St. Philip s Episcopal Church 106 East Crawford Palestine, Texas 75801

Transcription

1 St. Philip s Episcopal Church 106 East Crawford Palestine, Texas Rector: The Rev. Ted Welty Vestry Members Administrator: Kelan M. Eckerman Cad Williams, Sparky Kolstad, Bill Fraser(Jr. Warden) Treasurer: Melissa F. Cox Phillip Morton, Carla Cubstead, Melissa Cox, Frank Sexton: Chris Rogers Polasek, Norwood Brenneke, Pat Redding, Rich Organist/Choirmaster: Clarissa Delany Lavinski, Becky Myers, Leo Mizell (Sr. Warden) Monday -Thursday 9a-5p Church Office s: Friday 9a-12p Rector: twelty4235@aol.com Closed Federal Holidays Admin: stphilipspalestine@embarqmail.com Phone: (903) Website: Fax: (903) Curate: stphilipspalestine@embarqmail.com Father Ted: (903)

2 January 2017 Inside this issue: Rector s Corner 2-4 Treasurer 6 DOK 6 ECW 5 Schedules 5 Altar Flowers, 4 Anniversaries & Birthdays 6 Calendar 7-8 Church Info 1 Well Done, Good and Faithful Servants: Except for the annual election of new members, most Episcopalians seldom give their parish vestry much thought. It is surprising that even the canons of the Episcopal Church say very little about the role of the vestry. As a matter of fact, this is it from Canon : The vestry shall be agents and legal representatives of the parish in all matters concerning its corporate property and the relations of the parish to its clergy. This deceptively simple sentence describes a huge amount of legal and fiduciary responsibility for the vestry in making decisions that are in keeping with the law and sound financial principles. In my opinion, even more important is the spiritual leadership that is not spoken of in the Canons of the Church. It takes a special group of people to discern, with the rector, what the parish is called to do and to have oversight of that work. Over the years, St. Philip s has been blessed with people who are willing to take on the task of leading the parish. This past year was no different, and I want to take an opportunity to thank the 2016 Vestry. In particular I would like to thank the vestry members who have completed their three-year terms of office. They are Carla Cubstead, Leo Mizell, Senior Warden, Bill Fraser, Junior Warden, and Frank Polasek. When you see them, please thank them for their service. Annual Parish Meeting: The Annual St. Philip's Parish Meeting will be on Monday, January 16, 2017 at 6:00 PM. As usual we will begin the meeting with a covered dish dinner. This year the Church will furnish the meat, so please bring a side dish or desert. Following dinner, I will present a short "state of the Parish Report." We will also elect vestry members. The participation in nominating new vestry members for this year has been very good, and we have an excellent slate of candidates. At the meeting you will be asked to choose four people out of the following list of candidates: David Brown Terry Thorn Frank George Alex Nemer Kathy Thomas Robert Criss Paul Morris Charlie Nichols My thanks to these folks for agreeing to stand for vestry election.

3 . A Christmas Letter: I received the following letter in It is from a young USAF fighter pilot who was flying combat missions in Iraq and spent Christmas 2008 there. The holiday season this year has been a unique experience. Being away from home is nothing new, nor is being away from family, but spending the Christmas Season in a combat zone with other members of the uniformed services can really put things in perspective. I spent this Christmas Eve and early Christmas morning airborne and strapped into a 36 million dollar piece of Lockheed-Martin military hardware with several thousand pounds of American diplomacy bolted to the rails. We were completely darked out, meaning all of our lights were off for our combat mission and combined with the moonless night, it can make you feel somewhat lonely under that bubble canopy, especially on Christmas. The claustrophobia in the small cockpit is fought off by an unhindered view of the night sky that is filled with stars beyond comprehension and an occasional shooting star that will carry a slight bluish-green tint as it enters the atmosphere. The night sortie turned out to be a rather uneventful flight, which has quickly become the rule versus the exception this time in the desert. My last deployment to the sand was just the opposite where each ride was an exercise in extinguishing the helmet fire due to the constant changes and flex to support one troops in contact with the enemy after another. The troop surge then was just in its infancy and the influx of troops led to an increase in attacks. Despite the surge s controversy, which belonged mostly to the liberal media, the surge worked. Despite what the American Civil Liberties Union will tell you, or some lawyer s interpretation of the separation of church and state, America is in fact a Christian nation. I was reminded of that throughout the day as controllers on the radio, and other flights of aircraft ended their transmissions with and have a Merry Christmas, This might not seem too uncharacteristic this time of year, but considering that in a region that is predominately Islamic, the mere utterance of Christ by a follower of Islam to another can result in you being stoned to death due to a perception of the rejection of Islam. I for one feel fortunate t live in a country that allows the freedom to choose how we practice our religion and the stability to see a peaceful transfer of power during this election season. And this is because our country was founded upon the principles of Christianity. In light of the news reporting abysmal sales for holiday shopping and loss of profits, we might often ask ourselves, Where has the Spirit of Christmas gone? Well, for one, it was never in aisle nine of Walmart or something that you can put a bow around. Those are only symbolic of Christmas. But amongst the acts of violence across the world, starvation in places most Americans do not know about, and a slowing economy that has led to some stressful times for many, I can still tell you that Christmas is alive and well. You just have to know where to look and what to listen for.

