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Is Stewardship a Core Value?
This past August we took a group of leaders (staff, vestry and ministry leaders) to a three-day leadership conference in San Antonio. Great speakers. Great worship. Decent coffee. While there, God spoke to us. To me, in particular. I was not very interested in what He had to say. I told Him so. As is often the case, God didn’t much care that I didn’t like what He was saying, He kept right on saying it. When I shruggingly resigned myself to accept God’s message, I knew I had to tell someone. I began with Gil Merkle because he was sitting right next to me, and because this affected him, as well. “Gil,” I said, “I’ve got some bad news. God told me something I don’t think you’re going to want to hear.” Not the gentlest beginning to a conversation, to be sure. But it sure got Gil’s attention. Setting down his coffee cup, bracing himself, he replied, “Okay. What is it?” I took a deep breath. “God told me we are two steps ahead of ourselves. We need to go back and shore up our foundation before we move forward.” Gil is the Chair of the Long Range Planning Committee, and my all-around number one guy. We’ve been working on the Long Range Plan going on two years. We’ve already implemented parts of it. We have plans made, plans hoped for, plans dreamed of. Lots of time and effort and energy, and not a little money already poured into our future. I expected Gil to be less-than-happy. I was surprised, because he was not. “I know,” he responded calmly, “I hear him saying the same thing.” Wow. “Not,” I added quickly, “that we have wasted our time and effort. To the contrary, I hear God saying all the work we’ve been doing is good and will be useful, we just need to catch up to it. We have moved too far ahead of ourselves.” “Exactly,” Gil replied. “Core Values,” I added. “Core Values,” he agreed. So we will listen to God. We are not abandoning our work. We are going to strengthen it. It is as though we have built beautiful walls while the foundation is still wet. We are going to shore up our foundation. We are going to discern our Core Values. Notice I used the verb “discern”. Core Values are not created; they already exist. Neither are they discovered; they are not absent from our life even now. Core Values are discerned by the power of God’s Spirit and the intentional efforts of God’s people. Our efforts will begin in November. November 13 and 15, to be specific. On those respective evenings, we will hold consecutive Core Value Kick-Off Dinners in the Parish Hall. At those dinners we will discuss the process of discernment into which I hope we will enter. Notice again my word choice. Hope. We. This is not something I can do as the Rector. This is not something the leadership of our congregation can do. This can only be achieved through the concerted efforts of the strong majority of our people. You can do this, with God’s help. You supply the effort. The leadership of our congregation supplies the concerted. Together we can discern our Core Values, which will solidify the ministry we’ve already begun, and will continue to do. Together, we can name specifically who we are. Take heed, however, because naming who we are includes naming who we are not, and that can be difficult. I chose the word hope because I am hopeful. I am hopeful you will be intrigued and excited and willing to share in this process. I am hopeful you will attend one of the Core Value Kick-Off Dinners. I am hopeful we will discern what we as St. Andrew’s are fundamentally about. I am hopeful because with God all things are possible. ~Father Jay
Get Ready for a Busy November!
Grab some popcorn and pull up a beanbag! The First Friday Fellowship this month is scheduled for November 2. Originally we had planned on the Supper For 8 gatherings. However, that has changed. There simply was not enough interest. So, instead, we will have another Family Movie Night! Bring the whole family and friends to McKeogh Hall on November 2nd at 6:00. We will begin with a sack dinner (bring your favorite burger, chicken, etc.) followed by a movie, popcorn and cotton candy! The movie will start at 6:30. We will be viewing Surf’s Up (PG).
Canterbury Sunday Canterbury Sunday is November 4. Our TLU college group will be doing all the music, readings and the sermon at the 10:30 service. This will be a great service for everyone to enjoy. Come support this growing group of young adults that is such a vibrant part of the St. Andrew’s family.
New Members, Come Hungry! New Member Dinner series to start November 4. Calling all new members and guests to enjoy a series of dinners planned just for you. Come fellowship and hear what St. Andrew’s has to offer you and your family. The dinners will be on November 4th, 11th and 18th and the home of Ryan and Sami Kuhn from 5:30-8:00p.m. Nursery will be provided at the church. We are blessed that you have joined our church family. Come and let us honor you.
Warm Up the Bagpipes! November 18th is St. Andrew’s Day. Come and join us as we celebrate this very special day! There will be a reception following the 10:30 service in McKeogh Hall. To be a part of planning and helping with the reception contact Lesli or Bambi at the church office.
Giving Thanks as a Community St. Andrew’s will be a part of the Community Thanksgiving Service to be held at Emmanuel’s Lutheran Church on Tuesday, November 20 at 7:00p.m. Our choir will be singing and Father Jay will be assisting with the service. We have been asked to help by bringing cookies for the fellowship following the service. If you can help please contact Marty Keil at 303-7333.
