The Ninth Bishop of Texas

Today, from Palacios to Liberty and Orange, we are faced with continued rising water, flooding and chemical leaks; meanwhile, our neighbors in East Texas and Louisiana are being hammered by Harvey. Those in west Houston have their eyes on the levees, which are due to crest sometime Thursday at 56 feet. Additionally, there is another low in the Gulf of Mexico that may become Tropical Storm or Hurricane Jose by Sunday or Monday.

Our prayers are for those who wait and watch and weep today for loss of life, home and livelihood. We pray for those who are in the midst of the storm and who await rescue and relief. In the meantime those who are able are helping those who are dependent upon the kindness of others. One of the most heartening things about this horrific weather event is witnessing neighbors helping neighbors in both small and enormous ways.

Click here to read the entirety of the Bishop’s message where he talks about Stages of Disaster, How to Connect, Spiritual Care Teams and Resources.

Visit our hub for Hurricane Harvey relief and response efforts by clicking below.

EDOT Harvey Hub

How To Connect

The Diocese will send out a daily alert to try to consolidate information about ministries taking place. While some may feel like you are not enough, especially in these early stages, the ministry adds up. We hope to be able to show you how much impact the Episcopal Diocese is having in flooded areas because of your efforts. Look for that text message to arrive on your phone at 6 each day and if you can, please respond. We will send texts to heads of all congregations to capture work that is being done in areas farther from the flooded area as well.

We are most grateful for the initiative of our rectors who got together to offer immediate aid. Our Dean, the Very Rev. Barkley Thompson, has coordinated their efforts in Houston as a network for relief and restoration efforts. Beyond Houston, rectors and their congregations are invited to join these efforts. Christy Orman will organize offers of aid and assistance with needs and we will begin to connect these in the most efficient manner as soon as possible. Orman’s contact information is: corman@christchurchcathedral.org, 713.590.3313 (O) and or 832.915.0223 (M).

Our churches in need of help should contact the Rev. Canon Joann Saylors with specific needs so that we can put the appropriate team of diocesan staff together for you. She will coordinate with Orman and our disaster relief coordinator, the Ven. Russ Oechse l.

Story time- Miss Twiggly's Tree

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Hurricane Harvey and our Work

Let me begin by thanking all of our brothers and sisters around the world who are holding us up in prayer. We are grateful for the hope you lend us at this time of disaster and fear.

We have been in touch with many people and know that the disaster stretches across the whole southern part of our diocese. We expect the area to grow as the slow moving storm progresses across the state.

We are following the guidance of our officials and hunkering down in order to remain safe while they focus on those in the most immediate danger. Please pray for many clergy and laity who have water in their home. Pray also for those who need rescuing and are even now being rescued. We have a number of first responders and they also need our prayers as they are leaving loved ones to help with rescue operations.

We want to emphasize that we need to wait until the danger has passed to make our response so as not to complicated further the ongoing rescue operations.

Our plan for response includes the following:

1. We are in a standby mode until the storm passes.

2. We have had an effective test of our Alertmedia, our app for communicating with heads of congregations and staff in emergencies.

3. We have been in touch with many of our clergy families in the affected areas and heard from them about their situations. This afternoon we will use Alertmedia to gather more information.

4. Once the storm and danger has passed we will begin planning deployment of our Spiritual Care teams to affected areas.

5. We will are now and will continue to assess area damage as we get information from multiple sources and evaluate ways we can make an affective response.

6. An overall strategy will be developed and a coordinated response will be managed collaboratively working with our congregations. We will then implement a strategy and coordinate with resources.

As I write these words, I am very present to the sadness, fear, uncertainty, and grief that fill our minds and hearts in the wake of hurricane and tropical storm Harvey. Coastal towns along the Texas Gulf have been destroyed, and catastrophic flooding has left much of Houston underwater. Truly this storm has brought all of us to our knees, and our only recourse is to join King David in his plea for mercy: "Save me, O God, for the waters have risen up to my neck" (Psalm 69:1).

