January 18, 2023

Health Precautions

All of New Jersey is at high risk for Covid infection and complications once again. We also continue to see higher rates of influenza and RSV than we have seen in a while. And, though strictly anecdotal, the cold virus(es) that are going around seem more severe than the usual. Some people, including some of you and our siblings in the Evelyn Underhill Region are catching more than one of these illnesses, often back-to-back. That said, we are not changing our approach to health precautions, but it does seem wise to remind you of what they are:

Both services are mask optional, with masking encouraged, especially during congregational singing. If you want to come to church and minimize risk a bit, the 8:00 service has much smaller attendance than the 10:00.
We will continue to offer the wine by drinking from the Common Cup, no intinction. If you would like to reverence the Cup, it is a fairly common practice to gently touch the cross at its base.
Whether you come for Communion or a blessing, please use the hand sanitizer in the pew and maintain a few feet of distance between households.

Financial Stewardship for 2023

Thank you to those who have pledged financial support of our ministries in 2023. This is a big help to the Finance Committee in building the budget.

A reminder to those who have not pledged yet: ALL of our ministries, both the visible and the behind the scenes ones, rely on your generosity in order to happen. We are at $108,836 in pledges, which is about $21,164 shy of what we need to do the things God is calling us to do. Please prayerfully consider making a pledge to support our ministries AND to express your gratitude to God for all the blessings of this life.

Happening at St. Stephen's This Week...

Please join us as we worship

and celebrate the Holy Eucharist

on January 22nd, The Third Sunday after the Epiphany.

8:00am - Spoken Service

10:00am - Music & Baptism

ALL are welcome.

Masks are optional.

At Communion, you may receive the wine by sipping from the cup,

or you may choose Communion in one kind only (the bread).

Coffee Hour to follow the

10:00am service.

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 6am and 3pm.

Looking Ahead

PLEASE CHECK WEEKLY BECAUSE EVENTS MAY BE ADDED OR CHANGED.

JANUARY

JAN 18

7:30pm - Finance Committee Meeting

JAN 19

7pm - Preschool Committee Meeting

JAN 22

8am - Sunday Worship

10am - Sunday Worship & Conway Baptism

11:30am - Youth Group

1pm - AA Meeting

JAN 23

7:30pm - MA Meeting

JAN 29

8am - Sunday Worship

10am - Sunday Worship

1pm - AA Meeting

JAN 30

7:30pm - MA Meeting

______________

PARISH OFFICE HOURS

Tuesday through Friday

9:00am to 5:00pm

______________

FEBRUARY

FEB 2

9am - Interfaith Bible Hour

FEB 5

8am - Sunday Worship

10am - Second Sunday

1pm - AA Meeting

FEB 6

7:30pm - MA Meeting

FEB 12

8am - Sunday Worship

10am - Sunday Worship Intergenerational Worship

11:30am - Reading with the Rector

11:30am - Youth Group

1pm - AA Meeting

FEB 13

7:30pm - MA Meeting

FEB 14

7pm - Monthly Women's Lectionary Discussion

FEB 15

7:30pm - Finance Committee Meeting

FEB 16

7pm - Preschool Committee Meeting

FEB 19

8am - Sunday Worship

10am - Sunday Worship

11:30am - Vestry Meeting

1pm - AA Meeting

FEB 20

7:30pm - MA Meeting

FEB 26

8am - Sunday Worship

10am - Sunday Worship

11:30am - Youth Group

1pm - AA Meeting

FEB 27

7:30pm - MA Meeting

MARCH

MAR 2

9am - Interfaith Bible Hour

MAR 5

8am - Sunday Worship

10am - Sunday Worship & Annual Meeting

1pm - AA Meeting

MAR 6

7:30pm - MA Meeting

MAR 12

8am - Sunday Worship

10am - Sunday Worship Intergenerational Worship

11:30am - Reading with the Rector

11:30am - Youth Group

1pm - AA Meeting

MAR 13

7:30pm - MA Meeting

MAR 14

7pm - Monthly Women's Lectionary Discussion

MAR 15

7:30pm - Finance Committee Meeting

MAR 16

7pm - Preschool Committee Meeting

MAR 19

8am - Sunday Worship

10am - Sunday Worship

11:30am - Vestry Meeting

1pm - AA Meeting

MAR 20

7:30pm - MA Meeting

MAR 26

8am - Sunday Worship

10am - Sunday Worship

11:30am - Youth Group

1pm - AA Meeting

MAR 27

7:30pm - MA Meeting

Other Happenings...

DIOCESAN LISTENING SESSION

Sunday, January 29th

11:00am – 12:30pm

Join us for a special Diocesan Listening Session facilitated by Nelson Diaz, a member of the Diocese of Newark’s newly formed Strategic Visioning Team.

Meet us in the Parish Hall, or us join via Zoom.

Zoom passcode: SSM119

The Strategic Visioning Team wants to hear from you, so please plan to be

a part of this conversation and share your thoughts about what the future

of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark should look like.

