The Present Is the First Step into the Eternal

The appointed Gospel reading for the daily prayer of the Church is taken from the Gospel according to John:

Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomsoever he wishes. The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.

‘Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.  (Jn 5: 19-29).

The present is part of the eternal.  The relationships we develop and cherish, the things that we hold important in the present, last into eternity.  If we honor the Father and his Son today, if that relationship is important to us, it will last into the future where we will hear his voice and come forth from the grave.  Conversely, if we live our lives today focused on evil, we will have developed an eternal relationship with it.  So today matters for tomorrow.  Listen for Jesus’ voice today, and believe in him so that you may pass from death to life.

Let us pray:  Gracious Father, give us the grace of the Holy Spirit to follow your Son Jesus Christ today and to cherish our relationship with you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

The Lenten Series continues next Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church where we will hear from Kathy Culmer.

Friday and Saturday, 8 & 9 March, Wine Glass and Art Class with Lee Runion.

We will host St. Christopher’s quiet day and vestry planning day at St. Augustine’s the 9th of March.

Quiet Day of Prayer at Grace Episcopal, Saturday, 16 March from 9 A.M. to Noon with the Rev. Kate Picot, associate rector at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Houston.

Adult Christian Education Series continues this Sunday come and join us as Jillian and Tom Bain guide us through the Scripture behind Handel’s Messiah. This is a wonderful study!

Remember to collect those paper towel tubes and oatmeal containers for the Summer Art Camp at St. Augustine’s.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially Gladys and Pat.

Your servant in Christ,

The Rev. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

George Herbert: Poet & Priest

Today the Church remembers George Herbert, priest and poet, who lived in England from 1593 to 1633.  Herbert was born in Wales and went to university at Trinity College, Cambridge.  He gave up his secular ambitions and he was ordained an Anglican priest in 1630.  Herbert spent the rest of his life, a mere 3 years after ordination, as the rector of the little parish of Fugglestone (St. Peter) and neighboring Bemerton (St. Andrew), near Salisbury. He was noted for unfailing care for his parishioners, bringing the sacraments to them when they were ill, and providing food and clothing for those in need.

His poetry is very well known, and you may remember it from school days.  Here is his poem Good Friday:

O my chief good,

How shall I measure out thy blood?
How shall I count what thee befell,
And each grief tell?

Shall I thy woes

Number according to thy foes?
Or, since one star show'd thy first breath,
Shall all thy death?

Or shall each leaf,

Which falls in Autumn, score a grief?
Or cannot leaves, but fruit be sign
Of the true vine?

Then let each hour

Of my whole life one grief devour:
That thy distress through all may run,
And be my sun.

Or rather let

My several sins their sorrows get;
That as each beast his cure doth know,
Each sin may so.

Since blood is fittest, Lord to write

Thy sorrows in, and bloody fight;
My heart hath store, write there, where in
One box doth lie both ink and sin:

That when sin spies so many foes,

Thy whips, thy nails, thy wounds, thy woes
All come to lodge there, sin may say,
'No room for me', and fly away.

Sin being gone, oh fill the place,

And keep possession with thy grace;
Lest sin take courage and return,
And all the writings blot or burn.

Let us pray:  Our God and King, who called your servant George Herbert from the pursuit of worldly honors to be a pastor of souls, a poet, and a priest in your temple: Give us grace, we pray, joyfully to perform the tasks you give us to do, knowing that nothing is menial or common that is done for your sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

Today, the Lenten Series continues at 6 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church on 1115 36th Street on the Island. This week we will hear from Fr. Peter and Br. Michael, monks of the Order of St. Benedict.

Friday and Saturday, 8 & 9 March, Wine Glass and Art Class with Lee Runion.

We will host St. Christopher’s quiet day and vestry planning day at St. Augustine’s the 9^th of March, Saturday.

Adult Christian Education Series continues this Sunday come and joing us as Jillian and Tom Bain guide us through the Scripture behind Handel's Messiah. This is a wonderful study!

