CHIMES A Monthly Magazine for St. Laurence Church October 2015 Oktoberfest Expansion Update Oct. Events Veterans, We need your Photos
The State of the Expansion By Fr. John Jordan, Rector I wanted to give everyone an update on where we stand with the expansion of our facilities. There s lots going on behind the scenes and I want you to know all that we re doing. Selection of Architect The Building Committee is working to select the architect who will design our new Parish Hall and expanded classroom and youth facilities. They have narrowed it down to 2 and will be presenting their final selection to the Vestry for approval later this month. The Building Committee is made up of Shea Kirkman (chair), Steve Early, Wendell Mitchell, Anne Marie Schiller, Ken Stone and Cristin Turner. These people bring considerable knowledge of engineering, construction and facilities to the table which has been invaluable in this process. Selection of Capital Campaign Company Of course there s two main aspects of any expansion, the building and the money-raising. So we are also in the process of selecting a company to run our capital campaign. We have a separate committee in place to interview the various companies and make the final recommendation to the Vestry. The Capital Campaign Committee is made up of Jeff Bennett (chair), Walter Copeland, Fritz Curtis, Tom Dunaway, Mark Edson, Joe Hodges, Mark Jameson, Sue Jones, Meghan Jordan, Lisa Lapiska, Les Meisl and Greg Orrell. We anticipate the campaign kicking off sometime in the spring. Removal of Rental House The old house on the property we own on the north side of the Parish Hall will be moved sometime this month. Instead of tearing down the house to make room for our expansion, we found it was cheaper to have the house moved. This will clear that land and make it available for use. Survey A survey of the entire property has now been completed. Included in this is counting and measuring every tree on the property, required by the City of Southlake before any construction can begin. The pink ribbons you see on the trees are part of the tree count and do not mean that we are cutting those trees down. Our goal is to keep every tree we possibly can. The architects need the survey before they can begin the design phase of the project. A Busy Parish By Wendell Mitchell, Sr. Warden There is so much going on in our Parish life. Sunday School has started, our Oktoberfest celebration is days away, and our Building Committee and the Capital Campaign Committee are working on the Church expansion efforts. All these things are great, but I wanted to take a moment to remind you or share with those who may not be aware, of two ministries in our Church. One of the reasons I wanted to discuss these is over the last few weeks, I have had conversations or was asked if we, as a Church family, have programs that reach out to parishioners who have been absent or provide meals to a family dealing with an illness or loss of a loved one. The answer is yes, absolutely. Our Pew Partners Ministry is one of our newer ministries and is coordinated by Megan Mecca. The goal of this ministry is to help identify parishioners who have been absent for awhile and let Fr. Jordan know so he can reach out to them. If you are interested in being a Pew Partner, please contact Megan or the Parish Office. The other ministry, our Hospitality Ministry, has been around for years and has helped provide countless meals prepared by loving hands. This ministry has provided meals for many of our Church families over the years while they are dealing with an illness, the death of a loved one or even the birth of a baby. However, this ministry needs your help. First, if you know of or become aware of someone at St. Laurence who this ministry could help, please contact the Parish Office. Next, if you are interested in helping with this ministry, again just contact the Parish Office or Joan Miller. These are just two of our volunteer ministries here at St. Laurence. If you are not drawn to help with these, there are other great opportunities to serve listed on the St. Laurence webpage at saintlaurencechurch.org/serve. Check it out and pray for God s direction.
Oktoberfest/Clergy Appreciation Oct. 3, 6:30pm in Parish Hall Our incredible Oktoberfest and Clergy Appreciation Party is Sat, Oct. 3 and it s going to be a great night. Our St. Laurence Men s Group is putting on the event, so please give them a big Thank You. Join us for: Sausages grilled by the Men s Group. Clergy Appreciation - We will celebrate our Clergy and show them how much we appreciate everything they do for us. Serving done family style so no long lines. An outdoor Biergarten on the lawn. German beer on tap (bring your own wine if you prefer that). Favorite Fall Dessert Contest. Pizza/Movie night for older kids at $5/child or $10/family. Nursery is available at no charge for kids 5 and under. St. Francis Day and the Blessing of the Animals Oct. 3 at 10:00am on the Lawn Bring your pet to the lawn between the Church and Parish Hall for a special blessing on the feast day of St. Francis, patron saint of animals. All animals are welcome as long as they are on a leash or in a container.
