Category: Hospitality

Farewell to St. Martin’s

Dear Members and Friends of St. Martin-in-the-Fields,

I began my ministry with you as Interim Rector at St. Martin’s almost two years ago. Three days from now, July 25, will be my last Sunday with you. Your new Rector, The Reverend Alan Bentrup, will lead you in worship on August 1.

I write with mixed emotions to say farewell and express gratitude for the opportunity to share Christ’s work with you during this season of transition. We have worked together to remember and celebrate the history of the parish, to clarify your present-day identity, to manage changes in leadership, to strengthen ties with the wider Church, and to prepare for commitment to a new era of mission with your new Rector. We have wrestled with a pandemic and learned many things in the process. We have explored the joys of faithful stewardship, envisioned a robust new program of Christian formation for all ages, developed and populated a new model for mission and governance, reached out in love to our neighbors in need, and expressed lavish hospitality to newcomers seeking a spiritual home. It will make my heart glad to know that these experiences have made you ready for the days ahead. For, as St. Paul wrote to the Church in Philippi, "I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).

We are confident that you will welcome your new Rector, Alan, his family, Elizabeth, Ford, and, Walker, with the same strong, generous, open arms that welcomed us. We are also confident that your ministry together will result in transformed lives and much thanksgiving to God.

Many have asked about our plans for the future. We’ll be taking a vacation in August. Upon our return, Gay will continue her artistic pursuits, including some online teaching, and I plan to undertake a few projects at our home in Arlington. I expect that my future service to The Episcopal Church will be primarily consulting and mentoring.

You are most welcome to stay in touch with us. We want to know what is happening in your lives and in the life of this parish so we can cheer you on from the “great cloud of witnesses.” However, my role as your Priest will be concluded. Your new Rector and his family will need every opportunity to establish a relationship with you. So, I will not be coming back or performing sacramental or liturgical rites for St. Martin’s. We’ve moved before and have seen the wisdom in this practice. We continue to have wonderful friends from every place we’ve ever served and everyone understands that we now play a different role in their lives. Please make a note of the following contact information:

Ron and Gay Pogue
5805 Dry Creek Lane
Arlington, Texas 76017

Ron’s Email: ron@e-piphanies.com
Ron’s Phone: 832-576-9019
Ron’s Blog: http://e-piphanies.com

Gay’s Email: gaypogue@mac.com
Gay’s Phone: 409-939-9975
Gay’s Blog: http://angelsnakes.com/

May God bless St. Martin’s and may God bless each of you in your spiritual journey. I remain convinced that the greatest days of this parish lie in the future. You and those God leads to you in the future will have the joy of remaining open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit to discover what new things God wants to accomplish through this vibrant and welcoming community of faith. We love you and will keep you in our prayers. We ask that you also keep us in your prayers as God’s new day unfolds!

Blessings,

The Very Reverend Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

July 22, 2021
The Christian Lifestyle

Jesus summed up the lifestyle God wants us to live a few words; "The first commandment is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord your God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:29-31).

The call to be faithful stewards of God’s bounty is the call to a lifestyle – a way of life – that acknowledges that everything we have belongs to God and that we are managers of a sacred trust. We fulfill that vocation through the spiritual disciplines of worship, proclamation, teaching, presence, fellowship, service, and offerings. We commit ourselves to offer God the very best we have in the confidence that when God receives our offering, joined with the offering of Christ, it will be pleasing to God and accomplish the things God’s heart desires to accomplish through us. There may be no vocation in the universe that is greater or more of a wonder than the vocation of stewardship. It makes us unique among creatures. It makes us human. It is an expression of our creation in the image of God, whose love created and sustains the universe.

To avoid faithful participation in the life of the Church because we are too busy should be evidence to us that we are simply too busy. To avoid tithing because we think we don’t have enough is to underestimate how bountifully God has blessed us and is evidence that we are living both materially and spiritually beyond our means.

Loving God with all our heart, and soul, and mind, and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves involves giving the best we have, devotion to this shared way of life, and an understanding that the life God wants us to live demands faithful participation of each one of us.

