An Advent Discipline

October 30th, 2010

I want to suggest something different for some of us during Advent this year. I would like to form, basically, an E-mail group of people who want to take on a single spiritual discipline from November 28th through December 24th, and to share a bit of what that is like with the larger group. We will try to meet together in person one time, to get our supplies and some helps, and then go our way, practice our discipline privately, and occasionally reflect on it by E-mail with the rest of the group.

While we will talk about a variety of possible disciplines, there are a couple I do want to stress. These are different disciplines of prayer. The first is using the Anglican Rosary, which is an adaptation of the Catholic rosary, which has been in use since the 13th century. The Anglican Rosary is quite different, but uses the same principles of having beads as an aid to prayers.

The second is much more ancient, and that is the Prayer Rope, which goes back to the 300′s, and is usually used in conjunction with the Jesus prayer. I will have a supply of both Anglican Rosaries and Prayer Ropes on hand.

The discipline is to make a commitment to a set time of prayer each day; and then simply to do it. Such disciplines often get us thinking about a number of things, and the E-Mail group is a way to share these thoughts. If you are interested, let me know, and we will start making some plans.

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MRT Article

August 28th, 2010

To register on the Blog so you can add comments just click on the word “comments” in the line at the end of the post, and follow the prompts. I have to register users because we get so much spam.

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My first regular column ran on Friday in the Midland paper. St. Nicholas’ will have a regular time for some space in the Religion section, and I hope we can use it to bring our Episcopal perspective and to offer thoughtful  reflections on the Christian faith and religious issues of interest to Midland. I have posted the article as a comment on the Let our Light Shine section of this blog. Comments and suggestions for further articles are welcome.

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Both Service Times to Change on September 12

August 28th, 2010

On September 12th, the times for both Sunday Services will change. The first service will begin at 9:30 AM and the second service will begin at 5:30 PM. We hope this slightly later time will make the first service more accessible both to parishioners and to the community while preserving our custom of an early main service.

The 5:30 PM Sunday Service will be something different. While we will keep the bilingual option, we will also be trying a bring a more casual, and a more meditative tone to the service. Darryl and Todd Houck will be helping with the music; and I hope, over the next several months, to develop an alternative worship experience at 5:30 PM. This will take a while, but bear with us, and help us with ideas and suggestions.

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What About Television?

August 9th, 2010

We are looking at doing some advertising on local television. As a part of that, I’m curious about what you think of the idea, and about what you watch on television, and what you guess people who might be interested in St. Nick’s watch on TV.

We are definitely going to sponsor the PBS series God in America this Fall; but we are also thinking about cable and local network affiliates. All of this is still in process, and we’re not committed to doing anything. Still, we have something special here, and we need to let Midland know about it. Let me know what you think.

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Service Times Note

July 25th, 2010

For a number of reasons, including the new Godly Play program on Sunday morning, we are going to change the 11:30 AM service to 5:30 PM on Sunday evenings, beginning September 5th. Darryl Knapp will be overseeing the music, and Doña Josie will be the usual Celebrant, although all of us will participate from time to time. We hope this change will both give us more time on Sunday morning, and allow us to try some less formal and more varied worship. When it is needed, the service will be bi-lingual.

Also, the Vestry and Rector are talking about the best time for our Sunday Morning service. We would like to hear from as many of you as possible on the idea of moving the time to 9:30 or 10:00 AM. We know that we can’t make everyone happy with this one, but we do want to do the best thing for the parish. Let us know what you think.

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God in America

July 25th, 2010

This October 11th through 13th, PBS will run a six hour series titled “God in America”, which will “explore the historical role of religion in the public life of the United States.” The good, the bad and the rest. St. Nicholas’ will be the Primary Local Sponsor of the series, and this will involve not only mention on the series but also opportunities for us to be especially involved in this program. For more information, contact Jane Wolf or check out www.pbs.org/godinamerica/.

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Godly Play

July 25th, 2010

This Fall, we will begin a new design for our Christian Education for younger children. The program is called Godly Play, and is truly special.

“Godly Play teaches children the art of using religious language – parable, sacred story, silence and liturgical action – helping them become more fully aware of the mystery of God’s presence in their lives.” It uses Montessori methods of teaching, has been around for over 30 years, and has been used with great success in several parishes in our Diocese.

Two web resources on Godly Play are www.godlyplay.org and www.godlyplayfoundation.org. There is also a Facebook page.

Last month, Doña Josie and Deacon Roland Rose attended a training program in Austin, and will be helping us get started. We are all very excited about this, and want everyone to be aware of it. To that end, there will be a meeting after the 9:00 Service on Sunday, August 22nd for parents of elementary-age children and the folks involved in Godly Play to talk about the new program, answer any questions people might have, and get ready to begin classes on September 12th.

For more information, please contact Josie or Roland, or the Parish Office.

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Let Our Light Shine

July 19th, 2010

One of the things the Vestry and other parish leaders are looking at these days is the question of how we can best make our parish and our mission better known in Midland. So we are talking about publicity/marketing/ advertising/evangelism—the whole thing. There are several ideas that are in the works, and nothing is final yet.

