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February 20, 2013
The e-pistle
Your Weekly News Update from St. Stephen's
Join Our Mailing List
In This Issue
Another Art Show!
Invest 2 for Lent Starts Sunday
Lent Madness
Lenten Potluck Series
Youth Notes
Brief Meditations on Wednesdays
Swords Into Plowshares
The Boy Scouts Are Coming
Choral Festival Saturday
Musical Notes
Event Calendar
Service Times
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To The People of St. Stephen's

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Friends,    

 

In the following article you will find heartfelt thanks for all you did to help make our 24th annual Art Show a success.  I'd like to add the thoughts I shared in my new blog this past Sunday:

 

"This weekend is special to us at St. Stephen's.  Our Art Show is one of the things that defines us as a community.  Yes, it is a fund-raiser for the parish, but far beyond that it strengthens our life as a community.  Almost everyone in the parish gets involved (Mrs. Schuck, at almost 110 years old, gets a pass).  From the kids selling sodas to help raise money for their Urban Adventure to the dedicated onion cutters, beer hawkers, ice runners, and hand stampers, we are all pulling together to work for something bigger than just ourselves.  And no matter heat/humidity or chill/wind (as it is today) we have fun in the process.

 

"But the heart of the Art Show for me is what we celebrated at today's Mass:  God is the Creator.  God has created us in the divine image.  When we create we are living into our God-given image in the most profound way.  Art is in the Heart is the motto of our Art Show; when we create just for the sheer joy of creating our hearts beat in rhythm with the heart of God."

 

Thank you everyone, from the bottom of my heart for all that you continue to do for our amazing community! 

 

In Christ's Love,  

 

Pastor Willie Allen-Faiella                                                                                       

Another St. Stephen's Art Show
Presented by Our Church Community

To the many volunteers who showed up to welcome visitors or serve beer or flip burgers or bake scones over the weekend in spite of rain and/or cold, and who represented St. Stephen's with smiles and kind words to our Art Show visitors, our volunteer coordinator Nancy Denton would like to say a big THANK YOU.

To those who came early to answer artists' questions and bring out breakfast, or who stayed late to balance books and clean up, THANK YOU.  To all who gave up all or part of their weekend to be part of our joint St. Stephen's effort THANK YOU so much. 

Without our Art Show to call forth all our best efforts, our St. Stephen's community would be of a different quality. It's important to those who volunteer, who share tears over cutting onions and cooperate to guide a truck through a tight spot, as much as it is to the artists and art show visitors who see us working together. It's the way in which we ourselves grow closer, develop relationships and knit together the fabric of the community we call St. Stephen's.
 

If you would like to see the first dozen pictures from our art show showing US IN ACTION, click here.  Click on an image to enlarge it.

Invest 2 for Lent Starts Sunday 
Bishop Schofield to Lead

This coming Sunday, February 24, 2013, we will welcome the Rt. Rev. Calvin O. Schofield, Bishop of Southeast Florida, retired, who will be the lead presenter in our Sunday morning Lenten adult education series, "Faithful Living, Faithful Dying." Invest II takes place in the Great Hall at 9:30 am. Bishop Schofield will speak about an Episcopal understand of life and death.  All adults are welcome.

Lent Madness
And Saintly Shenanigans

There seems to be a little confusion about this!  "Lent Madness" is a way to enjoy a Lenten discipline in the comfort of your own home and learn  about some of our saints while doing so.  It gets its name from "March Madness" that annual basketball ritual.  Lent Madness is not a Day School service project or a collection being taken up by our Sunday School kids.  The poster at the back of the church shows which 32 saints are in contention for this year's "Golden Halo."  Who will it be this year?  To join in the Lent Madness learning and fun click here,

To learn more about the saints, you can follow Pastor Willie's new blog, Saintly Shenanigans, by clicking here

Encountering Our Scripture
"Who Says So?" - A Lenten Potluck Series

"Who Says So?"  Encountering Our Scripture will be the topic of a five-week Wednesday evening potluck series starting February 27. All sessions will be held in the Parish Center. The potluck supper will start at 6:30 pm and the program will start at 7 pm.  Bring your favorite dish to share!

