Episcopalians flood Bryan-College Station for two-day conference

  • By MAGGIE KIELY

  • Posted: Saturday, February 11, 2012 7:00 a.m.
  • Text size: A A A


More than 1,000 Episcopalians from across the state congregated at the Brazos County Expo on Friday to kick off the 163rd annual Diocesan Council of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.


More than 700 clergy and church representatives came in town with family members to take part in the two-day conference led by the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, who serves as the Episcopal Bishop of Texas.


"It's a business meeting. We gather to look at the budget, how to spend missionary funds, take care of any elections," Doyle said. "But at the same time, it's a reunion for our folks."


Some people have been attending the annual councils for decades. In addition to the event being a key part of the church structure and its growth, Doyle said, many Episcopalians have come to look forward to it as a fun, yearly tradition.


And non-Episcopalians can enjoy some of the festivities as well.


From 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, vendor booths will be set up showcasing a variety of arts and crafts including scarfs, wood-carvings, jewelry, stained glass and religious memorabilia.


The exhibits also serve as way to educate the public about the Episcopal church and share some of its missionary work.


Although it's the first time the Council has been held in the area, Doyle is not a stranger here. From 1997 to 2003, he was a priest at St. Francis in College Station.


"It's exciting to be back. The cities just continue to grow and thrive," he said.


To make sure the operation ran smoothly, volunteers from the three local Episcopal churches -- St. Andrew's in Bryan and St. Thomas and St. Francis in College Station -- signed up to help out.


Students from St. Michael's Episcopal School pitched in as well.


Alison Sawyer, spokeswoman for St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Bryan, said volunteers at her church started preparing for the Council meeting about a year ago.


Sawyer said the gathering is special for her in that she gets to see some of the friends she grew up going to church with in Houston and the church where she was baptized is represented at the meetings.


The Episcopal Diocese of Texas consists of 155 congregations and includes 57 counties, 409 clergy, 67 schools and 17 college ministries.


As leader of one of the 110 dioceses in the Episcopal Church, Doyle said he puts an emphasis on "doing things" instead of "telling people to do things."


His diocese includes more than 1,400 ministries which range in focus from feeding the poor, sick or elderly, building homes for those affected by natural disasters and buying mosquito nets for African families to protect them from malaria.


"The Episcopal church is a church that very much loves Jesus Christ and is interested in people and getting to know them," he said. "We have a lot of diversity. God made a lot of different kinds of folks."

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