The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul. (G. K. Chesterton)

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1 The Clarion Vol. 47, No. 1, January S. John Redditt Drive, Lufkin, Texas stcyprianschurch.org Dear St. Cyprian s Family, Here we are at the beginning of a New Year I thought about giving you a profound New Year message to help you come up with some New Year resolutions, but then I decided that would be presumptuous of me. My job is not to tell you what resolutions you should adopt to change your life in this New Year, but rather to help point the way to the One who created you and who holds you in His hand. God has the plan for your life in 2018 and beyond. I can merely encourage you to seek His plan with all of your mind, strength, and heart. I do believe that because we are Christians we must approach the idea of New Year resolutions differently not looking to the world, but looking to the Christ child whose birth we celebrated a week ago and to the Lord of Lords who will return to redeem this broken world. Here are a few inspirational New Year quotes you may want to meditate upon as you enter into the New Year. The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul. (G. K. Chesterton) Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better person. (Benjamin Franklin) Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right. (Oprah Winfrey) We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. (Edith Lovejoy Pierce) Please remember that every day is a good day to change your life not just New Year s Day. My door is always open to you if you wish to talk about burying your past mistakes (repentance) and celebrating a new life free of guilt and regret. Or perhaps you would like prayer for health, a family situation, a job or other specific needs. God has planned great things for each of you in 2018, and I pray that His will for your life will be revealed in a powerful way. May God bless you and keep you all the days of your life, Fr. Ralph+

2 Page 2 The Clarion, January 2018 School Happenings by Dr. Sherry Durham A blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you. Deuteronomy 23:5 The expectation of beginning a new year is always exciting and a little daunting at the same time. It is human nature to think of choices and circumstances of the past year that did not turn out the way we hoped. Thankfully, trusting in the words of our Lord we face the future determined to not give up or be discouraged. Lucy Maude Montgomery in the classic Anne of Green Gables said it best, Isn t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet? We are given a new year full of promise, no mistakes in it yet, and the knowledge that we are loved by God regardless of the nature of the choices we make or circumstances we may face. A new year that is a gift of love and a blessing from God. The St. Cyprian s Episcopal School family wishes each of you the very best in 2018 and appreciates the support and encouragement shared with us in Altar Flower Dedications Please stop by the Narthex to fill out any dedications for Altar Flowers you might want to make for Contact Nancy DeVore at devo2@consolidated.net with questions. It is a great help to have the Sundays dedicated well before hand, and it assures you of being able to dedicate the days that are important to you. Church Treasurer Report While Year to Date (YTD) Pledge Income is ahead of 2017 budget, YTD expenses are over budget resulting in an $8,000 loss. Since December is typically a high income month, we are expecting to finish the year in the black with a small positive margin. The current cash reserves are sufficient to cover normal cash flows and emergency contingencies. November YTD Actual November YTD Budget YTD Budget Variance Income $530,887 $520,883 $10,004 Expenses 538, ,883 18,054 Margin ($8,050) $0 ($8,050)

3 Page 3 The Clarion, January 2018 Music Notes by Greg Simmons, Music Director St. Cyprian s has had several successes this year. We ve had a very successful capital campaign, released a CD that was aired on National Public Radio, after many months our Rector and Terri returned, we ve built a relationship with an African-American church bridging barriers between race, we ve hosted discussions and conversations with other faiths, and all the time we have continued to serve the community and people around us. Who knows what the next year holds for us? But whether it is good or bad, we know that the people and ministries of St. Cyprian s are here for us. Let us step into the new year together, prepared to serve God through the ministries we have been called to. January s Fellowship Opportunities This January instead of our regular fellowship on the first Wednesday, we will have two parish-wide luncheons after the Sunday 10am worship service on January 21st for the Annual Meeting and January 28th for the Bishop and new Confirmands. Women s Bible Study Our Women s Bible Study will begin again on Tuesday, January 9th at 6-7:30pm in the ECW Room. The selected study and details will be in the bulletin after Christmas. Any questions can be directed to Laura Logan at llogan@suddenlink.net or Terri Morgan at terri.morgan3@gmail.com. Confirmation and Bishop's Visit Sunday, January 28th, 10am Bishop Jeff Fisher will be here to lead our 10am worship service and confirmation. Please come and support our new confirmands! Following the service will be a parishwide luncheon for the bishop and the confirmands. Contact Suzi Shands at susieoshands@gmail.com to volunteer to help with the luncheon. Happy New Year! We are looking forward to a wonderful year of worship, service and fellowship with you! From your church staff: Fr. Ralph, Jordan, Greg, Lena, Catherine, Carla and John

4 Page 4 The Clarion, January 2018 LAY MINISTER SCHEDULE FOR JANUARY 2018 Ministry January 7 January 14 January 21 January 28 7:30am Acolytes K Jones J Bell C Westbrook C Logan 10am Acolytes Cr: Matt H Cl: Nick H Ca: Hayne E Ca: Luke O Cr: Christian R Cl: Autumn S Ca: Hallie D Ca: Grace L Cr: Oliver N Cl: Lorelei S Ca: Vaden Ca: Wyatt P Cr: Charlotte P Cl: Austin G Ca: Millie H Ca: Reagan M Ushers T McDonald M Picou M Alvis W Enos B Eckmann J Squiers B Franks G Minshaw Altar Guild Team 2: S Short Team 3: MM Riley Team 4: S Treadwell Team 1: D Hineman Breakfast Teams Team 3: B Dobrec Team 4: R Temple Team 5: F Preston Team 6: R Blanks Coffee L Logan L Leedy Luncheon Luncheon Lay Readers 7:30am J Bell S Griffin B Zeagler B Brown Lay Readers 10am I B Estes C B Geist R1 B Hylands R2 C DeVore I D Hineman C C Riley R1 N Muir R2 T Morgan I J Peterson C L Squiers R1 K Frost R2 J Dietz I C DeVore C C Blanks R1 M Weibe R2 C Moore Vestryman R Duncan C Moore J Moore C Logan J Todd C Hunt L Frost J Franks Upcoming Dates Shrove Tuesday February 13 Ash Wednesday February 14 DioTX Council February Wake Up Weekend February Daylight Savings Time Begins Feb. 11 Palm Sunday February 25 Easter April 1 (seriously) Mother s Day May 13

