Vol. XXVII, No. 9 Universal City, Texas September 2012

Matt’s MissiveMatt’s MissiveMatt’s MissiveMatt’s Missive

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Our Mission:

To be a strong community of faith rich in the Episcopal tradition serving Jesus Christ; welcoming the seeker; providing a caring church family; effecting spiritual change;

reaching into the world with the love of Jesus. www.stmattuc.org office@stmattuc.org

Priest’s Point of View

By Fr. Tim Vellom

Ministry Focus: Youth Group

By Barbara Duffield

It’s that time again . . . school is nearly here and with it come activities at home, at school, and at church. St. Matthew’s Youth Group met throughout the summer, and we are off to a wonderful start with plans for the fall months.

We will continue the practice, at least for a while, of having the youth group meet every other week. Adults coordinating the events agreed that it seems best not “to bite off more than we can chew” for a while! There is a consensus among both parents and youth group members that it would be easier to meet on Sunday evenings at 6:00 p.m. instead of 5:00 p.m. So that shift in time will begin September 9th. Supper will be first on the agenda, from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m.; so be sure to have your youth arrive on time!

Speaking of supper, any adults with young people in the group (or others of you who are just young at heart!) are invited to prepare a meal for the group on Sunday evenings. If you have questions about what that entails, feel free to contact Barbara Duffield, who is in charge of organizing the meals.

Our programs, along with bowling and community and parish service activities, have kept our young people BUSY! This summer we listened to some of the senior members of our parish in a series named The Greatest Generation. We also had three young college-age students come in and discuss their experiences in getting ready for college and then learning to stay focused on the task at hand once they left home. Coming up, we will have some of our younger adults speaking about their careers and how their faith influences their work day. We also look forward to some fun outings this fall; you will hear more about them soon.

Watch for the fine work the St. Matthew’s Youth Group will

be doing as the fall goes on. If you have questions about the youth group, please talk to Cynde Mauceri, Barbara Duffield, Dave Ince (the younger), or Patrick Duffield. If you know of any young people who would benefit from these activities, please do encourage them to join us. We welcome not only the young people from our parish, but their friends as well.

For the last four years, Barbara Duffield has been taking courses in the Master of Arts in Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care Program at the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin. Much of this study has been in traditional classes with lectures, textbooks, and papers. This fall, she is under-taking a “ministry practicum” in which the content of the course comes not from lectures and books, but rather from the pastoral care ministry that she carries out among us at St. Matthew’s through Community of Hope and Home Communion.

Barbara will be doing what we’ve seen her do for some time: offering a caring presence and listening ear to those facing some difficulty or struggle. This is not counseling or problem-solving, but pastoral care—

helping make Christ’s presence known by one’s own attentive and compassionate presence. Her visits and conversations will occur in hospitals or care facilities, in homes, at church, or in other appropriate settings.

The difference for Barbara over the next three months is that she will be deliberately reflecting on her ministry encounters in specific ways in order to strengthen her skills and deepen her effectiveness in offering the love of Christ to those in need. This reflection will take place through prayer, written assignments, reading, and regular meetings with me as her Supervisor in this work. While we will at times be discussing visits or conversations Barbara has had with some of you, the focus will be on her role as a minister of pastoral care rather than on the particulars of your situation; what she shares with me will of course be kept in strictest confidence.

I see this as one way that we can pursue what St. Paul says is a key part of the Church’s purpose: “ . . . to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12). If you have questions about Barbara’s practicum or ministry, please discuss them with

her or with me.

Your servant in Christ Jesus, Tim+

Matt’s Missive The Rev. Tim Vellom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rector Margaret Palmer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Co-editor Hope Ince . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Co-editor

MATT’S MISSIVE (USPS 0112718) is published once a month, 12 times a year, by

ST. MATTHEW’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

810 Kitty Hawk Road Universal City, Texas 78148210-658-5956

Periodical postage paid at Universal City, TX 78148 Postmaster: Please send all Forms 3579 to

Matt’s Missive,

P.O. Box 2337 Universal City, TX 78148

RACAP News By Kathy Ercoline

Thanks to the extraordinary generosity in donations, this year’s rummage sale brought in a record $10,300. The day proved to be filled with (mostly) joyful fellowship as over 50 parishioners volunteered their time to work the day of the event. We had a wonderful time meeting and serving the hundreds of guests who attended our sale.