Remember to collect those paper towel tubes and oatmeal containers for the Summer Art Camp at St. Augustine’s.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially Gladys and Pat.

Your servant in Christ,

The Rev. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

Are You Ashamed of the Gospel?

The appointed Epistle for the daily prayer of the Church is taken from the first chapter of Paul’s Letter to the Romans; he writes:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools; and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.  (Rm. 1:16-25).

“I am not ashamed of the gospel.”  Paul was bold in his proclamation of the gospel.  He spread the good news of Jesus to everyone no matter what the cost, even it is landed him in prison.  How many of us can honestly say that we are not ashamed of the gospel?  Have you ever been embarrassed to be a Christian in your place of work, with friends, or with family? Have you ever said a blessing at a restaurant, or would you be embarrassed to do so?  What would Paul do?

Let us pray:  Gracious Father, you gave your only begotten Son to die for us on a cross, yet there are times when we are embarrassed to proclaim his name in public.  Send your Holy Spirit to give us courage to proclaim the good news of salvation to everyone we meet by the way we live our lives.  Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

This Wednesday, the Lenten Series continues at 6 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church on 1115 36th Street on the Island. This week we will hear from Fr. Peter and Br. Michael, monks of the Order of St. Benedict.

This Friday and Saturday, Wine Glass and Art Class with Lee Runion.

We will host St. Christopher’s quiet day and vestry planning day at St. Augustine’s this Saturday.

Adult Christian Education continues this Sunday with Jillian and Tom Bain as they lead us through the Scripture behind Handel’s Messiah.  Please come and join this wonderful study.

Remember to collect those paper towel tubes and oatmeal containers for the Summer Art Camp at St. Augustine’s.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.

Your servant in Christ,

 

The Rev. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

St. Matthias

Today the Church remembers Judas’ replacement, Matthias whom we read about in the 1^st chapter of the Acts of the Apostles: 

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred and twenty people) and said, ‘Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus— for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.’ (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their language Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) ‘For it is written in the book of Psalms, “Let his homestead become desolate, and let there be no one to live in it”; and “Let another take his position of overseer.”

So one of the men who have accompanied us throughout the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.’ So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed and said, ‘Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’ And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles. (Acts 1: 15-26).

There is really nothing known about Matthias other than what we have in the text above.  However, from the text, we can glean that Matthias was a follower of Jesus for Jesus’ entire public ministry.  I wonder what he was doing when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, where he was when Jesus was brought before Pilate, and where he was when Jesus was crucified?  How did he react to all of those events?  Did he run away as so many of us would have?  Was he in the background hoping not to be identified as one of Jesus’ followers?  What was Matthias’ reaction when he heard that Jesus had risen?  There are no answers to these questions, but we do know that he was a presence in the Early Church described in Acts.  I imagine Matthias as being someone who was a hard worker, preaching the risen Christ and the good news of salvation to the people who were not famous, or rich, or powerful, but to regular work a day people making the best of everyday life.  That ministry is admirable indeed!

Let us pray:  O Almighty God, who in the place of Judas chose your faithful servant Matthias to be numbered among the Twelve: Grant that your Church, being delivered from false apostles, may always be ordered and guided by faithful and true pastors; 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.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

This Wednesday, the Lenten Series continues at 6 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church on 1115 36th Street on the Island.  This week we will hear from Fr. Peter and Br. Michael, monks of the Order of St. Benedict.

This Friday and Saturday, Wine Glass and Art Class with Lee Runion.

We will host St. Christopher’s quiet day and vestry planning day at St. Augustine’s this Saturday.

Remember to collect those paper towel tubes and oatmeal containers for the Summer Art Camp at St. Augustine’s.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.

Your servant in Christ,

The Rev. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

How Deep Is Your Love?

The Old Testament reading appointed for the daily prayer of the Church is taken from the 10^th chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy where we hear what God’s law is truly about:

So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being.  Although heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth with all that is in it, yet the Lord set his heart in love on your ancestors alone and chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples, as it is today. Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God; him alone you shall worship; to him you shall hold fast, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise; he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things that your own eyes have seen. Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy persons; and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in heaven. (Deut. 10: 12-22).

