December 2007 Archives

Christmas is here again despite all covert and overt attempts to wish it away. The celebration in remembrance of the love of God in giving the Saviour to the world is so important, it cannot be wished away.

Though few human beings rejoiced at the birth of the baby Jesus, the Gospels tell about multitudes rejoicing in the heavens, about a bright star leading wise men to worship the new born king, and they also tell about the trouble his birth brought to those unwilling to have him as their Lord and King.

The incarnation is the divine condescension. The birth of Christ which we celebrate is the decisive divine intervention into human history. By it, history is measured and judged. Before the birth of Christ, all of history is categorized as era ‘Before Christ’ (B.C.) and since then, we have been in the era of ‘the year of Our Lord’ (anno domini, A.D.)

Today, multitudes of human beings join the angels to rejoice. Christians shining as light lead many to Christ and there still exists, great trouble among those who would not have Jesus. Efforts to turn Christmas into a mere holiday season continue unabated all around us. ‘Christmas Greetings’ are replaced with ‘Season Greetings’ as if it possible to have a Christmas without Christ. ‘B.C.’ and ‘A.D’ are changed to ‘B.C.E.’ (Before Common Era), and ‘C.E’ (Common Era) all in an attempt to conceal the fact that Jesus came to save an erring world from sin and eternal condemnation.

The cross of Christ which is the main reason we boast (Gal. 6:14) remains a stumbling block and a symbol of offense to those unwilling to receive God’s free gift of salvation. (Romans 9: 33) Under the guise of political correctness, symbols of Christianity in our daily lives and history are being challenged and subtly removed. All these subtle and calculated attempts of the non-believing world to mislead the unsuspecting believers and make them deny Christ should not deter us from celebrating for we are confident the efforts are bound to fail. As we celebrate Jesus’ birth this year, let us be mindful of the activities of the first celebrants; the joyous angels who while celebrating proclaimed the Good News to the shepherds.

We should also be bold to proclaim to an increasingly secularized world, the good news of the Saviour-born. We call on all Christians in positions of authority and indeed all ministers of the Gospel to vigorously resist attempts to remove Christ from Christmas and His centrality and importance in human history. We should be vigilant and avoid being misguided and misled by their seemingly innocent and socially acceptable philosophy. In being politically correct, we should not join in denying Christ his rightful place. Let all of us unashamedly proclaim the news of the greatest gift of all, the love behind the gift and peace the gift brings to all. Jesus the Christ is our Saviour, Lord, King and the best gift ever given by God to humanity. (John 3:16)

May God incarnate, give you true joy as you celebrate Him this Christmas and throughout the coming year.

Every Blessing,

Signed

The Most Revd. Peter J Akinola, CON,
Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of all Nigeria.

Sometimes we want to give to several different things with our offerings—like maybe to flowers, building fund, general fund, etc. If you could possibly write separate checks for the different funds you are giving to, it would help the board members who count on Sunday afternoons. If it’s a problem for you, don’t worry about it. We’ll sort it out. It just makes it easier to count if it’s in separate checks. Thanks for your help!

If you want to get involved with a low stress ministry at CTR, consider volunteering for the donut ministry. We're looking for a few volunteers who would be willing to pick up the donuts on a rotating schedule. How often you’d need to do it would be dependent on how many volunteer. You'd basically need to pick up the donuts from Donuts by George, and ferry them over the extremely long distance to our Church before the end of the early service. They bill the church so you wouldn’t have to worry about payment. If this sounds like something you could help out with, please contact Joe Siegler via email at church@siegler.net. Further contact info is available in the online member’s directory.

I know y'all wouldn't want the donuts to stop coming, would you?

The entire church family of Christ the Redeemer is invited to the home of Fr. Lawrence & Claire Harrison for an Open House Christmas Party on Saturday, January 5th, 2008 from 3-6pm for food, fellowship and a celebration of our Savior’s birth. This is a come and go casual gathering that will allow us to mingle with old and new friends and reflect on the abundant blessings of God. Children are warmly welcomed. The Harrison’s address is 3314 Oak Trail, Rowlett, TX 75088.

If you need directions to the Harrisons' house, you can click here to be taken to an interactive map where you can get driving directions.

