News (Page 3)
St. Martin’s Easter Festival April 24
Easter Sunday just the beginning of celebrating Jesus’ resurrection – the Easter Season lasts 50 days. At St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 223 S. Pearson Lane, Keller, TX 76248, the fun continues on April 24, the Second Sunday of Easter, from 12-2 pm with their Easter Festival! Here’s the details from St. Martin’s: This will be a great time of fellowship, fun, and community, with a petting zoo, an Easter egg hunt, bounce house, photo booth and a hot dog lunch provided by…
Unbridled hope – Bishop Scott Mayer’s Easter message
This is Bishop Scott Mayer’s Easter message to the diocese. ——— Easter once again demands our attention, refusing to let its amazing message of hope unbridled be ignored. The Earth itself is Easter’s ally in this, demonstrating victory over death with every green blade of grass, every daffodil that lifts its trumpet head, every iris flag that waves in the breeze. Birds add song and color to this annual spectacle of new and renewed life, making it hard to remain…
Bishop Mayer visits Church of the Resurrection, Decatur
On the Fifth Sunday of Lent, April 3, 2022, Bishop Scott Mayer visited the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Decatur. He confirmed Hope Adams and Will Adams. The Rev. Tony Hiatt is the priest in charge. Sarah Walker is the musician. The service was live streamed, as it is every Sunday, on their Facebook page. Read the bishop’s sermon, or watch it on Facebook – it begins at the 27.26 mark in the recording. See more photos in the…
St. Mary’s celebrates 150th
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Hillsboro, the oldest continuing congregation in the Episcopal Church in North Texas, celebrated their 150th Anniversary on Saturday, March 26, with a reception, and a worship service on Sunday, March 27. Bishop Scott Mayer presided and the Rev. Paula Jefferson preached. The Rev. Canon Janet Waggoner served as the bishop’s chaplain and the Rev. Bryn Skelton Caddell proclaimed the Gospel. Proclamation At the reception, Megan Henderson, city manager of Hillsboro, read a proclamation declaring March…
How you can help Ukrainian refugees
In response to the urgent situation in Ukraine, there are many new opportunities for Episcopalians to help. Our diocese has successfully worked with Episcopal Migration Ministries and their local partner, Catholic Charities, in other refugee and immigration crises. On March 24, the Biden Administration announced that the United States will admit 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russia. This is what the announcement said about refugees: Providing refuge to Displaced Ukrainians. While we expect many Ukrainians will choose to remain in Europe…
Lay leader Judy Graber died March 22, 2022
Diocesan leader Judy Graber died March 22, 2022, in Denton. The funeral is at 2 pm Saturday, March 26, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 3401 Bellaire Drive So., Ft. Worth, TX 76109, where she was a long time member, as was her late sister Maggie Withroder. She served as chair of the Diocesan Finance Committee, and was a member of the Executive Council, and the Management Committee of the diocese. She also served as a delegate from Trinity to the diocesan…
St. Mary’s, Hillsboro, celebrates 150th Anniversary
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Hillsboro is the oldest continuing Episcopal parish in the Episcopal Church in North Texas, having been founded in 1872. For 150 years, the faithful members of this congregation have carried out the mission and ministry of The Episcopal Church, obeying Jesus’ command to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. They will celebrate their 150th Anniversary on Saturday, March 26, with a reception from 6:30 to 8:30 at their building at 301 South Waco…
How to help those affected by Texas wildfires
Destructive wildfires fuel by dry conditions and high winds have had a devastating impact on West and Central Texas. Here are some ways to help. Community Foundation of Abilene The Community Foundation of Abilene has three funds to collect donations to support people, businesses, and fire departments affected by ongoing fires across the Big Country. Eastland County Fire Relief Fund The Community Foundation has partnered with the Eastland Community Foundation to establish the Eastland County Fire Relief Fund. This fund will…
Pray for those in path of wildfires
Bishop Scott Mayer has issued a call for prayer for those threatened by wildfires in Texas. According to news reports, as of noon Friday, the Eastland Complex Fire west of Fort Worth already has burned 45,000 acres, about 70 square miles, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service, which monitors such fires. Other, smaller fires also are burning around Abilene and in other West Texas counties, prompting evacuations of small communities. A nursing home in Rising Star has been evacuated…
Diocesan Administrative Assistant Michele King to retire
Michele L. King, administrative assistant of the diocese, has announced her retirement, effective Friday, March 25, 2022. She joined the diocesan staff on March 3, 2014, working with Bishop Rayford High. When Bishop Scott Mayer was elected, she worked with him as well as with Assisting Bishops Sam Hulsey and High. Cards/letters can be sent to her in care of the diocese at P.O. Box 8695, Fort Worth, TX, 76124. Bishop Rayford High said, “Michele was one of my first…
Help Episcopal Relief & Development help Ukraine
In a March 15, 2022 update, Episcopal Relief and Development reported on their efforts to help the people of Ukraine as they flee the violence of the Russian invasion. Here’s how you can help. —— As violence escalates in Ukraine, over one million people have already fled the country — and the borders are flooded with many more people desperate to leave. Almost all of them are women and children who have had to seek safety on their own, leaving…
Litigation update
There was a hearing on Friday, March 11, before Judge John Chupp in the 141st. District Court, Tarrant County, regarding still-pending issues of personal property, interest on bank funds, and congregational names and intellectual property. The hearing was held via ZOOM. The attorneys representing the diocese associated with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) told the court they have no further issues with St. Stephen’s, Wichita Falls, also known as the Episcopal Church of Wichita Falls; nor do they…
Invitation to apply for Mission & Outreach grants
The Episcopal Church in North Texas, through its Mission and Outreach Committee, will be awarding grants to programs that assist those who are underserved in our communities, that will be strengthened by the endorsement of the diocese, that create a loving connection with community, and that involve personal participation by our congregations. Grants should be considered seed money, not yearly funding. Who is eligible to apply? Individual members of the diocese A group of members of the diocese A group…
St. Martin’s, DOK hosting Quiet Day
St. Martin-in-the-Fields and its Daughters of the King chapter are pleased to invite women and female-identifying folk of the Diocese to a Lenten Quiet Day, led by Katie Sherrod. The event will be on Saturday, March 19, 2022, in St. Martin’s large parish hall at 223 S. Pearson Lane, Keller 76248. Women of the Passion is a Lenten Quiet Day led by Katie Sherrod. We will create a community to experience the Passion through the eyes of some of the women…
Bishop Mayer issues statement on transgender children
This is the statement Bishop Scott Mayer issued in response to recent actions taken by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. —————— I am writing to express how deeply disturbed I am by the actions of Attorney General Ken Paxton and Governor Greg Abbott in their attempts to define medical care for transgender and non-gender conforming children as child abuse, an action aimed at parents, medical teams, teachers, and all who care for these children. These…
St. Mary’s, Hillsboro, prevails in bequest dispute with ACNA
[Episcopal News Service] A county court has affirmed that a North Texas Episcopal congregation is entitled to a large bequest from a former parishioner, rejecting the claim to the money made by a breakaway congregation that is aligned with the Anglican Church in North America, or ACNA. St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Hillsboro received more than $1.3 million from the estate of Hendley McDonald after he died in 2017. ACNA officials laid claim to the bequest, arguing the money rightfully belonged to…