So many people worked to make this sale a success, from all of those who generously donated items for the sale to those who worked countless hours behind the scenes in the months and days prior to the sale. I would feel remiss if I did not take the opportunity to thank some very special people without whose help we could never have made this happen.

My version of an Academy Awards speech! Thank you to my mom and best friend, Pat DePasquale, for being my tireless partner in this endeavor and to Tom Barnhart (also known as my husband) for the many evenings that he traveled around town picking up donations. To Diane Woods and the Baskin family, thanks for the many hours you donated to prepare the items for the sale. John Sampson, thank you for all of your work preparing our parking lot and directing traffic control. A final shout goes to the Youth Group for all their help both before and during the sale. It was my pleasure and privilege to work with everyone on this project, and we look forward to doing it again next year!! WAY TO GO!

Rummage Sale Wrap-up! By Tish Barnhart

In the August RACAP Newsletter, Director Jesse Fisher said, ““WWee aarree sseeeeiinngg rreeccoorrdd--bbrreeaakkiinngg nnuummbbeerrss ooff ppeeooppllee

aaggaaiinn tthhiiss ssuummmmeerr.. II ddiidd nnoott tthhiinnkk iitt wwoouulldd ttaakkee lloonngg ttoo ggoo

tthhrroouugghh aallll tthhee ffoooodd tthhaatt wwaass ddoonnaatteedd tthhrroouugghh tthhee PPoossttaall

WWoorrkkeerrss FFoooodd ddrriivvee,, aanndd II wwaass rriigghhtt.. TThhee sshheellvveess aarree

eemmppttyyiinngg oouutt qquuiicckkeerr tthhaann wwee ccaann rreessttoocckk tthheemm.. II aamm

mmaakkiinngg 33--44 ttrriippss ttoo HHEEBB eevveerryy mmoonntthh..””

RACAP shelves are bare . . . the need is great. I hope that all of you saw the email I sent out about the urgent need for the following items:

Soups: chicken noodle, tomato, vegetable, etc. (NOT cream soups)

Spaghetti Sauce/Pasta Canned Fruits

Tomato Products – sauce, paste, diced, stewed etc.

UUppddaattee oonn tthhee ““BBaacckk--ttoo--SScchhooooll SShhooee PPrrooggrraamm”” -- TThhee

aavveerraaggee ccoosstt ttoo ffuunndd tthhee pprrooggrraamm iiss aabboouutt $$1166 ppeerr cchhiilldd..

SSoo ffaarr tthhiiss yyeeaarr,, 114477 ffaammiilliieess ((333399 cchhiillddrreenn)) hhaavvee bbeeeenn

iissssuueedd PPaayyLLeessss ggiifftt ccaarrddss ttoo ppuurrcchhaassee sshhooeess.. MMoorree wwiillll

nneeeedd tthheemm.. TThhee pprrooggrraamm eennddss SSeepptteemmbbeerr 2288tthh

,, ssoo tthheerree

iiss ssttiillll ttiimmee ttoo ddoonnaattee ttoo tthhiiss wwoorrtthhyy ccaauussee..

““TThhaannkk yyoouu ffoorr hheellppiinngg uuss hheellpp ootthheerrss..””

St. Matthew’s Ramp Team will build

another ramp on September 29th. Each project takes just a few hours on a Saturday morning and is a wonderful way for us to work together to help the elderly or disabled in our community. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, contact Tom Barnhart at Tbarnhart@satx.rr.com or 210-659-1287. A sign-up sheet is in the Narthex, and further details will be published in the Sunday Bulletin.

Thank you for all of the boxes that have been donated thus far for the RACAP holiday meal baskets. Presently, we have 200 of the 400 boxes that we will need.

As the holidays approach, we will move to the next phase of this project. We will begin with inventorying the items received during the various Harvest Sundays in October and November here at St. Matthew’s as well as at other churches affiliated with RACAP. Be watching the October and November issues of Matt’s Missive for more details on the various ways you can be involved in helping to prepare the meal baskets.

Meanwhile, continue bringing in those produce boxes!

