What’s Goin On?

Welcome to the new format of your Church

Newsletter. Instead of a weekly email over-

packed with information you will receive a

monthly newsletter containing articles, event

notices, and activities. Weekly information

such as schedules, bulletin links, and the

prayer list will be sent to you each Thursday.

Now for the most exciting news! There is a

contest to name the newsletter with a prize

for the selected name. You can submit as

many ideas as you want to

saintalbans.episcopal@gmail.com . Or write it

on a piece of paper and put it in the offering

plate.

In This Issue Rise Against Hunger p. 4 Homecoming p. 5 Newcomers p. 6

Submit your idea

for a title!

September 2017 The Episcopal Church in Arlington

Where All Are Welcome

No Exceptions

Fun and Fellowship!!

At the Legal Draft Taphouse,

Saturday, September 9th, 3—6pm

500 East Division St. (entrance on Front Street)

Join your church friends for family friendly fun and fellowship at the Legal

Draft Taproom for great snacks, games, and beverages (non-alcoholic and draft

beers). (Oh, and it’s a fundraiser too btw).

For the low suggested donation of $20 you receive three

tokens which you can exchange for three beverages of

your choice. Legal Draft keeps $5, St. Alban’s gets the rest.

Joining us will be the other congregations of the

Inclusive Faith Coalition (see page 5). This will be a great

opportunity to meet some new friends from like-minded

congregations. Don’t forget: Saturday, Sept. 9th, 3 - 6

p.m. at Legal Draft. Here’s a link to Legal Draft: http://

www.legaldraftbeer.com/contact/

Chris reading a short

reflection on the Eucharist

by Dom Gregory Dix.

2

Main St Fair and Food Fest

Taste of Arlington is moving to Main Street

St. Alban’s will join more than 50 vendors to make the afternoon of Sept 2nd a fun-filled family

event packed with food, games, and live music. We will have a shade-covered booth with games for

children and bottled water for everyone. Over 1500 people are expected to attend. What a perfect

opportunity to introduce ourselves to the community.

Volunteers get free entry to the fair. Click HERE for more information. Look for the sign up to help

sheet in the theater lobby.

Floating around in my mind….

What I have seen is the totality recapitulated as one, received not in essence but by participation. Just as if you lit a flame from a flame, it is the whole flame you receive.

(St. Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022))

St. Symeon lived as a monk in Istanbul during the 10th c. and is recognized by the Eastern Orthodox church as a “theologian” (which does not mean the contemporary academic concept, but rather someone who has had a direct experience of God and teaches from that encounter). Symeon’s primary teaching is that humans can and should work to have the experience of seeing God face to face, heart to heart, soul to soul.

In the above quotation Symeon reminds us that through the act of the Incarnation of the Christ everything changed. Just as the flame passed from candle to candle is a whole, complete flame, when the Christ touched humanity in the form of Jesus of Nazareth the totality of the Divine was passed on, “totally recapitulated.”

Our human struggle seems to be completely driven by our unwillingness to either remember this or accept this, both for ourselves and for others. Consequently, we live as less-than we are and we treat others as less-than they are. So many of us seem to be driven by a perverse need to find acceptance and success, even though we are already completely, totally acceptable and complete. So many of us are willing to step on another’s humanity, forgetting that by the act of Incarnation the Divine Flame of God is that other’s humanity. Symeon the new Theologian urges us to accept the happy consequences of the Incarnation, the fact that the Divine Flame has been completely passed on to our (and all of humanity’s) being, and that we all have the capacity to experience the glorious mystery of the Infinite Holy through our human flesh.

Peace to You and those you love. Kevin+

3

Supreme Court of

South Caro l ina Rules

Against “Breakaway”

Former B ishop

Just l ike in our case , the

South Carol ina breakaways

c la imed to take an Episcopal

diocese and congregat ions

from the Episcopal Church .

The South Carol ina Supreme

Court made c lear : only the

Episcopal Church can decide

who controls an Episcopal

diocese and congregat ions,

even in a case about property .

Go HERE for more .

Vest ry Corner

This month inc ludes an

art ic le from our Junior

Warden , F red Morgan .

The Junior Warden i s

pr imari ly responsib le the

church fac i l i t ies . The Jr .

Warden also serves as the

ombudsman for members

of the parish, thus he i s

often cal led the “people ’s

warden.”

Several recent projects have included the

placement of the sign on the building at 501

Main Street and the repainting of the children’s

nursery. Our main objective was not only to put

paint on the walls, but make it more inviting

and meaningful for the children who attend the

nursery. Even though this approach was more

time consuming, it turned out to be a great

success. We were able to locate just the right

painter, through assistance from the Theater, to

accomplish our task. If you have not been able

to see the completed project, come by and check

it out. Fred

Help Wanted

George needs an assistant

Our own George Post coordinates the food for the 4Saints Food Pantry. This means he monitors the inventory, orders and picks up food as needed from the Tarrant Area Food Bank and oversees the Friday distributions. Next spring George and Donna are taking the “mother of all cruises” and someone will need to fill in while he’s quaffing cold drinks in Rome. Under George’s expert tutelage this fall you will learn all the ins and outs of making sure over 80 people each week have adequate food. You won’t be alone as the four directors (Elizabeth, Judy, Don, and George) work as a mutually supportive team.

Contact George at gppost@sbcglobal.net or the church office,

4

Rise Against Hunger

September 30, 10 am—1 pm

Rise Against Hunger distributes meals to initiatives in developing countries

that promote education, encourage children to attend school, improve students’

health and nutrition, address

gender inequalities, stimulate

economic growth and are part

of the movement to end world

hunger in our lifetime. Through

meal packaging events, Stop

Hunger Now reaches and

engages thousands of people

each year in the fight against

hunger—including communities

of faith, corporations, Rotary

and other civic clubs and

schools.