This season of celebrating our Savior’s birth is a good time to give gifts in memory of our loved ones. Gifts to the Memorial Fund are used solely for the purchase of items used in our worship. If you would like to make a gift just put on the memo line of your check that it’s for the “Memorial Fund.”

This year we will have one service on Christmas Eve that will be family oriented but retain many of the elements of our traditional late Christmas Eve service. Please make plans to come and let’s celebrate our Savior’s birth all together as a family.

What a celebration! What a Savior!

Christmas Ornaments

Our Christmas tree is partially decorated by ornaments that were donated by parishioners. If you would like to add an ornament to the tree, bring it on Christmas Eve and put it on the tree before the service.

Father Lawrence has a new rector's reflections up regarding the YWAM shootings in Colorado. It also includes a letter from the senior warden here Joe Beggs, who was there at the time of the shootings.

Everyone in our congregation (and even those who are not) will want to read this. You can reach it at the Rector's Reflections page here:

http://www.rowlettanglicans.org/reflections/index.html

Father Lawrence's sermon from Sunday the 9th is also now online, which deals heavily with this unfortunate event. You can download an mp3 of the sermon from our sermons page, which is available here, or you can download the mp3 directly at this link.

UPDATE Dec 12th: This reflection has been updated twice since first being posted. The first update was on Tuesday the 11th with an update from Father Lawrence. It was updated again on Wednesday the 12th with a second letter from Joe Beggs.

Additionally, Joe & Brenda Beggs will speaking at both services Sunday, December 16th about their experience of the Colorado tragedy.

Update #1 (Dec 11): Father Lawrence updates with a first hand account of events.
Update #2 (Dec 12): Joe Beggs updates with a second letter detailing events that occurred in Colorado.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Most of you know by now about the terrible tragedy that occurred this weekend in Colorado, leaving four people dead. For those of you who do not know, both my nephew (Andrew Harrison) and our Senior Warden's daughter (Katie Beggs) are currently students at the Arvada YWAM base and were present when the shootings occurred. By the grace of God, their lives were spared. And in the gracious providence of God, Joe and Brenda Beggs were visiting Katie this past weekend and are still in Colorado, offering themselves as instruments of healing and support as needed. Some of you may not know, however, that I am personally connected to the YWAM Arvada base as I also attended this same YWAM School back in 1991 after it first opened, under the leadership of the current base director, Peter Warren. He is a godly man and has handled this tragic situation with love and great pastoral sensitivity, both with the students and among the press.

There are many "co-incidences" in the circumstances of this situation that relate to our parish, none of which has escaped God's attention, nor mine. There is fervent prayer still needed and much that we as Christians can learn from what has transpired. My sermon yesterday was preached on this subject and I hope that we will have reflections from Joe and Brenda Beggs at this Sunday's worship services. If you missed yesterday's worship services or are receiving this as a friend in Christ and would like to hear that sermon, you can link to it here:

http://www.rowlettanglicans.org/files/sermons/120907.mp3

The letter that follows was written by Joe Beggs and I think it warrants a careful reading by each of you. Joe lists the names of those still hospitalized as well as those whose lives were taken in Arvada. Please continue to keep these brave Christians and their families in prayer as well as all those affected by the shootings in Colorado Springs. In Bishop Kwashi's spirit-filled address at this week's Inaugural CANA Council, he said this: "The gospel of Jesus Christ is worth living for...and it is worth dying for." Let us all prayerfully consider the truth of this statement, stand ready to live it out, and make the most of the time that remains in our short lives on earth.

Faithfully Yours in Jesus Christ,
Lawrence+

From Joe Beggs, Senior Warden
Christ the Redeemer

To my friends, family, and associates,

I am sure most of you have seen the reports today from Arvada, CO concerning the shootings and deaths of members of the missionary staff at YWAM. I also know that many of you have been in prayer for the situation and the people involved. Most of you know, that our youngest daughter Katie is attending the Youth With A Mission Discipleship Training School in Arvada. I am eternally grateful to God that she was not one of the young people who were shot, two of whom have died.

I am also thankful to God that Brenda and I had chosen this weekend to visit with Katie during her time here, since she is scheduled to leave for Argentina next week on a two-month mission trip. I am not sure how I would have handled the phone call I received last night had I been in Dallas rather than Denver.

I thought I would try to tell you guys what our last 24 hours have been like.

