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June 8, 2016
The e-pistle
Your Weekly News Update from St. Stephen's
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In This Issue
Our Faith, Our Future
Joint calendar planning meeting
Casa Valentina
A Ramadan Iftar here
Weekday Bible study
Low-stress choir
Children's summer programs
Casserole Brigade
Purchase a memorial brick
E-pistle bimonthly this summer
One service in summer
EpiscoParrot
Event Calendar
Service Times
Find us on Facebook
 
To The People of St. Stephen's 



Dear Friends,
 
In my last e-pistle letter I mentioned that the summer will be a little simpler with Sunday mornings focused entirely on our worship together.  We are blessed to have our volunteer choir during the summer months under the guidance of Scott Bracken-Tripp, accompanied by Edgar Botta (stay tuned for our next e-pistle for a more formal introduction to Edgar).
 
As you have heard, this Sunday is our last 8 a.m. service until the fall.  Beginning June 19th we will have one Sunday morning service at 10:30.  Also, beginning June 19th, we will eliminate one of the readings in response to feedback we received on April 9th's Visioning Day that the service be "tightened up."
 
Also in response to feedback from Visioning Day, beginning June 19th we will be exploring some alternative forms of worship using liturgies found in the companion prayer book Enriching Our Worship.  The language in this authorized Episcopal prayer book seeks to be more inclusive and explores broader images of God.  It is good to become familiar with other ways our church has given us to lean into the liturgy and experience the mystery of the Holy One.  
 
I would love to hear your feedback and reflections on the worship we will experience together this summer!
 
In Christ's Love,

Pastor Willie
 
Help kick off "Our Faith, Our Future 2021"
After church This Sunday!

After church on Sunday, we will gather in the Great Hall for about an hour to take the next step in bringing Our Faith, Our Future into being. Even if you were not able to attend the April 9th Visioning Day, we want you to come to share your ideas, specifically about how you want to be involved in making our plan a reality.  Many good ideas came out of April 9th; this is your opportunity to help transform the ideas into action!
 
Joint calendar planning meeting to be held on Friday
Ministry Leaders: Let us know your plans!

On Friday, our church and school will meet to coordinate calendars for the coming academic and church year.  This is a long overdue and necessary step in the smooth sharing of our common grounds and buildings. 

We are asking that those church ministries needing to plan fundraisers and other events please request the dates, and if possible, alternate dates, of your events for the coming year before Friday.

You may call or email the parish office at 305-448-2601 or parish@sseds.org to request your dates or ask questions.

Please help Casa Valentina's young women
A message from Julie Moxley



As you may know, the second Tuesday of each month St. Stephen's church and school volunteers provide dinner for a group of 12 young women who have aged out of foster care and are participating in Casa Valentina's programming. 

The group has moved to the West Grove, so it is more convenient for some of us.  If you or your group can prepare and deliver dinner one Tuesday, it would be most appreciated!  If you can prepare the meal but not deliver it, I can find another volunteer to deliver.  

The dates help is needed are (all Tuesdays):

June 14 (need someone to prepare and deliver)
August 9
September 13
October 11
November 8
December 13

Please let me know at juliemoxley@comcast.net if you can help.  Thanks!

Join us for a Ramadan Iftar
In the Great Hall on Sunday, June 26, at sunset


Please join us at St. Stephen's for an evening meal that breaks the daily fast during Ramadan.

Iftar is very much a social event, involving family and community members. It is common for people to host others for dinner, or gather as a community for a potluck. It is also common for people to invite and share food with those less fortunate. The spiritual reward for charitable giving is considered to be especially significant during Ramadan.

Our friends from the Atlantic Institute who brought us the Table of Abraham in April will be our hosts for this lovely meal.

Summer Bible study at St. Stephen's
"Lord, teach us to pray"

Jesus told about a woman who leavened a large lump with a pinch of yeast, about a merchant who sold everything for one pearl of great value, and about a man who sold all that he had to buy a field in which he had stumbled across a treasure.  The yeast, the pearl, and the treasure might all be understood as the Lord's Prayer, the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples when they asked him for guidance about prayer.

