Lay Reader March 2014

March

2014

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3

SERVICES at HEAVENLY REST Sundays 8:00 a.m.

Worship Service, Holy Eucharist in the nave

9:30 a.m.

Sunday School

10:45 a.m.

Worship Service, Holy Eucharist in the nave

1:00 p.m.

Worship Service Morning Prayer in Swahili

“I know no other church that has the closeness, the warmness, the grace or the kindness than this church.”

- John D. Stowe Featured Inside Musical Offerings..................................2 Volunteers Needed...............................3 Calender & Sunday Stewards.......Insert March Celebrations..............................6 BackPage • Rector’s Message.............7

Weekdays 8:00 a.m.

Morning Prayer in the chapel

Wednesdays 5:30 p.m.

Healing Service, Holy Eucharist in the chapel Our service comes from the Book of Common Prayer.

MISSION

As a community of faith centered in God through liturgy and Christian Practice, the Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest exists to: CARE for members of all ages and stages of life.

SHARE God’s inclusive and healing love with all people.

CREATE opportunities to grow in Christ.

SERVE the church, the community, and the world.

Care. Share. Create. Serve. • March 2014

2014 Leslie Spotz, piano Sunday, March 16, 4:00 p.m.

David Shea, clarinet Sunday, April 6, 4:00 p.m.

Tri-Collegiate Honors Recital Thursday, May 8, 7:30 p.m.

There is no charge to attend.

Our concerts are a gift to the congregation and community.

“Music is the universal language of mankind.”

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

MusicalOfferings “Alleluia Sunday” There will be a Service of Evensong for the last Sunday After The Epiphany, Sunday March 2, at 5:30 pm. Led by the Adult Choir, this service will mark our official end to the Sundays celebrating the Epiphany season, including the use of “Alleluia” within the liturgy until the Easter Vigil on April 12.

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SERIES TOPICS Pray for me, a sinner On Wednesday, March 12, the clergy of Heavenly Rest will introduce the sacramental universe of the Roman Catholic Church, particularly the sacrament of Reconciliation.

The Poetry of Grace On Wednesday, March 19, Dr. Larry Brunner, a professor in the English Department at Hardin-Simmons University, will discuss the life and work of poet and priest Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Lenten 2014

of

Grace

The penitential season of Lent invites us to reflect on our sinfulness and our need for the grace of God. Artists who have emerged from the Catholic tradition have a unique perspective on the human condition and the means by which we can be shaped by God’s grace. With this in mind, this year’s Lenten Series at the Church of the Heavenly Rest is entitled The Immediacy of Grace: Literature and the Catholic Imagination. As a community, we will explore the world of Roman Catholic authors with literary scholars from around the region. Professors from Hardin- Simmons, Abilene Christian, and Baylor will discuss the works of Gerard Manley Hopkins, Sigrid Undset, Walker Percy, and Flannery O’Connor. On the Wednesday evenings during Lent, dinner will be offered in the Heavenly Rest Parish Hall at 5:45 pm followed by a program at 6:30 pm. Activities will also be available for youth and children. During the Christian season of penitence and renewal, we hope you will take an opportunity to reflect on the generosity and the immediacy of God’s grace.

At the same time, as part of his Lenten discipline, David Romanik will be paying attention the moments of grace that are part of our daily lives and writing about them on his blog. To read David’s daily reflections on this season of penitence and renewal, visit fatherdrom.wordpress.com beginning on Wednesday, March 5th.

Read Father David’s daily reflections online about Grace during Lent and connect with us on Facebook for daily collects. The Magificant Lenten 2014 application for iPhones offers daily liturgy, prayers and meditations for $0.99. It is highly reviewed, but is rooted in Catholic liturgy. The Great Lent Hymns application offers free music.

Grace and Reality On Wednesday, March 26, Dr. Steve Weathers, a professor in the English Department at Abilene Christian University, will discuss the life and work of Norwegian author Sigrid Undset.

Grace and Brutality On Wednesday, April 2, Dr. Ralph Wood, professor of Theology and Literature at Baylor University, will discuss the life and work of Flannery O’Connor.

Seeking God’s Grace On Wednesday, April 9, we will gather in the nave of Heavenly Rest for a worship service that will draw on the themes that emerged during the previous Wednesday evenings. At that service, Dr. Larry Fink, a professor in the English Department at Hardin-Simmons, will reflect on the life and work of Walker Percy.