Produce Boxes Still Needed By Tish Barnhart

REMINDER: Anyone who works with children, in either a volunteer or a paid position, must have taken Safeguarding God’s Children training within the last five years. We will offer a free training workshop this month. If you need to take this training, please call the office and leave word so that we can notify you when the specific date and time are set.

Mark Your Calendar: The “1-2-3 For Life” Class will run from Oct. 20

th – Nov. 10

th. Contact Jayne Dunlap

at jdunlap123@live.com for more details.

Monday, September 3: Office closed for Labor Day holiday.

Thursday, September 6: Lunch Bunch, 12:15 p.m., Creasy

Hall.

Sunday, September 9: Breakfast Ministry and Sunday School

resume.

Sunday, September 9: Potluck Luncheon, 12:15 p.m.,

RACAP Ingathering, Creasy Hall.

Tuesday, September 18: Vestry Meeting, 6:00 p.m., Creasy

Hall.

Friday, September 21: Game Night for Adults, 6:30 p.m.,

Creasy Hall.

Sunday, September 23: St. Matthew’s Day Celebration &

Ministries Fair, with finger-food

luncheon and Parish Meeting. 12:15.

Thursday, September 27: Dining Out, 6:30 p.m., Garcia’s on

FM3009; Contact: Jan or Alethia

Dooling at (210) 658-3467.

September Calendar

From the Senior Warden . . . You would think that after eight months on the job I’d have this Senior Warden thing figured out. Well, to be honest, it’s still very much a work in progress. We have lots of needs! And they seem to keep growing with each passing month. I had thought that by now we would have all our needs identified and plans in place and be working toward solutions. That is not happening; our needs are outpacing our plans! The situation reminds me of the Whack-a-Mole game found in amusement parks: you hit one mole on the head, forcing it back into the hole, only to see another one pop up in an unexpected place; hit it, and another does the same . . . and on it goes.

Your Vestry will continue to work on solutions to our needs. Bear with us as we figure out ways to do it. Meeting those needs or finding workable solutions takes time (I have learned that much). I hope one day to wake up and realize the decisions we make will end up being the best ones for our future. We may make mistakes but the work will go on—just as Robert Frost said about life: “It goes on.”

As you already know, the rummage sale was a record event. We were able to net over $10,000 from the sale. Much of the organization (and a lot of the work) was accomplished by Tish Barnhart, but many others helped, and a great deal of thanks goes to all who donated items and/or their time.

Hope to see you at church and at the St. Matthew’s Day Celebration on September 23rd. Until next time, go in peace . . .

Yours in Christ, Bill Ercoline, Senior Warden

In September, construction is scheduled to begin on the interwoven circle pathways! Your enthusiastic support has expanded our Memorial Garden project. Requests for benches have exceeded the availability, so 7 more benches will be added to our Shade Garden between the Church and the Hall. There is still one bench available in the area of interlocking pathways.

The church office will soon be sending a letter out to everyone who pledged for a paver or bench, asking for specific information concerning wording to be engraved on each. For more detailed information on our garden efforts, don’t miss the Memorial Garden presentation after the 10:30 service on September 23rd in Creasy Hall. If you have questions concerning this project, please contact me at 210-386-6111. – John Sampson

St. Matthew’s Day is scheduled for Sunday, September 23, with a Parish Meeting and

a finger-food luncheon. This year, as we honor our parish’s namesake, we will also have a time of thanksgiving for the many

ministries we have at St. Matthew’s.

During our celebration luncheon and meeting, we will

have a question-and-answer period for those interested in becoming more involved in our ministries. A sign-up sheet is in the Narthex for donations for the luncheon.

Please plan to attend our celebration. Be sure to wear your St. Matthew’s shirts or something red and join us for the St. Matthew’s Day Celebration. – Kathy Ercoline

Location of additional benches available for engraving

Memorial Garden Update . . .

St. Matthew’s Banner

Celebrate St. Matthew’s Day

Just a Note . . . Fr. Rick Moore has announced that

he is taking a leave of absence for medical reasons for an indefinite length of time. After several significant health challenges in the last year, he has decided that it is best that he step away from priestly ministry for the foreseeable future. He and Karen will continue to worship with us at St. Matthew’s and take part in the life of the parish. Please

continue to keep them both in your prayers. – Fr. Tim

A Pictorial Review of St. Matthew’s - August 2012

. . . and Caitlin, Kayley, and Myia were ready to go in our Boutique and Specialty Shop Mall (aka the Christian Ed. Building).

