Vision Statement for St. Paul’s, Marfa, Texas
St. Paul’s is an open, loving community
growing in the experience and understanding of the love of God,
acting to share the visible presence and compassion of Christ.
Mission Statement for St. Paul’s, Marfa, Texas:
Our mission is to be a welcoming, prayerful, caring community
actively sharing the love of God.
Values Statement for St. Paul's Marfa, Texas To accomplish our mission, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church bases its decisions and actions on the following core values:
Love of God and neighbor by honoring the worth and dignity of every human being including ourselves.
Daily relationship with God all through our lives through prayer and service.
The importance of giving and receiving forgiveness through the generosity of the Holy Spirit.
We value continual learning.
We value the Episcopal tradition of communal worship.
Practicing hospitality by welcoming all and serving and sharing with our communities.
The stewardship of God’s creation and all its inhabitants.
"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful,
for beauty is God's handwriting." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
COMING February 18th
New Book for the Book Study “An extraordinary novel . . . a triumph of insight and storytelling.” —Associated Press
“A true masterpiece.” —Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed
An extraordinary story set in the first century about a woman who finds her voice and her destiny, from the celebrated number one New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings
In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with eighteen-year-old Jesus changes everything.
Their marriage evolves with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, and their mother, Mary. Ana's pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to Rome's occupation of Israel, partially led by her brother, Judas. She is sustained by her fearless aunt Yaltha, who harbors a compelling secret. When Ana commits a brazen act that puts her in peril, she flees to Alexandria, where startling revelations and greater dangers unfold, and she finds refuge in unexpected surroundings. Ana determines her fate during a stunning convergence of events considered among the most impactful in human history.
Grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus's life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring, unforgettable account of one woman's bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place and culture devised to silence her. It is a triumph of storytelling both timely and timeless, from a masterful writer at the height of her powers.
The Bishop's Committee has set a threshold number for active cases in the Tri-county area to determine whether to offer in-person worship. When that threshold is crossed, we will have only live-stream worship on that particular Sunday. The decision will be made every Friday and put in an email with the regular Saturday announcements We will always live-stream!
Just go to the VIDEO tab and at 10:30 a live stream will begin, you just need to push the play button on the live video to join us.
As we have done since our pandemic responses have been in place, please let me know if you wish to receive communion at home or wish for a pastoral visit in person or by Zoom. We will look forward to seeing you, one way or another, on Sunday.
Love one another. Pray for one another. Stay calm.
Wear a mask, keep your distance and wash your hands.
A Prayer for Quiet Confidence O God of peace, who hast taught us that in returning
and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be our strength: By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee, to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Book of Common Prayer, p. 832
~FEBRUARY~
9th - Tuesday
Tuesday, February 9: Some people think that forgiveness is incom- plete until things are just as they were before. But the truth is that after great hurt, things are never what they were before: they can only be better or be nothing at all. Both of which are accept- able states of life.
10:30 - Marfa Ministerial Alliance Medical Tour
10th - Wednesday
Wednesday, February 10: Forgiveness is what we need when we think we don’t and what we give when we think we shouldn’t. What we carry in our hearts is what burdens our bodies.
Thursday,February11: We know we have forgiven someone when we can meet them with genuine ac- ceptance in our hearts, wiser and war- ier than ever before, not of them but of our own past expectations of the relationship.
Medical Tour Theodora, Empress, c.867 Frances Jane (Fanny) Van Alstyne Crosby, Hymnwriter, 1915 10:30 - 1:00 - Borderland Deanery Clericus
4:00 - Book Study Group on Zoom Return of the Prodigal Son by Henry Nouwen CLICK HERE
12th - Friday
Friday, February 12: “Our greatest glory,” Confucius wrote, “is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.” War against the war within the self by making peace with it early. Yes, we have been hurt; no, we will never trust the same situation again. But indeed we will be happy always because we know more about life now than we did before and, when we are committed to going on, what- ever the cost, we are more than capa- ble of dealing with it.
Charles Freer Andrews, Priest and “Friend of the Poor” in India, 1940
13th - Saturday
Saturday, February 13: We say, “Forgive and forget” but I think the saying is upside down. The real truth may well be that until we have for- gotten why we were angry we haven’t really forgiven the wrong. But the only way to do that is to get intensely in- volved in something else.