5 Please refer to the calendar link on St. Cyprian s Church s website for more extensive and up-to-date information. Page 5 The Clarion, January 2018 January Birthdays 1 Linda Martin 5 Debra Munlin 14 Deborah Huffman 24 Emily Havard 2 Martha Loggins Suraj Cherry Zack Estes 25 Cliff Rucker Alys Ray 7 Nancy DeVore 15 Amanda Gilbert Karen Simpson Jake Squiers Mike Hineman Peggy Gilbert Marianna Duncan Faye Elise McLeroy 8 Charles Colwell 16 Jim Todd 26 Julie Zeagler 3 Barbara Pulaski 9 Pamela Toups Rick McKinley Diana Hineman Ashley Cook Oliver Nickle 17 Sally Selman 27 Fred Preston Ridge McDonald 10 Roger Moss 18 Ann Kaemmerling Sallye Darmstadter 4 Judy Dunn Sarah Sanders Bill Eckmann John Ramey Chuck Dendy 11 Sarah Mettlen 19 Donnie Carroll 28 Steve Hicks Kathy Jones 12 Buddy Zeagler Laura Logan 29 Carly McLain 5 Nick Fain Denise Wright 22 Julia Viet 30 Susan Sumners Kevin Jones 14 Ellen Temple 23 Dannette Sales Trey Freeman, III Terri Morgan Ruth Grumbles 24 Bil Killam 31 Ellen Pyle January Anniversaries 2 Jean and Oscar Dillahunty 23 Judy and Tom Dunn 28 Carol and Jerry Moore 21 Jayne and Paul McCurry 24 Donna and Scott Ross Event Date Time Location New Year's Day 1/1 Office Closed DAR Meeting 1/2 1:00pm Parish Hall Private Wedding Shower 1/6 11:00am Parish Hall Epiphany Pageant 1/7 10:00am Sanctuary Confirmation Class 1/14 3:00pm Parlor MLK Day 1/15 Office Closed Annual Meeting 1/21 11:30am Parish Hall Annual Meeting Luncheon 1/21 11:30am Parish Hall Vestry 1/21 12:30pm Parlor DOK Meeting 1/21 3:00pm ECW Room Confirmation Class 1/21 4:00pm Parlor Men's Fellowship 1/25 6:00pm 1000 Crooked Creek Stitch In 1/27 11:00am Parish Hall Bishop Fisher's Visit 1/28 10:00am Sanctuary Luncheon for Bishop and New Confirmands 1/28 11:30am Parish Hall Contemporary Service 1/28 5:00pm Sanctuary

6 Page 6 The Clarion, January 2018 is promising to be a very eventful year! Ahead of us, in the fall and summer, we have Camo Mania Wake-up Weekend BBQ Fundraiser Lock-in High School Mission Trip Junior High Mission Trip Lead Week The dates for these events have not been released yet and will be announced at the start of the school year. So be sure to keep an eye out for them and mark them on your calendar as they appear. As we come to the start of the year, I have a couple individuals that I need to thank: Chris DeVore, Bernard Hylands, Jessica Peterson, and Emma Wilson. These individuals have been incredible youth ministers this past year. They have helped with weekly meetings and as well as special events. They have been incredible role models for our students. I can t thank them enough for all that they have done for me and this ministry. Chris, Bernard, Jessica, Emma, you truly are a blessing to me and these students, and I thank you for your servant s heart. May God bless you, and may we have another great year in this ministry. Thank you, - Jordan A. Dietz Set Aside February for Wake Up Weekend! We are combining with First Baptist Church again this year and are expecting to have an amazing time of worship, study, and fun! All youth volunteers and events are coordinated through our Minister to Youth and Young Adults, Jordan Dietz, at Jordan@sceclufkin.org.

7 Page 7 The Clarion, January 2018 January at a Glance 7 - Epiphany Pageant 10 - Choir, sign language & puppets begin again 21 - Annual Meeting 28 - Bishop Fisher s visit Recycle your Christmas cards! Just drop them off at the church office or children s wing. 2nd, 3rd and 4th WEDNESDAYS 6pm Choir 6:30pm Sign Language 7pm Puppets Children PreK(4) to 5th are welcome to participate. You can invite your friends to come too! Epiphany Pageant Sunday, January 7 9am Meet in the children s wing. Pick out your costume. Get dressed. Perform drama in 10am church service. Simple! Contact Mrs. Lena at (936) or lnickle@lufkinisd.org.

8 St. Cyprian s Episcopal Church 919 S. John Redditt Dr. Lufkin, TX THE CLARION, (USPS ), published monthly by St. Cyprian s Church, 919 S. John Redditt Drive, Lufkin, Texas Periodicals postage paid at Lufkin, Texas. Address Service Requested. Annual Meeting January 21st, 11:30am, Parish Hall Please plan to join us for the annual parish meeting following the 10am worship service. Our current Senior Warden Rufus Duncan will discuss last year and the coming year and then Father Ralph will introduce the new Senior Warden. Parishioners should bring a covered dish for a potluck meal. The church will provide drinks. There will be a short vestry meeting following the annual meeting. Nursery provided during the meeting.