To know Christ, grow in Christ, and share Christ's love.
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To know Christ, grow in Christ, and share Christ's love. |
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Dear Friends,
Gathering of Leaders
I write this article immediately upon return to Austin after spending three days at the Franciscan Retreat Center in Phoenix, Arizona. I have told you in a previous edition of The Word that I have been blessed with the opportunity to participate in the Gathering of Leaders, a group of Episcopal bishops, priests and lay persons that gather to support one another and to share both our concerns and our enthusiasm for the Episcopal Church USA. Bishop Claude Payne, retired Bishop of Texas, invited me to participate and I have now attended three such events around the country. In our meetings, we discuss leadership styles and theories, the vision and mission of the church, management, prayer and study within our busy schedules, and the many ways we exercise our diverse ministries in our different settings. We have participants from Texas, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Nevada, Oregon, California, New York, Michigan, Connecticut, Arizona and Delaware. In our January meeting we had an open forum on what united our gathering, and the following became the core values that underlie our meetings:
The Gathering of Leaders is committed to:
the missionary call of Jesus Christ.
a hope-filled vision for the Episcopal Church USA.
respect for differences.
creative and innovative leadership.
spiritual and numerical growth.
General Convention , June 11-20, 2006
One of the topics we discussed at the end of this last Gathering of Leaders was our expectations of General Convention 2006, especially the election of the next Presiding Bishop. If you haven’t begun to think about General Convention I want to help prepare you by placing a General Convention information sheet in each week’s Sunday Order of Service. I also commend the General Convention web site to you for perusal – go to http://www.episcopalchurch.org and click on General Convention 2006. Most of us think of General Convention 2003 as about the election of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire and nothing else. Well, that just was not true. Much else of significant good happened that was never reported. It does not appear that this Convention will be facing such a monumental and controversial decision. However, the media gets paid to search for, cook up and feed our national addiction to controversy. To be sure, there will be the Presiding Bishop election, some tough canonical debates, and questions about the Windsor Report and the continuing fallout among the constituents of the Anglican Communion after General Convention 2003.
One thing I am asking you to consider this year has to do with the press. Please do not jump to conclusions when the daily press and/or TV report something that sounds extreme or alarming. The media will look for ways to make the Presiding Bishop election a referendum on controversial issues like human sexuality. Don’t buy it. The election is primarily about the spiritual depth, leadership qualities and mission emphasis of the candidates. Remember, all we get are sound bites that are rarely in full context or as nuanced as the speaker might have intended. The press only feels like they are doing their jobs if they get us stirred up. Be wary, please. To follow events at General Convention you might choose to read The Episcopal News Service at www.episcopalchurch.org/ens/ . I’ll also be following the events on www.centeraisle.org/, a publication of the Diocese of Virginia with reports from one of my Gathering of Leaders buddies, the Rev. John Ohmer, from that Diocese.
June 4th is Pentecost Sunday
Elsewhere in this edition of the Word you will find an announcement about Pentecost Sunday. Remember, at this service we simultaneously read the Gospel in various languages to re-present the Pentecost event and to simply hear the Gospel pronounced multi-lingually. Please call the church office if you speak a particular foreign language and we will prepare a text for you to read. And thanks so much to the Holy Smokers and Pat Sutherland and the Associate Vestry for their work in making Pentecost Sunday a great day for our church family, especially the children!
Rector’s Class for 6th – 12th graders
On Sunday morning’s, June 4, 11, and 18th, I will be teaching a Bible class for our 6th-12th graders from 9:15AM – 10:15AM in the Youth Building.
June 4 The Bible – Part 1 – Stories of Creation in the Book of Genesis
June 11 The Bible – Part 2 – The Great Heroes – were they always great?
June 18 The Bible – Part 3 – Jesus: What was he trying to do?
June 25 With the adults in Huffman Hall for a parish meeting.
In the first three weeks of this class I want to help these young people learn to study the Bible with devotion and heightened intellect, learning to apply their growing academic abilities to do the work needed to interpret the Bible with an open mind to receive God’s word. Note that on June 25th the young people will be invited to participate in a parish meeting sponsored by the Stewardship Commission to discuss church finances, major capital improvements and other issues. Parents, please bring your 6th-12th graders to Huffman Hall that day, they need to hear the reports to better understand the real issues of church stewardship. We rarely include them in such conversations and we wonder why they often feel out of touch and disempowered around the church. The meeting will last around 50 minutes.
Summer Fun and Sunday Chapel
Elsewhere in this issue you will find articles from Kathy Dugat and Susan Barnes regarding plans for children this summer. I have one word for you parents of young children. Relax. The church wants to help you and your family slow down and enjoy one another and to get better acquainted with other families in the church. Thanks to Kathy Dugat for working with us to have some special Summer Adventures! And I can’t wait until we get our new Sunday chapel plans kicked off!
Finally, I ask for your prayers as Susan and I begin the process of searching for a new Youth Minister and a part-time Sunday School Coordinator for our church. Regretfully, our search for a Curate, a third clergyperson, did not bear fruit this year. We will be posting job descriptions soon and will keep you informed as we move forward together.
Faithfully, Merrill
