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December 10, 2014
The e-pistle
Your Weekly News Update from St. Stephen's
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In This Issue
Angel Tree gifts due Sunday
Christmas Trees on sale
Order Christmas flowers now
Kids go caroling
Top chef winners
Youth Notes
Casa Valentino Cooking
Christmas Services
Shop the Book Fair
Extra warm clothes needed
Annual reports due soon
A Tapestry of Christmas
Event Calendar
Service Times
Find us on Facebook
 


To The People of St. Stephen's
Dear Friends,

On Sunday night, as you may have heard, a small window at the back of our church was smashed and someone broke into the church and stole the proceeds from Sunday's Christmas tree sale (totaling over $1200 in cash and checks).  The next day we had to go through the drills of calling the police and crime scene investigators, cancelling the school's pageant rehearsal and after school class, piecing together how it may have happened, etc. 

And dealing with feelings.

My own were a mixture of anger and, well . . . no mixture.  Just pure anger.  In response I posted a terse note on Facebook.

What happened next was astounding.  Compassionate notes from all over the country.  And offers of donationsThe editor of the Coconut Grove Grapevine posted a sympathetic article and people responded to that as well.

Later in the afternoon a mom who had been helping cook for Casa Valentina came into my office with her second-grade son.  "Pastor Willie," she said, "when my son heard what happened he said 'Mommy, I want to help.  Can we give the church some money?'"  We were both a little teary eyed at the spontaneously compassionate instinct of this young boy.

By the end of the day my anger had been transformed into gratitude.  The season of Advent continues to remind me that there is no darkness that cannot be overcome by the light of Christ and his Spirit which abounds all around us.

In Christ's Love,

Pastor Willie 
 
Angel Tree gifts due Sunday!
Take an angel and return a child's gift


Please bring a child's gift for the
St. Stephen's AIDS Ministry's Angel Tree
on Sunday.


If you have taken an angel, please don't forget to bring your gift on Sunday.  If you haven't, here is how you can still participate this year.  
  1. Go shopping and buy a gift for a child of any age.
  2. Bring it unwrapped on Sunday and place it under the tree. We need the gifts unwrapped so parents can pick out a gift for their particular child. 
We also give toiletry items to the adults in this program, so they can have a little something too. If you have small shampoos, lotions, etc., please bring them in a bag and put them under the tree also.

These gifts will be sorted and packaged for delivery to the Food for Life, a subsidiary of Care Resource, providing assistance to those affected by HIV/AIDS in our community.

Many thanks for your help!

 

Christmas trees and wreaths on sale! 
Help make our Christmas Tree Sale a success

Calling all parishioners!  Volunteer to help sell trees.
We need tree handlers and cashiers for all shifts of the joint church and school Christmas Tree Sale.  Please call Alvaro Coraspe at 786.287.4422 OR . . .  

  

Click to View Volunteer Opportunities on VolunteerSpot 

It's time to select your tree!

St. Stephen's Christmas trees are choice Frasier Firs shipped directly to us from North Carolina.  We take very good care of our trees, but the sooner you take yours home and bring it inside, the longer it will last!

Our lot is open weekdays from 4 pm and weekends from 10 am.

Proceeds from the sale of Christmas trees fund the charitable programs of St. Stephen's church and school. 
 
Remembering someone at Christmas?
Order altar flowers now

If you would like to order flowers for the altar on Christmas in honor of a loved one, please order soon by calling Anna Rosas in the parish office at 305.448.2601.

The deadline to place orders is December 19.

Thank you!
 
St. Stephen's children's choir goes caroling
In our Christmas tree lot last Sunday



Thanks to all St. Stephen's carolers for providing Christmas tree shoppers with carols while they shopped last Sunday.  Pictured left to right are Zachary Roncallo, Rene Fonseca, Liam Pafford, Caleb Carlson, Lassha Pafford, Caroline Carlson, Marissa Gagliano, Sophia Jarjour, Karina Holcombe, and our children's choir director,
Analy Mendez. 

Top Chef competition last Saturday
And the winners are . . .

Marissa Gagliano, Caroline Carlson, and Sophia Jarjour were the winning team at our Top Chef competition last Saturday afternoon.  The winning dishes were stuffed chicken thighs, rainbow carrot & spinach salad, and bruschetta.

Congratulations girls!  And many thanks to John and Daisy Holcombe for organizing such a great event, and to Ross Gagliano for jumping in to help as sous chef!

