Dear Friends,
Officially my retirement took effect on June first 2013, and I thought I retired.  It lasted only three weeks, until I met Fr. Darrel when my wife Ewena and I visited COTHA, looking for a place to worship during our retirement. The rest is history and I am on board the staff of a wonderful church family on a part time basis.  I am in office on Tuesday, Wednesday and of course on Sunday.  My designation is The Pastor of Evangelism.
Evangelism is very dear to my heart, because I believe it is one of the spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit has bestowed upon me. God in His mercy has used me as an evangelist to share the good news of Jesus Christ in many parts of the world. It took the form of conferences, church missions, teaching, preaching and Bible Studies.  In the Diocese of Montana I had the privilege of serving as Diocesan chair for Evangelism and in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas I served as a member of the World Mission Board and on the Executive Board.
On the national church level, I served as a member of the provincial council, as vice president and then as president of province VI. Later on I was elected to the National Executive Council of ECUSA.
However God had other plans for me and brought me to be the rector of Trinity Church, Baytown. Next I served as Rector at St. Cuthbert for twelve years and now at COTHA.  This has been a wonderful and an exciting spiritual journey for me.  I have learned and grown a lot and I continue to grow in HIM every day.  I am so blessed to be active in the ministry at the age of 67 and to continue the ministry HE has called me to, both in Sri Lanka and in the USA. Now, you heard a little bit of my story, and I look forward to hearing your story and about your journey what God has done and is doing in your life.  God Bless you!
Papa D+        or        Desmond  or          Fr. D+

By Paula Willbrant,
Over the weekend we had some much needed and appreciated cooler weather!  Being from Kansas I am always ready for some relief from the longer exaggerated summers here in Houston! I grew up with the four seasons and even though the winters were brutal with lots of ice and cold, I must say, I loved the change when it came… even if I just enjoyed it for a few days!
Because of the cooler weather, my rose bushes busted open with GEORGEOUS and fragrant flowers in every color imaginable!  The lilac and pink iridescent ones have a particularly wonderful perfume to them!  I think it must be the closest thing to what heaven smells like!  I couldn’t help but think of the phrase…. “stop and smell the roses”. You know, those words truly speak so much about not only the beautiful fragrance of a rose but also the necessity to stop so you can smell the beauty and drink it in! If we don’t take the time to “stop and smell the roses”, we miss the blessings of being alive! I’m praying that God will help me to stop, smell the roses and when I do so, give great big thanks for the life I’m blessed with!

We are doing something different at COTHA that is not seen in most places in the Episcopal Church. Our emphasis is evangelical, reaching out to the world with the saving message of Jesus Christ. While sacramental, we are not encumbered by traditions but find them as deep resources. We have prayerfully and thoughtfully built our ministry around how we can reach more people than would typically look for God at an Episcopal Church. There are some people who are in the Episcopal Church who don't understand what we are doing. There are others who criticize because they don't understand. Yet we know that the future of the Episcopal Church hangs on how the institution can reclaim it's faithfulness and recapture the passion of previous generations (like John Wesley, who was an Anglican priest criticized for his "enthusiasm.").
Our ministry is focused on helping the disconnected find connection with an amazing God through the community at COTHA. We are called to violate the status quo with spiritual truth. The preaching, teaching and programs at COTHA are built around these two fundamental aspects of why we exist as a congregation. While we are not perfect at this, our growing congregation points to the fact that God is blessing us.
This week I spent the early part of the week at Camp Allen. The annual clergy retreat is always an opportunity to recharge and refocus. This year the highlight of the retreat was the address given by our Bishop Andy Doyle. Andy gave a stirring address about the need we have in the Diocese of Texas to begin living and reaching out to the world in different ways. As I sat there, I felt the Holy Spirit confirm in my heart, over and over, what we are doing at COTHA. He didn't say it in so many words, but I heard it loud and clear that the future of the Diocese of Texas and the Episcopal Church rests with churches like COTHA who are willing to do whatever it takes to reach the world with the life changing Gospel of Jesus. I wanted to give him a standing ovation.
God blessed me tremendously by calling me to be the Lead Pastor at COTHA. What I didn't realize when I arrived here was that God also blessed me to be in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and have a tremendous Bishop like Andy Doyle. For such a time as this, COTHA moves forward in non-tradtional ways with the full support of the finest Bishop I have known. Let's keep moving!!