In Honor of Clergy Appreciation We thought you might want to learn a little bit more about our spiritual leaders, the men behind the collars. Fr. John Jordan is a Dallas native and grew up in the Church. His father is Fr. Terry Jordan, who was rector at St.John s in Dallas for many years. He attended Jesuit High School and spent his summers at Camp Crucis, where he met his wife Liz. He graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in Political Science, fully intending to go on to law school. God, of course, had other ideas. Law school changed to Nashotah House Seminary School in Wisconsin and his children, Aidan and Lucy, were born while he and Liz were there. He was ordained in 2006 and served 3 years at St. Vincent s before coming to St. Laurence. He became rector in March, 2011. The Jordan s live in Southlake and were joined by son Jude in December of last year. Fr. John loves Mexican food, martinis, baseball and time with his family. Fr. William Blewett has been a priest for over 60 years. He was ordained in 1953 and served in various Churches in Detroit and Pennsylvania. He has a masters degree in history from the University of Michigan, studied at Oxford and then completed his Ph.D. After moving to Texas, he served as rector of the Church of the Annunciation in Lewisville and Headmaster of the Parish day school. He retired in 1989. He has assisted at St. Laurence for 16 years, coming here in 1999. He wrote the Christian Formation program which is taught here and at many churches around the world. Fr. Blewett married Margot in 1972 and they were married 34 years before she passed away in 2006. They designed and built their house in Flower Mound and did much of the work themselves. He has 4 children and 5 grandchildren, and loves to bake bread and English Christmas cakes.! Fr. Robert Young is an assistant priest at St. Laurence. He has 34 years of parish experience as a rector in Oregon, Florida, and Texas. He was also a Navy Reservist who was recalled to active duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa for the War on Terrorism. He retired from the Navy in 2011. Fr. Young received a Master in Social Work specializing in counseling in 2013 and joined our staff in 2014. He teaches classes in applying Christian beliefs to contemporary problems, along with theological, biblical and liturgical subjects. He and his wife, Liz, live in Grand Prairie. Their daughter, son-in-law and twin grandchildren live in San Francisco. Fr Scott Wilson was ordained a priest in 1977 in the Diocese of Dallas. He has spent most of those years as a parish priest, but did enjoy four years serving as Diocesan Youth Missioner in Pennsylvania. He served at several churches in the Dallas area and spent his last 12 years at All Saints in Weatherford. His specialties have been youth, evangelism and ministry in Africa. His darling wife, Lana, and he have four children and 12 grandchildren in Texas, Virginia and New Zealand. They continue to be involved in ministry in the diocese and at Robson Ranch in Denton where they currently live.
All the October Activities St. Laurence 101 Class A brief introduction to the Anglican tradition in general and the St. Laurence Parish in particular. For all those new or not so new, this class begins Sun, Oct. 4 and continues on Oct. 11 and 18 in the Church at 9:50am during Sunday S c h o o l. P l e a s e c o n t a c t C h e r i e B e n n e t t a t cricket.pal@gmail.com for more info. St. Laurence Women All women of the Church are invited to the St. Laurence Women s meeting on Thurs, Oct. 8 at 7:00pm at the home of Kathryn Meisl (2821 Cotswold Ct., Keller). This will be a social night and a great chance to get to know other women in the Parish. Please bring a bottle of wine, an appetizer or dessert to share. Contact Meredith Liewehr at liewehr@gmail.com for more info. First Communion Class Classes to prepare children for their first Holy Communion will be on Oct. 11, 18, and 25 from 4:00-4:45pm in the Church. Their first communion will take place on All Saints Day, Nov. 