The Ninth Bishop of Texas

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Comfort Comfort My People

A few comfortable words spoken at Redeemer following the death of the Rev. Israel Ahimbisibwe and his family.

All Access God

We live in an all access culture and we have an all access God. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. A sermon preached at St. Joseph's Salado on Mark 4, Epiphany 4.B.

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Monday, February 2, 2015

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It is with a very heavy heart that I share with you the news that we believe Israel Ahimbisibwe, his wife Dorcus and their youngest son, Israel Junior (Jay), age 5, to have been the family were found dead at their home in west Houston earlier today. Israel was vicar at Redeemer, Houston.

The police have not officially released the names or cause of death and are still investigating, but we plan to have a prayer meeting at Redeemer this evening at 7 p.m. Holy Spirit, where Israel served previously, will also hold a prayer meeting at 7 p.m. tonight.

What I do know is that this morning, the apartment manager opened the family's door when concerned church members said Israel and Dorcus had not shown up at church on Sunday and failed to respond on Monday morning.

This is a horrific and awful tragedy. We have had prayers with Israel's family here in Houston and we will help investigators in anyway that we can. Please keep the Ahimbisibwe and Redeemer families in your prayers, as well as the broader Ugandan community in Houston.

Israel Ahimbisibwe was ordained in the Church of Uganda and held masters degrees from both Princeton Theological Seminary and Harvard Divinity School. After completing graduate research at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, he earned an additional masters and doctorate from Rice University.

IX Bishop of Texas

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

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.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

We have a Try Harder Fever