Archives - Show All 
  • 2010
    • August
      • Our little community: From Ethel Stewart to Katharine Jefferts Schori
        08/26/10
        Beloved in God:

        Isn’t it great that we live in a country where when it came time to build the buildings we use for our worship all we had to do was fulfill the letter of the local laws in the community about such property use!

        Had the people making those decisions back in the

      • Abundance
        08/16/10
        Dear St. Thomas the Apostle Family,

        In the 11th century, the word "steward" was the title of the servant who would bring the food and drink to the castle dining room. When I think of the word "stewardship" today, I think of many things: gifts, giving, time, talents, an

      • From Our Parish Treasurer
        08/09/10
        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        Our parish Treasurer asked me to share this with you which I am glad to do.

        “Our auditor recently completed her comprehensive examination of our financial records and procedures for 2009. “Frankly,” she said, “the accounting methodologies and prac

      • The Good St. Thomas Community
        08/04/10
        by Kathy Carson

        In the book The Perils of Sisterhood by Amy Alden, the author quotes Natalia Ginzburg on her thoughts on money:
        “Being moderate with oneself and generous with others; that is what is meant by having a just relationship with money, by being free as far as money in conc

    • July
      • Small Churches
        07/26/10
        Feast of St. James (transferred)

        Beloved in Small Thomas the Apostle:

        Our brother in Christ and Thomas, Seldon Short, has so many tech skills that he is never far from some interesting information which he finds and shares with one of his devices.

        He sent the follow

      • The Dallas congregation of St. Thomas the Apostle goes to Europe
        07/19/10
        by John VanBuskirk

        In 2006, after 13 years in retirement, I went back into the Army under the Voluntary Retiree Recall program. To this day my wife Linda denies she said I am the only person she knows who got fired from retirement.

        Initially, there was a lot going on, to keep m

      • Faith and the Secular City
        07/12/10
        Beloved in God: Last week one of you spoke with me about how they thought that several people at the parish were, in essence, atheists. I am not surprised to consider that many sitting in “pews” may struggle with “the Faith once delivered.” Clergy do, as well.

        One of the exchange student

      • Vestry
        07/05/10
        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        I tend to tie classes about the Episcopal Church and its polity to times before the visitation of a bishop so they can be part of the “confirmation” preparation of folk new to The Episcopal Church. We are not on the list for an Episcopal visitation before

    • June
      • Independence
        06/29/10
        Irenaeus of Lyons

        Beloved in God:

        Some of you may be surprised to read that I am, at heart, a conservative fellow. Had I been alive during the American Revolution and serving a parish in one of the then colonies, I would probably have “fled” to Canada rather than support the ef

      • Fathers and Sons
        06/27/10
        The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
        20 June 2010

        Beloved in God and Thomas:

        I wanted children but it was not to be. This last year with my exchange student son, Thibault, will most probably be as close as I ever come to being a father. It has been a rich learning experienc

      • Finding Our Holy Places
        06/14/10
        Basil the Great, Ben’s best friend

        Beloved in God:

        Had our Lord Himself been available this weekend to join us for our continuing feasting, He might have given some thought to the menu of His own Feast! What a delicious and delightful time we had at two separate and wonderful

      • Music and Liturgy
        06/03/10
        “Credo: Trite music blocks our ears to the divine in the liturgy. Our worship enables us to enter another time and another dimension—a realm of experience beyond our ordinary human experience.
        “How can we come to an experience of God? It’s a challenge, because no matter how much we read the

    • May
      • Pentecost -- An Easter Sourcebook
        05/24/10
        “I saw a new Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down out of heaven from God.”

        “God’s city: that image has long gathered to itself massive human hopes. Would that there were a city, with all the intensity and vigor of the great cities that have centered human life and attracted human imag

      • The Seventh Week of Easter -- An Easter Sourcebook: The Fifty Days
        05/18/10
        “We are the temple of the living God.”

        “O Holy Ghost, whose temple I

        Am, but of mud walls, and condensed dust,

        And being sacrilegiously

        Half wasted with youth’s fires, of pride and lust,

        Must with new storms be weather-beat;

        Dou

      • The Sixth Week of Easter -- An Easter Sourcebook: The Fifty Days
        05/10/10
        “Bring me, O king, to your chambers.”

        “But one thing more I preach unto you. My throne before which you shall presently stand after your baptism before the Great Sanctuary is a foretype of the future glory. The psalmody with which you will be received is a prelude to the psalmody of he

      • The Fifth Week of Easter - An Easter Sourcebook
        05/03/10
        “You shall be like a watered garden.”

        “After the anointing, then, it remains to go into the bath of sacred waters. After stripping you of your robe, the priest himself leads you down into the flowing waters. But why naked? He reminds you of your former nakedness, when you were in Para

    • April
      • The Fourth Week of Easter -- An Easter Sourcebook
        04/26/10
        “Tell me, you whom my heart loves, where you pasture your flock.”

        “What are the pastures of these sheep if they are not the deepest joys of the everlasting fresh pastures of paradise? For the pasture of the saints is to see God face to face; when the vision of God never fails, the soul

      • THE THIRD WEEK OF EASTER -- An Easter Sourcebook
        04/19/10
        “Then God said to Noah: 'Go out of the ark, you and all your household.'”

