St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
May 2015 Newsletter
Dear Parish Family,
Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday that Wade and I were packing up our
belongings to begin our new chapter of life in Brady. We were so excited about the new
possibilities that were ahead of us and the new people we were about to meet. New life and
renewal are what the Easter Season is all about for us. Every year we are blessed as
Episcopalians to experience our liturgical year that allows us to walk the Spiritual journey of
preparing for Jesus birth all the way to the formation of the early church.
This past Holy Week we were able to experience something new when we joined with the
Presbyterians and Methodist in our Holy Week journey. What a powerful Palm Sunday we had
as we processed down Blackburn St. reliving our Lord’s Triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The
procession between Brady Presbyterian and St. Paul’s served not only as a reminder for us, but
for our neighborhood as well, of the sacrifice that Jesus made for all of us. We had a wonderful
turnout from both churches and I give thanks for all of you who participated. Our Maundy
Thursday Service was absolutely beautiful and I received a great deal of positive feedback from
the other churches. Again, I give thanks for each of you who were willing to try this new
experience.
Lastly, I want to thank the volunteers who came for our Intergenerational Holy Week event. I
found myself smiling at watching our St. Paul’s volunteers who had so much fun with the Brady
Presbyterian volunteers. It is my hope that we will continue to do many activities with Brady
Presbyterian Church. I am presently trying to nail down a date with the Methodist and
Presbyterians for a joint VBS. I will keep you posted. Please know that I give thanks every day
for you and keep you in my prayers.
Blessings,
Rev. Shanna+
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TEXAS WATER MISSION
Honduras, February 2015
As many of you know, I have been a part of the Texas Water Mission team for several years, helping to drill water wells in
the remote mountain villages of Southeast Honduras. With repairs to my left leg finally healed I was able to once again
make a mission trip to Honduras in February this year, where we have a lot of things happening. The total number of wells
drilled since 2003 now stands at 70 and is increasing rapidly. In addition to drilling between 2 and 4 “mission wells” each
year (i.e. wells funded by grants or donations from individuals or congregations to the Water Mission) we are drilling wells for
Rotary/World Vision.
The Rotary/World Vision connection is due to Rotary Clubs in the USA raising money, with those funds being matched by
Rotary International, in the amount of $225,000. This was then matched by World Vision, a major world-wide charitable
organization. In short, the Texas Water Mission team will drill 23 wells within the next 3 years and World Vision will then
provide water distribution systems from these wells to the local communities, together with sanitary latrine systems. Since
late 2014 we have completed 3 wells and are presently working on wells 4 thru’ 6. One stipulation from Rotary is that all of
their wells must be drilled by Hondurans, so we have been gradually training our Honduran drillers to be self-sufficient so
they can work without supervision from us. We now provide primarily logistical support and well repair/maintenance and
water quality testing. The same is true for our Health and Hygiene trainers, who run their classes in parallel with the drilling
operations.
During the February trip we drilled a mission well at an orphanage about 20 miles outside the capital, Tegucigalpa. The
orphanage is on a 42 acre farm/ranch and has about 120 boys and girls from ages 6 to 18. They have their own school and
have just completed two new accommodation buildings, with plans for more. Their financial support comes from Baptist,
Methodist and other denominations in Georgia, Louisiana and Florida. We were able to drill a well for them in record time
and it is capable of at least 30 gallons/minute – plenty for the orphanage and some left over for the local community.
I should also mention that my wife, Carol, made the trip in February, as a member of a group of Rotarians who were
essentially checking on the progress of “their” wells. It was Carols’ second trip to Honduras and like me she is often moved
nearly to tears by the gratitude of the Honduran people that we meet during the course of our work and also at the Sunday
church services we attend. The services are very special to us and we make a point of attending church either at Ojo de
Agua, the village where our equipment is stored, or at the church in the village where we are drilling.
The next trip is scheduled for July and we will be drilling a mission well which is being funded by St. Mark’s Episcopal
Church, Houston. The drill site will probably be at Oropoli, a typical mountain village where the villagers are subsistence
farmers whose main crops are corn and beans. Their seeds are purchased with money they get from helping with the coffee
harvest in January/February, but the coffee crop has been very poor for the past two or three years, so many of the farmers
got paid very little, which meant limited planting and consequent shortages of their main food supplies.
We do what little we can to improve the quality of life for these people, but we can never do enough, but every little helps. A
classic example is when an old man came up to us one day as we were testing the well in his village and told us how
grateful he was that we had put the well in his village about five years before – as he told us “now our babies don’t die and
our children don’t get sick”. Obviously we do not need any other reason to keep going back.
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St. Paul’s Youth
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Greetings from the Sunday morning Bible Study Group which meets at 9:00 a.m. every Sunday.
On most Sundays, Al and Linda Roesler, Bill and Carol Easley, Mike Owens, Suzy Tripp, Frank Roddie,
Carol Regnier and Mike Trollinger gather in the Education Building to study various Bible lessons.