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Pageant rehearsals have started
Children and youth ages three and older are invited to take part in the annual St. Stephen's Christmas Pageant.  Rehearsals started last Sunday and will be held on Sundays, December 14 and 21 at noon in the Great Hall and on Wednesday, December 24, at 2 pm.  The pageant is presented as part of the 4 pm Family Mass on Christmas Eve, December 24.  Parents and grandparents are needed to help with costumes and other behind-the-scenes tasks.  To learn more, contact Chris Faiella at (786)218-1117 or cjfaiella@hotmail.com.

Children and youth Birthday Party for Jesus
All children and youth are invited to a festive birthday party for Jesus on December 21 at 9:30 am.  We will have a pinata and Miss Annie will lead us in singing Christmas carols.  Each child is asked to bring a new, unwrapped gift for a child of the same age.  Presents will be shipped to our partner church, Divina Providencia, in the Dominican Republic in time for their Epiphany celebration.  Gifts should be modest and not require batteries.  Questions?  Contact Rev. Jo-Ann.

Cooking for Casa Valentina
A special outreach from St. Stephen's youth


Youth who participated (clockwise from front left) were Caleb Carlson, Sebastian Lanz, Ana Maria Tovar,
Amelia Fox, Alessandra Lanz,
and Sara Aparicio. 
Not pictured is participant Caroline Carlson.


On Monday, parishioner and school parent Julie Moxley and school parent Claudia Lanz led a group of St. Stephen's children in preparing a meal for Casa Valentina, a program to assist young adults who have aged out of foster care programs.

Our youth prepared spaghetti and meatballs (Dom Lamberti's recipe), spinach salad, mint brownies, and oatmeal cranberry cookies. 

St. Stephen's prepares dinner for 12 Casa Valentina residents the second Tuesday of each month.  Would you, your family, or group like to take a month in 2015?  Contact Julie Moxley at juliemoxley@comcast.net.


 

Shop the Book Fair!
Only a few days left



It's time to get your holiday book purchases at the Bookstore in the Grove.  Your purchase will benefit St. Stephen's Episcopal Day School, now through Sunday.

Please mention the Day School at the checkout counter.

Many thanks, and Merry Reading!

 

Cold weather is coming
Our neighbors need our help!

The St. Stephen's Community Brunch Closet distributes clothing and toiletry items to those in need during our Community Brunch each month. 

The Closet is in need of lady's pants medium and large size, tooth brushes, wash cloths, and for the coming cold weather socks, sweatshirts, jackets and blankets, any size.

They also need two heavy duty rolling clothing racks, single-rod if possible.

 

It's a busy time of year
Please don't forget the Annual Report!

If you head a ministry such as the Prosperity Center, the Sandwich Ministry, the Homeless Assistance Center volunteers, or the Community Brunches, please remember that we will be printing our annual reports in early January for the Annual Meeting on January 18.  Please prepare your statistics (how many meals served, etc.) and anything else you want to tell our parish about your ministry, and get it to Anna in the parish office as soon as possible.

Thank you!
 
A Tapestry of Christmas at St. Thomas
Featuring John Rutters' Gloria



Please join St. Thomas Episcopal parish on December 14 at 6 pm for an evening of Christmas music provided by the Choir of St. Thomas, a brass ensemble from the University of Miami, and the combined Handbell Choirs of St. Thomas, St. Philip's, and Coral Gables Congregation Church. 

This is the first time these three choirs have performed together to offer a beautiful tapestry of music for our community at this FREE Christmas concert.  Don't miss it!

St. Thomas Episcopal Church is located at 5690 North Kendall Drive, Coral Gables.

Upcoming Events
Don't Forget These Dates     

 

reminder

Sunday, December 14 - A Tapestry of Christmas at St. Thomas, 6 pm

Sunday, December 21
- Birthday party for Jesus at 9:30 am

Saturday, January 3 - Rector's open house 
 

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 three
and Children's Chapel for children seven and under
1st & 3rd Sundays
@Our Table, a dinner church 
 at 5:30 pm (child care available)
Parish Center

Christmas Services 
Christmas Eve 
Christmas Pageant at 4 pm 
"Midnight" Mass at 10:30 pm 
Christmas Day 
Low Mass at 9 am 
Christmas 1, December 28  
Lessons and Carols with Eucharist at 10:30 am



Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 to 5.