By Paula Willbrant,
Back in June I realized that I needed to reduce my phone bill which is “packaged” through AT&T along with my internet service, home phone, CABLE and cell phone.  When I called the customer service agent told me I could switch my cable service from Dish to Direct and save about $50.00 a month! I was thrilled since that is a substantial savings. I asked her if there were any early cancellation fees or penalties. Oh NO! She ASURED me there wouldn’t be ANY fees or penalties. So, I got the boxes from Dish and sent back my equipment, got the new equipment from Direct and got going with them.  Sure enough, I received in the mail a Delinquent Notice from Dish charging me $74.35 which was for canceling early!
I immediately called AT& T; they couldn’t help me, and I needed to call Dish. So….I called Dish and after spending 35 minutes being transferred from one line to another for help, I got disconnected.  By that time, my blood was boiling as it is right now just writing about this stupid situation!  I waited a few days, cooled off and called Dish back to get this taken care of. I finally was put through to a Supervisor who agreed after taking my case up with someone else that they would settle with me. I was to pay $35.00. I agreed because at this point I just wanted it over with. They also assured me that this would not affect my credit.
Well guess what?  Last week I received a call on my cell phone from somewhere in Illinois stating that they are a COLLECTION Agency for Dish!!! I once again explained the entire deal but no one had the authority to take care of it; I would need to call Dish AGAIN!  A few days later, I received another call from the COLLECTION Agency but this time, after explaining the situation/problem to the somewhat sympathetic person on the other end, I was told if I paid them the $35.00 they would see that it was removed and that this would not go against my credit. I did so, got a confirmation number referring to the bill and now I’m praying this is over!
I must say this is one of those situations that are so frustrating to me!  It all goes back to trust and believing what someone says to you! I trusted the AT&T agent from the get go who told me there wouldn’t be a penalty or cancellation fee!  I then believed the Dish Rep that they would adjust the bill to $35.00 and send me a new bill and that it wouldn’t go to collections.  At any rate, I pray this frustration is over with!  I think from now on I’ll just keep all my services just the way they are!!! LOL!!!

 As many of you know, I have a real passion for
Theatre. I grew up in a little town in New Jersey called Morristown. It was
your typical small town where everything was within walking distance. I loved
it. Right in the heart of downtown was Worth-Tyrell Studios for the performing
arts. That was the school that I attended. 
This is where I learned to sing, dance, and act. I loved every minute of
it. I come from a family of nine children, so of course money was always tight.
My dad was a very accomplished pianist so in exchange for him playing for all
of the shows at Worth-Tyrell, my brothers, sisters and I would get to take as
many classes as we wanted. What an awesome trade-off. I would take as many
classes as I possibly could. We also got to work backstage as the stage
managers or run spotlight for shows that we were not in. This was some
fantastic training in being a leader.
 When I was a sophomore in High School we moved
to Texas. Ugh. I was not a happy camper. Everyone called me a Yankee and the
arts were no longer important.  It was
all about the FOOTBALL. No offense to you football lovers out there. I love watching
football as much as the next guy, but the performing arts were so important in
Jersey, not football. So I joined the dance team and danced at all the football
games. I loved that too, but I sure missed my performing arts school. You see
there was just something so magical about that place. Even when I think about
it now, it makes me tear up because I miss it so.
  The performing arts taught me so many life
skills. It taught me discipline, hard work, teamwork, humility, strength,
confidence, leadership, time management. I could go on and on.
As I grew up, I always wanted to have a place of my own that was like
Worth-Tyrell. Theatre is a place where people can express themselves and grow
into whoever they are going to be. I know God has given me the gift of the
arts. Whether I am working at Church on scripts for Sunday morning or at
rehearsals for my own theatre company productions, I am constantly reminded
that God has truly blessed my life with the gifts he has given me. I hope to
inspire as many students to love singing, dancing and acting, just as my
teachers did in New Jersey. 

