February 24 An Act of Love The Story

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1 February 24 An Act of Love The Story A Father. A Church. A Movement. 6:00 pm Screening / 7:30 pm Q&A with Frank Schaefer Royal Lane Baptist Church Sanctuary An Act of Love tells the story of an unwitting advocate in the fight for equal rights within the Church, Rev. Frank Schaefer, who had his ministerial credentials revoked in December 2013 after officiating his son s same-sex wedding. At the beginning of his career, Schaefer had no intention of getting involved in the controversy over gay marriage in the Church. However, several years into Frank s ministry at a small church in Pennsylvania, his eldest son, Tim, began to quietly struggle with his sexual orientation. Amidst fear of rejection from his Church and his family, Tim became withdrawn and teetered on the verge of suicide. Once the Schaefers assured their son that they accepted and loved him regardless of his sexual orientation, a new fear arose what would Frank s congregation in Lebanon, Pennsylvania think? Tim never felt comfortable in Lebanon, so he moved to Boston for college in an effort to live in a more progressive area. It was in Boston where he met his future husband. After college, they were married in a private service in Massachusetts, where Frank officiated. The Schaefers knew that having Frank officiate Tim s wedding was a risk to his career, but they figured since it was a private family affair that it wouldn t ruffle any feathers. Many ministers in the United Methodist Church have conducted same-sex marriages without penalty, even though it is against Church law. However, there have been times when ministers were brought to trial within the Church and defrocked for officiating same-sex marriages, such as in the case of Rev. Jimmy Creech in And in 2004, UMC minister Beth Stroud was put on trial and defrocked after coming out as a lesbian to her congregation in Philadelphia. Nearly six years passed after Tim and Bobby s wedding, and no one had brought up the marriage. Only weeks before the statute of limitations ran out, a member of Frank s church brought an official complaint against him. In November 2013, Frank Schaefer s Church trial was held over two days in a Church camp gymnasium. At the end of the trial, the Church gave Frank a choice: promise to never perform a same-sex wedding again, or turn in his credentials as a minister. For Frank, there was no more debating; he would not promise to stop performing same-sex marriages. He was subsequently defrocked. But Frank was not done preaching. Immediately after his defrocking, he began a six month speaking tour, going to churches and rallies around the nation and appearing on several TV shows. While touring the country, Frank filed an appeal for his defrocking in hopes to be reinstated. But he feared that he would lose the appeals process like other ministers had in the past. An Act of Love follows Frank and his family, from the initial trial though his final Judicial Council hearing, as they join the struggle to change the Church from within to allow for greater acceptance of its LGBTQ members and clergy. The next issues of The Mosaic are scheduled for March 2 & 16, The deadline for submissions will be 5:00 p.m. Tuesday prior to the date of publication.