Absalom Jones, Priest, 1818
14th - Sunday
Sunday, February 14: Fill your heart with beauty and you will find it increasingly difficult to waste your time on any kind of ugliness.
10:30 - The Last Sunday after Epiphany https://facebook.com/stpaulsmarfatx Live Streamed at 10:30 am 6:00 - A Service of Evening Prayer
for the LGBTQ+ Community
Our Friends and Allies
Click on a link below
Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries, 869 and 885
15th - Monday
Monday, February 15: If forgiveness has something to do with forgetting, pray that God is an amne- siac. It seems impossible to hope from God what we withhold ourselves.
Thomas Bray, Priest and Missionary, 1730 12:30 - 1:00 - Centering Prayer
The Casita
16th - Tuesday
Tuesday, February 16: If the message we’ re supposed to be getting is really, “Forgive us...as we forgive,” it’s time to let everything to the mercy of God, to put down unholy righteousness, to purge our- selves of grudges and to move where we’ re welcome, uncaring of where we’ re not.
Thursday, February 18:Hannah Arendt wrote: “Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.” Why stay back where it hurts? Why stay stuck in the swamp of bitterness? Let the end to God and go where life has new promise. That’s where God is calling you so why stay where the voice has gone silent?
Martin Luther, Pastor and Church Reformer, 1546 4:00 - Book Study Group on Zoom The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd CLICK HERE
19th - Friday
Friday, February 19: To forgive someone is not to say that what they did to you is all right. It simply says that what they did to you, cannot in the end, destroy you.
Agnes Tsao Kou Ying, Agatha Lin Zhao, and Lucy Yi Zhenmei, Catechists and Martyrs, 1856, 1858, and 1862 All Day - Virtual Clergy Retreat
20th - Saturday
Saturday, February 20:“Without forgiveness,” Robert Assagioli wrote, “life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retalia- tion.” What a waste of time. What a loss of perspective. What a diminishment of vision. What a poor investment of a life.
Frederick Douglass, Social Reformer, 1895
21st - Sunday
Sunday, February 21: It takes no strength at all to require restitution. What takes strength is to be full enough of other things to be able to forego it.
Monday, February 22: “Life is an adventure in forgiveness,” Norman Cousins said. You will, in other words, have lots of opportunity to practice. Don’t wait too long to start or life will have gone by before you ever lived it.
Eric Liddell, Missionary to China, 1945 Margaret of Cortona, Monastic, 1297 12:30 - 1:00 - Centering Prayer
The Casita
23rd - Tuesday
Tuesday, February 23: To withhold forgiveness is the adoration of the past when it is the present that de- mands the best of us.
Polycarp of Smyrna, Bishop and Martyr, 156
24th - Wednesday
Wednesday, February 24: Try to remember this insight: “There isn’t anyone you couldn’t love once you’ve heard their story.” You know yours and how it affects you. Have you ever bothered to hear anyone else’s?
Spending Time:The Eternal Value of Numbering Our Days
We need to manage our time with eternity in mind. None of us knows how many days, hours, or seconds we have left on Earth; all of us want to spend those days, hours, and seconds on something significant. This study will instruct us on the value of numbering our days. By doing so, we realize how few we actually have, spend them wisely, and live them out for God’s eternal purposes.
Thursday, February 25: It’s one thing to “forgive” for the sake of civility. It is another thing to forgive “from the heart.” Civility urges us to maintain the connections we have for the sake of our own advantage. The heart urges us to go beyond the hurt to the place where freedom lies and learning happens and trust is possible again, even if not here, not this.
John Roberts, Priest, 1949 4:00 - Book Study Group on Zoom The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd CLICK HERE
26th - Friday
Friday, February 26: Forgive- ness does not ignore responsibility but it does not tolerate vengeance. To jail criminals for life in order to protect the public is one thing; to become killers in order to punish them is vengeance. Where does that fit in a Divine schema that says, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay,” says God?
Saturday, February 27: Beware of premature forgiveness: the kind that absolves another person with- out taking the time, making the effort to examine what the bitterness is saying to your own soul about your own needs and expectations.
George Herbert, Priest and Poet, 1633
28th - Sunday
Sunday, February 28: A preacher stood over the bed of a dying man shouting, “Renounce Satan; renounce Satan and be forgiven!” The dying man opened one eye, looked at the preacher and said, “Sure, easy for you to say, Pastor, but in my situation, I don’t dare alienate anybody.” The old man may have a point: You have to won- der if forgiveness that comes with strings at-tached is really forgiveness at all.
