Along the King's Highway
El Camino Real Newsletter
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Church Office & Preschool Hours
The church office is CLOSED on Mondays, and OPEN from
8am to 1pm,
Tuesday - Friday.
Preschool is in session Tuesdays & Thursdays from 8am to 1pm.
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 Please see the "Angels of St. Stephen's" article for our Thank You's this week.
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GoodLifeUSA VIP Hotel Savings Card
This is a new fundraising opportunity to support St. Stephen's. Donate whatever and whenever you want and receive a card worth $200 in discounts. Save money on hotels and resort stays through GoodLifeUSA.
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We had a great retreat with Bishop Mary last weekend. Much of the time was spent with the Vestry and the Search Committee, but beginning at noon, Bishop Mary shared the results of their work with the parish as a whole. The core of her presentation were two lists, the first a list of the values that the group had decided to hold before them as they moved ahead and the second a list of things they wished to accomplish in the weeks and months still to come. I was deeply impressed. I'd like to share those lists with you. Not everyone was there, after all. Beyond that though, these are ideas worth recording.
The central value that the group identified was "Mutual Respect." As Bishop Mary went on to explain, that specifically means:
- Assuring that everyone has a voice by making certain that no one is left out;
- Helping others to exercise that voice by affirming that everyone's viewpoint is welcome, making clear that there are no "wrong" statements or ideas;
- Listening to everyone with open receptivity; in other words, allowing each person to speak without interruption, while listening attentively and empathetically.
The group then identified four goals for themselves for the time ahead:
- Learn to make decisions together;
- Learn about what we mean by "authority" and "power";
- Deepen our understanding of hospitality and develop our skills in providing a genuine and loving welcome;
- Learn to have honest conversations together.
Both these lists are excellent! They truly embody gospel values. In fact, they are so much at the heart of what we are about that I'd like to suggest that we all embrace them. They are perfect for the parish as a whole. They clearly lay out not only who we want to be but what we need to do during this time of transition. Clearly God is guiding us! We need only trust in Him.
Peace and grace,
Fr. Ernie
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A Message from Senior Warden Genie Lee
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Dear St. Stephen's Family,
This Sunday, September 24, 2017, is the 16th Sunday after Pentecost. The Rev. Ernie Boyer, our Interim Pastor, will preside over the 8:00 am and the 10:00 am services. Deacon Robin Poppoff will provide the sermon at both services. There will be an Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) Forum after church this Sunday, led by Robin. Please stay and join us.
We are now in need of a Vestry Clerk
. The Vestry Clerk takes the minutes of all of the vestry meetings. He/she then types up the meetings and sends a draft of the minutes out to the vestry members for feedback. The minutes are then reviewed and approved at the next monthly vestry meeting. The Vestry Clerk is a non-voting member of the vestry and is essential for vestry record keeping. The skills that you will need are: good note taking skills at meetings and ability to type up the notes into a template and then send out to the vestry members by email. You will need to be able to discern what should go into the minutes and ask questions if not sure. You will need to be able to attend most of the vestry meetings, which are the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm at St. Stephen's Church. Please let me know if you are interested.
Please keep the vestry, the Rector Search Committee, and Rev. Ernie Boyer in your prayers. The vestry is working hard to keep St. Stephen's operating smoothly and the Rector Search Committee is working hard to create our church profile. Ernie will be leading us through the rest of our transition, preparing us to call our next Rector. Please pray that God will guide us all and that we will have open hearts and minds as we make decisions for the church during this transition.
We had a thought-provoking and inspirational retreat last Friday evening and Saturday with Bishop Mary. Thank you to all of you who attended. During our discussions, we came up with the following Tool Box to help in communicating with each other:
Our Tool Box:
- Listen and Perceive
- Non-Reactive
- "E.G.R." (Extra Grace Required)
- Trust
- Prayer
- The Serenity Prayer
- Respect
- Remember: Everyone Has a Voice
We also came up with a "To Do" list, with Bishop Mary's guidance, to help us grow as a congregation during our Transition, to help us prepare for our new Priest:
To Do List:
- Learn to make decisions together
- Learn about what we mean by "Authority" and "Power"
- Deepen our understanding of "nomadic" hospitality and develop our skills to provide genuine and loving welcome
- Learn to have honest conversations together
The vestry will further our work on the To Do List and have discussions around how to achieve the items on our To Do List.