Have you ever been minding your own business and God showed up? It happened to me. In a moment of clarity, God revealed to me that I was seeking the wrong thing in prayer. My prayers were full of requests and concerns, things I wanted and felt I needed. I do NOT think that it is wrong to pray for these things but I had forgotten something along the way. What God wants is us. All the other things, including blessings, are simply substitutes for the greatest thing we can seek, God Himself.
While this may not be such a earth shattering reflection for many, it rattled me to the core of my soul. Prayers aren't something we do because we are supposed to do them, they are gifts, greater than we could possibly understand. God's desire is for us to desire Him. When we find that simply sitting alone in His presence is greater than any worship song we could sing, or gift we could receive, then I think we get closer to what God's purpose is for us in prayer.
I was thinking today about how people of other faiths pray compared to the way Christians do. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, yet our prayer life often pales in comparison. Why is that? Shouldn't that give us pause?
We cannot create a desire for God's presence, it's a gift. But maybe we are approaching it in the wrong way. Instead of sitting around hoping we will get that desire, maybe we should ask for it. Maybe if we could set aside all of our wants, desires and even needs, and ask God to help us understand that the greatest gift we could ever receive is to know God and be fully known by Him. Living into that, is changing my prayers and in the process, my life.

 So
as many of you know Victoria was cast in The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe in a
part that she really did not want.  I
kept telling Victoria something that I have always told my students and still
tell them today after auditions. It doesn’t matter what part you get, it only
matters what you do with the part you are given. Of course this was much harder
for me to say to Victoria because I hate to see my child hurting. Nonetheless I
told her to take her part with grace and do the very best job that she could
with the part she was given. After all theatre also mirrors life. Life is full
of ups and downs. It is full of joys and disappointments. It is not what you
are given that is important but what you do with what you are given that is
important.


Throughout
all the rehearsals and dress rehearsals, Victoria was one of the best. She was
always praised for doing her part just right. The show finally opened on
Tuesday to Elementary and Middle Schools. The audience roared every time
Victoria came out.  At the Q &A after
the show, Victoria was asked many questions and was told that she was the
favorite character by many of the students. She was so thrilled that they loved
her. It really made her realize that what we had talked about was true. Last
night was opening night for the public. As soon as Victoria did her first scene
and the audience roared you could see Victoria gain a ton of confidence. From
then on every time Victoria entered the stage, the audience would just start
laughing, even before she said a line, because they knew she was going to make
them laugh and she surely did. She was told by so many that she was one of the
best in the show and that she was their favorite character. Point made: It is
not what part you are given, but what you do with the part you are given that
is important. I think she now really understand this. The part of the Dwarf is
not a big one, but it did become a huge part because she did it so well. I am
so proud of her. It is not an easy lesson to learn but it is an important one.
It is a life lesson.


It is not what you are
given that is important but what you do with what you are given that is
important.

For some of us, we remember the "rat" studies of a few decades ago….. It seemed like every day some researcher was telling us that our favorite something caused cancer or worse if we even came within a hundred yards of the substance.  I think I remember a study about how Rock and Roll music caused some sort of personal aggressive calamity in "Laboratory Rats."  (As a side note, the music they tested would probably be Country music today.)
Well, the students at Connecticut College have returned to their scientific roots and and have announced the following statements:  



"Rats find Oreos as addictive as cocaine"


"Rats formed an equally strong association between the pleasurable effects of eating Oreos and a specific environment as they did between cocaine or morphine and a specific environment. [The Researchers] also found that eating cookies activated more neurons in the brain’s ‘pleasure center’ than exposure to drugs of abuse."
  
