Volume 113, No.

9 Houston, Texas November 2010

St. James’, Austin, Living a “Sticky” Gospel

who first joined St. James’ in
1959. “Here at St. James’ we have
a four-legged Episcopal stool –
hospitality, ministry, liturgy/music
and healing,” said Houston, who
has been active in parish, diocesan
and General Convention work for
decades.
“At St. James’ there are very
rich people and there are very poor
people and there are people of all
colors and all languages. There
are gay, straight, Republicans and
Democrats. It is not a very stable
mix of people, but somehow the
thing that brings us there is very
Bishop Rayford sticky, and so we stay,” said Steven
High announces his
Tomlinson, a graduate school
retirement, page 2.
professor and playwright. When
Tomlinson first came to St. James’
in 1991, he describes that sticky
force he felt – “This feels like the
gospel to me. This feels like God’s
love in action. I want to be part of
this.”
St. James’ leaders share stories in oral history project. Pictured are (l-r): Ora Houston, Mary Lou Adams, Reuben McDaniel,
St. James’ members “have
Georgetta Maderas-Bryant and Catherine Thomas-Petite. Steven Tomlinson not pictured. Photo: Bob Kinney reached out to all because they
have been touched. The African-
By Bob Kinney

A
American roots of their church
fter 16 African-American students and faculty from Huston-Tillotson College in Austin could not find a are a source of compassion,
hospitable Episcopal church in which to worship during the 1940s, they decided to start their own. welcome and fellowship. Above
Sixty-some years later, several parishioners shared stories of how St. James’ grew for an oral history/video all, it provides a sense of home to
project envisioned by the Rev. Reggie Payne-Wiens, St. James’ rector. Karen Hartwell, an active member of the share with all,” said Dr. Reuben
450-member East Austin church, organized the video project. McDaniel, University of Texas
“At St. James’ it is important for us to share our heritage with all who come after us,” Payne-Wiens said. “We believe professor and chair of health care
this is one of the primary ways that we can extend our mission of being a church community that will always welcome management. He credited his
those who are not welcomed anywhere else.” spouse Myra, who died earlier
The interviewees recalled stories stretching back to the 1950s, shared how they feel about their parish and recapped this year, with being the family
what they have done over the years to grow their church. member who contributed mightily
Remembering the discrimination they once experienced, parishioners opened their church doors to all from the to her parish for 35 years.
beginning. “We who were once rejected will reject no one, not even those who have rejected us,” recalled Ora Houston, Wishing to honor the work

See St. James’, Austin, page 11

INSIDE
Bishops’ Calendars......................... 20 National & International..... 14-18 Features:
Bishop’s Column.............................. 2 Parish News............................ 4-9 Human Trafficking ..................................5
Calendar of Events......................... 10 Sam Todd’s Column..................19 Sport, Obsession or Secret .....................12

1 Texas Episcopalian • November 2010

 Atheists & the Apostles’ Teaching
Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers?
For more than thirty
years Episcopalians have
been regularly answering
this question from The Baptismal
Covenant with the response, “I will,
with God’s help.”
In the matter of at least the
apostles’ teaching, it would appear
that even God’s help has not been
sufficient to motivate many Episcopalians
to become conversant with their own faith
tradition.
The Pew Research Center’s Forum on
Religion and Public Life recently issued the
results of its first U. S. Religious Knowledge
survey. This survey measured a number of
aspects of religious life, including Americans’
knowledge of their own belief systems and
denominations.
The amazing finding of this study is that
“atheists and agnostics know more about religion
than the average American.” Next are Jews,
Mormons, evangelical Protestants, Catholics,
and then main-line Protestant denominations.
The researchers’ conclusions about these
results focus on the fact that atheists and
The Texas Episcopalian (since 1897) is an official
publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.
Mission: In the name of Jesus Christ, the Texas Episcopalian
seeks to inform the people in the diocese of events and
philosophies which affect the mission and life of the Church.
Publisher: The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle
Editor: Carol E. Barnwell, cbarnwell@epicenter.org
Layout: LaShane K. Eaglin, leaglin@epicenter.org
The Texas Episcopalian (ISSN# 1074-441X) is
published monthly except July and August for $15 a year
by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, 1225 Texas Ave.,
Houston, TX 77002-3504. Periodical postage paid at
Houston, Texas. Deadline is the 10th of the month
preceding publication. Articles, editorials and photos
should be submitted to the editor at the above e-mail
address. Photos will not be returned. Address changes
can be made at www.epicenter.org/infochange.
Postmaster: Address changes: THE TEXAS EPISCOPALIAN,
1225 Texas Ave., Houston, TX 77002-3504
Texas Episcopalian • November 2010
(Book of Common Prayer, page 304)
agnostics have come to their decisions after serious study
of the various forms of religious belief and practice. Those within the community.
scoring lower are not so intentional about study and on- It is not only study and
going faith development. learning which form us,
Any parish priest can outline the difficulties of attracting but also our worship,
adult learners to ongoing Christian formation. The fact our service to the world
seems to be that for many people graduation from Sunday and our personal prayer
School as a child, or the reception of Confirmation, meant and reflection about our
graduation from the study of scripture, theology, history, or Christian lives.
any of the other disciplines that shape our faith. It is no accident
As an antidote to this situation, I invite you to spend that Jesus was known as
some time with a document called “The Charter for Lifelong “Rabbi” or “Teacher” to
Christian Formation.” You can find the entire document his first followers. The
online at http://www.formationcharter.com/Services.html. foundation of teaching Bishop Suffragan Dena Harrison
The Charter is the work of Christian formation professionals which he offered them made it possible for God to be at work
from around The Episcopal Church, including our own within them and through them. They understood no faith
Janie Stevens, Missioner for Christian Formation, and has which existed apart from this ongoing learning, worship, and
been adopted by the General Convention of The Episcopal fellowship.
Church. Growth in faith and wisdom is always the gift of God.
It is a very rich resource built around the conviction Growth in knowledge is something we can seek, trusting that
that God invites, inspires and transforms all people. It defines God will use our study to open us to new dimensions of faith
lifelong Christian faith formation as “lifelong growth in the and service.
knowledge, service and love of God as followers of Christ. . .
informed by Scripture, Tradition, and Reason.”
It affirms the premise of The Baptismal Covenant that The Rt. Rev. Dena A. Harrision
the apostles’ teaching is embedded in prayer and worship Bishop Suffragan of Texas
Bishop High Announces Retirement
The Rt. Rev. Rayford B. High, Jr., announced his retirement at the annual
diocesan clergy conference October 25 at Camp Allen. Bishop High, who
will be 70 in April 2011, told the more than 300 clergy gathered that his
decision had been difficult and that his 44 years of ministry in the Diocese
of Texas held many blessings for both he and his wife Pat. He has served as
bishop suffragan for seven years.
“Each day I offer thanks to the Lord for calling me into ministry, first
as deacon, then priest, and now as bishop. I am deeply humbled by God’s call
and God’s continuing strength and presence in my life and ministry. What
a blessing it has been for me, Pat and my family to service Christ and Christ’s
Church and people,” Bishop High said.
There will be no election for a new suffragan bishop following Bishop
High’s retirement April 30, 2011, Bishop Andy Doyle said. “I have asked the
Standing Committee to allow me to appoint an assisting bishop and have
received their consent. I will ask Council delegates to approve the request in
February,” he said.
“We have been blessed by Rayford and Pat’s ministry among us and we will celebrate that at Council at a special
reception following the opening Eucharist, February 11,” Bishop Doyle said.”
Registration for the reception will be separate from Diocesan Council registration. Details will be included in
the Diolog, the diocesan enews.
2
 COUNCIL INFORMATION

162nd Diocesan
Nominations Form
162nd Diocesan Council, The Woodlands Texas, February 11-12, 2011
The Episcopal Diocese of Texas
(Please print or type)

Council
Full Name:_____________________________________________________________

Position Sought:_________________________________________________________

Address (city and zip):_____________________________________________________

Nominations

162
Please download (from www.epicenter.org) and complete the Phone (home):_________________________(work):_____________________________
nomination form at right and mail to the following address by
November 6, 2010: The Rev. Janice Jones, Grace Episcopal Church,
1314 E. University Ave., Georgetown, TX 78626. All nominations Fax:___________________________E-mail:__________________________________
must be received by mail as they require original signatures.
Additionally, please e-mail a recent photograph and a 50- Congregation:__________________________________________________________
75 word biographical sketch for publication online, highlighting
why you would like the position and believe you are qualified to:
nominations@epicenter.org. Education and Employment:_________________________________________________
Treasurer of the Diocese
Secretary of the Diocese _____________________________________________________________________

nd
Standing Committee (1 lay, 1 clergy)
Executive Board (3 lay, 2 clergy) _____________________________________________________________________
Trustee of the Church Corporation (1 lay or clergy)
Trustee of the University of the South (1 clergy) Church (local and diocesan) and Community Service:_______________________________
The year before each National Convention the following
are elected (Convention occurs every three years. The next
Convention will be held in 2012.) _____________________________________________________________________

Diocesan
Provincial Synod Delegates - clergy (4 delegates, 4 alternates)

Council
Provincial Synod Delegates - lay (4 delegates, 4 alternates) _____________________________________________________________________
National Convention Deputies - clergy (4 delegates, 4 alternates)
National Convention Deputies - lay (4 delegates, 4 alternates) _____________________________________________________________________

Constitution & Canons

Any delegate to the 2011 Diocesan Council wishing to propose Other (anything you would like to add):_________________________________________
an amendment to the Constitution or Canons of the Diocese of
Texas should submit a written copy of the proposed amendment
by e-mail or facsimile, on or before November 15, 2010, to Maria _____________________________________________________________________
Wyckoff Boyce, chair of Constitution and Canons Committee.
E-mail address is maria.boyce@bakerbotts.com; fax number is _____________________________________________________________________
713.229.2722.

Resolutions Signature of Nominee:_____________________________________________________

Resolutions for the 162nd Council of the Diocese of Texas
must be received in the mail by the Rev. Bert Baetz no later than Nominated by:__________________________________________________________
November 15, 2010. Please mail all resolutions to: The Rev. Bert
Baetz, 2128 Barton Hills Drive, Austin, Texas 78704.
The original resolution must be signed by an official delegate
or alternate to either the 161st or 162nd Councils of the Diocese of IMPORTANT: Please complete this form and mail to the following address by November 6, 2010:
Texas. Please include three copies of the resolution with the original. The Rev. Janice Jones, Grace Episcopal Church, 1314 E. University Ave., Georgetown, TX 78626. 
Note that the committee for Resolutions can make changes to the
form (not content) of a resolution received so that all resolutions All nominations must be received by mail as they require original signatures.
meet the standard form. The mover of the resolution will be notified
if changes are made. For more information about the committee
for Resolutions or the resolution process, please refer to Canon 2,
Additionally, e-mail a recent photograph and a 50-75 word biographical sketch, written in the
Section 1 of the Constitution and Canons of the Diocese of Texas first person, highlighting why you would like the position and believe you are qualified to fill it.
or contact Baetz at 512.444.1449. E-mail to: nominations@epicenter.org. These will be used online and at pre-council meetings.

