St. Peter & St.

Paul Episcopal Church

CONNECTIONS
AUGUST VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7

V.B.S. 2010!
SPECIAL EDITION: VBS

An Afternoon of Family Fun!

On Sunday, August 15th, we will have an
afternoon of strikes and gutterballs at
Valley Bowl on Business 83 in Mission!
The cost will be just $5 for two hours of WHAT:
bowling, shoes, etc. Everyone is invited St P&P Bowl-o-Rama!
and encouraged to invite friends to come
along.
WHEN:
We would love to see everyone there! A Sunday, August 15th - 3pm
sign up sheet is on the bulletin board at WHERE:
church, along with directions—please
make sure to sign up so we have a good Valley Bowl-Mission, TX
head count! See you there!!! WHO:
Questions? Ask Heather M. or Gayle W.
EVERYONE!
 St. Peter & St. Paul Episcopal Church PAGE 2
Connections AUGUST 2010

A Mighty Oak
I am writing this article under a big oak tree up at Camp Capers, our
diocese’s summer camp. I am currently the dean (the guy in charge) of a
session with 150 Junior High kids. And while this has been an awesome
week, I am exhausted and I need a moment away from the insanity. So I
took my computer and am sitting under an enormous oak tree down by
the river.
Unfortunately, there are not nearly as many huge oak trees at Camp Capers as there used to be. The
whole camp used to be given shade by trees that had
been there since the camp was founded 80 years ago.
But now there are only a few of these big oak trees
left.
You see, Camp Capers has been fighting a losing
battle with oak wilt for years. Oak wilt is a disease, a
fungus actually, that kills trees over time and is
extremely contagious to other oaks. If you came up
to camp over the last decade, you could watch the
disease spread across the camp decimating entire
fields of oaks.
Luckily, it seems the disease has run its course and
they have planted a multitude of new trees that will
provide shade for future generations, but I cannot help but be saddened by the big empty spaces
where enormous oaks towered when I came to this camp as a camper. But somehow, this particular
tree, which was one of the biggest and oldest on camp, seemed unaffected by the oak wilt. In fact, it
looks stronger and healthier than ever.

It makes me think of the first Psalm:

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates
day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and
whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” (Psalm 1: 1-4)

God wants us to thrive. God wants us to grow. God wants us to have strength to face the struggles
of this life. God wants each of us to be like the huge oak tree, under whose shade I am sitting right
now.
In order to be like this oak tree, we have to walk with God. (I realize I mixed my metaphors; trees
don’t walk, but as I told you I am pretty tired right now.) We will thrive if we drink from the Living
Water (John 4:10). We will grow if we are fed by the Bread of Life (John 6:25). We will have
strength if we find our strength in Him. The transforming love of God can make us like this mighty
oak.
Now I have to go back to 150 teenagers bouncing off the walls. May God give me the strength of
this oak tree. I am sure I will need it.

In Christ,
Father Michael
 St. Peter & St. Paul Episcopal Church PAGE 3
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FAREWELL FROM THE HARRIS FAMILY:

“We’re moving!”
How can one small statement bring out so many emotions?
Confidence – through prayer, we have found that this is what we need to
be doing at this moment in our lives.
Fear and anxiety – constant reminders to take it back to the one who is
in charge.
Sadness – leaving all that we know: friends, co-workers, schools and
places. Seven years is time enough to forge many lasting relationships.
Gratitude – for prayerful support; for loving words; for knowing that
the people who have touched us have also been touched by us; for the
support of loving grandparents
Happiness – our little family will be all under one roof again.
We want to take this opportunity to thank the people of St. Peter & St. Paul for giving us such
a warm and loving a church home and family. So many wonderful memories and friendships
have been indelibly etching in our hearts and minds.

God bless each one of you. DAVID, LAURA, HANNAH & EMILY HARRIS
GOD’S RICHEST BLESSINGS FOR YOU FROM YOUR ST P&P FAMILY
FAMILY!

UPDATE: Stock the Book Nook!