LENT SERVICES

Ash Wednesday, March 5 7 A.M. • NOON • 7 P.M.

Make It A Family Affair Lenten activities for children provided Wednesdays at 5:45 3

Care. Share. Create. Serve. • March 2014

ANNUAL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS Senior Warden: Yvonne Batts Junior Warden: Kim Snyder New Vestry Members: Tom Choate, Bob Hale, Kathy Diamond, Paul Fulham Delegates Elected to Convention: Sharon Kelley, Nolan Kelley, Charles Scarborough Stay Tuned: Ralph Cousins, from Episcopal Church Foundation, will have the results from the feasibility process out soon.

Next Vestry Meeting: March 11 SPECIAL THANKS TO... “the Brotherhood” that helped tally votes Dick Viegel, Rick Willis, Bill Young Sue McWilliams who the facilitated the feast Along with... Jackie Batjer

Suzie Ramsey

Gay Ann Walts

Suzanne Stowe and Mary Lou Conley who helped serve Kathy Diamond and ARAMARK for catering the feast

MISS THE MEETING? Contact the church to receive a copy of the annual report.

Wedding at 602 Meander

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Funeral Planning Party

Get ready for a mystery!

Mardi Gras Celebration

The Church of the Heavenly Rest is putting the FUN in funeral planning!

Please join us on Sunday, March 9, at 5:30 pm, for music, dinner, and discussions of making plans for the ultimate celebration of new life in Christ.

We will start in the nave with Dr. Wes for a discussion of funeral hymns (and to sing along with some of our favorites), then move to the Parish Hall for dinner and an opportunity to hear about the many options that the Episcopal Church, and Heavenly Rest in particular, offers for you and your families. To RSVP or for more information, please email Mother Susanna at sbrosseau@heavenlyrestabilene. org, or call the church office.

The Church of the Heavenly Rest Senior EYC (grades 8-12) is invited to go on a MYSTERY TRIP, Saturday, April 5th. We’ll leave from the church at 6 am and return at 6 pm.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and transportation will be provided. Invite your friends to come into the great unknown with you! Permission slips will be available in March. For more information, contact Mother Susanna: sbrosseau@heavenlyrestabilene. org.

Laissez les bon temps rouler! The Church of the Heavenly Rest is celebrating Mardi Gras with a Bayou Shrimp Boil Party on Tuesday, March 4, from 6:30 pm until 9. There will be plenty of great food, music, activities for kids and adults, and wonderful fellowship with our parish family.

For more information or if you’d like to help, please email Mother Susanna at sbrosseau@heavenlyrestabilene.org or call the church office.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR Family Sunday School and Children’s Blessing March 16

Women’s Lenten Retreat • March 22 All women of the parish are invited to participate in a Lenten retreat, “Pathways of Prayer,” on Saturday, March 22, from 8: 30 a.m.-2 p.m., sponsored by the Daughters of the King.

The day will begin with coffee and registration at 8:30 a.m. in the Bishop Garrett room, with the programs to start at 9 a.m. The retreat will offer a time of meditation, instruction, and worship as a means of enriching prayer life and an opportunity to gather together to reflect, share and pray together. Mother Susanna will celebrate a special closing Eucharist with participants.

Lunch will be provided, as will materials, mementos, and information to take home. Pre-registration is necessary so organizers can plan accordingly. A $5 offering is asked to help defray expenses. You are welcome to bring along female friends who would like to come, too – participants don’t have to be Heavenly Rest parishioners or Episcopalian!

Women can register by mail to Mary Crymes, 817 Amarillo St. Abilene, TX 79602 or by calling Julie-Anne Stoner at 733-7825. Look for the Daughters after the 10:45 a.m. Sunday services during the coffee reception, as well! Please call Julie-Anne with any questions or for more information.

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Care. Share. Create. Serve. • March 2014

MarchCelebrations Happy Birthday March 1 Joshua Back Simon Back Nolan Kelley March 3 Emma Morris March 4 Michael Garcia March 5 Kathleen Jackson March 6 Molly Henson Justin Marderosian March 7 Helen Chaney March 8 Kathlyn Denee Moore

March 9 Letha Morris Joy Ramsey March 10 Bob Beckham Lauren Fulenwider Eleanor Rockett March 12 Dian Stai March 13 Meredith Back Cash Cockerell March 15 Dick Orsini Linda Pinkston March 16 Sharlyn Garoutte

March 17 Stephen Suttle

March 25 Ronald Rathbun

March 19 Rob Beckham Laura Langford Rick Willis

March 27 Amy Edington

March 20 Archer Fulenwider March 21 Connie Boyd Caitlin West March 22 Claire Partin Hattie Willard

March 28 Robin Dennis Kathy Huston March 29 Carolyn Barnett Nick Procopio Mark Puckett Gene Sherman March 31 Perry Fincher

March 24 Terri Cress Karrie Partin Greg Yost

Happy Anniversary March 2 Carol and Leroy Powell

JDana and Ton Lindley

March 29 Lindsay and Jay Hardaway

If your birthday or anniversary is not listed, please contact the office.

