Blessed to Be a Blessing

Welcome back from your summer, St. Stephen's Family! We look forward to another year filled with spiritual grace, fellowship, and loving outreach to our neighbors near and far. We have a lot of new folks attending St. Stephen's. Be sure to greet them, ask them to share their stories, and share yours with them. Remember to wear your name tags,  

or sign up for one.

We Episcopalians say that Stewardship is "Everything I am and everything I have, after I say, 'I believe, Lord." This year's Stewardship theme is "Blessed to Be a Blessing," and the Lectionary's Gospel readings for the Sundays from October 7 through November 11 are from the Gospel of Mark. We will explore together, through the words of guest preachers and through Bible Study between our two services, how God blesses us  

and how we can be a blessing to others.

Please mark your calendars to come to the 9:10-9:50am Bible Studies beginning on October 7 and enrich your understanding of Mark's Gospel. The Gospel Readings will be:

           Sunday, October 7              Mark 10:2-16

            Sunday, October 14             Mark 10:17-31

            Sunday, October 21             Mark 10:35-45

            Sunday, October 28             Mark 10:46-52

            Sunday, November 4            Mark 12:28-34

            Sunday, November 11          Mark 12:38-44

God's initiative is always to bless, and that blessing is never earned, it is freely given. Christians primarily know the blessing of God's grace in the gift of our baptism. The Book of Common Prayer tells us that in our baptism the bond that is established cannot be dissolved. We share the same blessing given to Jesus in his baptism: "This is my beloved, in you I'm well pleased." By virtue of our baptism,  

we are blessed to be a blessing.

God blesses what God creates. As the Book of Genesis reminds us, the recital of God's blessing is infused into the created order. Each day of the creation story ends with the refrain: it is good, it is good, it is good. We, too, are part and parcel of the created order, each of us designed for goodness and blessedness. The Hebrew word for blessing is barak, which means "the life force of creation itself," says theologian Walter Brueggemann. Through God's blessing, all of creation is destined for abundant well-being. Through God's blessing, there is always enough.

We, in turn, bless God by offering praise and thanksgiving for the goodness of gifts given. To worship God is to offer something of value. We offer praise and thanksgiving not only with our lips, but with our lives. The annual pledge campaign can be an opportunity to bless God and bless the community from the offerings of the labor of our lives. Through our commitment to proportional giving, we offer a pledge of thanksgiving for all we have received and for all we will become as  

we grow into the image of Christ. 

CHRISTIAN FORMATION CHALLENGE 2012-13

Welcome Back to Fall!

The Sunday School is in desperate need of volunteers for the 2012-13 school year.  

Last year, we had only three volunteers to fill the position of at least ten committed members that are needed to make a good program for our children, the future of our church. If you can remember, we stopped classes in April because neither Kim nor I could do classes at the end of the year, and we had no interest whatsoever, all year, from other people in the congregation. We haven't had VBS in two years!!!

If each member of St. Stephen's who is able to assist volunteers to help out for ONE SUNDAY between September and May, we would have a great program that the children would want to attend on a regular basis. Not all volunteers need to have face to face contact with the children, so talk with me and attend meetings to get a feel for what you can do to help. We need people who have either taught before, have had children of their own, possess a creative talent or passion in teaching our children in becoming Christians, have an interest in being a role model for our younger generation, etc. I am always open to suggestions, and if someone just wants to volunteer for a certain age group for the entire year, that is definitely welcome! Everyone is busy, and everyone spreads themselves thin at church, with most people I know volunteering in at least three different aspects of our community. But, Christian Formation is the future of our church and should be in the forefront of what we are all about.

I am proposing a CHALLENGE TO THE CONGREGATION - GET INVOLVED!!! There will be a sign up in the narthex for the entire year. Pick a weekend that works for you - one in which you are not so busy with other things at church, or one where you will be there anyway so why not teach/assist. Whatever works for YOU.

If the sign ups are not filled in by the first of the month, Christian Formation

CLASSES WILL NOT BE TAKING PLACE THAT MONTH!

So, let's keep the classes going.

Classes will start a little later this year, to give us time to get momentum behind us. We will have a kick-off party on Sunday, September 16th after the 8:00 service. Everyone can bring some brunch food to share and we will have lots of games and activities available for all people that are young at heart. This will be a chance to get to know the teachers and volunteers in the program, as well as to ask questions and sign up.

Hope to see you there!

Tara-lyn Towers - Christian Formation Director

The Witness  

SUBMIT:  You can submit Witness articles by sending an email to Mary Ann Ryan at witness@ststephenslongmont.org or ryanmarya@gmail.com

OR by leaving the article in "The Witness" mail box in the church office 

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