Thank You Father Rick

For all the things you've done during your time with us!

For the years you came to be among us Igorot Filipino at HTSB. You have tried your best to hear and appreciate our ways and culture with interest. You became a family member to us.

For your great love, mercy and compassion. For your heart for us and our parish. For your vision of all that our church could be as a shinning light to the community of Alhambra and beyond. May your vision not die with your departing. May it be birthed in God's time.

When someone in our family got sick, you devotedly prayed and visited them. You humbly offered yourself as a servant to those in need. You brought Holy communion to those who could not come to church, like Rudy Buyagawan.

God knows the mission you accomplished during your trip to the Philippines. You visited the sick people on our prayer list: Joyce Kimps, Fred Fadlen, Mary Afidchao, Fermina Arcido, and Geraldine Asiong. As you traveled up the mountain in Banaue, the Holy Spirit led you to a sick, dying man Lukas Agwat. You poured out healing prayers to him and gave words of comfort to the family.

In times of death in our family, you stood by with loving support. We bless your heart for you have presented yourself as a living sacrifice!

For the joy and laughter of our children. Every time they see you, they would be jumping for joy grabbing you and calling out Padi, Padi! Thank You for your great love for Children. Thank you for the bonds you established with our youth and young adults.

In your gentle ways, you developed friendships with all of us. You called us friends from the youngest to the oldest.

For the beautiful baptisms you performed that brought light to our babies as you presented them in the care of God's hands. For the blessings you released upon our homes. For the stories you shared of your time in Africa and your experiences with the sheriff and search and rescue teams.

For your support and leadership in our home Bible studies. For showing us God's word is truth, a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path. For teaching us to be like trees firmly planted and grounded in God's word.

For being with us during our weekend retreat in Idyllwild. For leading us on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

For the spiritual messages you shared with us in the Sunday bulletin. As we read and meditated on them with delight, they uplifted and gave us encouragement.

For being a leader in the community of Alhambra. For connecting us with so many other churches in the area. For the 2007 Alhambra Good Friday Service at HTSB which brought over 10 churches together for a beautiful and precious time together in Christ. For connecting us with the mayor of Alhambra and the Asian Pacific Women's Center. This reminds us of Jabez prayer: "Oh that you bless us and increase our territory!"

For the improvements of the building and grounds, we praise the Lord, and thank you for your leadership to get it done. All blessings will come upon us and our church through faith and obedience. Glory to God!

Fr. Rick. For all these things, we praise God, and give thanks that you were with us as God's humble and faithful servant.

May your departing not be a forever goodbye. We are all God's children, and are bound together as one in his peace. Thanks to the Lord God Almighty for sending his son Jesus Christ Who came to save us from our sinfulness. Thanks for the Blood of Jesus Christ shed on Calvary for our redemption. Lord God Our heavenly Father we Love you because you first loved us.

God is in control of everything on heaven and earth. May we lean on him our beloved saviour. To God be the glory!

We will surely miss your presence on our Sunday services and Bible studies. Fight the good fight, forget the battles, remain obedient to God, and pursue His calling for you. May the blessings, the grace and peace of God be with you forever and ever.

The HTSB prayer Chain Group

Fr. Rick's Farewell Announcement and Celebration

Dear Members and Friends of Holy Trinity St. Benedicts Parish,

It is my duty to inform you that Fr. Rick has accepted a position as Chaplain at the Covington Episcopal Home in Oragne County and will be leaving us. His new position begins on August 1, 2008 and therefore, this coming Sunday, July 27th, will be his final service with us. Fr. Rick announced his resignation to the Vestry on Sunday, July 20, during the Vestry meeting. While his resignation announcement to the Vestry was sudden and unexpected, we know and understand that he must listen to God’s call. Fr. Rick must go where he and our Bishop feel he is called to best serve and faithfully minister.

