Sextonjoeg@cecsa.org

O F E V E N T S

The Message (USPS 471-710) is published bi-monthly by Christ Episcopal Church, 510 Belknap Place, San Antonio, TX 78212. Periodical postage paid in San Antonio, TX. Postmaster: Please send address changes to

Christ Episcopal Church, 510 Belknap Place, San Antonio, TX 78212. Volume 15, Number 6.

Christ Episcopal Church 510 Belknap Place

San Antonio, TX 78212www.cecsa.org

Periodical PostagePAID

San Antonio, TX

Christ Church Trunk or Treat October 31, 2013