Mother’s Day and Father’s Day celebrations were great! All moms and dads received special attention on their special day. Moms were treated to a gift bag filled with all kinds of goodies and a special meal with guest speakers, Gene and Mona Summers, and our dads received special gifts compliments of Marty’s Landing. (Thanks, Marty!) But, because they are such special people, we attempt to do special things with them during the entire year. In fact, our men are welcoming other men from this area to be a part of a mens’ outing on Friday, June 20. Men are welcome to spend the night in the Retreat Center and stay for a late breakfast on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. The men are also planning to go to our Smiley Farm for a retreat on July 10-12. Thank you, David, for working hard at scheduling fun events for our men!

Moms are not being left out! On Saturday, June 21, all area ladies are invited to the parsonage to enjoy a Ladies’ breakfast and time of devotion. This event will begin at 9:30 a.m. Another breakfast is also scheduled for July 25 at 9:30 a.m. Thank you, Kelly, for working hard at helping us shower our ladies with love!

Captain Robert, known as the Sea Academy instructor, is leading Disciple’s Retreat in the Retreat Center on Saturday and Sunday, June 28 and 29. This will be a “Learn How-To” retreat, which is titled, “Fishing For Jesus”! This retreat will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday and will conclude with the Morning Service at the Chapel. Information can be received by calling the Chapel or Captain Robert at 361/815-3010. There will be no charge for this special event.

Pastor Joane is leading a unique Bible Study, titled, “Breaking Free”, each Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. The classes are based upon a teaching by Beth Moore. Everyone is welcomed to come and take part in this study which is held at the parsonage.
Kids are special at the Chapel. Each Friday evening (except the first Friday of each month) all area kids are welcomed to come to the Chapel and participate in Friday Night Youth. There is always a lot of fun, food, and fellowship. Friday Night Youth with Julian, Alissa, and Zach begins at 7:00 p.m. and the kids are picked up by 10:00 p.m. We are also planning a “Kids’ Crusade” in September. Edith has joined our teaching team on Sundays and is leading our children in singing that is presented to the congregation on special occasions. Edith and John are working hard at providing memorable times for all kids – come join us!

Fisherman’s Chapel is reaching out to people from all walks of life in our community and asking them to join us as we travel toward Heaven! We are an interdenominational congregation, which simply means everyone is welcomed. You will always find a warm welcome at the Chapel, and are urged to, “Come, grow with us”!

Greetings fellow culinary enthusiasts! Welcome summer and with it many gatherings that will involve you preparing side dishes and such. Gone are the days when bringing Stove Top stuffing and premade fruit pies are appropriate. Summer time requires a cooler and lighter cuisine. The tangy sweetness of a refrigerated lemon meringue pie comes to mind. The thought of grateful guests enjoying bites of my pie quickly fade as I imagine the oven cooking at 350 degrees. I don’t know about you, but I think it would be more comfortable on my front porch than in the kitchen with a hot oven on a summer day. Fortunately, lemon meringue pie requires very little cooking time especially if they are miniature.

Mini Lemon Meringue Pies

Set oven to 350 degrees (don’t worry this won’t take long). Roll out a single, pre made pie crust and cut with a large mouth glass (this should make about 8 pieces). Press pieces into a muffin tin, puncture the bottom with a fork, and bake for 10 minutes.

While waiting, zest 2 lemons and mix the zest thoroughly in a bowl with 1 ½ c. sugar. Microwave what’s left of the lemons for 30 sec. In a medium bowl add 1 stick of butter, 3 egg yolks (save whites), the zest/sugar mixture and juice from the microwaved lemons. Mix well and cook over medium heat until it thickens. Fill each crust about 2/3 full and bake for another 10 minutes.

While waiting…..put reserved egg whites, ½ t. of cream of tartar and 6 T. of sugar in a bowl and whip with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Remove pies from oven and place oven on broil. Top each pie with meringue and broil in oven until brown (don’t walk away because this happens very fast).

Place mini pies in refrigerator until ready to serve. For added attraction garnish each with a candied lemon or lemon sugar. Approximate preparation time is 50 minutes and serves 6 to 8 people. Some cooks might think it would be easier to do ice cream or a frozen desert but that really depends on how far you have to travel. Word to the wise….no one likes desert soup.

May 24th, 2014 was a very special day for Marlene (pronounced Marlynn) Zacarias and Ryan Rosenboom. The couple, currently living in San Antonio got married, TWICE! Ryan is the son of Karl and Janet Rosenboom of Port O’Connor. Marlene is the daughter of Rafael Zacarias Gonzalez and Magdalena Fernandez De Zacarias, of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico.

Marlene’s home, Piedras Negras, Mexico is a quaint little boarder town just across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass, Texas. Long before she met Ryan, she had decided when she met Mr. Right, she would be married in the Catholic Church where her parents had exchanged wedding vows many years ago. As a young girl, she had pictured herself walking down that long aisle, dressed all in white to join her “Prince Charming” in Holy matrimony. The church would be full of beautiful flowers and a Mariachi Quartet would play wedding music. The union would be celebrated with a nuptial mass. Her family and friends would all be there to witness the special event and to wish her well. Sometimes Marlene would think the dream was out of reach and only sounded like a fairy tale. Little did she know her Prince Charming, a young professional was living in the very city she chose to work after graduating from college, San Antonio, Texas.