Birthday Blessing is March 2 at both services.

Anniversary Blessing is March 9 at both services.

Children’s Blessing is March 16 at both services

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BackPage† Dear Friends, At our Annual Meeting February 23, I reported about some of the ways I have seen God at work within this faith community and wanted to share this with the entire congregation. The Holy Spirit continues to renew and bless all those who enter into, and share together, the Presence of God at this church.

Ancient liturgy attracts human souls today. We seek the spiritual power that brought our forebears into the great blessings we enjoy now. We are seeing our parish being preserved, improved and enlarged to accommodate expanding ministry.

Native Peoples identify certain mountains, streams and land as ‘holy’ because they believe that the Great Spirit paused in these special places during creation. So let us see, that our holy Heavenly Rest, is a place to pause and to let ourselves feel God’s love. We are giving God a space and time to create in us holiness, graciousness, wisdom, and peace.

Thank God, more and more people pause to be here. We all want to feel the caring, sharing, creating and serving that God has intended for our souls. I am reminded of these particular blessings over the last year.

• The addition of the Reverend Susanna Brosseau as Curate has emphasized our ministry to children, youth and families. Katie Young is playing an important role facilitating such ministry as our Youth Intern.

• Morning Prayer in Swahili ministers to a growing congregation of Congolese refugees. It has been a great joy to see Mr. Bikole Mulanda, our Swahili Minister, nurture this wonderful community of Anglicans as they settle into their new home.

• Numerous souls were confirmed in 2013 at Heavenly Rest including Francis Gordan (aged 99).

Exciting new beginnings are unfolding on Meander Street. Anticipate new friends, great opportunities and exciting challenges in 2014. We are in the midst of studying the feasibility of a Capital Campaign and we are asking God to bless each important step we take.

I have been blessed with a remarkable staff and dedicated volunteers. I am especially grateful to our vestry and in particular Mike Denny, retiring Senior Warden, for loving, guiding and serving this church in innumerable ways. Thank you all for your prayers and loving care.

Faithfully,

Luke

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VISION The Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest is a Christian community of faith rooted in the Anglican tradition.

Empowered by the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament, we seek to know the reconciling love of God and to share that love with others.

But if the wicked turn away from all their sins that they have committed and keep all my statutes and do what is lawful and right, they shall surely live; they shall not die.

- Ezekiel 18:21 Office Hours

SPECIAL SERVICES The Great Litany, March 9 8 A.M. • 10:45 A.M. Ash Wednesday, March 5 7 A.M. • NOON • 7 P.M. The Immediacy of Grace, Weekly Lenten Study Wednesdays beginning March 12 Dinner 5:45 Program 6:30

Monday - Thursday: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon and 1 - 4:30 p.m..

Friday: 8:30 a.m. - 12 noon (325) 677-2091 chrepis@heavenlyrestabilene.org http://www.heavenlyrestabilene.org

The Reverend N. Luke Back, Rector The Reverend David Romanik, Associate Rector The Reverend Susanna Brosseau, Curate The Reverend Amanda Watson, Deacon Dr. Wes Gomer, Organist and Choirmaster Bikole Mulanda, Swahili Minister Mary J. Renfro, Director of Finance and Administration Lynsi Musselman, Communications Coordinator Belinda Shepherd, Christian Education Coordinator Courtney Bryant, Christian Education Assistant Katie Young, Youth Ministry Intern Susetta Rockett, Music Assistant Barbradon Brooks, Harpist Arnold Guerra, Sexton Dorothy Guerra, Housekeeper NURSERY PERSONNEL Joan Fulton, Ann Lobdell, Lucy Marak, Anne Mornell

Return Service Requested Telephone (325) 677-2091 602 Meander Street Abilene, Texas 79602-1009

Church of the Heavenly Rest

Abilene, TX Permit #249

PAID

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage