St. Stephen's in-the-Field Episcopal Church
FRIDAY JOURNAL December 4th, 2020
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We the people of Saint Stephen's in-the Field
Seek to know Christ, to share Christ, and to serve Christ,
recognizing his presence in all people, and reaching out in love
to each other and to the world around us.
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Sunday Service: December 6th, 2020 |
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Holy Eucharist, Rite II at 10:00am online |
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From the Rector
Dear friends,
While praying Morning Prayer this morning, the word that stood out for me was mercy. I must say “Lord have mercy” at least, a times a day. Yesterday Governor Newsom gave an update on the state of COVID in our state. The news wasn’t good. Hospital beds are filling up again. The restrictions that were lifted earlier in the year are making a comeback. We are headed in the wrong direction. My first response to the news was a very sincere plea: Lord have mercy!
Yes, Lord, have mercy on us, but what else is there? We read Psalm 100 and the last verse helps answer that question. “For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his faithfulness endures from age to age.” We know this. The Lord IS good. His mercy IS everlasting, even when we can’t see or feel at all times, and His faithfulness DOES endure from age to age. This is our history as God’s people.
In Advent, when the light is dim, we wait for the coming of our Lord. Jesus came to be among us, born as a baby in a manger, and is coming again. . . precisely because of God’s great mercy on us. In this time, make your plea to God “Lord have mercy” again and again. God hears your cry. In our waiting, for the pandemic to end and for people to do all that they can to make it so, and for the coming of our Lord, may we remember that the Lord is good, with the assurance that God’s faithfulness endures from age to age.
Advent blessings,
Karen+
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Sunday Worship
Recorded from St. Stephen’s
This week Rev. Karen will preside the Holy Eucharist at St. Stephen’s and shared with St. John’s. The service will be posted on both our websites (www.ssitf.org and www.stjohndivinemorganhill.org) at 10:00am but is available any time after that.
I encourage you to set aside a special place, light a candle, and download the bulletin here as you prepare to worship.
Please send any special prayer requests and/or anniversaries and birthdays to Rev. Karen.
Coming up:
Dec 20th - Lessons and Carols will be a recorded service with lots of music and lessons from both St. John’s and St. Stephen’s.
Dec 24th – Christmas Eve will be Holy Eucharist with Communion, in person and outdoors at St. John’s. Registration will be open to both churches. Of course there is a possibility this might change depending on whether more COVID restrictions are put in place. Stay tuned!
Join us for Coffee Hour at 2:00 on Zoom with this link.
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WEDNESDAY MORNING PRAYER GROUP
Weekly Wednesday prayer group at 11:00am.
This is an opportunity to offer our prayers of thanksgivings, for healing for ourselves and others, and anything else on our hearts. Even if you don’t have a computer, you can join the Zoom meeting with your phone.
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WEDNESDAY EVENING COMPLINE
Compline, the last Office of the day. End your day with a beautiful and short liturgy. All are welcome and please feel free to share the link with friends!
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Keeping the conversations going. . .and going. . .and going!
The Rev. Jani Wild and I are facilitating Pastoral Conversations on Racism and yesterday was our 25th week of gathering to learn and talk about a broad spectrum of subjects concerning race in our country.
We follow the same format (a brief introduction followed by a short video, discussion, and prayers ) every week with a different focus. Last week we discussed reparations.
Please come join us next Thursday at 4:30. Whether it’s the 1st time or the 18th time you’ve attended, please come to learn, process, and share together in a safe space with a faith community.
Bring a friend or family member – all are welcome – by clicking the Zoom link below.
Meeting ID: 835 7594 8022
Password: 748467
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,83575948022#,,1#,748467# US (San Jose
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Thanks to last week’s liturgy assistants! |
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*Ginny Scott assisted with playing music files during the recording. |
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Your faithful giving. . .
We rely on you to keep us current in paying our bills. If you haven’t yet, please mail your pledge checks or any other donations to the church office, or you can use the ‘Donate’ button on our website and pay with a credit card. We certainly understand if you are experiencing financial hardship at this time. If you are able, we appreciate any small offering you might consider making. Your financial stewardship is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much!
