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.

Worship This Sunday:

Sunday, August 25th

10:00am - Holy Eucharist

BULLETIN

LIVE STREAM

 St. Stephen’s has an in-person worship service every Sunday at 10am. We alternate between Morning Prayer and Holy Eucharist. We are not live-streaming Morning Prayer services at this time. All Holy Eucharist services are live streamed. Links to the bulletin and YouTube video are provided for all Holy Eucharist services.

From the Rector

Dear friends,

This week I had two “Exit Interviews”. One with the St. Stephen’s vestry, and one with St. John’s vestry. These interviews are part of the “Process for Healthy Leave-Taking”, which is an important process – leaving on a good note is a good thing for everyone.



The interviews were more a time of reflection than what we might think of as a formal interview. We named our most challenging times and the learnings that came out of them, what we value about our faith communities, the ways in which we need to be strengthened, what we have learned from one another, what we wish for each other, and more.  It was a chance to talk about the past and look to the future with hope.

Times of transition are stressful and can feel overwhelming because the future is not clear. In the book, “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse” by Charlie Mackesy, the boy says with a big sigh, “We have such a long way to go.” and the horse replies, “Yes, but look how far we’ve come.”

Thinking about past challenges and how we’ve overcome them (with God’s help, for sure) can be a powerful exercise in stirring up hope and strength when we need them most. Give it a try. When has our church been challenged, how did we get through it, and what did we learn?

I am grateful for the challenges we’ve been through in these last few years– because we faced them together with love and grace.   

peace,

 Karen+

Sept 1^st –

Joint Service with St. Stephen’s and St. John’s.

With the wise help of our wardens and planners from St. John’s and St. Stephen’s, we’ve all agreed that our last Sunday service on should be together. There will be a special coffee hour after the service because we know how to do fellowship and it’s a perfect time to do so! 

Goodbyes are rarely easy, but they are important. We Episcopalians are good at liturgy and we have a beautiful service for the leave-taking of a priest. Bishop Lucinda will preside this special service. Please mark you calendar!

The Ending of a Pastoral Relationship and

Leave-taking from the Congregations

A joint service for St. John the Divine

and

St. Stephen’s in-the-Field.

September 3^rd, 2024

4:00pm

(at St. Stephen’s)

There will be a casual reception of sandwiches, chips, and drinks following the service.

UPCOMING EVENTS

September 1^st 

Our joint service at St. John’s will have a taco bar afterwards. This will be Rev Karen’s last service she will preside over with us.

Tuesday, September 3^{rd at 4:00pm} 

A second joint service at St. Stephen’s. The Bishop will be with us. Togo’s sandwiches will be served after the service.

Hope you can join us as we send Karen off to do good things.

September 8^th

^Canon Martha Korienek will preside Holy Eucharist at St. Stephen’s with a Q&A about next steps during coffee hour.

Saturday, October 19th:

Harvest Festival at St. Stephens

More information to come...

COFFEE HOUR SIGN-UP SHEET

Diocesan Newsletter



Read about what’s going on in the diocese! Click below to subscribe to the diocesan newsletter that is emailed every two weeks.

Help with Wildfires in Northern California

The Park Fire near Chico is threatening many parishioners in our sister diocese of Northern California. It has grown to 393,012 acres and is only 18% contained. It is the fifth-largest wildfire in California history.

Many feel called to help those who are displaced by disaster. The primary need of people who are evacuated is money, allowing them to eat, travel to safety, settle down where it is safe and comfortable, and contact loved ones. Please prayerfully consider donating to the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California Disaster Resilience Fund if you are able. 100% of your donations go to help those in need. Click HERE to donate.

Presiding Bishop Elect prioritizes

Creation Care from the start . . .

The title of the recent Episcopal News Service (ENS) article reads:

"Presiding bishop-elect to forego installation at National Cathedral; scaled-back event to be held at church’s New York headquarters."

Read the full article HERE.

A Prayer in Times of Transition . . .

Assist us, Lord, in living hopefully into the future. In the face of change, help us to set unnecessary fears aside and to recognize our potential for creative response. Help us to develop a reasonable optimism when confronted by “the new” and to guard against our own defensiveness. Be with us as we remember and celebrate former times, and keep us from unreasonable yearning for them, which takes us from the work you have set before us in our time. All this we ask in the name of your Child, our Savior, Jesus Christ.



Amen.

A prayer for peace in the Middle East

God of mercy and compassion, of grace and reconciliation, pour your power upon all your children in the Middle East: Jews, Muslims and Christians, Palestinians and Israelis. Let hatred be turned into love, fear to trust, despair to hope, oppression to freedom, occupation to liberation, that violent encounters may be replaced by loving embraces, and peace and justice could be experienced by all. Amen.

(by The Reverend Said Ailabouni Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Chicago, IL.) 

You can help . . .

If you are interested in making donations to help with the relief efforts in Israel/Palestine, here are the links that were included in Bishop Lucinda's letter:

https://j-diocese.org/wordpress/

https://realepiscopal.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=99ebbaf4cee8d012c9edafe60&id=d91c439a3d&e=bcc1702497

Join Education For Ministry - EfM

Please consider joining EfM! Education for Ministry (EfM) is a life-changing and unique college-level program in theological education based on small-group study and practice. Weekly seminars are designed to prepare lay persons to live out by word and deed the promises made at baptism: to love God, serve Christ, and proclaim the Gospel. EfM seminars take place online during the pandemic. 

More about EfM:https://theology.sewanee.edu/education-for-ministry/

If you are interested in joining EfM, please contact the ECR Diocesan Coordinator, Katy Dickinson: katy.dickinson@gmail.com

Wednesday Book Group

Weekly Wednesday Bible Study

 11:00am, at St. John’s 

When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Rabbi Laureate Harold Kushner

This classic treatise of trying to understand personal tragedy was published in 1981. Over 4 million copies of this book have sold, and it’s been translated into at least 12 languages! The author was born April 3, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York, and he passed away at 88 in hospice care on April 28, 2023.

Updates and opportunities!

We have space available to rent. If you know of any non-profit agencies or schools that need a space, let them know that St. Stephen’s has space. 



While it’s nice to have the flexibility to use the space ourselves, we need the income and so hope to find a new renter. 

Our church, parish hall, and our beautiful grounds, including the labyrinth are all great venues like for a variety of special events like receptions, birthday parties, quinceaneras, etc. Please encourage friends to consider St. Stephen’s as a venue for their special event!  

To reserve a space or ask question, contact the office, office@ssitf.org or click on the link on our website https://www.ssitf.org/facility-rentals. 

Spread the word and pray for St. Stephen’s!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

All Services begin at 10:00am, unless otherwise noted.

• Sunday, September 1st, Joint Service at St. John's
• Tuesday, September 3rd, Joint Service at St. Stephen's
• Sunday, September 8th, Holy Eucharist
• Sunday, September 15th, Morning Prayer
• Sunday, September 22nd, Holy Eucharist
• Sunday, September 29th, Morning Prayer

Kudos:

• Rob for cleaning the spiders and spiderwebs from the bathrooms and office area.
• Catherine L. and gardeners for clearing out the sheds.
• Our vestry for making sure that things are running smoothly.

Contact Information for Rev. Karen.

Please use this new number to contact Rev. Karen for calls or texts:

408-781-1826

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.

Editor's Note  

Have an announcement?

Please send any announcements or articles you want to have included, to: kristenvdm@yahoo.com, by Thursday, 10am each week. 

Kristen van der Molen