The Messenger - July/August 2014

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themessenger Monthly Newsle er of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church JULY/AUGUST 2014

VOLUME 103

ISSUE 07

FROM THE NEW RECTOR—THE REV. BETH KNOWLTON

Letting Go to More Fully Receive

I

remember a man in a small group setting many years ago saying about approaching the communion rail, “It reminds me every week that to receive Christ I have to stop grasping everything else so tightly. I can only receive with open hands.” That image has stayed with me through the years, and has been particularly poignant in recent weeks. I am being invited on a daily basis to let go of many things to more fully receive the calling that Christ has given me in the gift of being called as your rector.

start to realize how much of that will change, it is tempting to grasp in anxiety or control.

Beth packing in Atlanta spor ng her new Spurs gear.

Some things are easy to let go —things I meant to throw away years ago are happily thrown in the garbage or taken away to the local donation centers. Other thing are much dearer, and a piece of me longs to close my hands and hold on just a bit longer—the relationships that have been forged through more than two decades lived in Atlanta, the home Ron and I purchased together (the only one our children know), comfortable patterns of life and geography. When I

ST. MARK’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH 315 E. Pecan St. San Antonio, Texas 78205 (210) 226‐2426 www.stmarks‐sa.org stmarks@stmarks‐sa.org Office hours: Monday ‐ Friday 9:00a.m.‐5:00p.m. Emergency Pastoral Care: 210‐507‐0256

But then that beautiful image comes again. Opening my hands, my heart, and my mind to more deeply receive the presence of Jesus Christ. It reminds me that so much of the journey is about letting go, grasping, and then letting go again. I imagine many of you are feeling similar impulses as you anticipate our arrival and bid Ned Bowersox goodbye. You may be remembering holy times before the transition began.

Those feelings and thoughts are holy and part of our communal life as the Body of Christ. If we believe that the Eucharist is a holy act of remembering, each time we grasp, and each time we let go, we enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ. Our family remains so grateful for this next season of our life and we continue to pray for open and outstretched spirits and hearts for ourselves and the dear people of St. Mark’s.

Beth+ IN THIS ISSUE:

New Rector Arrival & Installa on Dates ......................................................... page 2 Summer Adult Forma on Schedule ............................................................... page 3 Boy & Girl Choir Musical ................................................................................. page 4 Outreach Commi ee Awards Grants .............................................................. page 4 Pictures from Ned’s “Mahalo!” Celebra on ................................................... page 6 Youth Ministry News ....................................................................................... page 8 Family & Children’s Ministries News ............................................................ page 10


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