St. Stephen's in-the-Field Episcopal Church
FRIDAY JOURNAL October 30th, 2020
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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.
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Sunday Service: November 1st, 2020 |
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Holy Eucharist, Rite II at 10:00am online |
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From the Rector
Dear friends,
“I sing a song of the saints of God. . .for the saints of God are just folk like me, and I mean to be one too.”
(Hymn 293, The Hymnal 1982)
This Sunday is All Saints Day when we commemorate the saints who have gone before us, but also remember the present day saints! We will be showing a slide show of past saints in your lives. If you haven’t already sent in a picture, you have until 9pm Friday.
In the meantime, here is your Faith-Filled Generosity reflection for this week. Enjoy!
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Lives shaped by The Beatitudes
By Mary MacGregor
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Today’s Gospel recalls Jesus’ sermon on the mount, commonly referred to as The Beatitudes. In his usual manner, Jesus surprised his followers by uttering godly, countercultural truth. In essence, his teaching that day laid the foundation for what it means to live a Christian life.
What does it mean to be merciful, pure in heart, meek, poor in spirit, mournful, to be a peacemaker, to hunger and thirst for righteousness and be willing to be persecuted for it? The Beatitudes are a guide that, when studied, reveal layers of meaning for us as believers. They challenge many of our basic human desires and behaviors. Of ultimate importance, they clearly reveal what God seeks to bless.
Aren’t we fortunate that our God is forgiving and full of grace as we strive to be transformed by these teachings?
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Our journey of formation requires change and opening our eyes to see God in action all around us. Included in this change is seeing God’s endless blessings poured out upon us and developing a posture of gratitude in return.
Being thankful changes us for the better. Being thankful changes our perspective on life and can profoundly impact our understanding of God’s generosity. Being thankful can shape us to be stewards of all God has entrusted to us. Being thankful softens our fears. Being thankful turns fear of scarcity into joyful gratitude for God’s abundance.
We remember the saints who have gone before us on this All Saints Day. Some were revered as saints of old. Some were modern day saints. Some were simple folks like you and me. One distinguishing characteristic of saints is that we can see how they embodied and lived Jesus’ teachings, these very Beatitudes. They generously gave of their lives so much so that we remember them today. We are confident they were blessed by God for their faithfulness. May we be thankful for their witness and see in them lives shaped by The Beatitudes and be willing to do the same.
Canon Mary MacGregor is a member of the board of The Episcopal Network for Stewardship. She has been deeply involved in congregational development for over 25 years, and served as Canon for Congregational Vitality and Mission Amplification for the Diocese of Texas.
Blessings and peace to you,
Karen+
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Sunday Worship
***New update - links to the bulletin and coffee hour are below!***
A separate email with links will no longer be sent out Saturday evening.
(The links will be in your Friday journal and on the front page of our website: www.ssitf.org)
This week Rev. Karen will preside the Holy Eucharist at St. Stephen’s and shared with St. John’s. The service will be posted on both our websites (www.ssitf.org and www.stjohndivinemorganhill.org) at 10:00am but is available any time after that.
I encourage you to set aside a special place, light a candle, and download the bulletin here as you prepare to worship.
Please send any special prayer requests and/or anniversaries and birthdays to Rev. Karen.
Join us for Coffee Hour at 11:00am on Zoom with this link.
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Nov1 is All Saints’ Day and this year it falls on a Sunday. On this principal feast day of the church, we commemorate all the saints, known and unknown. Please send the name of family members or someone you are close to who has died. I will write them in the Necrology Book and they will be named at that service.
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WEDNESDAY MORNING PRAYER GROUP
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.
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WEDNESDAY EVENING COMPLINE
Begins at 7pm
Compline, the last Office of the day. End your day with a beautiful and short liturgy. All are welcome and please feel free to share the link with friends!
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Keeping the conversations going. . .and going. . .and going!
The Rev. Jani Wild and I are facilitating Pastoral Conversations on Racism and yesterday was our 21st week of gathering to learn and talk about a broad spectrum of subjects concerning race in our country.
We follow the same format (a brief introduction followed by a short video, discussion, and prayers ) every week with a different focus. Last week, because we’re in the middle of an election cycle, we learned about Gerrymandering and Voter Suppression throughout history.
Please come join us next Thursday at 4:30. Whether it’s the 1st time or the 18th time you’ve attended, please come to learn, process, and share together in a safe space with a faith community.
Bring a friend or family member – all are welcome – by clicking the Zoom link below.
Meeting ID: 835 7594 8022
Password: 748467
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,83575948022#,,1#,748467# US (San Jose
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Thanks to last week’s liturgy assistants! |
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Save the date: Bishop Lucinda to host Nov. 3 noonday prayer |
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Bishop Lucinda Ashby will hold an online noonday prayer service for Election Day on Tuesday, November 3. The service will be streamed live beginning at 12:00 pm noon on Tuesday at the Diocesan YouTube page, located here.
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Healing and Wholeness
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will lead a live-streamed prayer service from Washington National Cathedral, Holding on to Hope: A National Service for Healing and Wholeness, on All Saints Sunday, November 1, at 1:00-2:30 p.m. PST. In the midst of pandemic, racial reckoning, and a historic election, the service will gather Americans for prayer, song, lament, hope, and a call to love God and neighbor. The service will feature an ecumenical and multifaith array of voices, musical offerings, and prayers, streamed in English and Spanish. Full details and link are here
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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!
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Blankets
Hello my friends,
It's that time of year when we start
thinking about people without a place
to call their own, might need a blanket.
This year we can't meet together so I
will leave some blankets, a guide for
cutting the strips to knot and the St.
Stephen's labels to be sewn on each
blanket.
I'm hoping each family can put together
4 blankets. If not, do what you can.
Email me to let me know you are coming
by to make sure you have some choices on
the blankets you want to put together.
See you soon.
Janet
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Gift Cards
St. Stephen's earned $170 in gift card
orders this month!
The next order will be placed on Nov 10th.
This should include any cards you might need
for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Thanks
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2020 STEWARDSHIP Campaign
They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life. 1Timothy 6:18-19 NRSVA
“Faith Filled Generosity” – that’s our theme for this year’s stewardship. Though we’ve had many setbacks this year, we are very stable financially. Part of that is because your dedicated vestry has been watchful of our resources. The other part is that YOU have been faithful and generous in your giving. Thank you! As we look ahead to a new year, please keep in mind that your gifts are essential to St. Stephen’s. With deep faith, please consider pledging again this year.
This has been a difficult year in many ways and for some of you, the difficulty includes financial hardship. We fully understand that!
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Poem from the Garden
A lot of us are
thinking about our
votes this week, talking
and volunteering.
In the garden, our
work relies on clean
air, water and soil,
on immigration
policies that let
our gardeners find new
homes and hope here with
us. Are you thinking
about what your vote
and voice means too?
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“Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country, and this world.”
-Sharon Salzburg
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Kudos to:
-Maria for creating our pre-recorded service this week.
-Andoni and all musicians who give of their gifts in our worship services.
-Nancy and Susan for assisting in the service this week.
-The Communications Guild
-all who have given generously of their time, talent, and treasure – that’s YOU!
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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).
* tell people about your answers to prayer! and the miracles you witness, or how prayer changes YOU.
Please submit prayer requests to Rev. Karen.
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Contact information for Rev. Karen: |
Personal phone for emergencies or urgent matters: 408-781-1826
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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
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St. Stephen's in-the-Field Episcopal Church
7269 Santa Teresa Blvd; San Jose, CA 95139
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