3 Texas Episcopalian • November 2010


New Horizon Set for Special Needs Children
Ashley Swaty (r) helps Tyler Jones with a building project with Patricia Billiot, a Home Depot supervisor.
By Luke Blount
L
ori and Tom Ferazzi were out of options. For years,
they searched for the best educational opportunities
for their son, Eric, who has Down syndrome, but every
road was a dead end. Their journey eventually led home to their
church, Good Shepherd, Friendswood, where their rector,
the Rev. Jim Nelson helped them found the Horizon School.
Public schools try to accommodate children with special
needs, but the Ferazzis didn’t see Eric reaching his potential
there. They scouted private schools, but were met with
waiting lists. In 2009, Eric had been on one waiting list for
more than seven years.
“Lori had a lot of sleepless nights over things she could
not control,” Tom said. “We just needed an alternative.”
After the decision to start The Horizon School for
children with Down syndrome or similar developmental
delays, they sought classroom space in area private schools
but were turned away.
The Ferazzis were hopeful after spoke to Nelson about
space at Good Shepherd where they had been members for
eight years. Nelson loved the idea but wanted to give the
pre-school an opportunity to express their thoughts since
students would share some space.
“There was a presentation to the parents, but contrary
to what I would have anticipated, the anxiety was about why
we couldn’t have more interaction between the schools,”
Texas Episcopalian • November 2010
PARISH NEWS
teacher, Ashly Swaty. Although the tuition is less
than some other private school options, there are
currently five children on the waitlist to get in
because their families can’t afford to send them.
“We want to institute a lower sliding scale
or some type of scholarship program to make
this accessible to everybody,” Tom said. “We want
diversity in the school.”
The school has had successful fundraisers
ranging from selling pajamas to hosting a golf
tournament, and they are always looking for ideas.
For the Ferazzis, the issue of funding is just another
obstacle to overcome.
“Over the years there have been struggles
with Eric having heart surgery and choking issues,
but the hardest thing we have had to deal with
is the education system,” Lori said. “We didn’t
understand why no one could see the potential in
our child, and now The Horizon School has given
us hope. That’s what we want to give back to these
parents.”
“When you have a child with special needs
you do ask ‘why God, why me’,” she said. “I truly
believe this is the reason why.”
Nelson said. “And that was a delight for me to hear.”
In August 2009, The Horizon School began
classes adjacent to the Good Shepherd School. The
two schools share chapel time every day, and every
fourth week, Horizon School students lead the
service for the pre-school children.
The Horizon School also offers their students
other opportunities to lead and discover through
actions. Students take drama and music classes,
practice yoga, volunteer with Meals on Wheels, and
even take a regular sailing trip through the Heart of
Sailing Foundation.
“We wanted more community-based
instruction,” Tom said. “Hopefully what you end
up with is for each child to be able to get a job and
be a little bit more independent.”
As The Horizon School became more involved
around Good Shepherd, the community also
changed and adjusted.
“I have seen a difference in the sense of pride
we have in housing The Horizon School,” Nelson
said. “One of the benefits that people with Down
syndrome bring to a community is a wonderful
innocence that God adores and continues to keep
in front of them. It puts things in perspective.”
Now in its second year, The Horizon School
Lori and Eric Ferazzi
serves four children under the supervision of
4
 PARISH NEWS

Human Trafficking is Modern Day Slavery

English Parliament just three days before his
death.   Ironically, the slave trade  industry today  is
more prolific than it ever was in Wilberforce’s
time.  Today’s horror is not the trafficking of slaves
from Africa, but  rather  the trafficking  of young
girls and boys  around the world  into the sex
slave industry and forced labor. Human trafficking
is modern day slavery in its most brutal form.  It is
the second largest criminal industry in the world,
after weapons and illegal drug trade,  and  it is the
fastest growing. While it once was thought to be a
problem beyond America’s borders, the truth is very
different.   and spiritual needs as well as life and job skills thus restoring
trafficking. As a result of this problem a statewide Human
Trafficking Prevention Task Force was designated by the
Texas Legislature in 2009 to develop policies and procedures
to assist in preventing and prosecuting human trafficking
crimes.
A group of women from St. John the Divine, Houston,
and others in the community have identified two goals: 1) to
bring awareness of the issue, education and volunteerism to
the broader Christian community, and 2) to be involved in the
establishment of the first safe haven in Houston for domestic
minor trafficked girls  where they can receive long-term
rehabilitation by  addressing their medical,  educational

E
According to Shared Hope International as their human freedom.

A L many as 100,000 to 300,000 American children are To address the first goal of awareness and education, St.

S
victimized into prostitution each year. Twenty-five John the Divine hosted a Human Trafficking Awareness night
percent of all human trafficking victims are in Texas, on Wednesday, October 13. The event included speakers

OR according to the U.S. Department of Health and from three leading organizations  dealing with the issue of

F
Human Services. And research shows the average human trafficking in Houston: Children at Risk; Houston

T
age of entry into prostitution in the United States is Rescue and Restore and Free the Captives. The second goal
Photo by Carol E. Barnwell

O
12-13 years old. Houston has about 6,000 runaways is being addressed by interfacing with other organizations to

N
annually and an estimated one out of every three help establish the first safe house in Houston for domestic
children who run away is lured into sex trafficking minor victims of sex trafficking.  Children at Risk has just
within 48 hours of leaving home.  announced that they have established a “Safe House Now”
While the exact numbers are difficult to obtain, Task Force and are pursuing a public/private partnership
all agencies agree on one very troubling fact: human to develop a safe house in Houston that will serve as a
trafficking is by far the fastest-growing criminal model for other communities in Texas and nationally. For
By Nikki Richnow enterprise and profit is the motive because, unlike more information or to help establish a safe house, contact:

W
illiam Wilberforce devoted his life to abolishing drugs or guns that are sold once, a person can be used over Nikki Richnow at nrichnow@sbcglobal.net or call her at
the African slave trade and  witnessed the and over again. That is why so many criminals are moving 713.877.1096.
passage of the Slavery Abolition Act by the from dealing drugs or guns to the sex trade and human

Girl Scout Betters Local Arts INCIDENT REPORT by Jade & Tom Frank
DATE: The day after a storm — back a while ago

Center to Earn Gold Award

Girl Scout Senior Sara
Ruffing, a member of St.
Christopher’s, Houston,
held a dance clinic
for underprivileged
children to earn the
Girl Scouts of San
Jacinto Council Gold
Award, the highest
award a Girl Scout can
achieve. Less than five percent
of girls who join Girl Scouts earn
this recognition.
“I learned that leadership skills are very important to
have and that they will be great assets in my career,” Ruffing
said.
Earning the Gold Award is a significant honor that
requires recipients to demonstrate outstanding leadership
skills, career planning, community involvement and personal
development. It takes more than 100 service hours and
two to three years of intensive work to complete the award
requirements, which include planning and completing a
project that is a service to the community.
“I chose this project because I wanted to address the
issues of poverty and childhood obesity,” Ruffing said. “I
wanted to introduce dance to underprivileged children as a
fun, inexpensive way to exercise.”
Ruffing’s dance clinic was held over the course of four
days. Each two-hour session had more than 30 children
in attendance. She led volunteers in teaching the children
stretching, warm-up exercises and different styles of dancing,
and addressed the importance of healthy living, including
exercise and diet. Finally, she had a professional ballet dancer
visit with the students.
At Memorial High School, Ruffing was a member of
Mustang Mentors, student council, basketball, drill team,
track, volleyball and National Honor Society. She was
also valedictorian of her class and an active member of St.
Christopher’s. Ruffing is studying business and Spanish at
Texas A&M University.
PLACE: The driveway of our home
TIME: Sunday Morning
We were minding our own business, sweating and
grumbling as we tried to cut up a tree which had fallen
in our yard during the storm. We had just begun to
realize that this was going to take a loooong time with
these crummy hand tools — which were all we had.
Just then a couple of strangers were driving by … but
they stopped. And the man (a big man!) got out and
ambled over to say, “Hey, neighbor. I’m on my way to
church but when I get back I’ll come over and make
short work of this with my chain saw, if you don’t
mind.”
As he drove away we thought “Yeah, right!” When he
had not reappeared after an hour (turns out Episcopal
services take a while!) we decided to take a break and
go do some chores. When we got home, the tree was all
cut up and the wood was neatly stacked.
But wait, the story wasn’t over! Jade & baby Loretta
Cheyenne Frank were baptized at St. Alban’s, Austin,
several months later Evangelism with a chain saw –
what a concept.