Rev. Jo-Ann will lead a summer class, "Lord, Teach Us To Pray," on Wednesday mornings from June 29 through August 3.  The class will meet in the Peacock Room, 10 until 11:30 a.m. This study will examine the Lord's Prayer and help us understand the place of prayer in our lives today.  For additional information about this course and to register, please contact Rev. Jo-Ann at 305-537-1297 or jmurphy@sseds.org. (If there is sufficient interest, the course could also be offered on Sunday mornings.)

Why don't you try the low-stress choir?
Just show up at 9:30 on Sunday mornings this summer

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sing in the choir?  Up there in front of the pipes, the music is thrilling - and you can check it out with no stress, no commitment.  Try it once or several times.  There is no pressure to continue, and no weekly rehearsal time other than an hour before church on Sunday mornings.

You don't need any experience singing.  You don't need to be able to read music.  You don't even have to be able to carry a tune.  Just show up, and experience the joy!

"Sing and Rejoice"  
St. Stephen's summer children's program

Every Sunday morning (except July 3 and September 4) Analy Mendez will be leading a program of crafts, Bible stories, games, and music for all St. Stephen's children three and older at 10:30 a.m.  Just drop off your kids at the parish center and expect them to meet you at church in time to receive Holy Communion.

Sunday
School classes will resume September 11.

Casserole Brigade
Our ministry of comfort food

Like to cook?  The St. Stephen's Casserole Brigade, our ministry of comfort food, is looking for additional volunteers.  Members of the Casserole Brigade prepare and deliver home cooked meals to St. Stephen's families who have a serious or joyous pastoral need (chronic illness, birth of a child, family emergency, loss, etc.)  If you'd like to help, please contact junior warden Margaret Long at longmargaret@hotmail.com or (603) 490-6264.  If you call, do please remember that she is currently in a different time zone in which 8 a.m. for us is 5 a.m. for her!

Our Labyrinth will be installed this summer
You can participate by buying a memorial brick

Make your mark on our permanent labyrinth installation as part of the St. Stephen's beautification program. Pricing for individual bricks will start at $150 for the general public and $100 for St. Stephen's members, and proceeds will help pave the way to a beautiful church front and a gift to our Coconut Grove community!

A gift in honor of someone special can provide you a meaningful opportunity to recognize a birthday, wedding, anniversary, birth, retirement or professional achievement, or to honor a departed loved one.

Through our Buy-a-Brick program we are selling engraved bricks to border our Labyrinth Plaza.  To order a brick, complete a Buy-a-Brick form at the rear of the church or click this link to download and print an order form, then return the form to the church with your payment.  Instructions are on the form, but you may call Rev. Jo-Ann at 305-537-1297 or email her at jmurphy@sseds.org to obtain additional information. 

The deadline to order bricks is June 30.

E-pistle is now bimonthly for the summer
Things slow down in summer at St. Stephen's. So do we.

This is a reminder that, as usual, the e-pistle will arrive in your inbox less frequently this summer, while there is less news to share.  E-pistle publication dates through August are June 8, June 22, July 6, July 20, August 3, August 17, August 31, after which weekly publication will resume.

One church service on summer Sundays
Please join us at 10:30 a.m. for Mass starting June 19

Starting June 19, St. Stephen's will be having just one church service on Sunday mornings.  Please join us at 10:30 a.m. for a Mass with music this summer.  The 8 a.m. service will resume again in September.
 
Episcoparrot
Sings to his own drummer



Upcoming Events
Don't Forget These Dates     

reminder
Sunday, June 12 - "Our Faith, Our Future" workshop after the 10:30 a.m. Mass

Sunday, June 26 - Ramadan Iftar at sundown in the Great Hall

Thursday, June 30 - Deadline to order engraved bricks

At St. Stephen's All Are Welcome 
 
Sundays 
Spoken Mass without music at 8 a.m.
(this service is on haitus for the summer) 
  Sung Mass with music at 10:30 a.m.,
with child care for children under three


Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 to 4.