Fall Festival Is Set For Saturday Oct. 15

Our Outreach Chair, Wende Burton, sent this along. Please read and get ready for a great time this year. Information is below. Fr. Greg

St. Mark’s 3rd Fall Festival for homeless children in partnership with Captain Hope’s Kids will be Saturday, October 15th from 10:30 to 2:00pm. We will be hosting homeless kids of all ages from agencies that provide housing for homeless families, providing them a safe place to enjoy themselves. We will be collecting books for kids of all ages (babies to teens) for a “book walk” and volunteers are needed for registration, games, and making our guests feel welcome! Also, we will be serving lunch, so you would like to contribute brownies or cookies, that would be appreciated as well! There will be a brief meeting after church on Sunday, October 8th to review last minute details! If you have questions, please contact Wende Burton or Kathy Whitgrove. Please note that volunteers must have completed Safe Church training in order to participate.

Thanks!

W.

A Cursillo Story – Paulette Austin

As many of you know, our own Paulette Austin went to All Saint’s Camp to participate in a diocese-wide Christian retreat last week. Upon her return, she wrote this piece below. If you have questions about her experience or the Cursillo movement, please contact Paulette or any of the other St. Markians who have been through this program.

Paulette writes:
Cursillo #291 (September 15 – 18, 2011)

As I contemplated the idea of a church retreat, I envisaged a group of Episcopalians engaged in Bible study and discussion each day with a leader tasked to interpret and explain the significance of each lesson. How wrong did I turn out to be!

Father Greg and I made our way to All Saints Camp last Thursday evening, after he enlightened me that I would need a flashlight for the weekend. As we arrived in Pottsboro, he pointed out the Episcopal church in town and referred to a skeet shoot which was engineered by the current rector – these were all clues which I failed to grasp at the time.

However, All Saints Camp, located in the beautiful setting of Lake Texoma, soon revealed itself in all its rustic glory!! After we were welcomed by members of the Cursillo Team, Father Greg left and eventually some thirteen (13) participants assembled for our first gathering. We concentrated initially on church affiliation which included St. Mark’s (Irving), Good Shepherd (Dallas), St. Michael & All Angels (Dallas), St. Peter (McKinney), St. Luke in the Meadow (Fort Worth), St. Peter & St. Paul (Arlington), St. Anne (DeSoto) and St. Luke (Denison).

I started to take note of the group with whom I was slated to spend the next three days. Housed in cabins, we ate meals together in the common dining room, assembled for our program in the meeting room and had our morning and evening devotions in the chapel, presided over by Fr. Bill Taylor (Good Shepherd, Dallas) and by Rev. Susan Slaughter (St. Luke in the Meadow, Fort Worth).

The Cursillo movement began in a monastery on the island of Majorca, off the coast of Spain, as an aftermath of the Spanish Civil War that ended in 1939. It involved a pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. James oat Compostella that provided an opportunity for renewal. Started in Texas in 1972, Cursillo weekends are now organized jointly by the Dioceses of Dallas and Fort Worth.

As I look back on the experience, I must admit that it was truly a spiritual awakening which, if continually nourished, could serve to enrich the rest of my life experience. On the basis of exchanges with my fellow participants, and after listening to some fifteen presentations, I am convinced that it is through reaching within oneself that one will be able to effectively serve others.

Since it is incumbent upon me to share some of the insight gained from this experience, I wish to outline below some general impressions gleaned that could serve as guide posts:
1. The need to create an intentional pattern for our everyday life
2. The need to work steadily at creating the ideal Christian life, which will move us closer to God
3. Through our acts of piety, through study and action, we will discern God’s power within us
4. We are all endowed with grace i.e. the love and favor of God towards humankind.
5. Each layperson holds a unique position since we are all commissioned to proclaim, by word and example, the Good News of God in Christ
6. Faith i.e. total trust in the covenant relationship with God, serves as the engine to fire up a life devoted to God’s control
7. The Sacraments (Baptismal, Confirmation, Eucharist, marriage and unction) are all ways in which God works through our material world to make HIS presence known

The past weekend of spiritual awakening will provide the inspiration needed to seek greater meaning as I perform tasks within my church community and the general environment. I remain convinced that our relationship with God affects our relationship with each other. I intend to seek spiritual counsel and to follow the Cursillo Plan for spiritual growth, in order that the momentum will not be lost. I trust that I may share this journey with some of my fellow parishioners.