5 Texas Episcopalian • November 2010


Wisdom of Elders Shared at Sage Events, Online
E
veryone remembers at least one incredible story they
heard about their parents, grandparents or another
loved one – and sometimes those stories were told
first-hand. Too often, though, we miss hearing those stories
because there aren’t good venues for them. Unlike other
cultures, our American culture rarely sets aside time to
honor and to listen to its elders. We wait too long, and then
we can’t even ask them about their stories – they’re no longer
among us.
To ensure the stories aren’t lost, St. Matthew’s, Austin,
began a program to gather and share stories from the elders
of St. Matthew’s, funded by a grant from its endowment
fund. The program, known as the St. Matthew’s Sages,
highlights the experience and wisdom of its senior members
in the stories about joys and challenges in their family lives
and careers.
About 30 members of St. Matthew’s were invited to be
pioneers for this program in 2010. Half were contacted
for a celebration in Spring and the other half for a Fall
celebration. To gather the stories, two members of a St.
Matthew’s Sages team visit with the individual or couple
participating, talking with them about their lives. Using
previously gathered background information, they delve
into whatever the interviewees wish to share. Interview
sessions are captured on video, expected to be treasures
for the interviewees and their children, as well as for the
members of St. Matthew’s, who can check them out from
the church library.
Key portions of each interview are documented in a
written story. Throughout the year, those appear in the
monthly newsletter of the church, and segments of the video
stories are placed on the St. Matthew’s YouTube channel.
At the celebration events, attendees talk with the sages
and get a copy of their written stories. Sages are presented
Jim Newman, 95, is St. Mathew’s oldest parishioner. He offers
this sage advice: a strong person is strong enough to listen
to both sides of an argument, God is supreme and don’t take
yourself too seriously. Originally from Portsmouth, Ohio, Jim
and his wife Betty moved to Austin in 1967 when he went to
work for IBM. To see videos of St. Matthew’s Sages go to www.
youtube.com/stmattsaustin.
Texas Episcopalian • November 2010
PARISH NEWS
with a commemorative pin, and everyone gets to see snippets
of their video story. The Fall celebration will be held
the afternoon of Sunday, November 14, with a reception
following. The Spring celebration was held on May 2. To
give you an idea of what was included, see pictures of the
event at http://tinyurl.com/STMSagesMay2. Those who
will be celebrated in November include: Pat Boon, Anna
The Work of Hospitality
By Nandra Perry
H
ere’s what I knew beforehand: Family Promise is
an organization that helps homeless families get
back on their feet. Local churches take turns
providing meals, shelter and hospitality, while parents look
for work and affordable housing.
It sounded simple enough. And that is exactly what
I was looking for, something simple I could do with Ruby
that would gently introduce her to the responsibilities that
came with her brand new baptismal covenant: something
world-expanding, but not traumatizing, something that
she would have to work at, but not so hard that she would
feel resentful about it later, something that felt rewarding
to her without feeling cheap or condescending to me. This
program looked made to order, so I volunteered us for what
I thought would be the simplest job of all, hospitality. Our
job, if you could even call it that, would be to play and eat
with the children. How hard could that be?
Here is what I know now: hospitality, real hospitality,
is hard work. And I am not very good at it. I think what
I had imagined was more on the order of entertaining. I
would bring all my best manners and good intentions, plus
a cute kid. And together, Ruby and I would be so charming
and gracious and fun that the other children (the homeless
ones) would forget their troubles for a while, and we would
play games together and laugh and talk, and then we would
all sit down at one big table and share a meal, just like Jesus
would do. visit together. If I was shocked by how complicated real
But then we got there, and it suddenly dawned on me
that perhaps that is not at all what Jesus would do, that
hospitality, unlike entertaining, has very little to do with
our best manners or our charming selves. As a matter of
fact, it confronts us with everything we, with our good
manners and good intentions, would really rather smooth
over, things like the reality of what it actually means to be
homeless.
In the case of these (admittedly fortunate) families,
what it means to be homeless is that every meal is taken
in the company of strangers; and by strangers, I don’t just
mean people they don’t know. I, for one, am a stranger
twice over, someone they don’t know, whose life has been
shaped by enough privilege that my daughter and I are
unlikely ever to find ourselves in this place as anything
other than volunteers.
The structure of Family Promise makes it impossible
6
Dodge, Joyce and Joe Evans, Harriet and David Houston,
the Rev. Chuck Huffman and Carolyn Huffman, Cornelia
and Tom LeMond and Sherm Strance.
The celebration will be followed by a special worship
event, a Folk Mass sung by the Rev. Chuck Huffman, one
of the sages, accompanied by St. Matthew’s musicians who
played for services in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
to elide these simple facts. This is not a soup kitchen. Ruby
and I can’t just do our bit and then go home feeling all
pleased with ourselves. For now, the space we are standing
in is a family dining room, and even though I am washing
the dishes and setting out the food, I am less a host than a
guest. I am listening in on another mother’s after-school
banter with her children. I am sitting down at her table at
the end of her very long day.
What I am learning is that hospitality requires that
I be less charming and more quiet, sometimes not even
technically polite. This past week, for example, Geri,
Susannah and I did not eat with the families, but at a
separate table with the other volunteers. We didn’t talk
about it, but I suspect we were all responding to the same
sensed need. The two families who had come for dinner
had become friends, and their children enjoyed each other’s
company. What they needed from us was not more of our
conversation, but a quiet night at home. It doesn’t always
work out that way, but that there’s no one way things always
work out is precisely my point. This isn’t a dinner party.
It’s real life, complete with cranky, hungry kids, exhausted
silences and meals that don’t always happen on time or
please every palate.
This week was only my second time to volunteer,
and Ruby was not able to come with me, so it is too soon
to say how she will be shaped by this experience. What
I do know is how much I learned from her on that first
hospitality was for me as an adult, I was equally shocked by
how naturally it came to her as a child. Bless her, Ruby was
entirely uninterested in being gracious or charming. Like
the Family Promise kids, she was tired and hungry after a
long day at school.
There I was, aglow with good intentions, trying so hard
to channel what I thought looked like the love of Christ, but
coming off more like a really chatty Avon Lady. Ruby just
ate her taco and then plopped down in front of the TV with
all the other kids to watch a cartoon. An hour later, they
were still there, all of them silent and covered in ice cream.
It isn’t what Martha Stewart would do, but I suspect it is a
good deal closer to the true spirit of Christian hospitality
than anything I’ve yet managed.
Reprinted with permission from the St. Francis’, College
Station’s newsletter.
 PARISH NEWS
Moving Forward Conference
Held at Cathedral
transgendered (LGBT)
people in the life and ministry
of The Episcopal Church.”
Eiserloh said they were
encouraged by a resolution
passed at the February 2010
Diocesan Council meeting
that said, in part, “the 161st
Council of the Diocese of
Texas…claims unity in the
midst of our diversity and…
that all sorts and conditions
of humanity, regardless
of gender, ethnicity, race,
nationality, or sexual
orientation, and especially all
of God’s children entrusted
to our care, are loved beyond
measure by God in Christ,
are welcomed and valued in
our institutions, mission,
Laurie Eiserloh and James Cowan read at the opening Eucharist, October 1.
ministries, and parishes, and
By Katie Sherrod are a blessing to our collective
[Episcopal News Service] The “Moving Forward, Exploring life as we engage together in mission and ministry.”
a New Path to Full Inclusion” conference at Christ Church The council also resolved that “all people in our
Cathedral in Houston in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas was communities and their relationships [should] receive the
meant to change the way people in the diocese approached pastoral care, time, attention and honor they are due as God
consideration of the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual is revealed in and through them and as God works to change
and transgender (LGBT) people in the life of the church. us all into a holy people.”
Organizers pointed out that the Episcopal Church has Reynolds presided at the opening Eucharist on the
been talking about the issue since 1964. This conversation night of October 1. Bonnie Anderson, president of the
has happened at General Conventions, at House of Bishops House of Deputies, preached about the hard work of living
meetings, and, more rarely, in individual dioceses and in community and of the dangers of trying to live without
parishes. community, of letting fear separate one from another.
“We wanted to find a way to help [the Diocese of ] Texas “There is God…mixing us up together in a holy mess
have those conversations and to contribute to the national of people who we would never in all our lives choose for
conversation, but in a way that tries to engage those who ourselves…putting us into impossible situations, with
disagree and does not drive them away,” said the Very Rev. impossible people and asking us to do impossible things
Joe Reynolds, dean of Christ Church Cathedral. and then giving us the impossibly amazing gifts to do these
“We realized after General Convention 2009 that what impossible things,” she said.
we were doing in the Diocese of Texas around the issue of The next morning, Anderson and Sally Johnson,
inclusion was not working,” said Laurie Eiserloh of Austin. Anderson’s chancellor, presented the history of the
“We had to try something different.” Episcopal Church, its polity, its canons and constitution
So on October 2, 2010, the parish hall of Christ Church and its relationship to the Anglican Communion. They also
Cathedral was filled almost to capacity with people eager to discussed the 45-year-long movement toward full inclusion
learn how to talk with one another across the divide of their of LGBT people that covered all the various statements,
differences on the issue of human sexuality. studies, resolutions and calls for dialogue.
Eiserloh and Reynolds are two of several conference The Rev. Lisa Hunt, rector of St. Stephen’s, Houston,
organizers, a self-described “group of Texas Episcopalians presented three articles as examples of conservative viewpoints
who favor the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and on how the church might move forward despite its difference
7 Texas Episcopalian • November
on human sexuality. They included one from James A.
Baker III, former U.S. Secretary of State and a member of
St. Martin’s, Houston, and one by St. Martin’s rector, the
Rev. Russell Levenson Jr., both published in the Spring 2010
edition of Virginia Theological Seminary’s News From the
Hill; and one by Bishop Edward S. Little II of Northern
Indiana published in The Living Church in September 2009.
During a panel on “inclusion conversations that work,”
the Rev. John Bedingfield of St. John’s, Silsbee, in rural
East Texas told of the experience he had when he share d
personal conversations about full inclusion with the parish.
What began with literal fear and trembling ended with the
realization that people are longing for such modeling of civil
conversations, he said.
“You have to move beyond fear, and you have to make
space for the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Anne Brown, director of communications for
the Diocese of Vermont, said one key to the success of
conversations in Vermont was in shifting from the focus on
sex to a focus on the love manifested in the relationship.
Seattle-based Jason Sierra from the Young Adult and
Campus Ministries of the Episcopal Church talked about the
ways different generations approach the idea of inclusion.
For conversations about inclusion to work, “they must be
multi-generational, they must be narrative and they must be
now,” he said. “We can’t afford any more suicides of young
people.”
Finally, Tamika Caston, an educator and spiritual
director in Houston, told of her and her partner’s work at
continuing a conversation with their respective families
about their relationship, one made more interesting by the
fact that Caston is African American and her partner is white.
The conference also considered the work done for the
House of Bishops’ Theology Committee to write “Same Sex
Relationships in the Life of the Church” and the Standing
Commission on Liturgy and Music’s work on collecting
and developing theological and liturgical resources for
the blessing of same-sex relationships for consideration at
General Convention in 2012 as called for in Resolution
C056 from the 2009 meeting of convention.
Many of those attending were from parishes or
organizations calling themselves Conversation Partners.
Cowan said that while some Conversation Partners groups
have among their members those who agree and disagree
on the issue of full inclusion of LGBT people, nevertheless
“they support heartfelt and respectful conversation. Our
diocese is hungry for meaningful dialogue about how to
make our church fully inclusive of lesbians and gay men
who are committed Christians while maintaining unity
with our brothers and sisters who are struggling to reconcile
traditional views on sex and marriage.”
Sherrod is an independent writer and producer, director of
communications for the Diocese of Fort Worth and a member of
the Episcopal Church’s Executive Council.
2010

Joyous Noise of Growth
Children are active participants at Christ Church, Cedar Park. Photo: Bob Kinney
By Bob Kinney
W
hen children are asked to come forward and
take part in the closing hymn at the 10:30
Sunday service at Christ Church, Cedar
Park, they indeed do make a Joyous Noise.
After choosing a musical instrument – or a few – from
woven baskets around the altar piano, the playful children
accompany the choir with tunes and smiles as family members
and other parishioners look on. It symbolizes the church’s
intention to significantly include children in the ministry of
worship and caps a meaningful Sunday experience for the
pre-kindergarten through sixth grade youth who, at times,
number more than 50.
Children arrive at church with their families and
stay with parents in pews through the Scripture readings.
Crossroads children (grades four through six) and the Kid’s
Kingdom pre-k through third grade group then process out
of church to the colorful education building to attend a
children’s chapel service.
The younger Kid’s Kingdom children then take part
in a rotational program of Sunday School that explores one
Bible lesson a month through a different teaching approach
each Sunday – art, cooking and drama. October’s topic
was the Book of Ruth and the teaching and learning took
place in the parishioner-built, child-decorated and pun-
appropriate rooms – the Master Peace Theatre (a dramatic
play room), Thou Art Studio (arts and crafts room) and the
Garden of Eatin’ (a food and science area). Since all children
learn differently, the hope is that one approach (or more)
will click with each child, said Jennifer Cowles, minister of
Kid’s Kingdom, who is assisted by a team of adult volunteers
named Shepherds. Details of the program with photos of the
fanciful workshop/classrooms are at www.cectx.org
Marilee Verdesca and her Crossroads Shepherds
Texas Episcopalian • November 2010
PARISH NEWS
The cattle and deer remain but the bucolic church
campus now includes a welcoming, cleanly-designed, 220-
seat sanctuary with large windows and video screens, as well
as four other rustic wood and stone buildings. Parishioners
built a serene outdoor labyrinth and Stations of the Cross
pathway among the land’s many sprawling live-oak trees in
recent years.
The church’s congregation has grown to about 150
members. Many families with young children attended a
recent Sunday service where the climate is decidedly Texas
Hill Country casual – jeans or dresses and sandals or boots.
Bonner, who previously ministered at Epiphany,
Houston, and St. Mark’s, Bay City, complements the church’s
tone by eschewing the usual celebrant chair on the altar and
sits instead in the front pew with Kathryn during scripture
readings.
“We are not your typical Episcopalians,” Bonner says.
“Some newcomers have freaked out at what they experience
during their first church visit; but most others say ‘This is
cool’ and join us.”
lead older children in a curriculum geared to their
developmental level and separate from the rotation
program. Crossroads also prepares children for
Confirmation.
All children then return to church at Holy
Communion time and sit with their families until they
are called forward to make a Joyous Noise at the end of
the service.
“We involve kids early in our worship in hopes
they will continue to contribute as they grow older. We
are already beginning to see this happen,” said the Rev.
Bruce Bonner, rector, noting about 20 teenagers attend a
special Wednesday evening youth service hosted by teen
minister Melissa Cox.
One of the church’s four core values is “We cherish
children as members of God’s Kingdom.”
“We desire for our kids to minister to adults – not so
much the other way around,” Bonner said.
Bonner, who asked to come to the then-struggling
Christ Church with spouse Kathryn five years ago,
credits the children and teen ministers with creating the
programs that have increased youth participation ten-
fold in the past few years. Bonner also praises Brielle
and Dan Giard, parents of two Kid’s Kingdom children,
with providing the vision for “wanting to do something
different with child ministry.”
Brielle symbolizes what the parish hopes for many
of its children. She grew up attending the 25-year-old
church when it consisted of one house on a six-acre plot Holiday Market and Luncheon hosted by St. James’, Houston,
surrounded on three sides by grazing cattle and deer on Episcopal Church Women. Featuring author Reshonda Tate
the western edge of Cedar Park. She brought her husband Billingsley speaking about her latest novel “Holy Rollers.”
Dan into Christ Church when they married, served as Saturday, December 4 at 11:30 a.m., $35. Market place opens at
10:30 a.m. and will be open after the luncheon. Contact Karen
youth minister and did much to envision what their two
Wesley at kwesley@stjameshouston.org or 713.526.9571. St.
children now experience in Kid’s Kingdom. James’ is located at 3129 Southmore Blvd., Houston, TX 77004.
8

