200 W Lang St, Alvin, TX 77511-2396 I 281-331-5657 I 281-331-1355 I www.gracechurchalvin.com

O ne Go d — O ne Fami ly — O ne T ab le

Stations of the Cross

Every Friday in Lent, we offer a devotional reflection on Christ’s passion called Stations of the Cross. We have several different forms, but its basic content is a series of fourteen reflections on the movement of Jesus from his sentencing before Pontius Pilate, to his burial in the tomb. It starts at 7:00 P.M. every Friday in Lent, beginning, February 20.

Lenten Suppers

Sundays in Lent 5:00-7:00 PM

Our Lenten Program for 2015 is an Exploration of Christian Practice in a five part Series beginning Sunday, February 22. The topics explored will be: Why Pray? Why Study? Why Meditate? Why Serve? and Why Invite? They will give the practical and theological rationale for these practices of the Christian Faith, and also some description of how they can be accomplished. We are securing guest speakers for the topic. This will be a rich opportunity for learning, inspiration, good food and fellowship.

February 2015

The Outpost

Catch us on Facebook Grace Episcopal Church Alvin

Lenten Discipline

Lent is a season of preparation leading up to Easter. It is the forty days plus the six Sundays before Easter. For centuries, it has been observed as a time of self- examination and penitence.

Throughout Lent, Church worship services are simpler in tone. Crosses are veiled. The word “Alleluia” is not used in the liturgy. These practices mark this season as a special time for spiritual discipline.

Lent is also a time for reflection and prayer.

We should pray more deeply and experience

sorrow for the sins we committed or the things

we have failed to do.

Many people choose to engage in a Lenten

discipline. This may involve “giving something

up for Lent” or may be the addition of spiritual

discipline in preparation for Easter. Consider

adding attendance at the Lenten Suppers or

Stations of the Cross, or both, as part of your

Lenten discipline.

In this Edition

Vestry Highlights Page 2

Rector’s Article Page 3

Programs and Offerings Page 4

February Calendar Page 6

Parish Prayer List Page 7

Ministries

Altar Guild Director:

S Wayne Mathis, mathistribe@mindspring.com

Congregational Care Council

Deacon CarolAnn Mills, 281-756-8009 Lydia Quiroz, lydiam2658@yahoo.com Mary Smith, mebsmith@comcast.net

Liturgy & Worship Council

John Bergmann, 281-331-6908 Mary Smith, mebsmith@comcast.net

Media & Communications Council

John Bergmann, 281-331-6908 Donna Tate, Donna.s.tate@att.net

Mission & Outreach Council

Ken Havens, 281-585-3327 Lydia Quiroz, lydiam2658@yahoo.com Aubrey Stokes, musicofthenight1086

@yahoo.com Donna Tate, Donna.s.tate@att.net

Spiritual Formation Council Kati Garner, kati05@att.net

Frances Lamb, 281-814-0867 or flambt64@yahoo.com

Deacon Joe Mills, k5jmml@yahoo.com Aubrey Stokes, musicofthenight1086

@yahoo.com

Lay Ministry Scheduler: S Wayne Mathis,

mathistribe@mindspring.com

Vergers: John Bergmann

Kati Garner S Wayne Mathis

Bryan Foulk

Vestry: Jim Callan, Senior Warden 2015 james.callan@shell.com Jo Nell Parker, Junior Warden 2015 jnparkerkw@hotmail.com Janice Bell, jsbell_7@hotmail.com Brian Foulk, 281-827-5977 Sandra Green, jjr8647@sbcgolbal.net Frances Lamb, 281-814-0867, flamb64@yahoo.com Ken Havens, 281-585-3327 Lydia Quiroz, lydiam2658@yahoo.com JR Denson, 832-443-4575, jrdenson70@gmail.com

VESTRY VOLITIONS The vestry met on January 12th. Discussions included: 1. Annual Parish Meeting, 2. Current Stewardship cam-paign, 3. Parish Council business and meetings, 4. New cleaning company. The next meeting is Monday, February 16th at 7:00 pm. These meetings, which are held in the Admin Building conference room, are public and anyone is welcome.