Tucked in the hallway to
Building Fund the classrooms is a shelf
Capital Campaign of books.
All books are available
A big Thank You to for 50¢ each, with all
everyone who has proceeds going to the
contributed so gen-
general funds of the church.
erously to help re-
The book supply is running low, so we
tire our Building
Fund note. would appreciate your contribution of
Our balance as of any of your unwanted books. You are
August 1st is $8719.00. We're al- welcome to bring any type of book
most there!! Praise God! that you would like to donate.
Any and all contributions are When our supply overflows our
greatly appreciated and will get us demand, we will filter out the books to
closer to our goal! donate to the colonia or the library.
 St. Peter & St. Paul Episcopal Church PAGE 4
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10/10 STUDY & PRAY Men’s Group:

The challenge has
been made: Make a
commitment to pray for
10 minutes and
read the bible for 10
minutes every day.
Prayer time can be flexible. Get a
minute in while stopped at a red light.
Knock out five minutes while waiting in a
doctor's office.
For the Bible study, it is best to set up a
certain time everyday to read the Bible
or some book dealing with the Bible.
If you don't know where to begin, start
with one of the gospels (Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John) or you can email Fr.
Michael (michael@stpeterstpaul.org)
and he would be happy to offer some
suggestions or lend you a book.
Coffee With the
Carpenter
Attention St. P&P Men:
Coffee With the
Carpenter is a men's group that
gathers on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays
of every month from 7:00am to
8:00am. Come join “the guys” for
morning prayer, breakfast, lots of
coffee, and great discussion!
This month’s Coffee with the
Carpenter will be postponed until
August 12th. We will resume
with our traditional 2nd and 4th
Thursday of the month through
2010-2011.
For more information on Coffee with
the Carpenter, contact Dan Miller at
519-0090.

RIGHTEOUS RECIPES!!
Every month, we will use this space to reflect the ‘culinary side’ of St Peter & St Paul. We
can’t wait to try your favorite recipes! Send to heatherbmarks@gmail.com

This month’s recipe comes all the way from Tennessee, courtesy of Fern Fisher:

Terry's Taters for a crowd

5# Red Potatoes Large cheese Mix

Large Sour Cream 1 lb of Bacon
Salt & Pepper 2 bottles of Ranch Dressing
Bunch of green Onions

Boil Potatoes with Peeling on. Put in a casserole cover with Ranch Dressing
& Cheese mix . Crumble Bacon over the top cover with foil
bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. This is very good hope you all will
enjoy
-Fern
 St. Peter & St. Paul Episcopal Church PAGE 5
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New Greeter Ministry

“HELLO and WELCOME” to St. Peter and St. Paul!!

Our Greeter Ministry Team has been hard at work at St. Peter
& St. Paul and the new Greeter Program is now underway!
We are focusing on how guests are welcomed from the
moment they get out of their car until they are back at their
homes.
If you are interested in working on this team, please email JB
Townsend at jbt1953@sbcglobal.net.

Announcing
The Garden of Eatin’
Garden Outreach Program!
A new ministry of St. Peter and St. Paul!
An exciting new outreach has begun that (for the time
being, until a better name is suggested) is called The
Garden of Eatin’. We are going to create a 1.5 acre garden on the land to the
north of the church. In the garden we are going to grow vegetables and
perhaps flowers if someone shows an interest in overseeing that aspect of
the garden. During the winter, we will sell our produce two times a week from
the porch of the church. Whatever we sell, the proceeds will go to feeding the
hungry. Whatever we do not sell, we will give away to feed the hungry.
Through the generosity of companies and farms in the area, our cost will be
minimal, which gives us great potential to generate funds to feed those who
are hungry.

Jed Murray is the point person for this ministry, and he is fired up and already
hard at work. There will be opportunities for people (including people from
outside the church) to volunteer as the garden progresses. We will keep you
in the loop.

If this idea is exciting to you, talk to Jed or Father Michael about ways you
can get involved.
St. Peter & St. Paul Episcopal Church PAGE 6
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PULSE YOUTH GROUP BACK IN ACTION!

It is that time of year...
The bad (or good) news is you have to go back
to school. The good news is it is time for Pulse
to return from its summer break!