One big part of this is taking better advantage of our location. Literally thousands of people drive by St. Nicholas’ ever day, and very few of them know who we are or what we are about. One way to help change this is by a sign, large enough to be read from the loop, and having a message that we can change anytime we want to.

Now, no sign, all by itself, will send folks to St. Nicholas’ in droves—the experts say that maybe 5 to 10% of people who visit a church do so because of the sign alone. However, when combined with other forms of publicity and outreach, this can be an important way to extend our reach into our community.

We are looking at a sign that is about 25 feet tall and 15 feet across, with a changing LED message. We could use this space for service times, upcoming events, and pithy hints about how we are special.

Other things we are looking at include direct advertising on PBS and perhaps cable TV, an overhaul of the website, a presence at Midland College, and more use of the newspaper and other local media.

What do you think? How can we share with Midland our special Church community and the special perspective on the Christian faith that we value so much? Any ideas or suggestions are welcome.

Fr. Jim

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Ministry at Midland College

July 19th, 2010

This coming Sunday, July 25th, we’re going to have a meeting after the 9:00 Service to talk about how St. Nicholas’ can reach out to students, faculty, and staff at Midland College.

College years are times of both transition and formation; and what we have to offer at St. Nicholas’ could be attractive to students who are searching for a religious faith that is different from what they have experienced. Also, we provide a distinctive approach to the Christian faith that may be appealing to faculty and staff who are looking for an alternative to the general religious culture of Midland. At the same time, such a ministry could be part of our outreach to the Hispanic community, which is well represented throughout Midland College.

Things that occur to me, more of less off the top of my head, are some sort of physical presence at Registration, discussion groups or panels, an occasional meal at the parish for students, pamphlets about St. Nicholas’ and the Episcopal Church, and posters publicizing special events at the parish. I know that there are currently three “Christian Fellowship” campus organizations—a Baptist group, one from Mid-Cities, and another one called “Invictus”. Whatever we come up will, I expect, be a bit different.

I don’t know how realistic any of this is; but I hope that we can talk about possibilities and come up with one or two realistic and helpful ideas for the Fall semester.

If you are interested, please feel free to join us after Church on Sunday or to share here any ideas or suggestions you might have. This is a great ministry opportunity that we need to assume.

Fr. Jim

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Update on Santa Maria

December 21st, 2009

In this post, I want to respond to a few of the questions I have had, or that Josie, Bishop Mayer and I have tried to deal with, as we begin this new relationship between Santa Maria and St. Nicholas’.

What, exactly, will happen?

Beginning in February the Mission congregation at Santa Maria will be closed, and St. Nicholas’ will add a second Sunday morning Eucharist, probably at 11:30 AM. This service will be either all Spanish or bi-lingual, as the folks at Santa Maria choose. Those people currently attending Santa Maria will be invited to St. Nicholas’, and encouraged to attend whichever service they prefer.

Also, we will over the next several months work toward consolidating all of our outreach ministries with the Jubilee Center at the current Santa Maria location. We expect that the Jubilee Center will

What’s a Jubilee Center?

Jubilee Ministry Centers are congregations, ecumenical clusters with an Episcopal presence, or agencies with connections to the Episcopal Church that are engaged in active mission and ministry among and with poor and oppressed people. They are recognized by our National Church for excellence and for innovation.

How many people are we talking about?

Currently Santa Maria has an average Sunday attendance of around 10 people, with three Hispanic families regularly attending.

What will this cost?

The desire of everyone involved is to make this change “revenue-neutral” for both parishes and for our Diocese. The anticipated Diocesan support for Hispanic ministry in our Deanery will continue, and we anticipate that pledges from Santa Maria will enable St. Nicholas’ to pay the Diocese what Santa Maria is currently contributing toward the Vicar’s stipend. Santa Maria has sufficient reserves to insure that this last obligation will be met for some time.

Also, any additional resources that Santa Maria brings to this change will be used for the Jubilee Center. To that end we will begin this by keeping separate financial records for St. Nicholas’ and Santa Maria/Jubilee Center.

What will the new service be like?

It will be an Episcopal Eucharist said either entirely in Spanish or bi-lingually. Darryl Knapp and Michael Jordan will be responsible for the music. It will be in the Church.

Can anyone come to the new service, or is it just for Santa Maria people?

It will be a service of St. Nicholas’ parish, and that means that everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. We anticipate that some former Santa parishioners will attend the 9:00, and that some St. Nicholas’ parishioners will choose the 11:30 service. It is an option for everyone.

What will happen to Josie and Roland?

Mother Josie will continue as Hispanic missioner for the Permian Basin, and most of her work during the week will be in supporting the Jubilee Center, and developing Hispanic ministry in our area. On Sunday, and when she is available during the week, she will serve as an associate Rector at St. Nicholas’ and will participate fully in the life of the parish.

The Bishop assigns Deacons to their ministries, and he has not made a formal assignment for Deacon Roland. If it is the Bishop’s will, I hope that Deacon Roland will be actively involved in the ministries of St. Nicholas’.

Does the Bishop know about this?

Yes, Bishop Mayer has been involved in these discussions since his election; and he is very supportive of these plans.

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