        “The ark, that womb of second birth…”

        -Robert Stephen Hawker
        “Although the winds be mighty,

        And high waves in the sea,

        Yet Wisdom is the pilot—

        That pow

      • Second Week of Easter from An Easter Sourcebook…
        04/12/10
        “The table fellowship of Christians implies obligation. It is our daily bread that we eat, not my own. We share our bread. Thus we are firmly bound to one another not only in the Spirit but in our whole physical being. The one bread that is given to our fellowship links us together in a firm cov

      • I hope you got wet today!!
        04/05/10
        Monday of the First Week of Easter

        “So it is right and proper that we celebrate the days of Easter with joy. I will admit to having kept my children out of school on Easter Monday for years. The school holidays before Easter were steeped in preparations and anticipation. Now we needed

    • March
      • 0 Light
        03/29/10


        O Light Invisible, we praise Thee!

        Too bright for mortal vision.

        O Greater Light, we praise Thee for the less;

        The eastern light our spires touch at morning,

        The light that slants upon our western doors at evening,

        The twilight over

      • OUR STORY -- How our Great God created, redeemed and loves us
        03/24/10
        We are a people who “tell our story” over and over again…to ourselves, to visitors, to anyone who may listen. We tell it over and over and over. Why? We learn the truths about “our story” by repetition. Those truths reveal themselves to us as the telling goes on and on at different times in each

      • "To bridge the divisions ..."
        03/08/10
        Foyer Groups

        (A.k.a.; Dinner for Six-to-Eight Groups)

        The English word Foyer is derived from foier, the French term for hearthside and projects an image of warmth and comfort.

        For untold generations it has been customary for Americans to welcome old friends, family

    • February
      • "In sure and certain hope ..."
        02/28/10
        Beloved:

        Just starting my weekly letters to you in that manner points to a problem which can trouble all priests: Because you are “beloved” and because over the years we have been together that reality has grown more and more in my heart for each of you, your deaths cut a deep wound i

      • Archbishop of Canturbury warns against "damaging infighting"
        02/22/10
        Chair of Saint Peter (RC)

        Beloved:

        Lee Corbin, our parish organist and choirmaster, passes along to me from time to time English Church news. His latest offering has some information worth sharing…coming from an address by the Archbishop of Canterbury to the General Synod, t

      • Happy Carnival!!!
        02/15/10
        “There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink and find enjoyment, for these are from the hand of God.”

        Ecclesiastes 2:24

        “Carnival celebrates the unity of our human race as mortal creatures, who come into this world and depart from it without our consent, who mu

      • The Mystery of Easter
        02/08/10
        Beloved in God:

        Next week, the season of preparation for the mystery of Easter begins on Ash Wednesday. Services that day will be at 7 a.m., 12 Noon and 7 p.m. in an effort to give all of us a chance to begin the season in Church with our brothers and sisters. About the preparation: I

      • The Community of the New Covenant
        02/01/10
        Beloved in God:

        When I was a teenager attending confirmation classes in Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Shreveport, Louisiana with my mother and Miss Dootsie (a dear family friend) and our French Poodle, Pierre, the priest used The Apostles’ Creed as his class room material. Father Hipwe

    • January
      • Abraham, Martin and ... Peter!?
        01/18/10
        The Confession of St. Peter & Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

        Beloved in God and Thomas the Apostle:

        What cause could Peter and Martin have in common? The simple answer is that differences between people must not prevent us from seeing the other as our brother or sister…and t

      • Text While Driving If You Want to See Jesus!
        01/11/10
        Beloved:

        I am as guilty as the next guy when it comes to using my automobile as a mobile phone booth…or worse, mobile texting booth. Yet, I find myself grinding my teeth when I see other people doing just that while “behind the wheel” of their cars. Do you drive and make calls or text,

      • Our New Vestry
        01/04/10
        Beloved:

        These are your brothers and sisters whom you have chosen to serve you this year as members of the vestry: There are nine of them. You have given them the responsibility to serve and to lead us through the first year of a new decade. They can do their work best if they hear di

  • 2009
    • December
      • Join hands! Take the Procession!
        12/21/09
        Christmastide 2009

        “Like most other peoples, the Christian people have waited for the solstice. We have waited, and called those waiting days “Advent.” We have waited to tell the stories and sing the songs and pray the prayers. We have waited to put into word and melody and processio

      • Behold! +++ KJS hits one out of the park ...
        12/15/09
        Christmas message 2009

        The mornings are dark, pitch black until after most of us have begun our days. The hints of dawn in the eastern sky, those streaks of rose and pink that promise more and brighter light, bring hope even in the dark mid-winter. Where do you look for that kind of hope

      • Advent Meditations
        12/07/09
        Saint Nicholas’ Day

        Beloved in God and Thomas: Advent meditations…

        “Saint Nicholas. Day of death: (according to the martyrology) December 6, about 360. Grave: originally at Myra; since 1087 at Bari in Italy. Life (highly legendary): Nicholas was born at Patara in Asia Mino

    • November
      • What You May Not Know About The Nominees
        11/30/09
        Beloved in God and Thomas the Apostle:

        I asked the nominees to finish this sentence:

        “Something most people probably do not know about me which would be an asset if I were elected to serve on the vestry or as a convention delegate is ... ”

        Their responses foll

      • Enough
        11/17/09
        16 November 2009
        Margaret of Scotland

        Beloved:

        We were visited with yet another horrific tragedy in the deaths at Fort Hood. These days such events have to rise to high levels to even capture our attention for more than a few hours. This one certainly does. It, of cou

      • Vestry Nominations 2009
        11/02/09
        NOMINATION FORM

        THOSE WHOM YOU NOMINATE MUST BE:


        I place in nomination ___________________________________.