Complete minutes are posted

on the Parish Hall Bulletin Board.

Income $184,743.00 (91.9% of budget)

Expenses 194,959.20 (91.4% of budget)

Gain (Loss) ($ 10,216.20)

Celebrate Life

The Office: 112 W. Lang Hours: M-F 9:00-1:00

The Staff

Rector: The Reverend David W. Price davidprice56@yahoo.com Youth Minister: Deacon: CarolAnn Mills camprayer@yahoo.com Deacon: Dr. Joseph M. Mills k5jmml@yahoo.com Organist & Music Director: Paul Humphrey humphreyp@pearlandisd.org Parish Administrator: Danny Hermann gracechurchalvin@hotmail.com

Outpost Edi tor: JR Denson : : gracechurchoutpos t@gmai l .com : : 832 -443-4575

3 Josh Weber

6 Lydia Quiroz

8 Nathan Thompson

9 JR Denson

13 Mark Patterson

13 Linda Thurmond

14 Heather Mathis

15 Naomi Hall

16 Vicki Ennis

16 Maedell Ercums

17 Claire Peebler

19 H. Carver Mathis

25 Paul Humphrey

27 Jan Bettes

Ha

ppy

Bir

thda

y

Ken & Betty Havens Feb. 9 Joe & Joan Rossano Feb. 20

Our Numbers:

Year End 2014

Page 2

A Few Moments with Father David…

God Made Manifest

Manifest on mountain height, shining in resplendent light

here disciples filled with awe thy transfigured glory saw.

When from there thou leddest them steadfast to Jerusalem,

cross and Easter Day attest God in man made manifest.

So goes the final stanza of one of the great hymns of Epiphany. In this

hymn, the phrases touch on many of the events of Jesus’ life that are

associated with the season of Sundays after Epiphany. The word “epiphany”

is related to something being shown or made manifest. In the case of our

liturgical season it is the glory of Christ’s identity as the Son of God, the

Christ that is being shown. In addition to the story of the wise men

following the star, and the baptism of our Lord, as epiphany stories, we see

stories of the water turned to wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, other

miracles, and the calling of the apostles. The crescendo of these

manifestations of Christ’s glory falls on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany,

it is his Transfiguration, with his bright face and raiment, and God, the

Father’s voice again declaring his divine place.

I want us to think about how God is manifest in Christ, but also, how Christ,

is daily manifest in you, as you let him. Among the things I love about this

season, and this hymn, is the way they survey the “Season of Light,” and

then points us to the path of Lent toward Jerusalem, toward the Passion of

our Lord. The Last Sunday after The Epiphany, leads us to Ash Wednesday,

and the First Sunday in Lent. The first is the story of God in Christ manifest

in glory, the second is the story of God in Christ manifest in the cross and in

his Passion. The wise man came to adore him resting in the wood of the

manger, we all come through Lent to adore him on the wood of the cross.

That is the mystery of Christ’s incarnation. He was truly God, as is clear in

his moments of glory, and he was truly human as is clear in the humility of

his crucifixion. God, in this human form was manifest in resplendent light

as he was Transfigured. God in this human form was made manifest in his

saving death on the cross.

Let the reflection on Christ this month, work in you, and let Christ glory be

manifest in you. In your words, and in your actions, it will take place. Don’t

miss the Sundays in Epiphany. And don’t miss Ash Wednesday 2/22, and

the Sundays in Lent. We are like Peter, James and John, disciples who

“filled with awe, Christ’s transfigured glory saw.” From there on that

mountain, we are lead steadfast to Jerusalem. There too, seeing the cross,

then seeing the empty tomb we will be seeing God manifest.