The creator of all that is, the very source of life for the universe, God, is concerned for those who are vulnerable.  God wants his people to care for the widow and the orphan, to love strangers, to clothe and feed those who have nothing, and to trust God.  How we treat the most vulnerable among us is a sign of how deep (or shallow) our love for God is. 

Let us pray:  Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the people of this land], that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

The next Wednesday Lenten Series will be at Grace Episcopal with the Benedictine monks, Fr. Peter and Br. Michael.

Absalom Jones Day Eucharist at Hope Episcopal Church, 1613 West 43rd Street, Houston, Texas on Saturday, 23 February 2013 at 3 pm.

DOK Quiet Day at Trinity in Dickenson on Saturday, 16 March from 9 am to 2 pm led by the Rev. Nan Doerr. Contact Teresa Antley at 281-802-5881 or the Rev. Stacy Stringer at 281-337-1833.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.

Your servant in Christ,

The Rev. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

 

John Henry Newman

Today the Episcopal Church remembers someone who was an Anglican but then became a Roman Catholic, John Henry Newman.  Newman was born on this day in February of 1801 and died on the 11^th of August 1890.  He was part of the Oxford Movement in England which sought to bring the Church of England back to its roots in the Early Church Fathers. Eventually his studies in history persuaded him to become a Roman Catholic. Both before and after becoming a Roman Catholic, Newman wrote influential books, including Via Media, Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1845), Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1865–66) and the Grammar of Assent (1870).

Newman was ordained an Anglican priest on the Feast of the Holy Trinity, 29 May 1825.  He became curate of St. Clement’s in Oxford, England. 

Newman started out as an evangelical Oxford academic, and became a leader in the Oxford Movement. Newman wrote the Tracts for the Times, whose aim was to secure for the Church of England a definite basis of doctrine and discipline. The teaching of the tracts was supplemented by Newman's Sunday afternoon sermons at St Mary's, and he was a large influence over the members of the university for some 8 years.

In 1845 Newman left the Church of England and was received into the Roman Catholic Church where he was eventually granted the rank of cardinal by Pope Leo XIII. He was instrumental in the founding of the Catholic University of Ireland, which evolved into University College, Dublin, which is now the largest university in Ireland.

Let us pray:  God of all wisdom, we thank you for John Henry Newman, whose eloquence bore witness that your Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic, and who made his own life a pilgrimage towards your truth. Grant that, inspired by his words and example, we may ever follow your kindly light till we rest in your bosom, with your dear Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, where heart speaks to heart eternally; for you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY TO THE REV. DR. ALLEN ROBINSON, WHO HELPED MAKE OUR FIRST SESSION IN THE LENTEN SERIES A GREAT SUCCESS.  WE ARE ALL LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FUTURE SESSIONS.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

The next Wednesday Lenten Series will be at Grace Episcopal with the Benedictine monks, Fr. Peter and Br. Michael.

Absalom Jones Day Eucharist at Hope Episcopal Church, 1613 West 43rd Street, Houston, Texas on Saturday, 23 February 2013 at 3 pm.

DOK Quiet Day at Trinity in Dickenson on Saturday, 16 March from 9 am to 2 pm led by the Rev. Nan Doerr. Contact Teresa Antley at 281-802-5881 or the Rev. Stacy Stringer at 281-337-1833.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.

Your servant in Christ,

The Rev. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

Frederick Douglass

During Black history month, the Church remembers someone who had a prophetic voice who worked to abolish slavery in this nation and was an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Frederick Douglass (1818 -1895). 

Douglass was born a slave in Talbot County, Maryland. He was separated from his mother when he was an infant. Douglass was taught to read by his master’s wife; the act of teaching a slave to read was illegal. 

In 1838, Douglass escaped to freedom and went to Massachusetts. 

Douglass’s abolitionist newspaper, The North Star, had as its motto: “Right is of no Sex — Truth is of no Color — God is the Father of us all, and we are all brethren.”