1. Contact Melissa Hatcher at m.d.hatcher2001@gmail.com for more info. meganlmecca@gmail.com o r G r e g a t greg.jones@alcon.com for more info. Class on the Book of Common Prayer A new class on the Book of Common Prayer begins Sun, Oct. 11 at 6:00pm in the Music Building. This 6-week series, led by Larry Votto, will look at where the Book of Common Prayer comes from, why we have it, who wrote it and what its influence was on religion, literature, and language throughout the world. We will also explore the present version and how it can be used in our spiritual life. New Beginnings Retreat for 6-8th Graders Oct 23-25 at Camp Crucis in Granbury. This retreat brings kids from throughout the diocese together for a spiritual weekend just for them. The weekend starts at 8:00pm (check in is 7:00-7:45) on Friday and ends on Sunday after the 11:30am Mass. Cost is $65.00. Forms are available at www.anglicanyouthministries.com under events. Contact Katie LaPenna at katielapenna@gmail.com for more info. Prayers and Praise The Parish is invited to join the Youth Groups as they come together Sun, Oct. 11 from 5:00-5:30pm (before Evensong) in the Church to pray and sing contemporary Christian songs. Sheila Easley and Felix Dozier will play guitar and we ll all sing praise and worship songs. Come for an informal, spirit-filled time of music and prayer. Home Study Groups A new 5-week study on the Parables of Jesus begins this month. The Monday group will be at the home of Megan and Mark Mecca (725 Weddle Dr., Grapevine) and begins Oct. 5. The Thursday group is at the home of Sue and Greg Jones (7305 Pebble Hill Dr., Colleyville) and started Oct. 1, but feel free to join in any time. Email Megan at
Around the Parish in September 4th & 5th Grade Sunday School Pre-K and Kindergarten Jr. High Sunday School Ladies Bible Study Sr. High Sunday School The Golf Cart Shuttle Building the Shed to Store the Golf Cart Anglican Book Chat Sr. High Youth at their Kick Off Party
Veteran s Day Event We Need Your Pictures and Info We are Looking for All the Veterans in the Parish. A big Veteran s Day event is being planned for Fri, Nov. 13 and as we gear up for that event, we want to start collecting pictures and some info from everyone who has served in any of the armed forces. Whether you served in WWII or are serving right now, we want to hear from you. Please send a picture of yourself in uniform, with your name, time of service, branch, rank, where you served and what job you did to Shea Hayley at shea.hayley@live.com or the Church office by Nov. 1. We re planning something special in your honor! Fr. John Jordan Rector Fr. William Blewett Asst. Priest Fr. Robert Young Asst. Priest Staff frjohnjordan@gmail.com frweb153@gmail.com Manchu9@earthlink.net Fr. Scott Wilson Asst. Priest scottwilson@mygrande.net John Heimel Organist john.heimel@gmail.com Katie LaPenna Youth Minister katielapenna@gmail.com Melissa Hatcher Children s Minister m.d.hatcher2001@gmail.com Chloe Bennett Asst. Youth Minister kchloebennett@gmail.com Karie Edson Parish Secretary mkedson@verizon.net Financials January-August 2015 2015 Actual 2015 Budget 2014 Actual Receipts Pledged Offerings $488,369 $450,000 $449,171 Non-Pledged Offerings $ 26,826 $ 25,000 $ 27,088 Other Receipts $ 39,634 $ 48,600 $ 51,740 Total $554,830 $523,600 $527,998 Disbursements Pastoral Care $207,009 $209,572 $187,487 Spiritual Growth $ 95,542 $ 91,500 $ 88,859 Worship $189,454 $199,096 $214,641 Evangelism $ 84,554 $ 89,367 $ 83,376 Total $576,558 $589,535 $574,363 Looking Ahead to November All Saints Day Nov. 1 All Souls Day Nov. 2 Veteran s Day Event Nov. 13 Thanksgiving Eve Mass Nov. 24
St. Laurence Church Weekly Service Schedule Sun. 8:30am Mass 10:45am Choral Mass 5:30pm Evensong Mon. 8:30am Mass Tues. 9:30am Mass Wed. 6:30pm Mass Thurs. 12:10pm Mass Fri. 9:30am Mass Sat. 9:00am Mass 9:30am Confessions 519 N. Kimball Ave. Southlake, TX 76092 817-481-3335 www.saintlaurencechurch.org office@saintlaurencechurch.org 519 N. Kimball Ave. Southlake, TX 76092 Return Service Requested