HYDE PARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH March 2019 Church Mouse

I have a new found love of podcasts and audiobooks. I know I am late to the party, but I have never gotten to commute an hour to work each way at least twice a week. I have come to cherish this time and am fairly certain I will never grow weary of the beautiful drive.

Sometimes when I get in my car and start it up, my car thinks it knows what I want and starts playing my audiobook right away. We hopped in the car after school one day last week and my eight year old asked if the book I was listening to was a book for kids or a book for adults. I paused for a moment and thought about this. We had a great discussion about what it means to put labels on things - by age, or gender, etc. I know that sometimes these types of labels are helpful, but it is also good to really consider what they mean and who decided they were “right”.

What belongs to whom? And who decides?

I worry sometimes that kids feel that worship belongs to the grownups and not to them. This is certainly not true. All are welcome in worship at anytime, but science and experience tells us that sitting still for an hour isn’t in the skill set of all young people. Learning through conversation, in a setting where you can move and wiggle, seems to work better for many young people (and even many adults!). In conversation with others, we have decided to study some of the parables during lent. While we hear the stories read and preached in worship, those young people who choose to go to Sunday school will study the same stories. Afterall, there is no label on the Bible...it belongs to all of us.

Parables are simple stories, told by Jesus, used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. I am excited to see the ways we will learn together...and learn from each other...as we share a common experience in reading these stories which belong to us all.

I pray that March is filled with moments of learning, curiosity and surprise!

Peace to you all,

Emily 1

Monthly Giving Report

Volunteer Calendar March 2019

Date Greeter/Usher Refreshments Liturgist Communion 3 Ben & Diego Melissa Ann Setup: Ben/Esther Serve: Melissa/Elsa 10 Ben & Diego Luncheon Thomas 17 Ben & Diego Ben & Esther Karen 24 Ben & Diego Kandy Ben 31 Ben & Diego Ann & Gary Gary

*If you are unavailable to serve on the date listed above, please make arrangements with someone to fill in for you. Financial Report

January 2019 Income: $3,803.00 Expenses: $1,177.93 Total: $2,625.07

Thank you for your generous contributions as we continue to build for our future.

Food Pantry

As you give thanks for God’s many blessings, please remember those who are hungry and in need. Your thoughtful donations are greatly appreciated as we provide groceries to our neighbors.

Between January 29th & February 19th, 19 people received groceries.

“Truly I tell you, ‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:4

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Ash Hancock HOB Worship George Wednesday Neighborhood Bourianoff’s Association Birthday

Pancake Supper

Food Pantry 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Daylight Savings Begins Starr Long’s Birthday Luncheon Food Pantry 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

St. Patrick’s Sebastian Day Food Pantry Kyle’s Birthday Luc & Candice National Puppy Prose’ Day ASH Lindsey Start of Spring Anniverary Laffere’s Birthday Shannon & Lee Spilman’s HOB Worship Anniversary

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Session Food Pantry

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Don’t forget to set your Join us as we celebrate the clocks forward (if they don’t Welcome the first day of beginning of Lent on Ash do so on their own) for Spring as Winter goes Wednesday on MARCH 6TH! Daylight Savings Time on away on MARCH 20TH! MARCH 10TH!

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In the Spotlight

We worship together but there are many things we don’t know about one another. Each month, we will get to know some of our congregants better.

Elise Ramirez

I began attending Hyde Park Presbyterian as a young girl. Throughout the years, I have many profound memories of the church that include Sunday school, youth group, Christmas plays, Vacation Bible School and community events.

In 2014, I met my husband Hank. We got engaged at the Riverwalk in San Antonio in 2016. On April 8, 2017 we married at Hyde Park Presbyterian. We have three sons and currently reside in Georgetown. Preston is fifteen years old and is in the 9th grade. He enjoys singing, listening to music, and hanging out with friends. Luke is twelve years old and is in 7th grade. He enjoys playing the trombone and his favorite subject is Science. Aiden is eleven years old and is in 5th grade. He enjoys playing soccer, reading comics and video games. Hank works at First National Bank Texas as a Financial Analyst and Enterprise Risk Manager. Our family pets include a dog named Merlin who we rescued in August of 2017 and a spotted leopard gecko named Marty.

