2

Alpha Returns January 20!Alpha is a series of 10 interactive sessions which provides the opportunity to explore life and the Christian faith in an informal, fun, and friendly environment. Alpha meets for dinner and a talk, followed by time for you to say what you think and ask anything you like. Alpha is for everyone! Feel free to come try one Alpha evening and see what you think!

Beginning January 20, 2016, Alpha will meet on Wednesdays from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.

There's even a free nursery and fun program for kids!

To sign up, contact Fr. Ron McCrary (817-332-3191) or email alpha@st-andrew.com

Children's Ministry: Welcoming the Epiphany Seasonby Judy Mayo

The Story of “Silent Night”As we leave the Christmas season, it seems appropriate to reflect upon how the dearly loved hymn, “Silent Night,” came into being. Many of you may already know this amazing, true story.It was almost Christmas in the village of Oberndorf in Bavaria, in the year 1818. The organist, Franz Gruber, was planning to practice the music he would play in church on Christmas Eve. But try as he might, Franz could not make a single note come from the pipe organ in the church of St. Nicholas. Franz hurried to tell the priest, Father Joseph Mohr. “What shall we do?” Franz moaned. “The mice have eaten through the bellows, and there is no way to repair the organ in time for Christmas Eve services!” Fr. Mohr smiled and said to Franz, “We will pray.”Both men then went about their many tasks, not forgetting to pray. Then Fr. Mohr received news of a call he needed to make; a woodcutter’s wife who lived on the edge of the village had just had a baby. The priest hurried out in the snow and cold to welcome and bless the new baby and the woodcutter’s family. As he trudged home in the snow from the woodcutter’s cottage, Fr. Mohr thought about the tiny face of the new child as he nestled in his mother’s arms. He thought about the great joy this gift of new life brought to the family. And he thought about what it would have been like to see the Christ Child on that first Christmas Eve long ago. When he returned to his house, Fr. Mohr wanted to share his feelings with the rest of his congregation. He sat down with his pen and paper and began to write, and a beautiful poem was formed. Then Fr. Mohr hurried to find his friend, Franz Gruber. “Franz, my good friend,” the priest said urgently, “please write a tune to go with my new poem. Make it simple enough so that I can sing it with my guitar.” The organist knew the service would begin in only a short time, but when he read the poem, he knew there would be time enough. Slowly, Franz began to hum a soft melody. Soon both of the men were humming, then singing the words, “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht.” Thus was born the hymn which is perhaps the best loved Christmas hymn of all time. God does, indeed, work in mysterious and wonderful ways!

On Sunday, January 31, after the 10:30 a.m. service, St. Andrew’s will hold its Annual Parish Meeting.

During the 10:30 a.m. service, there will be a presentation and recognition of new members of the parish.

After the service, we will congregate in Moncrief Hall for a light lunch and an important business meeting of the church, at which members in good standing will elect 4 members from this list of nominees to the new class of Vestry members. They will serve in

that capacity for the next three years. Six delegates to the diocesan convention will also be elected.

Children will have a special program and entertainment provided during the meeting. A nursery will be available

for our youngest members.

The Annual Meeting is an important function in the life of our parish, and attendance is encouraged and appreciated.

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

Annual Parish Meeting

•

My name is Amanda Allison. My husband, Justin and I were married at St. Andrew's in 2006. Our son Arthur was born in 2009. My mother in law, Julia Allison, has been attending St. Andrew's with us since moving here from Houston in 2014.

I am the director of the Art Education program at Texas Christian University and a tenured professor of art education. I began my professional career in 1996 as a middle school art teacher in Louisiana and then completed a master’s degree in Art (ceramics) and a PhD in Art Education.

In my work, broadly, I prepare persons to become art teachers. Currently, my work focuses on defining and providing therapeutic art experiences for various populations who experience challenges. The part of my job that I enjoy most is helping people to create art and witnessing how this changes their outlook on self and life.

