This Sunday, as members of the St. George family come together for our Celebration Day and Stewardship Ingathering, we will be electing the new St. George Vestry members and Council Delegates for 2017. All members of the St. George family over 16 years of age are able to participate in the election.
We have four nominees for the vestry, and need to fill four open positions. Elected persons will serve for a three-year term. Thank you to Laura Kelly, Elizabeth Rock, Therese Trahan-Edussuriya, and Susan Alwais (elected to fill an unexpired term) for their service on the St. George Vestry.
Steve and Susan Alwais are our nominees for Council Delegates. The complete delegation will be announced in future eSpear newsletters and here on the Blog.
Thank you to all who have agreed to serve!
Vestry Nominees
I included an excerpt from our nominee’s vestry application so you would have a chance to get to know them a little bit better if you haven’t already had the pleasure of meeting them.
Susan Alwais
It has been 4 years since I served on the Vestry. God is calling me to serve Him as a leader in our Parish at this time. With the relationships that I have built with both the church and the school, I feel called to continue the momentum of strengthening the Community that is St. George.
Dr. Lindsey Finklea
At an early age, I identified in myself a need to help others—I am a doer. Yes, I pray, attend church, tithe, etc. –but at heart, I feel closeness with God when I act. I have the distinct privilege of being able to help those less fortunate on a daily basis as a physician. There are many patients that are disgruntled, derogatory, and often unappreciative, but I ‘see the Jesus in them, ‘ and treat them as best I can. I am humbled that God has given me the ability to serve in this way and in my daily life.
Barry Marks
I try each day to, in each moment of my average life, make sure I’m doing what I’m doing in his light. I believe that’s the trick; to stay engaged with God in all I am and all I do.
Alyssa Rogers
I am a member of the Order of the Daughters of the King where our primary mission is to have an active prayer life and pray for our church and community. I am also involved in a Small Group at St. George where we discuss scripture and how it relates to us in the season of life that we are in. I really enjoy getting to dive into the scripture and have real discussions with other parish members who are “in the same boat” as we are. I am also part of the Music Ministry at St. George and serve as a section leader in the choir. Singing is my passion and getting to share that gift with those in the choir and in the congregation brings me so much joy. I am so thankful to be a part of the community of St. George and to call it my church home.
Join your friends at St. George as we offer to God our Promise Plans and then celebrate our life together with “A Picnic on the Green” after the second service! Mr. Meximum Food Truck will be onsite for those who wish to purchase lunch. We’ll have games for the children and fellowship for the adults! Children are encouraged to wear their non-scary Halloween costumes if they’d like to do so!
Everyone is invited to mark the feast day for All Faithful Departed (also called “All Souls’ Day) by attending a special Eucharist on Wednesday, November 2 at 6 pm. The service will be held in All Souls’ Chapel (second floor of the Leadership Center).
The Rt. Reverend David M. Reed, Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese, will be present to celebrate the Eucharist and bless our altar and the space that is All Souls’ Chapel.
If you would like to honor a loved one who has entered the nearer Presence of Christ, you are invited to bring one item (for instance a framed photo or an old Bible, etc) of a loved one. We will have tables in All Souls’ Chapel where those will be displayed from Sunday, October 30th to November 2nd and prayers will be offered for those represented on the tables during our liturgy that evening. Items may be dropped off at the Leadership Center anytime during the week of October 24-28 during our regular office hours of 8 am to 4 pm or brought on Wednesday, November 2.
The Feast of All Saints is one of the major feast days in the life of the Church. On this day we baptize new “saints,” remember the mothers and fathers of our faith throughout the ages (“cloud of witnesses”) and also offer prayers for those whose lives and faith have shaped us. We will have an All Saints’ Day Eucharist at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, November 2nd, and will have baptisms on Sunday, November 6th.
One of our customs at St. George is to read the necrology (a list of those who have died) of members of St. George who have died since last All Saints’ Day. We also offer the opportunity to have prayers at the altar for all those in our lives we wish to remember.
If you would like to recognize a loved one who has gone into the nearer presence of God, please email the name to Fr. Ram (rlopez@saintgeorgechurch.org) by Monday, October 31st. If your loved one was a member of the St. George and died since last All Saints’ Day, we will already have that name. If you would like to make sure, please email Marilynne Herbster (mherbster@saintgeorgechurch.org).
Dear Friends in Christ,
Life at St. George is vibrant and moving! God’s Spirit is roaming freely tending and shaping our common life!
I want to share some dates with you so that you can circle them on your calendars. Some of these dates represent changes to previous calendars. So where there is a conflict with older calendars, please use these dates instead. And look for articles that will give more detail.
October 30 – Promise Plan Ingathering at both worship times followed a Picnic on the Green with opportunities to have some All Hallows’ Eve fun with our children.
November 6 – Sunday after All Saints’ Day with Holy Baptisms and Daughters of the King Corporate Communion.
November 13 – Bishop Robert Hibbs, retired Suffragan, for Adult Confirmation, Reception and Renewal of Baptismal Vows.
November 20 – St. George Community Thanksgiving Celebration with turkeys courtesy of our Dragonslayers Men’s Group to complement your favorite Thanksgiving side dish or dessert.
November 27 – First Sunday of Advent and blessing of our new Advent Altar hangings and accouterments.
Please read your eSpear and Sunday bulletin closely. There are many opportunities for each one of us to grow closer to God and to one another in Christ Jesus.
Many blessings abound here at St. George!
Ram+
A few Sundays ago, Craig Loeffler shared his experiences volunteering as a Reading Buddy for San Antonio Youth Literacy. Please listen to his story and volunteer. St. George will have a training session on Sunday, October 16 from 12:15-1:45 PM.
The St. George moms and daughters had a great time at Camp Caper’s Mother-Daughter Weekend. We swam, cannoned, conquered the screamer, survived dodge-ball, and laughed…a lot. We escaped the routine of our daily lives in order to focus more thoughtfully on ourselves and the joy we experience together in mother-daughter, sister-sister bonds. We unplugged–and it was great!
Just as our relationship with God is a dynamic, evolving love that requires work, we were reminded that our relationships here on Earth can be challenging, but bring great reward when nourished. Lulled into the perceived constancy of life, it can be easy to delay joy to another day. Mother-Daughter weekend is an opportunity to literally ‘stop and smell the rose’ with the people we cherish most…relax…and reconnect.
-Lindsey Finklea
This Saturday, September 24, Fr. Ram and Haley Bankey will represent St. George at the Diocesan “Invite-Welcome-Connect Conference” being held at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
They will share our experiences with the Invite-Welcome-Connect process. “As I began to reflect on the changes we have experienced since we did Invite-Welcome-Connect workshops in April 2015 I began to realize just how much IWC has helped us become who we are today. Invitation is happening through our Church-School relationships, through our presence on the web and through the energy our people are feeling here and inviting friends and family to come to church with them. It has been a very organic process.”
Some of the experiences Haley and Fr. Ram will share include creating an inviting atmosphere for those school families who are seeking a place to worship and belong, the launching of new website which helps us have a more powerful presence on Internet search engines and our activities to reach out to people in our community through community events (Pops Concerts” and community service (Summer of Service).
Registration is available at www.dwtx.org/events. Cost for the day is $35, and that includes materials and lunch. Childcare will be available; if you need childcare, please contact Leigh Saunders, 888/210-824-5387.