The contractor for the project is Jerry Omler who has done many of our present renovations and we look forward to working with him again.  At the present moment we are awaiting our contractor as he ties up loose ends at other job sites.  He assures us that construction will begin sometime in June.  The plans for the new construction can be viewed in the parish hall any day during regular operating hours and donations for the building and furnishings may be made to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, P. O. Box 12326, Lake Charles, LA. 70612

     In the Spring we are starting a new curriculum called God and Me. This program is a tri-part curriculum that will involve the parents in weekly activities through a workbook to be distributed to each family.  the children will also have their own book to work from each week.  This curriculum was brought to us by Lee McSpadden and is part of the God and Country Series that the Boy  Scouts use.  Those children who are in Scouts will be eligible for a prayer badge upon completion  of the program, but ALL of our kids (boys and girls, Boy Scouts and non-Boy Scouts) are sure to be entertained and enriched by the program.  The "curriculum goals" set forth in the leader’s guide are as follows:

1. To provide and opportunity for young people and families to explore their faith together.

2. To help children realize that God is active in every part of their lives.

3. To help children know that Jesus is their best friend.

4. To memorize the Lord’s prayer.

     This program will begin on January 17th.  In addition to that, the children are VERY much looking forward to a new classroom in the new building and are grateful to all the "grown-ups" who made that happen!  Remember to spread the word about Children’s Church or grab your grandchild or neighbot and bring them by at 10:15 every Sunday.  We’ll have them back in “Big Church”in time for the Peace.

     I never did and still do not allow the national Church’s public squabbles to weaken my support of confidence in the Episcopal fatih.  I need the Episcopal faith and believe strongly in it’s teachings and structures.  I am fully supported and enjoy the confidence and guidance I receive from Bishop MacPherson, Rector George, and the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church congregation.

     All the moral, theological, and spiritual needs I receive from the Episcopal Church help me not to fall prew to the folly (foolish), intransigency (stubborn), and caprice (unstable) of human conduct.  These cannot and do not change.  Changing you name will not change your characteristics.  Therefore, I seek to examine my own conduct and character and seek the Church’s guidance in order to better myself.  I presume anyone who attends a Church on a regular basis does the same.  That is why the Church exists, is it not?

“Activity done without thinking is habit”

You and I often think of our loved ones and those we know and have emotions of pride. As they go through life and accomplish all the things they set out to do we think to ourselves, “I am so proud of what they are doing or what they have done.”  There isn’t anything wrong with that emotion, but why do we feel pride.  Most of us didn’t have any direct responsibility for the action or accomplishment, pride is the wrong feeling.  What we are feeling is pleased, even thrilled; but to feel pride is to assert that perhaps we had something to do with the accomplishment.  When God looked at the face of Christ coming up out of the water even God didn’t take credit for Jesus’ accomplishments.  God was pleased with Jesus, God was pleased with the decisions and the actions Jesus chose along the way to his baptism; but God never felt pride.

Pride has a tendency to generate arrogance or self righteousness and that ladies and gentlemen is not a holy reaction.  As people of God, we should evaluate our reaction and feelings toward every event in our lives, and set those emotions in the correct context in order to truly practice righteousness.  When I gaze at my little grand daughter Aly, I look at her with immense love and joy, I am very pleased to have her in my life, and I am sure I will be pleased with every accomplishment she makes along her way.   And I am quite sure that old arrogance and pride will peep in on occasion, but I hope to practice what I preach and reflect and evaluate my own reactions toward her accomplishments.  I hope that when she gets that gold medal or that gold star I will look at her with love and say “Aly, you are my beloved, in you I am well pleased.”

The first question I can remember being asked was, “What are you going to do to help us to grow?”  I responded by asking another question.  Yes, I know that isn’t always a good thing to do, but this question was a serious one, to which I really needed to know the answer.  “Do you really want to grow?”  I will always remember this conversation, because this is probably the most important question for any Christian community to ask itself.  This is a question which need to be revisited often, perhaps even daily.

Growing a congregation is not an easy task for anyone.  It is especially difficult on the members who have “always been here,” as they are the ones that must learn to share power and decision-making with other who they may not know very well.  They, too, must realize that the original dream or vision will of necessity change and transform, because of new ideas, new members, and new needs.  We must remember that even the best laid plans may not be the right plan.

This is an exciting time, however, for those who truly put their trust in God.  As we continue to see St. Andrew’s grow and transform into the Church God would have us be, let’s remember with thanksgiving those who ere here before us, as well as those who may come after us.  Its only ours for the time being.  We are the stewards, not the owners.

• The Church should be supported by the people who proclaim to believe the Gospel
• Support of the Church is a matter of Christin worship.  True worship always requires an offering, something of worth to the worshiper, which is given in joy and reverence for the work of Christ’s kingdom.
• People have enough money to support the work of the Church.  The average person gives 2 % of their income.  Most could double their offering to the Church without reducing their standard of living. 10% is still the standard for Christian giving; it is the tithe.
• The first Christians discovered that Christ reconciled the world unto himself.  They were joyful to share the Good News. They gave their money for the spread of the Good News.  The first, however, gave their own hearts and lives to Christ.  “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son..” Christians so love that they give.  Loving and giving is what stewardship is about.
• The biblical principle is that God is the only true owner and giver of all things.  All we possess, our time, out talents, and our money are held in trust for and from God. 
• It is God that we shall render an accounting of our administration of that trust.  How are you doing?

