Visitations: St. James in Kemp; St. Matthias in Athens
Bishop Rob Price visited St. James in Kemp and St. Matthias in Athens on Sunday. The Rev. Elizabeth Papazoglakis is priest-in-charge at St. James, and her husband, the Rev. Tom Papazoglakis is priest-in-charge at St. Matthias.
Bishop Price had a wonderful time with the parishioners known for laidback charm and good cooking. "It is a true saying worthy of all to receive that the farther east one goes, the better the spread at the reception! I had a delightful time at the Q&A following the service, having had the chance to get to know many of the members and what brought them to this warm parish family, Bishop Price said."
At St. James many parishioners come from neighborhoods built around nearby Cedar Creek Lake where retirees move to live on the waterfront, and hit the golfing greens at several country clubs in the area. Parishioner Linda Shehee said the demographic at St. James skewed older due to the retirees and joked that the parish youth group means those in their 60s.
No longer in the work-a-day pace of the corporate world these retirees are using their gifts for the greater good and for them that means mission. That includes prison ministry and active support of One Man's Treasure, a group that provides gently used clothing to men just released from prison so they have appropriate clothing for church and job interviews.
But mostly, these believers love a food ministry because the need is great. For starters, the parish works with Maybank Area Good Samaritans where they are in a rotation with four other churches for volunteer work with the ministry. The food bank serves those in need in Henderson, Kaufman and Van Zandt counties. The church also participates in Angel Food ministry which identifies families in need with the school district's help and gives each family a week's worth of food once a month. The third food ministry involves adopting a family during Christmas and during back-to-school by giving food, Christmas gifts to children and school clothes. At Christmas the children are asked to give a list of presents they would like and the church gives them their number one pick on the list. The family also gets food to prepare a traditional Christmas meal. For the new school year the children are given the clothes and new sizes they need, said longtime parishioner Paul Lasiter. During one food delivery around Christmas, a family in need lived in a 30-foot trailer home with three kids who were all playing outside on a cold day in their undergarments. The mother, who worked two jobs, said if the church had not brought the food they would have eaten peanut butter sandwiches for Christmas. "I've cried a lot," Lasiter said. "It shows you exactly how blessed you are when you go. Our goal is that someday the kids will realize back then a bunch of Christians helped them out," he said.
At St. Matthias the congregants are healing from previous challenges at their parish. Bishop Price and Bishop Fraser Lawton offered a special service with prayers for healing and peace. The bishops were warmly received and enjoyed a festive meal after the service having time to visit with many folks from the parish.
"I was greatly moved by Father Tom's care for the congregation and the deep healing work that they have done together," Bishop Price said. "Our liturgy of reconsecration of the altar - painstakingly planned by Father Papazoglakis - truly revealed the transformative grace that God can give through corporate prayer and worship."
Recently, the Papazoglakis' have announced their retirement at the end of the year. "Mother Elizabeth and Father Tom are jewels in our presbyterate, " Bishop Price said. "I'm grateful for their work and I was privileged to conduct their last visitations as rectors."