S T .

J O H N ’ S E P I S C O P A L

The Chimes
St. John’s Episcopal Church is a loving community of faith and
worship, showing the love of God to each other and the world.

a publication of St.John’s Episcopal Church, Sealy, Texas June 2019

Upcoming Events
Hwy 36 N at 6th St. Pentecost
Schedules Schedule of Upcoming Events
Sealy, Texas Rev. Dr. Bill Doggett
Birthdays & Page 10
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Phone: 979-885-2359 Anniversaries
Here’s the Scoop Church Worship
Keep up with what is Schedule and Calendar Photo Gallery
Email:
happening the the Page 5 St. John’s events for
info@stjohnssealy.com
lives of our the months of March
parishioners and April
Website:
www.stjohnssealy.com Page 6-9
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Join us at 10 am on
Sunday for Worship!

Some even go so far as to call

that first Christian Pentecost the
birth of the church. Whether you
agree with that idea or not, it’s
certainly true that Pentecost is
By: Rev. Dr. Bill Doggett the birthday of evangelism.
And what I think is worth paying
The feast of Pentecost, the attention to most of all in the
fiftieth and last day of Eastertide Pentecost story is not the wind,
is June 9th. The word Pentecost or the tongues of flame, or even
simply means “fifty days,” and the disciples’ uncanny ability to
This wild experience – a rush of
the disciples, you may have speak in all of those languages,
wind, tongues of flame dancing
noticed, were observing the but this simple fact. Everyone
over the heads of Jesus’ friends,
Jewish Pentecost – fifty days who was there heard the Good
and new-found linguistic abilities
after Passover, when a very News in words they were able to
– sets a high bar for
strange thing happened. This understand.
extraordinary experiences. I
strange thing, the coming of the Everyone heard the Good News
don’t know about you, but I’ve
Holy Spirit into their lives, had in words they were able to
never had a spiritual experience
been promised by Jesus, but the understand.
anywhere near that strange,
way in which the Spirit showed That is a remarkable thing, isn’t
surprising, or hard to
up was completely unexpected. it? Nowadays, there’s hardly a
comprehend.
But then, when is the time or the human language into which
But this strange, surprising,
nature of a visit from the Holy scripture hasn’t been translated,
incomprehensible story is one of
Spirit ever exactly as expected? but still, I dare say, there are
the founding narratives our faith. people all around us who have
June 2019 1

never heard the Good News in
words they were able to
understand.
The problem, I think is twofold.
First off, a lot of the time, if we
are saying anything at all, we are
telling the wrong story. We’re not
telling the same Good News the
disciples did.
Or rather, we are telling the exact
same Good News they did, as it
has been passed down to us in
scripture. But that’s not the story
the disciples told – they didn’t
retell the stories they were given
– they told their own stories, new
stories, about how God’s
overwhelming love had
transformed them.
They told what a difference
Jesus’ life, death, resurrection
and ascension had made in their
lives. And as they told stories of
their transformation, they
practiced transformed and
transforming lives that told the
story even better than their
words.
If we want to bring God’s love to
the world, and the world to
God’s love, we need to become
much better at telling our own
stories of how we have
experienced God’s Love, how
Jesus’ rising has raised us, of
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T H E C H I M E
how the Holy Spirit has danced
into our lives in unexpected
ways.
But the other part of the problem
is this: When we ever do tell the
stories of our own walk with
God, we are not very good at
telling those stories in languages
other people who are different
from us can understand. We are
not very good at translating our
own gospel truth into the
language of science, or of hip
hop, or of first-generation
immigrant, or even of our own
children. And so our churches
grow, if they do grow, not by
bringing the Good News to those
whose languages and cultures
are different from ours, but by
receiving those who already
speak our language, including
our language of faith. We can get
people who have fallen away
from church to come back
sometimes, and we can get
people who have been separated
from their churches by
geography or by disagreement,  
but we seldom reach anyone
new.
With one exception - baptizing
young children. This is the
traditional way to achieve church
growth, and it worked for a long
time. But if we were to rely solely
on our ability to be fruitful and
multiply to build up the Body of
Christ, it would be a doomed
endeavor.
For, sad to say, many, many even
of those born and baptized into
our churches fall away in
adulthood never to return. And
the reason for this goes back to
my first point. The children we
welcome into the fold through
baptism still need to be
evangelized. The need to hear
the stories of our own journeys
of faith, our struggles, our
S
doubts, our joy and our renewal
and transformation, told in
language they can understand,
telling those stories again and
again, and adapting our
language as their understanding
grows. Sunday School can teach
them the stories that have been
handed down to us, but it can’t
teach them the stories of the
ways that the Good News has
touched and continues to touch
the lives of those closest to
them.
But we can.
And perhaps, if we practice tell
our stories to our children in
language they can understand,
we will be better equipped to
translate and re-translate the
Gospel written in our own lives
into Good News the whole world
can understand.
Rev. Dr. Bill Doggett
• Gloria Noy
• LaJuan Farrell
• Fr. Eric
• Carla Beckendorff
• Cody Childress
• Fr. Sam Todd
• John Klotz
June 2019