        Circle the office below for which you are nominating the person. Be sure they agree that you may nominate them and that they will serve if elected.
    • October
      • Ups and downs of small church ministry
        10/26/09
        By Tim Schenck

        In the Book of Deuteronomy Moses says to the Israelites, “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse.” He holds up the entire life of faith and offers his people a choice – to love and serve the Lord their God or to revolt and ignore the commandments of God

      • Reflections on the 114th Convention of the Diocese of Dallas
        10/20/09
        By Seldon Short, Sandee Lowe, and Fred Ellis

        The 114th Convention of the Diocese of Dallas was a carefully orchestrated, two day infomercial promoting the Anglican Covenant.

        Three keynote speakers (the Bishop, an attorney, and a professor) each took turns promoting why we - a

      • Stewardship - Yellow Cards
        10/12/09

      • Replant People
        10/05/09
        Beloved in God and Thomas:

        I have never sold a home which had a lawn and garden out front but real estate people tell me that “curb appeal” means much in selling one's property. “Curb appeal” means just as much in “selling” one's church property to the occasional passerb

    • September
      • To Help us avoid being modern Martyrs of Memphis
        09/28/09
        Regarding the H1N1 Virus and Holy Communion
        by The Rt. Rev. James M. Stanton, Bishop of Dallas

        I have received inquiries and expressions of concern related to the reception of Holy Communion during the impending season in which many authorities predict the rise of the H1N1 virus or S

      • Pets and Guilds
        09/21/09
        St. Matthew's Day 2009 - Monday

        Beloved in God, Thomas and Francis:

        THE BLESSING OF THE PETS

        Many of us share our lives with other creatures God has created…our “pets.” Hilda asked me to alert you who do live with God's better creatures to bring

      • OUR MUTUAL MINISTRY PARTY
        09/14/09
        Holy Cross Day 2009

        Monday, 14 September

        Beloved in God and God's Apostle Thomas:

        Mutual Ministry is a term that has been circulating around the Church Catholic for a spell. Many people, lay and clergy, function still with an idea that “ministry” is wha

    • August
      • Twenty Year Doubter
        08/24/09
        Bartholomew's Day

        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        Around this time twenty years ago now, I went on retreat at Bishop Mason Center in Flower Mound as a “preparation” for beginning my work as the third rector of The Episcopal Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle September 1st

      • Hilda Clare
        08/16/09
        She is sleeping just now. When she wakes, she will do stretches. That’s something she is trying to teach me to do. If I live with her long enough, maybe I will learn the purpose and reason for regular naps during the day and the wisdom of stretching. Hilda Clare turns four on the 24th of August,

      • Your Vestry Writes You a THANK YOU Letter
        08/09/09
        The Episcopal Church of St. Thomas the Apostle
        6525 Inwood Road
        Dallas, TX 75209

        Good People of St. Thomas,

        During these times when the economic downturn has negatively impacted many individuals, businesses, not-for-profit agencies, organizations, and faith communit

      • IN HOUSE MATTERS
        08/03/09
        Beloved in Thomas:

        Some things we do on a regular basis around here work really well. Some others don’t. My own abstract/random nature contributes to some of what does not “work” so well…since I am loathe to pay attention to the detailed way of doing things which concrete/sequential ty

    • July
      • The Spirit moves through all God's People
        07/27/09
        William Reed Huntington

        27 July 2009

        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle and his God:

        Several of you have asked my thoughts about the recent General Convention of the Episcopal Church. If you were in church on the 19th you heard the essence of what I think important: I

      • "Oh, Boy!"
        07/20/09
        Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer, Sojourner Truth & Harriet Ross Tubman, Liberators and Prophets.

        20 July 2009
        Beloved in God and the Man in the Moon,

        “Well, (spoken in her slow Southern drawl because that’s the way she talked) I suppose that next they will la

      • Darkness Becomes Unbearable
        07/14/09
        A message from The Rev’d Virginia Holleman, Assistant to the Rector of The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, Dallas, Texas.

        “There are times when our life circumstances and experiences seem overwhelming—more than we can bear. In spite of the assurances we have that God is a

      • It's all about community
        07/06/09
        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        Harold Spiegel and Ruth Woodward came out to the rectory-in-exile Thursday night so we could talk about “old” times…very old times. We got together to discuss their work on the Search Committee which met in 1988 and 1989 in an effort to find the thir

      • Kudos, Kudos, Kudos!
        07/01/09
        Feast of Peter and Paul

        29 June 2009

        Good People of God:

        Two groups among us deserve kudos for their hard and excellent work: the Choir and the External Eucharistic Ministers. Unless you belong to one of these groups you have no idea how much time and effor

    • June
      • "Freedom" in these United States
        06/25/09
        Feast of St. Alban

        22 June 2009

        Beloved in God:

        Around this time of year the issue of “freedom” crops us for us to meditate on and celebrate. This nation tells itself that all people are “equal” and we all share certain “inalienable rights.” The truth is s

      • Thanking God for Family
        06/15/09
        Feast of Evelyn Underhill
        15 June 2009

        Beloved in God and Thomas the Apostle:

