CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL An Episcopal Community in the Heart of Houston, Texas
OCTOBER 2022 CHRISTCHURCHCATHEDRAL.ORG
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What is this EMC thing?
Your EMC co-chairs for 2023 are Catherine Randall, Will Randall, Jim Murdaugh, and Gary Smith.
EMC campaign chairs see the Cathedral as home and family The 2023 Every Member Canvass (EMC) pledge campaign co-chairs have strong roots in Christ Church Cathedral, and they are equally invested in its future. Longtime members Jim Murdaugh and Gary Smith met at the Cathedral on Christmas Eve in 1994, at the 11 p.m. service. “I was starting my job as organist at the Cathedral a week later and wanted to see what that service was like,” Smith said. Now the couple are married and received their crosses for 25 years of continuous service in the choir in September. Catherine and Will Randall are lifelong Episcopalians. Will grew up in the Cathedral and
when the couple was to be married, The Rev. Betty Adam provided their marriage counseling. The Randall’s three children have been baptized and confirmed at the Cathedral as well. “I love how people come together here,” said Catherine, who has served on the vestry and is incoming director of the Altar Guild. “There’s so much support for all the activities that are offered. The community really supports and loves one another. It is nice to have that sense of similar purpose at Christ Church.” “I do feel like it’s our spiritual home,” adds Will, whose father and brother have chaired
EMC CHAIRS, page 6
Choir members receive Barnard Cross for dedication and service
Jim Murdaugh and Gary Smith receive the Barnard Cross for 25 years of faithful service as choir members.
To honor his twenty-fifth anniversary as Cathedral organist and choirmaster, Bill Barnard was given a Jerusalem cross by the choir in the fall of 1983 in recognition of his dedication to ministry and service to the parish. Since that time this cross has been presented to honor those who have offered their time and talent to enriching our worship for 25 years as members
BARNARD CROSS, page 8
I am a life-long Episcopalian and have been a member at Christ Church Cathedral for over fifteen years. As we kick off another stewardship season at the Cathedral, I realize that many members of our community did not grow up in the Episcopal church but have come here from GAY GULLEDGE, other faith traditions. CHAIR OF THE The Episcopal church, STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL and the Cathedral, have a lot of acronyms that are shortcuts for describing how we live out our faith. The “EMC” is one of those. I remember having a conversation with a fellow Cathedral member who grew up in the Baptist church. This probably occurred while standing around in the cloister chatting between services. There was likely a table with festively dressed parishioners encouraging folks to sign up for the “EMC Kick-Off Dinner.” It went something like this, “What is this EMC thing, and why do we need to kick it off?” I replied, “It’s the Every Member Canvass,” as if that explained everything. Well, friends, to say the least, I had not provided much illumination. “It’s the kick-off of the stewardship campaign. You know, the pledge drive.” Slightly more recognition of the “kick-off ” part, as it was autumn in Texas, after all. I suspect we then moved on to another topic. In the interest of furthering the understanding of Episcopalian terminology, here is my (hopefully) better attempt at defining the EMC — Every (all) Member (a person belonging to a particular group, in this case, Christ Church Cathedral) Canvass (seek support). Your Stewardship Council has worked prayerfully to develop a theme for the
WHAT IS EMC, page 2