Episcopal Church of the Resurrection

Author: Ellen

One Year and Counting!

One year and counting!  On February 6 we celebrated our first anniversary as a community of faith.  How nervous I was to go to this meeting in Boyd, wondering what we would say and do.  I prayed that morning, asking our Lord to let me speak His words and to fill me with His peace.  It was an exciting thought that, with God’s help, we were going to bring the wonderful Episcopal tradition to Wise and her surrounding counties.

I mentioned one time during the announcements how “we have waited so long to have a church building.”  After I said that I said, “Well, I guess it wasn’t that long, seeing as it has only been 3 months from our very first organizational meeting!”  We kind of laughed at that.  Plus, it was only 3-1/2 months before we were appointed a Priest-in-Charge. Because of all the hard work of our faithful congregation we have a beautiful historic building in which to worship.

We had our very first Annual Parish meeting on January 31, 2016.  Canon Janet Waggoner helped us as we made goals as a Mission Station in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.  At that meeting our first Bishop’s Committee was established.

Class of 2017

Clydie Walker

Pat McGowan – Clerk

Class of 2018

Jill McClendon – Senior Warden

Julie Lundy-Booker

Class of 2019

Angie Whitley – Treasurer

Ellen Whitley – Junior Warden

At this time, I would like to give thanks for the following contributions which allow us to have a beautiful space in which to worship and to help things run smoothly:

  • Hand-made altar, Paschal candle stand, lectern, credence table, candle holders, altar book stand, stand for the processional cross, Sanctus bell box.
  • Hand sewn frontals for the altar and lectern as well as veils and burses for the chalice, in white, purple, green, and soon to be—red.
  • Hand-hewn cedar cross which hangs on the wall behind our altar.
  • 1965 Conn organ which was donated by a member of the Decatur community. We give thanks for the donation by one of our members for the repair of the organ.  It sounds wonderful.
  • For our organist who prayerfully chooses our hymns and leads us in our “Joyful noise unto the Lord…” — Psalm 100.  Music makes for a beautiful experience during worship.
  • For our great priest and his precious wife for leading us and feeding us with God’s word and showing us the love of Christ.
  • For all who serve: our acolytes, lay readers, and ushers.  You’re the best!
  • For those who dust, sweep, and clean the sanctuary. It’s great that we have folks to help keep our building tidy.
  • For our newly formed Bishop’s Committee.  Now we can really move forward to do what God has planned for us.
  • For all who bring goodies (coffee, donuts, other sweet and savory snacks) for our social time after the service.
  • For those offering to organize a Mission of the Month, and to all who donate. It amazes me each time we collect items to donate.  The hearts of this congregation are caring and giving—it makes me so proud.

Please forgive me if I have forgotten anything.  I also want to thank you all for your support of our journey in this area of the diocese.  Without your prayers it would have been a difficult year.  Hard work, prayer, love, God’s grace, His guidance—all these have been with us on this walk.  I know we will continue down the right path because Jesus walks with us each step of the way.

May God richly bless each and every one of you.

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January Mission of the Month – 2016

Gloria Sanders organized our January Mission of the Month.  She chose to collect socks, underwear and neutral-colored sweats for boys and girls, sizes 6-8 and 10-12.  Gloria said, “I was excited to use Bridgeport Elementary for our mission of the month because my daughter, Stacey, works there.  I have heard stories that so many children come to school with no socks, coats, or underwear.  If children accidentally soil themselves, the school sends them home in clean underwear, socks, and sweats. The children are so excited to receive these items.  It breaks my heart to think of children going without such basic items.”

Our contact person at the school was Kristen Shelton and she was overjoyed to receive the 3 boxes of clothing.  It is amazing how such a small congregation can give so much from their hearts to help others in need.  This is what Christ teaches and it is our goal to do whatever we can to assist.  Thank you all!

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Gloria Sanders (l) and Kristen Shelton

Gloria Sanders (l) and Kristen Shelton

December Mission of the Month

Lydia Hiatt is a teacher at Boyd Elementary School in Wise County.  She stated that there was a need for school supplies for the next semester of school–after Christmas.  A list of supplies was given to the congregation and before you knew it, things began to appear in the box we provided for the collection.

Below are a few pictures of the items collected for the school children.

 

 

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November Mission of the Month

Deborah Dery was instrumental in wanting to serve the homeless in the Wise County area.  Her idea was to get warm items such as socks, scarves, hats, throws, etc., as well as personal hygiene items to people who were living on the street.  She checked with several agencies as well as law enforcement and was told that there was not a shelter in Wise County set up to handle that.