I became a Christian at age 15. Since that time, I have lived a life full of many formative ministry experiences such as student missionary work in Hong Kong, youth ministry and ministry to widows. At St. Andrew's, I have been active in Alpha and the Associate Vestry. I believe that God has equipped me with the gift of exhortation, in particular, of using words and biblical principles to give counsel, affirmation or encouragement to others.

God is real to me. I have seen his faithful, merciful actions in my life, particularly in the 10 years of my marriage. My husband and I have experienced various trials and God has profoundly transformed our family. We are committed to living faithful, active lives for God’s glory.

I can offer the Vestry at St. Andrew's the skill of providing reasoned, careful solutions to issues. I am a good strategic planner and I can assist groups in reaching democratic and peaceable ends.

My family and I fully affirm the credo of St. Andrew's.

Meet Your 2016 Vestry Nominees

I was confirmed at All Souls Episcopal Church in Oklahoma City, on Whitsunday in 1965, and taught at Casady School, an Episcopal school.

I received a BA degree at the University of Oklahoma. My husband, Don, was a banker for many years. We were married 55 years before his death in 2013. We have two wonderful daughters.

Don and I joined St. Andrew's ten years ago, and loved the beauty of holiness we found here. I continue to regularly attend the eight o'clock service although I still live in Weatherford.

I enjoy reading, travel and community activities, and currently serve on the Chandor Gardens Foundation Board in Weatherford as Vice President. My church involvement includes the ECW presidency in both Amarillo and Weatherford, Texas, and I am on the Women's Diocesan Board representing All Saints, Weatherford. I was elected as a delegate to the Diocesan Annual Convention representing All Saints, Weatherford, twelve years ago before later transferring to St. Andrew's.

I affirm the St. Andrew's Credo enthusiastically and without reservation. The wonderful sermons, Sunday school classes and Bible studies at St. Andrew's have been an inspiration when I see the priests and teachers with God-given talents and intelligence. My love for St. Andrew's has grown over the years, and to be elected to the Vestry would mean so much if I could contribute my service.

The St. Andrew’s CredoI believe the Holy Scriptures to be the written and inspired word of God. By faith, I acknowledge

Jesus Christ as God incarnate, the Lord by whose name all must be saved, and receive him as my

personal savior. I believe he rose bodily from the grave on the third day. I pledge to promote and

adhere to the Doctrine, Discipline and Worship of historic Anglicanism and St. Andrew’s Parish as

represented by the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion and the historic Prayer Book tradition.

• •

• •

Amanda Allison

CaroleDuffield

•

•

Tyrrell and I moved to Ft. Worth and joined St. Andrew’s in 1986. Our children were baptized and confirmed here. I’m originally from Arkansas, so our family loves the outdoors and lake life. Tyrrell and our son, T., enjoy hunting and golf. My daughter, India, plays the fiddle. Thanks to her, our home has always been filled with music.

My education is in art and art history. A love for the arts has colored my life. I worked as an art consultant and as a program developer in the education department of a museum.

I have taught art in elementary and high schools, and to adults in continuing education programs. As a young adult I discovered the transforming power of studying, memorizing and meditating on God’s word. Scripture, my family, and art are my passions.

The rule and rhythm of the church year at St. Andrew’s orders and anchors my life. It is one of the ways that the Lord gifts me with a sense of peace and purpose. I organize the pace of my life and prayers around the seasonal themes and readings of the liturgical year. It enriches and makes spiritual sense of my world. It is my life’s “time frame.”

My entire family has been blessed by the ministries of St. Andrew’s. I enjoy contributing to Women’s Ministry, Alpha, participation in various weekly Bible studies, and Dr. Dickson’s Greek class. I’ve served on the AV and several times on the Vestry, once as Sr. Warden. It is my joy to contribute to the Adult Educational Programs by offering seasonal meditations on art and art history combined with scripture. It is here, at St. Andrew’s, where I’ve been equipped and encouraged to explore my own calling to lay ministry. God bless!

