St. Stephen's Weekly Touchstone   
 
October 4, 2011
 
The Week Leading up to the The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi
Thought of the Week

This Sunday we will be gathering after church for the blessing of the animals. This is great fun.  You've got to come see all the dogs there wagging their tails and all the cats meowing.  We have seen see the little hermit crabs and bright birds.  And plenty of people come who don't have any animals themselves.  It is a great gathering of all of our family members, furry, feathered and otherwise. 

 

This is also an opportunity to look around us.  Creation is amazing and beautiful.  Once we step outside of our day to day daze of keeping our head down and getting things done, we have the opportunity to take a deep breath and see the beauty that engulfs us.  We have a chance to turn our attention to something that St. Francis often articulated in his writings: gratitude.

 

Being reminded that we are ever surrounded by the beauty of creation allows us to be thankful for all the blessings that we have been given.  I believe our pets can be wonderful teachers of recognizing the blessing of each moment. Every time I come home and my dog, Casey, gets up and runs to welcome me home with her tail wagging and her eyes joyful I get a glimpse of the goodness of God.  Sometimes when I am reading or working at home and she is sleeping at my feet, I am reminded to relax and enjoy the moment that God has given me.  Every time she reminds me to feed her dinner (she is uncanny at knowing that it is 7:00) I am reminded what a gift it is to be able to take care of another creature. 

 

These are life lessons that call us to pay attention.  Blessing our animals asks God to open our eyes to all they have to teach us.  It gives us a chance to say thank you for all that we have as we participate in God's creation. 

 

In the observance of St. Francis Day we also take the opportunity to reach out to animals in need at our local shelter, Adopt-A-Dog, who will be joining us Sunday.  They do wonderful work as I can proclaim having found Casey there.  Please remember to bring toys, treats, and old towels and blankets to donate. One of the blessings of this life is being able to help those in need.

 

I hope you can join us in gratitude for all the joys of God's good creation after church this Sunday.

 

See you in Church!

Fr. Josh


 
Picture of the Week
animal blessing
Sophie gets blessed at last year's blessing of the animals
 
Special Meeting with Armonk Square this Thursday Night at 7:30
This Thursday we will be meeting with the developer of Armonk Square.  This meeting will be a chance for church members to ask questions and voice any concerns about the development plans in the center of town.  This is not a public hearing, instead this meeting is only for church members (people to attend St. Stephen's on a regular basis).  We will be meeting in the Bethany Room.  I hope you can join us.
 
Weekly Announcements
  
BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS THIS SUNDAY
This Sunday you are invited to bring the animal members of your family to church.  Blessing of the animals is part of the celebration of the St. Francis day.  You can bring your animals to church, or after church you can go home and bring your animals back.  The blessing will take place after church at about 11:20.  All animals are welcome.
 
WE ARE COLLECTING SUPPLIES FOR ADOPT-A-DOG
As we prepare for The Blessing of the Animals on October 9th, we are collecting supplies for Adopt-A-Dog.  We asked Adopt-A-Dog what they needed most.  The three most needed items are:  Bedding (old towels, blankets, etc) and Treats and Toys for both cats and dogs.  We will have baskets in the back of the Church for any donations you wish to make.
 
ADULT EDUCATION SERIES HAS BEGUN
Stained Glass Does it all:  Stained glass can set a mood. It can tell a story. It can be purely decorative or can be dedicated in someone's honor. There are symbols and there are statements. There are stories and there are themes. Some eras are better than others and some examples are beautiful beyond words. I hope you can join us as we talk about and look at lots of examples. 

 

FRIENDSHIP SUPPER FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30th

Thank you to the Desmarais Family for their gracious hospitality in hosting our Friendship Supper this past Friday evening! A lovely time was had by all. Thanks to Laura Johnson for orchestrating all of our Friendship Suppers. If you would like to host a Friendship Supper in the future, please contact Laura Johnson at ljohnson6@metlife.com.

 

WESTCHESTER INTERFAITH FOOD PANTRY

Thank you to Sheila Varughese for orchestrating the volunteers and to Carolyn Billet, Trina Fontaine, and Tina Wolf who volunteered at the Mt. Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry.

 

YOUTH GROUP EVENT

Please mark your calendars and join us on Saturday, October 22nd. We will be heading up to Mt. Kisco to pick pumpkins and then we will return back to St. Stephen's to carve them and have lunch together. The time for this event will be announced next week.

 

OUTREACH COMMITTEE

The Outreach Committee will be meeting on Sunday, October 23rd, after the 10am service in the Bethany Room.  All are welcome to attend.

  

Weekly Readings


Our first reading of the week will be Galatians 6:14-18

See the reading here:   http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=184750278

 

Our second reading of the week will be Matthew 11:25-30

See the reading here:  http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=184750548

 Sunday Servers


Ushers:  Cecily Stone and Gail Sarfati
Acolyte:  TBA
Chalicist:  Sue Brown
Reader:  Howard Davies
Altar Guild:  Sheila Varughese
Flower Guild:  Gail Sarfati
Coffee Hour:  Varughese
For any questions or needs, you may contact Fr. Josh Condon;  office - 914-273-3812, rectory - 914-273-4570, cell phone - 917-753-1997 or by e-mail:  jcondon.ststephens@gmail.com. You can also contact MaryBeth Weisner in the office at office.ststephens@gmail.com.