She decided that she wanted to work with W.A.R.M. (Wise Area Relief Mission) to gather food items for the food pantry.  We also accumulated plenty of socks, hats, and gloves for children and adults as well as homemade scarves and throws.  We were told that these items would be distributed as folks needed them.

As you can see, many items were gathered.

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October Mission of the Month

In October, Angie Whitley asked that we fill shoe boxes with items for children in third world countries who have very little and would be overjoyed to receive even a toothbrush or a box of crayons.  So, our mission was “Operation Christmas Child,” in conjunction with Samaritan’s Purse.  There were three different boy and girl age ranges from which to choose–2-4 years old, 5-9 years old, and 10-14 years old.  How fun it was to shop for items to fit into our shoe boxes.  We all purchased plastic shoe boxes with lids that snapped on.  These boxes can be used for carrying water or for storing items.   We tried to have one particularly special item included to really leave an impression, along with school items, gum, toothbrush and toothpaste, wash cloth, bar soap, Legos, pencils, crayons, etc.  The list goes on and on.  All in all we collected 18 boxes….not bad for our small congregation.  Angie then delivered the items to the specified drop location.

We found out later that our boxes were headed to a community in Ecuador.20151227_165606

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Our Monthly Outreach to the Community

July Mission of the Month

Gently used eye glasses of all kinds were collected by Jill McClendon for a leper colony in Hyderbad, India.  Dr. Babili, of the Diocese of Forth Worth, will travel to India with a medical team during the Fall to help save the sight of people in need.  Dr. Babili’s father was the Bishop in India who founded the leper colony.

Several dozen pairs of glasses were collected and donated.

 

August Mission of the Month

Pat McGowan organized the collecting and delivering of items needed for the Wise County Animal Shelter.  She was told their only needs at the time were for bleach, Dawn and kitty litter.  We collected 399 oz. of bleach, 480 oz. of Dawn Dish Soap and 219 lbs. of cat litter.  She said it was a great success and the shelter was grateful for the donations.

September Mission of the Month

The Episcopal Church of Wise County is organizing its September “Mission of the Month,” The Wise Hope Shelter and Crises Center which provides safety, strength and hope for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.   Women and children leave their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs–sometimes in the middle of the night.  Therefore, personal hygiene items are vital.   Shoes and socks for children are needed, as well as pajamas.  Also, small toys for boys and girls, or hair clips and brushes for girls.  Little boys enjoy hotwheels or Legos; little girls enjoy My Little Ponies or Pound Puppies.  If you would like to donate, please check out their wish list on www.wisehope.org for items needed.  Ellen Whitley organized this month’s mission and she and husband, Marquis, delivered a carload of things to the drop-off site.

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Mission – September, 2015

Many people believe if they donate money to a cause they can then forget about the charity, mission, or people who might be receiving the funds.   But, giving is more than that.  Giving from the heart means to put yourself in their place and perhaps even try to feel what they are feeling.  I know that if something touches me, I will do what I can to help.  Time and talent are two other ways to give; time being the hardest for most folks to give, especially in this day and age of everyone racing everywhere without stopping to  breathe.   Of course, if you have a particular talent, giving of that talent where needed is such a blessing to others.  When you combine time AND talent on any one particular mission, the sky is the limit on what can be accomplished.  That is why God has seen fit to give different talents to different people.

Open up your hearts by sitting quietly and letting God speak to you.  Ask Him to show you where He needs you to be. Believe me, opportunities will arise where your talents are needed.  Then you must be willing to give some of your time to accomplish your goals.  You will be amazed at how good it makes you feel to reach out and touch someone.

The Episcopal Church of Wise County along with The Episcopal Church of Wichita Falls provided a ramp for Marsha Van Etten de Chant of Wichita Falls.  Mother Amy Haynie bought the materials needed and Marquis Whitley built the ramp in his workshop.  With the help of Deborah and Fred Dery, Ellen and Marquis Whitley delivered the ramp and installed it on Wednesday, September 30, 2015.

