St. Stephen's Weekly Touchstone
The First Sunday of Advent    
November 30, 2014 

ANNUAL OUTREACH DECISIONS:



Our Outreach Committee met last Sunday to make decisions on distributions for 2014. The money distributed is proceeds from Treasures Thrift Shop. The Outreach policy for the past few years has been to focus on fewer but larger donations to local charities, usually ones with no established fundraising staff. This year we also took into account aligning our giving with supporting our parishioners' interests.

 

We spend a small amount supporting Chiro Mission, the Junior League of Westchester Holiday Sharing Drive and College Care packages. After those expenses, the donations will be given as follows:

 

  • The Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry:  25%.  St. Stephen's is one of 12 founding congregations supporting our local needy population with weekly food distribution. 
  • Fessenden House:  20%.  A residential home for men recovering from addiction, founded by Episcopal brothers who live in the home with the residents, Fessenden House achieves a high success rate in helping the men return to the world clean and sober.
  • Biliary Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan Kettering:  15%. Biliary cancers are rare and research isn't well funded, so the best avenue is to donate to Memorial Sloan Kettering, the oldest and largest cancer center in the world, and restrict the funds to biliary cancer research.
  • Friends of Karen: 15%.  Founded in Westchester, this organization provides financial, emotional and advocacy support for families in the area coping with the impact of a child's life threatening illness.
  • Grace Church Community Center:  10%. This White Plains center provides hot meals, clothing, counseling and emergency services to the homeless and disadvantaged, as well as health care for seniors and the disabled.
  • Canines for Combat Veterans:  10%. This organization places trained dogs with disabled combat veterans to assist them in gaining independence.
  • Incarnation Camp:  5%. This Episcopal camp is the oldest coed camp in the country, an affordable summer camp with a diverse population.

We thank our Outreach Committee for their thoughtful decisions, and we especially thank our Treasures volunteers for dedicating the many hours of work that yield these funds for outreach.


 

  
Weekly Images:
   

 
Members of our Youth Group helped prepare 300 bags of Thanksgiving supplies for the Food Pantry.
 

 

Announcements at St. Stephen's Church




FROSTY PARADE DAY: Frosty Day, including a villagewide celebration and parade, will take place this Saturday, November 29. 
St. Stephen's will march in the Frosty Parade, gathering behind David Chen's at 4.  We'll be carrying our red banner which hangs in the sanctuary.

We will also hold a bake sale outside of the church, from 4 - 6 pm, to raise funds for biliary cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Please deliver baked goods to the church prior to the 4 to 6 sale. 

Marchers in the parade: We will gather behind David Chen's at 4. St. Stephen's is assigned Position 9.

Contact  Trina Fontaine ([email protected]) and Laura Desmarais ([email protected]) with any questions.    

 

 

 

HOLIDAY SHARING DRIVE:  Thank you to our generous parishioners, who have signed up for all of the items requested in support of the Junior League of Northern Westchester's Holiday Sharing Drive!

We ask that you deliver to St. Stephen's all items purchased by this Sunday morning, November 30th. This early deadline allows the Junior League time to organize the distribution for this huge effort. Feel free to contact Trina Fontaine at [email protected] or 765-0395 with any questions.

 

 

 

 

 

FOOD PANTRY:  The last day that St. Stephen's is assigned to serve at the food pantry this year is Tuesday 2 December from 4:30 to 7 pm at the United Methodist Church in Mount Kisco. Please let Laura Desmarais know if you can join in this essential ministry by emailing her at [email protected].  

 



Weekly Readings

First Reading:  Isaiah 64: 1-9
Second Reading:  1 Corinthians 1: 3-9     
Gospel:  Mark 13: 24-37



Sunday Servers
 
Ushers:  Trina Fontaine and Charity Lunder        
Acolyte:  Charlie Hoyt
Chalicist:  Rich Fontaine             
Reader First Lesson:  Nat Hoyt         
Reader Second Lesson:  Don Gregg               
Altar Guild:  Shirley Kaiser    
Flower Guild:  Sarah Hoyt          
Coffee Hour:  Johnson 
 


Our Sunday service is at 10:00 am.
Our Saturday evening service is held at 5:30 pm.
More information can be found at our website:

 

For any questions or needs, you can contact the church office

at 914-273-3812 or [email protected]

Office hours: Tuesday & Thursday 9 to 2:30.