        I have just returned for a too short visit with my immediate family. “Family” means many things to each one of us. In my case, it means my only sibling, my sister; her husband, my bro

    • May
      • WE REBUILT, WE RENEWED, WE RESTORED
        05/26/09
        Augustine of Canterbury
        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        God Willing, and the People giving, we are a few days away from retiring the debt to Frost Bank for the Rebuild, Renew, Restore Project on our West Wing, etc. You are to be commended for the manner in which you have done your p

      • UP, UP and AWAY?
        05/18/09
        Beloved in God:

        What do you make of the Ascension? Early on during this priesthood experience it was fashionable to decorate churches with helium-filled balloons and give them to people to take out of doors where they would be let go…up, up and away. The odd balloon would have made an

      • THE PEOPLES' PRAYERS
        05/11/09
        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        If you were in church yesterday (and a considerable number of you were worshipping at Saint Mattress, it would seem), you participated in an attempt to return the Prayers of the People to the People, to the assembly of Christians gathered for worship at all

      • LITURGICAL MEDDLING BY THE CLERGY
        05/04/09
        Monnica’s Day

        4 May 2009

        Beloved in God and Thomas:

        Once and a while a priest meddles with the liturgy which we all do together Sundays…just to keep you on your toes. Well, not really for that reason. I have wanted to share some “liturgical thoughts” with you lat

    • April
      • NO HIDE AND GO SEEK LORD!
        04/28/09
        Beloved in God:

        More about the “I found Jesus” people whom we encounter in life from time to time: Jesus does not play “Hide and Go Seek.” Never has. Never will.

        When people tell us, “I have found Jesus,” they are trying to put into words an experience in which they “feel”

      • Second Week of Easter
        04/22/09
        “Taste and see how good the Lord is.”

        “The table fellowship of Christians implies obligation. It is our daily bread that we eat, not my own. We share our bread. Thus we are firmly bound to one another not only in the Spirit but in our whole physical being. The one bread that is given

      • WILL GOD'S WORD BE HEARD HERE?
        04/14/09
        Beloved in God:

        One month ago we celebrated the ministry of our long-tenured curate, Christianne McKee. I miss her. That was especially true during the Triduum, last Thursday through Saturday night. We spoke by phone Thursday evening as I was heading to the liturgy and I realized again

      • Keeping Vigil
        04/06/09
        “To those who are not of the household of faith, what we are about to do must look very peculiar. We are about to stand in the dark, carry candles about, sing lengthy and sublime religious texts, read stories from the Bible. What does all this mean? What is going on here in this community?
        <

    • March
      • THE THREE DAYS TO SAVE
        03/30/09
        Monday

        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        THE THREE DAYS TO SAVE: What we do from Maundy Thursday to Easter Day…

        “The Three Days, this Easter Triduum, is the center, the core of the year for Christians. What Sunday is to the week, these days are to the year. These are da

      • The Future of Theological Education
        03/23/09
        Gregory the Illuminator
        23 March 2009

        Beloved in God:

        “The Future of Theological Education” was the topic which The Very Reverend Ward B. Ewing, Dean of the General Theological Seminary, spoke about Thursday at the home of The Reverend Andy McCarthy…here in our 752

      • "Giving Up" for Lent and Letting Go
        03/17/09
        Monday
        16 March 2009

        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle and his God:

        I have been waiting these days since Ash Wednesday to discover exactly what I would “give up” for Lent this year. Yesterday, it became clear what that would be: the curate!

        Before that clarity, noth

      • When aging makes real presence visible
        03/12/09
        “Her eyes sparkled and danced when she answered my knock on her apartment door and there was a noticeable enthusiasm in the slow, shuffling gate of her slippered feet. I could tell by her ready smile that she was glad to see me today. I hadn’t been by in more than a week but things were pretty muc

    • February
      • Bishop Sufferagan visits St. Thomas
        02/07/09
        Sunday the 8th at 10a.m. the Suffragan Bishop of Dallas, Paul Emil Lambert, made his first visitation to our parish to celebrate the mysteries of our salvation, to preach God's Word, to confirm and reaffirm and to remind all of us that we ALL belong to something larger than The Episcopal Church

    • January
      • What is Angel Delivery? Read on!
        01/24/09
        Good morning dear friends at St. Thomas!  The Daughters of the King is about reinstitute a service project and we need your help.  Some of you have already participated in this project, and realize its great value, but others may need more information...
         
        As with any community, we often h

      • CONTINUING EDUCATION ON WALL STREET
        01/17/09
        19 January 2009
        The Confession of St. Peter
        Theophany
        Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

        Beloved:

        Take your pick. This day is loaded with events. All of us should be able to find something to celebrate as we begin the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity…clearly we nee

      • The Good Curate
        01/07/09
        5 January 2009
        Monday

        Beloved in God and Thomas the Apostle:

        Christ’s ministry belongs to the whole Church, not just to bishops and rectors. All of you, all lay people and all clergy are a part of the ministry of Christ. Over the years, what has become increasingly clea

  • 2008
    • December
      • Sheep! Count them or Feed them???
        12/08/08
        Feast of St. Andrew, transferred
        1 December 2008

        Good Sheep:

        Dr. Dora Chaplin, the only female professor at the General Theological Seminary during my time there, delighted in startling her all male students with off-color comments in her classes and remarks which challen

      • The Names in Nomination for Vestry, Convention Delegate and Endowment Fund Trustee
        12/01/08
        AND THE NOMINEES ARE:

        FOR VESTRY…We elect three.