Grace Episcopal Church

One God One Family One Table

Vision

Grace Episcopal Church seeks to deepen relationships with God, bring individuals together into a family that builds up one another in love and support, and actively serve our neighbors and community.

Mission

In this family of faith God brings together individuals in all stages of their spiritual life to form an inclusive family. As a family, we encourage growth in relationships with God, others, ourselves, and the creation, in that we

Practice invitation to God’s table,

Welcome and incorporate those who come,

Work together to worship the Lord in powerful liturgy,

Challenge, encourage and teach one another, and

Build one another up for ministry in and beyond the church.

Page 3

Page 4

Flowers for 2015 The flower donation book has been updated and is on the Narthex table. The altar will be adorned with cut flowers until Lent. During Lent, a more austere display will be on the altar and in the chapel. Lilies are traditionally placed on the altar for Easter and the following Sunday. Cut flowers will begin again on April 19th and continue until Advent begins on November 29th. To maintain this ambitious flower schedule, donations for cut flowers can be made by signing up in the flower book and placing a $35 dollar donation marked "FLOWERS" into the offering plate or by contacting the office. Please keep in mind that our weekly flower cost has remained unchanged for many years and reflects the generosity of the florist. Please take a minute and sign up to donate flowers that will beautify our wonderful church. There are many open Sundays.

AIDS

Walk

Houston Teams are forming for the AIDS Walk Houston, which will be on March 8th. Grace folks have always done a great job of joining with the Diocesan team to raise money for this worthwhile cause. Please contact S Wayne Mathis 832 630 0651 to make a donation or to join the walkers.

End-of-Summer Retreat An End of Summer Retreat is being planned at the Episcopal Conference Center in Port Aransas, TX. The only date available was the last weekend in August (8/29-8/31). The cost is approximately $240.00 per person. This price includes a beach front room (double occupancy), all meals and use of the family gathering center. A deposit of $60.00 is due in Feb and a monthly payment of $30.00 x 6 months (There is a discounted rate for children under 10). A few ladies from the women's group attended previously and had a wonde r f u l bond in g and hea l i ng experience. The 2015 retreat is open to any of Grace Episcopal Congregation, family, and friends of all ages. Please contact Jennifer Weaver at 832-242-1803 to sign up or for any questions.

Lent Suppers Needed If you are interested in being part of a team to provide our suppers on Sunday evenings during Lent, please contact Frances Lamb or Jo Nell Parker. These simple suppers are great ways to get involved with our Lenten program.

From the Treasurer

During the annual parish meeting held on January 18th, I outlined our financial situation as we ended

2014 and headed into 2015. In 2014, we ended the year $10,216.20 in the red, which was actually better than the $12,200.23 that was projected. That was somewhat good news if you like deficits. The bad news comes in 2015. As of this writing, we have received only 53 pledges, totaling $124,604.00. These pledge dollars along with our random sources of income total $154,969.00. Our projected expenses for 2015 are $200,264.68. That is a projected deficit of $45,295.68. To make matters worse, those projected expenses only contain items required to operate, such as salaries and their related costs, facility maintenance, office & worship supplies, insurance, and our diocesan commitment. There is no money in the budget for any of our program costs, such as Christian education, Youth activities, hospitality, and outreach, which are our core missions. In order to fully fund these missions we need to make up this $45, 000+ deficit plus bring in another two to three thousand dollars more. As of our year-end bank statement, we had only $37,478.60 in operating capital. Based on our current projected income and expenses, we will run out of funds by the

end of October. We need everybody’s help! If you haven’t pledged, please do so. If you have pledged, you may want to reconsider your gift. The vestry has already started discussing other ways to balance the budget by looking for additional low-cost income opportunities that involve the community, such as suppers and garage sales. Please talk to a vestry member if you have any ideas. On the expense side, we’ve replaced our janitorial service with a less expensive contractor, and we’ve been able to negotiate cheaper electricity rates now for when our current contracts expire in June. It will take all of us working together to work our way through this tough financial time. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Grace Church Sunday School