I am a lifelong resident of Ft. Worth, Texas. I served in the Army with a tour of duty in Vietnam 1966-67. I first attended St. Andrew's with Beverly and her parents JB and Frances Baltzelle in 1964. Beverly and I married at St. Andrews in 1970 and I became a confirmed member in 1983. We have one son, Marty, and 2 grandchildren, Brandon and Carsyn, making us a 4 generation St. Andrews family. I have served as an Usher, Sunday School Teacher, Bible Study participant and member of the Associate Vestry.

I retired from AT&T/Lucent Technologies after 36 years and owned and operated Oakes

communications for 10 years. I enjoy hunting, fishing and attending TCU sporting events, also time at the ranch in west Texas with my family riding our ATV and watching the wildlife.

My gifts are service and faith. It is our duty to strengthen the believer and bring the non-believer to Christ. I am firm in the use of the 1928 prayer Book. I believe in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion that are the foundation of Anglican Worship. I absolutely and resolutely adhere to and believe in the St. Andrew’s Credo!

I have attended St. Andrews for over 40 years and have found many Christian friends who have prayed for me and my family in times of need. It is this compassion and strong biblical principles that make our Parish such a beacon of light in our community.

It would be my honor and privilege to serve on the Vestry of St. Andrews.

My wife, Laura, and I have regularly attended St. Andrew’s Church since we moved to the area in 2011, although we had moved our membership here from our parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago after the results of the 2003 General Convention. We found Bishop Iker to be a strong voice for orthodox Christianity and the Anglican tradition, and we were delighted to find St. Andrew’s Church with its worship in “low” Anglican style using the 1928 BCP. We are involved in several services and ministries of the church; Laura is a lay reader and member of the Altar Guild; I

am an usher, and we are Lay Eucharist Visitors. Encouraged by Dr. Dickson’s DISCO class, eighteen months ago we began twice daily prayer with Bible readings from the lectionary.

I retired in 2013 after serving for almost 44 years as a federal bank

examiner and regulator. I began with FDIC and then transferred to the former Office of Thrift Supervision. I was Regional Director for the Southeast Region, Atlanta, when OTS merged with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Following the merger, the OCC appointed me Associate Deputy Comptroller in the Southern District Office, Dallas, in 2011. I graduated from UT Austin in 1969 with a double major in economics and history.

I was reared in the Methodist Church, but became familiar with the Anglican Reformation and the Articles of Religion in my studies of English history. The Anglican doctrine held great appeal, and I was confirmed in the Episcopal Church in 1975. Laura was baptized in the Episcopal Church.

I seek election to the vestry because I am deeply interested in seeing our church continue its development as a strong presence of orthodox Christianity in the community. I also believe it is critical that we maintain our financial strength.

I enthusiastically and unreservedly endorse the St. Andrew’s Credo.

Suzanne Hearn

James G. “Jim” Price

WeldonOakes

•

•

I’ve attended St. Andrew’s a little over four years with my wife, Karis Spooner. Karis and I moved to Fort Worth shortly after graduating from Dallas Baptist University and marrying in 2010. We’ve lived and worked here ever since. We are expecting our first child, a son, provided he doesn’t arrive before this is printed. I am currently looking for a job, after finishing a Master’s degree in Philosophy at the University of Dallas last August.

Both Karis and I enjoy reading and traveling, and perhaps the only argument we have—though she may disagree—concerns which

use of our time is better.

It wasn’t until my high school years that I came to know the depth of God’s love. I’d have to say that it was this truth that made me

a believer. My parents were divorcing at the time, and so life was confusing. I put down my skateboard—not that there’s anything wrong with skateboarding—and picked up a few books that I hoped would straighten my thinking, and haven’t put them down since.

It was the depth of the answers I received from the Christian faith at that time and since that baptized my heart and mind to believe the truth of the gospel. It also showed me the meaning of marriage, led me to Karis, and finally to St. Andrew’s.

