Leading with a purpose

Jeff W. Fisher Bishop Suffragan The Rt. Rev. Fisher was elected Bishop Suffragan in 2012 by the clergy and church representatives of the Diocese of Texas. As Bishop Suffragan, in addition to other significant duties and responsibilities, he helps Bishop Doyle perform confirmations and assists churches in the Eastern and North Eastern Regions of the Diocese.

Héctor F. Monterroso Bishop Assistant The Rt. Rev. Monterroso was Bishop of Costa Rica for 14 years before he came to the Diocese of Texas in 2017 to help Bishop Doyle. Monterroso visits 45 congregations during the year; primarily in the Southern Region of the Diocese of Texas. He also works to grow a multicultural presence in our congregations.

Christine M. Faulstich Canon to the Ordinary The Rev. Canon Faulstich was appointed Canon to the Ordinary in 2019. She mentors rectors, clergy new to the Diocese, bi-vocational priests, transitional deacons, pastoral leaders, pastoral leader interns, and interim clergy.

C. Andrew Doyle Bishop Diocesan The Rt. Rev. Doyle became the ninth Bishop of Texas in 2009. The ministry of a bishop is to represent Christ and his Church, particularly as apostle, chief priest and pastor of a Diocese; to guard the faith, unity and discipline of the whole church; to proclaim the word of God.

Kathryn M. Ryan Bishop Suffragan The Rt. Rev. Ryan was elected Bishop Suffragan in 2019 by the clergy and church representatives of the Diocese of Texas. As Bishop Suffragan, in addition to other significant duties and responsibilities, she helps Bishop Doyle perform confirmations and assists churches in the Western Region of the Diocese.

Philip M. Duncan Assisting Bishop The Rt. Rev. Duncan served as bishop of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast (2001-2015). Following his retirement, he and his wife Kathy moved to Austin to be closer to family and he periodically assists with visitations and confirmations for the Diocese of Texas.

Russ Oechsel, Jr. Archdeacon The Rev. Oechselwas appointed Archdeacon in 2009. An Archdeacon is a clergy person appointed by the bishop to provide administrative assistance and other leadership to congregations and church organizations in the diocese.

A larger geographical entity within the diocese is called a convocation. It is geographic and usually includes one metropolitan area with surrounding counties. Texas has ten convocations, the head of which, nominated by the bishop and elected by council, is called the “dean.” The dean arranges meetings of the convocational clergy to provide fellowship, continuing education, communication, planning and moral support for clergy and their families and to gather lay members to share ideas and projects. Deans are ex-officio members of the Executive Board of the Diocese.

Galveston, The Rev. Jim Liberatore, St. Andrew’s, Pearland Southeast, The Rev. Keith Giblin, St. Paul’s, Orange Northwest, The Rev. Aaron Zimmerman, St. Alban's, Waco East Harris, The Rev. Victor Thomas, St. James’, Houston Austin, The Rev. Bertie Pearson, Grace, Georgetown San Jacinto, The Rev. Gerry Sevick, Trinity, The Woodlands Northeast, The Rev. Mitch Tollett, St. Francis, Tyler West Harris, The Rev. Josh Condon, Holy Spirit, Houston Central, The Rev. Daryl Hay, St. Andrew’s, Bryan Southwest, The Rev. Travis Smith, Holy Comforter, Angleton

A Letter from Bishop C. Andrew Doyle

2020 is upon us! We enter a new decade with a Gospel message buoying us up and reminding us that God makes all things new. The prayer for the church at ordinations reminds us that God is a God of unchangeable power and eternal light, that God is working through this church and God’s providence. We pray in that prayer that we will have tranquility as we move toward our own salvation. The world is, not only at the end of the year, but every year and day-to-day being made new. We pray that the world around us, our communities and neighborhoods, will see that things that have been cast down are being raised up, and things that are grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought by God to God’s perfection. Finally, we pray in that prayer that it will be the mercy and grace of Christ Jesus that manifests itself in our lives and ministry. (BCP, 528) We also look over the past year in awe of the great strides

we, together, have made as a diocese. We say to each other, “well done.” That is what this publication is for—to celebrate your work. This issue of TheTexas Episcopalian serves as a snapshot of our year in review, giving us an opportunity to celebrate you, the work that has taken place through service, and our collective commitment to God. From electing, ordaining, and consecrating the Rt. Rev. Kathryn M. Ryan as our Bishop Suffragan in June–upon the retirement of Bishop Dena Harrison after many years of active ordained ministry—to the establishment of even more missional communities, church plants and campus ministries, it was a great year for the Diocese of Texas. We have remained focused on our vision of mission. We have, in many ways and in many forms, shared the good news through evangelism and served our community. It is a good and rewarding thing to bear witness to God’s mission coming to fruition. Even more exciting is that we have realized

