Beloved Community,
In the Bible, there are three Greek words used for time: aion, chronos, and kairos. Though all can be translated as "time", their meanings are very different.
Aion refers to a period of time, an epoch, an age. Think about what you might mean when you say, "It's been eons since I last had dinner at my favorite restaurant with my best friends." Whether true or not, as it would be if you were to use aion to refer to the paleolithic or bronze age, it would be clear that it has been too long since you had that delectable rice dish at Mi Casa Favorita.
Chronos is the linear time: seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks..., the time by we which we measure our ages or our productivity. It is the time that, once spent, cannot be recovered. It is the time that dictates so much of our lives or our understanding of whether we are doing the things we should be doing.
Kairos is the appointed time, the right time, the season of opportunity or growth or fulfillment. Whereas chronos is quantitative, kairos is more qualitative. It is the Ecclesiastes 3, "to everything there is a season," which you might recognize from the classic Byrds song, "Turn, Turn, Turn," if it doesn't ring any bells from church.
Theologians sometimes call this "God's time." It reminds us that the way we view the world and the time we spend in it, is not the full picture. It calls us to let go of our entrenched chronos understanding to be fully present in this moment and then the next and then all the moments after that so that we are able to see, hear, experience, and trust God's love and abiding presence with us.
Kairos is the understanding of time that enables us to journey through Advent (and the other seasons of the Church year) with hopeful anticipation of what is yet to come without rushing or assuming we know exactly what the next thing is. Living into God's time opens our hearts and our lives so that we can answer with a resounding "Yes!" - or at least a somewhat confident "I think so" - when we hear God say,
I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
Isaiah 43:19
Peace & Blessings,
Paula+
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Happening at St. Stephen's This Week... |
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Please join us for our Third Sunday of Advent worship on November 21 at 10:00am.
ALL are welcome!
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WELCOME!
Join us as we continue our observation of an extended Advent of seven weeks, rather than four. This is a return to the Advent observance of the Church from its beginnings until just a few hundred years ago. Extending Advent in this way moves it from the "season of preparation" for Christmas to an observance of the full promise and realization of God's dream, helping us to engage more fully in Christ's mission of peace, justice, and the integrity of creation. We enter the new year mindful of God's work in creation through all time as we look ahead with hopeful anticipation to a more peaceful and just world and the fulfillment of God's promise to all people.
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REMINDERS: We continue to follow safety precautions and lovingly require that you wear a mask over your nose and mouth at all times while in the building and maintain physical distance. Enter at the Narthex door (Christian Education building). Someone will welcome you and take your temperature. An usher will assist you with seating in the church.
Live-streamed to YouTube, Facebook, and via Zoom. Bulletins are available on the St. Stephen's website. All links can be found at the bottom of the newsletter.
Zoom passcode is SSM119.
The Sunday service will also be broadcast on HTTV (Comcast TV 36 and Verizon TV 33) on Tuesday at 6 AM and 3 PM.
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Communion for All is available on the third Sunday of each month.
If you would like Communion to be delivered to you or to be provided to you after church service on Sunday, November 21, please call or email the Church Office by 11:00am on Friday.
Rev. Paula or another member of the congregation will deliver Communion and a prayer to you on Sunday afternoon.
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ADVENT TO EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS
St. Stephen’s is a member of the Evelyn Underhill region- a small group of congregations in a geographic area gathered together by a bishop to support and care for one another in their ministry. This year, the congregations of our region are collaborating together in a shared Advent Devotional: Advent with Evelyn Underhill, edited by Christopher L. Webber. Daily during Advent and Christmas (November 7th – January 5th), a recorded devotional will be emailed out to everyone in our parishes via a special email group, so that we may pray and reflect together, wherever we may be. These will be about five minutes long. If you don’t want the daily devotions, let us know. For those who wish to purchase the devotional to follow along, you may do so through Church Publishing at www.churchpublishing.org or from Amazon.
In addition to the daily devotion recordings, our region’s clergy will host a weekly Zoom group to discuss and reflect on the week’s reflections. These Zoom gatherings will occur on the last four Thursdays of Advent (Dec. 2nd, Dec. 9th, Dec. 16th, and Dec. 23rd) from 7pm-8pm. To access the Zoom meeting, please use the link provided in the weekly newsletter.