We had spent most of the day yesterday with Katie. She and Brenda visited the "thrift stores" to pick up a couple of items she was going to need for Argentina. Katie then went back to base to get ready for their Christmas dinner/Love Fest. It was a wonderful evening where the kids dressed up in their finest, wore masks, and had a talent show following a great dinner that some of them had prepared for us. Brenda and I went back to the hotel planning on meeting Katie for church Sunday morning and then heading for the airport to come home.

About 12:45 AM we received a call that changed our lives forever. Katie called crying hysterically and when I finally got her settled down to a point where I could understand her, she said "daddy they are shooting at us!". Brenda and I immediately dressed and headed the 10-15 miles to the base. When we arrived, the police were all over the place and of course, they were not allowing anyone in the area. When I told them my daughter was a student at YWAM and in the building, they assured us that all the students had been accounted for. They then asked us to go to a parking lot a few blocks away where several staff members of YWAM, who live off-campus were beginning to gather. There was also a policeman there who went out of his way to keep all of us somewhat informed.

After a couple of hours of waiting, we were told that they were taking all the kids to police headquarters to get their statements. During this time they had not been allowed to use their cell phones because they didn't want to contaminate the case or the evidence. The officer suggested we go back to the hotel, but I said that I would like to just wait at the police department's parking lot. He got my name and said he would have someone call as soon as their was something to tell. He did good! We hadn't been at the PD more than 15 minutes when we got a call from someone in the building inviting us to come in. We were met by a Victim's Advocate representative who could not have been more helpful. They then interviewed Katie first since she had parents there and was going to be leaving with them.

Having been with the Staff members and the police officer, we knew more about who was hurt than Katie. They had not been told names at all. Unfortunately, the initial reports turned out to be overly optimistic. We were initially told that Tiffany was the worse off, but had regained consciousness prior to be taken to surgery. We were also told that the 3 guys had lesser injuries. Unfortunately that pretty much got blown away when we found out around 9:00 this morning that Tiffany and Phil, had both died, and Dan was in critical, but stable condition. The fourth young man has been listed as stable. We have been told that he has a leg wound. Dan, was shot in the neck and we are told that it may be two weeks before they will be able to operate because of the swelling.

Continue to pray for Dan and Chuck, as well as the families of Tiffany and Phil, and of course, the students who are all dealing with the loss of these wonderful individuals.

For those of you who are not aware of YWAM, the staff for the most part are no older than many of the students. Katie thinks she is probably older than all four of the staff members who were shot. Tiffany and Dan had become "an item". When that occurs they are assigned an older, married couple to act as their accountability partners. Some of the stories we have heard about their relationship have been both heart-warming, as well as heart-wrenching. They obviously loved one another, but more importantly, they loved our Lord. We were told by one of the older staff members that "either of them would have willingly given their lives for our Lord". Which at least Tiffany ended up doing.

As I am sure you have heard, there was another shooting 12 hours later, and 70 miles away at Colorado Springs at a church. One of the shooters there was killed by a security guard and another suspect was captured. The Arvada police are looking into the possibility that the two shootings might be connected. I pray that they were and the two perpetrators have been taken care of. The suspects seem to have a lot in common, but the major difference is the YWAM assault was carried out by one person, while the Colorado Springs had two.

We will see.

Brenda and I extended our stay for a day or two to try to help in any way we can. The Arvada students have been moved to another base northwest of Golden, but they went up there directly from police headquarters, and many of them didn't even have shoes and coats, much less tooth brushes, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. Brenda and I made a run to Costco for some of those items, and then I helped them unload a bobtail truck that was sent up from the Denver Rescue Mission with sleeping bags, linens, towel, and food.

I would ask each of you to keep these young people in your prayers. Watching them share their love, as well as their grief, makes me proud to not only have one of them for a daughter, but also to know that God is still working with his young people. I have been taught that Jesus' apostles were all young men. Seeing the faith of these young people gives me a great sense that the example set by the original 12 will be carried forward by many, if not most, of the young folks I observed today.

Please keep them and their leaders in your prayers.

In His Love and service,
Joe

UPDATE #1 from Fr Lawrence (Dec 11): My friend, Fr. Michael Fry, sent me the link to this testimony of the security guard who shot the gunman in Colorado Springs and it brought chills to me as I witnessed the depth of her Christian walk and how God had prepared her for this moment. If you want to hear a genuine testimony of a person who walks with God and knows to give the glory to Him, this is really something worth watching. The link is here.