Two of the most powerful images in Scripture have Jesus Christ exercising authority over the sea. Jesus commands the stormy sea to be calm: "Who is this?" The disciples ask. "For even the winds and the sea obey him" (Matt 8:26). In a different passage, Jesus walks on the sea (Matt 14:26). The point being made by the Biblical author is clear: namely, that God's power to save, renew, heal, and restore is infinitely greater than the sea's power to destroy. The God we know in Jesus Christ forever sits "enthroned amidst the flood" (Psalm 29:10).

It is with this hope that we wait for healing together and, in concert with our Baptismal vows, we pledge to be conduits through whom God brings healing and renewal to others. We also commit to allowing other human beings to be vessels through whom God brings healing and renewal to us, for receiving is always its own kind of courage.

We do not know the future of Harvey or the city of Houston. But as Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Matt 24:35). "I will never leave you," says our Lord standing on the waves. "Never will I forsake you" (Heb 13:5).

My prayers, the prayers of your diocesan staff, and or global family are with you. Jesus is with you. Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, in your Word you have given us a vision of that holy City where the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea: Behold and visit, we pray, the cities of the earth devastated by Hurricane Harvey. Sustain those displaced by the storm with food, drink, and all other bodily necessities of life. We especially remember before you all poor and neglected persons it would be easy for us to forget: the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick, and all who have none to care for them; that, among all the changes and chances of this mortal life, we may ever be defended by your gracious and ready help; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, D.D.

IX Bishop of Texas

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Love Has Prepared You

Celebration of New Ministry-Steven Balke

St. Stephen's, Beaumont

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Monday, August 21, 2017

Reconciliation is not Possible when the truth is not in us

St. Peter's, Woodville

August 20, 2017

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Peace-Gotta get out of the boat

St. Peter's, Lago Vista

August 13, 2017

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Monday, July 31, 2017

#JesusHeistBook

My latest book, The Jesus Heist: Recovering the Gospel from the Church is now available to preorder!

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

The Donkey at the Stable

St. George's, Jerusalem

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Quotes

"Christianity is not a theory or speculation, but a life; not a philosophy of life, but a life and a living process." Samuel Taylor Coleridge
"Most people are willing to take the Sermon on the Mount as a flag to sail under, but few will use it as a rudder by which to steer." Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Perfection, in a Christian sense, means becoming mature enough to give ourselves to others." Kathleen Norris
"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can." John Wesley
"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." G. K. Chesterton
"One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. But fortunately it is quite invisible to these humans." C. S. Lewis
"When we say, 'I love Jesus, but I hate the Church,' we end up losing not only the Church but Jesus too. The challenge is to forgive the Church. This challenge is especially great because the church seldom asks us for forgiveness." Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey
"Christians are hard to tolerate; I don't know how Jesus does it." Bono
"It's too easy to get caught in our little church subcultures, and the result is that the only younger people we might know are Christians who are already inside the church." Dan Kimball

Blog Autobiography

Husband, Father, Bishop, Author, Friend

As the son of an Episcopal priest, I grew up in churches around Houston. I have lived and worked for the Church in Austin, Temple, Houston and College Station. At Camp Allen, some of you were my counselors and some of you were my campers and now several of you serve as priests in the diocese. It was here among you, that I first heard a call to ministry. I pursued a degree in fine arts and then with the support of St. Paul's, Freeport and All Saints, Austin, I attended Virginia Theological Seminary and graduated in 1995. I was ordained at Christ Church, Temple. I have served the Diocese of Texas for more than thirty five years as a youth minister, camp counselor, priest, consultant, workshop leader, Canon to the Ordinary, and Coadjutor and Diocesan Bishop (2008).

JoAnne and I met at Camp Allen and were married in 1990. Our two beautiful girls, Caisa and Zoë, are the delight of our lives.

I am the author of Church, Unabashedly Episcopalian, Generous Community, Small Batch, and The Jesus Heist.