A great number of Americans today are enslaved by money. They’re in bondage to their creditors, the consumer culture, and their own insatiable appetites for more and more stuff. The purpose of this Bible study is to provide biblical steps to financial freedom. If you want your life to count, you have to master your money.
Scripture: Proverbs 11:24; 13:6–16; 17:16; 22:26–27 Click Here
4th - Thursday Paul Cuffee, Witness to the Faith among the Shinnecock, 1812
4:00 - Book Study Group on Zoom The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd CLICK HERE
5th - Friday
6th - Saturday William W. Mayo, 1911, and Charles Menninger, 1953,
and Their Sons, Pioneers in Medicine
God wants to minister to our nation and our world in many wonderful ways, yet he chooses to work through the obedience and generosity of his children. The purpose of this study is to awaken a desire for obedience and generosity in our hearts. To have a life that counts, we must stop robbing God and start giving generously.
11th - Thursday 4:00 - Book Study Group on Zoom The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd CLICK HERE12th - Friday Gregory the Great, Bishop and Theologian, 604 13th - Saturday James Theodore Holly, Bishop of Haiti, and of the Dominican Republic, 191114th - Sunday 10:30 - The Third Sunday of Lent https://facebook.com/stpaulsmarfatx Live Streamed at 10:30 am Vincent de Paul, Priest, and Louise de Marillac,
Monastic, Workers of Charity, 1660 15th - Monday 12:30 - 1:00 - Centering Prayer
The Casita
Prayers of the People - Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
To whom will we compare you, Holy One, the everlasting God, Creator of the ends of the earth, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain: Be near to us in our weakness and uphold us with your might, as I pray Great is our God and mighty in power and you respond by saying there is no limit to God's wisdom.
+ That the Church may discover many ways to present the love of God, reaching people of different cultures, tongues, and understandings with the one message of Christ; let us pray...Great is our God and mighty in power....there is no limit to God's wisdom
+For this faith community called St. Paul's Marfa.....that we may be all things to all people, and be on fire with zeal to share the Good News of God's love as we live out our mission to be a welcoming, prayerful, caring community actively sharing the love of God.... let us pray...Great is our God and mighty in power....there is no limit to God's wisdom
+ That those who are weary may have their strength renewed, those who are hungry be given the bread of life, those who are sick healed of their illness, and those in despair awaken to hope; let us pray...Great is our God and mighty in power....there is no limit to God's wisdom
+ For those who are peacemakers throughout the world, that their labor be not in vain, but bear fruit that brings new life to the peoples of all nations; let us pray...Great is our God and mighty in power....there is no limit to God's wisdom.
+ For economic development in our city and state, leading to an increase in employment and financial security; let us pray...Great is our God and mighty in power....there is no limit to God's wisdom
+For the healing of our nation and a deeper commitment to find common ground to serve the common good.... let us pray...Great is our God and mighty in power....there is no limit to God's wisdom
+For all suffering from the current pandemic: especially the most vulnerable, those on the front line of care and service, and those administering the vaccine, that we may all remain vigilant in our care and protection of one another..... let us pray...Great is our God and mighty in power....there is no limit to God's wisdom
+ For family life, that through love and forgiveness relationships may prosper, and children may have the stability that builds emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being; l let us pray...Great is our God and mighty in power....there is no limit to God's wisdom
+ For all who have died, especially children and young adults, that they may find eternal life in the arms of our all-merciful Savior; let us pray...Great is our God and mighty in power....there is no limit to God's wisdom
As a community of faith, called to proclaim the good news of Christ, we continue our prayers and petitions.
+ In thanksgiving for those who bring treasures to the poor and needy of the world, offering precious gifts of hope to God’s fragile people....In thanksgiving for all the blessings of this life, remembering those who have been our mentors and teachers, and through whose companionship we have experienced the riches of divine grace; Let us take time and name who and what we are thankful for....... for this we pray.....Let us give thanks to God with our whole heart...for you are gracious and full of compassion.