Good Shepherd, Kingwood Trinity, The Woodlands
Honors School Founder
R obert (Bob) Martone, longtime member of Good
Shepherd, Kingwood, and former Holy Trinity
Episcopal School Board member, was honored in a Founders’
Day Celebration October 5 by the school. His initial vision,
dedicated efforts and continuted support have helped to
make the school a reality, and the school will graduate its first
senior May, 2011. Middle School student, Kyle Duncan,
addressed the audience, thanking Martone for his efforts,
and senior Natalie Russell, read a poem she had written
about her vision for the Upper School as its first graduating
senior. Board member Brad Dill honored Martone and the
Rev. Jim Abernathey presented the award.
St. James’, Austin
Jazz Concert Series
N ew Orleans great alto saxophonist Donald Harrison
and the Donald Harrison Quintet will headline this
year’s Jazz at St. James’ Concert Series November 5-7.
Harrison, known for his Nouveau Swing style of classic
jazz, will be joined by special guest, the number one-rated
baritone sax player, Gary Smulyan. Other members of his
quintet include Joseph Dyson on drums, Max Moran on
bass and Zaccai Curtis on piano.
The 16th annual event opens with the Rich Harney
Quintet. In addition to Harney on piano, Jake Langley on
guitar, Chris Maresh on bass and Scott Lanningham on drums
complete the group. Saturday night, Temple Industries will
play (Philippe Vieux/flute, D-Madness/electric bass, Bernard
Wright/keyboards, Brannen Temple/drums and composer/
arranger of all original music).
“Donald Harrison has a unique knack for mixing
rhythms to come up with something fresh for the musician
and the listener alike,” said Carl Allen, the artistic director of
Jazz Studies at The Julliard School of Music.
The music continues with a jazz mass on Sunday at 10:15
a.m. Harrison and Smulyan will lead the now traditional
workshop and “informance” on Saturday morning at 11 for
jazz students and fans of all ages at no charge.
Tickets for evening performances are on sale now at
www.JazzAtStJames.org, at Waterloo Records and Mitchie’s
Gallery. Tickets will be available at the door. Advance tickets
are $25, tickets at the door payable by cash or check, are
$30 for the general public and $20 for students with I.D.
Call St. James’ office, M-F, 10-4, 512.926.6339 for further
information.
Friday and Saturday night performances begin at 7:30
p.m.; doors open at 6:30 p.m. St. James’ is located at 1941
Webberville Rd., Austin, TX 78721.
Correction:
The profile on the Rev. Amy Donahue, “Father Amy
Concludes 14 year Medical Chaplaincy in Round
Rock” in the October issue of the Texas Episcopalian
was written by Bob Kinney. Kinney was also the
photographer. His byline was accidently omitted
from the story. We regret the error.
PARISH NEWS
Joins with Lutherans for
Veteran Service
I n the Woodlands community, a group of religiously-
minded people are joining to produce a Veteran’s Day
Service of Recognition and Remembrance, November 11
at 7 p.m.
From a meeting over coffee, two members from
Trinity Episcopal and Lord of Life Lutheran churches met
to discuss the combined service. In 2009, these neighboring
churches each held their own Veteran’s Day gathering but
realized the possibility of a greater combined attendance at
a cooperative event.
The Service of Recognition and Remembrance will
be held at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 3801 S. Panther
Creek Drive in The Woodlands, with Trinity members
providing food, ushers and greeters. Spirit of Joy! Lutheran
Church will also participate. Doors open after 6:00 p.m.
Additional parking is provided across Panther Creek Drive
at McCullough Junior High School.
This event benefits the Michael E. Debakey VA
Medical Center Social Emergency Welfare Fund that
assists veterans who may not have monies needed to meet
required appointments and services being delivered by the
VA Hospital.
Prior to worship, Klein High School ROTC members
will form a welcoming line at the entrance to church. Flags
will be presented in procession by veterans at the beginning
of this worship service.
Two highlights will be recognizing the conflicts to
which we have been a part, from World War I through
Afghanistan, the congregants will be asked to stand if a
family member (or someone they knew) participated in
that conflict. A bell will be tolled at the recitation of each
conflict for all who died.
The second is the echoing of Taps by two trumpeters,
concluding the prayer service. All attendees will be asked to
adjourn for food and fellowship.
We ask anyone who chooses to share their evening in a
Veteran’s Day of Honor and Remembrance, please join us.
9 Texas Episcopalian • November
St. Andrew’s , Pearland
The church has left the building!
T he church has left the building! This was the declaration
made throughout Pearland as 230 St. Andrew’s
parishioners went out and worked on six home projects, two
roadside clean up projects, a senior center, two school projects
and a children’s art project for MD Anderson. Children 2-4
years of age went to a retirement center to make wreaths
with the residents, while still other members remained at the
church for a prayer vigil.
“We don’t just go to church,” said the Rev. Jim Libertore,
rector of St. Andrew’s, “We are the church!” For more
information on how you can “leave the church” contact
Libertore at: frjimbo@msn.com and see more pictures
at: http://tiny.cc/w6y24 or read his great blog at: http://
gamma909.wordpress.com/.
Praying at 30,000 Feet
By Arthur Callaway
E verything on this flight was going wrong. First,
I was stuck in a window seat. And I never sit in
a window seat. My bad knee cramps if I can’t stretch
it into the aisle. The battery in my iPod was shot. I’d
finished my book, and now my computer screen had
died, so I couldn’t even catch up on work.
I travel a lot for business, and plane rides were
certainly nothing new. But a flight with nothing to
distract me? This is sure going to be a long two hours, I
thought.
I laid my head back. Maybe I could get some
sleep. But as soon as I closed my eyes, problems filled
my mind, like the drought we were having back home
in Texas. It had been over a month since we’d seen rain.
My yard, my plants—everything was dying. Farmers
and ranchers were suffering.
I opened my eyes and turned my head to look
out the window. We were flying due south of Phoenix.
The land far below was a patchwork of tan and brown.
Then came a soft prompting: Why don’t you
pray for those people down there? They need rain too.
I certainly had the time up here. Lord, it’s been a hot
dry summer. There’s a lot of folks who need rain… I
began. The plane flew on, and the scenery changed to
mountains, then cities and freeways.
Sometimes all I could see were layers of clouds.
But I never ran out of things to pray for: mothers,
fathers, children, grandparents, the earth…
When I finally felt the soft thud of the landing
gear against the runway, I could hardly believe so much
time had passed. In fact, I had never felt so good at the
end of a flight. I was energized. Hopeful. Ready to face
whatever might come my way. It wasn’t until I exited
baggage claim and headed out to the parking lot with
my gear that I realized something extraordinary—it
was raining.
Callaway is a member of Christ Church, Cedar Park
Reprinted with permission from Guideposts. Copyright © 2010 by
Guideposts. All rights reserved. www.guideposts.org
2010
 Calendar

Calendar
November
4 Lecture on the excavation of the legendary fortress city of Bylazora, a Paionian city that
predates the Macedonians. Dr. William Neidinger, director of The Texas Foundation for
Archaeological & Historical Research will deliver the lecture at St. Martin’s, Houston, at
7 p.m. Free of charge and open to all. For more information, contact info@tfahr.org.

5-6 St. Peter’s Art Show & Sale, Brenham. Reception and silent auction on Friday evening,
show and sale continues Saturday with paintings, jewelry, pottery, stained glass and mosaic
icons, featuring bird carver Myrv Cron. No cost, contact Carol Muegee at 979.836.7248
for more information. www.stpetersbrenham.org.

7 All Saints’ Choral Evensong at St. John the Divine, 2450 River Oaks Boulevard,
Houston, TX 77019. 3 p.m. concert/3:30 Solemn Evensong. www.sjd.org

7 Icons and Saints at EDOT Gallery through December, featuring the work of Houston
artist, Caroline Furlong and Beatrice Baldwin, art instructor at St. Stephen’s Episcopal
School, Austin along with several pieces by Baldwin’s students. Open M-F, 9-5. Call
713.520.6444 for groups. See story, page 11.

10-12 Youth ministers’ retreat, Camp Allen. A time of sanctuary and relaxation. Contact Erin
McClure for details at emmcclure@epicenter.org.

11-14 Cursillo #230, a renewal weekend where lay and clergy are strengthened and formed
for ministry and mission. Contact Carol McCauley at c.mccauley@sbcglobal.net or call
832.717.7794.

12-14 Soulfood retreat, sponsored by Episcopal Recovery Ministries at Camp Allen. For more
information, contact: Sandra Raney at 281.727.6917. Registration forms are available at:

Touring Historic
http://tinyurl.com/24fay2n

8-12 Iconography class at the Institute for Spirituality and Health with Caroline Furlong.
More information at: http://tiny.cc/9lih4q0u10. Furlongs icons are currently at EDOT

13
Gallery, 1225 Texas Ave., Houston, in the Diocesan Center through December.

7th Annual Diocesan Youth Choral Festival for those in grades 3-12 under the
direction of guest conductor Joseph Painter of St. James’, Conroe. During the festival
day, choristers will rehearse and offer the music they have prepared with care, singing in
the beauty of Christ Church Cathedral. The day concludes with the Festival Evensong at
3 p.m. The public is invited to attend. To register as a participant, contact Bruce Power
tbpower@christchurchcathedral.org, 713.590.3310.
19 Final deadline for Mission Funding Commitment Responses to the diocese.
Contact Kathy Culmer with questions. kculmer@epicenter.org or call 713.520.6444 or
800.318.4452.
19-21 Happening for high school-aged students to develop and nourish spirituality in
fellowship. Contact Erin McClure at emcclure@epicenter.org or call 800.318.4452.
19-21 Youth Encounter Spirit (Y.E.S.) weekend for 7-9th graders to help foster a clearer
appreciation of self, others and Christ. Contact Erin McClure at emcclure@epicenter.
org or call 800.318.4452
Churches in England
An exciting opportunity has been planned to visit Hereford, England, June
8-15, 2011. Whether you are an avid photographer, history buff or music lover, this
intimate trip promises to bring with it new friends and a greater appreciation for our
shared anglican history. One of the many attractions at the Hereford Cathedral is the
Hanging Library, which houses books that are more than 1000 years old. Limited
reservations are available. Read more about the Diocese of Hereford at www.hereford.
anglican.org/ or email cbarnwell@epicenter.org for a brochure.
Cost: $1,400 (includes hotel and some meals but does not include travel to
Hereford) A deposit of $250 per person is required by December 1, 2010 to hold a
reservation. Payment should be made to the Walter Mace Memorial Chapter, VGEC
and mailed to Richard Evans at:
Richard V. Evans, President
Walter Mace Memorial Chapter, VGEC
309 Fannin Drive
Hewitt, TX 76643
For questions, contact Richard at: evans.62@gmail.com

Integrity Houston Eucharist American Boychoir in Austin, January 27, 2011

(followed by dinner) The world-renowned American Boychoir will give a concert at the Episcopal Church of
Third Friday of the month at 7:00 p.m. the Resurrection, Austin, Monday, January 27, 2011 at 7 p.m. Tickets are onsale now for
Golding Chapel at Christ Church Cathedral $20 ($30 at the door) through the church’s office. Call 512.459.0027 or e-mail ecraustin@
ecraustin.org for further information. The concert will be at the church, 2200 Justin Lane,
1117 Texas Avenue, Houston Austin TX 78757. This is the Boychoir’s sole performance in Austin and is presented in
conjunction with the Austin Girls’ Choir.
Free P a r k i n g i n t h e C a t h e d r a l G a r a g e a t Te x a s a n d S a n J a c i n t o

