St. Philip s Episcopal Church

St. Philip s Episcopal Church Beeville, Texas Our Mission Statement: We are St. Philip s Episcopal Church, a dedicated family of Christians who gather together to glorify God in praise and reverence, sharing the love of Jesus Christ with all people. During a recent parish profile workshop, together we named three of our best practices at St. Philip s. The three things we named that best exemplify us living into God s mission for St. Philip s are: Community Ministry Programs St. Philip s Episcopal School Worship at St. Philip s: We also value our support for one another in the congregation and the church s worship style. Sunday services: 8:30 a.m. (Rite I) 10:30 a.m. (Rite II with music) Holy Eucharist and healing services are scheduled on the first Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. St. Philip s School Chapel Service is held every school day at 8:30 a.m. All school children attend. Parents and church members are invited. Community Oriented Outreach Focused Episcopal School

Parish Life: We enjoy worship and fellowship each Sunday. Parish gatherings include our monthly luncheon on the first Sunday of each month and the annual Pentecost Picnic. We celebrate our school with a special service and luncheon in October, featuring our students as lectors and choir members. Families and friends attend this event. The Women of the Church are very active in parish and missionary activities and provide financial donations to Episcopal organizations, specific requests from worthy causes, and scholarships for children to attend Camp Capers, a diocesan summer camp for youth of all ages. Youth Ministry is in partnership with the First United Methodist Church in Beeville, sharing the talents of the Methodist Youth Coordinator in activities and fellowship for our young people and those from other local churches. St. Philip s School s enrollment in May of 2016 was 108 students. Presently, St. Philip s has two preschool classes, three prekindergarten classes, and one class each for kindergarten through sixth grade. The school curriculum for all ages includes music, art, science, social studies, physical education, health, computer education, Spanish, language development, reading, writing and math, utilizing Open Court and Saxon Math as the core programs. In addition, both morning and afternoon care sessions, as well as summer care, are offered for parents. The School Board consists of representatives from the Vestry, the local community, school parents, and members of St. Philip s Church. Outreach at St. Philip s: Mariposa Berclair Mission was created under the leadership of parishioner Susan Fields and is sponsored by St. Philip s. A monthly service of Holy Eucharist is held in Berclair for all residents of the community. A community luncheon is served. St. Philip s also attempts to address the needs of the Berclair community by contributing clothing, household items, and school supplies. We partner with the Food Bank of Victoria to provide a monthly delivery of fresh food to Berclair. Music in the Nave is a series of concerts by world renowned organists, pianists, and vocal performers, held throughout the year at St. Philip s under the direction of Organist and Director of Music, John L. Blackburn. The series attracts music lovers from throughout South Texas. The Beeville Vineyard is a local food bank and provider of clothing and household assistance. Two St. Philip s parishioners serve on the Board of Directors, and the church provides financial aid and volunteers to the Vineyard for its programs, including the annual Christmas Angels drive. The Margaret Lyne Moser Memorial Lenten Luncheon Series was founded by the Women of the Church and is held annually in partnership with the First United Methodist, Faith Lutheran, St. Joseph s Catholic, and First Presbyterian Churches. 2

Theology Live Ale and the Almighty is a lecture series held each June, founded by St. Philip s in cooperation with St. Joseph s Catholic Church to invite the general public to experience inspirational Christian messages outside the confines of a church setting. Held in a local tavern, the series has included exceptional speakers, such as: The Rt. Rev. Kee Sloan, Episcopal Bishop of Alabama The Rev. Dr. Joel Gregory, professor of preaching at Baylor University s Truett Theological Seminary and former pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas The Rev. Becca Stevens with social enterprise Thistle Farms in Tennessee The Most Rev. Michael Mulvey, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Corpus Christi The Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, then Bishop of North Carolina who is presently the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church Kairos Prison Ministry is a priority ministry for several members of St. Philip s, who serve regularly on both inside and outside teams for Kairos weekends at the McConnell Unit, a maximum security prison located in Beeville. Cursillo/ Walk to Emmaus are renewal programs that have attracted both participants and team leaders from St. Philip s. At present, two parishioners are preparing to serve on a Cursillo team, bringing the total number of team members in the year 2016 to six. 3

Who We Are: Leadership: Current staff positions include our Organist and Director of Music, John L. Blackburn, who holds a Master of Music degree in Church Music from Baylor University. John has performed across the United States, most recently at St. Thomas, Fifth Avenue, New York City, on February 14, 2016. We also employ an administrative assistant and a sexton. Our Head of School is Carol Reagan. St. Philip s has a devoted Altar Guild, as well as Lay Eucharistic Ministers, Lay Readers, Lectors, and Acolytes. Demographics: The congregation of St. Philip s is primarily Caucasian, but we have Hispanic and African American members, as well. Our members are largely professional or retired, with a majority of older females and a limited number of younger families with children. Many of our members are leaders in the community. We continue to strive to attract younger families, especially those who have children at St. Philip s School. We are committed to this effort and welcome leadership in this area. Communications: St. Philip s members receive communication through a weekly E-News, the St. Philip s website, and the Sunday bulletin. We also have active telephone trees. Please note: Our website is currently undergoing revision, following the departure of our Rector. Finances: 2016 Pledges: 34 totaling $100,561 2016 Estimated Plate: $8,628 Endowments: Gerdes/Berninger Endowment Fund: $583,423 total as of July 1, 2016 The income from this fund is limited to expenditures for our organ and piano, including our organist s salary. The principal shall not be disbursed. Speck and Polly New Foundation: $170,000 approximate annual income to church and $170,000 approximate annual income to school, from a principal that shall not be disbursed. 4

