St. Gregory the Illuminator

Today the Church remembers the life and ministry of St. Gregory the Illuminator who lived in the third century.  James Kiefer writes:

 

The ancient kingdom of Armenia was the first country to become Christian, and it recognizes Gregory as its apostle. Armenia was a buffer state between the powerful empires of Rome and Parthia (Persia), and both of them sought to control it. Gregory was born about 257. When he was still an infant, his father assassinated the King of Parthia, and friends of the family carried Gregory away for protection to Caesarea in Cappadocia, where he was reared as a Christian. About 280 he returned to Armenia, where he was at first treated severely, but eventually by his preaching and example brought both King Tiridates and a majority of his people to the Christian faith. About 300, Gregory was consecrated the first bishop of Armenia. He died about 332. Armenian Christians to this day remember him with honor and gratitude. 

 

Let us pray:  Almighty God, whose will it is to be glorified in your saints, and who raised up your servant Gregory the Illuminator to be a light in the world, and to preach the Gospel to the people of Armenia: Shine, we pray, in our hearts, that we also in our generation may show forth your praise, who called us out of darkness into your marvelous light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

 

CALENDAR REMINDERS

 

Lenten Program, The Rule of Life, is at St. Augustine’s this Wednesday starting at 6 PM.  Please remember to bring a soup or a salad for the meal.  The Rev. Dr. Mark Crawford will be our speaker.  Fr. Crawford was educated at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and Oxford University prior to his ordination.  Thereafter, he earned his Doctorate of Ministry at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He is currently serving as the interim rector at St. Mark’s in Beaumont.

 

Senior Health Lunches with hosted by the Rev. Dr. Helen Appelberg and UTMB at St. Augustine’s starting Tuesday, 14 April at 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM.  Come and learn about health issues from trained medical professional speakers.  Spanish speakers are especially welcome since there will be someone from UTMB providing translations.  Please get the word out!

 

The Annual BBQ with Bigmista is right around the corner, 2 May.  Pitch in and help!

 

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially those recovering from surgery.

 

Your servant in Christ,

 

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church

Galveston, Texas 77550

James T. Holly, First African-American Episcopal Bishop

On this Friday in the third Week of Lent we remember the life and ministry of James Theodore Holly, the first African-American Bishop in the Episcopal Church.  From the Episcopal Archives we read:

 

Born in Washington, D.C. as a descendent of free slaves, Holly was baptized and confirmed a Roman Catholic. His early years were spent in D.C. and Brooklyn where he connected with Frederick Douglas and other black abolitionists. After a dispute over the ordination of black clergy, Holly left the Catholic Church and joined the Episcopal Church in 1851. As an Episcopalian, Holly attended the first National Emigration Convention as a delegate and was selected commissioner for the newly formed National Emigration Board. Under the auspices of this office, he traveled to Haiti in order to negotiate an emigration treaty. While there, he explored the possibility of establishing a mission for the Episcopal Church. Upon Holly’s return to the United States, he requested that he be sent to Haiti to serve as a missionary, a request denied by the Board of Missions of the Episcopal Church.

 

In 1856 Holly was ordained a priest in New Haven, Connecticut. That same year he co-founded the Protestant Episcopal Society for Promoting the Extension of the Church Among Colored People, which challenged the Church to take a position at General Convention against slavery. Holly served as rector at St Luke’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut until 1861 during which time he traveled and extolled the benefits of emigration to Haiti, a country where slaves had led a successful revolt and overthrown their European forces. He viewed Haiti as an opportunity for blacks to bind together and establish a black nation in the Western hemisphere. Holly believed that bringing Anglicanism to Haiti would help to stabilize and develop the country more expeditiously.

 

Upon Holly’s resignation from his position at St. Luke’s in 1861, he led a group of 110 people to Haiti. Many in the group were congregants of St. Luke’s and subscribed to Holly’s vision for Haiti. Despite the obstacles, they succeeded in the establishment of a mission in Haiti. The disease and poor living conditions plaguing the settlers (forty-three members died of yellow fever and malaria during the first year, including his mother, wife and two of his children), prompted many of them to return to the United States. Holly remained with only the most dedicated followers to establish schools, a church, and programs in pastoral training and countryside medicine.