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PLEASE CHECK WEEKLY BECAUSE EVENTS MAY BE ADDED OR CHANGED |
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NOVEMBER
NOV 17
7:30pm - Finance Committee Meeting
NOV 18
7pm - Preschool Committee Meeting
NOV 20
3pm - Advent Wreaths for ALL ages
NOV 21
3rd Sun of Advent
Communion for All
Turkey Boxes Due
10am - Sunday Worship
11:30am - Vestry Meeting
2pm - Interfaith Thanksgiving Service
NOV 28
4th Sun of Advent
10am - Sunday Worship
11:30 am - Advent Series
NOV 30
5pm - Women's Lectionary Study
PLEASE NOTE:
The Church Office
will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 25 and Friday, Nov. 26 for Thanksgiving.
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DECEMBER
DEC 3
9am - Interfaith Bible Hour
DEC 5
5th Sun of Advent
10am - Sunday Worship
11:30am - Advent Series
DEC 7
5pm - Women's Lectionary Study
DEC 12
6th Sun of Advent
10am - Sunday Worship
11:30am - Advent Series
DEC 14
5pm - Women's Lectionary Study
DEC 15
7:30pm - Finance Committee Meeting
DEC 16
7pm - Preschool Committee Meeting
DEC 19
7th Sunday of Advent
Communion for All
10am - Sunday Worship
11:30am - Vestry Meeting
DEC 21
5pm - Women's Lectionary Study
7:30pm - Blue Christmas
DEC 24
Christmas Eve Services
5pm & 9pm
DEC 25
10am - Christmas Day Service
DEC 26
10am - Sunday Worship
DEC 28
5pm - Women's Lectionary Study
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JANUARY
JAN 2
10am - Sunday Worship
JAN 4
5pm - Women's Lectionary Study
JAN 7
9am - Interfaith Bible Hour
JAN 9
10am - Sunday Worship
11am - Epiphany Open House at the Rectory
11:30am - Reading with the Rector
JAN 11
7pm - Worship Committee Meeting
JAN 16
Communion for All
10am - Sunday Worship
11:30am - Vestry Meeting
JAN 18
5pm - Women's Lectionary Study
JAN 19
7:30pm - Finance Committee Meeting
JAN 20
7pm - Preschool Committee Meeting
JAN 23
10am - Sunday Worship
11:30am - Reading with the Rector
JAN 25
5pm - Women's Lectionary Study
JAN 30
10am - Sunday Worship
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WEEKLY WOMEN'S LECTIONARY
STUDY
Please join us for a weekly study of a new lectionary available to the Episcopal Church and approved by Bishop Hughes. Beginning November 30th, we will meet on Tuesdays via Zoom from 5:00 to 6:00 pm to study A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church, Year W by Wilda Gafney.
This thought-provoking lectionary invites and challenges us to explore
differently the familiar stories of Scripture and how they shape and inform our faith today, while also expanding our understanding of what
it means to be made in the image of God through the use of non-gendered language for God.
The Gafney lectionary YEAR W is available at BN.com, Amazon, and ChurchPublishing.org. If you want to participate in this discussion and find the cost of the book prohibitive, please talk to Rev. Paula. No one should sit this out because of the cost of purchasing the book.
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GIFT CARD COLLECTION FOR OUR DRUMMING CAMP FAMILIES
Due: Sunday, December 12, 2021
As part of our Christmas celebration,
we are delighted to be supporting our
Drumming Camp children!
We are kindly requesting donations of VISA or TARGET gift cards
(denominations of $10, $20 or $25)
this year for approximately 10-13 children.
Please forward your gift card donations to the
St. Stephen's Church Office
(119 Main Street, Millburn, NJ 07041)
by Sunday, December 12th.
If you have any questions, please email Maryalice at maryalice_chech@yahoo.com.
Many thanks!
Your generosity is greatly appreciated and will help bring joy
to these children during the Christmas season.
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DONATIONS FOR CHRISTMAS FLOWERS
Due: December 15, 2021
Please help make St. Stephen's festive this Christmas!
All donations will assist in the purchase of flowers for our Church and
all donors will receive acknowledgement in our Christmas bulletin.
Donations can be sent to the
St. Stephen's Church Office
(119 Main Street, Millburn, NJ 07041)
by Sunday, December 15th.
If you have any questions, please email
church@stsstephensmillburn.org, or call 973-376-0688, Ext.32.
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FAMILY PROMISE
Low-income families in this country are facing unprecedented social and economic challenges from the pandemic. Job losses, health care expenses, and child-care have all combined to raise the number of evictions. A donation can help Family Promise of Essex County to remain responsive to families’ emerging needs and its impact in our communities.
To read the Family Promise Newsletter, please click here.
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APOSTLES' HOUSE
Apostles' House is devoted to providing comprehensive social services to homeless women with children and families at risk of homelessness in Newark and
Essex County.
