Message from the Rector
By The Rev. Dr. Vincent Joseph Kopp
Dear Good People of St. Stephen’s,
October 1, 2022 marked the start of my third year as Rector at St. Stephens.
Arriving as I did in the middle of the (still ongoing) Covid-19 pandemic, the first year may have felt invisible. Video readings and sermons, drive through Communions, no in person worship, Adult Formation via Zoom, the absence of children—many of you I only met on the fly or not at all until sometime in 2021. We also experienced lost connections with some previous members along the way and didn’t know how to draw them back.
As 2022 unfolded we first gradually rebuilt our worship structures through winter and spring, then pivoted in summer to plan for what we now have in fall—a full complement of worship, formation, and ministry offerings. We also built out the “electronic front door” of the parish (thank you Lidiya), improving the Messenger, updating our website, and expanding our social media presence on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
It all feels surreal in retrospect. It also feels fragile in the present. There is no time to congratulate ourselves, only to rededicate ourselves to meeting the challenges of a changing, growing Oxford. The continuance and sustainability of St. Stephen’s as a worship community, one that welcomes all and strives to meet visitors and new members where they are in their journeys of trust, hope, and love in Christ depends on all of us guided by the Holy Spirit.
Welcome the stranger. Don’t be strangers to each other. Overcome any estrangements that exist among friends and fellow parishioners. God means for us to be at one with him and with each other, imperfect creatures though we are. God's love for us knows no limits.
Let Us Pray:
11. For the Parish (BCP p. 817)
“Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family. Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent. Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
In Christ,
Vincent+
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