Since I began attending St. Andrew’s I’ve been involved in a number of ministries. I currently teach the junior high and high school students on occasion during Sunday school, and have been involved in the Children’s chapel for a few years now. I’ve also attended the S.H.A.P.E. and DISCO classes, and have been involved in the adult education hour on Sunday mornings and evening prayer Sunday nights. I affirm the credo of St. Andrew’s in every respect, and I am glad to have found a home here.

I am humbled and honored to have been asked to stand for election to the St. Andrew’s vestry. My husband, Tim, and I have been members at St. Andrew’s since shortly after we moved to Fort Worth in August of 2009 when he accepted a faculty position at TCU, and we have both become avid fans of the Horned Frogs football team. Tim has served on both the Associate Vestry and Vestry, and we have two children, Adam and Caroline, who serve as acolytes.

I became a nurse in 1985 and enjoyed 10 years as an ICU nurse before becoming a nurse anesthetist in 1995. I thoroughly enjoy

my profession and the opportunity to help people for a living. I am employed by an anesthesia group, and I do cases at Harris Methodist downtown, Baylor Surgery Center, and Baylor Surgery

Hospital. We also home school our children.

I grew up in a Southern Baptist church in a small town outside of Birmingham, Alabama, and became a baptized believer in 1974. Tim and I began the progression toward Anglicanism many years ago, but became members of the Anglican church in 2006, in a church in Memphis under the Anglican province of Kenya. I feel that both the Book of Common Prayer and our liturgical worship have led me to a deeper understanding of my faith and my deeper need for God, and am thankful that God has led us to Anglicanism, and to this congregation.

Since being at St. Andrews, I have participated in the Women’s Bible Study group, served as a greeter, played the piano for preschool chapel, became a member of the altar guild, taken Bill’s Greek class, and sung in the adult choir. I hope that my interest and concern for people and the abilities God has given me can assist St. Andrew’s. I affirm St. Andrew’s credo enthusiastically and without reservation.

I grew up in the city of Amarillo, often referred to as the Jewel of the High Plains. I was educated at the University of Texas in Austin, and I graduated in 1993 with a Bachelors degree in English. In 1996, I moved to Fort Worth and co-founded Village Homes, which I sold my interest in in 2011; and in 2005 I co-founded V Fine Homes, an architectural design and construction firm which continues to be active in west and southwest Fort Worth. In 2009, by stroke of Providence, I married my lovely wife Lizzie, also from Amarillo, and we have since been blessed with five children, Lucy, Vivian,

George, Alice, and Martha, all baptized here at St. Andrew’s.

I’ve been privileged to serve on the boards of Trinity Habitat for Humanity, Historic Camp Bowie, Inc., the Van Cliburn Foundation, and the Diaspora Foundation, which grants scholarships to Dallas Theological Seminary students. Additionally, I have been actively involved in Bible Study Fellowship since 2002.

I joined St. Andrew’s in 2002, after a few years in the Presbyterian Church, and found it suited me very well. I was drawn to our church’s rare combination of reverent worship and biblically sound teaching and preaching, which revived in me a commitment to discipleship more profound than ever before. I also appreciate that our worship, music, and beautiful sanctuary reflect the beauty and majesty of our Creator.

In my years at St. Andrew’s I have been privileged to serve two vestry terms, in which I was twice Jr. Warden. I served on the search committee which brought Dr. Dickson to St. Andrew’s; an experience for which I am very grateful. In 2007, I accompanied several men from St. Andrew’s and others from our diocese on a mission trip to Malawi, which was profoundly moving. I would say my favorite role at St. Andrew’s has been serving as a chalice bearer for Holy Communion services.

St. Andrew’s is a very special church with vast potential for shining the light of Christ in Fort Worth and beyond. It would be an honor to once again serve toward this end.

ThomasSpooner

RobSell

KarenWatkins