Church Office & Preschool Hours
The church office is CLOSED on Mondays, and OPEN from
8am to 1pm,
Tuesday - Friday.
Beginning December 4, the office will be open from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm, Monday through Friday.
Starting December 4, our preschool will be in session Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 11:30 am.
The Church & Preschool will be CLOSED the week of November 20-24 for Thanksgiving Week.
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Support St. Stephen's with mini-fundraisers
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MATCHING DONATIONS
Do you know if your company does donation matching? Many companies will match what you give to St. Stephen's up to a certain amount. If you don't know if your work place will do this just go and ask the HR department what their policy is for matching to a non-profit organization.
You can pick up a form in the office on Sunday from Julie Zintsmaster, or send her an
email
and she will send a form to you.
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PURCHASE MELALEUCA PRODUCTS
Contact Susie Good for information about Melaleuca Products--high quality, concentrated, eco-friendly products that contain no toxic ingredients or harsh chemicals.
Susie's contact info:
Phone: 408-375-0680
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GOODLIFE USA 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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 Please see the "Angels of St. Stephen's" article for our Thank You's this week.
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A Message from Senior Warden Genie Lee
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I hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. We have so many things to be thankful for. God has greatly blessed us and so Thanksgiving is a time to appreciate our blessings and to share them with family and friends. This Sunday, November 26, 2017, is the Last Sunday after Pentecost. The Rev. Ernie Boyer will preside over the 8:00 am and 10:00 am services. Suzanne Zhu will provide the music for the 10:00 am service. Please join us this Sunday.
Next Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent. December is a time of much activity in our personal lives and in the church. On December 2nd is the Posada, organized by Janet Thorsrud. We will be hanging the Greens while we eat cookies on Dec. 3rd. Lessons and Carols is on Dec. 10th with lots of your favorite Christmas carols and readings. Bishop Mary will be at St. Stephen's to visit and provide the sermon and confirmation/receiving on Dec. 17th (No 8:00 am service that day). And on Christmas Eve, the children will perform their Christmas Pageant at the 10:00 am service, organized by Dottie Chin and Rowena Dizon-Burger. Our late Christmas Eve service will be at 4:30 pm. The bell choir and voice choir will perform and Jack Steitz will do the traditional Silent Night on harmonica. Please mark your calendars because you are not going to want to miss any of it.
Please keep the vestry, Ernie Boyer, and the Rector Search Committee in your prayers. The vestry is working hard to keep St. Stephen's operating smoothly. Ernie Boyer will work hard to help our congregation get through our transition smoothly and prepare us for calling our new permanent Rector. Ernie has had positive feedback from Bishop Mary and Cannon Brian Nordwick regarding our progress from the 2 meetings we have had so far with Joanna Shreve and Ernie. He
believes that "both Bishop Mary and Canon Brian were particularly impressed with both everyone's willingness to engage in the process with openness and honesty and with the dedication that brought so many of you to the group determined to continue the work into December, busy as that month is." We still have some work to do, which is ongoing and will continue even after we call our new priest. 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 Need You! We need anyone who loves to sing. You don't have to read music and you don't have to have a solo voice. Voice Choir is starting practices for our 4:30 pm Christmas Eve service. We will have 3 practices, each on Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm. Practices are on Dec. 6th, 13th, and 20th for one hour each. I may try to add a Saturday morning practice during that time frame. All are invited to join us to sing. This is a short-term commitment which I hope you will consider. It is a lot of fun and the congregation loves when we sing. The more the merrier. Please let me know if you are interested at 408-499-1762.
There is a Worship Committee meeting this Sunday after the 10:00 am service.
Reminders:
Please remember to bring in dry food for the
Food Basket for St. Julie's and change for the
Food for the Poor Jar.
Please look at the
Angel's Board to see if there are any tasks that need to be added or tasks that you want to volunteer for. We need your help to keep St. Stephen's running smoothly.
Genie Lee, Senior Warden
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This Sunday, November 26, 2017
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THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2017
Last Sunday After Pentecost
Christ the King Sunday
8 am Holy Eucharist, Prayer A (no music)
Music: Suzanne Zhu
SUNDAY SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN
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A Message from the Treasurer
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2017 STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN FOR 2018
by Julie Zintsmaster
Our pledge ingathering was last Sunday, November 19.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO MADE A FINANCIAL PLEDGE FOR 2018!
Thirty-three (33) families / individuals have pledged a total of $92,560. Our goal is $127,000.
It is not too late to mail in a pledge card, complete one at church this coming Sunday, or send an email to the treasurer: julie@ssitf.org.
Pledge commitments are important so the vestry will know what it can count on to build a budget for the year.