        Kathy Carson: Just got off the boat from Barbados. I will be a good member of the vestry because giving back to St. Thomas in any way does not put a dent in what the community has given to me. Among the gifts that I have is m

    • November
      • Finances, Faith and The Winds of the Spirit
        11/11/08
        Leo the Great
        10 November 2008

        Beloved in God and Thomas:

        Recently the Bishop of New York, The Right Reverend Mark Sisk, wrote his Diocese a letter about the current financial crisis and our Faith. I share his letter with you today because it says things all of us Christ

      • "Elizabeth, let your little tongue rest."
        11/04/08
        Richard Hooker’s Day
        3 November 2008

        Beloved:

        “Manners Maketh Man” was carved into the front of the great fireplace in the refectory at the General Theological Seminary. The room was huge and the walls were festooned with the portraits of former professors staring down a

    • October
      • Looking forward to a Day of Rejoicing
        10/21/08
        20 October 2008
        Monday

        Beloved in God:

        Yesterday was the 61st anniversary of my becoming a Christian. My baptism took place in First United Methodist Church, Shreveport, Louisiana. Mother used to say that I became a priest because the minister doing the baptism held m

      • Be Passionate, Christians...
        10/06/08
        William Tyndale’s Day
        6 October 2008

        That Bible you have by your bedside or residing happily on some shelf in your home…the one in the language you speak every day…give thanks to God for William Tyndale who risked his life to translate it from the original tongues into English. Fol

    • September
      • Blessing Walking Giving
        09/30/08
        Saint Michael & All Angels
        29 September 2008

        Beloved in God and Thomas the Apostle:

        The Annual Blessing of Our Animals will be on St. Francis’ Day, Saturday, October 4th at Noon in the Garden. Bring your animals, properly restrained, and we will gather there to bless

      • Seeking Answers in a Summer of Pilgrimages
        09/23/08
        by Martin L Smith

        This has been a summer of pilgrimages for me. I have crossed the Euphrates to meditate in Harran—the city where Abraham and Sarah settled before risking the further move to Canaan—on the way faith calls us to pull up our roots. I have prayed alongside pilgrims at the shr

      • BEYOND THE PLATE....PLEDGING TO SUPPORT OUR MISSION
        09/18/08
        Beyond the Plate . . . Pledging to Support Our Mission
        The 2009 Stewardship Program

        Stewardship program. I can see the eyes rolling among those who have been around the Episcopal Church and Saint Thomas for awhile. Time for those speeches and not-so-gentle exhortations again. An

      • OCTOBER 5TH LIFEWALK
        09/09/08
        AIDS LIFEWALK ‘08

        WALK WALK WALK WALK WALK WALK WALK WALK

        Why do we walk? We walk in memory of all our friends who have died over the years from the HIVAIDS virus. We walk in honor of those who are with us right

    • August
      • Now, Rejoice
        08/27/08
        Rebuild. Restore. Renew. Now, Rejoice!
        By Harry Anderson

        Mark your calendars now. Saturday evening, October 25. The Episcopal Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle. 6525 Inwood Road. Be there…ready to celebrate. You deserve it, and I’ll explain why in moment.

        W

      • Kissing God
        08/18/08
        William Porcher DuBose, priest 1918
        18 August 2008

        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        My former parishioner, Lorraine, from St. Timothy’s parish in Milwaukee, found me in the sacristy one day…early in my tenure as rector there…and asked me if I would pray for a relative of he

      • Water, Bread, Wine, Sexuality and Spirituality
        08/04/08
        4 August 2008
        Monday

        Beloved in God:

        Baptism is a sacrament we all do once. Eucharist is the sacrament we all do repeatedly. Confirmation, Marriage, Reconciliation, Unction, and Ordination are sacraments which we may or may not ever experience while in this life. They

      • Water, Wine, Bread, Sexuality and Spirituality
        08/04/08
        4 August 2008
        Monday

        Beloved in God:

        Baptism is a sacrament we all do once. Eucharist is the sacrament we all do repeatedly. Confirmation, Marriage, Reconciliation, Unction, and Ordination are sacraments which we may or may not ever experience while in this life. They

    • July
      • "Life is changed, not ended"
        07/29/08
        28 July 2008
        Monday

        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        How do we live our lives understanding that every moment of life is gift? Most of us live as if life were “without end.” It’s not. Death, we Christians believe, is part of every life. We also believe that life “is cha

      • SEX WITHOUT RELATIONSHIPS
        07/15/08
        Bastille Day
        14 July 2008

        Beloved in God:

        “When I’m not slipping around the Anglican web pages or other Christian sites, I dabble in the Jewish.” We have many among us who surf the Web looking for interesting or amusing thoughts. Sometimes one of you will stumble across

      • Literal People reading the Literal Bible Literally
        07/09/08
        LITERALITY

        “Whatever we say about God—if we refer to God as “Father”, for instance—we are to some degree speaking an untruth – or, at least, an inadequate truth. God’s true nature is beyond the capability of prose language to describe exhaustively. The words we have to use are all “cont

      • Seeing the face of Christ in each other
        07/02/08
        Peter & Paul (transferred)
        30 June 2008

        Good People of God:

        “The hope and expectation for these groups is to create a safe, face-to-face Christian community where honest and deep conversation can develop,” quoting from the last Sunday insert about the upcoming Lambeth

