St. Stephen's in-the-Field Episcopal Church
FRIDAY JOURNAL February 19th, 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 Service: February 21st, 2021 |
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Holy Eucharist, Rite II at 10:00am online |
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From the Rector
Dear Friends,
I hope you were able to see the joint Ash Wednesday service this week! It was pre-recorded a week ago so for me, Lent began last Thursday. You can’t undo the imposition of ashes and turn Lent off like a spigot. I’m so glad we’re now in sync for these next 40 days!
The following is an excerpt of Nadia Bolz-Weber’s “Accidental Saints; Finding God in All the Wrong People” on Ash Wednesday. I hope you find it meaningful.
“If our lives were a long piece of fabric with our baptism on one end and our funeral on another, and we don’t know the distance between the two, then Ash Wednesday is a time when that fabric is pinched in the middle and the ends are held up so that our baptism in the past and our funeral in the future meet. The water and words from our baptism plus the earth and words from our funerals have come from the past and future to meet us in the present. And in that meeting we are reminded of the promises of God: That we are God’s, that there is no sin, no darkness, and yes, no grave that God will not come to find us in and love us back to life. These promises outlast our earthly bodies and the limits of time.”
Peace,
Karen+
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Sunday Worship
Our service this Sunday is Holy Eucharist, pre-recorded at St. Stephen’s. The service will be posted on our website at 10:00 and can be viewed any time after that.
I encourage you to set aside a special place, light a candle as you prepare to worship
Click HERE for the bulletin
Please send any special prayer requests and/or anniversaries and birthdays to Rev. Karen. (revkaren@ssitf.org)
*** Due to the increased rate of COVID diagnosis and deaths, all of our services will be pre-recorded until at least March 1st . Please stay safe, staying home when possible, keeping distant when you must go out, and wear a mask to protect yourself and the community.
Giving glory to God together is up to us, wherever we are on Sunday! For most, if not all of us, we can do that in our homes – under a roof that keeps us warm. If you need help finding the service on our website, please let Rev. Karen know!
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Join us for Coffee Hour at 11:00am on Zoom with this link.
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Centering Prayer on Wednesdays in Lent
Lent is a wonderful time to learn more about Centering Prayer as a spiritual discipline. The introduction to a weekly program focused on centering prayer will be given at the Ash Wednesday service and then will continue every Wednesday in Lent via Zoom. A link will be sent prior to the session.
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Zentangle for Lent – tomorrow!
St. Thomas is offering a new Lenten meditative practice called Zentangle. Zentangle is an easy and fun way to make beautiful images by drawing structured patterns called tangles. Abby O’Connell will be conducting a Zentangle workshop on Saturday, February 20th from 2-4pm.
You will need:
-white paper (cut into 4x4” squares)
-a black roller ball pen
-an old fashioned wooden pencil (sharpened)
-a Q-tip.
Join the workshop with this link to the zoom mtg:
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Help!
After the last big rain we had, we discovered a leak in the roof. Some of the bricks in the center aisle have been affected. As you can imagine, roofers are busy this time of year and we have not been able to find anyone that can come take a look. Please let Rev. Karen, Jessica, or Andy known of a roofer that you know and could recommend. Even if you don’t know any, it would be helpful if you can make some calls to see if one could come and take a look. We don’t want any bricks to be damaged. Thank you for your help!
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WEDNESDAY MORNING PRAYER GROUP
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
Evening Compline is postponed until after Lent. Please join the Centering Prayer program listed above.
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. . .
The Rev. Jani Wild and I are facilitating Pastoral Conversations on Racism intended to help us all 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. Please join us next Thursday at 4:30. Whether it’s the 1st time or the 30th 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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RealEpiscopal, El Camino Real’s newest website, is live and we couldn’t be more excited to share it with you! After years of refinements to previous designs, the website has been completely remade from scratch, simplifying its structure and making it more accessible to leaders, clergy, and parishioners. Check it out!
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Bishop Lucinda to lead "Tuesdays in Lent" online prayers
Join Bishop Lucinda and the diocesan staff during Lent for a weekly series of brief noonday prayers every Tuesday. Each prayer, which will include a reflection from Bishop Lucinda and/or the diocesan staff, will be streamed live at the diocesan YouTube page at 12 pm noon. Subscribe to our YouTube page to get alerts when the prayers begin
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Poem from the Garden
three weeks ago my
Mom came to prune the
strawberry tree. It's
the little hunched one,
crouched the narrow
parking median, leaves
cruelly curled from leaf
scorch, a fungus that
does not kill, but twists
trees. She cut away
the sick parts, let the
sunlight in. Today,
I found new healthy,
uncurled leaves budding.
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“It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.”
James Baldwin
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Kudos to:
-Janet and Susan, co-chairs of the Altar Guild, for cleaning the sanctuary and setting up for Lent.
-Jessica for tending to our Community Garden
-Maria and Janet for helping record our service this Sunday
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New 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: 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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