September 2007 Archives

The Board of Church of the Holy Trinity Incorporated voted unanimously at last night's Board Meeting to change the DBA ("Doing Business As" name) of the parish to Christ the Redeemer. Since the votes for several versions of this name totaled 47% of votes cast on September 9, and the next highest percentage was 16%, the Board discerned that it was the will of the Lord and the mind of the congregation to have this be our new identity. The word Anglican was not included in the name because the Board felt it would allow us a biblical witness to more far-reaching group of people who might shy away from the word Anglican because it was unfamiliar or carried with it a particular connotation. In all public instances where this name will publicize us to the world around us (the website, signs on building) a subtitle will read: "A church affiliated with the Convocations of Anglicans in North America. It will take us time to change all instances of the old name on documents, publications etc. If you find a place where a change needs to be made, please notify the church office.

Please note that the website will be updated as the webservant has time to make all the changes.

You may make checks out to "Christ the Redeemer", those can be accepted.

I'll be writing several reflections in the coming week, about our new name and an update on the renovation/expansion of our Broadway space. But in this edition of the Rector's Reflections, I want to highlight a few points about what has been happening the wider Anglican Communion and Episcopal Church this past week.

1) The Episcopal Bishops released a statement from their bi-annual meeting in New Orleans which ended this past Tuesday. It’s only a couple of pages long, if you want to read it it is available here. More importantly is how folks reacted to it: Both the conservatives that are threatening to leave AND the radical left (the Episcopal Gay lobby) are united in reading this as a “status quo” document. The New York Times agrees with this summary as well (link). The BBC is reporting that the Archbishop of Kenya has already said the “compromise” was insufficient. Our own Archbishop, Peter Akinola wrote a strongly worded statement which you can view here. Surely there will be much more written and many more pundits speaking, but the verdict will probably be left unchanged.

2) A very important meeting has just concluded in Pittsburgh including 51 Conservative Bishops from the Episcopal Church, overseas Anglicans and what have been called the “continuing churches” (Anglicans that left TEC years ago). There was a lot of hope riding on this meeting that it would be the starting point of a new orthodox Anglican province in the U.S. You can read CANA's perspective on the results of this meeting here. Many orthodox bishops have commented that one person who chose not to attend this historic meeting of conservative bishops was Bishop James Stanton of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas.

3) My former boss when I worked at St. Andrew’s in Fort Worth, TX (The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey Steenson) who is now the Episcopal Bishop of The Rio Grande has resigned to become a Roman Catholic. It is quite rare for an active Bishop to resign his post prior to retirement; and even more rare for an active Bishop to go to Rome (I don’t think it’s EVER happened) though two retired Bishops joined the Roman Catholic Church earlier this year. You can read Bp. Steenson’s farewell speech to his colleagues in the House of Bishops here.

4) Watch the news – it is rumored that as many as four or five Episcopal Church Dioceses will leave TEC within the year. San Joaquin is expected to be the first to leave in December. The others who are most likely to jump out of TEC include Ft. Worth TX, Pittsburgh PA & Quincy IL. One reliable web site for news on the Anglican Communion is http://www.standfirminfaith.com.

I try not to dwell on the politics of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. However, from time to time, I think it is important for me to inform you of recent events that may have an effect on us as a congregation. Although no clear impact is immediately apparent, there will inevitably be an effect on us as a CANA congregation from this past week's events. Stay tuned for more updates.

Here is a summary of the new Fall Evening Schedules that will go into effect this week. Please note that ALL activities take place at the Broadway Campus:

Wednesday:
5:00-6:15pm – Elijah’s Cave
6:30-6:55pm – Pizza available at $1 per slice
7:00pm – Bible Study, Kids Club, RSM, Nursery
8:15pm – Holy Communion

Sunday:
7:45am-1:00pm – Nursery (through age 3)
8:00am – Holy Eucharist
9:45-10:30am – Christian Education for all ages, Confirmation Classes
11:00am – Holy Eucharist, Children’s Chapel (ages 3-6)
4:45-5:25pm – Light dinner available
5:30-6:00pm – Praise & Worship for 7th grade to adult, Kid’s Klub, Nursery begins
6:00pm – Discipleship, Small Prayer Groups

Due to lack of participation we will re-schedule this class for a date around the first of 2008

September 29th
4:30—7 p.m.

If you have recently begun attending our church and would like to know more about the way things work or the ministries of the church please join us. Several ministry leaders will tell you what’s going on in particular ministries and how you might be involved. It’ll be a good time to get acquainted with others in your new family. Please let Fr. Jeff Mead or Sheri Graham know if you’d like to attend. If you have any questions, call the church office at 972-240-0181.