+God of mercy, we pray for all in any kind of need or trouble: For the many who are suffering economically, that God will watch over those who have lost employment, struggle to pay their bills or have enough to eat.....For all whose lives have been touched by storms, fires, and the pandemic, ALS, Cancer and other diseases that they may find help, hope, and compassionate care from those around them....Let us remember by name those we know and can name in the silence of our hearts; for those we don’t know but know about, and for those worldwide who suffer...Awaken in us compassion and humility of spirit, as we seek and serve Christ in all persons...... for this we pray.....Let us give thanks to God with our whole heart...for you are gracious and full of compassion
Concluding Collect: We look toward your eternal glory, O Holy One, and raise our voices to you in prayer; Enter our homes and towns, our solitudes and cities; cast out all that oppresses and threatens your people, heal all who are weak and bring peace in our time, that your whole creation may sing out in praise to proclaim your message of love and hope, through Jesus Christ our Savior. AMEN+
For Our Country
Almighty God, who has given us this good land for our
heritage: We humbly ask you that we may always prove
ourselves a people mindful of your favor and glad to do your will.
Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and
pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion;
from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend
our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes
brought here out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue
with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in your Name we entrust
the authority of government, that there may be justice and
peace at home, and that, through obedience to your law, we
may show forth your praise among the nations of the earth.
In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness,
and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in you to fail;
all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for St. Paul's (adapted from a prayer written by Richard Rohr)
O Great Love,
thank you for living and loving in us and through us.
May all that we do
flow from our deep connection with you and all beings.
Help our faith community become a community
that vulnerably shares each other’s burdens and the weight of glory.
Listen to our hearts’ longings for the healing of our world.
Guide us in living out our mission to to be a
welcoming, prayerful, caring community
actively sharing the love of God . . .
Knowing you are hearing us better than we are speaking,
we offer these prayers in all the holy names of God,
Amen+
Prayer for the Pandemic
Loving God, hasten the day when the virus will have run its course; quicken scientists to develop medications and vaccines; call out the best instincts of your people- love, neighborliness, compassion, and a sense of caring for every member of your beloved community on Earth. We pray out of the depths to you, O God of hope. Amen.
Prayers are asked for…..
The Church
Justin, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael, our Presiding Bishop, Michael, our
Bishop and Michael, our Vicar….In the Anglican cycle of prayer we pray for The
Anglican Church of Burundi, The Diocese of Saint Andrews Dunkeld & Dunblane – The Scottish Episcopal Church, The Anglican Missionary District – Igreja Episcopal
Anglicana do Brasil, The Diocese of Angola – The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, The Diocese of Ankole – The Church of the Province of Uganda, The Diocese of North Ankole – The Church of the Province of Uganda, The Diocese of Northwest Ankole – The Church of the Province of Uganda, ....In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer: St. Michael & All Angels, Albuquerque,…We also pray for St. James, Alpine, St. Stephens, Ft. Stockton, Santa Inez, Terlingua, Chapel of St. Mary & St. Joseph, Lajitas, and the Marfa and Alpine Ministerial Alliances…. For Connor Travis and the ministry of Young Life
For Our Leaders
For Joseph, our president, Greg our Governor, Manny our mayor and the mayors and city managers of our surrounding communities…. For Joe, our president-elect and
Kamala, our vice president-elect and all newly elected officials as well as our elected officials in Washington and all who exercise authority at any level of government. For all who struggle to make a more just society
St. Paul’s Prayer Box and Prayer Wall
Living out our mission to be a welcoming, prayerful, caring community actively sharing the love of God….On our wall…To day I Pray: Peace...our President...Healing...for my business...for accountability...for Tom and family...For truth and light...Rudy with ALS....Today I Hope: Happy...Joyous...Free...health and healing for all...Blessing of grandchildren...for my child...For the future...safety of Jorhey...Today I Thank: my family...thankful for my daughter...sobriety...chosen family...opportunities/expanded community...my family +community...family & health...For a safe trip...For a home, work...my sister...The Earth...Jesus,... Heavenly Father...St. Paul's....Merry Christmas....God for Camillia my friend....His grace, patience, guidance...Prayer Box: For our long trip and our families far away...Becca's recovery from a broken ankle...For our family friend "R" who is facing serious surgery on October 1...Mariano Faiardo reecovery from cancer (my father)...Victor Amram, grandfather of 92 that is struggling for strength...Zanfini...