If it works better for you to make a one-time donation, we can include that amount as support for 2018. Any commitment, large or small, will help us reach our goal and enable us to continue our ministry in south San Jose.
If St. Stephen's in-the-Field is important to you, we need your support.
THANK YOU !!
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SUNDAY SCHOOL -- JOIN US
NOVEMBER 26
Our Sunday School curriculum this year is
SparkHouse! It is aligned with the current lectionary. Students will have songs and activities that correspond with what their parents and grandparents are hearing in church each Sunday.
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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ADVENT BIBLE STUDY
by Edy Unthank
Have you ever wondered why the magi chose the gifts they brought to baby Jesus? Our 4 week Advent study addresses this question. Also it helps you to investigate what gift you personally bring. What a Gift! is a course I downloaded - so your cost is only a small donation of $5 to cover the reproduction of this course.
We will meet at church at 10am on the following Tuesday mornings: Nov 21, Nov 28, Dec 12 and Dec 19
If you are interested in having a small group study in the evening, just contact Edy Unthank at edyunthank@yahoo.com
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LA POSADA AT ST. STEPHEN'S
When: Saturday,
December 2, 2017
5:30 PM
Where St Steph
en's Church
Beginning in the Parish Hall
What: Outdoor Posada Procession
Mexican Potluck Dinner
Pinata
Christmas Carols
St. Nicholas
"La P
osada" is a wonderful Advent
event that comes to us from Latin American tradition. We process to each door around the outside of our church building. The story we enact along the way represents the difficulties Mary and Joseph faced in finding lodging when traveling to Bethlehem. Children and adults go from house to house (door to door) singing a traditional song requesting lodging (posada). In each house, the owner responds with a refusal, until they reach the last door, where the owner recognizes Mary and Joseph, and allows them to come in. Their finding lodging is followed with a celebration-a Mexican potluck dinner!
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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 HAVE OPENINGS FOR 2, 3, OR 5 DAYS PER WEEK
Class Times
8:30 am - 11:30 am
(M-F)
Extended Day 8:00 am - 1:00 pm
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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UPDATE ON RELIEF EFFORTS FOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRES
by Deacon Robin Poppoff
Bishop Barry, Canon Andrea, Margaret Dunning, and other clergy and staff of the Diocese of Northern California continue to work closely with Episcopal Relief & Development. The organization has approved a grant for the diocese's fire relief effort and disbursement of that money will begin this week.
Donations can be made to the Bishop's discretionary fund. Click here for online donation options and mailing address for checks.
Please support Episcopal Relief & Development's response to the wildfires in California by donating to the
U.S. Disaster Fund
and pray for all those impacted. We add our prayers for those impacted by the Bear Fire, in addition to firefighters and personnel battling the fire.
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EPISCOPAL RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT HELPING THOSE AFFECTED BY RECENT DISASTERS
Episcopal Relief & Development works closely with church partners after disasters, equipping them to meet needs of those most vulnerable in their communities. Currently, our staff is responding to areas devastated by multiple Hurricanes, and watching developing tropical storms. Because of our strong diocesan partnerships, Episcopal Relief & Development is ready to assist in the recovery of the impacted areas for as long as necessary. You can help provide critical relief to affected communities by donating to our Hurricane Relief Fund.
Episcopal Relief and Development:
Healing a Hurting World
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ANGELS OF ST. STEPHEN'S
Thank you,
Renee Brown, for arranging for your neighbor,
Tim Pickett, to move mulch from the large pile in the community garden to cover bare ground along the fence on the south side of the parking lot. And thank you,
Tim, for all the work that you are willing to do to help us maintain our property !! We appreciate your hard work more than you may know.
Thank you
to everyone who helped with the set up and clean up of our Celebration Sunday event last Sunday.... and for those who prepared and shared the delicious food, and all who helped us put the nave back together again.
It was all truly a team effort with many hands!!
And thank you again,
Frances Steitz, for providing the beautiful centerpieces for Celebration Sunday, and
Ann Little for assisting..
Thank you,
Sherrie & Dan Hughes, for preparing the bulletins for two weeks last Friday to cover the Thanksgiving weekend.
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
Hey my friends,
The next order date deadline for Gift Cards is December 10. Fill out your order forms and give them to me between now and then.
The gift cards keep your identity safe as no credit card info is used and it helps raise money for St. Stephen's without costing you anything extra. With your help, we have made our goal to give back $2000 to St. Stephen's buy using this program.
Deacon Robin asked us last week to help out our neighbors in the North Bay by buying gift cards for Target and Home Depot. There is a supply problem with Safeway gift cards right now so they are not available at this time.
See you Sunday!
For information, contact Janet Thorsrud:
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