THE KING’S BANNER Christ the King Lutheran Church, Houston, Texas 2353 Rice Blvd, Houston TX 77005 Volume 68, Number 10, October, 2013 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 713-523-2864 ctkelc.com “The Earth is Full of God’s Glory” Blessing of the Animals There will be a Blessing of the Animals service Earth-Care and Sunday Worship in the courtyard of Christ the King Church on Each Sunday, when Christians gather, we praise God for creation, pray for every- Saturday, October 5 at 11:00 a.m. thing that God created, charge one another to care for the world God made, and hear the good news that God loves the world, and not just humans and animals, All pet owners are invited to bring their ani- but also every plant, sea, spark, and breeze. mals to this service which will last about 45 minutes. Invite your neighbors and friends Thanks to the work of Christ the King Church’s Creation Care Team we have and their pets to join us. A diversity of become more aware of all the aspects by which we are part and parcel of God’s animals have been presented over the years, creation, and of our call to stewardship for the created world. We are one year including ferrets, crabs, parrots and gold fish, into a two year environmental leadership program for houses of worship with as well as the more typical cats and dogs. the program called GreenFaith Interfaith Partners for the Environment (www. Parking is available at the church or at the greenfaith.org). Rice stadium lot for $1 (credit card only). Even if every Sunday is Green Sunday, worship on the weekend of the observance of the commemoration of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4), will focus on what we can learn from St. Francis whose love for animals and all creatures provides us a model of caring for the earth and all its inhabitants. At the worship services on Sunday, October 6, the liturgy will have a particular focus on caring for the earth. A newly written prayer of thanksgiving at the table over the bread and wine will be prayed, which includes a congregational refrain, “The earth is full of your glory.” The prayer includes also this petition: Over the eons your merciful might evolved our home, this fragile tree of life. Here by your wisdom are both life and death, growth and decay, The nest and the hunt, sunshine and storm. Sustained by these wonders, we creatures of dust join in ancient song. The hymn of the day at the Sunday morning worship is “Touch the Earth Lightly” (ELW 739), a hymn by New Zealand poet Shirley Erena Murray: Touch the earth lightly, use the earth gently, nourish the life of the world in our care: gift of great wonder, ours to surrender, Restoring Creation trust for the children tomorrow will bear. (Stanza One) Retreat at Lutherhill We will gather for a Blessing of the Animals on the Sat- Lutherhill and the synod Lutherans urday closest to October 4 (St. Francis’ Day), this year Restoring Creation Team invite you to a October 5, to bless our animals, especially our pets that weekend of renewal in the beauty of God’s accompany us in life. At 11:00 a.m. come with your pets creation at Lutherhill, November 1-3. We to the courtyard at Christ the King Church for a short will study, pray, contemplate, enjoy, serve, service of scripture, prayer, and blessing. worship, and rejoice together in God’s “The Earth is Full of God’s Glory,” every day and on spe- good creation. So mark your calendars now cial days. Come these special days in October, but come to reserve the dates for this free event. also each week and listen as we regularly stand in the For information, contact Lisa Brenskelle presence of the creator God, hear God’s good news about love for all creatures, and at [email protected]. Register for this event at http://lutherhill.org. then be challenged anew to consider our call to be stewards of these mercies. Christ the King Lutheran Church 1 Getting Ready for the Catechumenate At Christ the King Church, we are learning more and more week, through directed engagement of the assigned scrip- about growing as a congregation rooted in our common ture readings, each meeting has an encounter with the word baptismal life, and how this life invites us to welcome others of God, in the company of the group, bringing our own life into life in the triune God. We have committed to the pattern stories into relationship with God’s story. These gatherings of the ancient catechumenate – a process that welcomes are less bible study, and more bible prayer. anyone to baptism, baptismal living, and renewal in life in We welcome all to gather in small groups that meet weekly Christ. and learn a process to engage scripture, called by its Latin Denise Engle, writer, retired public school name – lectio divina.This traditional Benedictine practice of administrator, and former gifted and tal- “divine reading” considers the scripture text in four steps: ented magnet school coordinator, English read, meditate, pray, and contemplate. We will practice teacher, and software implementation this discipline in small groups over five weeks, each session project manager, will serve as the Director facilitated by a lay leader, helping each other discover the of the Catechumenate leading us as we potential of the catechumenal process. learn together how the ancient process of The small groups will meet beginning October 19 for five welcome and equipping works. Denise has weeks. Anyone may chose to participate in a group each served at Christ the King Church in the fol- week at the following times: lowing areas: Community of Hope graduate (first class of lay chaplains), Saturdays 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. Sunday school superintendent and (October 19, 26, November 2, 9, teacher, worship server, Child in Our and 16)— Bill Pelham and Denise Hands grant writer and conference Engle coordinator, adult education class fa- Sundays 9:45 – 10:45 a.m. cilitator for the Monastery of the (October 20, 27, November 3, Heart, and 2013 Catechumenate In- 10 and 17)—Lucky Sahualla and stitute coordinator. She has been a Beverly Davis member of Christ the King Church since 1994, and her husband Brian Tuesdays 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. (October Engle since 2003. 22, 29, November 5, 12, and 19)—Naomi Nelson and Linda The process of the catechumenate Schoene includes four periods: a time of in- quiry, a period of exploration, a time Thursdays 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. of intense preparation for baptism or (October 24, 31, November 7, affirmation of baptism, and a time to 14, and 21)—Julie Morin and Tim consider baptismal living. These four Lenz periods of the catechumenate spread It may be that once these groups form, out over many weeks. At Christ the King Church, in the coming the groups may decide to continue meeting beyond -No year, we will offer a catechumenate beginning on the festival vember 21 and into Advent. But for now, we are only asking of the Baptism of Our Lord (January 12, 2014) and concluding people to commit to this five week period as we get ready for on the Day of Pentecost (June 8, 2014). At weekly gatherings, the catechumenate to unfold at Christ the King in 2014. anyone – those who wish to inquire about or prepare for In order to make appropriate plans, please sign up to partici- baptism, along with anyone already baptized who wants to pate by emailing our catechumenate director, Denise Engle engage in a journey to deepen faith in God, and especially at [email protected] or sign up on the registration in our congregation – will move through these four periods forms in the narthex during October. If you have any ques- in conversation, reflection, and prayer. The participants form tions about the catechumenate or about this series of small small groups once the initial period has concluded, and stay group lectio divina sessions, please also contact Denise. in their groups throughout the process. Be on the watch for more information about the catechu- In order to get ready for the 2014 Catechumenate, we wish menate at Christ the King Church. Pray for those who will to get some practice this fall, and get a preview of what these participate as we get ready this fall. Consider your own weekly gatherings will look and feel like. The source of our spiritual journey of discipleship and discern how God might prayer and conversation in the catechumenate is the calendar be calling you to enter more deeply into baptismal living in of bible readings we proclaim each week in worship. Each the community of the church. 2 The King’s Banner Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic (EEL-RCA) The Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic (EEL-RCA) is the The mission offering is collected recipient of this month’s mission offering. We have been praying for at the church doors at the end of worship. the people of CAR in the Prayer of the Church for some months now, ever in this difficult time. When feasible, a missionary due to the overthrow of the government last March by a rebel coali- physician couple currently working in Madagascar tion known as Seleka. Since that time a transitional government has may join the clinic staff. been put in place. Sporadic violence and upheaval have continued in Pastor André Golike, President (Bishop) of the EEL- the country, yet many of the ministries of the Lutheran Church are RCA, who visited our congregation in 2010, recently being carried out in spite of the turmoil.