Well, yes, but do we all mean the same thing, when we say or proclaim these words.  Its an interesting fact, that while we live in a time when there are more words in the world than ever before, the  Elizabethan language had only about 1,500 words; though our language to today has many thousands of words, we still cannot seem to say or mean what we say.

So, who do you say that Jesus is?  And why did he ask that question in the first place?  Was he just trying to feel out the disciples to see if they had been keeping their ears to the old grapevine.  Was he really curious about what others were saying about him?  I think to answer theses questions, we first must look at the setting in which they were originally discussed.  You see, Jesus along with his disciples was in Caesarea Philippi, which was an area heavily occupied by Roman citizens.  They were not in Judea, not in Galilee or Nazareth.  Because of that, he was probably interested to know what these Romans thought about him.  What are they saying about me, he wondered.  He was asking out of curiosity, but he was also interested to know what his own disciples thought.  What was their response to those Romans, when they were talking and discussing with them about who their rabbi was?

When asked, they told him what the Romans thought: some say this, some say that, you know how that goes.  But then he asks Peter directly, “But who do you say that I am?”  Peter, of course, responds by saying, “You are the Messiah.,”  And you and I think we know what Peter meant, but we really do not know what Peter meant that day; what we know is what Peter came to mean.  You see, that day in Caesarea Philippi, Peter meant you are the one who is going to lead us out of this oppression of the Roman government.  You are the one Israel was promised to save us from occupation and tyranny.  You are going to be our king, just as soon as we overthrow the Roman government. To which Jesus sternly tells them, do not tell anyone this; do not discuss  who it is you think I am.

Jesus said those things to Peter, because he know that Peter’sidea of the Messiah and the reality was going to be different.  Jesus knew that he was not going to be a leader, who was going to overthrow any government, let alone the Roman Empire.  He had, by this time, some ideas as to what his mission was, and he knew that it was not going to involve raising an army and fighting the Romans.

So he begins to teach them about the old prophetic writings in scripture.  He teaches then what the scriptures say abou the Messiah:  “That the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”  They had forgotten that part of the prophecy and had only hung on to the good part, if you will.  But Jesus reminds them, that the Messiah, for which they were waiting wasn’t going to be this king thay had been expecting.  He was going to suffer, be rejected, be killed, and rise again . And quite honestly, they probably did not understand the rising again part at all.

You and I are not much different from those disciples that day in Caesarea.  We often hold on to the parts that suit us and ignore the parts that we either do not understand or don’t like.  We must, however, continue to ask the question.  Who do you say that I am?  Who is Jesus to you, personally?  Is he Lord?  Is he Savior?  Is he just a prophet that gave us some nice examples by which to live?  It is important for each of us to wrestle with this questionl  I think it’s a good question to ask on a daily basis.  who is Jesus today, in this present life?

If the answer is Lord, then he must be the one in control of every aspect of life, every decision, every action, every word.  If he is savior, then is he savior of only you and yours, or is he truly the savior of the world, as proclaimed in the Gospel of John? If he is a prophet teacheing us to live a godly life, then why are we spending so much time, enegy, and money to do this thing we call Church?  There are plenty of self-help books and blogs out there.  There has to be more to it; there has to be.  So, keep asking.

• Know the history of the congregation with whom you are worshiping.  Before any of us can feel a part of a community we must understand its history.  A community’s history is a strong compass for present decision-making.  It is a compass, not an obstacle.  We must use past experience to inform present decisions, but not to stop us from moving forward.  Talk to experienced members.
• Be in touch with the mission of the church community.  We must be familiar with the mission and purpose of the congregation.  The purpose and beliefs of the congregation are the foundation for the church’s mission to the world.  Do you know what St. Andrew’s mission is?
• Pray, pray, pray. Prayer is the single most important connection we have to God, to God’s will, and to our direction in God’s kingdom.  A congregation steeped in prayer, committed to prayer, and living in prayer is a strong, healthy congregation able to give back to the world.
• Name the good that you see happening in the Church.  Too often people are quick to gather together to talk about everything that went wrong, that was misprinted, or that someone forgot to do.  We are creatures attracted to the negative.  Christ, however, calls us to be transformed into new creatures, controlling our tongues is one way to do this.  So practice looking for positive things you see happening around the Church; it can be contagious.
• Believe that God is alive and in charge.  It is, after all, what we profess to believe.  If God is alive, why are we so fearful about the world around us?  If we believe in a living God, then we must practice trust in the power of that living God.
• Forgive, forgive, forgive.  Forgiveness is what has allowed each of us to claim our Christianity.  It is also the hallmark of the Christian ethos.  If we are going to follow Jesus, we must truly forgive those who have transgressed againsus.  Our own forgiveness depends upon it.  “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”

     The Building Committee has met with two different contractors on two different dates to discuss bids that were submitted.  Discussions focued on a wide variety of topics dealing with each bid in order to clarify specific detatils of the estimates.  After these meetings, the contractors were going to resubmit their bids.  As of this date were have not selected a contrator.  We have, however, received one of the bids back, and we are awaiting another.

     In addition to this we are continuing the appropriate processes as set up through the Canons of the Church, which included funding of building projects.  At this time we have been give permission to conduct a fund-raising phase, to which we have received a wonderful response.  Our next step will be to meet with the Diocesan Finance Committee in August, as well as the Executive Committee.  After these meetings, we will be given final approval and clearance to begin construction.  We hope to bread ground sometime in September.

     We are very appreciative to all who have seen the vision and importance of this project.  We are humbled by the overwhelming support we have received.  May God alone be glorified for this good work.