He believed that education was the key for African Americans to improve their lives, and he was an advocate for school desegregation.

Douglass conferred with presidents, including Abraham Lincoln in 1863 on the treatment of soldiers, and President Andrew Johnson on the subject of the vote.

Let us pray:  Almighty God, whose truth makes us free: We bless your Name for the witness of Frederick Douglass, whose impassioned and reasonable speech moved the hearts of a president and a people to a deeper obedience to Christ. Strengthen us also to be outspoken on behalf of those in captivity and tribulation, continuing in the Word of Jesus Christ our Liberator; who with you and the Holy Spirit dwells in glory everlasting. Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

The first in the Wednesday Lenten Series begins this week at St. Augustine’s with the Rev. Dr. Allen Robinson at 6 p.m. Thus far we have the following for dinner:

        Short rib and vegetable soup: Makowskis

        Green beans and rice pilaf: Taylors

Seaside Seniors meet this Thursday in Sutton Hall.

Absalom Jones Day Eucharist at Hope Episcopal Church, 1613 West 43rd Street, Houston, Texas on Saturday, 23 February 2013 at 3 pm.

DOK Quiet Day at Trinity in Dickenson on Saturday, 16 March from 9 am to 2 pm led by the Rev. Nan Doerr.  Contact Teresa Antley at 281-802-5881 or the Rev. Stacy Stringer at 281-337-1833.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.

Your servant in Christ,

The Rev. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

Martin Luther: Theologian & Reformer

Today the Episcopal Church remembers a reformer, Martin Luther, who lived from 1483 and died on this day in 1546.  There is an excellent biography of Luther by Roland Bainton, Here I Stand.

Luther lived during a time when corruption in the Church was at rampant.  Everything was for sale: from Church offices to salvation. Luther, a German monk, priest and theologian, confronted the Church and its corruption.  In 1517, Luther came across Johann Tetzel who was selling indulgences (full or partial remission of punishment in purgatory for sins which have already been forgiven).  Taking the route of academics of his day, Luther wanted to engage in debate, so he posted his now famous Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the cathedral in Wittenberg.  Here is a sample from the Ninety-Five Theses:

Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in Ordinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us, may do so by letter.  In the Name our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.  …

 

42. Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend the buying of pardons to be compared in any way to works of mercy.

43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons.

44. Because love grows by works of love, and man becomes better; but by pardons man does not grow better, only more free from penalty.

45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a man in need, and passes him by, and gives [his money] for pardons, purchases not the indulgences of the pope, but the indignation of God.

46. Christians are to be taught that unless they have more than they need, they are bound to keep back what is necessary for their own families, and by no means to squander it on pardons.

47. Christians are to be taught that the buying of pardons is a matter of free will, and not of commandment.

48. Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting pardons, needs, and therefore desires, their devout prayer for him more than the money they bring.

49. Christians are to be taught that the pope's pardons are useful, if they do not put their trust in them; but altogether harmful, if through them they lose their fear of God.

50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the pardon-preachers, he would rather that St. Peter's church should go to ashes, than that it should be built up with the skin, flesh and bones of his sheep.

51. Christians are to be taught that it would be the pope's wish, as it is his duty, to give of his own money to very many of those from whom certain hawkers of pardons cajole money, even though the church of St. Peter might have to be sold.

52. The assurance of salvation by letters of pardon is vain, even though the commissary, nay, even though the pope himself, were to stake his soul upon it.

The funds raised by the sale of indulgences were being used to build St. Peter’s in Rome.  The pope was not amused.  Eventually Luther was excommunicated by Rome. 

Luther translated the Bible into German, celebrated the Eucharist in German rather than in Latin, and worked to reform the Church. 

Let us pray:  O God, our refuge and our strength, who raised up your servant Martin Luther to reform and renew your Church in the light of your word: Defend and purify the Church in our own day and grant that, through faith, we may boldly proclaim the riches of your grace, which you have made known in Jesus Christ our Savior, who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

THANK YOU TO THE CHILDREN’S CHOIR FROM MAINLAND preparatory academy and their director Mrs. Holloway for the wonderful music yesterday!