Following our 11AM service on July 27, the Vestry will host a Farewell Party to thank him for his service to us. We hope you can come for this special day and thank Fr. Rick personally for his work in helping us through our transition and search for a permanent rector. We encourage every parishioner and friend of the church to come celebrate Fr. Rick’s time with us and congratulate him in his new ministry.

On behalf of the Vestry of Holy Trinity and St. Benedict, I remain,

Yours in Christ,

Tim Botengan
Senior Warden

Parish Profile Survey Request

Dear Members and Friends of Holy Trinity & St. Benedict Parish,

As you may already know, Holy Trinity and St. Benedict Parish has entered into a Rector Search Process. An important part of this process is the development of a Parish Profile that will describe who we are as a Parish and more importantly, where we are heading. Through the process of developing a Parish Profile, we as a congregation, will be doing a self-study to know who we are so that we may call a priest who is best matched to our congregation. In a sense, the creation of a parish profile is a “roadmap” to our future and once completed, we can then begin to identify the pastor and leader to help guide us to that future.

The Parish Profile Committee has met several times to deliberate on how best to accomplish this self-study and ultimately, the development our Parish Profile. As a committee, we have discussed what our task is, what our roles are, and have discussed guidelines on how to proceed. Now that the committee has determined the general parameters of this process, we urge your assistance and your input so that you all can decide the future direction of this parish.

The link below will take you to a brief questionnaire. Please take a few minutes to read the questions carefully and answer as honestly and as specifically as you can. We have also scheduled a Congregational Meeting immediately following the Sunday Service on July 13, 2008. In this meeting, we will update you on the status of the Search Process and answer questions you may have. Please mark this date on your calendar.

Thank you so much for your input.

From the Members of the HTSB Parish Profile Committee

Karla Bacayan, Max Batong, Harry Basingat, Tim Botengan, Christine Dagan, Gayle McKinney, Charlene Ocab, and Virginia Ramos.

Click this link to complete the Questionnaire/ Survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=E77CfAlCIZgH7D8pUKiKKQ_3d_3d

If you or members of your household prefer to fill out the questionnaire manually, click here for MS Word format of the questionnaire.

2007 LA Diocesan Convention Report - Chris Dagan

What a busy weekend! Thank you for allowing me to represent you when you elected me as one of the delegates to the Diocesan Convention.

The event was the 2007 Los Angeles Diocesan Convention held at the Riverside Convention Center. Along with Fr. Rick, Tim, Carla, Gayle, Virginia Ramos, Manny de Castro, and I, - - - we joined hundreds of other delegates, visitors, friends from other congregations to learn more about each other congregation’s expectations through reports, resolutions, and testimonies.

Naturally, it was highly-organized. It was a smooth flow from the Registration to the sessions, to the entertainment to the dinner, up to the final event - - - the Holy Eucharist. The speakers and sessions were superb. I was taken with the convention’s attention to detail and professional presentations. The logistics moved like clockwork under Bishop Bruno’s strong direction. No time was wasted. But there was ample time go to the exhibition hall and fellowship with friends and other delegates. The agenda was followed to the T. The Exhibition Hall was filled to the capacity with many vendors - - - lots to buy, books, Christmas decorations, jewelries, church needs, etc. Lots of items to choose from.

For one to know and understand what I am saying - - - the workings of such a magnitude conference, one has to experience it. I urge you accept when nominated to be a delegate. If you cannot be delegate, be an alternate delegate, and if this still does not work for you, be a guest. As a delegate you will have voice and be able to vote on all the resolutions, delegates, proposals, etc. Being an alternate delegate and visitor will not give you voice therefore will not be able to vote but just being there with everyone, experiencing the aura of the moment and seeing the Diocese in action will be very rewarding. Being there allows one to listen to the different speakers share their personal experience/s on their journey as Christians. Being there also, will give us the chance to hear and listen to the Being there also, will make one aware and give understanding of the many processes to be worked through to make the L. A. Diocese that it is today. The one who will continue to work with us, support us especially in times of struggle so that we will be able to continue to move forward as we realize our dreams of becoming a fulfilled HTSB.