We will respond to questions about what we treasure about our congregation,

what opportunities and challenges we have, and what we might do

together as a Diocese.

READING WITH THE RECTOR

Sunday, February 12th

11:30am - 1:00pm

in the common room, or via Zoom

We will be discussing:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father—a crusading local lawyer—risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.

ATTENTION, AUFMERKSAMKEIT, SOUCI, ATENCION

Let's make 2023 an ABC year

for the FOOD BARREL.

ABC: Avalanche of Big Contributions

SOUPER SUNDAY

AT ST. STEPHEN'S

Please bring cans of soup for our food barrel on Sunday, February 12th.

ALL kinds of soup are welcome and will be distributed by Apostles’ House, a non-profit devoted to providing comprehensive social services to homeless women and children and individuals or families at risk of homelessness in Newark and Essex Co.

Collection bins are available outside of the Narthex/Education Building doors in the parking lot for donations anytime.

Evelyn Underhill Region

You're Invited!

ART EXHIBIT

Way of the Cross

St. George's

550 Ridgewood Rd.

Maplewood

Sunday, Jan. 29th 2pm-4pm

Join the conversation forum at 3pm with the artists.

CONCERT

From Mozart to Ibert: Four Hands at the Piano

St. Paul’s

200 Main Street

Chatham

Friday, Jan. 27th

7pm

Featuring works by Bach, Mozart, Grieg, Ibert.

Donations will be accepted at the door.

CONCERT

Masters of Hawaiian Music Benefit Concert

St. Paul’s

200 Main Street

Chatham

Saturday, Feb. 25th

7pm

Doors open: 6:30pm

$25 / Adv tickets at

http://hawaii.brownpapertickets.com

$30 / Door

General Admission

From Bishop Hughes & The Episcopal Church

THE BISHOP'S VLOG

Faith in community, working in collaboration - 1/11/23

It truly is a gift to be a member of the family of faith, says Bishop Hughes. We grow more deeply in our faith, and our faith expands because of the people that we work with on this faith journey. And likewise, parishes need each other, as we've learned during the pandemic. That is why our upcoming Convention will focus on seeking together the vision of God for our particular church at this particular time.

The Voice Online Link - 1/11/23

DIOCESAN E-NEWSLETTERS

Sign up to receive important news, events and seasonal meditations from the Diocese of Newark. Find out more and subscribe here.

ANNUAL DIOCESAN CONVENTION

The 149th Annual Diocesan Convention will be held on Friday and Saturday, February 3 and 4 at the Hilton Meadowlands in East Rutherford.

Convention will also be broadcast on the diocesan YouTube channel: youtube.com/c/dionewark.

Find out more at the Convention web page.

Episcopal Parish Network (EPN)

38th Annual Conference

The Episcopal Parish Network invites you to attend the EPN's 38th Annual Conference in Jacksonville, Florida on March 8 - 11.

Attend for the workshops, connection and/or networking with other lay and clergy leaders.

This is the largest and most anticipated annual conference in The Episcopal Church!

Click here to learn more.

JESUS IN AMERICA

Available Now! A national study released in March 2022 in a partnership between The Episcopal Church and Ipsos Market Research.

The research found that while the majority of Americans polled believe Jesus was an important spiritual figure and want equality in society, it also showed Christians are not necessarily practicing what Jesus taught, and Americans feel judged when talking about their beliefs.

Read the survey here.

Resources

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

A/MA MEETINGS

Weekly AA meetings:

Sunday at 1:00pm

Contact: Rob H. (516) 860-9062

For more information about Alcohol Anonymous, click here.

Weekly MA meeting:

Monday at 7:30pm

Contact: Max T. (212) 203-2542

Contact: Deana L. (908) 499-8997

MA meetings are presented in a rotating format:

Step - Speaker - Story from Life with Hope - Topic

For more information about Marijuana Anonymous, click here.

Prayer List

Please keep the following St. Stephen's family

members and friends in your prayers...

Peggy Thompson

Donna Riggi

The Blanchard Family

The McManus Family

Bernard & Nathan

Lucille B.

Jack Moreno

Joseph G.

Jane Rossiter

Mike Losito

Evan D. & Family

Donna Stadler Hostetler

Ed Roman

Emma Simonich

Inge Bass Mills

Jessica Rana

Cathy Zimmerman

Juliet Tranberg

Lind Hostetler

Mary Ruth Stone

Nancy Landers

Anne Grenda

Eugene Foley

Evie Larson

Sandra Swan

Cherie Donze

Ron Gadbois

Linda Clark

The Roberson Family

Darla Shaw

Linda Moran

Roger Riedel

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.

Sunday Lectionary

The Third Sunday after the Epiphany

We are using the new lectionary,

Wilda Gafney's A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church, Year A.

Our bulletins are available here.

Giving with Tithe.ly

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.

Office Notes

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.