Texas Episcopalian • November 2010 10

 DIOCESAN NEWS
Icons and Saints Show “Sticky” Gospel,
continued from page 1
Opens at EDOT Gallery
fed to lions, as you can see in my
[icon],” she said.
Baldwin studied
iconography and has written
icons in a modernized version
of the Byzantine style for more
than a decade. She is not only
an instructor at the school, but
an exhibiting artist as well. The
icon project was an extension of
her personal interest in the genre
and the annual charge to adorn
St. Stephen’s Chapel with student
artwork.
Baldwin and her Visual
Studies II class researched the
tradition of icon painting.
“Traditionally, icons were
‘written’ by people of the church
who were as much artists as they
were theologians. The icons were
messages from God executed by
the hands of priests or nuns. A
prayer was said before work on the
icon began. Then, a dark under
painting served as the base, layers
of color were added on top, and
finally gold leaf was applied at the
end. This process of working from
darkness to light was symbolic,”
Baldwin explained. “Icons are
filled with little symbols, and
that’s what I love most about
them.”
Ala Lee is a senior at St. Stephen’s. Her Archangel Michael will be part of the EDOT show.
Furlong said the process
requires prayer, focus and patience, “like meditation,” which
By Eliza McAllister can lead to stillness.
I
cons and Saints, a new show opening November 7, “Maybe the need for stillness is why I’m drawn to the
2010, at the EDOT Gallery, features multiple icons practice of iconography,” Furlong said. She began painting as
from St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Art Instructor a child, later moving from realism and figure painting to less
Beatrice Baldwin and four of her students along with icons “photographic likenesses.”
by Houston artist Caroline Furlong. “For me, it was more of a quest for the truth behind the
“I chose to do St. Cecilia because she is the patron saint subject,” Furlong explained, adding, “As I became aware of
of music, and doing the icon of her was a connection between God, I began looking for ways to express mystery … and that
two of the most important things in my life – music and art,” led me to iconography.”
said Estefania Carmona, an 11th grader at St. Stephen’s in Icons and Saints, curated by Marilyn Biles, will run
Austin. November 7 through December 30 at the EDOT Gallery
“I chose St. Ignatius because of the All Saints’ Day hymn at the Episcopal Diocesan Center, 1225 Texas Avenue in
that we sing in Chapel” said Monica Marion, who researched downtown Houston. A reception will be held December 3
the saint who was “slain by a fierce wild beast.” from 5-7 p.m.
“St. Ignatius was martyred in the coliseum in Rome - McAllister is director of communication at St. Stephen’s
11
and worship spaces of those who came before them, St.
James’ parishioners build on this covenant heritage by
deliberately taking history with them when they moved –
from the church’s first home at 1624 East Seventh Street
in Austin, to its second site on Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Blvd., and now its three-year-old campus about one mile
further east.
The baptismal font in the center entrance of the new
sanctuary on Webberville Road rests on bricks from the
original church building on Seventh Street. Stained-glass
windows and altar planks from the second site are now
part of the new church.
Georgetta Maderas-Bryant – who has worshipped at
all three sites – epitomizes both the nature of covenant and
its joy of sharing. She found people to be “very cordial,
nice and caring” when she first came to the Seventh Street
church as a grade school student in the mid-1950s. She
remembers the late Hortense Lawson as “the mother hen
– the glue that kept the church all together.” Now retired,
Bryant actively contributes to St. James’ by welcoming new
guests on Sundays and carefully cleaning sanctuary plants
and floral arrangements every week – just like Lawson
did for decades. Many of the plants remain from Myra
McDaniel’s funeral earlier this year.
Catherine Thomas-Petite, a retired teacher, shares
Sunday service welcoming with Bryant after developing
children’s ministry at St. James’ for two-plus decades and
serving on the vestry. She recalls with joy one of her former
students assuming leadership of the Sunday School when
she retired. Thomas-Petite helped to draft the church’s
first mission statement and views paying off the debt from
the new church construction as an immediate parish goal
– something Dr. Mary Lou Adams, present St. James’
warden, agrees with.
“Our current goal is raise enough money in tough
times to pay off the new church building,” said Adams,
who is associate professor of nursing at the University of
Texas.
What keeps her coming to St. James’?
“People talk about the spirit of St. James’. For me, it’s
like I know when the Holy Spirit arrives during the service.
I know that’s a strange thing to say, but I do,” she said.
Linda Mayo, of Mayo Media, and Walter Bell,
a St. James’ parishioner and co-founder of Can-do
Entertainment, filmed each interview that took place at
home, workplace or St. James’. These videos will become
part of the archives of St. James’ and be shared with the
African American Library in Houston.
Other churches in the Diocese of Texas are encouraged
to pursue oral histories of their parishioners to renew their
commitment ot community. More information is available
by Googling: Oral History.
Texas Episcopalian • November 2010
 DIOCESAN NEWS

Sport, Obsession or Secret to the

Rhythm of Life?
By Mark O. Duncan Even so, the
combination is more
It was about fifty-five years ago when the young boy looked
than simplistic four-
up at his father and declared, “I’m not so much wantin to
step mechanics. Like the
go fishin as wantin to go catchin!”
musician who, as a beginner,

W
ell, sure he did. We all love to catch. Catching
is fun. So, catching is what we teach our kids.
We stress how important it is to make the catch.
We teach them that the catch is what matters and we do it
because we know that the catch is how our world keeps score.
“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing
that it is not fish they are after.” – Henry David Thoreau
Of course, the reality of the catch is different. The
trouble with this ‘got-to-catch’ model is the way it recognizes
achievement. In it, what we do today becomes the base line
for the minimum the world expects tomorrow. This ‘got-to-
catch’ world is one dimensional.
Instruction on the basics in fly fishing begins with the
cast, because the successful cast is driven by the cadence of
particular beat. The importance of adhering to this special
casting cadence is driven home by Norman Maclean in his
book, A River Runs Through It, when he addresses how he was
taught the cast.
“My brother and I learned to cast Presbyterian-style, on
a metronome. It was my mother’s metronome, which my
father had taken from the top of the piano in town.”
Maclean is addressing the importance of the four-count
cast. It is always consistent and always works the same way.
With the first count the line, leader and lure lift up off the
water in anticipation of the second; which drifts the rig
smoothly back over the shoulder; where a negligible but key
pause is added as beat number three allowing the fly, tippet,
leader and line to align in perfect order bending the rod
backwards, loading it as a compressed linear spring ready for
the fourth beat; the power beat that heaves the whole lot up,
then forward over the water to settle alluringly on the water,
poised for the fish to rise.
Photography By Mark Duncan
uses the metronome to keep
time until, with sufficient
practice, the measure
becomes an essential and
inherent part of her art; the
caster too seeks an essential
and inherent sense for how
the rig moves to the rhythm
of her cast, gently placing
a lure, weighing less than a
Post-It-Note, on the water,
in anticipation that the fish Photography By Mark Duncan
will rise.
In late September men
from around the Diocese of Texas gathered for the first Fishers
of Men retreat at the Camp Allen. They came to learn the
basics about casting, how to tie knots, the knack of tying flies
and for the opportunity to swap fishing tales in braggadocios
fellowship. In other words all the basics necessary for the fly
fishermen to catch fish. They got what they came for, too.
Many got much more. Under the guise of these basics
lies a more fundamental truth. Success, both in fishing and
“Many men go fishing all of their lives without
knowing that it is not fish they are after.”
– Henry David Thoreau
in life, is often dependent on a tempo and the fact that each
step we take is likely contingent on the success of the
previous one. Just as the caster moves through the count
and the beat hits three for that slight hesitation, each of
the previous beats must have been executed perfectly or
the power of the fourth, when applied will fail.
Christ understood this most basic of principles as
He addressed His future disciples on when and where
to cast their nets after a long catchless day on the water.
Yet, to the uninformed or the pure “bait-fisherman”
who seeks only to make the catch, this is an outlandish
concept. What does the systematic four-count have to
do with spiritual wellness?
Consider the fishing fly. Each fly requires the
fisherman submit to a particular pace which necessitates
matching the type of line, the construction of the leader,
the length of the tippet and the weight of that fly to
the particular circumstance of the moment. Rush the
beat and the effort smacks down hard on the water’s
surface and the fish will not rise. Slow the tempo too much
and the fisherman can only stand idly by as everything —
line, leader, tippet and fly — settle unceremoniously around
him in a pile and the fish will not rise.
The rhythm of life is much the same. Life’s tempo, a
beat that we can control with practice, must be just right
for the circumstance into which we are cast. For within the
practice of these basic lessons and how we control the beat
of the cast, lies the potential for a new understanding of how
to match that beat to an even greater rhythm; the special
rhythm that is the spiritual ebb and flow of living a Christian
life in a ‘got-to-catch’ world.
To the beginner, this is a curiosity filled with potential.
To the expert, the rhythm of the cast is a metaphor for the
beat of living life in Christ. It is not so much a matter of
strength or necessarily an affair of grace and poise, but more
a balance struck between the two. To the fisherman fishing
for fish, this balance delivers a smooth easy rhythm to which
the fish will rise. On the other hand, to the fisherman fishing
for life, match the rhythm and...
“…all existence fades to a being with my soul and
memories and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River and
the four-count rhythm and the hope that a fish will rise…
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs
through it.”
A River Runs Through It – Norman Maclean
Duncan is a freelance writer and member of

Texas Episcopalian • November 2010 12

 DIOCESAN NEWS

It’s All About Outreach

By Luke Blount

I
n early October, The Episcopal Diocese of Texas held
the Bishop’s Conference on Outreach at Camp Allen,
stressing the theme “Every Church Has a Gift.”
“How we live matters,” said Bishop Andy Doyle in his
opening address. “Our actions really do speak louder than
words. It matters how we treat one another. It matters to
Jesus, and it matters to God. It matters what the Episcopal
Church does in the Diocese of Texas day in and day out; it
matters.”
The conference presented several speakers that
shared their stories of outreach as well as encouragement.
Highlighted projects included: the Loaves & Fishes ministry
of All Saints’, Austin; the Catalyst Project of Trinity, Marble
Falls; the Friday Morning Ministry of St. Mark’s, Beaumont;
and the Yellowstone Academy Boy Scouts.
Loaves & Fishes and Friday Morning Ministry are
two innovative programs that feed and serve impoverished
members of the community. The Catalyst Project is an
ongoing initiative within Trinity, Marble Falls that seeks
to link community needs with resources. James Flodine
Small group discussion helps generate new ideas, possibilities for outreach. Pictured (center) Sally Rutherford,
of St. Martin’s, Houston, began the Yellowstone Academy
diocesan outreach coordinator with participants at the October Bishops’ Outreach Conference.
Boy Scouts, which seeks to teach leadership and the values
of scouting to the underprivileged students of Yellowstone “Jesus gave us a perfect model of choice; ‘seek and ye shall by the conference as a whole.
Academy in Houston’s third ward. find.’ I want people to have a choice.” “I think it is important for us to hear each other’s
Additionally, the Episcopal Homeless Initiative revealed Payne advocates the Getting Ahead program which stories,” said the Rev. Debbie Daigle of Holy Innocence,
the One Church Vision Drive, a diocesan-wide effort to pays people in poverty to attend a series of two-hour sessions Madisonville. “It kind of revved me up to think about the
collect new and gently used reading glasses for the homeless. where participants learn about the “hidden rules” associated possibilities of what we can do for the people outside the
The drive will take place during Lent from March 13 through with succeeding in the middle class. According to her website, gate.”
April 24, 2011. www.ahaprocess.com, the program “does not provide “We had two goals,” said conference organizer, the Rev.
The diocese also invited Ruby Payne to address the answers to the participants on how to establish economic Pat Ritchie. “We wanted to address the needs and concerns
attendees. Payne is the author of Bridges Out of Poverty as stability, nor does it make the argument for change; instead, of smaller churches, and we wanted to focus on the idea that
well as a member of the Good Shepherd, Corpus Christi. motivation, insight and plans come from the participants every church has a gift for outreach, which is a lot of what
Payne directly confronted and explained the reasons why themselves.” we’ve been hearing.”
impoverished people have such difficulty escaping poverty. Outreach Conference attendees continued to discuss To learn more about Ruby Payne or the Getting Ahead
“Choice and planning don’t exist in poverty,” she said. Payne’s ideas during the conference, and many felt energized program, visit www.ahaprocess.com.

Clergy and Delegates to the 162nd Council Of the People

The Rev. Mathew C. Fenlon will serve as assistant to the rector,
Episcopal Diocese of Texas Reception to Honor Highs St. John the Divine, Houston. He was formerly assistant at St.
Luke’s, Gladstone, NJ and is canonically resident in Central
Florida.
A Friday evening reception following the 162nd Coundil’s opening worship service on February 11, 2011, will honor
Bishop Rayford High and his wife Pat. The Rev. Robert R. Gilman will serve as associate rector, Palmer
Memorial, Houston. He is a retired priest canonically resident in
Because of space constraints, this will be limited to the first 600 persons who purchase tickets. Tickets for this the Diocese of Southern Virginia.
event will be sold separately from registration for Council. Cost is $50 per ticket.
Dorothy Knox Houghton was honored at the Volunteer
Deadlines for resolutions, nominations and changes to Constitution and Canons are this month. Because the Recognition Evensong at Washington National Cathedral on
Texas Episcopalian will not be published as a monthly newspaper after December 2010, the usual January issue with October 14 for twenty-six years of service representing the
Council information will be available online at www.epicenter.org on the Council pages. The information will be National Cathedral in Texas. Houghton served as a trustee of the
available also at the pre-council meetings in January and early February as a handout. Registration is also online at National Cathedral Association from 1986 - 1992.
www.epicenter.org. The Rev. Betty Divine will serve as deacon at St. James’, Houston.
She was previously at St. Mark’s, Houston.