Please let us  know if you need child care.

 

Youth Notes

Lenten Offering to Establish Sunday School in the DR 

 

This Lent the children of St. Stephen's will have the opportunity to contribute to starting a Sunday School at Divina Providencia, the mission church in the Dominican Republic where we will be going on mission this coming summer.  If your child has not received a Hope Chest and a Lenten Giving Calendar, contact Rev"d Jo-Ann.  Offerings may be returned on Easter Day, March 31.

 

Communion Instruction for Children

 

The Early Communion Class for SSEC and SSEDS children in second grade or older will begin on Friday, February 22, 4 pm, in the parish center.  Please pick up a registration form from Father Mike or Rev'd Jo-Ann if you will be bringing your children.  Parents are invited to attend with their children but are not required to do so. Questions?  Contact Father Mike or Rev'd Jo-Ann.  

 

Middle School Youth Group

 

Sunday, February 24 will be an important day for the St. Stephen's Middle School Youth Group.  During the 10:30 am Mass our Middle Schoolers will celebrate their Rite 13 liturgy.  

 

This is an important first step as these 6th, 7th, and 8th graders leave childhood and move through adolescence to adulthood.  Following the Mass the parents of the middle schoolers invite the congregation to a reception on the
parish center patio in honor of the youth.  The middle schoolers are Madison Conroy, Paula Coraspe, Daniel Coulombe, Natalia Gagliano, Camryn McGuinness, Rebecca Rauch-Thane, and Zachary Roncallo.


Congratulations, kids, your congregation is proud of you!  

 

T-Shirts On Sale, Profits to Benefit Our Youth 

 

St. Stephen's T-shirts are on sale again.  The 100% cotton shirts are red with white lettering and feature our Heart of the Grove tree design on both front and back. They are available in both children's and adult sizes. If you would like one the cost is $15.00.  Profits benefit the St. Stephen's youth group.  Contact Rev'd Jo-Ann at [email protected] or 305-537-1297.  

Come to Noon Mass on Wednesdays During Lent
Brief Meditations on "The Living Water Within Us"

Fr. Stowe At the noonday Mass on Wednesdays during Lent, hear words from scripture, pray for your own needs and those of others, receive laying-on-of-hands, join in Holy Communion, and sit quietly together for a few moments before the blessing and dismissal to listen to very brief meditations by Father Stowe on "The Living Water Within Us."

For a listing of other Lent and Holy Week services, please see the schedule at the end of this e-pistle.

"Swords Into Plowshares" on March 30 
Partnering with Miami Police

 

St. Stephen's is proud, in partnership with the Miami Police, to offer members of the wider community an opportunity to turn in firearms they no longer wish to own.  This is a voluntary, anonymous event, no questions asked. Our first buy-back event will take place on Holy Saturday. 

 

Please pick up a few postcards (shown above) from the church office or the back of the church to distribute throughout the community.  If you would like to help support this effort financially please contact Pastor Willie or call the parish office (305-448-2601). 

 

"...they shall beat their plowshares into swords and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not rise up against nation neither shall they study war any more"

(Isaiah 2:4).  

 

The Boy Scouts are Coming, The Boy Scouts are Coming!
St. Stephen's to Host 300-Plus Scouts

On Saturday, February 23, at 10:30 am, St. Stephen's will host 300-400 Miami Dade Boy Scouts and their families and friends for a stop on their annual Ten Commandments Hike. Rev'd Jo-Ann will greet the group and speak on commandment number five - Honor Your Father and Mother.  Members of the congregation are cordially welcome.

Tickets on Sale Now for Saturday's Choral Festival

 

The Miami Gay Men's Chorus Presents

 

The Fourth Annual MGMC Choral Festival

Saturday, February 23rd at 7 PM 

North Bay Shore Drive at NE 16th St in Miami

This year's performers include
The Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus
The Young Women's Preparatory Academy's Monarch Chorale The Miamians
The Chancel Choir of Coral Gables Congregational United Church of Christ
Eight Plus Vocal Ensemble
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Miami Choir
The Miami Gay Men's Chorus
Insignia
and a grand finale with the massed choirs.
  
