Vol. 1, No. 3, Nov. 2006

2007 theme will take Council "deeper"

The 103rd Annual Diocesan Council, meeting in Corpus Christi, February 22-24, 2007, will unite business, worship, study, and fellowship under the theme "Let down your nets into deep water." Taken from the Gospel of Luke (5:4), the theme will ask participants to look deeply at our life together as a diocese and to discern what it is that Christ is calling us to be and do.

Not coincidentally, the 2007 Council will be held in Corpus Christi, "the city by the sea," hosted by Church of the Good Shepherd. The headquarters hotels are the Omni Marina and the Omni Bayfront, just a block from each other. Most Council events will be at the American Bank Convention Center, which is within walking distance of the hotels. The Council worship service will be at Corpus Christi Cathedral on Thursday evening, February 22.

The council banquet will be Friday evening, February 23, at the Solomon Ortiz Center, under the Bay Bridge.

Four Friday luncheons -- lay ministry luncheon, clergy luncheon, clergy spouses luncheon, and women's sharing luncheon -- will be held at the Omni Marina hotel. Thursday's luncheon, hosted by the Christian Faith in Action, will likely be held at the American Bank Center.

The format of Council will include business on Thursday afternoon, Friday morning, and Saturday morning. Much of Friday afternoon will be devoted to a "conversation" among the delegates, with Bishop Gary Lillibridge leading. That format was received very positively by last year's council delegates. Thursday evening, after the Council worship service, will be available for congregational dinners.

Information about the 2007 Council is now on the web at www.council-dwtx.org. This includes delegate certification forms and delegate counts for each congregation. Deadline for delegate certification is 15 days prior to the start of Council. Deadline for hotel reservations is January 30, 2007.

Council resolutions

According to diocesan Canon 1, section 15, all resolutions presented to Council for action must be in writing and must be presented to the Secretary of the Diocese (The Rev. Frank Fuller) no later than December 31 prior to Council: December 31, 2006 for the 2007 Council. Any resolution presented later than December 31 will not be considered by Council unless two-thirds of Council vote to consider said resolution. Additionally, any resolution dealing with "serious moral issues that deeply concern national or international affairs" must be submitted to the Secretary before December 31 and must be printed and in the hands of delegates no less than one week prior to the convening of Council.

Any resolution regarding the altering or amending of diocesan canons must be presented to the Committee on Constitution and Canons and to the Chancellor of the diocese no later than December 31 prior to Council.

Pre-council meetings

Seven pre-council meetings will be held at locations around the diocese beginning January 21 and going through February 6. The purpose of these meetings is to acquaint delegates with standard business -- such as nominations and the diocesan budget -- so as to reduce the amount of time needed to address these matters on the floor of Council. All delegates are expected to attend a pre-council meeting.

Sunday, Jan. 21, at St. Andrew's, Seguin, for the Northeastern Convocation
Sunday, Jan. 28, at St. Philip's, Uvalde, for the Western Convocation
Monday, Jan. 29, at St. John's, McAllen, for the Valley Convocation
Tuesday, Jan. 30, at All Saints, Corpus Christi, for the Southern Convocation
Thursday, Feb. 1, at St. Peter's, Kerrville, for the Northern Convocation
Monday, Feb. 5, at St. David's, San Antonio, for the Central Convocation
Tuesday, Feb. 6, at Trinity, Victoria, for the Eastern Convocation

All meetings, except the Central Convocation (San Antonio), will begin with a light supper at 6:00 pm. The Central Convocation meeting will begin with coffee and a light dessert at 6:15 pm. All presentations will start at 6:45.

Jefferts Schori to be invested this weekend

Katharine Jefferts Schori becomes the 26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church on Saturday, Nov. 4, with an investiture ceremony at Washington National Cathedral. The service, planned to begin at 11 a.m. Eastern Time, will be available by webcast at www.episcopalchurch.org. The webcast will remain available online for viewing at any time after the ceremony. The investiture liturgy booklet is also available at www.episcopalchurch.org.

An additional webcast from the National Cathedral on All Saints' Sunday, Nov. 5, will include the formal seating of the new Presiding Bishop at the cathedral. It will be available at www.cathedral.org.

Jefferts Schori was elected presiding bishop at the 75th General Convention held this past June in Columbus, Ohio.

McLaren coming to SA

One of the leading voices in church trends today will be the featured speaker at a conference sponsored by the diocesan Christian education department and hosted by St. Thomas, San Antonio, in February. Brian McLaren, author and speaker, will lead "Hear the Words," February 2 and 3, 2007 at St. Thomas. "Brian McLaren draws on both ancient tradition and new ideas to demonstrate how the church can be all that God intended it to be," says Lou Taylor, diocesan Christian education officer.