Thanksgiving Holiday Have a happy and joyful Thanksgiving Day! Please note that the church office will be closed from November 21-23.
Advent Wreath Time! The Family Advent Wreath & Christmas Tree Decorating event is November 25th from 9:00-10:15a.m. We will have a wonderful breakfast, hot chocolate and cider to enjoy as we spend time as a family making our wreaths and singing Christmas carols. We will talk about what the advent wreath represents and how we can spend family time together preparing for Christ’s birth.
We have added something new this year. We will be decorating a Christmas tree that a local business has sponsored to aid The Lodge Guadalupe County Children’s Shelter in the building of a new facility that will help the children right here in our community. The Children’s Ministry Team and kids will be selling tickets for the Tree Lighting event scheduled for Friday, December 14th at 7:00p.m. Downtown in the Plaza. I feel like this is a great opportunity to involve our children in giving to those less fortunate during this holiday season.
Saying Goodbye to the Cornerstone A long-standing St. Andrew’s tradition will come to an end as the year ends. The Cornerstone Store, after over 35 years in business, will be closing its doors. Store Manager Anne Wuest will be retiring at the end of 2007, and the decision was made by the Cornerstone Board of Directors and approved by the Vestry to close the store. That’s sad news for all of us who have enjoyed shopping at this charming little spot right here at St. Andrew’s—along with all of the good that has come from it as the Cornerstone has channeled profits toward numerous worthy causes. However, every cloud has a silver lining, and in this case, it comes in the form of a great sale. Everything in the store—from nativity scenes to books to Christmas decorations to James Avery jewelry—will be 40% off. Here’s a chance to find some great bargains, get your holiday shopping done, and visit a unique little shop at least one more time.
Honduran Moments 2007: Thoughts from a member of the Veterinary & Public Health Mission to Honduras
The first day, I always say to myself, I am NOT doing this again. There is a hustle and bustle. Does everyone have his passport? Is everyone on the plane? (NO!?) Separate the bags! Watch the luggage! Did all the supplies arrive? What is going to go wrong this year? How are we going to get this together? Are we really serving? Who are my team members? Are we meeting the needs of the people? Are we ready? Who will get sick? Is everything and everybody on the bus? Where are we going and how long will it take to get there? Then...The peaceful pace… The memories… The Sunday worship at San Juan Apostal… The jubilance of song… The greetings of old friends… The flowers from Oscar… The loving care of the stray dog at the hotel… The invitation for a fiesta… The carnival at the orphanage… Brad captivating the children with his magic tricks… The rooster’s crow… The circle formed in the plaza at 6:30 each morning to turn hearts and minds to the One who strengthens… The testimonies… Sliced, baked bananas for breakfast at Juanci’s… The lifting and loading… The lovely Sujey arriving as translator to save the day. The teams and supplies crammed into the back of the pickup trucks headed out for a long day… The countryside where banana and pine trees grow side by side. Honduran time… The children running down the street to greet us, barefooted and grinning ear to ear or shy and curious… The excruciating poverty… The difficult lives… The warm Honduran welcome… The generous hearts… The men arriving on horseback for a village meeting… The ox carts… The Hondurans naturally helping each other to herd the animals so that each and every one can be treated. Margaret’s puppets… The children cheerfully and proudly singing their ABC’s to note the length of time necessary for a good hand washing. The laughter… The delight in each other’s presence despite the language barrier… The brilliant colors of the bougainvillea… Emily breathless from an endless game of “Pato, Pato, Ganso”… The awareness of His Presence… The Honduran and American firefighters: brothers and sisters… The joy of the Norte Americanos who were asked to be godparents… The home baptism with tin baptismal font, plastic water pitcher, and chickens running underfoot. Hondurans and Gringos working side by side in service to the poorest of the poor… The smiles… The twelve-year-old girl, without hearing and therefore mute since birth, with a face that trusts and hopes… God working… The excitement… The journey… The difference… The possibilities. The waning… more than 6,000 animals treated...over 2,000 children with brand new notebooks and ‘gift’ bags, each filled with a fresh toothbrush, soap, comb, pencils… Reminding each other of the generous gifts of tens of thousands of dollars of vaccines and veterinary supplies, the fundraisers, the myriad of hands that prepared bags, the hard work, the conference calls, the prayers of the faithful… ALL the prepartation that made this ministry possible...and all the people who made that obedient first step into the unknown. A good trip. Now, when are we going next year?
Happy Thanksgiving, St. Andrew’s! |