Children’s Classes All Ages of Children Welcome Sundays 9:15-10:15am

Adult Classes Sundays 9:15 –10:15am Lectionary Class—Deacon Joe Mills, Coffee Discussions—A kind of “Sharing Class” Sunday Evenings 7 pm @ The Mills Home Tuesday-Rector’s Bible Study 11:00am to 12:30pm Great Courses, Video Lectures by Professor Newburg

Page 5

EYC will meet

Wednesdays from

7:00-8:30PM

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper February 17 5:30-7:30PM

Ash Wednesday Services February 18 7:00AM, 12:00 noon, and 7:00 PM

Stations of the Cross February 20 & 27 7:00PM

Lenten Supper Program February 22 at 5:00

Page 6

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

Holy Eucharist (I) --

8:00 AM

Christian Education Programs

Holy Eucharist (II) --

10:30 AM

Spiritual Formation

Council 12:00noon

Bible Study, 7 PM

Mills’ Home

2

Media & Communica-

tions Council 6:15pm

Finance Committee

7:15pm

3

Rector’s Bible Study

11:00am

Congregational Care

Council 6:30pm

BSA Pack 400—7:00pm

ALANON—7:30pm

4

Cubs 6:00pm

EYC 7:00pm

Parish Choir 7:00pm

5 6

Diocesan Council

7

Diocesan Council

8

Holy Eucharist (I) -- 8:00 AM

Christian Education

Programs Holy Eucharist (II) --

10:30 AM

Bible Study, 7 PM

Mills’ Home

9

Liturgy & Worship

Council 6:30 pm

10

Rector’s Bible Study

11:00am

BSA Pack 400—7:00pm

ALANON—7:30pm

11

Cubs 6:00pm

EYC 7:00pm

Parish Choir 7:00pm

12 13 14

Valentine’s Day

BSA Pack 400

Spaghetti Bistro

6-8 pm

15

Holy Eucharist (I) -- 8:00 AM

Christian Education

Programs Holy Eucharist (II) --

10:30 AM

Bible Study, 7 PM

Mills’ Home

16 Presidents’ Day 17 Shrove Tuesday

Rector’s Bible Study

11:00am

Pancake Supper

5:30-7:30pm

BSA Pack 400—7:00pm

ALANON—7:30pm

18 Ash Wednesday

Holy Eucharist 7:00am

Holy Eucharist 12:00

noon

Cubs 6:00pm

EYC 7:00pm

Holy Eucharist 7:00pm

Parish Choir 7:00pm

19 20

Stations of the Cross

7:00pm

21

Scrapbooking

10:00am-4:00pm

22

Holy Eucharist (I)

8:00AM

Christian Education Programs

Holy Eucharist (II)

10:30 AM

Lenten Prog. 5 pm

Bible Study, 7 PM

Mills’ Home

23

Vestry 7:00pm

24

Rector’s Bible Study

11:00am

BSA Pack 400—7:00pm

ALANON—7:30pm

25

Cubs 6:00pm

EYC 7:00pm

Parish Choir 7:00pm

26 27

Stations of the Cross

7:00pm

28

Let us pray

for the Church

and for the world.

Grant, Almighty God, that all who confess your name may be united in your truth, live together in your love and reveal your glory to the world.

Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Reverend Justin Welby Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Dr. Katherine Jefferts Schori Diocesan Bishop, The Right Reverend C Andrew Doyle Bishop Suffragan, The Right Reverend Dena Harrison Bishop Suffragan, The Right Reverend Jeff Fisher Grace Rector, The Reverend David W Price Grace Deacon, The Reverend CarolAnn Mills Grace Deacon, The Reverend Dr. Joseph M Mills Priest, The Reverend Nan Doerr, Priest, retired Grace Music Director and Organist, Paul Humphrey

Guide the people of this land, and all of the nations, in the ways of justice and peace; that we may honor one another and serve the common good.

Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours and grant that we may serve Christ in them and love one another a he loves us.

Our Administrators, Altar Guild, Bible Studies, Children’s Ministries, Christian Education, Cursillo, Community Outreach, Daughters of the King, Family Promise, Grace Guild, KAIROS Prison Ministry, Lay Ministers, Music Ministry, Senior Saints, Youth Ministry, Vestry, and all others serving you.

Comfort and heal all those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit; give them courage and hope in their troubles, and bring them the joy of your salvation...

Barbara Adkison, Sue Adkison, Donna Alexander, Bob Armstrong, Jean Bilderback, Lynne Bruner, Ted Doerr, Jay Fitch, Marjorie Lawrence, Ben Lockett, Jose Marribattista, Kenneth Marvel, Ann Oliver, Bob Peebles, Joe Rossano, Fran van Winkle, Cheyenne Wade, Mary Frances Wissner.

Our college students in their journey.

Andrew Price, University of Texas, San Antonio Aubrey Stokes, University of Houston Brittney Steiner, Alvin Community College Elizabeth Russell, Texas Tech University Grace Windsor, Alvin Community College John Evans, Texas A & M University Linda Thurmond, Alvin Community College Virginia Stokes, Texas Tech University

Elizabeth Stokes, Sam Houston State University

Protect and guide all who serve in the military.

Mickey Alcantara (USMC), Scott Barrier (USAF), Scott Bean, Robert Berger (USN), Christian Blevins, Jason Bryan, Chase Capehart, Taylor Cameron (USN), Robert Carnie (USN), Ryan Cross, Clayton Crouch, David Dezso, Glen Dockal (USA), Raymond Dugan (USN), Thomas Economidis (USN), Mitchell Goodnight, Matt (USN) & David Hefner (USA), Lance Henderson, Keith (USN) & Kurt (USMC), Adam Miller, Ben Meyer (USCG), Shon O’Connor, Tara Parker, Daniel Popham, Ryan Popham, Jonathan Prater, Rusty Rand (USAF) , N ick Ri tch (USA) , Manue l Rodriguez, Josh Sager (USAF), Russell Stewart (USAF), John Swanson, William Thompson, Ray Turner, Clint Zgarba (USN).

Our expectant mothers:

Skylar Garcia, friend of Elizabeth Stokes

Adelaide Lyons, daughter of Heather Roy

Emily Hatzel, daughter of Jennifer and David Price

Our newborns:

Faithful Departed:

We commend to your mercy O Lord, your servant Mary Ellen Cooper that your will for her may be fulfilled; and we pray that they may rest with all your saints in your eternal kingdom.

Guide and protect our First Responders.

Other prayer concerns:

Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.

Matthew 21:22

Page 7

200 W. Lang St. Office @ 112 W. Lang St. Alvin, TX 77511-2396

Services

Sunday Worship 8a.m. Rite I

9:15 a.m. Sunday School 10:30 a.m. Rite II

Morning Prayer

7a.m. Sunday 8:30 a.m. Mon-Sat.

Evening Prayer*

6pm Daily *Healing prayer Wednesdays

Upcoming Features of Parish Life

February 14—Troop 400 Spaghetti Bistro 6 – 8 pm.

February 17—Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper

5:30pm-7:30pm.

February 18—Ash Wednesday Services at 7:00am,

12:00 noon, and 7:00pm.

February 20—Stations of the Cross at 7:00pm.

February 22—Lenten Program at 5:00pm.

February 27—Stations of the Cross at 7:00pm.

Member of

Episcopal Diocese of Texas, epicenter.org

National Episcopal Church, episcopalchurch.org

Worldwide Anglican Communion, anglicancommunion.org

Alvin-Manvel Ministerial Alliance, ministerialalliance.net

One God - One Family - One Table

Need a ride to Church? Please call Deacon CarolAnn Mills at 281-756-8009