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From The Rector:
I write this on October 13, 2005, still waiting on the cooler weather to come and stay. I am tired of air conditioning!
Last week Susan Barnes and I gathered with Bishop Wimberly and the vast array of clergy in the Diocese of Texas for our annual Clergy Conference at Camp Allen. We enjoyed excellent scholarly work on the Gospels; inspiring musical leadership by Dr. Clarence Boyer, an Episcopalian who does excellent work retooling old gospel and spiritual favorites; entertainment by Ray Wylie Hubbard (who was very funny and super talented!); a probing presentation on contemplative spirituality and the moral life by monastic priest Curtis Almquist; time together as clergy; and several other informative presentations. Bishop Wimberly stressed his desire for clergy to work together in the Episcopal Church, even as many people in our denomination continue to press for division. He said his focus is excellent leadership in congregations and the church’s mission to those in need. He told us that the Diocese of Texas raised some $340,000 for hurricane relief. He will be calling for “rebuilding missions” in support of parts of East Texas devastated by Hurricane Rita. It was a great conference and wonderful time of bonding for the clergy of the diocese!
I want you to know that Bishop Wimberly personally invited St. Matthew’s to participate in a pilot program for parishes and missions called In the Spirit of Excellence which calls on lay and ordained parish leadership to set goals and to regularly review and evaluate parish ministries as a way to give emphasis to those ministries each parish does well and to make sure that those involved are well prepared, supported and appreciated. More information will follow but I wanted you to know that St. Matthew’s is the only resource-size parish in the program and that the Vestry approved our participation in its September meeting.
Bishop Wimberly told us about The Gathering, a diocesan-wide event to be held June 1st – 3rd, 2006, on the campus of Episcopal High School in Houston. The purpose of the Gathering is for clergy and lay members of ALL the missions and parishes of the Diocese of Texas to come together to energize our common conviction to serve Christ in mission and ministry. There will be some 60 workshops. There are two keynote speakers. One is Newsweek editor Jon Meachem, responsible for the recent Newsweek articles on the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which were extremely well received by the public and scholars as well. Meachem is an active Episcopalian from New York City. The other is Anne Lamott, author of Traveling Mercies and other best sellers. She is known to be a very frank and compelling storyteller who mixes humor and complicated personal experiences to inspire faith in a difficult world. At this point I ask you to mark your calendar with these days in mind. Our goal will be for between 50-75 persons from St. Matthew’s to attend.
On Sunday, November 13, we will commemorate Veteran’s Day by recognizing those men and women in our congregation who have fought to preserve our liberties in foreign wars. Veteran’s Day is actually November 11, and is a day to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism and sacrifice for the common good.
On Wednesday night, November 23, we will gather in our sanctuary at 7:15 p.m. for our annual joint Thanksgiving service with our friends at Triumphant Love Lutheran Church. We will celebrate the Holy Eucharist according to the Book of Common Prayer and share the duties of reading scripture, preaching and distributing the Holy Communion with Triumphant Love. This is a happy and important tradition and I trust that you will want to celebrate a Thanksgiving meal in church first! A brief reception will follow.
This is first notice that I will be teaching a class on our revised mission statement – “to know Christ, grow in Christ, and share Christ’s love.” I intend to weave Scripture, theology, hymn lyrics and my own thoughts together to offer a serious reflection on our mission together. The class will be held in Huffman Hall from 9:30 – 10:15 a.m. on Sunday mornings, November 27, December 4 and December 11.
We are developing a men’s group to focus on prayer, study and service to the church. Over forty men will be installed as members of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew on Saturday, November 5 at 8 a.m. in Huffman Hall. You will be hearing more and more about the Brotherhood and I am delighted to be a member and to offer my leadership and support to their work.
Finally, I want to offer a word of thanks to all of you for the excellent start to our pledge campaign for the Operating Budget of St. Matthew’s for 2006. As of this writing we have 233 pledges for $852,000. I am so moved by your commitments to grow this parish in mission and ministry. The Wardens will keep you informed as we move ahead in this process.
God bless you one and all!
Merrill