Loving God and our neighbor is the essence of how God created life to be lived. It is not meant to be simply an abstract theological concept to which we give intellectual assent. It is meant to be carried out in tangible ways. It is meant to be the driving force in the life of the community of God’s people. It is meant to be central to our witness to others that God will always give us enough to be generous.

St. Martin's has a heritage of expressing God's love through generous hospitality and inclusiveness. Even during this pandemic, that work goes on. All who have been the beneficiaries of that generosity want to be sure that it continues into the future when this strange season is over.

This Sunday, October 4, we will come together in the parking lot and online to renew our commitment to faithful and generous stewardship of the treasure entrusted to us in the coming year. As we approach this day, let us be mindful of God’s bountiful love and care. We’ve experienced it for ourselves and we want to help others know the same blessing.

So don’t hold back! Give God the opportunity to use your life and all the blessings that have been entrusted to you in ways that become tangible evidence of your love for God and for your neighbor. And, through the miracles that God will perform in your life, you will see that it is also the best way of loving yourself.

The night before one of his musicals was to open, Oscar Hammerstein pushed past Mary Martin, his singing star, in the soft red glow of the semi-darkness of the curtained stage and pressed into her hand a slip of paper. On it were these words, which later were to become the basis of one of the hit numbers in the uncut version of "The Sound of Music."

A bell's not a bell 'til you ring it.
A song's not a song 'til you sing it.
Love in your heart wasn't put there to stay.
Love isn't love 'til you give it away!

(Have a listen!)

Bountiful blessings for you and yours!

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

October 2, 2020
Let’s Talk Hospitality!

A decade ago, United Methodist Bishop Robert Schnase wrote a book entitled Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. That book and a variety of supporting resources that followed resulted in a movement toward congregational health that has extended beyond denominational lines and made an impact in many churches.

The five practices are: Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission and Service, and Extravagant Generosity.

I have applied the principles of the five practices in a variety of ways and to one degree or another in the churches I have served as an interim. As a community of faith moves through the journey of transition between rectors, these five aspects of its life and mission deserve special attention so that everyone will be ready to enter a new era of mission when the new rector arrives.

St. Martin’s already has some experience with the Five Practices material and I want us to revisit them together at this stage of transition. Let’s start this week with Radical Hospitality.

Radical Hospitality in our personal walk with Christ begins with an extraordinary receptivity to the grace of God. In distinctive and personal ways, we invite God into our hearts and make space for God in our lives. We say Yes to God and open ourselves to the spiritual life. We accept God’s love and acceptance of us. We receive God’s love and offer it to others.

I met last week with some of those who have been promoting radical hospitality at St. Martin’s. We are beginning to explore what is happening and what else needs to happen to be sure that our “no exceptions” policy is authentic and consistent. It has to apply to those who are newcomers to this church and school as well as to those who are members.

One of the most obvious and important ways of practicing radical hospitality is with an inviting and tasty coffee hour following worship. We have begun a somewhat new approach to our coffee hour after the 8:30 and 10:30 Sunday morning services. When you enter the parish hall, you will see a round table in the center of the room. On that table will be a spread of tasty items along with coffee, tea, punch, and water. There are items that are attractive to both the kids and the adults. We’re also placing visitor information cards and name tags on the table. Coffee hour hosts have been provided with the details of the new procedures and may be asking for assistance. Greeters are escorting newcomers to the parish hall.

This brief time for companionship before going about our Sunday activities allows us to welcome and get acquainted with those who are new and to strengthen relationships within the faith community. I hope each one of you will make a new commitment to participate in coffee hour. And make it a point to speak first to someone you don’t recognize.

Thanks to Flo Lowry, Linda Snow, and Ann Luttrell whose counsel helped to give a shot in the arm to our coffee hour. Thanks also to all those who are serving as hosts. If you’d like to help, contact Linda Snow at 682-717-9238 or snowman2014@outlook.com.

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Rev'd Ron Pogue
Interim Rector
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Keller, Texas

P.S. Next week we'll talk about extravagant generosity as we get ready for Consecration Sunday, October 20. If you haven't yet let us know your attendance plans, please contact the parish office right away or go online HERE.

October 10, 2019