April 2016
St. Mark’s News Volume 20/Issue 4
From the Assistant Rector My first mission with live explosives happened in the jungles of Panama. My Marine Corps Combat Engineer unit went there to practice our craft in a jungle environment full of an amazing assortment of venomous creatures and plants. The mission with explosives was to blow up some trees that were underwater, about 4 feet down. We arrived at the location in our small rubber Zodiac boats. As the highest ranking Marine, I was the boat commander and helmsman. The boat had a small outboard motor that was somewhat reliable. Well, we got into the water of the Chagres River in the Canal Zone and attached the explosives to the trees. We ran detonation cord up to the boat and attached a small detonator. Once a Marine twisted that detonator, the fuse would burn and there would be a big boom. My boat did the safety checks and we pulled the detonator. The fuse started to burn, so I started the engine. We had to keep the engines off for security reasons and so we wouldn’t set off the explosives too early. That was the precise moment when the engine didn’t want to start. I pulled the cord again on the engine and it sputtered out. It seemed like I pulled it 5,000 times, although it was probably about 4 or 5. Finally, it roared to life and we took off down the river. Boom! Mission accomplished. There was one less whole tree in that river. That was 1995. In 2016, on the first weekend of March a group of 18 veterans gathered at an old convent in Brenhem, TX, for a retreat. Veterans from World War II through Iraq were present, sharing their experiences and planning for the future. I was blessed to be with these women and men for this retreat. The retreat was the culmination of 2+ years of my work with the Episcopal Veterans Fellowship (EVF). I started the group in 2014, shortly after I arrived in Texas after serving in the Army as a chaplain. The group has slowly expanded to 5 parishes in Central Texas, and last month we opened a fellowship in the Diocese of Upper South Carolina. Four dioceses were represented at our retreat, a witness to the need for veterans’ ministry everywhere.
In this Issue From the Assistant Rector.......... 1 Vestry Highlights ........................ 2 Parish Life .................................. 4 Music Notes ............................... 5 Parishioner Highlights ................ 7 Christian Formation .................... 8 Celebrations ............................. 10 Caffeine Ministry ...................... 10 ROTA ....................................... 11
You may not be aware of this, but St. Mark’s Parish is now the home of the Episcopal Veterans Fellowship in the Diocese of Texas! As the leader and founder, it just makes sense. At the same retreat we also began to discern the startup of a new monastic order for veterans’ ministry, the Hospitallers of St. Martin. This community will follow a Rule of Life consisting of Prayer, Hospitality, and Reconciliation. During the final hours of the retreat I was elected Prior of the order. I hope to lead it well, equipped and blessed by each of you I am blessed to share communion with every Sunday. The work we are doing with Moral Injury in veterans is timely and necessary as 2 million Iraq and Afghanistan veterans come home from war. Our groups prevent suicide in the short term and equip veterans to build a life with God and others in the long term.
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