TLDR: The annual Bishop’s visit will be on April 14, 2024. Read more for our Newcomer Training, Confirmation, and Reaffirmation programs, which will start on 2/25/24.
We are entering an exciting time for Saint Dunstan’s. As you remember, we paused any Confirmations, Receptions, and Reaffirmations in 2023 and moved them to 2024 so we could enjoy Bishop Doyle’s visit in a more relaxed way, as Bishop Fisher was on Sabbatical. Knowing that we had no confirmations or receptions in 2023, Bishop Fisher announced that he will be coming to Saint Dunstan’s early this year. His visitation to our parish usually falls in October, but this year he will be with us at the 9:00am and 11:15am services on Sunday, April 14. If any of your children in the 8th grade or above want to be confirmed, if any have been attending our church for a while and now want to become an official Episcopalian, or if you are a church member who wants to learn more about our history, faith, mission, and organization please send an email to and place your name on the list.
We will start our instructional programs on February 25 as described below. Please prioritize this training and join us faithfully as there is a canonical expectation of instruction before Confirmation and Reception. If you have any questions, please contact my office at your earliest convenience.
Class One: ORIGINS
Date: Sunday, February 25, 2024, from 1:00-2:15PM On Zoom:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88527917283?pwd=dap8UFdgpnIxPM5d50hi4DDOnWN4Eq.1
Meeting ID: 885 2791 7283
Passcode: 326132
Participants: ALL youth and adults who want to be confirmed, all newcomers who want to learn more about the Episcopal Church, all adults confirmed in a different denomination seeking to be received into the Church, all who want a refresher on what it means to be an Episcopalian.
DESCRIPTION: A review of historical events that produced the distinctives of historic Anglicanism and how those events have shaped worldwide Anglicanism, the Episcopal Church, the Diocese of Texas, and Saint Dunstan’s Episcopal Church.
OBJECTIVES: To deepen our faith, love, and hope in God through his Son, Jesus Christ, in the power of the Spirit. To develop a deeper appreciation for the legacy passed to us by the saints. And to renew our commitment to the mission God has given us, as seen, understood, and practiced in the Episcopal Church.
Class Two: WHAT WE BELIEVE
Date: Sunday, March 3, 2024, from 1:00-2:15PM Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88293908743?pwd=iyr8bbGNhTANzksMbR6fFzT3ihTuh1.1
Meeting ID: 882 9390 8743
Passcode: 972661
Participants: ALL youth and adults who want to be confirmed, all newcomers who want to learn more about the Episcopal Church, all adults confirmed in a different denomination seeking to be received into the Church, all who want a refresher on what it means to be an Episcopalian.
DESCRIPTION: Since its inception, the Church of England or Anglicanism tried hard to avoid confessionalism, or the belief in the necessity of a full and unambiguous body of religious teaching, to which all members needed to consent, and which all members needed to confess (Magisterium of the RC Church, The Augsburg Confession, The Westminster Confession, etc.) This changed with the publishing of the 39 articles of Religion, written in 1563 by Thomas Cranmer and published in 1571 by Queen Elizabeth I. A study of the distinctives of Anglican faith both in historical documents of the tradition and in the catechism of the Episcopal Church.
OBJECTIVES: To review the distinctives of the Articles of Religion and to study the Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer.
Class Three: HOW WE ARE DIFFERENT
Date: Sunday, March 10, 2024, from 10:15-11:30PM
In Person: Youth Room for all Teenagers with Sandy Jones. Room 309 in the BEC for all adults with Deacon Portia Sweet (Confirmation, Reception, Reaffirmation)
(PLEASE attend the 7:45 or 9:00 service because this class will cut into the 11:15 service and we don’t want you to miss church on this day. Thanks!)
DESCRIPTION: The Anglican tradition has been moderate in our faith and doctrine; democratic in our polity (governance); generous and non-dogmatic in our catechism; contextual, erudite, and scientific in our view of Scripture; Catholic in our Apostolic Succession; inclusive in our ministerial orders; steeped in the “Priesthood of all Believers” in our view of the laity; and universal in our relationship with the world (One Church, One Faith, One Baptism.)
OBJECTIVES: In this class we will talk about how the “Via Media” or “Middle Way” of Anglicanism affects our corporate life. The attendees and their mentor will also answer the question, “What is confirmation anyway?”
Class Four: THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
Date: Sunday, March 17, 2024, from 1:00-2:15PM Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81551994581?pwd=sYshLGDdXA5bFo3bmcLJAudQB0jC3L.1
Meeting ID: 815 5199 4581
Passcode: 458347
Participants: ALL youth and adults who want to be confirmed, all newcomers who want to learn more about the Episcopal Church, all adults confirmed in a different denomination seeking to be received into the Church, all who want a refresher on what it means to be an Episcopalian.
DESCRIPTION: God created a Church for his mission, calling us (just as he called men and women in the Old Testament,) to spread the good news of his salvation around the globe. One of God’s favorite mandates is to “GO!” The mission of the Church (What God sends us out to do) is a Glocal (Global and Local at the same time) enterprise. It is global as God calls us to partner with others in what he is doing around the world (through prayer, missions, financial resources, etc.) The mission is also (perhaps primarily) local. It takes place in this congregation, this community, and with the people closest to us (or who choose to come to us). This local mission also includes work within the Diocese, and National church.
OBJECTIVES: To enter into the mission God has for his people at a global and local levels. To do a biblical study of the many instances where God commands us to go. To review how Saint Dunstan’s is living up to this mission to build God’s kingdom among our people.
Class Five: HOW WE ARE ORGANIZED AS A CHURCH IN MISSION
Date: Saturday, March 23, 2024, from 9:00-12:00 Noon-- RETREAT
Location: Saint Dunstan’s Price Fellowship Hall
Participants: ALL confirmations, receptions, and reaffirmations. Please note that this is a Saturday and that this is a retreat. We will do our last class in person, but we will also spend some time in prayer, and we will review together the liturgical bulletin for Sunday, April 14. We will start the retreat with breakfast and end right before lunch.
DESCRIPTION: We described our governance before as “Democratic.” What this means is that the locus of authority and control in our denomination truly rests within a close relationship between the laity and the ordained orders of the Church. This is clearly seen in our Constitution and Canons, in how General Convention works, in the role of Diocesan councils, and more locally, in the work of the Parish Annual Meeting.
OBJECTIVES: This class will enter into our polity and discuss the organization of the national, diocesan, and local church. We will talk about our working documents (National Constitution and Canons, Diocesan Canons, and parochial Articles of Incorporation). We will talk about the relationship between the lay and the ordained at conventions and councils, and we will discuss the responsibility and authority of our parishioners who gather together for Annual Meetings.
Class Six: MAKE-UP CLASS
Date: Sunday, April 7, 2024, from 1:00-2:15PM Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88581341721?pwd=Tv4a8KwgP8Q8a9ySY3Qc7cc8WwhjxI.1
Meeting ID: 885 8134 1721
Passcode: 617633
Participants: Any person in any group who has missed a class. This session will briefly catch people up on missed classes if necessary. If you miss more than one class, please schedule additional time with the rector to make up that session. Please know that our schedule for preparation is rather short this year and the rector will not have time to offer more than one additional make-up class.
If anyone has a question about this, please call my office.
May our Lord continue to bless you,
Fr. Roman+