Several exciting activities are planned for the women's ministries for the fall. Here are the details on them:

Beth Moore’s Daniel Bible Study - Thursday and Saturday mornings at 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the Broadway location in Garland beginning September 8, 2007 and ending December 6, 2007. This is a DVD driven Bible Study facilitated by Claire Harrison on Saturdays and Sheri Graham on Thursdays. If you have any questions, please call the office at 972.240.0181.

Moms ‘n Mosaics - Our newest ministry in Women’s Ministry for Moms of children from preschool age to twelfth grade. This group will meet once a month beginning on Tuesday, October 16th , from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, and, thereafter, the third Tuesday of each month at the Broadway location in Garland. Mrs. Bonnie McConnell, teacher extraordinaire for many years in the Garland ISD, will lead the teaching ,Your Child: Essentials of Discipline by James Dobson. You will hear wise counsel on effective discipline, self- confidence, and safeguards for a dangerous world. Snacks and childcare will be provided. If you are interested in attending this ministry, please call the office, ask for Candyce Milner or e-mail womensministry@rowlettanglicans.org.

Ladies Night Out - Get ready to enjoy fun, food, and fellowship with your Sisters in Christ the last Friday night of each month beginning Friday, September 28th from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., at the Broadway location in Garland. Our coordinator for this ministry is wonderfully creative Brenda Beggs! Come see what she has in store for us in September!

Memory Makers - a ministry of mature women who enjoy fellowship while doing community service projects such as making prayer cloths, Christmas stockings, and other helpful items for those in need. These women are also active in having fun as they ride the rail into Plano to shop as well as go on many other exciting outings. Call Joyce Stewart or Paulette Richards for more info.

Christmas Celebration - The Annual Christmas Celebration for the Women of Holy Trinity Anglican Church is tentatively set for Saturday, December 8th, at the home of Karen Powell. Be sure to mark your calendar so you won’t miss the highlight of our Women’s Ministry as we end another wonderful year together.

The election for delegates to the CANA Annual Council yielded the following results:

Delegates:

Daniel New
Shirley Sharp
Bonnie McConnell

Alternates:

Peter Ambler
Christine Ambler
Billie New

There was no majority on the new name for our congregation. The Board will discuss how to proceed with narrowing the field at our next regularly scheduled Board Meeting on September 17.

During the month of July, a video was shown to the congregation at various times entitled “A Prayer Driven Church.” The ideas in that video have prompted many of us to want to focus more on prayer in every aspect of our parish life. For that reason, we are starting Prayer Cell Groups that will meet on Sunday evenings at the same time as Adult and Teenage Discipleship classes. These cell groups are open to anyone who has a desire for small group fellowship with an emphasis on prayer and learning to be a more effective “pray-er.” A light dinner will be available at 5pm that will be cooked on a rotating basis by the cell groups and discipleship small groups. Then, in order to begin our evening with a focus on the Lord, the participants in each ministry that evening will begin with common worship in the sanctuary at 5:30pm. Then the cell groups and Discipleship Class will separate for their own ministries. The organizational meeting for the cell groups will be on Sunday, September 9 at 5:30pm. There will be a chance for you to ask questions and we will organize into cell groups which will meet together on Sunday nights throughout the year. This is an excellent opportunity for every parishioner to learn more about prayer and to become involved in a small group for fellowship and prayer. Because there will be activities for all ages, it is also another opportunity for families to worship and be together on Sunday evenings. We look forward to having you be a part of this exciting new ministry on Sunday evenings.

Did you receive your copy of The Sword? If not, we may not have an information sheet from you. Please take a minute and complete one so that we have the correct info for you. Blank ones are in the bulletin rack at the church.

You can also call the church office as well - there are still a great number of people who have not filled out these forms, and it makes record keeping very difficult when we do not have everyone's information. Thank you.

Father Lawrence has updated the "Rector's Reflections" section of the website. This contains updates on the land situation, the impending expansion of the Garland campus, and some particulars in regards to these matters.

You will definitely want to check this update out to get all the latest.

for Saturday classes
Saturday, 10 - 11:30 a.m.

for Thursday classes
Thursday, 10 - 11:30 a.m.

This fall there are two opportunities to attend the Beth Moore study “Daniel”. Classes will be held on both Saturday and Thursday at the Broadway location. Both classes will cover the same sessions. For more info contact the church office at 972-240-0181. We’re off to a great start! There’s still time for you to be involved. Bring your friends.