It’s hard to believe, but we are almost into the New Year. There's no denying this was a difficult year for all of us. Yet, I am so glad that we remained steadfast in our support of our church communities, both St. Stephen and Christ the King. I am very happy to report that we had over 2500 in person mass attendance in both our churches as well as over 6000 online views. We are alive and healthy as a church community.

The Year 2020 has been unprecedented in so many ways. Churches have had to take unprecedented measures in 2020 to just stay alive. We expect remnants of the virus to carry over into 2021. There is an old saying, “If you fail to plan – you plan to fail.” No words have ever had more meaning. Planning helps us stay focused on achieving our mission: “Hear the Gospel and Make a Difference.” I am grateful to our leadership councils who have stepped up as needed.

Christmas is also accompanied, whether we like it or not, by tears. The Evangelists did not disguise reality to make it more credible or attractive. They did not indulge in words that were comforting but unrelated to reality. On the contrary, they relate the birth of the Son of God as an event fraught with tragedy and grief. From the loneliness and rejection surrounding the manger where Jesus was born to the slaughter of the innocents, from the uncertainty and fear that surrounded the birth of Jesus to the flight to Egypt as a refugee, a land that had enslaved their ancestors in the Old Testament, Christmas is fraught with pain, suffering and tears. Quoting the prophet Jeremiah, Matthew presents it in the bluntest of terms: “A voice is heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children” (2:18). It is the sobbing of mothers bewailing the death of their children in the face of Herod’s tyranny and unbridled thirst for power.

To contemplate the manger also means to contemplate this cry of pain, to open our eyes and ears to what is going on around us, and to let our hearts be attentive and open to the pain of our neighbors, especially where children are involved. It also means realizing that that sad chapter in history is still being written today. To contemplate the manger in isolation from the world around us would make Christmas into a lovely story that inspires warm feelings but robs us of the creative power of the Good News that the Incarnate Word wants to give us. The temptation is real.

In the New Year, being right will be less important than doing right. Sure, that involves social justice and meeting physical needs, but it also involves treating people with kindness, compassion in everyday life and attending to their spiritual wellbeing. This is the kind of outward focus that drove the rapid expansion of the first century church. Thank you. Happy New Year!

The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed from 6pm to 7:30pm in our Ministry Center Chapel on Facebook Live. This will be a time for prayer and meditation in the quiet of your own space at home.

Fr. Paulson on his ordination day in India on January 1,1991.

Fr. Paulson with his brother, Fr. Santhosh in India celebrating their 25 year anniversary as priests in 2016.

They were both ordained just months apart in 1991.

Thank you to the over 2,500 of you who attended Christmas Eve and Christmas Day masses. And special thanks to all our volunteers who helped make this such a special celebration for our community both in person and those who watched from home.

We especially thank our staff, clergy, musicians, sacristans, lectors, eucharistic ministers, environment committee, (Pam DeBernardi and Rosa Panelli), and our ushers. A special word of gratitude to a number of folks who stepped up to serve as ushers for the first time. We could not have held this beautiful Christmas celebration without you. You are all truly a blessing to us!

Thursday, December 31 and

Friday, January 1st

The late Bishop Kenneth Untener in his Little Blue Book 2005, pointed out that the magi’s gifts marked one of the few times in the gospel stories of Jesus’ life that anyone did something just for him, with no expectation, no selfish hope of reward... Read More

Private Confessions will continue every Saturday from

3pm to 3:30pm.

Please meet in front of the church.