If we are not studying a particular book of the Bible, we study the lectionary lessons for the
morning worship service. After a short prayer asking God to send to the Holy Spirit to guide our reading,
we read the Collect for the day’s service to determine if the readings pertain to the Collect. Sometimes
they do, and sometimes they don’t. After reading the Collect, one member of the group reads the Old
Testament reading for the day. We then discuss this reading, the context from which it came, what’s
happening to the Jewish people at the time, and how the reading portends things to come in the New
Testament. Using commentaries from Barclay (New Testament only), Wycliffe, and Abingdon, we
supplement the readings to help us understand what they are trying to present to us. Following the Old
Testament reading, we then study the Epistle and Gospel readings in the same way. Sometimes the
lessons tie together and present a single, coherent message, and sometimes they seem random and
don’t present such a message. We try to tie the readings to what is happening in our world and in our
lives so that maybe God can give us whatever message He is trying to convey to us. Of course,
sometimes we can’t discern that message.
On occasion based on the wishes of the group, we study a particular book of the Bible. In 2014,
we studied the Gospel According to John based on the recommendation of the Diocese. To accomplish
this study, we covered one chapter of the Gospel each week and discussed what was happening in
Jesus’ life at the time, as well as what the disciples were probably thinking, what the Jewish authorities
were upset with, and how what Jesus was doing impacts on our lives. The Gospel According to John is
so different from the other three Gospels, so we discussed how it differed and why, what the writer of
the Gospel was trying to tell us, and how the particular lesson might be telling us about our own
experience with God. In 2015, we are planning to study the earliest of the Gospels, the Gospel
According to Mark. It was the Gospel that Matthew and Luke used to pattern their Gospels, thus
creating the three synoptic Gospels. We plan to start this study in the near future.
Because of choir practice at 9:30 a.m. on some of the Sunday mornings, we try to get through by
that time; however, sometimes we carry on a little longer, especially if the lessons are particularly
meaningful or we get “long winded.”
We have a lot of fun with this Bible study and realize that God is asking us to have a more
meaningful relationship with Him through this study. We invite anyone who wants to read the lessons,
understand more about, and have fellowship with us as we complete the study. God bless.
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May Ministry Schedule
Worship Leaders:
Lectors
Chalice Bearer
May 3rd- Mike Trollenger
N/A
(Morning Prayer)
May 10th-Doug Holmes
Bill Easley
Suzy Tripp
May 17th-Mike Owens
Lori Moreno
Mike Trollenger
May 24th- Mike Trollenger
Carol Regnier
Patti Stegall
May 31st- Frank Roddie
Jennifer Roddie
Rachael Brown
Ushers:
May 3rd- Ed Burk & Kirk Roddie
May 10th- Grant Everidge & Frank Roddie
May 17th- Bill Easley & Al Roesler
May 24th- Mike Owens & TBA
May 31st- Doug Holmes & Lanier Lohn
Acolytes:
May 3rd-Amber Brown
May 10th- Holton Weatherman
May 17th- Katie Franz
May 24th- Raylee Pack
May 31st- Amber Brown
Hospitality:
Linda Roesler & Carol Easley
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Marissa Katy Moreno will be graduating the last of May from Lakeview High School in San
Angelo. She will be attending Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, majoring in Environmental
Science. Marissa was baptized at St. Paul's when she was 3 and served as our acolyte for a number
of years. She has two grandmas at St. Paul's - Sue Marchbank and Lori Moreno. Her parents are Jay
Moreno and Lisa Marchbank. Congratulations to Marissa, granduating in the top 5% of her
class. She has been asked to play basketball for Hardin-Simmons.
In May, Haley Roddie will graduate from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Daughter
of Kirk and Jennifer Roddie, granddaughter of Frank Roddie.
In June, Bailey Orrell will graduate from the Art Institute of California at Santa Monica. Daughter of
Kirk and Jennifer Roddie, granddaughter of Murray and Jeanette Jordan.
5/3
5/4
5/7
5/10
5/15
5/25
5/30
Michelle Harris
Amberlyn Grace Glasscock
Geneva Rose
Barbara Brodbeck
Judy Trollinger, Janet Calley, Grant Evridge
Ron Brodbeck
Al Thompson
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A Mother’s Day
Breakfast is being put
on by the Men of the
Church for all
mothers in our parish
family. It will be at
9:00 a.m. on May 10,
2015 in the Education
Building. Come and
join us for a great
meal before our
worship service.
Church Under The Trees
Save the date for our Annual Church Under The Trees Sunday. We will be worshipping
under our beautiful trees on our front lawn at 10:30am.on May 17 th. Following our
service we will be having a potluck and good old fashion make your own Sundae party.
Please bring sandwiches, chips and salads. The woman of the church will provide the ice
cream and toppings. We hope to see all of you there for this annual parish event.
UPCOMING EVENTS AT ST.PAUL’S
Sunday May 3, 2015
Adult Christian Education – 9:00 a.m.
Morning Prayer – 10:30 a.m
Children’s Christian Education – 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday May 5, 2015
Prayer Group 10:30 in the Parish Hall
Women of the Church meeting – 5:00 p.m. in the Education Building
Sunday May 10, 2015
Mother’s Day breakfast 9:00 a.m.
Choir practice 9:30 a.m.
Holy Eucharist 10:30
Children’s Christian Education 10:30 a.m.
Sunday May 17, 2015
Church Under the Trees and lunch
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