I am a Licensed Vocational Nurse. I’ve worked for thirteen years at Baylor Scott and White. Currently, I work in Family Medicine and Pediatrics. Additionally, I work as a clinical coach/ preceptor. At present, I am pursing my Registered Nursing Degree at Galen College. My expected date of graduation is December 20.

Starr Long

Starr McAuley Long has been making video games for over 25 years here in Austin and (briefly) in Los Angeles. He is married to Eugenie Bagur Long and they have one daughter, Anaïs Elisabeth Long. They live in Hyde Park in a beautiful 1923 Craftsman. Starr likes to travel with his family to places like Mexico and Europe, with Barcelona being a family favorite. He also likes playing video games, reading science fiction and fantasy, watching movies (a favorite date night), listening to music (live shows and recorded), collecting watches (he has over 100!), being a DJ in his latest video game, giving talks (conferences, schools, etc.), and scuba diving.

Starr was born in 1970 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the only child of Zelda Klein Long (1948–2013) and Max "Cary" Long (1943–2003), who ran an antique store, Goudeau Antiques. He graduated in 1988 from Baton Rouge Magnet High School, and then attended Louisiana State University, earning a degree in Theatre in 1992. He did some part- time work building sets for local theaters such as Baton Rouge Opera, and then moved with some friends to Austin, Texas, where he continued at venues such as Live Oak Theatre. Because of the low pay in the theater business though, he began looking for other opportunities. On a whim, in September 1992 he responded to an ad looking for paid game testers, and to his surprise found himself suddenly hired by Richard Garriott's well-known game company Origin Systems (which shortly thereafter was acquired by Electronic Arts).

At Origin, Long worked in Quality Assurance, documenting bugs on games such as Ultima VII, Wing Commander III, and ShadowCaster. 4

In the Spotlight

He was soon promoted to QA Lead on games such as BioForge, then in 1995 to associate producer on Ultima IX, and to director of the first online version of the Ultima series, Ultima Online, where Long's online persona was known as Lord Blackthorn. The game was released in 1997, and though not the first graphical MMO, gained considerable attention as part of the popular Ultima series, attracting 250,000 players. It went on to win several awards, including being the first inductee to the GDC Online Awards Hall of Fame, and was listed by TIME magazine as one of the 100 greatest video games of all time.

In 2000, Long and the Garriott brothers left Origin, and formed a new company, Destination Games. In 2001 it was acquired by Korea-based NCsoft, with the company's first game Tabula Rasa released in late 2007. That same year Starr was reunited with an old schoolmate from high school, Eugenie Bagur. They re-met through mutual friends in the game industry via Eugenie's sister Michelle Bagur. They instantly fell in love and got engaged.

In 2008, Starr and Eugenie were married. That same year Starr was named one of the Top 20 Most Influential People in the Massively Multiplayer Online Industry by Beckett Massive Online Gamer Magazine.

Later that year Richard and Starr parted ways for a time, with Garriott forming a new company, Portalarium, and Long moving his family to Los Angeles, where he was hired by The Walt Disney Company as an executive producer. When Eugenie and Starr arrived at their new home in Los Angeles they discovered they were pregnant with Anaïs!

During the next several years, Long oversaw the creation of several social games and mobile apps for Disney and its subdivision Disney Interactive, such as the Disney Connected Learning Platform, the Disney Parent App for Facebook, several educational mini-games and a mobile version for Club Penguin, and several educational games for iPhones and iPads. Educators collaborating on the projects included Stanford University's Roy Pea and professors from the University of Georgia such as John Olive and Linda Labbo. Some games created were original concepts such as Pufflescape, Jelly Bean Counter, and Bits & Bolts, while others leveraged existing Disney properties, such as Cinderella Shapes & Patterns, Toy Story Letters & Letter Sounds, Fairies Art Studio, Ariel Numbers and Counting, Cars Numbers and Counting, and Disney Fairies Fashion Boutique. For a time, Long also managed the Disney online worlds Toontown Online, Pirates of the Caribbean Online, and Pixie Hollow.

