St. Stephen's in-the-Field Episcopal Church
  FRIDAY JOURNAL May 15th, 2020
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.
Sunday Services: May 17th, 2020
The 10:00 service will be via video on our website Sunday morning at 10:00
Reflections

Today on my evening walk, I started reflecting on how the pandemic has in a strange way created a unifying experience, providing the opportunity for a reset, or refocus, on what truly matters. Whether based in Mumbai, Barcelona, Sao Paulo or Seattle, all of us are trying to protect ourselves and our loved ones. We are shocked and saddened by the vast numbers of those who have passed. We are thankful for those on the front lines, and we long for a sense of normalcy.

In times of trial, my hope is that faith is strengthened; that the shared experience helps to unify us across the globe to focus on what is good, and right, and important. 

For me, it is a reminder to recognize my blessings, and to think of ways to help those whose lives have been negatively impacted -- by donating to food banks, or choosing to support companies who are giving back, or simply writing a note to a neighbor or thanking a grocery checkout clerk or delivery person.

My hope is that in future times, we can look back and see the positive impact that emerged from this trial. 

Stay well,

Margo
Sunday Worship
Holy Eucharist comes to your living room again this Sunday at 10:00am. The gospel reading for Sunday begins with a statement that is often used to exclude others. Is that really what Jesus wants?  


We have new readers this week and new music. Come, let us worship together! 
I encourage you to set aside a special place, light a candle, download the bulletin, and join us in worship by going to our St. Stephen’s website ( www.ssitf.org ) to view the video. There will be a link for the bulletin on the website. 
I will also send a separate email with links to the bulletin and our virtual coffee hour..

Special prayer requests to be added to our Sunday worship service can be sent to Rev. Karen or Dcn. Robin.
What’s a LOQUAT? Try them – they’re fresh and free!

Loquats  are a delicious fruit that taste like a combination of  mangos  and  peaches . Their  sour  and  sweet  taste makes them perfect for using in  fruit salsa .
We have an abundance that Jessica has harvested from our Community Garden and are very ready to eat Jessica is doing no-contact deliveries of shoe-boxed sized bunches this Sunday afternoon, so text her your addressat 650-804-9044 after the service. Please keep social distance and wear a mask if others are present.

Click on the picture for a delicious salsa recipe to try with your favorite chips or crackers!


Outreach Opportunity!

St. Stephen’s has been blessed to support SMUM over the years. Sheltering in Place makes outreach challenging but here’s a safe opportunity for us to continue our support for them from the safety of your car. They are in more need than ever! Here’s information from Santa Maria Urban Ministry on how you can help:

In these days of COVID-19, the need for food has skyrocketed from 600 boxes to 1,033 last month for 794 families and 202 homeless persons. Please help us meet this ever-growing need by bringing non-perishable food to our “Drop and Drive food drive" on Thursday, May 21, from 6:00-8:00pm.

Put your food in your trunk, drive to St. Jude’s at the corner of Stelling and McClelland in Cupertino. Pop your trunk and a Santa Maria volunteer will gratefully take the food. Especially needed: low-sugar cereals, peanut butter, tuna, canned fruit, and canned corn. If you can’t get out to shop, we will also have a basket for cash offerings.
Then go home knowing that because of your kindness, another family can eat. Thank you!
Thanks to our readers last week!
Financial realities and how you can help . . .
Having virtual services means that your generous offerings cannot be put in the offering plates on Sunday. We do have to continue to pay our bills. 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.  

Thank you very much!
Virtual Coffee Hour!

A few more people joined in our virtual coffee hour and it was great to see familiar faces. It would be so nice to see many more of you! There is no limit to the number of people. The link for Coffee Hour will be in a separate mailing with the bulletin! You are welcome to call me (Rev. Karen) before the meeting if you’re having trouble with the link.  
Poem from the Garden

When the weather station in downtown San Jo sé 's
temp is like 94 Fahrenheit, it is nearer to a
warm 97 or 100 in the garden. It is
hotter here in our South San José than in the bayside north.

Most of our dinner plate plants -- peas, cabbage, kale, brocolli, beets,
grapes -- were bred and grown in rain-soaked Europe, for Rome's
30 inches annual warm rainfall, a Mediterranean
climate wetter than our 15 inches in a good rain year.

So, what do we do? We plant plants bred for American heat,
like the Navajo Blue Corn, Sonoran Tepary Beans. We
water our plants to keep them alive through the summer, and we
try to learn from the plants what they can and cannot survive whole.

Care and water is all that keeps non-native plantings alive.
We should give the plants the support they were born needing to thrive.
Food for thought:

“Here’s the thing I know: that if I’m going to mess up and make a mistake, because I’m not always right, none of us are, but I’m going to mess up on the side of inclusion. I’m going to mess up and err on the side of saying that everybody that has breath or has ever had breath is a sacred child of God, until someone shows me otherwise. And that means they deserve to be treated as such.”