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Blankets
Hello my friends,
It's that time of year when we start
thinking about people without a place
to call their own, might need a blanket.
This year we can't meet together so I
will leave some blankets, a guide for
cutting the strips to knot and the St.
Stephen's labels to be sewn on each
blanket.
I'm hoping each family can put together
4 blankets. If not, do what you can.
Email me to let me know you are coming
by to make sure you have some choices on
the blankets you want to put together.
See you soon.
Janet
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Have You Turned in Your Pledge for 2021? Now's the Time.
One aspect of this crazy Covid year is that our traditional activities and celebrations around in-gathering have changed to keep us safe, like many other things including how we worship, how we keep connected through virtual coffee hours, and how we support our community.
I miss our tradition of using art to show how individual pledges combine to display progress towards our budget goal for the next year. We've not had that visual queue and weekly in-person reminder with the festive pot luck to cap it off. But there is hope that we will again next year.
Even so, in-gathering is a critical aspect of running our church. It is through the pledges of our church family that we support our ongoing expenses and plan our budget for 2021. If you have not yet turned in your pledge, now is the time. Please prayerfully consider giving again this year and turn in your pledge card next week (by December 12). Your commitment and generosity to SSITF is valued more so than ever in this unusual time.
Your Finance Committee
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Poem from the Garden
These are the things our
neighbors do on our
campus during the week:
a man in a black
downy hoodie walks
laps; a woman and
her teens walk their dog;
another man swoops
his mountain bike 'round
our parking lot; some
blond kiddos play with
their toddler-sized softball
set-up, shouting with joy.
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“Christ will always lead us to love.”
-Brian McLaren
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Kudos to:
-All who are making blankets
-our Community gardeners
-Andoni and all musicians who give of their gifts in our worship services.
-All who are keeping things going when the going is tough. Please keep in prayer all those working hard and giving generously of their time, talents, and treasure, to provide worship services for everyone. It is a huge effort and requires flexibility to produce, create bulletins, sing, read lessons, assist in liturgy, set up the altar, follow protocols, and post the services on the website every Sunday!
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Great News about our Community Garden!
We are so grateful to Jessica for writing and submitting a grant application to St. Andrew’ Opportunity Fund! We were blessed to be the recipients of a large sum of money to help build our community garden! Here is the announcement from the Committee:
“At yesterday night's meeting, the St. Andrew's Episcopal Church Vestry approved the Opportunity Fund Committee's recommendation to fund St. Stephen's in the Field's grant application for $5,000. We are glad that the money will be useful to purchase 27 trees in five gallon pots for the community garden, as specified in your grant application. . . You should be receiving a check from the Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church office soon.
Thank you for your dedicated service to our community. We welcome your questions.
Best wishes for your health and peace,
Katy Dickinson and Barbara Merrill
Opportunity Fund Committee Co-Chairs
Please join me in giving thanks to Jessica for her dedication to this ministry and for doing the extra work to submit the grant application!!
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NEEDING PRAYER SUPPORT?
Prayer is one of those things we often think about, might feel inadequate about, believe in but might be unsure how to proceed. How we pray is sometimes unique to each of us. The Church provides help in many ways. If you find yourself in need, of any kind (emotional, physical, spiritual, guidance, etc) consider how St. Stephen's can support you:
* there is a prayer chain of committed pray-ers (who maintain confidentiality).
* tell people about your answers to prayer! and the miracles you witness, or how prayer changes YOU.
Please submit prayer requests to Rev. Karen.
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Contact information for Rev. Karen: |
Personal phone for emergencies or urgent matters: 408-781-1826
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Editor's Note
Please send any announcements or articles you want to have included, to: evan.bryan1@gmail.com, by Thursday, 10am each week.
Evan Bryan
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St. Stephen's in-the-Field Episcopal Church
7269 Santa Teresa Blvd; San Jose, CA 95139
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