exceptional accomplishments in every region of the diocese. No part of the Diocese of Texas has been untouched by God’s hand through the Episcopal Church. To that end, we have over 90 missional communities across the diocese with over 1,400 people connected to them, who would otherwise likely not be involved with the Church. More impressive is that 87% of our missional communities have not received any funding from diocesan foundations. As it relates to church plants, Church of the Cross, Lake Travis, dedicated their land this past year; St. Joan of Arc, Pflugerville, and Holy Family, Humble, began public worship, and Northside Episcopal, Houston, not only began public worship but also moved into a building they can call their own. We also celebrate Good Shepherd, Stafford, starting a second site, and St. Isidore, Spring, moving into their own building. We could not be any more pleased with the successes of these congregations. Speaking of new beginnings, a new planter was commissioned to Waco, and our campus mission ministry has been revitalized and is becoming even more robust. By rebooting the mission at UT Tyler and in the Northwest Convocation, our campus mission in Waco has now expanded to reach four campuses in the region. What an extraordinary year in the area of bringing people to Christ and growing the Church. I’m equally pleased with the thoughtful and benevolent work of our diocesan foundations. The Episcopal Foundations have supported seminaries, new creative ministries, church plants, health ministries, counseling services across the region, and racial reconciliation work, and have funded our expanding evangelism program. Likewise, we had churches that were the beneficiaries of significant grants. For example, two parishes within our diocese were among the first to receive grant awards from the Presiding Officer’s Advisory Council of the Becoming Beloved Community. Brazos Valley Common Good Program at St. Andrew’s, Bryan, and The One Human Race Initiative at St. James’, Austin, received awards in the amounts of $10,000 and $6,000 respectively, to further catalyze the Church’s work on racial healing, reconciliation, and justice. These two churches were selected as part of just a small pool from over 74 applications that were submitted from churches across the nation. St. James’, Austin, also received an All Our Children grant for Freedom Schools, another exciting project designed to equalize education. This past summer, the Commission on Hispanic Ministry hosted the largest Hispanic Lay Leadership Conference in its history. This successful undertaking, held in June, made an indelible mark on this great ministry in our diocese. From our disaster recovery efforts post-Harvey to Tropical Storm Imelda flooding in 2019, we have met the needs of so many communities that would have otherwise fallen by the wayside. We have served as a beacon of light for the helpless and vulnerable through our Border Ministry, alongside other dioceses nationally, on the ground in Brownsville–acknowledging the humanity and improving the conditions of thousands of children and families seeking a better way of life. We have fed the homeless, in the streets of Houston and across the state of Texas. In-house, we have upgraded our technology in an effort to better serve you and to improve efficacy. In addition to new and inproved internal business programs and systems ensuring that we are functioning most efficiently, we also introduced a smartphone app that can be downloaded in both the Apple and Google Play stores for iPhone and Android devices. We are continually evolving with today’s society to remain a trailblazer and to increase our reach and connectivity to you. We are also refining our messaging and branding to be consistent with our vision through communication. Much of this work is in response to your 2015 desire for better communications. Today we have revamped our strategies based on a diocesan-wide conversation and are imagining the future of sharing the good news of Texas ministries with each other. We are embracing diversity, owning our past and acknowledging our truths. In doing so, we are playing our part in trying to right wrongs of our ancestors, as best we can, by helping to restore once-denied dignity and honor to our historically African-American churches, in an effort to level playing fields over time through innovative grant initiatives. We will be talking more about this at our upcoming Diocesan Council as we roll out an unprecedented initiative. All of these accomplishments are significant. So, while we look ahead to even greater milestones in 2020, we can’t help but look back at what we accomplished in 2019. There is one thing that will never change, and that is our clear understanding that you are the people and churches of the diocese, and we are your staff. We are proud to serve with you in this ministry and give thanks for you and the difference you are making in the communities in which you have been called to serve.

Getting to Know BISHOP RYAN

On May 31, 2019, Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry joined current and former Texas bishops to consecrate Kathryn M. Ryan as the new Bishop Suffragan. She will serve in the western region of the diocese and office in Austin. Paulette E. Martin, writer of The Texas Episcopalian, had a few questions for the new bishop:

PEM: How would you describe the first few months as Bishop Suffragan of the Western Region? KMR: Very busy and exciting! A lot of focus on building relationships and getting to know people in our institutions. And that has been illuminating and just inspiring.