    • June
      • California Dreaming
        06/16/08
        Feast of Joseph Butler
        16 June 2008
        Monday

        Beloved in God and Thomas:

        Two people meet. They find they are drawn to each other wanting to spend time together. The relationship deepens. At some point they come to the belief that they wish to share the rest of thei

      • The Order of Deacons
        06/10/08
        Columba of Iona
        9 June 2008

        Beloved in God:

        While Hilda Clare and I were ambulating along Inwood Road this morning, I picked the last Magnolia blossom which I was able to reach off our trees for my office. They always remind me of the night I was ordained to the diaconat

      • "Comfort Zones"
        06/02/08
        Blandina and her Companions
        June 2, 2008

        Fellow Doubters:

        Stephen’s insightful sermon about the Presiding Bishop and her life and ministry outside her comfort zone, and his Wednesday sermon about those outside our comfort zones, raised some thoughts in me, which I humbly s

    • May
      • Living Sacrifices
        05/27/08
        Augustine of Canterbury/Memorial Day USA
        26 May 2008

        Beloved in Thomas and his Lord and God:

        Christians ought to be able to teach the class on “sacrifice.” Our liturgy uses the language of sacrifice. We speak of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. The action at the altar is c

      • THE TRULY ORTHODOX
        05/21/08
        by Sergio Carranza

        “Here we are, just a few months away from the Lambeth Conference and we find ourselves at an impasse: The Bishop of New Hampshire without an invitation to attend the meeting, the poachers from the Global South hunting in the USA and Canada, the schismatics trying to st

      • FOOD FOR the POOR
        05/14/08
        Beloved in God:

        The weekend of May 18, The Rev’d W. Michael Cassell will speak at all the services about a ministry providing direct relief to the poor throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

        Father Cassell will share what he has witnessed about Food For the Poor’s mission

      • FIRST GLEANINGS
        05/05/08
        First Gleanings

        I had a chance to walk through the gathering after the meetings, ceremony and the "meet and greet" with the PB. I heard a lot of ongoing conversations in passing. One that struck me most profoundly involved two women. One woman asked the other "Well, what di

    • April
      • For the Children
        04/08/08
        We pray for children
        who sneak popsicles before supper,
        who erase holes in math workbooks,
        who can never find their shoes.

        And we pray for those
        who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
        who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
    • March
      • "I am the Lord of the dance, says He..."
        03/25/08
        Take Your Tambourines and Dance

        “Various forms of clerical rejoicing during the evening of Easter day were not unknown in the twelfth-century papal court. According to Ordo Romanus xii, drafted under Pope Celestine II (1143 -1144), cantors intone a chant suitable for the feast at which t

      • Rise, Christians!
        03/10/08
        March 10
        Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        Clergy do some ridiculous things. We were exposed to the wonderful delights and mysteries of “liturgical renewal” while in seminary. If we were listening we learned that most of the “new” BCP return

    • February
      • Of the Garden and the Wilderness
        02/11/08
        “Immediately afterwards the Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness, and he remained there for forty days and was tempted by Satan. He was with the wild beasts, and the angels looked after him.” Mark

        “As some may be surprised to learn, Ash Wednesday is not the beginning of Lent, but

    • January
      • Carnival to Lent 2008
        01/29/08
        “Carnival celebrates the unity of our human race as mortal creatures, who come into this world and depart from it without our consent, who must eat, drink, defecate, belch, and break wind in order to live, and procreate if our species is to survive. Our feelings about this are ambiguous. To us as

      • Get with The Program People
        01/17/08
        MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS


        Don and Mary Thomas have been virtually full-time volunteers for several years for the Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA), a charitable organization based in San Francisco. They speak as often as they can to encourage churches and community o

      • What part do we play in God's Reign
        01/08/08
        7 January 2008
        Monday

        Beloved in God:

        By nature, I am not one of those folk who “plan ahead.” One does need to leave something up to God and as the joke goes, we can make God laugh by planning our lives. People like me figure the future will come along in its own time a

      • What part we play in God's Reign
        01/08/08
        7 January 2008
        Monday

        Beloved in God:

        By nature, I am not one of those folk who “plan ahead.” One does need to leave something up to God and as the joke goes, we can make God laugh by planning our lives. People like me figure the future will come along in its own time a

      • The Time to elect a Suffragan Bishop of Dallas
        01/02/08
        Saint Sylvester’s Day
        31 December 2007

        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        One doubts that our bishop was aware during his closing statements at the last diocesan convention that people were sitting on the literal edges of their chairs as he spoke. His words seemed to be mov

  • 2007
    • December
      • The Presiding Bishop's reflections on Christmas 2007
        12/18/07


        In what form will you find the Christ child this year? The fact of the Incarnation in a weak and helpless babe says something significant about where we focus our search.

        I am convinced that it is part of our call to exercise a "preferential option" on behalf of the

      • A TIME OF GIVING
        12/11/07
        It was so exciting to hear of the generosity of St. Thomas, the Parish, and its wonderful members at last week’s Annual Meeting. It never ceases to amaze how a relatively small band of people can do what we consistently do. Senior Warden Kathy Carson reminded us of how much we give out to others t

      • Tree of Life
        12/03/07
        “We know from our study of primitive cultures that trees remaining green in the winter have long suggested special godlike powers….As Christianity supplanted older, pagan religions, the decorating of evergreens continued in various parts of northern Europe on many special occasions….The Roman Cathol

    • November
      • And the Nominees are . . .
        11/26/07
        THE ANNUAL MEETING WILL BE SUNDAY THE 2ND OF DECEMBER AT 10:00 A.M. Come prepared to vote for your lay servant leaders.


