St. Stephen's in-the-Field Episcopal Church
  FRIDAY JOURNAL July 3rd, 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: July 5th, 2020
The 10:00 service will be via video on our website Sunday morning at 10:00
Sunday Worship
This week we begin alternating services with our friends at St. John the Divine in Morgan Hill. Rev. Karen will preside the Holy Eucharist at St. John’s that can be seen by both our churches. As always, the service will be posted on our website ( www.ssitf.org ) at 10:00am but is available any time after that.  

I encourage you to set aside a special place, light a candle, download the bulletin, as you prepare to worship. 
A separate email with links to the bulletin and our virtual coffee hour (11:00am as usual) will be sent Saturday evening.
Special prayer requests to be added to our Sunday worship service can be sent to Rev. Karen. 
Sunday services update! 

July 1 st is the day I become your half-time Rector and St. John the Divine’s half-time Rector. These are exciting times! As in all transitions, changes are necessary but we will start small. I know many of you are wondering how we will work out worship services. For the month of July, our worship service time will not change (though it will for St. John’s). Coffee hour will also be the same,(St. John’s will again be making the adjustment to their schedule). The change for both congregations is mutual. For the month of July, the recording of the service will take place at St. John’s on the 1 st and 3 rd Sundays, and at St. Stephen’s on the 2 nd and 4 th Sundays. As usual, all services will be posted online at 10:00am. Coffee hour at St. John’s will begin at 9am, and at St. Stephen’s at 11:00 as usual. Everyone will be able to worship every Sunday, you’ll just see new faces in a new place! I’m so grateful for your flexibility and support of not only me, but of each other as we build new relationships. Please keep both St. John’s and St. Stephen’s in your prayers!
WEDNESDAY PRAYER SERVICE

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. The link will be on our website and in a reminder email Tuesday evening.
Keeping the conversations going. . .
Pastoral Conversation About Race Thursdays @ 4:30pm 
The Revs Karen Cuffie and Jani Wild will lead pastoral conversations on racism. There will be a brief introduction to the focus of the session followed by discussion and prayers. Please join us, there is no better way to learn, process and share together than in a faith community. Next week there will be more breakout rooms to give more people a chance to talk.
 
 
Meeting ID: 835 7594 8022
Password: 748467
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,83575948022#,,1#,748467# US (San Jose
Re-entry Task Force

We have a new Re-entry Task Force that is doing the hard work of writing a plan, including protocols for the time when we can begin having some worship services at church again. The Re-entry Task force is chaired by Jessica Dickinson Goodman (Jr. Warden) and includes Margo Westfall, Dot Remson, Rob van der Molen, and Eric Samson.  
Every church in the Santa Clara Deanery must have a plan that has been approved by the Bishop before moving forward. Look for updates from the team in future Friday Journals!
Thanks to our readers last week!
Laura and Marshal Lewis

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!
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 maize grows from 
seed to sprout to sprig to stalk
it carries in it the memory,
the pattern-guide of each transition. 

Corn grows thin first, then tall
then wide, then hairy, then 
small and pebbly — finally — 
soft and plump and edible,

but let it sit ‘til the dry August wind 
ripples through the waves of amber 
leaves, it will dry back to seed 
(a single blue kernel births 500 more). 

Maize is all this — husk and ear — 
kernel and cob — leaf and doll’s hair.  

The community garden currently has 16 healthy corn plants growing alongside beans in a demonstration garden that will soon also have squash and sunflowers. They should produce by the fall. 
Food for thought:
This poem is etched in bronze at the base of the pedestal of the Statue of liberty. The poem was written by Emma Lazarus in 1883.

“The New Colossus” 

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

+ Emma Lazarus

Kudos to:
-Susan Zaballos for baking bread
-Maria for editing our Pre-recorded video
-Finance Team
-All who are participating in the conversations on Race Thursday afternoons

A COVD-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
 
*   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

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