Thanks for giving me this opportunity to share. Again, thanks too for electing me as one of your delegates. What a learning experience! It was a pleasure representing you and be in the midst of where the action is. Getting to see once again some of the ECW board was such a pleasant surprise. Being in the company of the other HTSB delegates, dining with them and going out for a special break was added bonus to the whole event. All in all, it was an experience I will always treasure.

Thank you.
Chris Dagan

HTSB Enters into Rector Search Process

An Important Announcement from your Vestry

December 2, 2007

Dear Fellow Parishioners and Friends:

On behalf of your Vestry, it is with great pleasure that I inform you of our unanimous decision to enter into the rector search process. After much deliberation and with the great help and spiritual leadership from the Rev. Rick Byrum, we feel called into initiating the steps toward calling our Rector, which is the right and duty of every mature parish, in consultation with their Bishop.

Several weeks ago, the Vestry met with the Reverend Canon Joanna Satorious, from the diocesan Office of Clergy Formation and Development, to discuss our intent to move forward with the search process. We will continue to work with her to make sure that we are in keeping with Diocesan procedures.

As you may know, our congregation has been through many challenges these past few years and much of it has meant a time of introspection. We feel this time has been well spent in the development of lay leadership and growth. As I stated in my letter to the Diocese, we, the Congregation of Holy Trinity and St. Benedict have grown and are now ready to seek stability in our spiritual life by taking that next step in the life of every parish by choosing a priest whom God calls to be rector of this parish.

Some of you may immediately wonder, “Is Fr. Rick leaving us? Are we asking him to leave?” That is not the case. Fr. Rick is committed to our Parish and will remain the Priest-In-Charge until we call our rector. He has also expressed his deep desire to continue his pastoral role here at Holy Trinity and St. Benedict and will be a candidate for that search process. But before we call a person to serve, we must first understand who we are. We must first figure out who we are and where we want to go before anyone can listen to the call to serve as this parish’s next rector.

This search process will be a challenging journey for all of us, a journey that will take many, many months of self discovery and soul searching. The important thing to know, however, is that we will be taking this journey together as a congregation. This search process will be an open one where all of us will be involved. For the next several months, we will be working to develop a Parish Profile that will state in words who we are, what we want to do, where we want to go, what our goals are, what programs we will pursue, and so on. We will be having many town hall meetings, small group discussions, and home visits, until we have completed a Parish Profile.
As I mentioned, this is an open process and I encourage all of you to participate and voice out your opinions. I also encourage all of us to be open to all possibilities of what is right and good and not what one necessarily wants. God works in mysterious ways and God will call the one who should be here with us, as rector of this parish, and this process is meant to facilitate that.

With great joy and expectation, I remain,

Yours in Christ,

Tim Botengan
Senior Warden
The Parish of Holy Trinity and St. Benedict
Email: tbotengan@earthlink .net
Cell: (626) 482-3911

PS
On Sunday, December 2, 2007, this announcement was distributed at the 11:00 AM service. In addition, those who had questions or concerns were invited to stay immediately after the service so that they can ask the members of the Vestry. As the letter mentioned, this is an open process and the Vestry will try to keep it as transparent as allowed. We will continue to hold question and answer sessions immediately after church services whenever possible. We will also continue to inform you of any new developments as they come up. Thank you.

ECW Retreat Report 11-10-07 by Chris Dagan

What is in a name? Call it a retreat, conference, workshop, whatever, etc., you would have been and should be proud of a bunch of our ECW members for a successful Retreat. It was a full day event for seventeen members, namely; Fidela, Nora, Amy, Betty, Doris, Muriel, Anne, Bing, Jane B., Evelyn, Trini, Ely, Linda, Myrna, Semina, Gail, and Chris when they gathered at Hultgren’s Hall on Saturday, 11/10/07. The day was an open invitation to participate in an open forum, in the hopes of shading light to a controversial issue, RELIGION - - not so much with our own group’s beliefs but also to understand the beliefs of that of the larger community.