CALENDAR REMINDERS

The first in the Wednesday Lenten Series begins this week at St. Augustine’s with the Rev. Dr. Allen Robinson at 6 p.m.  Thus far we have the following for dinner:

Short rib and vegetable soup: Makowskis

Green beans and rice pilaf: Taylors

Seaside Seniors meet this Thursday in Sutton Hall.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.

Your servant in Christ,

The Rev. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

The Psalmist's Prayer

We are now in the season of Lent, a time of reflection, prayer and reconciliation.  One of the appointed Psalms for the daily prayer of the Church today is Psalm 31:

 In you, O Lord, I seek refuge;

   do not let me ever be put to shame;
   in your righteousness deliver me.
Incline your ear to me;
  rescue me speedily.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
  a strong fortress to save me.
You are indeed my rock and my fortress;
   for your name’s sake lead me and guide me,
take me out of the net that is hidden for me,
   for you are my refuge.
Into your hand I commit my spirit;
   you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.
You hate those who pay regard to worthless idols,
   but I trust in the Lord.
I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love,
   because you have seen my affliction;
   you have taken heed of my adversities,
and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
  you have set my feet in a broad place.
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;
   my eye wastes away from grief,
   my soul and body also.
For my life is spent with sorrow,
   and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my misery,
   and my bones waste away.
 I am the scorn of all my adversaries,
   a horror to my neighbors,
an object of dread to my acquaintances;
   those who see me in the street flee from me.
I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;
   I have become like a broken vessel.
For I hear the whispering of many—
   terror all around!—
as they scheme together against me,
   as they plot to take my life.
But I trust in you, O Lord;
   I say, ‘You are my God.’
My times are in your hand;
   deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
   save me in your steadfast love.
Do not let me be put to shame, O Lord,
   for I call on you;
let the wicked be put to shame;
   let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.
Let the lying lips be stilled
   that speak insolently against the righteous
   with pride and contempt.
O how abundant is your goodness
   that you have laid up for those who fear you,
and accomplished for those who take refuge in you,
   in the sight of everyone!
In the shelter of your presence you hide them
   from human plots;
you hold them safe under your shelter
   from contentious tongues.
Blessed be the Lord,
   for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
   when I was beset as a city under siege.
I had said in my alarm,
   ‘I am driven far from your sight.’
But you heard my supplications
   when I cried out to you for help.
Love the Lord, all you his saints.
   The Lord preserves the faithful,
   but abundantly repays the one who acts haughtily.
Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
   all you who wait for the Lord.

Let us begin this first week of Lent with the Psalmist’s prayer in today selection.  There is much to reflect on here.  One of the lines that strikes me is: “You hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord.”  What or who are the worthless idols in my life?  What have I put my trust in rather than trusting in God’s love and mercy?  I am sure there is something that speaks to you.  Incline your ear and the Lord will speak to you.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

Program at the Scott School (41^st Street & Avenue N) begins today at 3:15 p.m. and ends at 4 p.m.

Bishop’s Committee Meeting this Sunday; it is the third Sunday of the month. We will begin is as soon as practicable after the Eucharist.

Lenten Adult Christian Education Series begins this Sunday. It is from the Kerygma series and will be presented by the Bains.  Please be there.

This Wednesday is the first in the Lenten Series with our own Fr. Allen Robinson.  This is the first one in the joint series so we will have people from Trinity and Grace.  I do not know how many, but we should be prepared to feed 60 or more people.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially, Marilyn, Dave and Gladys.

Your servant in Christ,

The Rev. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”

Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten season, and we hear from the Gospel according to Luke:

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’  (Lk. 18: 9-14).

There is not one among us who has not sinned.  All of us have failed to love God with our whole hearts and minds, and we have failed to love our neighbors.  As we start this season, let us remember, like the tax collector, that we are all sinners in need of God’s mercy.  The tax collector’s prayer was one of true penitence; let our prayer be one as well.