The Search for Our Next Rector: As part of our search process for a new rector, at our parish-wide workshop, we prioritized what we would like to see in our next rector from a list of pastoral and ministerial skills. From a list of pastoral and ministerial skills, our congregation prioritized what we would like to see in our next rector. The results follow, from highest to least priority: Preparing and preaching inspiring sermons Supporting the school and promoting a strong relationship between the church and school Visiting the sick, shut-in, and bereaved and visiting members at their homes Planning and leading worship sensitive to the needs of this congregation Pastoral counseling of members having personal, family, and /or work-related problems Emphasizing the spiritual development of members Helping people to see connections between Scripture and their daily lives Providing administrative leadership for the congregation s ministries Collaborating with other churches in community ministry Supporting a strong music program Actively supporting outreach programs to the community Actively and visibly supporting the church s stewardship program Developing and supporting religious education programs for children and youth Openly sharing his or her personal faith Holding social justice issues before members Participating in diocesan or national church-level activities Familiarity with social media Participating in local community activities, issues, and problems Planning and leading a program of new member recruitment Directly involving laity in the planning and leadership of church programs and events 5

What is the most important thing for a rector candidate to know about St. Philip s, Beeville? We are an older congregation, and, therefore, have more health concerns. The importance of developing and supporting a stronger, younger congregational core. Beeville is a small town, but it has many interesting people - and a variety of cultural advantages, including music and art programs and an amazing library, things not generally available in small towns. In many ways, St. Philip s is still an English Chapel for some parishioners with an emphasis on our little church as opposed to a wider diocesan vision. Some inroads have been made into the wider community, such as the Berclair Mission and a pulpit swap with Bethlehem Baptist Church. This needs to continue. Our school is our greatest asset, and congregation and clergy involvement is very important and needs to be nurtured. We are a small congregation, which helps us to be close-knit. We are sensitive to and supportive of each other s needs. We support our pastor and desire to have a spiritual leader soon. We are more than willing to help our new rector with anything if he/she can make needs known. We should not be afraid to end programs or customs that have outlived their usefulness. Our core group is strong, but we need to encourage new leadership in the parish. We have excellent church and school facilities, and we are reasonably financially secure. We need to gain new members, young and old. Things We d Like to See Change: During our parish-wide workshop, we also identified things we should be doing, should not be doing, or should be differently to serve God in this community. Communication: We need better communication avenues among our parish members, active and inactive. We need to share more consistently the knowledge of parishioners in need; we need to call parishioners to check in. We need to inform the church about school functions. Community: A more inclusive atmosphere needs to be developed for community ministries, so that this is our ministry prevails over that is their ministry. More parishioners need to become involved in face-to-face ministry to meet the needs of the community. We need more outreach efforts to shut-ins and to the unchurched population in Beeville. Growth: We need to encourage outsiders to visit and to encourage better attendance at worship. We need to call our visitors and invite others to our services. We need to proactively invite school families to church and make a wider appeal to the Hispanic community members. Lessons: More emphasis needs to be placed on living into the message of Jesus in establishing the Kingdom of God on Earth. We desire teaching and reminding that Jesus will come again. 6

Who We Were: A Short History of St. Philip s Episcopal Church and School, Beeville, Texas Though not yet named, St. Philip s began on October 2, 1888, when Bishop Steptoe Johnston held the first Episcopal service in Beeville, in the Methodist Church. Inspired by the dynamic bishop, these pioneer churchmen continued to hold services in various host churches. In 1893, they became a mission in the Diocese of West Texas, chose their patron saint, and began building a church of their own. Although construction was not to be completed until 1911, the first service in St. Philip s Church was held on May 21, 1894. In 1951, after 58 years as a mission, St. Philip s was granted parish status with the congregation s first priest-in-residence. which raised capital funds for a new school wing, as well as an addition for the existing parish hall. Construction was completed in the spring of 1994 on the building, which houses first through sixth grades, and Spanish, Art/Computer and Science classes. In 2016, the school purchased a modular building, named the Tom and Judith Healey Educational Annex, for the music instruction classes. We at St. Philip s undertook an extensive remodeling of our church and parish hall in 2013. We recently celebrated our 120th anniversary in our newly renovated church, with a glorious re-dedication service held on May 21, 2014. Bishop Gary Lillibridge was present, along with many other clergy, parishioners, and friends. In 1993, the parish celebrated its centennial. The present congregation has 106 parishioners. St. Philip s Episcopal School was established by action of the church vestry in 1954, becoming the first Protestant parochial school in Bee County. The Rev. John Worrell, then the rector of St. Philip s Church, was the first Headmaster. The school originally had one small section of kindergarten children who attended class in the parish hall. Since then, the school has grown substantially, in both its enrollment and physical plant. During the summer of 1980, the present brick structure was constructed for additional classroom space, with expansions in 1983 and 1992, due to generous grants and gifts from The James R. Dougherty, Jr. Foundation and the Board of Directors of the State Bank and Trust. During the spring of 1993, a challenge gift of $300,000 from the most generous of school friends, Mrs. Jody Hughes, began a campaign 7

St. Philip s Episcopal Church Beeville, Texas Parish Profile August 2016 8