 

It was not until 1865 and after many denied requests, that Holly finally began to receive limited sponsorship from the Board of Missions for his work in Haiti. After serving as consul for Liberia at Port-au-Prince from 1864 to1874, Holly was consecrated missionary bishop to Haiti at Grace Episcopal Church in New York City, becoming the first African American bishop in the Episcopal Church. As bishop, Holly served as a delegate to the Lambeth conference in England, and received a doctoral degree from Howard University and an honorary law degree from Liberia College, Monrovia. He continued to live and work in Haiti, returning rarely to the United States, until his death in 1911.  See http://www.episcopalarchives.org/Afro-Anglican_history/exhibit/leadership/holly.php

 

Let us pray:  Most gracious God, by the calling of your servant James Theodore Holly, you gave us our first bishop of African-American heritage. In his quest for life and freedom, he led your people from bondage into a new land and established the Church in Haiti. Grant that, inspired by his testimony, we may overcome our prejudice and honor those whom you call from every family, language, people, and nation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

 

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

 

Lenten Series, Rule of Life, Wednesday, 18 March at GRACE starting at 6 PM.  The speaker will be Canon Mary McGregor.

 

Seaside Seniors, Thursday, 19 March in Sutton Hall at St. Augustine from 11 AM to 2 PM.

Our 5th Annual Bigmista BBQ is around the corner, 2 May 2015.  It's time to get in gear!

 

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.

 

Your servant in Christ,

 

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church

Galveston, Texas  77550

The Light of the World

The appointed Gospel for the Church’s Daily Prayer continues in John:

 

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’ Then the Pharisees said to him, ‘You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.’ Jesus answered, ‘Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.’ Then they said to him, ‘Where is your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’ He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. (Jn. 8:12-20).

 

How many times have you heard someone say that these are “dark days”?  If we are walking in darkness, we need the light.  Jesus tells us today that he is the light of the world.  If we walk with the light of Jesus, no matter how dark things may seem, we will always be walking in the light of life.

 

Let us pray:  Almighty God, you have poured upon us the light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; 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

 

Wednesday, 11 March at 6 PM, the Rule of Life, starting with Stations of the Cross, Eucharist and a light meal with a presentation by KariAnn Lessner the new Families and Youth minister at Christ Church Cathedral.  For our St. Augustine family, please remember to bring a soup or salad to share,

 

Seaside Seniors on Thursday, 19 March at 11AM.

 

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.

 

Your servant in Christ,

 

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church

Galveston, Texas 77550

 

Living Waters

On this Tuesday in the third week of Lent, the appointed Gospel reading for the Church’s Daily Prayer is taken from John:

 

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.”’ Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

 

When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, ‘This is really the prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Messiah.’ But some asked, ‘Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?’ So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

 

Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why did you not arrest him?’ The police answered, ‘Never has anyone spoken like this!’ Then the Pharisees replied, ‘Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law—they are accursed.’ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, ‘Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?’ They replied, ‘Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.’ (Jn. 7:37-52).

 

We all know someone who is looking for something in their lives. We may be those very people.  People thirst for meaning in their lives.  Jesus tells them: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.”  Only God can satisfy our truest and deepest desires.  Come to Jesus and let him refresh you and satisfy your thirst.

 

Let us pray:  Lord Jesus, you are the Living Water that satisfies our deepest thirst. Send your Holy Spirit to give us the grace to drink deeply from life giving water.  Amen.

 

CALENDAR REMINDERS

 

Wednesday, 11 March at 6 PM, the Rule of Life, starting with Stations of the Cross, Eucharist and a light meal with a presentation by KariAnn Lessner the new Families and Youth minister at Christ Church Cathedral.  For our St. Augustine family, please remember to bring a soup or salad to share,

 

Seaside Seniors on Thursday, 19 March at 11AM.

 

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.