UPDATE #2 from Joe Beggs (Dec 12):

Dear Friends, Family, and Associates,

Today is Tuesday and Brenda and I are on a plane coming home from Denver.

First let me thank all of you for the prayers and kind words that you have extended to Brenda, Katie, and me; as well as the victims, their families, and all those who were touched by the events of this past weekend, both at YWAM and New Life Church in Colorado Springs. I can't begin to tell you how much we have appreciated your kindness.

I have been asked by several of you to give an update on the situation, so the following is my attempt to write down my thoughts in some sort of logical order. Writing it is almost like therapy for me and at a lot less money!!

I assume that you all know that the young man who was killed when he attacked the New Life Church in Colorado Springs has been positively identified as the same person who had assaulted the YWAM facility in Arvada 12 hours earlier. Please keep his family in your prayers. From what the papers and news reports have said, he appeared to be a very "mixed up" kid who grew up in a very religious family.

Yesterday (Monday), Brenda and I returned to the YWAM base in the mountains northwest of Golden around lunchtime. We had picked up a few more items that were needed at the base. The base at Eagle Rock is a beautiful facility that was converted from a former juvenile detention center. Seems somewhat ironic that a former juvenile detention center is now being used as a training facility for missionaries being prepared to carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world!!

I am not sure how many trainees are normally based there but I do know that they have an issue with an inadequate water supply. Under normal circumstances, they bring their laundry down to Arvada each Friday, since they do not have enough water to wash their clothes! That being the case, clean towels and washcloths became a hot commodity when their numbers basically doubled! We were able to purchase a good number of towels and washcloths pretty cheap at a Big Lots, and grab some other toiletry items which were also needed.

When we arrived at the base, there were YWAM leaders from all around the country, as well as the world there to lend prayers and support. Shortly after our arrival, the gunman was identified as a person who had once been a student at Arvada, but who had not been allowed to finish the course, nor do the outreach. The official reason given by YWAM was "due to health concerns". There are other reports out there in the media, but for me, this is good enough.

In another "God-incidence", we met two of the leaders who had come in to help; a lady from San Francisco and a gentleman from Las Vegas. When we started talking, we discovered that the man, Dave Mansfield, was a friend of a member of our church, Joe Siegler, who had been told by Joe that we were here, and for him to try to find us!!

About 2:00 PM they started what turned out to be an impromptu memorial service for Tiffany and Phil. It was an absolutely beautiful service, with tears, laughter, and an outpouring of love for them, as well as the God they died for. It was during this service that I realized one of the reasons God had for me to be here at this time. I mentioned Dave Mansfield, Joe's friend from Las Vegas. At the beginning of the service they introduced Dave as YWAM'er, but also a trained grief counselor. I just knew that Brenda and I were supposed to pray for Dave, and when I mentioned it to him, he readily accepted our offer. After the service we prayed that God would bless him with "the mind of Christ and the ability to look into the souls of those he would minister to". We also asked for Dave to receive "wisdom and complete clarity of thought during his times with the missionaries who would be seeking his council".

As an aside, (and since she is receiving this email and might need a reminder!) we asked Katie to spend some time with Dave, seeing how she is a lot like her daddy, and has a tendency to "internalize" things, I think it would definitely be a good thing!

We then left Eagle Rock and returned to our hotel shortly after the memorial service ended.

I am not sure that I am capable of adequately expressing the admiration I have for everyone I met from YWAM, and the way this ordeal was handled. Peter Warren, the director of YWAM/Colorado managed this crisis professionally, but with a sense of sensitivity; but more importantly, in a Godly and loving manner. I hope to someday be able to tell him of my admiration personally.

Katie and her friends use the word "processing" to describe how they are dealing with this tragedy. I am sure that this is a psychological term with a long and complicated definition which I am not familiar with; but I think the term is appropriate. I remember years ago going through some training for the latest innovation in manufacturing techniques when the trainer explained how this was different from what we had learned in the past. He described this as a "process, rather than a program". He noted that a program has a beginning and an end, where a process is "never-ending".

