San Antonio, Tx 78209
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San Antonio, Tx 78209
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Vol. 3, No. 1, April 2008
In the Bishop's Words: Bishop Lillibridge discusses his work with the Windsor Continuation Group, the Lambeth Conference, and recent events in our diocese. Click here to listen.
Making the Most of Local Events 
| The basketball window. |
When the NCAA Final Four basketball games came to San Antonio in early April, St. Mark's Episcopal Church captured some of the media attention by showing off their stained glass window featuring a basketball player. The window had been crafted in the 1950s in memory of Arthur Hughes Muir (1885 to 1955) who was superintendent of the Church school for 40 years. St. Mark's had the first church basketball team in San Antonio in the early 1900s, coached by Solon Stewart, an attorney and church member. The team went up against such formidable opponents as the Y.M.C.A. squad and local high school teams.
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| St. Mark's greeters: Jim Hartz, Carol Muir (great niece of Arthur Muir) and Amanda Arnold. |
On Sunday of the Final Four weekend, St. Mark's greeters donned Final Four t-shirts and caps to welcome visitors to the church. The downtown church is within walking distance of many of the hotels where Final Four fans were staying.
St. Mark's staff wisely made the connection between their church and local events to draw the interest of local television channels. Sharon Winn of St. Mark's sent media releases to the local TV stations and lined up the Rev. Jonathan Wickham to be available to speak to the press. It resulted in at least one San Antonio TV station picking up the story.
What's happening in your city or town that you can make a connection with and get some press coverage to present your church as warm and welcoming to visitors? If you need help writing a media release, contact the diocesan communications department (Marjorie.george@dwtx.org) or Sharon Winn at St. Mark's (swinn@stmarks-sa.org).
with the Community
St. Francis, San Antonio , will partner with the City of San Antonio and Family Service Association to draw as many as 300 neighborhood children and their parents to the church campus this summer. The church will host two month-long summer camp sessions for children aged six to 14. Through a grant from the city, Family Service Association will provide programs, professional personnel, breakfast, lunch, and snacks for the children. St. Francis members will be involved with the program as volunteers. The programs are focused on academic enrichment in the morning, with games, crafts, and field trips during the afternoons. "This is a tremendous opportunity to reach out into the community and reach in to our church family," said the Rev. Patrick Ormos, rector of St. Francis.
Bright Idea for Small Businesses
When Bernie and Judy Frey, members of St. Francis by the Lake, Canyon Lake, started their small business (Brite Blinds of Texas), they were surprised to learn that if they paid the sales tax they collected from their customers to the State Comptroller prior to the due date, they would receive a "timely filing discount." "It's only one-half of 1 percent," says Bernie, "but it still is a discount. From the government, no less."
The Freys pondered what to do with their "found money." Bernie says it's not any vast amount; still it could be put to good use. The Freys decided to make St. Jude's Children's Shelter in Bulverde the beneficiary of their bonus. The children's shelter provides emergency protective services for abused and neglected children from throughout Central Texas. The Freys encourage other small business owners to consider this type of donation. They also wonder what would happen if a whole bunch of small business owners pooled their ideas and resources and worked together in a similar outreach effort. If you are interested in working with the Freys, contact them at (210) 863-7866 or by e-mail at bfrey@gvtc.org.The World Mission Department is again this year sponsoring the Mother's Day offering through local churches on Mother's Day, May 11. Parishioners will be given the opportunity to make a donation in honor of their mothers or women who have been of significant influence in their lives. The donations will be forwarded to the diocesan World Mission Department and used to underwrite programs to help children and women at risk around the world -- women and children who suffer from hunger, disease, abuse and other manifestations of poverty. For further information, call Betty Chumney at the Jones Center (210 or 888) 824-5387 or email her at chumneyb@aol.com. Offering kits for use on May 11 will be arriving in church offices soon.
