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Thank you, thank you!!
Judy and I cannot tell you how much your prayers, emails, phone calls,
flowers and cards have meant over these past weeks during her two
periods of hospitalization.
We continue to thank God for the time and effort you put forth showing
your support.
Bernie & Judy
Frey
Churchlady
Dear
Churchlady,
I have
heard in the past people talking about being a delegate and going to
council. What does that
mean, who are they and what do they do?
And, how does one get to be a delegate?
Sincerely,
Motivated Molly,
Dear
Molly,
Oh, I am
so glad you asked this! It
is important to remember that we at St. Francis are part of a larger
church. We can be so busy
with our own church activities that it is easy to forget.
St. Francis by the Lake is part of a diocese, or a territorial
unit administered by a bishop.
Our diocese, The Diocese of West Texas, is part of the Episcopal
Church, which includes the United States, parts of Central and South
America, Taiwan, and the Caribbean.
The Episcopal Church, known as The Protestant Episcopal Church in
the United States of America, is also a Province of the Anglican
Communion. (Goodness, isn’t
this so interesting to know!)
But let me
go back to your question.
Our diocese has a governing body, Diocesan Council, made up of lay and
clergy, which convenes every year.
During Council, matters of finance, mission, ministry, and
education, are presented and discussed, and reports are received from
committees and the Bishop, and there is voting on resolutions and for
the many positions in the Diocese.
(Oh my, this is important work!)
Every church in the diocese sends delegates, depending on the
size of the church, and St. Francis has four.
We elect lay delegates that will represent our church at our
annual meeting, which is held in January.
Those delegates have some work to do before Council convenes in
February. There are meetings
in each Convocation of the Diocese to distribute this information.
St. Francis is in the Northeast Convocation, one of seven
convocations of our Diocese.
I hope you will consider being a delegate to Council. It is such
a joyful and meaningful experience.
Also, it is good to know that, even if you aren’t a delegate, you
can still go and listen to all the wonderful presentations and reports
that are given.
This was indeed a good question!
Thank you so much for asking!
Very
truly yours,
Churchlady
P.S.
If you have questions for the Churchlady please e-mail them to:
the Franciscan editor, cojo@gvtc.com; the church,
francis@gvtc.com; or take them to the church office.
St. Francis treasures
By Anne Beauvais
In the
spring of 1979 a classified ad in the Times-Guardian asked
Episcopalians who wanted to start a church in Canyon Lake to come to a
meeting. Hazel Dowdy and her
late husband, Warren, became members of that organizational group.
After graduating from high school in Philadelphia, Hazel was
working at the telephone company when her brother suggested that she
attend college in Kingsville, Texas, where he was working after World
War II. She became an
English major at Texas A & I College, now part of the Texas A & M
system.
Warren was in the same college and working at the post office
with Hazel’s brother. Hazel
and Warren married in 1948 and stayed in Kingsville until Warren was
hired as a band director in Corpus Christi.
Hazel finished her degree and began teaching business in the high
school, later becoming the coordinator of the vocational program.
She taught mornings and supervised the students working at jobs
part time.
In 1948, when the last of their four children graduated from high
school, the Dowdys bought a cabin at Canyon Lake and decided to move
here. Warren was supervising
driver’s education classes in the area and Hazel began teaching computer
data entry in the high school.
She also taught Community Education classes in New Braunfels.
Hazel was a member of the original Bishop’s Committee at St.
Francis and was very involved in preparing the property that was donated
to the church. Saturdays
were spent tearing down the old farm house and out buildings, saving
much of the old weathered wood to use in the new church.
Over the years, Hazel and Warren were especially supportive of
the music program at St. Francis and Warren’s trumpet solos were
memorable.
To Note
By Robert M. Finster, Parish Musician
“TO NOTE” is an ongoing series of short articles on particular aspects
of the music or liturgy which are current in the worship at St. Francis
by the Lake
Church.
The intent is to explain, or rationalize, and sometimes, I
suppose, even defend choices which have been made regarding the way
music and liturgy intersect here.
The joyous season of Advent, which marks the church’s new
liturgical year, will begin on Sunday, Nov. 30.
Advent is a time for listening to the prophetic messages from
Scripture which point to the coming of the Messiah, the King, the Son of
David - Christ the Savior, for whose Second Coming we also prepare our
hearts.
This time is not the same as the Christmas season.
The music and its texts will have a different feel -- a purple
feel? -- from those from the rest of the year.
We will save the singing of Christmas carols until Christmas Eve
and Day and the twelve days which follow.
During Advent we will also omit the canticle Gloria in
excelsis Deo (Glory to God in the highest), which is often called
the song of the angels. The
Advent hymns in The Hymnal 1982 are carefully provided and will be
chosen to reflect the various themes which the lectionary gives us.
All in all, some of the church’s most beloved hymns are Advent
songs, and the church looks forward each year to singing them.
On the Third Sunday of Advent, Dec. 14, at the 10:30 liturgy, we
will replace the regular Liturgy of the Word with a Service of Advent
Lessons and Carols, to be followed by the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
During Lessons and Carols we will hear scriptural readings
telling the story of the coming of the Savior, each followed by a choral
setting and a congregational hymn.
This tradition of the Advent season is widespread in Anglican
Churches, and we are happy that our parish is part of this observation.
As always, our intention is to place the focus not on the
musicians or their performance but on the
liturgical action and the texts sung which support and clarify it
-- part of our plan to provide worship experiences here which are
beautiful, appropriate, and holy.
Spotlight on the vestry
Note:
The Franciscan
is featuring a vestry person each month to better acquaint members
with the individuals who give a great deal of time and talent for the
good of St. Francis by the Lake.
Having
never thought about serving on a vestry, John Mathis was surprised when
others asked him to consider having his name placed in nomination.
He decided it was time to give back to the church, and now he is
finishing his three-year term.
Mathis says he has learned a lot about what goes on behind the
scenes in the running of a church, and what all is involved.
“It has been a real education,” he said.
A
“cradle” Episcopalian, Mathis has attended St. David’s, Garland; St.
Matthews Cathedral, Dallas; St. Michael’s in Bryan, and St. John’s in
New Braunfels until finally finding his church home at St. Francis by
the Lake. He likes a church
service to be simple and finds the Holy Eucharist to be the center of
his faith, so he enjoys attending St. Francis.
Mathis and his wife, Carrie, have three daughters:
Jessica, 17; Emily, 14; and Maggie, 13, all of whom serve as
acolytes at St. Francis.
Vestry update
From the regular meeting of the vestry on Monday, November 17:
Fr. Jerry reported that the representative
knowledgeable about endowment funds has the Endowment Report and has
given comments and suggestions.
The vestry hopes to adopt a plan and have it in place by Jan. l.
Robert McNab updated the vestry on parish hall
plans. Other parish halls
will be visited and the vestry will proceed with plans to present at the
annual meeting.
The youth program was discussed and Alice Jewell
reported that the next meeting is Dec. 7.
It was pointed out that there is a difference between programs
for youth and programs for children.
The nominations committee will be seeking
candidates for the vestry and delegates to Diocesan Council.
The next regular meeting will be Dec. 15 at 6:00
p.m. All members are welcome
to attend.
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