Today we would normally celebrate the life and ministry of Absalom Jones, the first African-American priest in the Episcopal Church.  He was born into slavery in Sussex County, Delaware, on November 6, 1746. He taught himself to read and knew the New Testament thoroughly at an early age. 

 

He was allowed to work for himself in the evenings and keep his earning.  He was married in 1770. By the time Jones was 38 years old, he had purchased his wife's freedom, and his own, and had bought a house. Later he built two more houses and used them for rental income.

During this period he met Richard Allen, and they became lay preachers in St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church and lifelong friends. Their efforts met with great success, and the congregation multiplied tenfold.

Jones and Allen, in 1787, organized the Free African Society.  The Society was both religious and benevolent, helping widows and orphans and assisting in sick, relief and burial expenses, and the assimilation of newly freedmen into urban life.  Because of racial tensions and an altercation with church officials, they left St. George's congregation.

In 1792, under the leadership of Absalom Jones, "The African Church" was organized as a direct outgrowth of the Free African Society.   In 1793, the two men organized the Black community to serve as nurses and attendants during Philadelphia's severe Yellow Fever epidemic.

Jones led his African Church in applying to Bishop William White for membership in the Episcopal Church.  On Sunday, September 14, 1794, the congregation was received into the fellowship and communion of the diocese of Pennsylvania.  The following year the Diocesan Convention approved the affiliation with the stipulation that the Church could not participate in the Diocesan Convention this was not resolved until 1864. So "The African Church" became The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, and Absalom Jones was ordained deacon. Some nine years later he was ordained priest, becoming the first priest in America of African descent.

During his ministry, Absalom Jones never lost his deep conviction that religious and social action go hand in hand. He founded schools for his people, helped them in distress, and supported them in their protest against slavery and oppression.  He helped to found an insurance company, and a society which fought vice and immorality.  Absalom Jones died at his home, 32 Powell Street, Philadelphia, Pa., on this day in 1818.

Let us pray:  Set us free, heavenly Father, from every bond of prejudice and fear; that, honoring the steadfast courage of your servant Absalom Jones, we may show forth in our lives the reconciling love and true freedom of the children of God, which you have given us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO VOLUNTEERED FOR THE SCOTT SCHOOL project  yesterday, especially Stacy Putman who spearheaded the outreach!

THANK YOU TO OUR KING & QUEEN OF MARDI GRAS, THE TAYLORS, FOR HOSTING ANOTHER WONDERFUL CELEBRATION.  We had nearly 100 in attendance.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

ASH WEDNESDAY Liturgy with the Imposition of Ashes at 6 p.m.

LENTEN PROGRAM: Starting at 6 p.m. with the Way of the Cross, Eucharist, light supper and then the program with—

Feb. 20: The Rev. Allen Robinson, Rector of St. James in Baltimore, Maryland, and a Galveston native and a son of St. Augustine (1410 41st St.)

Feb. 27: Br. Michael Gallagher, OSB & Fr. Peter Funk, OSB, Benedictine Monks and Co-Founders of Holy Cross Monastery at Grace (1115 36th St.)

Mar. 6: Ms. Kathy Culmer, Storyteller & Diocesan Mission Funding Coordinator at Trinity (2216 Ball Ave)

Mar. 13: The Rev. Canon John Newton, Diocese of Texas Canon for Lifelong Christian Formation, at St. Augustine (1410 41st St.)

Mar. 20: The Rev. Pittman McGehee, Priest, Author & Jungian Analyst, at Grace (1115 36th St.)

Mar. 27: The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, Bishop of the Diocese of Texas, at Trinity (2216 Ball Ave)

3^rd ANNUAL ST. AUGUSTINE’S BIGMISTA & FRIENDS BBQ ON SATURDAY, 27 APRIL 2013. If you haven’t volunteered, please do so.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially Marilyn and her entire family, Dave, and Bob who is in hospice care.

Your servant in Christ,

 

The Rev. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550