Pulse is a St. Peter and St. Paul’s ministry for

youth 5th-12th grade and is held on the first
Sunday of the month from 5pm to 6:30pm. Since the first Sunday of
September falls on a holiday weekend, we will have Pulse a week
earlier—Sunday August 29th. There will be food, silliness, and Jesus!
So be there and bring a friend!

Questions about Pulse? Contact Father Michael!

michael@stpeterstpaul.org

Altar Flowers Children's Church

Did you know that anyone
can request them? Altar
flowers are a wonderful way
to honor a loved one for a
special occasion ,such as a
birthday, or an anniversary.
Flowers can also be given
in thanksgiving for what we
are thankful for, or in honor
of a loved one that is no longer
with us. OR, you may simply
order them because you love
flowers!! The normal
donation is $25.00. Please
call the office in advance at
585-5005 or sign up on the
sheet provided at the church.
Children are
very important
to the life of our
church, and we
are blessed to
have an
abundance of
awesome youngsters.
The purpose of Children's Church is
to bring the word of God to a kid’s
level of understanding. We are happy
to offer this for children from 4 years
through High School. The young ones
will meet every week, and the Jr. High
and High School group will have class
twice a month.
Contact Father Michael or Amy
Hoffman if you have any questions or
wish to volunteer for this very
important ministry.
St. Peter & St. Paul Episcopal Church PAGE 7
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CURSILLO RETREAT
WEEKEND COMING UP!
Every now and then, we all need
our spiritual batteries recharged…

Cursillo retreats are an awesome

and fun way to revive yourself in the
love and fellowship of Jesus Christ.
Lots of folks at St Peter & Paul have been on a
Cursillo weekend and many of us continue to
serve on teams. Cursillo—A funny word
meaning “a short course in
Christianity”— is designed to
deepen your faith and
strengthen your Christian walk.

Ask anyone wearing a colorful

cross on the third Sunday of
the month what their Cursillo meant to them
and you’ll get a different answer and a huge
smile.

The next Cursillo weekend with open spots will

be October 14-17, 2010 at beautiful Mustang
Island, outside of Corpus Christi.

Contact Heather Marks at 802-3822 or via email at

heatherbmarks@gmail.com for more information.
You can also find out more on the Episcopal
Diocese of West Texas website: www.dwtx.org.
 St. Peter & St. Paul Episcopal Church PAGE 8
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Have some info for the next newsletter??

Got a story about why you love St P&P?
Want to share your favorite recipe??
Our goal for this newsletter is that
it reflects who we are and what
we do at St Peter & St Paul. We
are constantly looking for ways to
stay informed and connected via
this newsletter and our website.
If you have a gift for this or if you
have any suggestions, please
contact Heather Marks.
Caregivers Support Group Send to: heatherbmarks@gmail.com
by Vicki Knipp
Many of us at St. Peter and Paul have (or
someday will) find ourselves in the role
of caregiver. When I was going through
WANTED:
this with my mom, I decided to initiate a MUSIC TEAM
group where folks can come together to
get idea's, share experiences and walk MEMBERS
together with our Lord through this
difficult stage of life. Got musical talents?
Who should come? This group is
appropriate for any folks currently in the
Play guitar or sing?
caregiver role, preparing for this role,
still grieving or recovering from their Want to make a
recent experience. It may also be
appropriate for those who feel they have joyful noise
something to offer others from their
past.
unto the Lord?
There will be no experts with perfect
answers. This will be a true Support Consider using your God-
Group where we will walk hand-in-hand,
trusting that Jesus will guide us in this given talent as part of our
emotional--yet inevitable, part of life. music team!
Monthly meetings begin with a simple
dinner followed by a short Bible Study. CONTACT: Arlyn Olson (687-7334)
(you are encouraged to bring a notebook or any choir member for more info!
and a Bible).
Our meetings take place on the first
Thursday of each month and you are
welcome to bring a friend or
relative!
St. Peter & St. Paul Episcopal Church PAGE 9
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 (956)585-5005
Mission, TX 78574-8842
2310 N. Stewart Road
St. Peter & St. Paul Episcopal Church

2310 N Stewart Road

Mission, Texas 78574
Phone: 956-585-5005
www.stpeterstpaul.org

Empowered by God,
we are a community
committed to sharing
Christ’s love through
service and worship.