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June 2019
T H E C H I M E S
St. John’s is a wonderful church in which to be a member. We need to
get that information out to our community.
One way to let everyone know about us is to have an annual event
where our name is put before the people. The Blessing of the Animals
is such an event.
In the Bishop’s Book that will be presented to Bishop Duncan one of
the goals that the Vestry decided to have for 2019 is:
“Establish Blessing of the Animals as a St. John’s Annual Event to
increase public awareness of St. John’s service to the community”.
This is an event that can include everyone in the planning and
implementation. We ask that you be thinking about how you can help
with this event.
Publicity, Set-up and Clean-up are just a few of the ways that help is
needed. Updates will be presented in the weekly news that Andrea
puts out.
This event will take place on October 6th at the pavilion at Levine
Park. We chose that place for the parking and the more quiet
atmosphere (no highway noise from Highway 36).
Mary Emerson, Senior Warden
June July
8, Saturday, ECW luncheon 13, Saturday, Heavenly
9, 10 am Sunday, The Rt. Rev. Treasures Garage Sale
Phillip Duncan, Holy Eucharist, 14, Sunday, Vestry Meeting
Baptism 11:30, Parish Office
30, 10 am Independence
Sunday- Hot Dogs & Ice Cream
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John Owen won Champion Jr.

Market Goat at the Houston
Livestock & Rodeo

Pole Vault
1st Place
Joel Gassiott
12’-6"

Left - Clay Roberts and Granddad

Toby Roberts both were given
prestigious awards at the recent
SHS Sports Banquet. Clay was
given the Ricky Seals Award and
Toby Roberts was given the Old
Man Award for all of the help he
has given the Athletic Program.

Right - James Gassiott - Cross

Country and Track

Waverly and Cricket Johnson

participated in the Ranchers Ride.
This ride contributes 100% of their
proceed to children’s charities.

June 2019
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June Church Schedule

Sunday, June 2, 10 a.m., 7th

Sunday of Easter, Morning
Prayer, Mary Emerson, Officiant

Sunday, June 9, 10 a.m., Day of

Pentecost, Holy Eucharist Rite II,
The Rt. Rev. Phillip Duncan, Celebrant

Sunday, June 16, 10:00 a.m., Trinity Sunday, Holy Eucharist Rite II, Rev. Tom
Wallace, Celebrant
June Sunday, June 23, 10 a.m., 2nd Sunday after Pentecost, Holy Eucharist Rite II,
Birthdays Rev. Virginia Brown, Celebrant

Sunday, June 30, 10 a.m., 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, Holy Eucharist Rite II,
Rev. Virginia Brown, Celebrant
6/08 Mary Lou LeBrocq
6/09 Cody Childress The Children and Grandchildren of David and Rilla are hosting this
6/14 Cricket Johnson casual event. Please RSVP the number of your family who will be able
to attend by June 16 to (rillay@hotmail.com) .
6/20 Tanya Kellner
6/23 Ruth Johnson
6/24 Denyce Treybig
6/25 Sandra Bradley

Anniversaries
6/11 Jeff & Suzanne Whitzel
6/27 David & Rilla
Youngblood
6/28 Stuart & Sandy
Scarborough

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June 2019
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St. John’s ECW

Outreach
Luncheon
at the Oaks

June 2019
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June 2019 9
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Upcoming Events at
Historic St. John’s Episcopal Church

11 am - 1 pm 10 am
After the
Holy Eucharist with 10 am
10 am service
ECW Fellowship Baptism, Reception Holy Eucharist
Lunch and Presentation Celebrating our Youth Service
Independence and
St. John’s ECW is followed by a Asking for the
Freedom of Religion
hosting a luncheon potluck lunch. blessings of God
with
for the ECW Meat provided, upon our youth and
members of St. an all American teachers at the start
please bring a side
Mary’s in Bellville lunch of hot dogs of a new school
dish or dessert.
and St. John’s in with all of the year.
Come support our fixins’
Columbus. Please
candidates and
join us and bring a and
renew your Pizza lunch to
summer salad or Blue Bell Ice Cream follow.
baptismal promises.
dessert. for dessert!
St. John’s Episcopal Church is located at Hwy 36 N & 6th St., Sealy, TX Phone: 979-885-2359

Email: info@stjohnssealy.com Website: www.stjohnssealy.com

Join us at 10 am on Sunday for Worship!