St. Paul’s Prayer List
Gail, Patty, Holly, D'Ette, Merit and the Fowlkes family, James, Shere, Kevin and Jay, Lesly, Lila, Melodie, Mimi, Pat & Mary, the Vana Family… FOR Jeanie Olivas, Vijaya, Frank, Larry, Jack Risen, Kathryn Anschutz, Sue Ellen, Kelly, Brian Hutchins who have cancer… for Michael Simpson, Lee Ann,. for James, Brian Neal & Jacob, Linda, for Jenny, Megan and Elizabeth, for David who has MSA, Frank, for Ralph...Kathleen….Bishop Jerry and Jane Lamb…Jessie Ann….Francisco Javier Del Hierro Vega, Juan Paul Del Hierro Vega, Arlyn Del Hierro…..Canon Carole McGowan... Help us remember that whereas some sections of the media are skewed and biased or even untruthful, Your essence is truth and light...for the media that they present with truth, compassion and unbias... Douglas...for those with the coronavirus, those living in isolation because of the virus, caretakers and researchers to find a cure and a vaccine...MEMBERS OF THE TIPTON FAMILY...Amanda, a nurse on the frontlines in New York City....Debbie Hamilton who is a paramedic on the front lines in San Antonio....Dawn who has cancer..Airman First Class Sidney Davis who is overseas.....Andrea, a nurse recovered from COVID-19 and back at treating others, Safe travels, Protection from COVID-19,...Ellen Boyd. After 15 years of being cancer free, her cancer has returned.... Itze who is in hospice...For the Kinney-Morrow family...Father Phil West recovering from a stroke...Gary Stonum who has Covid-19....for Katie who is dying.....Aurie....Mary Steele who is battling stage 3 breast Cancer...Kellie and Rick on their journey together....Pearl....Paul Woods, Cancer....Dorothy Swanson who fell and now has the Coronavirus....Lee Ann....Kaley Bowerman & Judah...Kristy Kimmell...Burt and Doris Ann Brownfield.......Corina & Carlos and their daughters, Iris and Lily....Rudy and Allison....Roberto who has cancer and Julia his wife....Luane Porter...Carol Janocek who has cancer...Layne who is struggling....Marina Z with Covid-19....Yvonne who is in hospice care...Roger Cribdin, Cancer medical trial...Patricia, congestive heart failure....Ernie Maddon in Hospice Care......
Those who have died
John D Cowsar, Mike O'Connor, Victims of Covid-19,...
World News This Week in Prayer
“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40: 28-31)
Oh Lord, why do I feel that I am left muttering impotently about Things. I want to stamp my feet and ask “Haven’t they heard? Don’t they know?”
We pray for the people of France as the Government suggests a thoroughly tested vaccine is not suitable for over 65’s.
We pray for the farmers of India amid escalating violence and viciousness of the barricades
We pray about the increasingly unsettled and violent situation in Afghanistan, increasingly focussed on females of all ages.
We pray for the people of Myanmar, suddenly finding the military has staged a coup against the Government.
We pray for the many unsettled countries across East Africa – Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
We pray for the people of San Salvador as Médecins Sans Frontières suspends work.
We pray for the people of Bolivia as the Government refuses a lockdown and hospitals are overwhelmed.
We pray for the people of the USA, finding a new way with a new Government, already seeing changes in their foreign policy and a task force established to re-unite separated adult migrants with children.
We pray for the team of investigators, led by WHO, in Hubei Province, China, a year after the Doctor who tried to warn about a new virus died.
We pray for the people of Great Britain, with one of the worst Covid 19 outbreaks in the world also dealing with the changes to border controls following Brexit. This threatens the fragile peace in Northern Ireland.
We give thanks for the small signs of hope and joy so often overlooked in our media outlets:
the women in a small village in Nigeria who saved up some allowances for essentials to buy a car to transport pregnant women in an emergency to their local hospital 30km away where roads are virtually non-existent. This has cut the death rate of women and babies dramatically. Similar help is now available to other isolated villages.
Chefs with Compassion – a group of chefs in South Africa are using unsold food, which would be dumped to provide meals for those in need. Currently 25% of South Africans are estimated to go to bed hungry from the economic fallout existing before the pandemic hit and is now much worse.
we give thanks for all those community groups of whatever faith or none, doing any sort of work to help their neighbors in need across the globe; so often this is unnoticed but spreads love and compassion – a healing combination.
Lord, renew our strength to soar into battle over all the problems we hear about; to run to deal with those things we each, as individuals and countries, can sort out; and finally to walk in your way.
Amen
"SEE" YOU SUNDAY!
The Rev. Michael Wallens
Vicar - Saint Paul's Episcopal Church
P.O. Box 175, Marfa, Texas 79843