In 2013, Long left Disney, formed his own consulting company "Stellar Effect", and then re-joined Richard Garriott at Portalarium, moving the family back to Austin. Starr and Richard collaborated on a new game, Shroud of the Avatar, a crowd-funded and crowd-sourced title. Via Kickstarter in April 2013, Portalarium raised $2 million through crowdfunding, and Long was announced as executive producer in July 2013. The game was released in March 2018 and is currently the second highest crowdfunded video game ever and the highest crowdfunded video game to have shipped. Starr is currently still involved with Shroud of the Avatar as an adviser, serving on the board and assisting with communications.

Starr currently works at The Acceleration Agency, a consulting firm here in Austin. Currently their largest client is Carnival Cruise lines where they are working on the Ocean Medallion project that is adding digital experiences to the Princess cruise ships.

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Church Happenings

January Session Highlights

1. Esther Rosales has faithfully served our church by sending out cards and handwritten notes for every occasion as well as flowers, emails with prayer requests and other information. It was decided to honor her on February 10th and buy her a roll of stamps. 2. Due to the sanctuary being repainted, it was decided to replace the pew cushions as well. Karen has contacted companies to get samples and estimates and will meet with one company on January 22nd. 3. Bennie reported the church sign is in poor condition and needs to be replaced. Karen will contact the company that designed it to see if it can be redone with materials which will last longer. 4. A discussion was held regarding how to entertain children during the service. One idea was Ziploc bags with games, etc. However, nothing with crayons, markers, pencils or stickers that could damage the property. 5. The Presbytery meeting will be held on March 1-2 at Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church in Austin. Emily will be introduced at that time. 6. Our annual pancake supper will be held on Tuesday, March 5th at 6:00 p.m. with the the gentlemen doing the cooking. 7. Ash Wednesday service will be held on Wednesday, March 6th at 7:00 p.m. 8. The elder training will occur after worship service on January 27th and the following will head the committees: • Juan – Worship • Melissa – Christian Education • Ben – Fellowship • Gary – Stewardship and Finance • Karen – Property • Elsa – To be determined 9. Emily will be out on March 17th and May 19th so the March session meeting has been moved to March 24th in Emily’s absence. Responsibilities of Church Committees

Worship

1. Working closely with the pastor to oversee planning of worship services including special services such as Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Easter, Pentecost, All Saint’s Day and Christmas Eve. 2. Changing banners and paraments with each season. 3. Helping in selection of music and procures musicians especially for special services. 4. Refilling pew supplies as needed- pencils, offering envelopes, prayer request cards.

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Church Happenings

Christian Education

1. Overseeing the planning, purchasing and implementing curricula and programs for Sunday School classes involving all age groups including adults. 2. Securing teachers for educational classes and providing guidance as needed. 3. Planning and overseeing children’s Christmas Pageant. 4. Helping in planning of Vacation Bible School if one is held. 5. Planning and supporting youth activities if held. Stewardship/Finance

1. Handling the annual stewardship/giving campaign and providing stewardship education to the congregation. 2. Leading the finance committee in developing the budget each year and reviewing the annual review of finances. Fellowship and Membership Care 1. Welcoming people to the church. 2. Overseeing all fellowship events including luncheons, refreshments and other special occasions such as ice cream social, barbeque, etc. if held. 3. Keeping track of kitchen and other supplies and reminding those signed up to bring items when they are low. 4. Sending cards for all occasions and flowers when needed.

Mission 1. Coordinating outreach activities for congregation to participate in such as the food pantry, Manos de Cristo, Micah 6, Christmas boxes and collection of items for the homeless at Christmas. 2. Promoting special offerings throughout the year by educating the congregation about each through Minute for Missions. Offerings include: Peacemaking, One Great Hour of Sharing, Pentecost, Christmas Joy Offering. Property

1. Ensuring the building and grounds are kept in good repair and well maintained including: • Complete care of yard- mowing, fertilizing, planting flowers, watering, care of trees. • Cleaning of buildings and windows. • Maintenance of AC/Heater, lights and all aspects of the buildings. • Informing session when large items are in need of replacement, such as the sign, swing set, etc. 2. Promoting the church for weddings, musical events, meetings and other events. 3. Keeping Building Use Agreements and Wedding Agreements up to date. 4. Maintaining calendar of building use by outside groups up to date.

7 3913 Avenue B., Austin, TX 78751 (512) 459-7747 www.hydeparkaustin.org