13 Texas Episcopalian • November 2010


Presiding Bishop offers a Christian Perspective
on the Pursuit of Happiness
By Nan Ross
[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts
Schori encouraged an Atlanta audience in October at Emory
University to explore the blessing of friendship as an aid for
attaining happiness.
She joined three other speakers from Jewish, Muslim
and Buddhist traditions to provide a Christian perspective
on the pursuit of happiness during the Interfaith Summit
on Happiness conference hosted by Emory’s Center for the
Study of Law and Religion.
The event followed her participation in a panel
discussion on happiness with the Dalai Lama.
Addressing in her paper what she called “a tension
between the goal of happiness and the journey toward it,”
she cited Hebrew scripture and New Testament writings and
focused on Aelred of Rievaulx, a 12th-century English writer,
historian and abbot known for his well-developed reflections
on happiness and spiritual friendship.
“Aelred develops a remarkable framework for discussing
happiness,” Jefferts Schori said. He uses the second creation
story in Genesis, “to insist that human beings are created
for friendship and equality with God,” who is “the ultimate
Anglican Church of Southern Africa
Takes Major Step to Adopt Covenant
The Anglican Church of Southern
Africa voted October 1 to adopt
“The Anglican Covenant,”
the document setting out a
statement of common
“affirmations and
commitments” by
churches of the worldwide
Anglican Communion,
written in response to disagreements
over issues around human sexuality.
The decision will need to be ratified by the next session
of the Synod in three years’ time.
Archbishop Thabo Makgoba said he believed the
church in southern Africa needed to try to “play a reconciling
role” amid the current disputes over human sexuality in the
Communion. He said the Covenant “is not a guarantee of an
easy solution to the problems we face,” but hoped it would be
a way of “healing and moving the Communion forward...”
It was a document which, although not a complete
statement on the nature of the Anglican Communion,
Texas Episcopalian • November 2010
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
source of human
happiness.”
Aelred, she said,
taught that “getting
wisdom, learning
the mind of God
and loving neighbor
as oneself are the
pathways home” to
Eden and to God.
“Aelred points to
friendship as one
The Presiding Bishop reflects on God's bounty in a wheat field in Kansas. ELO photo/Dick Schori
significant aid on that
journey,” she told about enough to eat, an act where there is little intimacy.
300 people gathered for a day of lectures at Emory Law But friendship builds intimacy, according to Aelred, and
School’s Tull Auditorium. “ultimately, intimacy can be a taste of divine relationship,
“Friendship, in (Aelred’s) understanding, is love despite the American tendency to assume that all intimacy
expanded by intimacy,” she said. “One can love one’s implies sexual intimacy. Knowing and being known as gifted
neighbor, treat him or her with justice and do so without and flawed, fearful and courageous, warty and luminous
affection or much internal vulnerability.” As an example, she -- that ongoing process of revealing one’s being -- builds
cited voting to raise one’s taxes so that others might have friendship.”
Jefferts Schori also spoke about sin and justice, and
body and soul. She noted Aelred’s view was that “sin results
when the power of choice is ill-used, and justice results when
choices are well made.
Such tensions challenge Christian definitions of
happiness, Jefferts Schori said. “If we equate happiness solely
with external or physical goods, we lapse into hedonism,
and in a biblical sense, commit idolatry.” In substituting the
material creation for God, “we deny the desirability of God
sought to “describe our common identity in the Anglican as a partner in human happiness.”
Church ... What is at stake here is to try to articulate our All Abrahamic religions share the ancient prophetic
relationship in words.” vision for which shalom is the byword: human beings living
Bishop Paddy Glover, Bishop of the Free State, Southern together in friendship with God and one another, having
Africa, said the Anglican Church could best be likened to food and drink in abundance, and in whom all sorts of illness
and brokenness are healed, she said.
a family: “There are no outsiders; we are all insiders ... We
Justice, which she called “the fruit of loving and
are all different but we are members of a family ... bound
befriending God and neighbor,” prevails and “uses every
together by bonds of affection and bonds of loyalty.” The
resource available to human creatures -- mind, body, heart,
covenant sought to reinforce this relationship. soul, spirit, affect, inspiration, cooperation -- love in all its
The resolution was passed by an overwhelming forms and parts,” she said.
majority, although some speakers who supported it expressed “The result is the beloved community, the community
reservations. The Rev. Drake Tshenkeng of the Diocese of of friends who know themselves beloved of God.”
Kimberley and Kuruman asked whether the Church was not Jefferts Schori followed Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan
giving “centralizing power” to the communion’s Standing Sacks of the United Hebrew Congregations, who expressed
Committee. The Dean of Grahamstown, the Very Rev. the Jewish tradition’s view of happiness. Seyyed Nasr,
Andrew Hunter, said the Covenant raised the questions: professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University,
“How far does diversity stretch, who defines diversity and gave the Islamic perspective, and Matthieu Ricard, teacher
who sets the boundaries?” and monk, presented a Buddhist’s view.
Video recordings of all presentations will be posted at
Article from the Anglican Church of Southern Africa www.episcopalchurch.org.
Ross is director of communication for the Diocese of Atlanta.
14

Studying Your Congregation and Community:
Free Tool Provides Info on Congregational Trends
A
free tool which charts 11-year trends called Studying
Your Congregation and Community is now available
to assist Episcopal congregations and dioceses in a
myriad of applications, including stewardship, short- and
long-term planning, and strategic development.
“Important congregational and diocesan tracking
information is available on the Episcopal Church website
allowing a look at an 11-year comparative profile,” explained
United Thank Offering Application Process
Now Online For 2011 Episcopal Church Grants
T
he application process for the 2011 United Thank
Offering grants is now open online.
“This is the first year that United Thank Offering
will operate an internet grant application process,” explained
Claudia Conner, coordinator. “The purpose is to convert the
application process from a 1950s model to 2010 technology.
Online availability can eliminate or greatly reduce mailing
and shipping costs, which sometimes were quite steep. It will
also expedite the UTO Board’s application review process.”
Known worldwide as UTO, the United Thank Offering
grants are awarded for projects that address human needs and
help alleviate poverty, both domestically and internationally
within Anglican provinces, dioceses, and companion
dioceses.
Applications are due January 31, 2011. Funds will be
available starting June 2011 for a one-year grant period.
UTO information and contact info are available: www.
episcopalchurch.org/uto.
Jubilee Ministry Grants Applications Now Accepted
for Episcopal Church Programs and Mission Work
A
pplications for 2010 and 2011 Jubilee Ministry
grants are now being accepted in six categories for
mission and ministry throughout the Episcopal
Church.
Applications are available in three 2010 categories:
health and nutrition; building a just society; and diocesan
development. The three 2011 categories are Asset Based
Community Development (ABCD) workshop funding;
summer camp partnership grants; and protecting God’s
creation.
Jubilee Ministries are congregations or agencies with
connections to The Episcopal Church whose mission efforts
affect the lives of those in need, addressing basic human
needs and justice issues. Grants to Jubilee ministries are
awarded annually.
2010 Grants
Health and nutrition--$750 grants; Jubilee Ministries
that respond to the nutritional needs of food deserts. A food
desert is a district with little or no access to foods needed
to maintain a healthy diet but often served by fast food
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
C. Kirk Hadaway, Ph.D., Episcopal Church Officer for
Congregational Research. “The 11-year congregational trend
charts are an invaluable tool in understanding patterns and
working towards a strategy for the future.”
Available at www.episcopalchurch.org/research.htm
and by clicking Studying Your Congregation and Community,
the data are easily accessed with pull-down menus for
selecting dioceses and congregations.
Complete instructions, application form and
additional info are available at http://www.episcopalchurch.
org/110043_42235_ENG_HTM.htm
In outlining the process, Conner noted that the
following:
- one application may be submitted by each diocese of
The Episcopal Church, with diocesan bishop approval;
- one application may be submitted by a diocese of the
U.S. domestic Episcopal Church on behalf of an overseas
companion diocese, with approval by both diocesan bishops;
- one application may be submitted by invited
provinces of the Anglican Communion, with approval by
the archbishop or primate or provincial secretary and, if
applicable, the diocesan bishop.
For more information email utoapps@episcopalchurch.
org or call the UTO Office at 800.334.7626. To submit an
application in hard copy, first contact the UTO office.
restaurants.
Building a just society--$2,500 grants supporting
local poverty alleviation initiatives that emerge from local
communities and leaders.
Funding diocesan initiatives--$1,000 Diocesan Jubilee
Ministry Development Grants to support Jubilee Ministry
development plans of the local bishop and the appointed
diocesan jubilee officer. All due December 1, 2010.
2011 Grants
Grants for hosting two-day Asset Based Community
Development training workshops, partnership grants and
those to Protect God’s creation; due November 1 through
February 01, 2011: $250-$500 are available.
For guidelines, additional information, and to
apply for any of the grants: www.episcopalchurch.
org/109342_125387_ENG_HTM.htm
For more information contact the Rev.
Christopher Johnson, Episcopal Church
Jubilee Officer, cjohnson@episcopalchurch.org
Jubilee ministries www.episcopalchurch.org/jubilee.htm.
15
The resulting information on membership, average
Sunday attendance and plate and pledge giving is available
by diocese and congregation ranging from 1999 to the
recently added 2009.
Newly included in these offerings from the Research
Office for congregations is a community profile, which
updates the former zip code report.
“We recently added this new feature to the site,
which is a downloadable detailed demographic profile
of the community surrounding each of our domestic
congregations,” Hadaway explained. “Previously, we had
a zip code profile, but the new profile is a 15-page, 1-mile
radius portrait from MissionInsite. These two products are
available to anyone and any congregation, again without cost
or logging in.”
For more information contact Christine Kandic at
ckandic@episcopalchurch.org.
Research offerings
This congregational tool is among the many offered
by the Episcopal Church Research Office. Others include
the data that is derived from the annual Parochial Report.
Hadaway noted that the 2010 Parochial Report process
begins with the December mailing of forms, and concludes
in 2011 with the diocesan deadline of March 1.
Research pages: www.episcopalchurch.org/research.
ENGLAND: Opposing
Women Bishops, Anglican
Parishioners Vote to Convert
to Roman Catholicism
[Episcopal News Service] Some parishioners at
St. Peter’s Church, Folkestone, in the Diocese of
Canterbury, may become the first members of the
Church of England to convert formally to Roman
Catholicism under controversial provisions set out by
the Vatican in November 2009.
Members of St. Peter’s Parochial Church
Council voted to defect because they disagree with
the Church of England’s decision in July to advance
plans for women to become bishops. But it is unclear
how many members of the congregation support the
move.
The Rev. Stephen Bould, vicar of St. Peter’s,
told the BBC that he will likely join some of his
congregation in their decision to convert to the
Roman Catholic Church, which has developed an
Apostolic Constitution to allow former Anglicans
to enter full communion with the Roman Catholic
Church while preserving elements of Anglican
spirituality and liturgy.
At a parish meeting on Sept. 28, St. Peter’s
churchwardens decided to write to Archbishop of
Canterbury Rowan Williams requesting a meeting
about the congregation’s decision. The parish council
said it “is anxious that this should be made as easy
as possible, not only for them, but for the diocesan
family of Canterbury that they will regretfully be
leaving behind,” according to a notice on St. Peter’s
website.
Texas Episcopalian • November 2010