PEM: What are your assigned duties as Bishop Suffragan? KMR: I am the chair of the board for St. Stephen's Episcopal School and El Buen Samaritano. I'm also serving as the governance chair of the board of the Seminary of the Southwest. I oversee the Iona School for Ministry and oversee the post-ordination clergy formation and a new program called Beginning Well. And then I am responsible for the Western Region. So that's the four convocations: Northwest, Southwest, Central and Austin.

KMR: Returning to the preaching-teaching in Sacramental ministry that is the center of my work, particularly with the congregations. I enjoy connecting with what we're doing in local context with the mission of the whole diocese and with God's call to the church.

PEM: How was your transition to Austin? Is your family enjoying the new city? KMR: It's good. It was a little later and longer in the making than we had anticipated. We didn't move to Austin until the near the end of October, and so we're very grateful to be there. We're enjoying Austin a lot. Of course, Ned is now living in Florida and he hasn't really had to make the transition. And Eleanor started college this fall at St. Edward’s in Austin and is living on campus. So she didn't have to really deal with the move that much. Mostly Tim and me and the dog, but we're all enjoying it.

“I think we can change the world. I really do believe that the church is called to change the world and that we can do this with God's help.”

PEM: And tell me how involved is your family in your ministry? Can you give us an example? KMR: Well, Tim's spent a lot of time getting ready for the Austin Clergy Christmas party and has gone on a couple of visitations with me, but we're really still in the transition phase. He's always had his own ministry, and so he'll be figuring out what that is as we complete the transition. He'll be going to Lambeth with me. In February, we’ll go to a program called Living Our Vows, a program for new bishops, also called “College for Bishops,” where our spouses go with us to sort of learn more about the spouse's role and my role and all that. So we're still learning. But in the past, Tim has taught Sunday school and was on the Peace and Justice Commission at the Cathedral.

PEM: You said Tim was very supportive of your decision to stand for election. How did you two meet and where was your first date? KMR: {Giggles} We met as students at Sewanee at the University of the South and we were good friends before we started dating. So that's a little hard to remember where the first date was. But I think it was on the parents' weekend at Sewanee when I was a senior there and undergraduate.

PEM: What do you consider to be your spiritual gifts? KMR: Strategic thinking and mediating people, helping people cope with their differences. Cooking good food. You know, spiritual gifts. And so it's like any gifts can be a spiritual gift if applied appropriately, right? Enthusiasm and encouragement.

PEM: And how are these particularly matched with your new position and its demands? KMR: Well, particularly the ministry of our clergy and congregations, they're working really hard and are trying to serve God and to be responsive to the people in the church and outside. That's hard work. Having a thinking partner who can sort of help you think both in terms of theology and mission, but also in terms of strategy can really help move that forward in a positive way. Just encouraging people that their efforts are worthwhile. And so I use that a lot. I just got off a phone call with a rector who's been going through some challenging things with that and has really, you know, been grateful that I had those gifts to help him.

PEM: Tell me, what do you look forward to in 2020? KMR: I'm looking forward to Lambeth, and I'm looking forward to partnering with the clergy and congregations to strengthen their ministry and serve God together.

PEM: At the end of the day, how will you know if you have been successful? KMR: I think by paying attention to the signs of health in our congregations and institutions. Actually, this resonates with the Gospel when John the Baptist is in prison and he sends the message to Jesus and says, “Are you the one who is to come, or should I expect someone else?” And Jesus replies, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see … And that the Good News is preached to them.” I think that the signs of the Bishop's success are in the ministry of the people in congregations and institutions with our neighbors in the world. So when people are inspired to go to the border, you know, when people aren’t just serving the congregation, but their community, when people are standing with one another in love in times of tragedy or need, that's when you know that the Bishop has been successful, because that's what the church is focused on.

PEM: What do you do during your time away from work? What are some of your hobbies? KMR: There's time away from work? I'm just joking. I like to run, walk and hike. Right now, I'm enjoying having a yard again and sort of seeing what we'll do with that. We'll probably plant some kind of garden and I'm excited about that. And yes, spend time with Tim and Eleanor when we can. But you know, family, nature, cooking.

PEM: And lastly, what’s something you want our readers to know about you that they currently don’t know? KMR: I really look forward to getting to know them, knowing their interests and their passions. I think we can change the world. I really do believe that the church is called to change the world and that we can do this with God's help.