St. Mary's Episcopal Church

Eliminate your debt, stay out of debt and build your wealth by enrolling in Dave Ramsey's 9 - week course and graduate from Financial Peace University.  Enrollment brings a Lifetime Membership which includes all of your class materials for only $89 when you order through St. Mary's Episcopal Church.  DO NOT order individually or you will pay more.  Lifetime Membership entitles you to retake the course, or any part of it, as often as you like for FREE.  With your membership your spouse and teens living in the home may attend with you.  Contact Fr. Mim at St. Mary's Episcopal Church to enroll in this life changing program or for more information. 

Benefits of attending FPU:

The average family pays off $5,300 in debt and saves $2,700 during the 9 - week period.

Financial stress is reduced.

Couples begin to communicate about money, priorities, goals, and more.

Singles are empowered and encouraged to find accountability partners.

Families begin to live out the biblical principles because application is emphasized throughout the class.

Families discover the power of generous giving.

The Daughters of the King (DOK) is an international order for women who commit to a rule of life, consisting of daily prayers, service, and evangelism.  We pray for the spread of Christ's kingdom!  We pray for spiritual growth and guidance for the Church, our parish, and its ministries, clergy, parishioners, and all requests made known to us.

Meetings are held the first Saturday of Each month.  We gather in the Office Conference Room at 9:15 A.M. for a bit of fellowship, Morning Devotions, a brief business meeting, updating of our prayer list, and a short program.

The Chapter sponsors the parish-wide drives for school supplies in the fall, and hats, mittens, and scarves at Christmas for the children of Chelwood Elementary School.  In addition, at the Annual Epiphany Home/Pot Luck new underwear and socks are collected for the children at Joy Junction (a local homeless shelter for families).  Our motto says it all:

For His sake . . .

I am but one, but I am one.

I cannot do everything, but I can do something.

What I can do, I ought to do.

What I ought to do, by the grace of God, I will do.

Lord, what will you have me do?

The purpose of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew is to spread Christ's Kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit.  It is dedicated to the disciplines of Prayer for the spread of Christ's kingdom, especially among men and youth, and for God's blessings upon the labors of the Brotherhood; study of the Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Church, to attain a better understanding of how to follow Christ and bring others into his kingdom; and service.

Brotherhood activities include:

- Prepare and serve the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper.

- Perform repairs and maintenance on the Church as required.

- Sponsor an Ice Cream Social in August.

- Arrange for a night at the Isotopes baseball park in August.

- Provide financial assistance to selected charities.

Membership in the Brotherhood of St. Andrew is open to all men and youth.  Our meetings are held the first Saturday of each month at 7:30 A.M. in the Tarbell Community Hall.  Please join us for a short service, breakfast, a devotional, and business meeting.

The Bread Ministry is a membership development ministry at St. Mary's.  Bread is a daily basic staple of life in all cultures and, as such, a universal symbol of hospitality.  In Old Testament days, bread is mentioned as a gift to newcomers.  Melchizedek brings out bread and wine for Abram (Genesis 14:18), and the wandering Levite is careful to offer bread to his host's servants (Judges 19:19).  In the Gospels, Jesus used bread at the Last Supper to represent his body, which is the Bread of Life, (Matthew 26:26-29), (Mark 14:22-25).

The Altar Guild is responsible for caring for the Altar vessels and preparing the church for worship at Mass, baptisms, weddings, funerals, and any special services. 

Every Wednesday from 1:00 P.M. to 2:00 P.M. in the Office Conference Room bags of groceries are distributed to needy families.  Approximately 15 to 20 bags of groceries are given out each Week.

The Food Pantry is able to do this through generous cash contributions and food item gifts by the parish.  Additional funding comes from the Poverty and Outreach Board of the Northwest Deanery in the Diocese of the Rio Grande.

The Prayer Shal Ministry is a ministry of love.  The shawls cannot be bought, but are gifts of the heart from the knitter (as a representative of the congregation, sharing in the pastoral care of the Church here and afat) to the recipient.  The clergy and members of the congregation suggest names of potential recipients and shawls are given out as they become available.  God the Holy Spirit is in charge of supply and demand - we are not.  As the facilitator of the Shawl Ministry at St. John the Divine in Houston said, "The shawls are representative of God's grace to all of us - freely given and impossible to buy."

The Saint Elizabeth's Guild is an organization in the church made up of women that get together the first Thursday of February, April, June (picnic), September, November, and December (potluck luncheon) in Tarbell Community Hall at 1:00 P.M. (except in December when it meets at Noon).  Each and every woman of the parish is a member of the Guild and is invited to attend this wonderful experience.  The meetings include discussions, occasional guest speakers, and wonderful desserts.  The guild ste its goals of worship, study, service, fellowship, and, most of all, the deepening of the spiritual lives of its members.  St. Elizabeth of Hungary, d. 1231 and remembered on November 19, was chosen as its patron for her generous spirit and outreach to others.

Made whole through the Cross of Jesus, Stephen Ministry is a complete system of training and organizing lay persons for caring ministry in the congregation.  It increases significantly the number of congregation members equipped to provide quality Christian care so that fewer of those in need "fall between the cracks."  It enables those who receive care to grow in a deeper relationship with our Lord.  It builds a strong and supportive ministry team between pastor and lay people who together bring God's care to others and enables the entire congregation to grow as a warm, living, nurturing community.  Stephen Ministers provide ongoing Christian care to people experiencing a wide range of life needs or crises, including the hospitalized, the terminally ill, the bereaved, the elderly, the disabled and handicapped, those in job cirisis, the lonely, the inactive, the shut-in and home-bound, new members in our church or community, those in spiritual crisis, those going through separation or divorce, those facing life transitions, single parents, and many others.

Stephen Ministries began in 1975 when the Rev. Dr. Kenneth C Haugk founded the organization as a result of his work in the church.  He realized that he could not do all of the ministry by himself and, so, came up with a program to help spread the ministry in his church.  The success of this effort brought him recognition in the community and before too long other churches were asking him to help them.  This led to the formation of Stephen Ministry.

St. Mary's has been a Stephen Ministry parish since December 2010.

Cursillo (pronounced coor-SEE-oh) is a spiritual renewal movement in The Episcopal Church.  Cursillo is, basically, a short course in Christian living.  Through it we come to understand what is fundamental as a Christian and how to live that out.  It can be a wonderful means of coming to a personal relationship with the Lord, Jesus Christ.