February 10, 2023

Dear St. Marks,

On Tuesday, I was ordained into the Priesthood. It was a fantastic night full of celebration, tears, laughs, friends, family, and guides from various times in my life. Jordan and the choir made beautiful music, and the Daughters of the King hosted a rockin’ reception with incredible flowers from Valentinos, complete with excellent food. I am beyond thankful for your support and prayers – my beloved St. Mark’s community. No matter if you were there in person, online, in prayer, or if this is the first you are hearing about it, I’m grateful for you.

Transformation is a funny thing. It happens very slowly and also all at once. Something changed in this service on Tuesday night. At the same time, something has been changing for months. Something has been changing in my heart in every service since I began to serve with and among and alongside you all in July. In fact, I would say, it has been changing in my heart since I was made a Postulant in 2019. Indeed, God has caused a stirring in my heart long before that.

As my beloved friend, mentor, and now sister in the Priesthood whispered to me as she vested me in the chasable, ‘may the external transformation match the internal one.” As a side note, that is the same chasable Father James wore when he was ordained to the Priesthood. It is hand-made from former altar hangings – there are many gifts and connections.

Like many transformations, this is one that I will spend the rest of my life living into. I am at once fully transformed and, at the same time, I will grow evermore into this identity. Think of it like becoming a Christian or getting married. In one moment, things are shifted, and yet, the relationship is just starting. We continue to learn and love for the rest of our lives. This will, of course, be filled with mistakes, but those will be made tolerable by the balm of community and the gift of God’s grace.

What transformations are you undergoing? What work is God doing in your heart? The Holy Spirit can be sneakily doing work so quietly that you barely notice until you look up and your whole life is different. On the other hand, the transformation might be world-shifting from the very start. The life change could be somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. Pay attention, my friends! The moments of transformation come fast and slow. But no matter what, know that God is with you.

Yours faithfully,
Mother Joy

January 27, 2023

Dear St. Mark’s Family,

I became a resident clergy in the Diocese of Texas in October 2013. From afar, in the last ten years I have learned about and heard of many parishes. This includes St. Mark’s, Beaumont. I learned of the longstanding connection between St. Mark’s and chili! I have been amazed at the number of clergy and family who have had some type of connection to St. Mark’s, or Beaumont, or Southeast Texas. I learned about St. Mark’s deep community involvement through outreach. These are all things I knew about St. Mark’s from afar and I am so grateful to be experiencing them up close and personally!

Another part of St. Mark’s story I learned about, from clergy gatherings and Episcopal school events, is a person—Fr. Dean Calcote. Many ordinands visited with Fr. Dean through his muti-year service on the diocesan board of examining chaplains. In my own priestly experience with two previous Episcopal schools, I learned of Fr. Dean’s influence and impact in Episcopal education and the Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools (SAES). Upon receiving the call to come to St. Mark’s, I have received the incredible gift of grace of working personally with Fr. Dean. I have learned so much about his faithful service to All Saints School and St. Mark’s. Since his arrival in 1974, he has worked with many rectors and clergy. His stable and faithful clergy presence over the last several years has been a gift of incredible grace to St. Mark’s. Fr. Dean, through his own life, shared his witness of caring for Maree during her sickness, and beginning a new chapter in life after her death. Fr. Dean has been and remains an example of deep faithfulness.

With a heart full of deep gratitude, I want to share what Fr. Dean’s presence among us will look like as we move forward in 2023. While remaining a vital part of the worshipping community at St. Mark’s, Fr. Dean’s active participation in ministry and leadership at St. Mark’s will come to an end. He will lead the Friday morning service through the month of February, as this will allow time for him to fully transition into the worshipping community at St. Mark’s.

With Fr. Dean and his family, we are planning an event later in the Spring, where we will all have a chance to gather, honor his priestly ministry, and most importantly, give thanks for the numerous ways we have been touched by Fr. Dean’s faithfulness. Please be on the lookout for when the date and event is set.

During these days, and as Fr. Dean sits and worships among us, take time to say thank you. We are a more faithful community because Fr. Dean has served so well. I give God thanks for the wonderful community of St. Mark’s, and the gift of grace in Fr. Dean Calcote.

Faithfully,
Fr. James

January 13, 2023 

Dear St. Mark’s, 

I went to the wedding of a beloved friend last weekend. She and her now husband are starting a new life together. It was lovely to witness them intentionally set forth on this journey. They were making promises about how they want to live together and the kind of life they want to have as they say, “I will.” 

The night before the wedding, a friend I went to Seminary with welcomed a long-awaited child into the world. This baby is a newborn; he is beginning his life. So, while my friend is in the middle of his life, he is at the onset of his life as a father. It’s a new start in many ways. 

Many of us make new year resolutions. We long for a new life. We tend to think, ‘this is the day the first of the year when things are going to be different.’ But, alas, many of us have messed up with these goals by this second week in January.  

But there is good news. God is always inviting us into renewal. We don’t have to wait for the New Year, or Monday, or even tomorrow morning. Nothing is standing in our way. Starting again can be as soon as this next breath.  

Ruach (pronounced roo-akh) is the English spelling of the Hebrew word meaning breath, wind, or spirit. This is the word used in Genesis 1:1 in the poetic description of the beginning of the world. It’s used several times in the Old Testament. Pneuma is a Greek word that means breath, spirit, and Holy Spirit. It is used frequently when the languages switch in the New Testament.  

So, you might feel called to start again this week and going forward. You might consider that your life is taking a new path. You might want to make a new promise to yourself or to someone you love. If and when that happens, I have some ideas to consider. 

1. Take a breath. 
2. Remember this beginning. 
3. Think of the Spirit that surrounds you. 
4. Go forth and begin (again). 

Yours faithfully,
Deacon Joy

Join us Sunday, December 18 at 6PM