Communion a Paradox
says Archbishop
T
he mutual life of the Anglican Communion is “quite
strong and perhaps getting stronger” according to
the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
In an interview with The Hindu newspaper, Williams
indicated that the state of the Communion was not as black
as some have painted it. He called it “a very mixed picture.”
“I think that after the Lambeth Conference of 2008
many people felt that we found ways of talking to one
another, and perhaps exercising some restraint and tact
towards one another,” he said, “and it was very significant
that at the next meeting of the Anglican primates, which
was in the early part of 2009, all major Churches of the
Communion were represented.
“Unfortunately, the situation does not remain there.
The decision of the American Church to go forward, as it
has, with the ordination of a lesbian bishop has, I think, set
us back. At the moment I’m not certain how we will approach
Innovative Partnership Aims to Help Episcopal Churches
‘go green’: Subsidies Available to Congregations
I
n an innovative venture that benefits congregations
of all sizes, the Episcopal Church has partnered with
GreenFaith (www.greenfaith.org), a national religious
environmental group, to assist churches’ efforts to “go green.”
“I’m very excited about this collaboration with
GreenFaith,” said Michael Schut, the Episcopal Church’s
officer for economic and environmental affairs. “The
program is holistic and very well supported. Participating
congregations will not only ‘green’ their buildings and
grounds, but develop relationships with environmental
justice advocacy organizations and members of the interfaith
community, and integrate creation-care into education and
worship. Congregations can learn from the experiences of
other congregations. The program is a possible avenue for
deep congregational revitalization.”
Many congregations have expressed the desire to be
environmentally “green” and as ecologically responsible as
possible. The collaboration between GreenFaith and the
church provides a means for that effort, the release said.
General Convention considered some 15 environmental
resolutions at its 2009 convention to address climate change,
global warming, economic and environmental justice,
renewable energy, nuclear energy and weaponry, and one that
would establish a liturgical creation cycle during Pentecost.
The goals of this partnership, Schut said, include: to
support the development of faithful, strong environmental
leadership; to help congregations learn to reduce their
operating costs; and to model creation care, spirituality and
Texas Episcopalian • November 2010
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
the next primates’ meeting, but regrettably some
of the progress that I believe we had made has
not remained steady.
“Alongside that, and I think this is
important, while the institutions of the
Communion struggle, in many ways the mutual
life of the Communion, the life of exchange
and co-operation between different parts of our Archbishop Rowan Williams
Anglican family, is quite strong and perhaps
getting stronger. It’s a paradox.
“We are working more closely together on issues of In the interview, given in the last days of his two-week
development than we did before. We have the emergence visit to India, the Archbishop also addresses questions on
of an Anglican health network across the globe, bringing relations with the Catholic church, Anglican-Hindu dialogue
together various health care institutions. We have also had and the ‘war on terror.’
quite a successful program on the standards and criteria for More Anglican Communion news is at www.
theological education across the Communion. So, a very anglicancommunion.org.
mixed picture.”
justice throughout a congregation’s life and practice. Subsidies will be awarded in two rounds. The deadline is
Dec. 1 to receive a subsidy in 2010; for 2011 the deadline is
Certification Feb. 1. To apply, contact Schut at mschut@episcopalchurch.
org.
To address those goals, GreenFaith is offering its
GreenFaith Certification Program which Schut explained as
a two-year, holistic process engaging an entire congregation
through education, worship, environmental justice advocacy, Anglican life in
building and grounds and developing relationships with the
larger interfaith community.
The program is the nation’s first interfaith environmental
Papua New Guinea
certification program designed specifically for houses of
worship, said the Rev. Fletcher Harper, GreenFaith’s executive
director. The program empowers churches, mosques and
temples to become strong environmental leaders by carrying
out a substantial number of environmental leadership
activities over a two-year period, he added.
Among the tools and resources provided by GreenFaith
to participating churches are webinars, web-based resources
and phone/e-mail support.
Grants
To participate in the program, GreenFaith offers a sliding
scale fee, based on congregation size. To mark the launch Don’t miss Steve Ramsden’s comprehensive and interesting
of this collaboration, the Economic and Environmental 40-minute documentary about the work of Anglicans in
Affairs Office and GreenFaith are underwriting 50 percent Papua New Guinea. It was shot in May/June 2010 and
of the tuition for 30 churches nationwide, enabling selected produced by the Papua New Guinea Church Partnership
churches to enroll for a total discounted cost of $250 – $750. UK. All five parts can be found at www.youtube.com/
SteveMatthewRamsden.
16

Haitian Choir Tour seeks support,
musical instruments
Les Petits Chanteurs Concerts to Help Rebuild Music School
T
he renowned Boys Choir from Holy Trinity
Episcopal Cathedral Music School in Port-au-
Prince, Haiti, will perform at three Austin churches
and in San Antonio, November 14-16, 2010.
Les Petits Chanteurs (The Little Singers), a 30-voice
choir, accompanied by a string ensemble from the Holy
Trinity Philharmonic Orchestra, will perform Sunday,
November 14 at St. James’; Monday, November 15 at St.
Stephen’s Episcopal School Chapel; and Tuesday, November
16 at All Saints’, Austin. Each concert begins at 7 p.m. The
choir will conclude their Texas tour at a National Association
of Episcopal School’s conference in San Antonio.
The Haitian Cathedral’s complex was completely
destroyed in the earthquake on January 12, 2010. Prior to
that, the Cathedral’s Music School served more than 1000
students. The choir’s tour will raise awareness of the rich
musical traditions of Haiti, as well as help to rebuilt the
school, the only one of its kind in the country. The music
school depends on charitable support to sustain its mission
of education and music training for children and young
adults.
Les Petits Chanteurs, currently under the direction of
Presiding Bishop Appoints Special Coordinators for
Haiti to Facilitate Churchwide Efforts to Rebuild
T
he Rev. Joseph Murrenz Constant and the Rev.
Rosemari Gaughan Sullivan have been appointed
by Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine
Jefferts Schori as Special Coordinators for Haiti.
Their task will be to facilitate the multiple efforts among
Episcopal churches, dioceses, networks and organizations
committed to the rebuilding of the Diocese of Haiti.
Constant and Sullivan will work closely with Bishop Zaché
Duracin and other leaders of the Diocese of Haiti.
The Church’s Executive Council reviewed a new effort
to focus on a rebuilding appeal built on their February 2010
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
Nicole St. Victor, is a select group of singers ranging in age
from 8 to 18. Over the years, ensembles from Holy Trinity
Music School have performed at the Kennedy Center in
Washington, D.C., at Lincoln Center in New York City, at
Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with the
Chicago Children’s Choir, and at many churches across the
United States.
Since 2003, students and faculty of St. Stephen’s
Episcopal School have partnered with the Episcopal Diocese
of Haiti to build and support schools in the Central Plateau
of Haiti. After being inspired by a visit to Holy Trinity’s
Music School, the Rev. Walin Decamps, priest of St. Andre,
St. Etienne and many other parish churches and schools in
the region, together with John Moon, director of orchestras
at St. Stephen’s, founded an annual music camp in the
regional capital of Hinche.
St. Stephen’s partnered with All Saints and St. James’
as well as St. Andrew’s and Trinity Episcopal Schools and
the NAES to sponsor this tour. A free-will offering will
be taken at the concerts and donated musical instruments
will be accepted at each concert to replace those lost in the
earthquake.
resolution committing $10 million for initial reconstruction
in the Diocese of Haiti.
Haitian-born Constant is director of Racial and Ethnic
Ministries and Coordinator for Recruitment at Virginia
Theological Seminary, overseeing the Seminary’s partnerships
with the Diocese of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Sullivan is rector of St. Paul’s Rock Creek, Washington,
D.C. Currently, Sullivan volunteers as the coordinator of the
Haiti Long Term Recovery effort for the National Council of
Churches of Christ, USA. They will continue in their current
positions.
17
Clergy and Faith
Leaders say, ‘No
More Bullying!’
A
n alliance of mainline Christian leaders and
faith groups released a statement October
18 calling on “the Church Universal to join
us in working to end the violence and hatred against
our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender brothers
and sisters.”
In the wake of a rash of suicides after anti-gay
bullying and violent attacks on gay people in New
York, top faith leaders signed a pledge “to be LGBT
and straight people of faith standing together for the
shared values of decency and civility, compassion
and care in all interactions.”
National faith leaders signing the Clergy
Against Bullying statement (http://tiny.cc/pidjb)
include Katherine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of
the Episcopal Church, Michael Kinnamon, general
secretary of the National Council of Churches,
Geoffrey Black, general minister and president of
the United Church of Christ, Cynthia J. Bolbach,
moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA),
Yvette Flunder, presiding bishop of The Fellowship
and Nancy Wilson, moderator of Metropolitan
Community Churches.
“The Episcopal Church abhors the persecution
of any group of human beings and seeks the just and
dignified treatment of all,” Jefferts Schori said.
“The member churches of the National Council
of Churches are moved by scripture to affirm every
person as a valued child of God and to support
protection from bullying and discrimination,”
Kinnamon said. “Just as we spoke out on behalf
of Muslims who were under threat, so we now
stand as Clergy Against Bullying of our neighbors,
regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Given the recent outburst of anti-gay rhetoric
and action, the Church must not be silent.” 
For a full statement of Clergy Against Bullying and
to sign on, go to the web site at http://tiny.cc/pidjb
All clergy and people of good faith are welcome
to sign.
Texas Episcopalian • November 2010

Sudanese Delegation Wraps Up ‘awareness campaign’
Shows ‘unity’ of its Country’s Ecumenical Movement
By Lynette Wilson
[Episcopal News Service] Southern Sudan has held to its
identity since 1947 when the British organized the Juba
Conference, which combined north and south into one
political entity. Eight years later, in 1955, the first shots were
fired and the south began its fight toward independence.
“The colonial administration drew the boundaries …
they already knew the south was objecting to that kind of
unity,” said Roman Catholic Bishop Daniel Adwok Oct. 20
during an interview with ENS in Washington, D.C.
“The south has never accepted the unity; Sudan has
never been a united country.”
After decades of civil war between north and south
and millions of people dead and displaced, the south again
is prepared to fight for independence this time -- with
oversight from the international community -- preferring
votes to guns.
An ecumenical delegation from Sudan, with
representatives from the Episcopal and Roman Catholic
churches and the Sudan Council of Churches -- a
14-member-church Christian body -- has spent the last 12
days in the United States on an awareness and advocacy
campaign aimed at educating and gaining support from the
U.S. government, the international community, and church
and humanitarian aid partners in advance of the Jan. 9 vote.
The vote, or referendum, is the final provision of
Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in
2005 by the two warring parties -- Sudan People’s Liberation
Movement in the south and the north’s Khartoum-based
Government of Sudan. The CPA ended a 21-year civil war
-- fought by the Arab and Muslim north and rebels in the
Christian-animist south -- that killed more than 2 million
people and displaced an estimated 7 million more.
“We are here to alert the world and let the people
know that there are people in the Sudan who don’t want
this referendum to take place,” said Archbishop Daniel
Deng Bul of the Episcopal Church of Sudan in an
interview in Washington, D.C. Oct. 20. “You have signed a
comprehensive agreement, you have been given a chance to
make it workable, you cannot come at this moment and say
it’s not workable.”
Even as the delegation made the rounds, meeting with
U.N. officials and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New
York, and U.S. government and international officials in
Washington, D.C., news agencies reported a high-ranking
government official in the north saying the referendum may
need to be postponed until “border issues” can be resolved.
Postponement of the referendum, which can be
interpreted as an inhibition to the southern peoples’ right
to self-determination, after six years’ time allotted for
preparation is not an option, the delegation explained.
“You cannot delay dignity to a person,” Adwok
said, adding that destruction gave way to reason when
warring parties signed the CPA, and with that came the
Texas Episcopalian • November 2010
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
acknowledgment of the southerners’ rights and human
dignity.
“We understand the technical difficulties, but we’ve
said, let the referendum go ahead and all the other things
that haven’t been resolved happen later,” he said. “The issue
of the border may take 50 years; the oil, a lifetime. These
are issues that have been let to disrupt the rights of people.”
The CPA also calls for equal oil revenue sharing
between north and south (oil revenues account for 95 percent
of Sudanese export revenues and 65 percent of government
revenues, according to the International Monetary Fund);
fair demarcation of north-south boundaries; and resolution
of citizenship issues. A separate referendum is scheduled for
the oil-rich region of Abyei, where residents will choose to
join north or south.
The north has been accused of stalling the process in
the leadup to the referendum and President Omar al-Bashir
has said he will accept nothing short of “unity.”
Ecumenism at its best
The Episcopal Church of Sudan and the Roman
Catholic Church in Sudan represent two of the largest
non-government organizations in southern Sudan. The
Episcopal Church has 31 dioceses, 26 of them in the south.
The Roman Catholic Church operates two archdioceses
-- one in the north, including one diocese, and one in the
south, including eight dioceses.
Together and with other Sudan Council of Churches
members, they provide much-needed health, social and
educational service to the people of southern Sudan.
In addition to Deng, and Adwok, who serves as
auxiliary bishop in Khartoum, the ecumenical delegation
included Roman Catholic Bishop Emeritus Paride Taban
of Torit; the Rev. Ramadan Chan, general secretary of
the Sudan Council of Churches; and the Rev. Sam Kobia,
ecumenical special envoy to Sudan and former general
secretary of the World Council of Churches.
The delegation’s mix represents “a very powerful
witness of our ecumenical life together,” said the Rev. John
McCullough, executive director of Church World Service.
“I think whenever there is an opportunity for Roman
Catholics and for Protestants to come together and talk
about issues that are of critical importance to the life of the
church and to our faithfulness, then we ought to uplift that
and celebrate that,” McCullough told ENS Oct. 13 prior
to hosting a luncheon for the delegation at the Interchurch
Center in New York.
“And certainly in the case of the Sudan, this is an
extremely important moment for the churches to provide
leadership for their people, and to talk about the future,
what is a more hopeful and fruitful future, for the people
of the Sudan.”
When the history is written, Kobia said, the world will
know that the churches in Sudan stood from the beginning
18
for the south’s right to self-determination in remarkable
ways.
“The Sudanese churches have been working together
in a way that I would say is fairly unique in the world
today. The Protestant churches, the Catholic Church, the
charismatic churches, all working in unity, particularly in
addressing the pressing issues of Sudan today,” said Kobia
Oct. 13 following the luncheon at the Interchurch Center.
“It is that way because, first of all, the interests are
the same -- churches are working for justice, for peace, for
reconciliation -- because of that, that drove all the churches
together for the common interest,” said Chan, of the Sudan
Council of Churches, Oct. 20 in Washington. “That has
worked well, especially during the war and now that the
country is going through this major transition. We feel
that we belong together because the major concern is the
same, and being together has actually worked for us because
we have a strong voice as all faith communities, and our
message is the same, so that also widens our network.”
Unity in defiance of unity
Identity in the north of Sudan is defined as Islamic
and Arabic; in the south, Christian, charismatic and African
identities prevail, explained Adwok, who lives in the north,
adding that it was the Islamization of Sudan that brought
the churches together.
“That made the church to take a strategic stand; our
becoming ecumenical came later,” he said. “At first the
church decided they had to help the people. The churches
found that their constituency was the same, the Christians
and the poor people who the government were not addressing
and were resisting the pressure to Islam. And the second,
the government was looking at the Christian church as an
institution that had to disappear.
“These are the main ecumenical pillars of which
we have built our ecumenical movement: threat of being
annihilated, and the fact of the services that we have to
render to the people.”
Christian churches began working together in
unprecedented ways in post-colonial Sudan, explained
Taban, who co-founded the Sudan Council of Churches.
During colonial times, the British divided the south
into zones: Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, etc. When the
British left in 1956, the churches came together and today
ecumenism can be found within families.
“… We prefer to be united, in order not to be used
against one another,” Taban said. “And that is how the
ecumenical situation in the Sudan is. It is very strong, it
is very strong. In one family you might find that one of
the sons is a Muslim, another is an Anglican, and another
a Catholic. You see these are the differences you don’t find
maybe here in America, or even in Europe.”
Lynette Wilson is an ENS staff writer.

