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S. Stephen's Church
in Providence
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"Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." (Acts 7:56) |
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THE TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
8 November 2020
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Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (c. 1616). Painter: Hieronymus Francken (1578-1623) The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.
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As stated last week, Governor Gina Raimondo and Bishop Nicholas Knisely have requested that we do our part and have recommended measures we can all take together to stop the upward trend in Coronavirus cases.
We continue to strongly encourage all parishioners to stay home and take advantage of our virtual worship offerings via Facebook Livestream for the next two weeks. We will not take the step of physically closing the doors to S. Stephen's for those who feel compelled to be present, but we must also do our part to protect each other.
Please know your Vestry & Wardens, together with the Rector and Diocesan leadership are monitoring this situation closely and have your health and safety as our primary concern.
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Welcome to Saint Stephen’s – If you are new or visiting, please know that we are so glad that you are here, and that you are welcome in this community of faith. S. Stephen’s is an Episcopal parish in the Diocese of Rhode Island and is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in the midst of Brown University, it serves the communities of Providence and beyond. S. Stephen’s has stood within the Anglo-Catholic tradition since its founding, and so the Mass or the Eucharist is at the center of our common life, with ancient and timeless ceremonial used to draw attention to the Living God in our very midst. We strive to be a diverse community and come from many various backgrounds, while united in One Body through our Lord Jesus Christ.
While we continue to gather again, this privilege brings with it some protocols to keep us all safe. A summary of the safety protocols may be found here.
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A Word from Stewardship Committee Member Alan Wong |
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I imagine many of us are familiar with the grace at meals: “Bless, O Lord, thy gifts to our use and us thy service...” (BCP, 835). As I reflect on stewardship during this final stretch of St. Stephen’s stewardship season, I am reminded how profoundly this simple prayer captures two fundamental aspects of stewardship—namely, that there is nothing we have that we have not received and that what we have is held as an offering to God.
The obvious (and perhaps overstated) application during a season like this is that if the bread we break at the dinner table is to be received as a gift and used to God’s service, how much more so our financial resources, but perhaps it is just as important to remember that St. Stephen’s itself is a gift to so many of us in many different ways. As we make our pledges, we are participating in a community stewarding St. Stephen’s and enabling it to be a blessing in service to God for years to come.
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A Word From Fr. Benjamin about Stewardship |
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THE TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (Year A)
Click the readings above for links to the RSV
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Organ: A Prayer (2020), Charles Sandle (b. 1960)*
*world premiere: written for James Busby
Mass setting: Missa III (Kyrie Deus sempiterne), Plainchant
Motet: O bone Jesu, O spes mea, Peter Phillips (1561 - 1628)
Toccata (1936), Marius Monnikendam (1896 - 1977)
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New Schedule for
Zoom Coffee Hour
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Virtual Coffee Hours will be held at 11:30 on the first and third Sundays of the month going forward, and on the fifth Sunday when one occurs. Please click here to join.
On second Sundays of the month, there will be a 9:00 Zoom “Children’s Sermon” and check-in with Fr. Benjamin open to school-age children and their parents, available here.
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You will have noticed last week that we began using a new streaming app for our Sunday 10:00 Mass. One thing we are unable to do is link to the Facebook “event” that we were previously creating, but if you go to our Facebook page you can easily see that we are going live and it should come up in your feed. We are working on making a way to connect the live stream to the specific “event” – please be patient as we work out those kinks!
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What is Anglo-Catholicism? |
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Have you always wondered why we do that one thing? Or why we do ___________ ? How can Episcopalians call themselves Catholics? There are probably lots of questions you might have had at some point. Before developing a forum in which we explore some of these questions, Fr. Benjamin would like to hear from YOU the things that you are curious about. Please email any questions you have to rector@sstephens.necoxmail.com, and in the coming months, we will find a time to explore them together via Zoom gatherings.
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You can mail your pledge card or weekly/monthly offering to the church office, leave it in the offering plate at the back of the church on Sunday, or pledge online here. Thank you for all the many ways in which you are already supporting S. Stephen’s.
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Prayers have been requested for: Patti Barnes, Charles Calverley, Sandra Calverley, Lola Campagna, Ruby Campagna, the Rev. Norman Catir, Vinnie Ciummo, Diana Clarke, Sarah Clarke, Harrington Gordon, Joan Gordon, Phebe Hodson, James Howley, Hunter Jacobs, the Rev. Jay C. James, Conrad Johnson, Ann Brooke Mason, Beverly Myers, Tom Oakes, Angela Rose, Beverly Ryan, Rhoda Steinhart, Crystal Sylver, Jeanette White, and Christopher Whittingham.
Birthdays this week: Charles Calverley (11/8), Leana Hooks (11/9), Peter Gibson (11/10), Bo Kinloch (11/10), Klara Benziger (11/11), George Benziger (11/14)
The faithful departed: Recently Departed: Hope Morse, Kevin Sullivan.
Year’s Mind: Chester Files (11/9), Lillian A. Crumby (11/9), Helena Crosslin (11/11), John “Homer” Steiny (11/11), Alison Morgan Henning Stebbins (11/12), James Verdelotti, Priest (11/14).
Anglican and Diocesan Cycles of Prayer: In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we are asked to pray for the Church in the Province of the West Indies, the Most Rev’d Howard Gregor, Primate and Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
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This Week at St. Stephen's |
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PARISH PROGRAMS, EVENTS & MEETINGS
Tuesday 10 November
Vestry Meeting 7:00 pm
EXTRA-PAROCHIAL EVENTS HOSTED AT S. STEPHEN’S
Saturday 14 November
Epiphany Soup Kitchen (Meal Pickup Only) 2:30-4 pm
LITURGICAL CALENDAR & SERVICE SCHEDULE
* IN LIGHT OF RECENT GUIDELINES FROM THE GOVERNOR AND THE BISHOP, PLEASE CONSIDER ATTENDING THE LIVESTREAM OF OUR WORSHIP ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE
Sunday 8 November
TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Morning Prayer 8 am
Low Mass 8:10 am
Children’s Chapel Zoom 9:00 am
Sung Mass 10 am
Daily Office and Mass Lectionary: Proper 27, Year Two
Monday 9 November
Margery Kempe, Mystic, c. 1440
Evening Prayer 5:30 pm
Low Mass 6:00 pm
Tuesday 10 November
Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, Teacher, 461
Noonday Prayer 12 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm
Wednesday 11 November
Martin, Bishop of Tours, c. 397
Evening Prayer 5:30 pm
Low Mass 6 pm
Thursday 12 November
Charles Simeon, Priest, 1836
Noonday Prayer 12 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm
Friday 13 November
FERIA
Noonday Prayer 12 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm
Saturday 14 November
Consecration of Samuel Seabury, First Anglican Bishop in North America, 1796
Morning Prayer 9:30 am
Low Mass 10 am
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