Finally, I wish to thank Father Greg Pickens, Noralyn, Kathy Gates and Carolyn Lane (Cursillistas – Cursillo veterans) for the messages of encouragement and prayers that they so generously bestowed on me during the event.

Paulette Austin

From Outreach Chair Wende Burton – North Texas Giving Day Thursday September 15th

Our own Wende Burton is running the North Texas Giving Day this year. Read below how the people of St. Mark’s can multiply our charitable giving to charities we already support.

On Thursday September 15, 2011, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Captain Hope’s Kids, Irving Cares, Austin Street Shelter, along with over 750 nonprofits in North Texas will be taking part in 2011 Get Up and Give! North Texas Giving Day. $1,000,000 in matching money has been raised, and every donation $25 and above will be matched at some percentage when made on www.donorbridgetx.org, North Texas’ online resource that connects donors with nonprofit organizations.

Please consider visiting www.donorbridgetx.org anytime between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on September 15th. To give, search for the nonprofit by name, select their record and then click “Donate Now.” Y our donation will go a long way in helping these organizations in achieving their missions of meeting the critical needs in our community. Plus, your gifts given September 15th will receive a portion of $1,000,000 in matching funds–making your dollars go further.

If you have issues donating on the website, you are more than welcome to call them at 214-750-4222 and they will process your donation via telephone!

Summer 2011 Parish Update

We have had a busy spring and beginning of summer at St. Mark’s.  After our Easter celebration, we had a rapid succession of fellowship events including our Mother’s Day invitational and two weeks later our All Church Family Picnic that honored the hard work of our Sunday School teachers.

In June, we held our Vacation Bible School and it was fantastic.  Two days of intensive fun centering on our understanding of the Holy Spirit and His coming on the day of Pentecost.  Both teachers and kids had a wonderful time identifying ways the Holy Spirit presents Himself in the lives of believers.

July brought the introduction of our new Curate, Deacon Ashley Classen.  He will be with us for some time as he works his way toward ordination to the priesthood.  In the mean time, Deacon Ashley will be busy with his ministry to us through our teaching and preaching rota as well as his presence among us on Sundays. Last Sunday, on July 24, Deacon Ash began  a several session program with the Adult Forum that meets at 8:30am on Sunday mornings.  He is leading a discussion of the book “Radical, Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream”.  This is a fantastic study on how to reclaim a full and lively faith in a culture that exalts the individual.  I hope you will join us.

On July 17 we had a baptism where we welcomed the son of members Christopher and Sara into the family of God.  We had a wonderful turnout and for those present, you had the opportunity to reaffirm our Baptismal vows to the Most High.

As for Outreach, our parish has been busy.  St. Mark’s has had a number of opportunities to serve others outside of our walls.  The annual Diaper Drive was a complete success and we fielded a team of parishioners  on the 15th who gathered to sort and store items for Captain Hope.  Look for at least two more opportunities in August to serve.  Thanks to Wende and Kathy W. for keeping us focused on the service projects that have the most impact in our part of the world.

Bylaws.  The Vestry has just ratified a new set of Bylaws for our parish.  There were just a few changes and updates that needed to be made.  They will be up on this website soon but in the mean time, hard copies are available on the half-round table in the parish hall.

Last Sunday, on the 24th, you heard about the plans for our worship space.  A few months ago, the Vestry began to move forward on some much needed maintenance of our worship space as well as add a few architectural touches.  Phase I will include wall repair, painting, electrical work, and some wood work.  I am very excited about the project and please take some time to look at the concept drawings in the parish hall.