Apostles' House is in need of canned goods and non-perishable food items.
A collection bin is located outside
the Narthex doors in the parking lot. Donations can be dropped off at any time.
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If you would like to make a monetary donation to Apostles' House, please click here.
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NORTH PORCH
North Porch provides emergency aid, in the form of baby supplies, to mothers and infants in northern New Jersey, to help them stabilize and improve the quality of their lives.
North Porch is in URGENT need of Enfamil Infant Formula 12.5 oz containers (yellow label), baby wipes, diapers size 4, 5, and 6, and Jars of baby food – all ages – fruit, veggie and 1st foods.
A collection bin is located outside
the Narthex doors in the parking lot. Donations can be dropped off at any time.
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If you would like to make a monetary donation to North Porch, please click here.
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From Bishop Hughes & The Episcopal Church |
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Who is God calling us to be as church, now?
Speaking from Clergy Conference, Bishop Hughes shares the question on which the clergy are focused and with which all the clergy and laity will be living for months and years to come: In a dramatically changed world, who is God calling us to be as church, now?
Wishing you a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!
DIOCESAN E-NEWSLETTERS
Sign up to get e-newsletters and important announcements directly from diocesan headquarters. Find out more and subscribe here.
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Cross Roads Camp & Diocesan Youth Ministries |
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CROSS ROADS
CAMP & RETREAT CENTER
Check out all the fun and interesting year-round programs for children, adults and families.
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POP UP YOUTH MINISTRY
Pop Up is a welcoming ministry of the Diocese of Newark bringing together youth for fun activities, community, and faith formation. All youth grades 6-12 are encouraged
to join the monthly events.
Follow YM on Instagram and Facebook at @popupym.
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There are many, many resources available to parishes and individuals to help sustain our faith practices during this unprecedented time. See resources here. This is by no means a complete list, though it does cover many areas of need.
In this time of Crisis, there are resources that can help if you or someone you know needs assistance. Please contact NJ Mental Health Cares for free helpline telephone counseling or assistance. Call 866-202-4357.
TTY: 1-877-294-4356.
E-mail: help@njmentalhealthcares.org
Other resources are:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-8255
Crisis Text Line, 741741
NJ Hope Line (suicide prevention)
855-654-6735
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Please keep the following St. Stephen's family
members and friends in your prayers...
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Peggy Thompson
Felder Dorn
Donna Riggi
The Blanchard Family
The McManus Family
Bernard & Nathan
The Fitzgerald Family
Lucille B.
Jack Moreno
Jim Freeman
The May Family
Mary Jo Zarance
Joseph G.
Kelly Olson
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Linda Moran
Jane Rossiter
Greg Shuss
Nicole & Emma
Ningyu Liu
Jamie Stack
KT Thalin
Mike Losito
Cara Lynn Cavin
Evan D. & Family
Alexandra Shuss
Harold & Paula Williams
Ruth Pitts
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We give thanks for the life of Kathleen Wheeler who entered into greater glory on Tuesday, November 16. Kathleen was Kim Williams' Aunt. |
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If you would like to add someone to our prayer list, please email us at church@ststephensmillburn.org, or call (973) 376-0688 Ext. 32.
Anyone for whom we are praying will be on our prayer list for six weeks. If prayers are still needed beyond that time period, please let us know. Thank you.
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November 21, 2021
If you'd like to read the full lectionary for the week, you may do so here.
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TITHE.LY
Giving with Tithe.ly is easy with options for recurring donations or one-time use for when you are away or not able to be in church (like all of us now due to COVID restrictions).
You can access Tithe.ly via their website or their app on your smart phone. Be sure to search for the correct account - "St. Stephen's Church Millburn." Once you have accessed the account page with our address, you will be instructed to follow the prompts.
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Due to COVID restrictions, only teachers and staff are allowed to be in the building during school hours. If you need to visit the parish office/building for any reason, please contact us for an appointment. Thank you. |
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Zoom passcode: SSM119
To call in, dial by your location:
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 864 1664 1640
Passcode: SSM119
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Links for Sunday Worship Live-Stream & Social Media |
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St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
119 Main Street, Millburn, NJ 07041
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Church
Parish Administrator, Maria T. Card
973.376.0688, Ext. 32
church@ststephensmillburn.org
Rector, The Rev. Paula J. Toland
973.376.0688, Ext. 21
rector@ststephensmillburn.org
Fax: 973.376.4002
Website: ststephensmillburn.org
Preschool
Director: Nancy Siracusa
Phone: 973.376.3534, Ext. 20
Email: sspsmillburn@gmail.com
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