Dear Friends,
Before getting to the content of my letter today, I think we all must stop and pray for our fellow Americans who have experienced the tornado in Joplin, Missouri. What devastation. With deep sorrow and anguish for them, let us pray to the God of all comfort (II Cor 1). Even now, we do not know the extent of the damage, but it is surely catastrophic in loss of life. As of this writing I cannot fathom the numbers but I simply hope that more and more people will be found and reunited with their families.
This is May, friends. The fury of the weather and the cycle of our seasons always presents these things. Most of us live at the southern end of “tornado alley” and we are accustomed to these stories of terrifying storms. I remember reading about this years ago when a tornado cut a mile-wide swath through some town in Oklahoma. On the news that evening I saw a picture of a man and his broken-apart home. He had taken a spray can of paint and written to the heavens: “God, we need to talk…”.
But God has spoken on this matter. Read Psalm 46 and hear the cry of David–one of the strongest statements of faith in the Bible. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (vs.1) Then David describes the desolation that has occurred…and he ends with the most comforting of tributes: “Be still, and know that I am God.”
If you have friends or family in the Joplin area, please list their names in the comment section at the end of this blog. I will be sure that we pray for them. Also, I encourage you to go here if you want to make donations to help. Meanwhile, we will continue to uphold the strong people of the state of Missouri in prayer.
Now, here are some things you need to know.
Sign Me Up!
In the first hot summer of our church’s formation, I made a few hundred house calls. I’d usually wear my formal clergy attire—you know, the collar that gets me the back corner table when I go out for lunch wearing it. When I’d sit down with people in their homes I’d ask them about their experience in a church. Typical answer: nil. What about their faith commitment or background? Typical answer: light. What about their desire to work together to build a fully functioning parish in the North Dallas area? Typical answer: Sign me up!
That is the way it has been for 25 years. We are a parish that welcomes people of little or no faith background, but who have a keen desire to build a family of faith that will make a difference in the lives of our families and our communities. To this end, God has blessed this work and we all have something to celebrate on the 5th of June. Everyone who is in any way connected with Christ Church is invited to join us and give thanks for God’s great blessing over this parish family.
You have seen the advertisements about it: Sunday, June 5 at 9:30. You have read the dress code: casual. But you may not be aware that I have a special gift for every family at Christ Church. I honestly can’t tell you exactly what it is, but I can give you a hint: You will be able to enjoy it for years to come. Your kids will love it. You will be proud to share it with your friends. It will lift you in your spirit before the Lord.
And remember, comb your hair and look sharp! We will take a family photo together. The youth and children will join us. The Sanctuary will be filled to the brim. What a great day it will be. Click here to see our family photos through the years.
Confirmed
The Confirmation weekend should speak for itself. It was a tremendous blessing for us to have Archbishop Duncan visit us. He told me that ours was the largest Confirmation class he had ever worked with in North America. Those of you who attended only Sunday morning will be interested to know that the Confirmation service was deep and moving. We prayed along with the 108 people being Confirmed (about one-third of them adults).
For our 65 sixth graders, I think the ceremony will always be etched on their hearts and minds. Teeming with excitement, the students walked two by two to the altar and knelt before Archbishop Duncan as he laid his hands upon their heads and prayed the same words that have been spoken for centuries. His prayers may have sounded the same, but each one seemed to be especially prayed for each person. Archbishop Duncan told me many times that he was moved by the seeming hunger and passion of our youth. We had the incredible privilege of witnessing the commitment our students were making before the Lord and our church. Watching our young disciples take up their cross and follow the Lord was simple amazing.
Immediately following the Confirmation service was the traditional banquet honoring all the Confirmands. Fellowship Hall was a sea of tables elaborately decorated and set for a feast. Over 400 family members and friends filled the room. It was a great celebration for our families. Congratulations to our Confirmation Class of 2011! Here is a photo of them. (Click to enlarge.)

Christ Church Confirmation Class of 2011
Youth Staff Addition
During the Renew for Our Future campaign, I made you the promise to place children and youth at the forefront of our ministry. In the past few weeks we have seen some changes which are strengthening our ministry. I have some great news along that line, but first…
I want to thank Jonathan Hunnicutt for the wonderful work he has done with our high school students. He began as an assistant in our youth ministry and formed great relationships working with our students. As his next step in ministry, he will be moving over to join Fr. Jason Bowman and the Adult Discipleship team and shore up our ministry to young adults, ages 19-25. This is a natural way for him to stay in touch with the youth he has been working with. It is a great new opportunity for Jonathan to build on his youth ministry experience and to carve out new discipleship opportunities for our current high school students as they move into the young adult age bracket.

Katie and Mike Boone
Meanwhile, I am very pleased to introduce Mike Boone to you as our new High School Youth Minister. Mike comes to us with a breadth of experience in discipling students and a challenge to build a robust high school ministry—an outreach to students all over the DFW metroplex. Mike will be ordained to the diaconate on June 4 and then made a priest within the year in the ACNA. He is a recent graduate of the Masters of Divinity program at Duke University. He and his wife, Katie, will join us around the third week of June and I can hardly wait for our kids to connect with Mike. He is a great guy. He loves the Lord. In the interview process, he had a lot of great ideas, but his heart and passion were centered on connecting with the students in their world and on their terms. It is my hope that he will help our youth team take off. I know this church will give him a wonderful warm Christ Church Welcome.
Both Mike and Pam Coghlan (who will concentrate on Middle School ministry) will report to Fr. Clint Kerley to reassess our youth ministry offerings, and Jonathan will be available over the summer to help with Mike’s transition. We will have a great team in these student ministers, and I am looking forward to what God can do through us with this renewed focus.
Financial Hiccup
Speaking of the Renew campaign, we do have a slight hiccup in our finances. Giving has been so strong that we have almost cut our debt in half! But we also need to enter the summer with a strong Operating Fund. To date we are about $120,000 below expenses in the Operating Fund. We have some reserves, but I am asking our families to step up in their giving to both our budget needs and our debt elimination program. I know it is a lot to ask…but these are times of great strength and ministry. Thank you in advance for your heart and commitment to these things. By the way, have you checked out our online giving option?

Orphanage Construction 80% Complete
Orphanage Construction Update
As you know, the Christ Church family has given generously throughout the years in support of the Casas Hogares Children’s Homes in the Diocese of Peru. I know you will be thrilled to see the progress that is being made on the new building for the kids in Arequipa. Read more and view a slideshow here.
Don’t Waste Your Freedom
For Memorial Day weekend, I am working on a special message entitled, “Don’t Waste Your Freedom”. I think it will be a meaningful reminder to us about the hard-fought freedom that we enjoy, both as Americans and as children of God. I hope to see you here.
In Christ,
David
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