        Hampton Burwick, nominated for three-year vestry term:

        I served on the St Thomas Vestry during 2004 through 2006. I enjoyed the experience very much.

      • And The Nominees Are...
        11/26/07
        THE ANNUAL MEETING WILL BE SUNDAY THE 2ND OF DECEMBER AT 10:00 A.M. Come prepared to vote for your lay servant leaders.


        Hampton Burwick, nominated for three-year vestry term:

        I served on the St Thomas Vestry during 2004 through 2006. I enjoyed the experience very much.

      • THOUGHTS AND DEEDS
        11/21/07
        By Harry Anderson

        Thanksgiving is always a time to reflect on the Pilgrims and Squanto. I’m sure you remember the story we all learned in grammar school. Squanto was a member of the Patuxet tribe in what is now Maine. In 1608, he was kidnapped and taken to England as a slave/servant.

      • The Beauty of Smallness
        11/13/07
        12 November 2007
        Monday

        Beloved:

        Call me counter-cultural, but I simply do not get this obsession with “bigger is better” as it applies to God’s Church. I know that in big churches there are things one can do which are almost impossible to do in small parishes. I also k

      • Who pays for Anglican Unity this time?
        11/06/07
        5 November 2007
        Monday

        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        The bishop who ordained me to the priesthood in 1973 did not believe that women could be ordained priests. We never discussed his reasons but all of his clergy were clear that our bishop was opposed to the ordination

    • October
      • VOTE EARLY AND OFTEN
        10/31/07

        On Sunday, December 2, 2007, during the Annual Meeting, we will elect three new members of the vestry; one delegate to diocesan convention; and one trustee of the endowment fund, all for three-year terms. To be eligible to serve a person must be at least 18 years old, a confirmed Episcopalian

      • Good Grief
        10/24/07
        22 October 2007
        Monday

        Beloved in God and Thomas the Apostle:

        Grief turns out to be such a sneaky beast. Most of us wind up medicating it, thanks to the little pills we swallow to spare us the pain, rather than entering into it fully and experiencing feelings which are a

      • The "First Hour" Campaign
        10/15/07
        As our recently-publicized Outreach Survey indicated, the majority of folks here at St. Thomas are regularly engaged in community-focused volunteer activities. Some contribute an hour or two per month; others donate the equivalent of a full-time job. Most do somethingin between. While we're pro

      • Why St. Thomas for Me - Take 4
        10/10/07

      • Why St. Thomas for Me - Take 3
        10/02/07
        11 August, 2007
        “Why St. Thomas for me?”

        Stephen,

        As first I read your request and then this week’s Doubter, I pondered the many ways I have experienced “Transfiguration” at St. Thomas. Your question to me “Why St. Thomas for you?” brings to mind many wonderful moments tha

    • September
      • Why Saint Thomas the Apostle for Me...Take 2
        09/25/07
        “WHY SAINT THOMAS FOR ME?”


        “When Stephen asked me the question, “Why St. Thomas for me”” my first reaction was…it’s obvious. But I imagine that Stephen was looking for something a bit more in depth. I’ve sat down before to write about my St. Thomas, and why it

      • Why St. Thomas for me. . .
        09/18/07
        Hildegard of Bingen
        17 September 2007

        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        Several weeks ago I asked some among us to answer this question: “Why St. Thomas for you?” Their answers will appear in the Doubter over the next four weeks beginning today and will, I hope, prompt our

      • Christ has a Human Heart
        09/11/07
        Alexander Crummell
        10 September 2007

        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        A bishop is coming! The bishop is coming! Bishop Stanton will be with us this coming Sunday, September 16th to preach, to celebrate, to confirm and to reaffirm. More, this Sunday we will have our chief

      • joe
        09/11/07
        Thomas Gallaudet and Henry Winter Syle
        27 August 2007

        Beloved in God:

        Bishop Patterson had finally told me that if I wanted to go on a retreat prior to starting my work at St. Thomas the Apostle, I was welcome to use The Bishop Mason Center in Flower Mound the last week o

      • The Whole Truth...with love...
        09/06/07
        Speaking the truth -- with love
        By Ken Howard

        Reading yet another story about schism in Episcopal Church ("More U.S. Episcopalians Look Abroad Amid Rift -- Overseas Prelates Lead 200 to 250 Congregations," June 17, 2007), I found myself growing a little bored with the topi

    • August
      • God in the midst of Poison Ivy
        08/29/07
        Thomas Gallaudet and Henry Winter Syle
        27 August 2007

        Beloved in God:

        Bishop Patterson had finally told me that if I wanted to go on a retreat prior to starting my work at St. Thomas the Apostle, I was welcome to use The Bishop Mason Center in Flower Mound the last week o

      • Windsor Covenant or Baptismal Covenant, That is The Question...
        08/21/07
        “No” to the Proposed Covenant Because of the Baptismal Covenant
        by R. William Carroll

        “As the churches in the Anglican Communion are autonomous (for now), each would have to adopt an Anglican Covenant by its own process, in our case through General Convention. The Windsor Report adm

      • Buy Books and support North Dallas Shared Ministry at the August 25th Book Fair
        08/14/07





        Simply present Book Fair Voucher at the cash register at time of purchase. A percentage of the net sale will be donated to NDSM.