Tickets at the door - $25.00*
Tickets online until noon on Saturday at @http://www.miamigaychorus.org.  *Before noon, use the promotional code MGMC online to receive a $10 discount on the door ticket price.

 

                    Musical Notes!  


Check Out These Upcoming Events Featuring St. Stephen's Musicians

TOMORROW:
Thursday, February 21, at 7:30 pm
Choral Studies
Choral Concert featuring music by American composers
with Dr. Dan Hardin, organ, and the FIU Brass Ensemble
featuring Vindhya Khare (St. Stephen's soprano) and Rohan Smith (St. Stephen's bass)
Probable ticket prices $10, $15
 
THEN....at the Opera
Sat/Sun, March 1 & 2, at 7:30 pm
FIU Opera Theater
"Agrippina" by G.F. Handel
Rohan will perform on both dates. Vindhya's performance will be on March 2.
Probable ticket prices $10, $15

AND.... AFTER EASTER.... FREE!
Monday, April 22, 7:30 PM
Dr. Dan Hardin plays the magnificent Wertheim Concert Hall Schantz organ in concert.
Works by Edward Elgar, J. S. Bach, Louis Vierne and Julius Reubke (including his turbulent Sonata on the 94th Psalm), and Petr Eben (if they clap enough).
FREE    FREE    FREE  FREE

All performances are at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center on the FIU Campus.

Upcoming Events
Don't Forget These Dates     

 

reminder February 21 - Choral concert at FIU at 7:30 pm featuring St. Stephen's musicians   

 

February 22 - Communion instruction for children, 4 pm in the Parish Center 

 

February 23 - The Boy Scouts Are Coming at 10:30 am

 

Fourth Annual MGMC Choral Festival at Trinity Cathedral at 7 pm

 

February 24 - Invest 2 for Lent starts at 9:30 am  

 

Rite 13 Liturgy at the 10:30 am Mass, reception following

 

February 27 - First potluck of the Lenten Potluck Series at 7 pm in the Parish Center 


March 1,2 -
FIU Opera Theater at 7:30 pm featuring St. Stephen's musicians

March 3 - Gifford Lane Art Stroll, noon to 5 pm

March 9 - St. Patrick's Day Party, 5:30 pm

March 16 - School and Home Gala at 7 pm

March 17 - ECW meeting in the Parish Center after the 10:30 am Mass

March 24  - Palm Sunday:
                 8:00 Low mass and palms
                10: Blessing of palms and procession from the                            Barnacle
                 10:30 High mass and reading of Passion Narrative

See below for Holy Week services

March 30
- Swords Into Plowshares Gun Buyback, 9 am to 1 pm

April 22 - Organ Concert at FIU featuring Dr. Dan Hardin, 7:30 pm

At St. Stephen's All Are Welcome 

 
Sundays 
Said Mass at 8 am
Sung Mass with choir at 10:30 am,
with child care for children under 3
and Children's Chapel for children 7 and under  
Wednesdays
Healing Mass at noon in the side chapel.

Holy Week Services

Palm Sunday, March 24
10 am Procession from the Barnacle on Main Highway
10:30 am Mass in the Church

Wednesday, March 26
7 pm Stations of the Cross

Maundy Thursday, March 28
7 pm Foot Washing and Stripping of the Altar
and
Vigil in the Garden
from the conclusion of the Maundy Thursday service
until the noon Good Friday service

Good Friday, March 29
Noon Service with Communion from the Reserved Sacrament

The Great Vigil of Easter, March 30
7 pm, with Holy Baptism

Easter Day, March 31
8 am and 10:30 am Mass
Easter Egg Hunt for Children
 
 2750 McFarlane Road
Just west of Peacock Park
Coconut Grove
305.448.2601

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 to 5