 

Your servant in Christ,

 

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church

Galveston, Texas 77550

The Rev. Paul Cuffee

Today the Church remembers the life and ministry of Paul Cuffee:

 

A little west of the junction of the old road to Riverhead is a small tract of land owned by the Shinnecock tribe of Indians, although how it came into their possession is unknown. Upon this tract is a plain marble tombstone, surrounded by a neat fence. This marks the last resting place of Rev. Paul Cuffee. The tombstone tells its own story: "Erected by the New York Missionary Society, in memory of the Rev. Paul Cuffee, an Indian of the Shinnecock tribe, who was employed by the Society for the last thirteeen years of his life, on the Eastern part of Long Island, where he labored the fidelity and success. Humble, pious and indefatigable in testifying the gospel of the grace of God, he finished his course with joy on the 7th of March, 1812, aged 55 years and 3 days". . . . The journeyings of Paul Cuffee extended from Poosepatuck to Montauk, and were made on foot.

 

— from A History of Long Island, from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. 2, by William S Pelletreau (1905).

 

Let us pray: Almighty God, you empowered Paul Cuffee to be a powerful evangelist and preacher and so to win many souls for Christ among the Native Americans of Long Island: Help us to proclaim your Word with power, in the Name of the same Jesus Christ; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Patricia High, wife of the Rt. Rev. Rayford B. High, Jr., died March 4 at her home. She was 72. Services in celebration of her life will be at 1 p.m. March 7 at  All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 5001 Crestline Road, Fort Worth. The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, Bishop of Texas, will officiate.  Let us pray: Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant Patricia. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive her into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

 

CALENDAR REMINDERS

 

Tonight at Grace Episcopal Church we have the second speaker in our Lenten Series, Rule of Life, with the Very Rev. Barkley Thompson, Dean of the Cathedral at 6 PM with Stations of the Cross, Eucharist, dinner and our speaker!

 

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.

 

Your servant in Christ,

 

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church

Galveston, Texas 77550

St. Chad of Lichfield

On this Monday in the second week of Lent, the Church remembers the life and ministry of St. Chad, Bishop of Lichfield.  James Kiefer writes:

 

Chad, Bishop of Lichfield, is perhaps best known for not being Archbishop of York. He was elected and duly installed, but various persons raised objections, and rather than cause division in the Church he withdrew in favor of the other candidate, Wilfrid (see 12 Oct). (The objection was that some of the bishops who had consecrated him--although not Chad himself--were holdouts who, even after the Synod of Whitby had supposedly settled the question in 663, insisted on preserving Celtic customs on the date of celebrating Easter and similar questions, instead of conforming to the customs of the remainder of Western Christendom.) He was soon after made Bishop of Lichfield in Mercia. There he travelled about as he had when Archbishop of York, always on foot (until the Archbishop of Canterbury gave him a horse and ordered him to ride it, at least on long journeys), preaching and teaching wherever he went. He served there for only two and a half years before his death, but he made a deep impression. In the following decades, many chapels, and many wells, were constructed in Mercia and named for him. (It was an old custom to dig a well where one was needed, and to mark it with one's own name or another's, that thirsty travelers and others might drink and remember the name with gratitude.)

 

Let us pray:  Almighty God, whose servant Chad, for the peace of the Church, relinquished cheerfully the honors that had been thrust upon him, only to be rewarded with equal responsibility: Keep us, we pray, from thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, and ready at all times to step aside for others, (in honor preferring one another,) that the cause of Christ may be advanced; in the name of him who washed his disciples' feet, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

 

CALENDAR REMINDERS

 

Join us for the second Island-wide Lenten teaching Wednesday, March 4, 2015

 

         THE RULE OF LIFE

 

                  Wednesday, March 4

                  Grace Episcopal Church

                  1115 36th Street

                  6:00 p.m. Eucharist in the Church

                  6:30 p.m. Light meal and teaching in Jinkins Hall

 

         On this Wednesday we welcome The Very Rev. Barkley Thompson Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Houston

 

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially Liz, Susan, Carol, Raul, Lee’s father, those who are alone, those who have no one to pray for them.

 

Your servant in Christ,

 

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church

Galveston, Texas 77550