This seems to me to be a good way to look at this weekend's events and its aftermath. I will never forget what I've experienced these last few days, and feel quite certain that most of the young men and women will neither. I will remember much more than the horror of the event. I will remember most of all how a community of God's people came together to love and support one another through this horrible ordeal. The pain will eventually subside, but those memories of the young people and how they loved one another will be etched in my mind forever.

As I have told a few of you the last couple of days, "I pray to God that I never have to experience anything like this past weekend again, but I thank Him, from the bottom of my heart, that I was in Denver and able to witness His healing power and love, as He ministered to all of us who were there".

In His Love and Service,

Joe

PS: I wrote this on the plane this afternoon, and typed and edited it this evening. We have since heard from Katie and they are down the mountain and back at Arvada. Continue to pray for them as they have the formal Memorial Service for Tiffany and Phil tomorrow and prepare to leave for Argentina in the near future (not sure of date, they might find out later tonight).

JTB

Dearest friends in Christ,

As you receive this newsletter, we will be celebrating our nine month anniversary as a newly transplanted congregation in South Garland. How ironic that nine months is the gestation period for a baby as it seems that it what God has been doing with us over the past nine months: preparing us for new birth as a congregation as we also celebrate this month the birth of our Savior.

Reflecting back on the past nine months, it is hard to fight back the tears of joy as I recall the many ways God has shown to us His goodness and faithfulness. In less than a week, we renovated and established a new worship space; we purchased six acres of land in Rowlett for a future campus, complete with the Canterbury House; we found a new spiritual home in CANA, we regularly received the necessary resources to continue in faithful ministry; we saw steady growth, necessitating the expansion of our Broadway campus; and we have seen many people come to know the Lord Jesus Christ and receive his healing touch. Amazing things have happened as we have sought to be a church family faithful to the Bible and the teaching of the Apostles as we have received it. And now, as our nine-month “gestation” period comes to an end, we see God beginning to open up new vistas of ministry and opportunities for us as a congregation.

In January, we will embark on The Promised Land Capital Campaign which will give us the resources to press forward with our Master Plan and pay off the debt on the land we have purchased in Rowlett. The kickoff for this Campaign will be the same day as our first Confirmation service since we joined CANA and a visit from our new CANA bishop, David Anderson. January will also mark the celebration of new ministry for Sheri Graham as she is ordained a deacon and begins a new season of ministry among us as a member of the clergy. In March, we will celebrate our one year anniversary as a congregation by sponsoring the Anglican School of Healing Ministries at our Broadway campus, hosting Anglicans and other Christians from all over the country as we seek to fulfill our call to equip disciples and spread the Good News of God’s healing touch. Next summer we will lead several mission trips and I will hopefully host a group of CANA ordination aspirants on a trip to Nigeria.

Just as the Apostle Peter wrote to the early disciples, we have indeed been “born anew through the living and abiding word of God.” I am so thankful for each one of you who has remained faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ and has given so generously of your time, talent and treasure for the building of God’s Kingdom and the “equipping of the saints for ministry” here at Christ the Redeemer. It is an exciting time in the life of our congregation and there is a place for each of us to continue to be faithful ministers of the gospel using the gifts that He has given to us according to His grace.

I pray that for you and your family, this Advent and Christmas season will be filled with a joy-filled peace and a sense of expectancy in what God has planned for each of us in the months and years ahead.

Joyfully Yours in His Love and Grace,

Fr Lawrence+

Sponsored by the Helping Hands Ministry

Books, both paperback and hardcover, are being collected to take to the patients at the Veterans Hospital by The Colonel George Mason Chapter of the DAR. They will also accept travel size toiletries, combs, or white socks to make goody bags for each person.

Please give any donations to Jerry Tillman. If you have any questions please contact Jerry.

Why??

Questions that are frequently asked — “Why wasn’t my family member’s birthday listed?” or “Why wasn’t our anniversary mentioned?”

The most frequent answer to those questions is that an information form was never turned in for you or your family. No information carried over from our previous records so we had to begin from scratch. Even if you’ve been a member for 20 years please fill out a quick form that asks for birthdays, anniversaries, phone numbers, emails, etc. We want to recognize all your special days and celebrate with you! There should be forms in the tract rack where the bulletins are for the services. If not, call the office at 972-240-0181 and request one.