| A gathering of Acolytes Everything you need to know about the May 3 Acolyte Festival is on the diocesan website at http://dwtx.org/index.php/diocese/Youth_Ministries. Host is St. George, San Antonio. If you need more info, contact Lou Taylor at lou.taylor@dwtx.org |
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| Save the date Saturday, June 14, the annual World Mission Symposium takes place 9:30 a. m. to 3 p.m. in Chapel House at the Jones Center. The symposium will feature ideas and methods that can be used by a congregation to become "World Mission Churches." In 2007, 622 teams from West Texas congregations went on missions to 14 countries. More than $1.1 million was raised in this diocese to support World Mission work. |
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| Online education Interested in the Desert Mothers, how to better protect yourself and others from ever-pressing consumerism, or religious themes in murder mysteries? Online registration is open now for these fall term courses in the Seminary of the Southwest Online School in Spirituality and Mission. The Online School is designed for lay persons interested in a fuller understanding of Christian faith and practice, and for clergy and lay ministers seeking continuing education to support their vocation. Directors of religious education in area churches are welcome to suggest this opportunity to their parishioners. Two Online School teachers have written several books on spirituality and led numerous retreats. The Rev. Mary Earle is teaching "The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from Women of the Wilderness." Debra Farrington explores "Holy Whodunits: Religion as Portrayed in Contemporary Murder Mysteries." Robert Elzy Cogswell will offer new ways to be a Christian in a consumer-driven economy in "Consumerism against Christianity." Course details, frequently asked questions, faculty biographies and registration links are at www.etss.edu/online_courses.shtml. Tuition is $175 per course -- each begins September 15 and concludes October 31. |
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| In case of disaster The diocesan Disaster Relief Committee has assembled a comprehensive Disaster Preparedness Resource Guide and a CD (for accessing needed information in the event the printed Guide has been destroyed) that is being distributed to all 90 congregations. The Guide features color-coded dividers that correspond to ten, same-colored sections of a Table of Contents. Supplemental materials will be distributed whenever needed and will be tabbed with the section's color, thereby enabling church staff to quickly remove old content and substitute new or additional information. The Disaster Relief Committee is in the process of naming a point person at each congregation. In the meantime, you can see the entire Guide at http://dwtx.org/index.php/diocese/Disaster%20Relief |
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| For clergy only A Gathering Day for all clergy -- active, retired, and licensed -- will be held at the Mustang Island Conference Center on May 14, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Unlike the Fall Clergy Conference, this day is an optional opportunity for fellowship and conversation. Bishop Lillibridge will share some thoughts on the continuing work of the Windsor Continuation Group, of which he is a part, and will brief clergy about the upcoming Lambeth Conference. Concrete details will be coming to clergy from the bishop's office. |
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| Save another date Author Phyllis Tickle will be the keynote speaker at the fall Christian Education Conference. Dates are November 14-15; venue is St. Mark's, San Antonio. For info, contact Lou Taylor at lou.taylor@dwtx.org |
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| Did you like those videos? The two videos shown at Diocesan Council are from the Nooma Series by Rob Bell. The diocesan Christian Ed has the entire series available for lending -- plus the classic story of Martin the Cobbler by Leo Tolstoy. It's a 27-minute claymation film. To borrow videos or books, contact Jean Beere at jean.beere@dwtx.org |
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| Are you having Vacation Bible School? Send us your info -- Name and city of church, dates of VBS, theme, ages that can attend, and who to contact for more info. We'll put up a page on the diocesan website listing them all so when Internet users search on VBS, Episcopal, they'll find you. The sooner the better. Questions? Contact Marjorie George at Marjorie.george@dwtx.org. |
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| And another date: Anti-racism training The 2000 Episcopal Church General Convention mandated that all clergy and key lay leaders take 14 hours of anti-racism training. The diocese will sponsor a training June 6-7 at St. Philip's, San Antonio. Plan to send parish groups of three to six people. Cost is $30 each person, including two lunches. Registration info coming soon. In the meantime, Archdeacon Milton Black is the contact -- Milton.black@dwtx.org From our churches St. Francis, Victoria will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the parish on October 4-5. During the weekend, parishioners and guests will have an opportunity to participate in a variety of events, all spearheaded by co-chairs Linda Bates and Sandra Pyle. Some of the events to be featured include: a blessing of the animals, tours of the church and its accoutrements, dinner at the Victoria Country Club with a special video of interviews, and children's activities. If you have pictures or artifacts tied to St. Francis, please contact historian, scrapbook chair, and webmaster Cynthia Buttram at cjbuttram@sbcglobal.net. For more information about the weekend's events, contact St. Francis church at sfranvct@sbcglobal.net or 361-575-0441; Debbie Rigby Dick at ddick@stjvictoria.com; or Andrea Wise at howwritethouart@suddenlink.net Vocare #24, a conference for young adults from upper class college students to those 30 years of age, will be May 16-18 at Camp Capers. Vocare is a spiritual formation and renewal weekend for young adults as they face some of the serious decisions that will set the directions for their adult lives. A detailed info flyer is on the diocesan website at www.dwtx.org under the Special Events section. Camp Capers Summer Dates: (Visit the website at www.campcapers.org)
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