2 Coming Events Sunday February 21 Second Sunday of Lent / Martha Stearns Marshall Day of Preaching 9:30 am Donuts, Coffee/Juice Family Hall 9:45 am Christian Education Christian Education Classrooms & Portable 1 10:55 am Morning Worship Laura Keller, Preacher Sanctuary 12:15 pm Fireside Feedback Luncheon Family Hall (12:15 2:00 pm) (childcare provided) 5:00 pm Intercessory Prayer Library Tuesday February 23 5:30 pm Fellowship Committee Library Wednesday February 24 5:00 pm Family Supper Family Hall Chicken Mushroom Rice Casserole, Broccoli, Salad, Rolls, Ice Cream 6:00 pm An Act of Love Screening Sanctuary 6:00 pm Children s Choir/Missions Children s Building 6:00 pm Youth Activities/Study Youth Basement 7:30 pm An Act of Love Q&A with Frank Schaefer Sanctuary Thursday February 25 6:00 pm Properties Committee Library Friday February 26 6:00 pm Youth Movie Night Youth Basement (6:00 9:00 pm) Sunday February 28 Third Sunday in Lent 9:30 am Donuts, Coffee/Juice Family Hall 9:45 am Christian Education Christian Education Classrooms & Portable 1 10:55 am Morning Worship Paula Dempsey, Guest Preacher Sanctuary Called Church Conference 5:00 pm Intercessory Prayer Library Wednesday Called Church Conference Sunday, February 28, 2016 For the purpose of electing members of the Pastor Search Committee (PSC) and approving the Pastor Profile, to be presented at the Fireside Feedback Luncheon, Sunday, February 21. Nominees from the deacons for the PSC: Margaret Darden Nate Green Paulette Harrison Jack Mullinax Matt Orwig Jan Quesada Adam Simmons Charlotte Sewell Cathy Webb March 2 Mosaic 5:30 pm Family Supper Family Hall 6:15 pm Children s Choir/Missions Children s Building 6:15 pm Youth Activities/Study Youth Basement 6:15 pm Midweek Service The Practice of Intentional Faith Development with Layne Smith Family Hall 7:15 pm Adult Choir Rehearsal Sanctuary The deadline for the order of service, the Midweek, and the Mosaic is Tuesday, 5:00 p.m. prior to publication. Like RLBC on Facebook or Follow RLBC on Twitter Paula Dempsey, Guest Preacher, February 28 Paula Clayton Dempsey serves as director of partnership relations for the Alliance of Baptists. To that position she brought more than 25 years of ministry experience as a pastor, campus minister, hospice chaplain, and director of Advent Spirituality Center. Paula lives with her family in Western North Carolina and travels from there to be with Alliance of Baptist congregations and ministry partners around the world. It s time to place requests for Easter Flowers! Easter Flowers are $12 each and requests with names of person(s) or group(s) you wish to remember or honor are due Wednesday, March 16.

3 2016 Mission Trip Our 2016 mission trip will be to Perry County, Alabama! The trip will be from July 16 through July 23. We will be partnering with the Alabama CBFaffiliated organization, Sowing Seeds of Hope. SSoH is a multidenominational partnership focused on assisting the Perry County community through home repair and housing solutions, healthcare assistance, educational resources, and more. Perry County, AL is one of the 20 poorest counties in America and is designated as the poorest county in Alabama in terms of household income. Ministry opportunities include: Construction/Home Repair Thrift Store/clothes closet Nursing Home Ministry School Readiness Program; in 2007 we donated over 1,000 backpacks full of school supplies to students as they began classes Community carnival We will be housed in the dormitories at Judson College, in Marion, AL. Judson College is the fifth oldest women s college in the United States. More details to follow as plans come together. Please contact Adam Simmons if you are interested in more information! (214) Adam.simmons10@gmail.com The Transition Team cordially invites you to attend a Fireside Feedback Luncheon on Sunday, February from 12:15 to 2:00 pm in Family Hall. The team will present their report on the rich and informative input they collected from seven fireside chat sessions and one virtual session over the period of January 14th to January 29th. The participation by our members in the fireside chats was outstanding!! It exceeded the team s expectations with 99 members attending a face-to-face session and 21 members providing their input via the online survey, for a total of 120 participants. The voices of the church have spoken! Please make plans to come to the luncheon and hear what YOU had to say about the non-negotiables of Royal Lane s culture and the kind of person that the congregation would like to call as our next pastor. Come enjoy this time of important RLBC family conversation and David Doom s delicious homemade chicken pot pie. Looking Forward, The Transition Team

