PARISH NOTES
Sunday 17 September 2017
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| Icon of the Patriarch Joseph |
FROM THE RECTOR
Forgiveness is one of the most challenging demands of the Christian life. How do we overcome the instinct to seek retribution for injuries suffered? In this Sunday's Old Testament reading the Patriarch Joseph forgives his brothers who sold him into slavery in Egypt many years before. In the Gospel Jesus tells Peter that he must be willing to forgive "not seven times, but seventy times seven," and then tells the parable of the Unforgiving Servant as a warning against failure to forgive. Please join as at Mass this Sunday as we explore this theme together.
-- Fr. John D. Alexander
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 19, Year A
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Choir Season – begins on Sunday 1 October with the Feast of the Dedication. Brochures listing the music of the 2017-2018 Choir Season were mailed out this past week. Extra copies are available in the narthex. Please take and distribute them freely.
Hurricane Harvey and Irma Relief – to contribute to the Episcopal Church's relief operations on the Texas/Louisiana Gulf Coast and in Florida, we are invited to donate directly online via the Episcopal Relief and Development by following this link. Alternatively, checks may be written payable to "Episcopal Charities Fund of RI" with "Hurricane Harvey Relief" or “Hurricane Irma Relief” in the memo line and mailed to Episcopal Charities, 275 North Main Street, Providence, RI 02903. Thank you for your generosity in helping those afflicted.
Epiphany Soup Kitchen (ESK) Fundraiser – a gathering to generate publicity for ESK and raise funds towards purchase of a new freezer will be held at the Portuguese-American Social Club, 32 Sheldon Street, Providence, Thursday 28 September from 6 pm to 8 pm. The event includes appetizers and cash bar. Tickets are $20 and are available today from Susan Brazil or Bruce Lennihan.
Nave Flooring Project – We are pleased to announce that over the coming few months the entire tile floor under the pews will be covered over with a layer of birch paneling that will vastly improve the church's appearance and create a smooth surface underfoot. This project will not impact our Sunday worship schedule; but please exercise all due care and avoid any areas that have been cordoned off for this construction.
New Lights – Meanwhile, overhead, you may notice new lights shining in the hanging lanterns in the nave. These LED bulbs give increased light at greatly reduced energy usage and cost. We hope they make an improvement.
FOR YOUR PRAYERS
Prayers have been requested for: Norman, Shannah, Sister Carolyn, William, Gerald, Hannah, Kaitlyn, Mary, Gus, Leonard, Harrington, Joan, Robert, Katherine, Sally, Sandy, John, Ed, Virginia, Kiersten, Beverly, Deborah, Angela, Bobby, Douglas, Beverly, Carlos, Rhoda, William, and James.
Birthdays: Dolores Bliss (Friday 9/22)
The faithful departed: Year’s Mind: Hana Widmer (21 September 2010) and June M. Gaudet (23 September 2000); Recently Departed: Derek Hall, Phebe E.A. Jacobs, and Stephen Powers, Priest.
Anglican and Diocesan Cycles of Prayer – In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, please pray for the Diocese of Sodor & Man (York, England): The Rt Revd Peter Eagles; and in the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer, please pray for the people and clergy of Sts. Matthew and Mark, Barrington and of St. Matthew's, Jamestown.
THE SUNDAY ROTA
Acolytes – MC S Brazil; Thurifer L Verdelotti; Torches G Benziger, V Johnson
Lector – M Johnson
Ushers – Phoebe Pettingell and Zac Painter
Coffee Hour – Modu and Family
THIS WEEK AT S. STEPHEN’S
EXTRA-PAROCHIAL EVENTS HOSTED AT S. STEPHEN’S
Saturday 23 September
Epiphany Soup Kitchen 2:30 pm
LITURGICAL CALENDAR & SERVICE SCHEDULE
Sunday 17 September
FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (G)
Morning Prayer & Low Mass 8:00 am
Sung Mass 10:00 am
Monday 18 September
Edward Bouverie Pusey, Priest, Tractarian, 1882 (G or W)
Evening Prayer 5:30 pm
Low Mass 6:00 pm
Tuesday 19 September
Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury, 690 (G or W)
Noonday Prayer 12:00 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm
Wednesday 20 September
John Coleridge Patteson, First Bishop of Melanesia, and Companions, Martyrs, 1871 (G or R)
Evening Prayer 5:30 pm
Low Mass 6:00 pm
Thursday 21 September
SAINT MATTHEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST (R)
Noonday Prayer 12 noon
Low Mass 12:10 PM
Friday 22 September
FERIA (G)
Noonday Prayer 12 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm
Saturday 23 September
Linus, Pope, c. 78 (G or W)
Morning Prayer 9:30 am
Low Mass 10:00 am
Sunday 24 September
SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (G)
Morning Prayer & Low Mass 8:00 am
Sung Mass 10:00 am
NEXT SUNDAY'S READINGS (24 September)
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 20, Year A
