Beloved Community,

The other day I was talking to someone about their "30 second elevator speech."  This got me thinking about what my 30 second elevator speech about St. Stephen's might be.  I'm not ashamed to say that I may have failed this intellectual exercise.  For the life of me, I could not come up with a 30 second explanation of why I think St. Stephen's is one of the most - if not THE most - wonderful parish in the whole of the Episcopal Church.  The best I could come up with was some version of: "The people are wonderful: deeply faithful, joy-filled, and fun.  We do so much for and with each other and for the wider community, all of it rooted in our understanding of our Christian faith and identity.  We are inviting and truly welcoming of all people. We live our understanding that "love begets love" and, to top it all off, we have a beautiful historic building on a lovely campus right on Main Street."

Now, that might not be the worst 30 second elevator speech ever but it doesn't begin to tell the full story of who we are, does it?  It doesn't say anything specific about our worship, including the marvelous music ministry.   It makes no mention of the Preschool or the cemetery, nor of Sunday School or Adult Formation.  It doesn't include anything specific about our outreach ministries, from the Food Barrel to Christine's Kitchen to IHN, not to mention our support of North Porch, First Friends, Prison Ministries, Angel Tree, and Thanksgiving Boxes.  (I'm sure I'm missing something.)  It makes no mention of our relationships with AA or the Show Choir.   And how could any description of St. Stephen's not include Drumming Camp?

I think the most significant thing missing in my attempt is something that is harder to articulate to someone who does not know you or this parish: you are some of the most incredibly open and courageous people anywhere.  While holding deeply a love of the traditions of the Church and the customs of the parish, you have an almost palpable willingness to trust the Holy Spirit to guide our discernment of how to "be Church" in this particular time in this particular place.  And that means that "holding deeply" does not mean "holding tightly" to the past, however you remember, understand, or cherish it.  And that, my friends, is one of the hallmarks of vital and vibrant parishes, the kinds of places in which transformation happens, one-by-each and as a community.

Peace & Blessings,

Paula+

Plans for the "re-boot" are almost complete.  Please watch your email over the next several days for a special Sunday School edition of the newsletter.

PARISHIONERS AND FRIENDS, be sure you have on your calendar the tour of our historic cemetery that will be held on Sunday, October 20, 2019.  Walking tours will leave the cemetery gate at 451 Millburn Avenue (across from Millburn High School) at approximately 15-minute intervals between 2 and 4 PM.  Tours will stop at 12 burial sites, including one in the mausoleum.  At each gravesite, an impersonator will speak for the person buried there.  Included on the tour will be the resting places of a Union officer in the Civil War, a prominent arachnologist, a poet, and a Broadway actress.  The tour will take a little over and hour, and th ere is no admission charge.  Tourists must be able to walk on uneven ground.

St. Stephen's Cemetery opened in 1858 and is located on eight acres of land donated by Israel D. Condit, one of the founders of Millburn.  It has been a community cemetery from its beginning, open to members of all faiths.   

St. Stephen's has a long history of offering our children the opportunity to sing and make music with a worship context. This year, the children's choir will rehearse most Sundays from 11:30am-12noon and is open to children ages 5+.

 

We are looking for a Lead Sunday School Teacher for the 2019-2020 school year.  This is a paid position ($50/week) for up to three hours a week, including Sundays. There may be opportunities for additional hours throughout the year to accommodate special programming.

We are looking for someone who will use the Sparkhouse digital curriculum to bring Bible stories to life, lead children in prayer, help the children grow in their faith, and take the lead in managing a classroom.  The Lead Teacher will work with Rev. Paula to plan the programming and with a group of volunteers who will share the responsibility as the Teaching Assistant.

If you or anyone you know may be interested, please have them contact Rev. Paula at rector@ststephensmillburn.org.

 

Tithe.ly is a mobile-friendly app designed by a clergy person and used by thousands of congregations across the country.  With Tithe.ly, you can do one-time or recurring payments, as well as help with the nominal fee of using the service.  You can download the app from the App Store or Play Store, or you can do it online at tithe.ly/give. Enter St. Stephen's Church in the search menu and we should pop up.  You'll know it's  us if you see:

Wednesday Midday Prayer Bakery Bible Hour Reading with the Rector Blessing of the Animals Third Thursday Theater Historic Cemetery Tour

Every Wednesday, 12 noon October 4, 9am October 6, 11:30am October 6, 3pm October 17, 7pm October 20, 2-4pm