Transition Update:
From the retreat and Bishop Mary, we learned that there needs to be a part of the profile describing our spirituality. The Rector Search Committee are now working to revise the profile once again. Once they are finished, the vestry will meet to review and hopefully approve the OTM and Church Profile. Once the vestry approves the OTM and Church Profile, both will be sent to the Diocese, to Bishop Mary and Cannon Brian Nordwick to review. Once they approve it, then they will send the OTM and Profile out to the community to advertise our opening. The Diocese will screen and do background checks for all prospective candidates. They will send the search committee the candidates that qualify.
The fire marshal came to do his regular inspection and said we needed to replace all of the Exit Signs with electrical lighted signs. Andy Lief is arranging for someone to install them so you will see new signs when you come to church this Sunday. Many thanks to Andy for taking this on.
Please bring in dry food for the Food Basket for St. Julie's and pocket change for the Food for the Poor Jar.
Please look at the Angel Board to see if there are any tasks that need to be added or tasks that you want to volunteer to do.
Also, remember Andy Lief is putting together a list of tasks that need to be done for the Beautification of St. Stephen's Project. Please let him know if you have tasks to add.
Genie Lee
Senior Warden
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Sunday, September 24, 2017
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THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2017
Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost
8 am Holy Eucharist, Prayer A (no music)
10 am Holy Eucharist, Prayer A (with music)
DEACON ROBIN WILL HOST A FORUM FOLLOWING THE 10 AM SERVICE
IN THE PARISH HALL
SUBJECT:
EPISCOPAL RELIEF & DEVELOPMENT FUND
Come and learn about ERD and how you can help. ERD is the international relief and development agency of the Episcopal Church established in 1940 as the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief.
Motto: Healing a Hurting World
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UNITED
THANK OFFERING (UTO)
by Edy Unthank
UTO boxes and donations are DUE at St. Stephen's this Sunday, September 24. Please bring your blue box to church and place in the offering plate.
If you write a check, please make it payable to St. Stephen's in-the-Field with "UTO" in the memo line. The Treasurer will collect all of the donations and process one check from St. Stephen's.
The check will be hand delivered to the Episcopal Church Women's Luncheon on October 7 to be part of the Diocesan Ingathering.
Ever wonder why the ingathering is always part of an ECW (Episcopal Church Women) event? You can go to this link
to read a brief history of The United Thank Offering and the influence of women - not only in forming the United Thank Offering, but also on the growth of the Episcopal Church.
Blessings,
Edy Unthank, Diocesan UTO Coordinator
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DIOCESE OF EL CAMINO REAL -- ECW  HONORED WOMEN'S DAY AND UTO INGATHERING
The Diocese of El Camino Real Honored Women's Day and UTO Ingathering is on
Saturday, October 7. We will honor a woman from each of our congregations in the Diocese of El Camino Real - women who proclaim their faith through their lives and actions - for the congregation, the diocese, and the community.
The day will take place October 7 from 9:30 am - 2:00 pm at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Gilroy.
Celebration of the 2017 Honored Women will include Holy Eucharist with Bishop Mary and the United Thank Offering (UTO) Ingathering.
DON'T FORGET TO SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATION FOR THE 2017 HONORED WOMAN OF ST. STEPHEN'S. NOMINATIONS ARE DUE SUNDAY 9/24. FORMS ARE AVAILABLE AT CHURCH, OR YOU MAY SEND AN EMAIL TO FR. ERNIE
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THE NEXT FORUM PLANNED AT ST. STEPHEN'S IN-THE-FIELD
by Deacon Robin Poppoff
SAVE THE DATE!!!
Sunday, October 15 (following the 10 am worship service) - Advanced Medical Directives using the "Five Wishes" form (forms will be provided). Advanced Medical Directives apply to everyone over the age of 18, not just the older folks like your deacon.
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CALLING ALL PAINTERS
by Andy Lief
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
Now that we have a beautiful new coat of paint on the building exterior we need to take care of the inside of all the exit doors, especially those that are painted teal. Kelly Moore has generously donated the "hybrid" oil/water-based paint we need to properly cover the old paint. Now all we need are some volunteers who'd like to spend a little time masking off, sanding and painting the doors.
I would like to do this next Saturday 9/23 but can adjust the schedule based on volunteer availability. Please let me know by email (lief@sbcglobal.net) if you are interested in helping for 1 - 3 hours.
Many hands will make light work!
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SEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATE
by Janet Thorsrud, Search Committee Co-Chair
Y
our vestry is looking over the present draft of our profile to be used by any priest looking for a new home with us. The vestry has asked the Search Committee to clarify a few things that were presented by the bishop this weekend. We plan to have this work completed and a new draft to the vestry no later than the end of this month. The profile will then be reviewed by the bishop before posting. We're almost there!
Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
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SUNDAY SCHOOL -- JOIN US
SEPTEMBER 24
by Edy Unthank
Sunday School is back in session! We have a new program called SparkHouse! that is aligned with the current lectionary. Students will have songs and activities that correspond with what their parents and grandparents are hearing in church that Sunday.
Please join in - our dedicated teachers are excited to share this new curriculum with students.
Bring a friend!!
Teacher this week: Rowena Dizon-Burger
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TUESDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY
The curent Bible Study series is a Kerygma course on
The Parables --
Stories for Life in God's World.
Edy Unthank is leading the seven-week class on
Tuesday mornings at 9:30 am beginning September 12 through October 24.
Cost of the class is $20/person to cover cost of materials. Scholarships are available upon request.
If there is enough interest for an evening session of this course, we will determine the best evening based on interest and recruit a leader.
Please let Edy know if you are interested in attending the morning course or an evening course, so she knows how many copies to purchase.
You may send an email to
office@ssitf.org. Or call the church office at 408-629-1836.
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ST. STEPHEN'S PRESCHOOL
7269 Santa Teresa Blvd
San Jose, CA 95139
WHERE LEARNING IS FUN......
TELL YOUR FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS -- WE STILL HAVE OPENINGS IN THE TUESDAY/THURSDAY CLASS
Class Times
8:30 am - 11:30 am
Extended Day 8:00 am - 1:00 pm
Tuesday & Thursday (open now)
Monday, Wednesday, Friday (wait list)
We provide a nurturing environment that prepares children for Kindergarten academically, socially, and emotionally based on Christian values.
Visit our website
or call 408-629-1843
for more information.
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EPISCOPAL RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT HELPING THOSE AFFECTED BY HARVEY OR IRMA --HOW YOU CAN HELP
Please continue to pray for communities affected by Hurricane Harvey, and donate to the Hurricane Harvey Response Fund to help Episcopal Relief & Development assist local partners in responding to critical needs.
Or mail a donation using the form provided in this link.
Episcopal Relief and Development is helping those affected by Hurricane Irma as well.
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ANGELS OF ST. STEPHEN'S
by Julie Zintsmaster
THANK YOU to everyone who pays attention to what might need to be done at St. Stephen's and takes the initiative to offer help. It takes many hands to keep St. Stephen's at its best.
This past week, THANK YOU to:
- Trig Thorsrud and John Little who installed the new canopy over the preschool entrance. Now we just need to add the bungee cords to secure the canopy to the metal frame.
- Wanda Bryan, who has continued to clear the grass away from around the base of the rose bushes near the Bell Tower. The rose garden looks better every week with such loving attention.
- Andy Lief, who arranged for and assisted an electrician to install lighted Exit signs throughout the church building to comply with a new fire code.
- Patrice Lyn, who faithfully refills the hand towel and toilet paper dispensers in both restrooms every Sunday after the worship services.
- Trig Thorsrud, Andy Lief, Ryan Kelly, Logan Zintsmaster, and Tom Good, our dedicated lawn mowers !!
- Clean windows on the outside (priority order: parish hall, offices, worship hall)
- Trim the Lantana along the north side of the building next to the sidewalk used by preschool parents and students.
If you see a need, please call the church office at 408-629-1836
so we can add it to the list.
CALLING ALL ANGELS !
LET'S KEEP ST. STEPHEN'S SHINING
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PRAY FOR THE RECTOR SEARCH
 COMMITTEE
Dear Lord, Heavenly Father, we, the people of St. Stephen's ask for your blessings on the members of the Search Committee. Bless them in their meetings, in their deliberations and in their discernment. Keep their hearts and minds open to the Holy Spirit and to wherever You will lead them in this process.
Guide them in their deliberations while they prepare the St. Stephen's Profile which will be posted to the National Office of Transitional Ministry (OTM). Please allow this process to be completed with ease and joy.
We trust you and we know that you will bring us the best possible Rector for St. Stephen's as you have done for us before. Thank you, Heavenly Father for all your blessings on the Search Committee and this congregation.
AMEN
Please pray daily for our Search Committee......
Search Committee Members:
Ann Little, Co-Chair
Janet Thorsrud, Co-Chair
Marie Rose Bianco
Susie Good
Anthony Francis
Chris Hall
Eric Samson
Bjorn Samson
Ruth Lief
Julie Zintsmaster
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GIFT CARD PROGRAM...
by Janet Thorsrud
Orders were taken September 10. The next opportunity will be in October. Watch this spot for updates and announcement of the next due date for ecript orders.
See you on Sunday.
Janet
Gift Card Order Form
For information, contact Janet Thorsrud:
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