The Very Rev.Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, Dean of Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary, in an interview on “The Way of Love” podcast with the Bishop Michael Curry. 
Kudos to:
-Worship service tech team
-Trig for office tech help
-Janet for baking communion bread
-Vestry
-Gregg working for finance work
A new COVID-19 update from Bishop Lucinda:
Dear people of the Diocese of El Camino Real,

I write to express to you my amazement at your leadership during COVID-19. As “Easter People,” you are walking with faith during uncertain times, seeking new opportunities, and “being church” in your homes and through use of technology. Thank you for sitting in this uncomfortable place and finding Easter joy. 

While we are all still on shelter-in-place, there is a palpable push, really a rush, to return to a sense of “normal life.” Really it is a desire to go back to the way things were before March, yet we know that is not going to happen. COVID-19, while a biological virus, has impacted many parts of our lives—economically, socially, spiritually—and going back isn’t an option. Instead, like Jesus’ followers, we face forward to a new way of being, open to possibility and discovery. But the culture around us has a different view; the almost desperate push to physically re-engage, and soon, drives some risky behaviors.
 
The Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real will remain shelter-in-place, practicing non-risky behaviors and tending to our worship and pastoral care virtually. As your Bishop, I am committed to our well-being and the well-being of those we serve. Heeding the guidance and mandates of our State Government, and our respective County Health Departments, we will not alter our policies until such time as health and science tell us that is safe to do so—and then we will proceed with caution.
 
I have appointed a Phase III Task Force to evaluate documents and information that will serve to guide us into re-gathering, when the time comes. This document will be available to you in mid-May. Until then, the following will help you to begin to plan ahead:

 
Phase I: Shelter-in-Place. This is where we are now: 

  • Hold only Virtual Worship Services
  • Allow for no more than 3 persons to film and produce Virtual Worship services
  • Maintain physical distance, at least 6 feet between persons
  • Wear masks as guided by the County Health Department
 
Phase II: Preparation. Following Diocesan, County Health, and Statewide orders and guidelines, we plan to: 

  • Clean the entire facility
  • Organize a team to clean before and after each worship service
  • Coordinate with those who share the plant to follow mandates and guidelines
  • Establish guidelines for church staff, rotating presence on-site
  • Discuss what-if scenarios, including how to roll-back when needed
 
Phase III: Gradual Re-entry. This is the next part of the plan once we have met the requirements of the State and Local officials for religious organizations. For the Diocese of El Camino Real, this will include: 

  • A completed re-entry plan, with approval from the Bishop
  • Gather in groups of 10, 25, 50, 100 in a gradual roll-out, with 14 days of no new cases in-between each incremental step; we will roll out by deanery
  • Use only the Daily Office or Liturgy of the Word for in-person worship
  • Wear masks (required), maintain physical distancing protocols
  • Maintain virtual worship and education for those unable to attend
  • Be prepared to roll-back, when cases increase
 
Phase IV: Being New Church. In this phase, we would have successfully navigated the requirements of Phase III and show that we can all safely gather and resume activities. 

  • Establish and maintain safe practices for in-person Eucharist
  • Maintain virtual worship opportunities for those unable to attend
  • Resume in-person education programs
  • Resume weddings, baptisms, funerals
  • Resume and increase outreach programs
  • Explore new learnings, new opportunities for ministry and mission

We will walk through these phases together, with care for each other and for our communities.

In his Pastoral Letter to the Episcopal Church , this is what our Presiding Bishop refers to as “sacrificial love”—putting common good before individual desire. I would add that the word “sacrifice” means a holy offering. Your adherence to these policies and procedures in the months ahead is your holy offering to our diocese, our towns and cities, and all of God’s people.

With a grateful heart for your leadership, sacrificial love, and patience, 


The Right Rev. Lucinda Ashby

Bishop of the Diocese of El Camino Real  
COVID-19 Fund established

In response to questions of how to give to the diocese following the Virtual Easter Service, a special Easter Offering has been established to support people in our diocese whose livelihoods have been impacted by shelter-at-home requirements. Donations can be made to the “Donate” web page at realepiscopal.org ( click here ). Choose "Bishop’s COVID-19 Fund" when making your online gift.
 
Or, mail checks to the diocesan offices at the address below. Please state “Bishop’s COVID-19 Fund” in the memo area of checks.

Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
PO Box 689
Salinas, CA 93902
 
Thank you for your support of those in need!
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).  Contact Robin, our Deacon, who will initiate that for you
 
*   turn to your neighbors and friends in church to share what's on your heart, ask for support in speaking to God about your needs (and tell them the updates next week!)
 
*   tell people about your answers to prayer! and the miracles you witness, or how prayer changes YOU.
Contact information for Rev. Karen: 
Personal phone for emergencies or urgent matters: 408-781-1826

Contact information for Deacon Robin: 
Email her at Dcn. Robin,  deacon@ssitf.org ; Phone: 650-450-0656.
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
St. Stephen's in-the-Field Episcopal Church
7269 Santa Teresa Blvd; San Jose, CA 95139