By Father Casey Shobe
This weekend we get some big things underway at Transfiguration. On Saturday, we’ll finally begin our redeveloped Eucharist we’re calling The Table. The staff, steering committee, and I have been praying about and planning for this service for nearly a year, so it’s exciting to finally reach this new beginning and see how it will enrich our congregational life. Our hope is that it creates a compelling and soul-nourishing worship experience for people who may not now feel at home in any of our existing services. We hope this can be an experience in which they meet God and grow in the Christian faith and life. I hope you’ll invite someone to attend sometime, and consider checking it out yourself!
Then, on Sunday, we’re kicking off Christian formation for the year. From 10:15-11:00 a.m. every Sunday, there will be a class available for every single person in our church over the age of two. We have a children’s ministry that is the envy of the Episcopal Church, and Cindy Hauser has once again assembled an incredible team of volunteers to guide the formation of children each week. Meanwhile, Dana Jean has done amazing things preparing our youth ministry to begin the formation season, and students in middle and high school are in for an exciting and engaging time on Sundays and Wednesdays at Crossover. You can register your child for formation classes here, if you haven’t already.
Our offerings for adults will also be rich. This year Dr. Roy Heller will complete his four-year exploration of the entirety of the Old Testament, and even if you haven’t attended from the beginning, you will be blessed by Roy’s keen insight, wisdom, and humor. Fr. Michael Merriman will reprise a popular class exploring how the Sacraments can and should inform not only how we worship but also how we live. And I’m tremendously excited to welcome Dr. Dallas Gingles, spouse of our former communication’s director, Rebecca, who will teach an introduction to Christian Ethics. The idea for the class comes from one of my favorite television shows, The Good Place, in which a professor of moral philosophy has to give a crash course in how to live a moral life to people who are trying to become good enough to deserve to live in “the Good Place” (i.e. heaven). In a modern world in which we’re constantly confronted with complicated moral dilemmas, Dallas will help us wrestle with moral questions using case studies and ideas from great thinkers down through the ages.
If all that’s not enough, we’ll soon kick off The Way and a new season of Transfigured Nights. So many great ways to learn, pray, and serve. It’s going to be an awesome ride.
About Father Casey
Casey became the fourth rector of Transfiguration in October 2014 after having served churches in Rhode Island and Houston. He is married to Melody Shobe, also an Episcopal priest, and they have two daughters, Isabelle and Adelaide. Casey grew up in Temple, Texas, and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin. His Master of Divinity was earned at Virginia Theological Seminary and his Doctor of Ministry at the School of Theology at the University of the South (Sewanee). He loves playing golf, road cycling, hiking, brewing beer, and working in his yard. You can contact Father Casey by email.