Sessions with McLaren will be Friday afternoon, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon. Participants may attend all or part of the conference.

"We are hoping," says Taylor, "that every church in the diocese will send at least six representatives to the conference." Fees are $30 per person per day or $55/person for both days until December 15. After that, fees are $40 for one day or $75 for both. Childcare is available upon request. Conference planners are expecting 600 to attend and have opened the conference to church members of all denominations.

For more information about the conference or to register, go to www.council-dwtx.org.

Worth Noting

Briefly

Texas in Washington
Texas State Day at Washington National Cathedral -- held every four years -- will be April 22, 2007. On that day, Texans are invited to participate in the Eucharist at 11 a.m., and acolytes from Texas congregations are invited to process with their church banners and sit on the front row. A Texas choir will sing, and Texans will read the lessons. A package of airfare, hotel rooms and ground transportation is being put together by Pearson Sundberg, a travel agent who is a member of St. George, San Antonio. For details, contact him at (210) 494-3553. Congregations planning to participate should contact Lou Taylor, diocesan Christian education officer, at (210) 824-5387 or lou.taylor@dwtx.org.

Souper Bowl
Youth groups around the diocese are participating in The Souper Bowl of Caring on Super Bowl Sunday, February 4, 2007. The young people will collect $1 donations in large soup pots from parishioners at their respective churches and will donate the money to a charity of their choice. In February 2006, young people across the nation raised $5 million for charity. For more information or to register your youth group, visit www.souperbowl.org. Or contact the diocesan youth ministry department through jean.beere@dwtx.org.

Sing mightily
Seven San Antonio area Episcopal churches have come together to form the Episcopal Choral Consortium and will present their inaugural program on the First Sunday of Advent, December 3, at St. David's, San Antonio. The churches include St. David's, St. Francis, Holy Spirit, Holy Cross, St. Stephen's, St. Philip's, and St. Matthew's (Universal City). Director of the consortium is James Garcia, and concert master is Dr. Gene Dowdy, both members of Holy Spirit, San Antonio. The consortium will perform the Advent portion of Handel's "The Messiah" as well as original works by Garcia and Donald Sebesta.

Order of St. Luke
Christ Church, San Antonio, will host a special evening with the Ven. Larry Mitchell, Director of the North American Order of St. Luke (OSL) on November 13. OSL is an international, ecumenical Christian healing ministry. All area churches are invited to attend the evening, whether or not they are members of OSL. It begins at 6:30 p.m. in the parish hall.

People

The Rev. Eric Fenton becomes assistant for Christ Church in Hill Country, a daughter congregation of Christ Church, San Antonio, on November 5. The Rev. Dan Lauer, who has been serving at Christ Church in the Hill Country for the past 18 months, returns to Christ Church, San Antonio, to continue his ministry there.

The Rev. Ted Knies died on Monday, October 23. His funeral was Saturday, Oct. 28, at St. Stephen's, Wimberley. Knies retired in 1989; he had served Trinity Church, Pharr from 1962 to 1965 and again from 1978 to 1989.

The Rev. Bur Dobbins has been called as rector of Trinity Church, Victoria. Dobbins has been serving at St. Peter and St Paul in Mission since July 2003. The Rev. Bob Soper will be the interim vicar at St. Peter and St. Paul.

The Rev. Lori Johnson, assistant at St. David's, San Antonio, will be ordained to the priesthood at St. David's on January 5, 2007. She was ordained to diaconate on June 3, 2006, in San Diego CA.

The Rev. Robert McAllen, deacon in charge at Epiphany, Raymondville, will be ordained to the priesthood on March 11, 2007. He was ordained to the diaconate August 30, 2006, in Grace Church, Weslaco.

Sara Dyer is retiring as director of the diocesan Books of Remembrance and Thanksgiving. Carolyn Lane, formerly on the diocesan staff, takes over the ministry at the end of this year.

Help wanted

Christ Church, San Antonio, is seeking a youth minister. This person can be lay or ordained but must be an evangelist at heart. For details, call the church at (210) 736-3132.

St. Helena's, Boerne, is seeking a full-time assistant youth minister. This person will work with all youth in the church but especially with those in fifth through ninth grades. Send resumes to The Rev. David Read at davidr@sthelenas-boerne.org or P O Box 1765, Boerne TX 78006.

Go, see, do