On September 30th, St. Alban’s will partner with St. Martin’s in the Field to

package at least 10,000 meals in about 3 hours . This is an all-age event as

there are tasks for all skill levels and physical capabilities. This is a fun, hands -

on way to make a tangible difference in the world. Look for the sign-up

sheet in the lobby or click here to email the office to let us know you’ll

participate.

For more information here’s a link to the

Rise Against Hunger website:

www.riseagainsthunger.org

5

The Inclusive Faith Coalition

St. Alban’s is a founding member

The Inclusive Faith Coalition includes churches,

synagogues, and mosques in the greater Arlington area

that value and practice full inclusion of LGBTQ+ peo-

ple. IFC engages in:

• Public Faith Declaration: We unify and am-

plify voices of inclusive faith to assert that LGBTQ+

persons are created imago Dei, in the image of God.

• Public Policy Advocacy: We advocate for and

alongside LGBTQ+ persons for justice and dignity in

public policy at the local, state, and federal levels.

• Personal Transformation: We seek to transform human hearts in each of our faith tradi-

tions to mirror and honor the love of our inclusive God.

The founding congregations are: Embrace United Church of Christ, Galileo Christian Church,

Saint Alban’s Episcopal Church, Welcome Table Christian Church and Westminster Presbyterian

Church.

The first IFC gathering to meet people of like-minded faith will be at the Legal

Draft Taphouse, Saturday, September 9th, 3—6pm

500 East Division St. (enter on Front Street).

HOMECOMING PICNIC, MINISTRY DAY,

AND OL’ FASHIONED SING-ALONG

SEPTEMBER 10, 10:30 A.M.

Stay after church on Sept. 10th for fried chicken and gospel tunes.

Bring a neighbor and friend.

6

Christmas Parade?

It’s August!

I know there’s 129 days left ‘til Christmas but the parade is coming ‘round the corner.

Get your queen wave ready ‘cause this year we’re gonna have a float. Beth Marshall is all excited to lead us into luminescent history on December the 9th. She’s waiting to hear your ideas. She’s also looking for a trailer.

Join us as we celebrate God’s wonderful creation, with

four services dedicated to different aspects of our planet.

Beginning Sunday, September 10th, we will explore the

Forest, Land, Wilderness, and River with stirring new

music, insightful readings, and special prayers.

It’s time to turn our attention to

God’s relationship with all

Creation and to our own kinship

with the world around us.

7

SIX

MONTHS

AND

GOING

STRONG

The Four Saints

Food Pantry is a

joint project of St. Alban’s, St. Luke’s, St.

Stephen’s, and St. Martin’s Episcopal

Churches. Serving the Meadowbrook area

of east Fort Worth the pantry opened in

January 2017. Due to the extraordinary

work of George Post (food management),

Elizabeth McPherson-Darrow (interviews /

assessments), Don Mayer (volunteers),

and Judy Cariker (director) the pantry

operates like a well-oiled machine. In six

months the client base has grown, the

food acquisition, storage, and distribution

processes are top notch. Supporting

relationships exist with other food

pantries and Don has created a volunteer

base of 60 folks. In the words of George,

“the pantry is in great shape.” Your

generosity of money, time, and time feeds

on average eighty people per week. What

started as a simple idea from one-person

daydreaming has blossomed into a

garden in the Kingdom of God. Great

work, St. Alban’s!

What is Meditation?

Meditation is a spiritual practice found at the core of all the great religious traditions, leading from the mind to the heart. It is a way of simplicity, silence and stillness. It can be practiced by anyone, wherever you are on your life’s journey. It is only necessary to be clear about the practice and then to begin – and to keep on beginning. Click HERE to find out more about Christian meditation and how to begin.

Meditation has also been

scientifically found to result in many

health and social benefits. A cursory

glance through several articles in

Psychology Today reveal studies which

find “that meditating brings about

dramatic effects in as little as a 10-

minute session. Several studies have

demonstrated that subjects who

meditated for a short time showed

increased alpha waves (the relaxed

brain waves) and decreased anxiety and

depression," “decreased production of

the stress hormone cortisol,” and in one

study published in Stoke magazine “a

marked decrease in the thickness of

artery walls” potentially bringing about

an 11 percent decrease in the risk of

heart attack and an 8 - 15 percent

decrease in the risk of stroke.” Click

HERE for a list of twenty scientific

reasons to start meditating today.

(Thanks to Greg for the awesome information. Ed.)

8

Sundays 9:30 am @ Theater Ar l ington 305 W. Main St .

facebook.com/sta lbansar l ington

The basis of all

ministry is the

experience of God’s

unlimited and

unlimiting

acceptance of us as

beloved children,

setting us free from

our compulsion to

be seen, praised,

and admired and free for Christ who leads

us on the road of service. (Henri Nouwen)

The Episcopal Church in Arlington

saintalbansarlington.org

open-minded joyful authentic

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd……..

…...is the program we use for children’s Christian for-

mation here in the Episcopal Church in Arlington. Devel-

oped by Sofia Cavalleti and Maria Montessori, Catechesis

assumes that children have a legitimate, developed rela-

tionship with God. Our task is to help them cultivate that

relationship and give them some language to explore their

growth in God.

Catechesis takes place in the “Atrium,” a sacred space

where work and study spontaneously become contempla-

tion and prayer. Using hands-on sets, biblical story telling,

and Socratic questioning the “teacher” journeys with the

children in their faith exploration.

Saint Alban’s 101……..

…… is a one hour introduction

to the Episcopal Church in

Arlington. If you are new to our

community plan on attending this

informative and helpful event on

September 24th following church

in Classroom 1 in the

Administration Building