4 Prayer Requests: Amber (Ledgerwood) Bills, niece of Donna Ledgerwood Anna Lou Brown & Family on the death of Anna Lou s brother, Martin Leissner Glenn Brown Dina DiMaria s stepmother, Pearle Steve Dolloff Maxine Ferrell, mother of Nancy Ferrell Robbye Foster s niece, Jenny Wehlander and Robbye s friend, Sally Houston Reed & Mary Sue Hoover, friends of Steve & Martha Box Rodney Lawson on the death of his father, David M. Lawson Halsey Mattoon, granddaughter of John & Theresa Helms Steve McNutt, husband of Patricia McNutt Joe Miller, friend of Lyn & Gordon Brown Oz Osborne and family on the death of Jean Osborne Marcia Parrish on the death of her mother, Joann Hines Maebelle Raiza s granddaughter, Mia, & Maebelle s sister, Joan Lauren Sebastian, niece of Babs Arnswald Cookie Stokes Dorothy Stone, friend of Babs Arnswald Linda Thomas Jordan Weilage s aunt, Josephine; friends: Ann Gant; Bre a; Charlie; Darron, his grandfather and his stepfather; Jon Rabbe; Keyvan; Nick; Ron; Teri Please continue to pray for: Ed Bright; Jerome Collins, friend of Mike Hurder; Rod Cook; Rusty Hatcher, son of Martha Hatcher; Richard Holcomb, brother of Maebelle Raiza; Thomas Jarvis, brother of Martha Box; Bruce Luedke; Doug Page, brother-in-law of Laurie Page; Kristene Ruddle; Jordan Weilage Remember the homebound: Nadine Francis; Pete Johnson; Faye Laney; Nell Markle; Dorothy Miller; Norman Morris; Libba Studdard Thank You Notes 2/16/2016 Dear Fellow Royal Laners: Thank you so much for the many and varied expressions of concern you sent my way during my recent illness and hospitalization. These, along with your prayers, meant a great deal to me and buoyed my spirits during a difficult and scary time. And the whimsical flower arrangement (still looking good) was the icing on the cake. I am feeling good and looking forward to reconnecting with my dear R.L. friends in worship and fellowship in the near future. Bruce Luedke Welcome New Member, LaMarcus Miller. LaMarcus joined RLBC on February 7, 2016 The Gathering March Our neighbor, Congregation Tiferet Israel, will be holding their annual Chili Cook-off on March 6. As in the past, we will be supporting Tiferet Israel by collecting nonperishables for Jewish Family Service, Greater Dallas. Please bring non-perishable food items and place in the "Gathering" baskets between now and March 6. Annual Chili Cook-Off - Celebrating 23 Years of Community Service.

5 Deacons of the Week February 21 Phil Keith [469] Debi Veninga [214] February 28 Bruce Luedke [817] DeeDee Young [214] Midweek Service 6:15 p.m. Wednesday March 2 in Family Hall The Practice of Intentional Faith Development Layne Smith Join us for a Fellowship Meal at 5:30 pm. In the Box-Hawkins Gallery thru date March 24 Meet the Artist, Sunday, March 13 Marie Gobin Gallery open by appointment 10-4, weekdays, 10-5 Wednesdays To change mail or preferences for The Mosaic, contact Barbara Merry, , ext. 10 or bmerry@royallane.org. Scriptures of the Week February 21 Genesis 15:1-12, Psalm 27 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 13:31-35 February 28 Isaiah 55:1-9 Psalm 63:1-8 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Luke 13:1-9 Midweek Menu Wednesday, February 24 Chicken Mushroom Rice Casserole, Broccoli, Salad, Rolls, Ice Cream Wednesday, March 2 To be announced Happy Birthday! February Norma Swearingen Ray Vickrey Nadine Webber Francis Kevin Sutton Glenn Brown Dina DiMaria Daniel Robinson Lisa Waters Ashley Fleenor Bryan Washington Amy Brown Franklin Leo Gitlin Ron Washington, Jr March Addison Birdwell... 1

6 Royal Lane Baptist Church 6707 Royal Lane Dallas, Texas The Mosaic is published semi-monthly. Royal Lane Baptist Church 6707 Royal Lane Office Hours: Dallas, TX Monday - Friday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Wednesday Midweek: 6:15 pm Office: [214] Sunday School: 9:45 am Fax: [214] Sunday Worship: 10:55 am Rosa Barrientos, Housekeeping Laura Benton, Pianist Michael Hurder, Facilities Manager Laura Keller, Minister to Children Barbara Merry, Administrative Assistant Samuel Quesada, Video Technician Danny Wesley Ray, Organist Tim Schaefer, Minister to Youth Janet Schultz, Administrative Assistant Layne Smith, Intentional Interim Minister Blake Vickrey, Sound Technician Ray Vickrey, Pastor Emeritus Harry Wooten, Minister of Music and Worship