Frankly, the Rummage Sale absolutely dominated the month, but we had a beautiful potluck on August 5th . . .

. . . and then gathered to hear Fr. Wendel’s homily on August 12th .

During the coffee hour, we visited with Fr. Wendel (with a bit of the furniture for the sale as a backdrop) . . .

By the Friday evening training session, Tish and her team had miraculously priced and organized thousands of items in Creasy Hall . . .

. . . while Cynde directed the youth group to gather up the chairs and get all the tables set up for the big day.

The next day found everyone delighted to relax and enjoy the treats at Sunday’s coffee hour . . .

. . . and to welcome back our very own Superman – John Means.

Pat and Jan made certain the Boutique area was ready . . .

. . . then Bill opened the doors and the sale was underway . . .

. . . while Terry took over directing the crowds to the best buys.

Daybreak found Tom, John, and Wayne moving in the furniture . . .

. . . and by 7:50 a.m., David and Liz had

two of the cashier stations ready . . . . . . while the customers were lined up all the way back to the parking lot.

September Ministry Schedule Duty September 9 September 16 September 23 September 30 Altar Guild Diane Woods

Terry May Kathy Mulligan Audrey Blumenthal

Audrey & John Blumenthal

Hope & David Ince

Cooks Bill & Kathy Ercoline Terry May & Diane Woods (continental)

Greg & Kathy Coolidge Mendell Morgan, Don Carey

Gudrun Gustin (continental)

Wilma & John Heberling

8 a.m. Servers & Readers

Wilma Heberling (S) Jan Bonner (R)

Nina Thomas (S) Suzi Hopkins (R)

Barbara Duffield (S) Susan Brown (R)

Michelle Goff (S) Doreen Armogida (R)

10:30 a.m. Servers

Vince Michel Barbara Duffield

Mendell Morgan Wilma Heberling

Hope Ince David Ince

Sean Keane-Dawes Susan Brown

10:30 a.m. Readers

Melissa Mudge Sean Keane-Dawes

Mendell Morgan Barbara Duffield

Diane Woods Bonnie Bell

Vince Michel Lisa Merrifield

Acolytes Christopher Carter Bud Erwin Devin Bradlaw Rebecca Francis

Tom Barnhart TBD Crystal Francis Marley Bartholomew

Vince Michel Hope Ince Myia Mauceri Amber Gaston

Billy Baskin Kimberley Erwin Ellen Barnhart Madelaine Borrego

8 a.m. Hosts John & Mary Hamilton Frank & Pat DePasquale Ron & Jayne Dunlap Don Carey 10:30 a.m. Hosts

Sean Keane-Dawes (A) Mary Dunham (B)

Alethia Dooling (A) Jan Dooling (B) Margaret Palmer (D)

John Blumenthal (A) Audrey Blumenthal (B)

Bill Ercoline (A) Kathy Ercoline (B) Kathy Ercoline (D)

Prayers of The People

Sean Keane-Dawes Hope Ince John Means Bonnie Bell

9 Bean Soup Ministry

Ann Vellom John & Barbara Means Diane Woods & Terry May

John & Barbara Means

Home Communion

Tish Barnhart (8:00) Pam Calvert

Cynde Mauceri Dave Ince

Barbara Duffield Mendell Morgan Sean Keane-Dawes

8 a.m. Prayer Ministry

Joan McClain Don Carey Barbara Duffield Joan McClain

10:30 a.m. Prayer Ministry

Barbara Duffield Bob Jones Barbara Duffield Bob Jones

Children’s Church

Mary Bartholomew Liz Sampson Mary Bartholomew Liz Sampson

AudioVisual Ellen Barnhart Molly Baskin Alysha Wyatt

Devin Bradlaw Christopher Carter

Lockup/Security Tish Barnhart Jayne Dunlap Bill Ercoline Wayne Mudge

Postmaster: Send address changes to

MATT’S MISSIVE

P.O. Box 2337 Universal City, Texas 78148

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