The Church
The Rev. Sam Todd
T
his month many of us make financial pledges to the
work of the Church during 2011. I find that some
people assume that the local churches are funded
by the diocese or even by the national church as some local
governments get substantial revenues from the federal
government. But with the Church it is the other way round.
Some of the money we pledge to our local parishes gets
Christianity consists of a relationship between a human
community and the divine community of the Holy Trinity
passed on to the Diocese of Texas to fund the personnel and
programs of the diocese. It in turns sends some funds to the
Episcopal Church Center for their ministries and some of
that money is contributed to the international missions of
the Anglican Communion.
Our giving and our membership are both local and
universal. No one is baptized into his local parish or even
into the Episcopal Church but rather into Christ’s One,
Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. On the other hand,
he is also made a member of his particular parish because
the universal Church does not exist apart from specific local
communities of Christians.
I want to dwell on this point because I so often meet
GUEST COLUMNIST
people who do not believe in organized religion. I used to
urge them to come to my parish because we were not very
organized. But they meant something else. They do not like
the institutional Church. I am critical of it also. But since the
institutional Church is the Church Christ himself instituted,
I am loyal to it. The Church community makes some people
squeamish. Their notion of pure religion is the solitary
relationship of a human individual to a divine individual
(of the alone to the Alone). But Christianity consists of
a relationship between a human community and the divine
community of the Holy Trinity. When Jesus returned to
the Father he left as his successor no one individual but a
community of very frail, human apostles, the embryonic
Holy Catholic Church.
What many critics of the institutional Church really
dislike is that she is full of people no better than themselves.
They were expecting something better, more ideal. But the
Church is not ideal; she is concrete. So is the Bible, which
never tells us to love mankind; rather the commandment is
“Love your neighbor.” There are people who love humanity
but can not get along with any of the people around them.
The Church is the on-going scandal of the incarnation,
namely that God chooses to unite himself with people as
weak, selfish, provincial and hypocritical as us. The greatest
early heresy arose from the Greek philosophical mentality
that could not believe God would so sully himself as to do
such a thing. I agree that it is incredible, but God’s grace so
often is.
Will Durant was a former seminarian who wound up
preferring the pure rational air of philosophy. Though a
critic of Christianity and the Church, he had this to say about
the early Church: “For the first time in European history
the teachers of mankind preached an ethic of kindness ...
humility, patience, mercy, purity, chastity and tenderness --
virtues perhaps derived from the lowly social origins of the
Church, and their popularity among women, but admirably
suited to restore order to a de-moralized people, to tame the
marauding barbarian, to moderate the violence of a falling
world.
“The Church ... demanded a single standard of fidelity
19
for both sexes in marriage ... The Church strengthened the
family by surrounding marriage with solemn ceremony, and
exalting it from a contract to a sacrament ... It was through
the influence of the Church that Valentinian I, in 374,
made infanticide a capital crime ... The outstanding moral
distinction of the Church was her extensive provision of
charity ... Never had the world seen such a dispensation of
alms as was now organized by the Church ... She helped
widows, orphans, the sick or infirm, prisoners, victims of
natural catastrophes; and she frequently intervened to protect
the lower orders from unusual exploitation or excessive
taxation” (The Story of Civilization Vol. IV pp. 76-78).
I would add that the Christian Church gave birth to
most of the other charitable institutions of the western
world. She was mother to the hospital. She was mother to
the orphanage and the alms house. She was mother to the
university, which now often scorns her. It is the frequent
fate of parents who breed idealism into their children that
they themselves become the first victims of that critical and
censorious turn idealism can take.
The Church introduced to the Western world habits of
kindness, mercy and civility we now take for granted. Would
those habits endure without her? In 1976, the historian Paul
Johnson wrote, “Certainly mankind without Christianity
conjures up a dismal prospect … In the last generation, with
public Christianity in headlong retreat, we have caught our
first, distant view of a de-Christianized world, and it is not
encouraging. We know that Christian insistence on man’s
potentiality for good is often disappointed; but we are also
learning that man’s capacity for evil is almost limitless ...
Man is imperfect with God. Without God, what is he? As
Francis Bacon put it: ‘They that deny God destroy man’s
nobility: for certainly man is kin to the beasts by his body;
and, if he be not kin to God by his spirit, he is a base and
ignoble creature’” (A History of Christianity, p. 517).
I would put it more succinctly: You cannot cut the
religious roots of the tree of ethics and expect to long enjoy
its fruits of decency. This year I am happy to fertilize those
roots with the manure of my money.
Email Todd at: stodd2423@att.net
Texas Episcopalian • November 2010
Bishops’ November Calendars
3 12:30 p.m. Galveston Convocational Clericus, TBA
4-5 Executive Council Strategic Planning, Chicago
6 Center for Houston’s Future Fall Forum, the Woodlands
Doyle

7 10:30 a.m. St. Thomas’, College Station, CF

6 p.m. Epiphany, Calvert
9-10 Province VII Bishops, Dallas
10 7 p.m. St. James’, Conroe, Celebration of New Ministry for Jerald Hyche
11 10 a.m. Church Corporation, Diocesan Center
14 9 a.m. St. Dunstan’s, Houston, CF
6 p.m. Blessing of New Building & Consecration of Chapel, Trinity, Marshall
17 2:30 p.m. St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities Leadership, Houston
21 9 a.m. Christ Church Cathedral, Houston St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital has created the Wall of Heroes
11 a.m. Christ Church Cathedral, Houston, CF memorial to recognize those who have saved lives through organ
1 p.m. Christ Church Cathedral, Houston, CF (Spanish service) donation which was dedicated in September. More than 96,000
24 11:30 a.m. LOTS Thanksgiving Service & Lunch, Trinity, Houston people across the United States are in need of life saving organs
- 7,000 are in Texas. Every 13 minutes a new name is added to
the national waiting list and every single day, 17 people lose their
lives waiting for a life-saving organ. At St. Luke’s, organ donors
heroes are considered heroes; whether they signed up as donors
1 12 p.m. Christ Church, Tyler, ECW Meeting themselves, or had families make that critical decision for them.
3 9:15 a.m. St. Luke’s Hospital Board Meeting, Houston
6 6:30 p.m. All Saints’, Austin, Vestry Meeting and Dinner
High

7 9 a.m. All Saints’, Austin, CF and Celebration of All Saints Day In the Anglican Communion
3 p.m. St. Peter’s, Lago Vista, CF A global community of 77 million Anglicans in
9-10 Dallas, Province VII Bishops Meeting
11 3 p.m. St. Luke’s Health System Board Meeting 500 dioceses in 164 countries
13-14 Camp Allen, Soulfood Retreat
14 9 a.m. St. John’s, Center Archbishop of Canterbury
4 p.m. Camp Allen, Cursillo Closing The Most Rev. Rowan Williams
4 p.m. Camp Allen, Little Church Club Meeting Lambeth Palace, London, England, SE1 7JU
15 Camp Allen, Little Church Club Meeting Anglican Communion Office
16 12 p.m. All Saints’ Tyler, School Board Meeting 16 Tavistock Crescent
18 1 p.m. St. James’ House, Baytown, Board Meeting
21 10:30 a.m. St. Francis’, Houston, CF Westbourne Park
5 p.m. St. Timothy’s, Houston, CF London W 11 1AP
23 7 p.m. Christ Church, Eagle Lake, Celebration of New Ministry for Ralph Morgan United Kingdom
www.lambethpalace.org
www.anglicancommunion.org

2 12 p.m. St. Luke’s Health System Finance and Audit Committee, Houston
3 6:30 p.m. Seminarian Dinner, Austin
Harrison

In the United States

4 7 p.m. St James’, Austin, CF A community of 2.5 million members in 120
7 9 & 11 a.m. Palmer Memorial, Houston, CF
4:30 p.m. Calvary, Richmond, CF dioceses in the Americas and abroad
8 10 a.m. Seminary of the Southwest Clergy Group, Austin
9-10 Meeting of Province VII Bishops, Dallas Presiding Bishop
11-12 Nathan Network Board Meeting, Salt Lake City The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
13 5:30 p.m. St. John’s 50th Anniversary, Austin Episcopal Church Center
14 10:30 a.m. St. Christopher’s, Killeen, CF 815 Second Ave., NY, NY 10017
17 6 p.m. St. John the Divine, Houston, Thanksgiving Dinner 1.800.321.2231
18 9:30 a.m. Commission on Ministry, Camp Allen
19 7:30 p.m. St. Andrew’s, Houston, CF www.episcopalchurch.org
21 11 a.m. St. Michael’s Austin, CF
5 p.m. St. Richard’s, Round Rock, CF In the Diocese of Texas
22 6 p.m. El Buen Samaritano Board Meeting One Church of more than 85,000 members in
153 congregations in the eastern quadrant
of Texas, established in 1849
Mission Funding Opportunties
Bishop
For questions or to request a presentation, contact The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle
Kathy Culmer, Mission Funding coordinator dotbp@epicenter.org
1225 Texas Ave.
at kculmer@epicenter.org or call 713.520.6444 Houston, TX 77002-3504
Episcopal Diocese of Texas
Diocesan Center ext. 1050. Please review online Mission Funding 1.800.318.4452 1.713.520.6444
FAX 1.713.520.5723
1225 Texas Ave.

materials at www.epicenter.org/missionfunding.
Houston, TX 77002-3504

2 0 11 M i s s i o n f u n d i n g
Opp o r t u n i t i e s C D
Austin: 1.512.478.0580, 1.800.947.0580
The deadline for responding to your 2011 Missionary Asking is November 19, 2010. Tyler: 1.903.579.6012
www.epicenter.org
editor: cbarnwell@epicenter.org
Texas Episcopalian • November 2010 20