        *The following transactions are not included in Book Fair totals: gift cards and membership cards. Non-profit and business accoun

      • Jesus, Moses, Elijah, Peter, James, John, You and Me
        08/07/07
        The Transfiguration 2007
        Monday

        Beloved in our Glorious God:

        • Sitting and waiting quietly in a church while the tower bell tolls seventy-seven times before the burial service begins, listening to the organist’s prelude, “Nimrod” from Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar…Tran

    • July
      • My fawn Pug and our Foyers
        07/31/07
        Feast of William Wilberforce
        30 July 2007

        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        Hilda Clare (my puppy) is a fawn Pug. She has two Pug pals who are black. In the world of Pugs, black ones are the more sought out (Don’t tell Hilda Clare that, please). Their color, to Hilda Clar

      • JUBILATE
        07/24/07
        Mary Magdalene’s Day (transferred)
        23 July 2007

        Beloved:

        I wrote you last week that “being stewards is all that life is about.” Coming to the realization that what we are and have is not ours, but God’s…all of it God’s…can change the way one lives and “manages” ones lif

      • Sacks of Shelled Pecans and Bales of Cotton and Us
        07/19/07
        16 July 2007
        Monday

        Beloved in God:

        I told the vestry at our last meeting that it was time for us to begin thinking about “Stewardship for 2008.” I lied. There never is a time when members of God’s Church should not be “thinking about Stewardship.” Stewardship is not

      • SILVA WRITES ABOUT OUTREACH AT ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE
        07/10/07
        Outreach at St. Thomas: Whence? Where? Whither?

        Some months ago, when I was asked to chair the newly reconstituted Outreach Committee (which includes Michael Anthony, Liz Francis, June Marshall, David Schulze, and Danell Winsor), I was charged with leading the effort of re-visioning our

      • Mice & Men
        07/02/07
        2 July 2007
        Monday

        Beloved in God and Thomas the Apostle:

        “The best laid plans of mice and men,” or in this case, “of church mice and laymen,” often go awry. We had our own version of that happen Saturday and Sunday when our long-awaited guests, Davis Mac-Iyalla and Josh

    • June
      • Which God is it, anyway?
        06/28/07



        TWO THEOLOGIES by John M. Gessell

        “The present crisis in the Episcopal Church (and, indeed, in the worldwide Anglican Communion) is not just about the moral status of homosexuality and its expression. Andrew Linzey and Richard Kirker have edited an uncommonly perceptive

      • Speaking the Truth to Power
        06/19/07
        Anti-gay campaign is a power grab, says Nigerian activist
        by Eric Resnick

        Cleveland--An anti-gay campaign in Nigeria is part of the national church’s efforts to grab power and oil wealth in the west African nation, says a gay activist who is touring the U.S. Davis Mac-Iyalla, the fou

      • Follow the Money! -- About Good Stewardship at St. Thomas
        06/11/07
        We are often asked for money at St. Thomas, but this isn’t one of those requests. (I promise!) Instead, I thought you might like to know a bit about how your funds are handled at our church. In my various jobs over the years I’ve seen the financial procedures from different angles. They are very

      • Rebuild, Renew, Restore
        06/06/07
        When Stephen asked me to head up the Renovation Committee, I will admit that I was reluctant. Although I had been on the committee for the renovations to the Parish Hall and Kitchen, I really didn’t have any experience in a project of this scope. I’m used to designs on paper or on a computer screen,

    • May
      • Singing of Graduation
        05/29/07
        This is the last of the Easter season and soon we will be into the long season of Pentecost. This is also the season of graduations. We celebrate small graduations and big ones. But maybe, there is no such thing as a small graduation. We send our children to kindergarten and cheer when they grad

      • We are One. Outreach ought to be a snap!
        05/21/07
        COMMUNION IN CHRIST
        An executive summary of the liturgical-theological reflection.

        REPRINTED FOR THOSE NOT IN CHURCH SUNDAY THE 20TH

        “In reflecting on the proposed Anglican Covenant, Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission’s (ALPM) Council grounded its response in Pau

      • Memento Mori
        05/14/07
        Beloved in God:

        This coming Sunday those of us who wish will have an opportunity to look at “letting our wills be known.” The Endowment Fund Committee of the Parish has invited Rebecca Covell to lead us in a 9:00 a.m. workshop which will address creating wills and the other necessary le

      • Ways we study...
        05/08/07
        7 May 2007
        Monday

        Beloved in God:

        When the weather is good, Hilda Clare and I spend some time most mornings in the parish secret garden. She checks out the smells and likes to eat bark off the oak trees for some Pug reason I don’t understand. I use the time to remember

    • April
      • What's on our minds?
        04/30/07
        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        What's on our minds around St. Thomas the Apostle? What floats to the surface when we speak with each other in the Parish Hall? What concerns us? What are our hopes and dreams for the future ... individually and as a community? What do I hear people say

      • The Old and the New
        04/27/07
        Beloved in Thomas the Apostle:

        I have been thinking about the new people among us and the "old" people among us ... by "old," I mean people who have been a part of the community of St. Thomas the Apostle for a "long" time. By “new,” I mean those who have been