Dear Friends in Christ,
Life at St. George is vibrant and moving! God’s Spirit is roaming freely tending and shaping our common life!
I want to share some dates with you so that you can circle them on your calendars. Some of these dates represent changes to previous calendars. So where there is a conflict with older calendars, please use these dates instead. And look for articles that will give more detail.
October 30 – Promise Plan Ingathering at both worship times followed a Picnic on the Green with opportunities to have some All Hallows’ Eve fun with our children.
November 6 – Sunday after All Saints’ Day with Holy Baptisms and Daughters of the King Corporate Communion.
November 13 – Bishop Robert Hibbs, retired Suffragan, for Adult Confirmation, Reception and Renewal of Baptismal Vows.
November 20 – St. George Community Thanksgiving Celebration with turkeys courtesy of our Dragonslayers Men’s Group to complement your favorite Thanksgiving side dish or dessert.
November 27 – First Sunday of Advent and blessing of our new Advent Altar hangings and accouterments.
Please read your eSpear and Sunday bulletin closely. There are many opportunities for each one of us to grow closer to God and to one another in Christ Jesus.
Many blessings abound here at St. George!
Ram+
A few Sundays ago, Craig Loeffler shared his experiences volunteering as a Reading Buddy for San Antonio Youth Literacy. Please listen to his story and volunteer. St. George will have a training session on Sunday, October 16 from 12:15-1:45 PM.
The St. George moms and daughters had a great time at Camp Caper’s Mother-Daughter Weekend. We swam, cannoned, conquered the screamer, survived dodge-ball, and laughed…a lot. We escaped the routine of our daily lives in order to focus more thoughtfully on ourselves and the joy we experience together in mother-daughter, sister-sister bonds. We unplugged–and it was great!
Just as our relationship with God is a dynamic, evolving love that requires work, we were reminded that our relationships here on Earth can be challenging, but bring great reward when nourished. Lulled into the perceived constancy of life, it can be easy to delay joy to another day. Mother-Daughter weekend is an opportunity to literally ‘stop and smell the rose’ with the people we cherish most…relax…and reconnect.
-Lindsey Finklea
This Saturday, September 24, Fr. Ram and Haley Bankey will represent St. George at the Diocesan “Invite-Welcome-Connect Conference” being held at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
They will share our experiences with the Invite-Welcome-Connect process. “As I began to reflect on the changes we have experienced since we did Invite-Welcome-Connect workshops in April 2015 I began to realize just how much IWC has helped us become who we are today. Invitation is happening through our Church-School relationships, through our presence on the web and through the energy our people are feeling here and inviting friends and family to come to church with them. It has been a very organic process.”
Some of the experiences Haley and Fr. Ram will share include creating an inviting atmosphere for those school families who are seeking a place to worship and belong, the launching of new website which helps us have a more powerful presence on Internet search engines and our activities to reach out to people in our community through community events (Pops Concerts” and community service (Summer of Service).
Registration is available at www.dwtx.org/events. Cost for the day is $35, and that includes materials and lunch. Childcare will be available; if you need childcare, please contact Leigh Saunders, 888/210-824-5387.
Please enjoy this note from Daniel Forman-
The Youth Group kicked back off here on campus this past Sunday and it was absolutely wonderful to see new and old faces. One of the curriculums that we will be using in Youth Group this year is called “Can I Ask That?” The premise of the curriculum is to dive into questions kids have about faith and spirituality but might be afraid to ask. The first question we discussed this Sunday is “Can you trust the Bible?” We had some very interesting conversation about the roots of the Bible and its translations. Perhaps a question to ask yourself is “do you trust the Bible.” Mike Holmes and I personally feel that exposure to these types of questions is highly important to the formation of young, grounded Christian youth. We are excited to see where the curriculum and God lead us this year.
Steve Alwais leads the “Understanding the Gospel” on Sunday mornings. If you haven’t given that class a try, he encourages you to. Please read the following note from Steve.
This Sunday’s gospel reading gives us specific instruction that we are to pay attention to the bible if we want to get to heaven. An excellent way to do that is to attend the discussion entitled “Understanding the Gospel.”
It is held each Sunday in the St. Luke’s room from 9:45 to 10:15. I share an insight into some of the interesting details of the gospel reading and then those in attendance are given the opportunity (if they wish) to share their vantage point or to ask about specifics of the reading.
Whether you are want to be an active participant or would just like to hear a little more insight into the gospel lesson, you are more than welcome. Advance preparation for this group is not necessary and since each week is a different gospel reading you can come as often as you wish. Please give it a try!
-Steve Alwais
The article about our Summer of Service is in the September/October edition of The Church News. Please read below.
St. George Church and School, San Antonio, designated the summer of 2016 a Summer of Service. Each Sunday, between services, parishioners engaged in hands-on service projects to answer 
the “call to serve.”
“As we considered the summer of 2016 we recognized that whenever we had a “multi-generational” service project as an offering on Sunday mornings, we had significant participation across the generations, especially from families with younger, elementary-aged children, “said the Rev. Ram Lopez, rector of St. George Church. “Parents of this age group share their enjoyment of serving and helping others with their children.”
Click to read the entire article.
Everyone is invited to attend a City-wide Ecumenical Worship service which will be held on Sunday, October 2 at 5 pm at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church located at 1001 N. Walters Street. The goal of this time of worship is to provide “comfort, hope and strength” to all those who struggle with mental illness and those who care for them. It is also an opportunity to address the need to remove the stigma surrounding mental illness so that those who need help will reach out for help. Last year St. George hosted this service. For more information, email Fr. Ram (rlopez@saintgeorgechurch.org)
Ever cut up a banana and then tried to put it back together again in its peel? Our KFC kids did just
that at our “Sundaes on Sunday” formation this past Sunday and found that it was not very easy! Lesson learned: When you cut someone down with your words and actions (like they did with the banana), it is very difficult to put them back together again. The kids suggested we needed to use self-control when choosing our words and actions…so we played a game to practice self-control! Each child received an Oreo cookie that they had to place on their forehead. They had to move the Oreo from their forehead to their mouth, only using their facial muscles…no hands allowed! It was quite a sight to see this in action! Afterwards the kids made their own ice cream sundaes before heading home! It was a great KFC “Sundaes on Sunday” Fun Day!