4 I am reminded of the story of the man walking along the shore with Christ and the two sets of footprints they left in the sand. As the man continued on his journey and the path became difficult, only one set of footprints remained in the sand. Father, how could have left me during this difficult time? ; My son, it was during those difficult times that only one set of footprints remained in the sand because it was I who was carrying you. Much like this story, I am reminded of how the troops are providing support for those who are not able to defend themselves, how we airmen are providing comfort for the troops on the ground, how a soup kitchen volunteer supplies a hot meal and a warm bed to a fellow man during tough economic times, and how Christ is always with us even though we might not see him daily and think He has left us to fend off a turbulent world. The truth is, Christ is there for each of us and sometimes Christ is simply one of us being there for your fellow human being. I hope you are there for each other this holiday season. Your brother in Christ, Bryan. Ann and I wish you a Happy New Year. May you and yours be richly blessed by God in 2017 and beyond. Yours in Christ, Ted+ FUN FUN FUNDRAISER The time is getting near for our 57th annual Chili Fiesta Fundraiser date is set for February 7th, Tuesday, only six weeks away and I am honored to Chair this ECW event with my Co-Chairs Carla Cubstead and Marian Raney. Everything clicked so well last year, we are going to repeat this schedule of workers (with a few changes), so if you cannot work the station you did last year, please contact me or Carla or Marian to make the change. There will be a schedule of workers in the Sunday bulletin in a couple of weeks. We are also going to have a Wrap Day on Monday February 6th, the day before Fiesta, as we have the past few years that Muriel Mizell organized so well.this is where we bag the chips, pickles, crackers, etc. I will be contacting you soon to work that day, and we will also break bread together. Just say YES!!! Sell Sell Sell those Fiesta tickets!!! Ticket Chairman this year is Ann Welty and the tickets will be available at the Annual Parish Meeting and ECW meeting, so please pick up your tickets. Looking forward to two fun days Blessings, Mary Kolstad

5 January Ushers: Leo Mizell, Terry Thorn Altar Guild: Dec 31 Jan 6 Team 4: Sara Minton: Jeanette George, Barbara Kolstad, Caron Fraser (Linens: Nancy Waggoner) Jan 7 Jan13 Team 1: Francis Williams: Bev Beck, Carla Cubstead, Cathy Faust, (Linens: Joann Evans) Note: Jan 8 th hangings are still white, but change to green on the 9 th Jan 14 Jan 20 Team 2: Becky Myers: Julie Law, Deborah Morton, Cathy Summers (Linens: Deborah Morton) Jan 21 Jan 27 Team 3: Kathryn Fagalde: Mary Kolstad, Alex Nemer, Shirlee Padgette (Linens: Kathryn Fagalde) Jan 28 Feb 3 Team 4: Sara Minton: Jeanette George, Barbara Kolstad, Caron Fraser (Linens: Nancy Waggoner) Lay Ministers: January 2017 Reader Chalice I/Server Chalice II Sun 1 7:30 I Bob Blackwell 10 II Barbara Kolstad Scott Nicholson Sparky Kolstad Wed 4 5:30 I Phillip Morton Sun 8 7:30 I Chris Kolstad 10 II Phillip Morton Jerry Fagalde Charlie Nichols Wed 11 5:30 II David Brown Sun 15 7:30 I Bob Blackwell 10 II Scott Nicholson Allyson Mitchell Katherin Prater Wed 18 5:30 II Chris Kolstad Sun 22 7:30 I Chris Kolstad 10 II Sparky Kolstad David Brown Barbara Kolstad Wed 25 5:30 II Phillip Morton Sun 29 7:30 I Bob Blackwell 10 II Katherin Prater Phillip Morton Charlie Nichols Vestry-January Phillip Morton 8 Pat Redding 15 Becky Myers 22 Melissa Cox 29 Sparky Kolstad Caron Fraser The ECW will meet Tuesday, January 10th, in the Parish Hall. Hostess are Mary Kolstad and Marian Raney. Devotional by Pat Redding. The program will be presented by Kim Reese, operations manager at Windemere Assisted Living. Refreshments will be served at 9:45 and the meeting will begin at 10. All women of St. Philip s are invited to attend. Please join us

6 1 Birdie Sue Holmes 8 Donna Criss 15 Linda Walton 16 Martha Polasek 19 Becky Myers 20 Pat Derby 20 Kathleen smith 20 Melissa Cox 24 Cathy Faust 25 Chauncey Boone Young 26 Rachel Sullivan 27 Randall King 28 Emalyn K. Nicholson 29 David Long 31 Roxanne Davis 4 John & Becky Myers Melissa Cox November 2016 Year-to-Date Beginning Balance 29, , Total Income 8, , Total Expenses (981.38) 231, Ending Balance 38, , To give Altar Flowers please call the Church Office at or contact Beverly Beck at or cell Fund Raiser for the ECW: The Monday morning egg workshop is suspended until after the New Year. A notification will be given when it will start again. We appreciate all the help and assistance everyone has given to make this successful. Cursillo meetings are now every Tuesday at 12:15 p.m. in the Parlor, Mary Kolstad This month s meeting will be on Sunday Jan 7th following the 10am service. Katherin Prater Monthly meeting on Sunday January 1st following the 10 am service.