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Seventh Sunday after Easter

Praise God from whom all blessing flow…..
If y’all could have been with us today you would have felt the Holy Spirit!  The calla lilies at the foot of the altar were actually crying!  Each leaf had a drop of dew hanging from its tip and I immediately felt they were tears…..tears of joy!  The mission Church of the Ascension was lit up with glory as we celebrated the renewal of worship in that building.  The owner of the building even told me to change the sign out in front of the building to show The Episcopal Church of Wise County–because he said, “your people will want the service times posted.”  We never even asked him.
Twenty people worshipped today and we sang our hearts out.  We were honored to have Father Bruce Coggin celebrate and preach and his sermon was wonderful as he told us about Jesus’ ascension and how his disciples may have reacted to such an event.  Also, we are supposed to go on doing what Jesus has taught us and touch others as we have been touched by Him.  Very inspiring and comforting.  We had four folks drive from Wichita Falls to be with us, several from the Decatur area, and a few others from Peaster and Weatherford.
JD Todd brought 6 blessed prayer shawls for us to have and to use for those who are ill, in need of special prayers or even for warmth when the church is a little too cool.  What a wonderful ministry this is and we are very thankful that JD shared these beautifully crochets shawls with us.
Mark made an an announcement that Bishop High will be with us on May 31 for Holy Eucharist and Confirmation…..Mark’s Confirmation!  We are so excited!  You might not realize it but we will have had Holy Eucharist 3 times in May.  May has 5 Sundays; we had Canon Janet on the first Sunday, Father Bruce today, and we’ll have Bishop High on May 31.  WOW!
I am attaching a few pictures for you to see the work in progress and then how the church looked with the altar prepared and ready for Holy Eucharist.
Thank you all for your prayers and support of our journey.  Like I mentioned to Bishop High, “When God starts to work when His timing is right, He doesn’t mess around, does He?  We are so thankful.”
Love,
For His Sake,
Ellen

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Well folks, today it sounded like we had a full house. Eighteen strong, we were, and we sang our hearts out as Sarah Walker played beautiful tunes to some lovely hymns. It was an emotional service for me because the hymns spoke of such love, and I felt the outpouring of love of all who are praying for us.
We had Canon Janet Waggoner preaching and celebrating along with Deacon Tracie Middleton. Canon Janet’s husband, Ed, and their children, Wynne and Ben also came to worship with us. It was so nice to have them. We were blessed to have three additional people with us and it is our hope that they again join us for worship–good to have you with us Hailey Hollingsworth, Mildred Bolin, and Elinor Normand.
During the announcements Mark spoke from his heart as he offered the portable altar he constructed. He told of how it is a work in progress, just as our church is in the beginning stages. The forty-inch tall altar has removable legs and still has much sanding, wood filling, more sanding, and  then staining to be done. There are no screws or nails; he fashioned pegs to hold all the pieces together. He said that it was a work of love and it was extremely important for him to give back for all the love we as a community have been shown. He also constructed a Paschal candle holder we are already using and an altar book stand which still needs finishing.
After the service we had refreshments and fellowship. Canon Janet and Deacon Tracie told us they are available to help us in any way possible to get the word out that we are having services every Sunday. Deacon Tracie fashioned some cards for us to use to get the word out with our name and location of services. It will also show a website address that will take people to a page with pictures, perhaps some of my updates, and ways to contact us to get further information. We will decide the final format of these cards and let Deacon Tracie know. She has volunteered her time to help us set this all up and to also set up a Facebook account.
All in all, things are moving right along. Our Lord is guiding us in the right direction and we are very, very thankful.
Love,
For His Sake,
Ellen

Sunday, Morning Prayer II

Hi everyone:
Yesterday we had 11 people worshipping with us at the Boonsville Community Center.  It was a very nice service, with music/hymns and all.  We are incorporating intercessory prayer at  the proper spot in the prayer book to pray for those with special needs, for those who have died, and also prayers of thanksgiving for our many blessings.  Two special women were  there on Sunday, one is a recent lung transplant recipient, and the other survived a horrible, horrible car wreck some years back.  Then when you think of all the medical problems Mark has been through with his amputations, strokes and seizures, along with my own medical near death experience, Mark likes to say, “there are 4 miracles in this room today.”   And, people say that God does not perform miracles today.  Yes, He does, and we are witnesses to them.  When you witness miracles, you must “go and tell……….”  The women at Jesus’ tomb didn’t go to tell the disciples that their Lord had risen.  But, we today go forth and tell of the miracles we have seen.
God has been so very good to us and has placed all the right people in our path so that our little Episcopal Church of Wise County will prosper and grow.  We thank each and every one of you for your support, love, gifts, and prayers.  We feel the prayers and are blessed.
Thank you and God bless.
Love,
For His Sake,
Ellen
p.s.  Attached are pictures of the Paschal candle holder/stand Mark made for us.  It was so cool to have our Christ candle lit on Sunday.