As one big group, the day started with Order for Morning Prayer led by Fr. Rick Byrum. The lecture which followed was intended for the participant’s examination of oneself as it relates to everyday living with ones interaction to the community and GOD. Additionally, it served also as an introduction to the theme/day’s discussion – Diversity in Religious Beliefs. Recognizing the myriad of opinion relating to religion, we learned that no religion is without value. Knowing our GOD and his unconditional love for mankind was reinforced in our small group discussions especially as each one was encouraged to share her story. Listening to co-members of the congregation relate their stories and to hear the joys, the sadness experienced because of that certain belief added special meaning to the day.

Did we have a successful Retreat? To me, my presence was blessed with the opportunity to be in the company of good friends whom I learned much from. I have greater respect for each of them - - - for their passion in their beliefs of which I would not have known otherwise. Kudos to all 17 members for pulling it off, thereby as a result a successful Retreat. Special thanks to Myrna for providing the baked goods and coffee, to Muriel for providing the lunch sandwiches, to Fr. Byrum for the chocolate candies, and to Jane for providing the dinner. We were well nourished throughout the day - - thanks to them.

Much thanks to Fr. Byrum for facilitating the meeting and leading us to a good discussion despite our different moods and feelings. For re-directing us to the issue, especially when the discussion/s would get out of line, for reminding us to focus our thoughts because no matter the difference/s in opinion and other things, that only one thing is constant and that is GOD’s love for all of us. Truly, the “ECW DAY of PRAYER and REFLECTION” aptly named, also thanks to Fr. Byrum was certainly that. Hopefully, some, if not all felt recharged after the Retreat about what family congregation we have at HTSB. I did!

Respectfully submitted, ….chris

p.s. As a child growing up, do you remember the table where you ate, the shape, the people at that table? Where were you seated at that table? Something for you to think about. Happy recollecting.

HTSB Basketball Team in First Place

The HTSB youth basketball team is currently tied for 1st place in Division 2 with a 2-0 record! Go HTSB! They will be competing for first place Saturday, the 21st. Come out and cheer them on. They are eager to have more fans @ the games Games are held at:
Mary Wilcox Youth Center Gym
843 E. Olive Ave.
Monrovia, CA 91016
Map

Remaining schedule is as follows:

Week 3 – July 21st

Game I (10:00 am) PEC vs. PAWC
Game J (11:00 am) KBIC vs. JRM
Game K (12:00 pm) FACC vs. HTSB
Game L (1:00 pm) JWU vs. JIA

Week 4 – July 28th

Game M (10:00 am) 3rd Place Team (Div. 1) vs. 4th Place Team (Div. 2)
Game N (11:00 am) 3rd Place Team (Div. 2) vs. 4th Place Team (Div. 1)
Game O (12:00 pm) 1st Place Team (Div. 2) vs. 2nd Place Team (Div. 1)
Game P (1:00 pm) 1st Place Team (Div. 1) vs. 2nd Place Team (Div. 2)

Week 5 – August 4th

Game Q (10:00 am) Game M Loser vs. Game N Loser (Consolation Game)
Game R (11:00 am) Game M Winner vs. Game N Winner (Consolation Championship)
Shootout (12:00 pm) 3 Point Shooting Contest
Game S (12:30 pm) Game O Loser vs. Game P Loser (3rd Place Game)
Game T (1:30 pm) Game O Winner vs. Game P Winner (Championship Game)

See you there!

EPISCOPAL ASIAMERICA MINISTRY (EAM) Conference Report - Chris Dagan

In June 27-July 2, the 2007, Episcopal Asiamerica Ministry (EAM) was held at the Westin LAX Airport Hotel in Los Angeles. The theme for this years conference was Working Towards Being "Competent Leaders in a Diverse, Changing World" Part 2., a continuation from last year's theme conference. At this year's conference, I was quite taken with the attention to detail starting with the registration, meals, breakout sessions, hospitality/ entertainment, and professional presentations. The logistics moved like clockwork and no time was wasted. Additionally, with Fr. Eric Lau's "Respectful Communications Guidelines" (remember Fr. Eric Lau, he introduced to us the use and necessity of the "Respectful Communications Guidelines" as he led us in some discussions 2-3 years ago) reminding us to be mindful of our co-participants, made for shorter but meaningful and full of substance discussions.

