« January 2005 | Main | March 2005 »
February 28, 2005
Showers of Blessings!
Its a time of great blessing for St. Gabriel's and the United Episcopal Church of North America. With gratitude to God, St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church announces that this Sunday, March 6th at 10:00 a.m. The Most Rev. Stephen C. Reber, Sr., Presiding Bishop of the United Episcopal Church of North America (UECNA) will ordain Mr. Rafael Carbajal of Rogers, Dr. Bobby Hall of Bella Vista, Mr. Edward Knox of Huntsville and Mr. Scott Lay of Rogers to the Diaconate . Rev. Mr. Timon Barr of Jasper will be ordained to the Priesthood
Bobby Hall will serve at St. Gabriel's Bella Vista Mission Church. Scott Lay will assist the entire region of UECNA's Deanery of the Ozarks.
Rafael Carbajal will serve the Hispanic community of Northwest Arkansas as well as continue his leadership with Corpus Christi in Motion, a UECNA-supported non-profit ministry committed to individuals, family and community by helping maintain and restore wellness and mutual integration into society.
Edward Knox will assist at St. Gabriel's, Springdale as well as extend his services to St. Catherine's Church, Fayetteville.
Timon Barr will assist Fr. Leo Michael at St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church, Springdale.
A reception in St. Gabriel's undercroft will follow the service.
May I request you to pray for all of them.
Posted by frleo at 7:31 PM
Touching base again
Its been a while since we touched base. I want to thank Matt and Vicky Drachenbergs for bringing the St. Gabriel's Tsunami Relief Efforts to the blog world.
Even while the sad news of the schism is in the air within the Anglican communion, we continue to pray for the body of Christ:that the spirit may inspire them to see where they are leading the members of their congregation and mend their ways and be a beacon of hope through these times of confusion.
Posted by frleo at 7:29 PM
Exciting Times at St. Gabriel's
This is a very busy and exciting time for St. Gabriel's and the UECNA. We returned from our trip to South India and went straight into preparations for Lent. Additionally, we've held confirmation classes and classes for four postulants to the Diaconate.
On Sunday, March 6th -- The Fourth Sunday in Lent -- Bishop Reber will be at St. Gabriel's presiding over what should be a magnificent ceremony. Beginning at 10:00 on this day, new members will be officially welcomed to the Church, confirmations will be performed, four postulants will be ordained as Deacons and our beloved Deacon Timon Barr will be ordained to the priesthood. Following this approximately two-hour ceremony, a catered luncheon will be held in the undercroft. All parishioners are invited -- indeed encouraged -- to attend.
This coming Saturday, March 5th, Deacon Sam Seamans in Mountain Home will also be ordained to the priesthood. While Fr. Leo is attending this ceremony, our parishioners will gather at St. Gabriel's for a work day in preparation for Sunday's extraordinary gathering. We must make God's house especially beautiful to celebrate these blessed events.
Our Senior Warden Ed Knox, Rafael Carbajal, Dr. Bobby Hall from Bella Vista, and Scott Lay will be ordained to the Diaconate. Our long-serving Deacon, Timon Barr, will be ordained to the priesthood. St. Gabriel's is indeed blessed to have several good men step forward to serve Christ and the Church in this way. These ordinations, along with the confirmations and formal acceptance of new members, indicates life and growth in our Parish. This is so vital in these troubled times where so many are fallen away from not just the Christian faith, but faith and belief in God in general. It is especially important for Christ's faithful to maintain and to grow the Church, and receiving strong, faithful men into the Diaconate and Priesthood is an indication that we are succeeding. May these blessed events serve as an example and inspire others to embrace a life devoted to Christ and Christian principles.
We invite all parishioners to attend Sunday's service at 10:00 a.m. We also invite everyone to join us Saturday at 10:00 a.m. to help beautify our church and organize in preparation for the Bishop's visit.
Posted by frleo at 11:06 AM
Tsunami Update
Our online photo gallery has been updated with pictures of St. Gabriel's Tsunami Relief effort, including the Fundraiser Dinner and the damage witnessed in South India. Please click HERE to view these pictures.
We are also working on a DVD presentation of our efforts in South India. With seven hours of video tape to review, this has proven to be a time-consuming process. However, once completed, this DVD can be utilized by Fr. Leo in presentations to civic and other organizations. It will also be of great use to our parishioners. As soon as the DVD is complete, we will present it at the Church.
Posted by frleo at 10:49 AM