“Our research supports the theory that high-fat/ high-sugar foods stimulate the brain in the same way that drugs do,” Schroeder said. “It may explain why some people can’t resist these foods despite the fact that they know they are bad for them.”


Wow - I guess I need to join another twelve step program :)  Hi, my name is Richard, and I have gone thirteen days since my last package of the double stuff….. 
I wonder what these same student scientists would find if they studied the learning skills of the average church attender?  Would they discover that we are sedentary in our spiritual ways?  Or, would they discover that we consume way too much spiritual fat and sugar in our consumption?  hmmmmmmmmmmmm 
At COTHA we have a core value of "violating the status quo."  This means that we as a community are striving to be the kind of group that surprise others with our actions.  Wanna see this in action?  Show up for the next Spaghetti Dinner, or look at all the people that are serving breakfast on Sunday Mornings, or just walk the halls during COTHA U and see all the people that are committed to the idea that we can be light in our Oreo driven consumer-conscience church/spiritual world.  
One more thing - I LOVE Oreos and my FAITH and if they are addictive then I guess I'm going to start a new twelve step program…. See you Saturday evening or Sunday 8:00 or 10:30am in the Big Room and we can all confess our addiction together :)  

By Paula Willbrant,
Once again I was blessed with a wonderful long weekend with friends!  Four of us gals left Thursday morning early for a classic “road trip” to our friend’s home in Tennessee.  I had forgotten what a blast it is to travel by car with a group of friends laughing, talking, telling stories on each other and of course MORE laughing! I laughed so hard that I hurt!
We stopped the first night in Biloxi, MS and stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel. Gotta say, the Hard Rock is one of the neatest places I’ve stayed in a long time. After dinner I had the opportunity of dancing with a Beach Boy! They were performing in the Beau Rivage Hotel next door for the next two nights.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
The next day we arrived at our friend’s new home on Lake Douglas. When I say on Lake Douglas, I mean on the lake!  Their home is literally almost vertically straight up from the water which is maybe 50 feet below. Absolutely beautiful with a magnificent view.
We four girls continued on having a blessed time together just enjoying each other’s company. Many of us have been friends for at least a hundred years!  Carol’s husband Mike even had fun with us but most of the time he kept himself busy with business and we girls just had fun.
I don’t have a large family but I must say I have a huge family of friends that I am so very thankful for. Thank you God!  You are so good!

I recently attended the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta and was unprepared for what met me there. Maybe it's better to say who met me there. God used the talks, the music, the worship and my time alone to speak into my heart. God is doing something at COTHA. God is doing something in me.
What is God doing? This question needs to be unpacked over several blog posts. But let me say this: God is calling me deeper. I am a follower of Jesus and have been a disciple for many years. But this calling is something deeper. It is scary and exhilirating. God wants me to stop aiming for the ceiling and start shooting for the stars. That's the phrase I used in my stewardship letter to the people of God at COTHA. I confess that I have been limiting God's action in my life by not taking Him at His promises. He doesn't want any of His children to "settle." He wants to use us for Kingdom-sized projects. He desires to do so that His glory may be seen by others. This invitation is for us all who follow Him.
Is it possible to limit God? I think that God is going to do what He plans with or without us. His call to us is not for His benefit but for ours. I want that blessing. I want to know and feel that God is using me to show the world that His glory is real, transforming and worth everything. I can say yes to God or no thanks. I don't think many people would mouth the words "no thanks" but when we just go through the motions, showing up but not taking risks for His name's sake, then that is the same as saying no.
I will blog more about this on another day but let me leave you with this: God's greatest glory is found when we find our satisfaction in Him alone. Are you willing to seek that kind of satisfaction? Ultimately, the answer you give will make all the difference.