The first day of the conference was full of excitement for me. What fun to reunite with friends who I have not seen for years, as well as the meeting and making of new acquaintances! After checking in at the hotel, I went to the registration room and was pleasantly surprised to see familiar faces. Faces whom I have not seen for quite sometime. Many hugs were exchanged and the all too familiar phrases of 'how are you', 'how do you do', 'nice seeing you again' were reminiscent of the bygone years. Each day that followed as I went to the different workshops and fellow (shipping) with the other delegates yet brought back flood of memories of years past when I was going to these consultations.

In the workshops that I attended I noticed the wisdom and desire of the presenters to impart the subject matter to the participants giving them the ability to expand their knowledge giving each the opportunity to share. The groups diversity because of ethnicity did not handicap the participants desire in the building of their capacity to work as a team enabling them make decision together. Thanks to the presenters guidance which led for a fruitful discussion/s. Again, the "Respectful Communication Guidelines" in tow.

Different from past consultations, I have been to, I had the pleasure at this consultation to attend for the first time the Women's Convocation. Organized in Fife, Washington in August 1997, the EAM Women's Convocation in part, reads "endeavors to nurture and support women of Asian and Pacific Island backgrounds to assist them in exercising full membership participation in the life of the Episcopal Church." This years theme was "Women Together, Transforming Lives" Attending this workshop, I learned of the Bejing Circle. Why Bejing Circle? Bejing Circle came about as a result. The Fourth World Conference for Women sponsored by the United Nations held in Bejing, China of 40,000 women attended. It was at this conference that "women's rights were understood as human rights", of which 12 areas of concern surfaced, and as a result came about the inevitably of the creation of the Bejing Platform for Action. There was much discussion regarding the Bejing Circle. Circle in the sense that Christ is always at the center with women making up the circle. In the study we took time for individual reflections, discussing our own learning which later on we shared our own impressions as a total group. A very interesting concept of a circle which has no beginning and no end. This whole day conference ended with the knowledge that we, as women can make a difference in our own churches when we create our own circle with achievable and acceptable results.

In our Filipino convocation, the general feeling was that of encouragement. Encouragement in active participation; in the planning, willingness to engage in discussions, as well as in problem solving. Additionally, our meeting together as a convocation was an invitation to participate in an open forum to share the story as it relates to the existing joys, struggles in each respective congregation. The process of this sharing network to understand others' availed each participant awareness to better connect to their own congregation as they clarify their roles as members thereby giving a true and meaningful sense of belonging.
As one of your delegates, (Fr. Rich Byrum was the other) thank you . Thank you for giving the opportunity to share. It's always enlightening to be around people who share the same (perhaps in different degrees) commitment, share the same values, share the same joys, share the same struggles/sorrows yet in the process of this sharing are fun to be with. Being with this group made me feel so much a part of such an energizing experience. All in all my attendance at the Episcopal Asia Ministry was relaxed, enjoyable and meaningful in the sense that not only was the experience very educational, it reinforced the effectiveness and necessity of positive on-going partners-in-mission within our congregation and how this strikes my sense of identification for a positive continued work at HTSB.

Now for an exciting news and something to think about - - - to give the congregation lead time, - - - next years/2008 conference will in Taiwan starting on June 6. I do not know whether there will be a side trip enabling participants/members of each convocation to visit their own native countries. Nonetheless, it will be a trip to remember considering the education combined with the fun of seeing yet another country for the first time. As such, I would like to propose to the vestry that HTSB send a delegate or two, all expenses paid if not at least in part. It seems a long time to next year but before you know it, it is here already. Think about it. Thank you!

