December 21, 2022 Highlights Newsletter

December 21, 2022

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 $77,000 in pledges, which is about $53,000 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...

GREENING & DECORATING OF ST. STEPHEN'S CHURCH

Please come to Church on Friday, December 23rd at 10:00am to help "green" and decorate our Church for Christmas. Rev. Paula and Julia will be here in addition to our large order of poinsettias. Any and all assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Please join us on Sunday, December 25th for our

10:00am Worship Service.

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 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.

DECEMBER

DEC 21

Longest Night

6pm - Coalition of Religious Leaders' Interfaith Service

7:30pm - Longest Night Service

DEC 24

Christmas Eve

5pm - Family Service

9pm - Candlelight Service

DEC 25

Christmas Day

10am - Sunday Worship

1pm - AA Meeting

DEC 26

7:30pm - MA Meeting

OFFICE HOURS

Tuesday - Friday

9:00am to 5:00pm

OFFICE CLOSED

December 27

JANUARY

JAN 1

8am - Sunday Worship

10am - Sunday Worship

1pm - AA Meeting

JAN 2

7pm - Small Group Summit

7:30pm - MA Meeting

JAN 5

9am - Interfaith Bible Hour

JAN 8

8am - Sunday Worship

10am - Second Sunday Intergenerational Worship

11:30am - Reading with the Rector

11:30am - Youth Group

1pm - AA Meeting

JAN 9

7:30pm - MA Meeting

JAN 10

7pm - Monthly Women's Lectionary Discussion

JAN 15

8am - Sunday Worship

10am - Sunday Worship

11:30am - Vestry Meeting

1pm - AA Meeting

JAN 16

7:30pm - MA Meeting

JAN 18

7:30pm - Finance Committee Meeting

JAN 19

7pm - Preschool Committee Meeting

JAN 22

8am - Sunday Worship

10am - Sunday Worship

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

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

Other Happenings...

INTERFAITH BIBLE HOUR

NEW: Interfaith Bible Hour is moving to THURSDAYS starting in January!

Interfaith Bible Hour will continue gathering virtually on the first THURSDAY of the month at 9:00am with our friends from Christ Church in Short Hills and Congregation B'nai Jeshurun.

Please feel free to join us on Thursday, January 5th at 9:00am even if you haven't before. We will be reading 1 Samuel this year.

Join us via Zoom here.

The password is SSM119.

The meeting ID is 865 4375 6895.

Please email Rev. Paula at rector@ststephensmillburn.org before 8:00am Friday morning for the pdf translation.

READING WITH THE RECTOR

Sunday, January 8th

11:30am - 1:00pm

We will be discussing:

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

The Bluest Eye is Toni Morrison's first novel, a book heralded for its richness of language and boldness of vision. Set in the author's girlhood hometown of Lorain Ohio, it tells the story of black, eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as beautiful as beloved as all the blond, blue-eyed children in America. In the autumn of 1941, the year the marigold in the Breedloves' garden do not bloom. Pecola's life does change—in painful, devastating ways. With its vivid evocation of the feat and loneliness at the heart of a child's yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment,

The Bluest Eye remains one of

Toni Morrison's most powerful, unforgettable novels—and a significant work of American fiction.

MONTHLY WOMEN'S LECTIONARY DISCUSSION

We have begun using the new lectionary, A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church by renowned Hebrew scholar and womanist theologian, Dr. Wilda Gafney this Sunday.

Building upon the conversations that we started at the beginning of last Advent, we will meet every month, on the second Tuesday from 7:00-8:00pm, to have a Monthly Women's Lectionary Discussion.

We'll be meeting in-person and via Zoom on Tuesday, January 10 at 7pm:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84131953178?pwd=RkNMUWEyaXJQTjFoY0ZRbUxLd0hmUT09

Meeting ID: 841 3195 3178

Passcode: SSM119

Evelyn Underhill Region

Advent through Epiphany

As we did last year, we will be joining our siblings in the Evelyn Underhill Region for Advent observations, with weekly videos and an Epiphany party at Calvary, Summit.

Each week, there will be a short video from the clergy in the Evelyn Underhill Regional Ministry Network introducing the themes for the week. Here is the week four video: https://youtu.be/am-1MTTFCbQ

We will also be offering a video Advent calendar from December 1st thru Christmas morning. Several members of the parish will join Rev. Paula in reading from All Creation Waits: The Advent Mystery of New Beginnings by Gayle Boss. We will hear the ancient wisdom of Advent through Boss' reflections on how wild animals adapt to darkness and cold. A link to these videos will be sent out separately in December.

EPIPHANY PARTY

Friday, January 6th

6:30-8:30pm

Calvary Episcopal Church

31 Woodland Avenue

Summit, New Jersey

Everyone is Welcome.

Light Refreshments and Drinks will be provided.

Activities for the Whole Family.

From Bishop Hughes & The Episcopal Church

THE BISHOP'S VLOG

NEW: Cherishing the gift of relationships - 12/7/22

"Every Sunday when I go to church, one of the first things I say as I open the service is, what a joy it is to be together face to face," says Bishop Hughes, reflecting on the past two-plus years when COVID made gathering difficult or impossible. This Advent is especially joyful because our gatherings are starting be restored.

And so, she urges us to cherish the gift of relationships, and spend some time discerning how to take care of them going forward.

NEW: The Voice Online Link - 12/7/22

DIOCESAN E-NEWSLETTERS

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

Bishop’s Appeal: It’s Alleluia Fund Time!

As we approach Christmas and the end of the calendar year, we are reminded of God’s love and generosity. How can we share this generosity with others? A wonderful way is to join Episcopalians throughout the Diocese of Newark in making a financial gift to the Alleluia Fund for Outreach. The Alleluia Fund helps support vitally important ministries by providing financial resources to non-profit partners providing food, shelter, education and support for special ministries across the diocese and beyond.

To donate to this year’s Alleluia Fund, please send a check made payable to the Diocese of Newark and mail it to:

Diocese of Newark – Alleluia Fund

31 Mulberry Street

Newark, NJ 07102

You can also make a gift online here: https://dioceseofnewark.org/giving/alleluia

Thank you for your generous support of the Alleluia Fund!

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

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

December 25, 2022

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.

You can access Tithe.ly here:

https://tithe.ly/give?c=762938

Be sure "St. Stephen's Church Millburn" appears at the top of the window, select the appropriate fund allocation in the drop-down menu, and fill in all other information as instructed.

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.