From the Rector:

Lenten Reflections

2008 has brought surprises.  The flood of the basement has been a significant disruption to all the programming for the church, the Day School and the Senior Activity Center.  I am so grateful to, and proud of, Pam and the teachers of the Day School, Kathy Dugat and Margaret Carpenter and the Sunday School and chapel teams, Lucy and her Senior Activity Center leadership, and Dave Bowman, Jean Fuller and Annie Byrom, Barbara Haynes and the clergy staff who have had to shift and adjust at a moments notice to keep our active campus in operations.  I want, as well, to thank everyone at St. Matthew’s who has cooperated with this time of difficulty with a cheerful disposition.  We learn a great deal about ourselves by how we react to non-tragic inconveniences.  Your graciousness is appreciated.  We are in the final stages of receiving the insurance settlement and beginning the work necessary to restore the basement.  I titled this Lenten Reflections because we are dealing with CHANGE within the context of Lent.  A new building is being prepared for our use.  We are working.  Yet we are called to see the Lord at work in our midst, at the level of our everyday experience.  Our task in all this work on the campus is not to lose sight of the Kingdom of God – to trust that all of this can and will glorify God and enable to us to better serve God at the corner of Steck and Mesa. 

Bishop Election

The Diocesan Council authorized the election of a Bishop Coadjutor last weekend in Galveston so the nomination process is now underway.  The Diocese of Texas website has significant information on how to nominate a priest or bishop for this position, see the link: http://www.epicenter.org/edot/Default.asp.  Pam Nolting and I, and the Task Force for the Election of a Bishop Coadjutor, have now completed the first phase of our work.  We are excited about the next several weeks as the nominations begin to come in.  I’ll keep you posted.  In the meantime, please pray for the Diocese of Texas and this election process.  Here is the prayer the Task Force composed:

Gracious God, you call the church to witness to your Kingdom revealed through Jesus Christ: Send your Holy Spirit to guide into unity the hearts and minds of the people who will be electing the next Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, that our diocese might be led by a person of your own choosing, who will help us ever more become the people and Church you have created us to be—a people who witness to the Kingdom of God boldly, minister unselfishly, and worship joyfully. All this we pray in the name of our Master Teacher, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

One last word about Diocesan Council, Susan Barnes was elected to the Executive Board of the Diocese of Texas.  The Executive Board meets 3-4 times per year and serves, in a sense, as the vestry of the diocese between Annual Councils. Congratulations, Susan. 

Rector’s Class in Huffman Hall – Our Culture of Busyness and Anxiety

In the past two months, I have been sharing my thoughts, intermixed with the greater thoughts of authors such as Brian McLaren, Richard Rohr, Thomas Merton, Keith Miller and Ronald Rolheiser.  We have talked about anxiety and stress addiction, soul sadness and how the Kingdom of God is counter-cultural to our current pace of life.  In these classes, we were seeking ways to be renewed in our spiritual lives, to find a way to connect with our own souls and the Spirit of God in the midst of the stresses and strains of our lives.

Rector’s Class Continues in March – Our Culture of Busyness and Anxiety

On Sundays, March 2, 9 and 16, I will continue my teaching on this subject.  We will look at a primary anchor for our identity as Christians, The Lord’s Prayer.  So many of us have prayed the Lord’s Prayer for so long, we no longer think too deeply about our words.  For these three Sundays I will examine the great themes of the Lord’s Prayer, including

            Our Father, who art in heaven

            How is God our Father, or parent or Mother?  Whom does that make us?

            Hallowed be thy name.  God is holy.  Does this suggest that we must be sinless in order to approach God?  Do we earn our way to heaven by ‘good behavior”?

Over the three-week period, we will read through and discuss the entire Lord’s Prayer, utilizing discussion questions like those above.  Our goal is to think together about the ways we lead our lives and to find new (and re-find old) ways to live with and for God.  This class will continue the themes I introduced in January and February, but you do not to have attended those classes to be prepared for the March classes.    If you would like to listen to the talks I gave in January and February, they are online on the Sermons page of the St. Matthew’s website – www.stmattsaustin.org/sermon.htm .  We will meet in Huffman Hall from 9:15AM until 10:15AM. 

Other Sunday Education Information:

No Sunday School for children, youth or adults on Easter Sunday, March 23. All children, youth and adult classes will meet in Huffman Hall on Sunday, March 30, for breakfast beginning at 9:15AM.  Classes for all ages resume on April 6.

Holy Week 2008

Elsewhere in this WORD we have posted the Holy Week worship schedule.  Over the years, many people have asked me, “What would you recommend I do, knowing that I cannot attend every service?”  I recommend that you make every effort to participate in the Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday services.  These liturgies give the worshiper a clear and coherent involvement in the last days of the life of Jesus.  Easter becomes more vividly good news when one has attended the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services.  Do not hesitate to call me if you need more information about the worship and purposes of Holy Week.

Have a Blessed Lent and Easter.

Faithfully, Merrill