Beloved Community,

Thirty-three years ago, when Ronnie and I were living in Virginia, my brother, Brian, and I decided to spend an afternoon with our then two-year-old niece at an apple orchard near my hometown of Worcester, Mass.  Neither Brian nor I had children but we had a beautiful niece, my goddaughter, Kimberly, thanks to our sister, Bethe.  Little did we know that last minute outing during a long weekend home from Virginia would become one of our family's favorite traditions.  Every year since then, Brian and I, and some combination of our family, and occasionally family friends, have gone apple picking at that same orchard.  The orchard has grown.  The family has grown just as much.  Brian and I have children.  He has three grandchildren. Kimberly has children, three of Bethe's five grandchildren. We said good-bye to our brother, Mark, a little over two years ago.  So much has changed and, yet, so much is the same.  I was acutely aware of that this past Sunday when 24 of us met at the orchard and spent a warm, sunny autumn afternoon picking apples, playing in the play ground, visiting the petting zoo, and enjoying a few tasty treats.

I've been thinking about us - you and me - as we approach our one year anniversary.  So much has changed, hasn't it?  For me it's a new parish, new diocese, new province.  It's also a new home, new town, new state.  For you, it's a new priest, who comes with a grown family.  It's a few changes in the liturgy and bigger changes in the office, both in terms of location and people, because we have a new parish administrator, too.  We are developing new relationships within the local faith community, and that means some changes in our ministries. And yet so much is the same.   We are just as welcoming as you were before we met.  We are as deeply faithful and outward looking as you were before we met.  We remain committed to the ministries that make our hearts sing (or drum, as the case may be). We continue to be the place where love begets love because we know who and whose we are.

For my family and for us, what has changed are those things that are a part of living life.  What hasn't changed is the essence of who we are, people who choose to live and love well, people who somehow understand that change happens, sometimes in ways we like and invite, sometimes in ways that we'd rather not have to face.  Living and loving well are gifts of grace that continually open our eyes, ears, and hearts to new possibilities, to new ways of being.  And that, my friends, is a wonderful way to live our faith.

Peace & Blessings,

Paula+

Our financial pledge campaign is underway.  Letters are on the table in the church.  If you are in church this week, please take your letter.  If you do not see a letter addressed to you, please take one of the packets that are not in an envelope. If you do not receive a letter, please let Doreen or Rev. Paula know.  "Commitment Sunday," the day we bless the pledges we receive, will be Sunday, November 10th.

We offered the job to a wonderful candidate and he accepted!  We'll send a special edition of the newsletter with all the details once we've finalized the paperwork.  His first Sunday will be October 27th.  Rev. Paula will be working with him until December 1st, when Sunday School will move to 9:45.  It would be wonderful to see as many families as possible during the challenging 9:00 hour so that he will have a well supported introduction to the parish and a good orientation to the position. 

Please note:  

There will be no Wednesday Prayer this week, October 23rd.  Rev. Paula will be at Clergy Conference from Monday afternoon until Wednesday afternoon.  

On Wednesday, October 30th at 12 noon, we will celebrate the Holy Eucharist.  

Registration forms are available in church or from the parish office. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Rev. Paula at rector@ststephensmillburn.org.

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+.

 

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:

Third Thursday Theater Historic Cemetery Tour Finance Committee Meeting Bakery Bible Hour Reading with the Rector Beckerath Organ Recital

October 17, 7pm October 20, 2-4pm October 23, 7:30pm November 1, 9-10am November 3, 11:30am November 10, 4pm