St. Stephen's in-the-Field Episcopal Church
FRIDAY JOURNAL November 12th, 2021
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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: November 14th, 2021
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Dear Friends,
Steve Garnaas-Holmes is a retired Methodist pastor whose poems I enjoy very much. In his poem below, we are reminded of God’s deep love for us – something we can never be reminded of too often.
My child,
Thank you for being you.
I created you for someone to be in love
with –
and here you are.
I know sometimes you feel brilliant
and sometimes a total failure,
but you are lovely, and sacred,
and the light of my delight burns in you
no matter what.
Beloved, I pray earnestly that you will be
the beautiful soul I created you to be.
You are my face in your world;
you are my hands, and I love working in
them;
You are my eyes, and I love looking through them.
I am with you every breath;
I pray you will let my spirit in,
let me fill you and guide you;
let me be in you.
I pray you will trust what you can’t see
and rarely feel: my infinite love for you.
Oh, beloved, I am so silly in love with
you.
I pray in hope and joy and confidence,
In the name of the spirit of Jesus,
who for you and for me is our image of
the other.
Amen.
Blessings and peace,
Karen+
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10:00am indoors at St. Stephen's
Since we’re indoors, don’t forget your mask. We continue to alternate Sunday services between St. John’s and St. Stephen’s.
Everyone is welcome to attend all services!
Services will also be live streamed so that if you are not physically at church, you can participate from home.
Click below for links to the service and bulletin.
Coffee hour following the service.
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A Future with Hope!
The bible gives us many stories of exile and return – The Israelites and their captivity in Babylon, Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt, Jesus’ family fleeing to Egypt, and Adam and Eve being thrown out of the Garden from Eden. Even through the suffering and strife, we have example after example of how God took care of God’s people.
Throughout COVID, we’ve been in exhile, away from our church and friends, but now that we are beginning to re-gather, we can look back and see that God never abandoned us. We figured out how to worship with few resources and faithful helpers. Our vestry continued to meet in order to take care of our church through the storm. The community garden continues to flourish, our labyrinth was finished and the landscaping begun!
God has been faithful to us and is not done with us. As the prophet Jeremiah said, God has plans for us and we have a future with hope.
We need monetary resources to continue our work that aligns with God’s plan for St. Stephen’s. If you haven’t, please consider filling out your pledge card for 2022 and sending it to the church by mail, dropping it off in the office, or bringing it to church Sunday. It is very important for our future with hope. Thank you for your generosity!
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Bible Study
The Path; A Journey Through the Bible
11:00am - in person at St. John’s.
We will be discussing Chapter 5 next time (11/17) Please join us any time!
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Gift Card Orders
we earned $180 in gift card orders
will be Dec 5th.
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Join in the fun on Dec 5th starting at 4 pm.
We will tour the Filoli house as it is decorated
and lighted for the holidays. If you like we
will gather together at Harry's Hofbrau in
Redwood city for dinner after our tour. Don't
Janet
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LEROY KROMM, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
PRESENTS
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with SAN JOSE BAROQUE ORCHESTRA
and
Nancy Wait Kromm, soprano
Liliane Cromer, mezzo-soprano
Brian Thorsett, tenor
Matthew Worth, bass
Sunday, November 21, 2021
5:30 pm
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph
80 South Market Street, San Jose CA 95113
Admission is FREE
SEAT RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED
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Cardboard needed!
Please bring in all that cardboard you know you’ve been wanting to get rid of! The landscapers (Jessica & Co.) need it for weed control on the embankment.
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Poem from the Garden
The volunteers for
the garden have now
shifted, as they tend
to do, with Bear and
Kat and Jun and Aer
and Brittany and
Christy being our
new regulars, so
the schedule can
move too: our new work
party time will be
from eleven to
three on Saturdays,
so come with a picnic lunch!
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Food for thought:
“The church is not a group of people who believe all the same things; the church is a group of people caught up in the same story, with Jesus at the center.”
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Kudos to:
-Jill for taking picture for our website and assisting with our live streams.
-Those of you who’ve already sent in your pledge-cards.
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Contact Information for Rev. Karen.
Please use this new number to contact Rev. Karen for calls or texts:
(669)270-7479
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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: (669)270-7479
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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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