August 2013
St. Mark’s News Volume 16/Issue 7
From the Curate Many of you have kindly noticed how nice it is to see the kitchen full of teenagers milling about after Sunday services. I agree: what you are witnessing is something truly special, something being built each week one meal at a time, one silly game at a time, one prayer at a time, truly being guided by the Holy Spirit. This previous January, the youth began carving out their niche. Choosing to begin the year in a new direction, the consensus was to enjoy God and church in ways that best reflected the abundant talents and interests of this group. They decided they would cook, pray, and play together, seeking to navigate relational waters both with God and among themselves. As the months have passed, the youth are creating something beautiful yet still blossoming; something that I hope makes God smile. Each Sunday we create, prepare meals, and enjoy each other’s company as an extension of the Feast we all share in worship. The youth are trying new flavors and learning skills that will prove handy as they become more independent—and they are learning the nuances of textures and seasoning, food pairings, and knife skills. We haven’t lost a finger yet! The best part of it all, when everything is prepared, we sit together as a group to enjoy the feast. Teens who seem to have very little in common sit across from each other and find connections. It is my favorite part of Sunday afternoons. In this Issue Following the meal, we continue our conversations over crazy card games or Trivial Pursuit, and their creativity begins to shine! Before we end our time together, we walk as one into the chapel to pray. Our contemplative guru, Guy Yeadon, walks us through the infinite expanse of the universe in the hopes of finding “home.” We reinforce that this is their time and their space to enjoy being away from the hectic world. If this weren’t impressive enough, our St. Mark’s youth have chosen to share their talents with the neighbors at the Trinity Center three times so far this year. We have received rave reviews from the Trinity Center director, who routinely says that our teens are the friendliest and most engaging; the homeless love our youth!
From the Curate ................. 1 Vestry Highlights ................ 2 Ministry Opportunities......... 3 Parish Life .......................... 4 Outreach............................. 7 Christian Formation ............ 7 Music Notes........................ 8 Parishioner Highlights ........ 9 Caffeine Ministry................. 9 Birthdays & Anniversaries 10 ROTA ............................... 11
Rather than take the summer off, our youth group joined forces with the wonderful youth from St. Alban’s Episcopal Church. Each Monday in July we toured Austin looking for places to cool off: bowling, kayaking in the rain (amazing!), having a game day at St. Albans, and finally swimming at Blue Hole in Wimberley. We also helped with Vacation Bible School and worked on painting and personalizing the new youth shed! Summer is quickly coming to an end, and I look forward to continued sacred afternoons, with expectations of something truly special. I have no idea what the future holds, but I am more than confident it will be worth noticing. One meal, one, game, one prayer has proven truly transformational. Thanks be to God. ~Travis+
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