My Blog

Category: Religion

  • The Episcopal Church: Here to Help

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    Members of Episcopal congregations on Galveston Island are returning to their homes, helping their neighbors, gathering for fellowship, and worshiping together. Teams of Episcopalians from the Diocese of Texas and across the nation are heading here to help us resurrect our lives.

    Grace Church and St. Augustine of Hippo Church are worshiping at their facilities, although there is damage to be addressed.  St. Vincent's Episcopal House is providing assistance and has opened its medical clinic.  The preschool area was inundated and cannot open until remediation and repairs are completed.

    Trinity Church is worshiping at St. George's Church in Texas City this Sunday and will move to the William Temple Episcopal Center next Sunday.  Trinity's parish office is temporarily located in the rector's home, 3017 Avenue O.  Phone and mail is being forwarded to that location.  

    091108 009 Wireless internet access and telephone service are available on the verandah at the rector's house.  There are coolers full of beverages and friendly faces.  It's a respite for those who are attempting to find their way through the complicated process of filing claims and filing with FEMA, interviewing contractors and waiting on permits.

    The presence of our Episcopal community is a reminder of the presence and compassion of God Incarnate in the midst of our loss, our hurt, and our sorrow.  As we say in the ancient prayer, Ubi Caritas, "Where true charity and love dwell, God himself is there."

    The Episcopal Community on Galveston Island is resiliant.  We are watching over one another in love and welcoming those God is sending to us.  Among our people we are witnessing countless acts of 
    mutual self-giving that make our hearts glad.

    Our message is one of hope – The Episcopal Church: Here to Help.

  • The Episcopal Church Welcomes You to Galveston Island!

    The Episcopal Church is alive and well on Galveston Island, near Texas. And, the Episcopal Community of Galveston is preparing to welcome fellow Episcopalians from the Diocese of Texas to their 159th Council, February 15 & 16, 2008 at the Moody Gardens Convention Center.

    This impressive video by Matthew Stanford and the kids of St. Vincent’s Episcopal House in Galveston celebrates the life of the Episcopal Church on this small island that has a big role in the history of Texas and of the diocese.  Thanks to Episcopal Church and the Visual Arts for a grant to make this video possible!

    149 years ago, the diocese met on this island to elect the first Bishop of Texas, The Right Reverend Alexander Gregg of Cheraw, South Carolina.  After Bishop Gregg was consecrated, he and his family moved to Texas, arriving in Galveston.  His first acts as Bishop  of Texas, on Sunday, December 11, 1859, were on this island.  The Altar of St. Augustine’s Church, which will be used at the opening worship service of this year’s Council, is the Altar at which Bishop Gregg celebrated his first Eucharist in Texas.  The pulpit of Trinity Church, which will be moved to the site of the service on Friday night, is a memorial to Bishop Gregg.

    The witness of the Episcopal Church on Galveston Island for the reign of Christ continues today through the ministries of three congregations and two diocesan missions.  The Episcopal Church Welcomes You!

  • December Ember Days

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    In the Episcopal Church, we observe Ember Days four times a year primarily by offering prayers for the ministry.  Those who are preparing for Holy Orders in this Church customarily write "Ember Day Letters" to their bishops.

    The name for the observance may come from the Anglo-Saxon ymb-ren – a circuit or revolution; something that recurs. Or, it may come from the German quatember, a corruption of the Latin quatuor tempora – "Four Times."

    The observances are always on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of the weeks following St. Lucy's Day (December 13), The First Sunday in Lent, Pentecost, and Holy Cross Day (September 14).  These times are almost equidistant in the circuit of the year.  Prior to Christianity, they appear to have originally been times of prayer and fasting originally related to the agricultural cycle.  Some believed that the weather on each of the three days predicted the weather in each of the following three months.  Excellent articles about Ember Days may be found on Episcopal Cafe and Wikipedia.

    In any event, we are invited to pray at this time for those to be ordained, for the choice of fit persons for the ministry, and for all christians in their vocation.  The prayers which follow are from The Book of Common Prayer and are especially appropriate for use on Ember Days.

    I. For those to be ordained

    Almighty God, the giver of all good gifts, in your divine providence you have appointed various orders in your Church: Give your grace, we humbly pray, to all who are [now] called to any office and ministry for your people; and so fill them with the truth of your doctrine and clothe them with holiness of life, that they may faithfully serve before you, to the glory of your great Name and for the benefit of your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

    II. For the choice of fit persons for the ministry

    O God, you led your holy apostles to ordain ministers in every place: Grant that your Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may choose suitable persons for the ministry of Word and Sacrament, and may uphold them in their work for the extension of your kingdom; through him who is the Shpeherd and Bishop of our souls, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

    III. For all Christians in their vocation

    Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers, which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.