St. Paul's, Brady Hosts Inaugural Small Church Gathering

by Chris Moseley, parishioner of St. Paul's, Brady

[Brady Standard-Herald] How many Episcopalian priests does it take to screw in a light bulb? None, if the Rt. Rev. Bishop Rayford B. High, Jr. of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas is in attendance to do the job!

On Saturday May 20, 2023 St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Brady hosted Bishop High and over 70 representatives from 25 Episcopal parish and mission churches for the first Small Church Gathering in the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas. Bishop High and the Small Church Steering Committee facilitated a workshop with participants from as far as Harlingen to the south, Sonora to the west, Goliad to the east, San Angelo to the north, and other churches in-between. Participants, including twelve members of St. Paul’s, engaged in networking with each other and exploring how community outreach is being conducted in other like-minded small churches. 

The Small Church Steering Committee was created by Bishop High to provide support and insight to the small churches located in the Diocese and encourage communications across the whole spectrum of small churches. 

The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas consists of over 26,000 members in 87 congregations spread across 60 counties in Texas. About two-thirds of the eighty-seven churches in the Diocese are considered "small", having less than 100 active participants. St. Paul’s Church in Brady, the most northern parish in the Diocese, is located in the Northern Regional Convocation. Eleven of the thirteen churches in the region are considered small and rural and are located in Brady, Menard, Mason, San Saba, Llano, Bandera, Blanco, Comfort, Fredericksburg, Ft. McKavett, Junction, and Sonora. 

Future plans are underway for the eleven churches in the region to meet and further interact and collaborate with each other. Not only did Bishop High screw in the lightbulb, he turned on the light!

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Photos submitted by Catherine Markette, World Missions Ministries Coordinator, who presented on behalf of the World Missions Department.