Respectfully submitted,

Chris T. Dagan

click link below for conference web site

Church Construction & Repair Projects Begin

We have started a number of building repair projects. The senior warden, Tim Botengan met with the contractors recently to finalize the agreements and work began June 26. Current projects include:

• Front of rectory – repair wood and paint.
• Roof of rectory – replace missing and damaged roof shingles. This may turn out to be a complete re-roof since the damage is very extensive and has not been maintained in many years.
• Original Holy Trinity church building (Alhambra Christian Fellowship) – clean, repair, and paint side walls, trimming, facia boards, doors.
• In addition, work on the walkway between Hultgren Hall and the original church has begun. The uneven patchwork of old black top and cement is being completely torn out and replaced with concrete. The uneven sidewalk has been a safety concern for many of our elderly visitors. The new sidewalk will be a welcome improvement.
• We also expect to soon start work on repairing/replacing the damaged brick wall in the east parking lot, as well as the east parking lot itself. One of the trees in this area has broken and deformed the brick wall. The tree will be preserved by running the wall out around the tree.

Many thanks to Tim for doing the leg work on getting this started!

Shoebox for Soldiers Kick-Off

Some of our own parishioners, friends and/or family are currently stationed on the front line in Iraq, Afganistan, etc.. They and their units are in need of all the moral support and uplifting they can get.

To support them, the HTSB youth kicked off the SHOEBOXES FOR SOLDIERS project on June 24th by preparing and sending 9 boxes to TJ, Danny, and company. The youth led the way on this project preparing the boxes , burning CDs, taking pictures, organizing the Sunday School kids drawings, and short letters, etc. There was also a lot of support and encouragment from the parish leadership on other adults. All military personel expecially those close to the parish have been a part of our prayer life for many months. …every one found a way to participate and be involved…

We hope to continue with this project, perhaps on a monthly basis, until our soldiers are at peace back here at home and away from the tragedies of war.

Everything we collect must be able to fit in a shoe box to be sent to their location. Suggestions for items are:

- Baby wipes
- Instant packages (just add water): Gatorade, Kool-aid, Cup-a-Soup, instant coffee, powdered creamer, sugar & sugar replacements
- Hygiene products (really needed)
- Eye drops (natural tears)
- Chewing gum
- Stationery (store bought or homemade)
- Disposable hand warmers (found at sporting goods stores)
- Crossword puzzles and word games
- Tins of anchovies, sardines, oysters, Vienna sausages, tuna etc.,
- Hard candy (lifesavers, jellybeans, etc.) NO chocolate or anything that can melt
- A handwritten note of encouragement
- Magazines (Gently read as well as new)
- Dental floss, Paperback books, Cassettes and CDs (used and new)
- Card games, gaming chips, Handheld electronic games, solitaire, word games, etc.
- Munchies
- any kind of non-perishable & sealed snack: e.g. beef jerky, chips, crackers
- Journal, diary, a small calendar
- Yo-yo's
- Scarves, Chap stick, Antibacterial lotion
- Toiletries for men and women, Hair products, hotel samples of products and hair pomade
- Eyeglass repair kit, Emergency sewing kit
- Clear tape, Emery boards, Nail clippers
- Food seasonings: Spicy, oriental, Mexican, Italian, etc., (they have plenty of salt and pepper)
- Post-it Notes, pens, pencils, mini-pen lights
- Scotch brite scour pads (needed)
- Pictures

We hope that this will be just one of many more things to come we can do to give back to the community and continue to spread the love that Jesus Christ has given us. These simple items in a small shoe box will go a long way to Afghanistan/Iraq and fill our soldiers' hearts with hope and love to endure their time there. Let's keep praying for their safety and show them how much they are appreciated.

Thanks to Charlene and the Anderson family for getting this started, to all the youth who have made it happen, and all the others who have contributed in some way. THANK YOU!