December, 2016
Merry Christmas to our brothers and sisters at St. Benoit! This week we sent a gift package to our sister community in Haiti, St. Benoit. Included in this gift were school supplies, printing supplies, homemade pencil pouches from last year’s 5th grade, some soccer balls, and even some Chain of Love shirts to share with the children and community. A loving donation of a Communion set to the church was included in the gift, as noted in Fr. Ram’s letter to our friends below. Construction of the new church is developing nicely and the building will be ready soon with the scheduled dedication to take place on the feast of St. Benedict this year! Please keep our brothers and sisters in your thoughts and prayers as we move through this season and remember how our prayers and love help sustain this beautiful partnership.
-Keith Earle
Fr. Ram’s Note:
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Your friends at St. George are sending you a chalice and paten that came to us some years back. It is what is left of a United States Army Chaplain Communion set. While we do not know its history, the set was commissioned to serve those engaged in carrying out various missions.
As I reflect on this initial intent I am aware that once again these vessels will be once again used to serve those on a mission. In this case, a Kingdom of God mission to proclaim the resurrection hope and life of Jesus Christ to all people. And we both share in this most important mission of all to seek and serve Christ in all persons. May this chalice and paten be a sign between of us of our continuing friendship and support of each other’s mission and ministry to the glory of God.
May God grow our partnership and may we be blessed to share the blessing of God to us – His only Son.
Faithfully,
The Rev. Ramiro López
Confirmation classes for youth in 6th-12th grade are fast approaching. Daniel Forman will teach a confirmation class based on the curriculum “Confirm, not Conform” to any student who wishes to participate. Students who wish to be confirmed need to show a commitment to attending each session if possible. The dates for the classes will be:
Sundays from 8:30 – 9:30 AM at St. George
– January 15th
– January 22nd
– January 29th
– February 5th
OR
Tuesdays from 3:30- 4:30 PM at St. George
– January 17th
– January 24th
– January 31st
– February 7th
Students can attend strictly attend either Sunday OR Tuesday sessions or mix and match.
Please let Daniel Forman (dforman@saintgeorgechurch.org) know if you plan on attending.
Elizabeth Holmes, a senior at TMI – The Episcopal School of Texas, won first place in the school’s fifth annual Poetry Out Loud recitation contest, held Nov. 28 in the school’s Margaret M. Alkek Theater. Runner-up was sophomore Bridget Lynch. Elizabeth and Bridget are both St. George parishioners. Elizabeth will compete at the state level Feb. 25, 2017, at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin. To read more, click here.
This past Sunday the St. George Youth group visited the Animal Defense League of Texas. This non-profit institution’s mission focuses on supporting and enhancing neglected and abused dogs and cats throughout the San Antonio Community. Our youth group helped in this mission on Sunday by providing the various animals at ADL with “snack bags.” The youth created bags filled with an assortment of wet food, dry food, peanut butter, sweet potatoes, canned chicken, and vegetables. The youth then delivered these bags of goodies to the various kennels on campus. It was quite amazing how quickly barking and skeptical animals became quiet once these bags were in their kennel. The youth then got to experience some one on one time with puppies and kittens which is always fun. It was a great event and a wonderful way to spread holiday cheer to our fury friends who need it most.
To find out more about the ADL, here is their website:
-Daniel Forman
The Sunday before Thanksgiving, the Holy Spirit moved powerfully among members of St. George Church and School as we assembled 15 Dinner Boxes for families in need. The Beta Club, under the leadership of Keith Earle, had sorted hundreds of items to hasten the process. Offering this food enabled inner city clients of Christian Assistance Ministry (CAM) to celebrate our nation’s precious sense of optimism, our faith in God and our gratitude for living in this wonderful country.
Together we provided whole turkeys, a wide range of canned fruits and vegetables, soup mix and cereal, loaves of bread and a pumpkin pie. Our clients, who often waited hours to see whether they would qualify, responded with tears of relief and joy—along with the knowledge that they were lovingly remembered.
Your CAM volunteers feel blessed to have your generous, enthusiastic support as we work together to help those less fortunate.
Gratefully,
Carol Molina, Paul Carr, Paul Warner, Stella and David Silva, Andy and Marti Nodine
Here are some tips for using our website.
- To search for anything on our site, click on the magnifying glass icon at the upper right-hand of the screen. When you click on the icon, a box will open and you can type any text in the box to search. On a mobile device, open the menu (the three horizontal lines next to the St. George logo) to find the search tool.
- To get to the “Home” page from any screen, click on the shield on the upper left-hand of the screen.
- A “blog” is short for “weblog.” Essentially, it’s a journal or a diary that’s kept on the internet. When a business, or in our case, a church keeps a blog, it’s like an online newspaper. I use the St. George Blog for reflections, collections of pictures, or important stories. When you have an event, please send me a little paragraph about it and a couple of pictures and I’ll put it on the St. George Blog!
- If you scroll down on any page you’ll see a variety of links and features. There are quick links to the calendar or blog, or upcoming featured events. Other pages have a chronological short entry of the upcoming events.
- The website includes information for visitors and long-time parishioners, for those new to the faith and cradle Episcopalians. It describes the tenets of the Episcopal Church, the order of service, the books we use in worship, and the seasons of the Episcopal calendar. We also have information about all of the great things going on at St. George!
On behalf of the St. George Community, the Beta Club, our middle school honor and service organization, 
is coordinating a Christmas gift-giving project. St. George has generously participated in the Adopt A Needy Family project for over 10 years. Our goal is to help nine families have a joyous Christmas by providing a few special gifts, some Christmas decorations and items of true need. Many of the gift items are necessities such as clothing, hygiene items, linens, house-wares, space heaters and cleaning supplies.
In addition to gift sponsorship, the Beta Club would greatly appreciate donations of gift boxes, large and extra large gift bags, tissue paper, bows, ribbon and Christmas wrapping paper. These nine families also have a variety of larger needs such as bicycles, beds, microwaves, etc. If you are interested in helping or have questions, please contact the AANF Coordinators at aanfstgeorge@gmail.com.
If you would like to help, please take an ornament or two from the bulletin board that will be in the Gathering Area. Purchase the gifts indicated on the ornament and drop them by the church office by December 1. Please attach the paper ornament to your gift, but don’t wrap the gift. Our Beta Club Elves will wrap the gifts and make sure that they are delivered in time for Christmas. Thank you for your giving spirit!
We wish you a blessed holiday season,
Your 2016 AANF Coordinators,
Carla Bick and Tinker Notzon