Ryan and Marlene were introduced through friends. They became friends, started dating and eventually fell in love. Even with their busy lives, they managed to be with each other as often as possible. When Ryan proposed, Marlene gladly accepted. They had known each other long enough to know they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together as husband and wife. Of course, now that Marlene had found her Prince Charming, she began to believe that fairy tales could possibly come true.

Somehow with endless planning, extensive coordinating and lots of good hard work, the dream wedding came together. The Nuptial Mass would be held in the Catholic Church in Piedras Negras, Mexico. The reception and Texas style wedding would be held in Eagle Pass. I was totally amazed how every little detail was addressed. What appeared to be a huge undertaking, seemed to come together flawlessly.

In May of last year, the grooms mother, Janet Rosenboom asked me if I could officiate a ceremony during the reception in Eagle Pass so Marlene and Ryan could be married according to the laws of Texas and according to Catholic church as well. I was honored. I have officiated weddings as far away as Houston, Austin, and San Antonio, but the Eagle Pass venue would break my record for miles traveled to a wedding. I was very excited.

Wedding at Piedras Negras Church

It was a wonderful experience traveling into Mexico for the church wedding as a guest. The church, priest, mariachis and nuptial mass were just as Marlene had dreamed they would be. She was a gorgeous bride and her smile was radiant as she approached her handsome groom. Everything was perfect.

When the bride and groom arrived at the reception, I had the honor of joining them as husband and wife “Texas Style.” I had created a unique ceremony just for the special circumstances in which Ryan and Marlene had agreed to enter into. “Marlene and Ryan, earlier today you entered into the sacrament of Holy Matrimony. You made your promise before God, the church, your families and friends to love, honor, protect and cherish each other for all the days of your lives.

According to the Catholic Church and the Country of Mexico you are joined as husband and wife. Now you are here tonight. You have expressed your wish to be married according to the State of Texas. I am honored to be acting as officiant to complete that wish. If you are both willing to enter into this contract to become husband and wife according to laws of the Great State of Texas, please answer — WE DO.” ___________ To end the ceremony, I stated “ I now pronounce you Husband and Wife, TEXAS STYLE and Ryan, you may now kiss your bride AGAIN!”

Judge Pomykal officiates at Texas Wedding

A grand reception was held at the International Center for Trade in Eagle Pass. The reception hall was decorated elegantly and was transformed into a magical venue for the couple’s first party as husband and wife. The guests dined and danced to a live band with a lot of surprise treats added as well. It was fun and exciting! The party continued until the wee hours of the morning. As the celebration slowly came to an end, my final thoughts were “ FAIRY TALES REALLY DO COME TRUE!” Congratulations and my very best wishes to Mr. & Mrs. Ryan Rosenboom . May God Bless you with a long and happy marriage.

Ah, the month of June; it is named after the Roman Goddess Juno. She was in charge of marriages back then. I am not sure who is now. They seem to be quite different. However, June is still the month of marriages. June also has at least one other distinction, besides birthdays of those of you who have June ones.

It was on June 21, 1788 that our constitution had the ninth of the thirteen states ratify it. This made it official. Rhode Island was the last to actually adopt it . They finally got around to it on May 29, 1790. Isn’t it ironic that the smallest state took the longest time to ratify the constitution. It was signed and sent out September 1787. They only had snail mail in those days.

One of the hang ups was the cry for what is now known as the Bill of Rights. There is another instance of the slowness of government action in that story also. Immediately after ratification they got to work and proposed twelve amendments. Proposals 2 thru 12 were passed within a couple of years. The first proposal has fallen by the wayside. The 2nd proposal took a while longer. It was finally adopted as the 27th amendment in May of 1992. I am not sure but I think that is the slowest the government has taken to do anything positive.

That amendment, simply put, doesn’t let congress vote themselves a pay raise. Any raise they vote for has to wait till after the next election. It isn’t a real surprise that they took over a couple of hundred years to make that one the law. And we can thank a UT student for getting it done.

All of this talk about the early days of the USA reminds us that the 4th of July is the day we celebrate as the birth of our nation. That in itself is a compromise on what is a long string of dates. It is true that the continental congress passed the final version we know as the Declaration of Independence on the 4th 1776.

The revolutionary war started April 19, 1775. The first battle was in Lexington and Concord up in Massachusetts. We know about that when Longfellow let us Hear about the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere where he gave Paul all the credit, probably because his name rhymed with Hear. Paul was involved, for sure, but so were many others.

At any rate, the Declaration was signed on August 2 about a month after it was adopted. The war went on until April 11, 1783, almost 8 years when we signed the treaty of Paris with England. During that time we were working under the Articles of Confederation. Finally after the constitution was adopted we inaugurated our President George Washington in 1789. So I guess I will stick to the 4th of July as the best date to celebrate. My recommendation is that you should also.

Seadrift Council Sworn In

On May 30th, City Secretary Paula Moncrief administered the oath of office to Elmer DeForest beginning his 4th 2-year term as Mayor and new Council Member Peggy Gaines, who is replacing retiring Councilman Robert Chatham. Also sworn in was second term Council Member Ranier Brigham.

Serving as Department Heads for the City this year are: Utilities – Johnny Mikalos; Harbor – Ranier Brigham; Streets & Drainage – June Cantrell; Public Safety – Wesley Hunt; Parks & Recreation – Peggy Gaines.