PARISH NOTES

Sunday 24 June 2018

Domenico Ghirlandaio, Birth of Saint John the Baptist (1486-1490)
Fresco, Santa Maria Novella, Florence

FROM THE RECTOR

The Church Calendar marks the quarters of each year with four feast days loosely corresponding to the Winter Solstice (Christmas), the Spring Equinox (Annunciation), the Summer Solstice (Nativity of Saint John the Baptist), and the Autumn Equinox (Saint Michael and All Angels). This tells us something about those figures whom the Church regards as most important in the drama of salvation: Christ, Mary, John the Baptist, and Saint Michael the Archangel. This year the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist - incidentally, Patron of our Diocese's Cathedral - falls on a Sunday, so we are taking advantage of the permission given in the Prayer Book rubrics to keep the feast on the Sunday instead of transferring it to the first open day in the week. Come join us as we celebrate the pivotal significance of the Baptist as the Forerunner of Christ. - Fr. John D. Alexander

THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS 

The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Psalm 85
Isaiah 40:1-11
Acts 13:14b-26
Luke 1:57-80

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

Welcome to S. Stephen’s – especially to our visitors and guests! We’re glad to have you join us. Please join us for Coffee Hour following the 8 a.m. Mass in the Narthex and following the 10 a.m. Mass in the Great Hall upstairs. If you have any questions or special needs, please speak to one of the ushers, who will be glad to assist you.

Guest Organist – We welcome Jay MacCubbin at the organ today while Organist and Choirmaster Dr. James Busby is on a well-deserved vacation. (James is scheduled to return on Sunday 5 August; we wish him safe travels and a relaxing break!)

Saint Peter and Saint Paul (June 29) – a major Holy Day of the Church year, will be kept this Friday with Noonday Prayer at 12 noon and Low Mass at 12:10 pm.

Thank You – to the Society of Mary Our Lady of Providence Ward for volunteering to organize the Coffee Hour rota for the 10 am Mass. The rota for Coffee Hours through August 5th is now posted on the parish website (sstephens.org).

Online Giving – We have just updated the parish website to make online donations and pledge payments easier and more convenient. You can now set up repeating payments of your pledge, designate gifts to funds such as Special Music and Flowers, and pay either directly from your bank account or charge to a credit card. You will receive an email receipt for each online gift, and you can enter your pledge number to have the gift included in your mailed hardcopy quarterly statements as well. Go to the parish website and click on the “Give” button at the top right corner to check it out.

Solemn Evensong and Benediction – will be offered on Sunday 5 August (Eve of the Feast of the Transfiguration) at 5:30 pm. The guest preacher (and officiant at Evensong) will be the Rev. Canon Jeremy Haselock, recently retired Canon Precentor at Norwich Cathedral in England, and a Chaplain to Her Majesty the Queen. The Schola Cantorum will interrupt their summer break to sing works of Heinrich Schütz, Harvey Burgett, and Marcel Dupré. Mark your calendars now and don’t miss what promises to be a splendid choral service.

Choir Season 2018-2019 – begins on Sunday 30 September. Sung Masses with Cantors singing the Plainchant Minor Propers (Introit, Gradual, etc.) begin on Sunday 2 September (Sunday in the Labor Day Weekend). Meanwhile, see the next announcement …

Sunday 10 a.m. Masses during the Summer – take on a simpler (and somewhat briefer) form, following closely the texts and rubrics of The Book of Common Prayer, 1979 and adding a fifth hymn to the usual four. It is vitally important to keep up our attendance during these months; our prayers and presence at Mass express our love for God and our neighbor, bringing real blessings both in our own lives and in those of our fellow parishioners. (If there are any favorite hymns you’d like us to sing during the summer months, please contact Fr. Alexander, who will do his best to accommodate all reasonable requests!)

Sunday School and Nursery – We need volunteers to assume responsibility for organizing Sunday School for the 2018-2019 Program Year (beginning in September). Please speak to Fr. Alexander or one of the Wardens (Tom Bledsoe or Bill Dilworth) if you would like to learn more and / or contribute your time to this crucial aspect of parish life.

FOR YOUR PRAYERS 

Prayers have been requested for: Elizabeth, Richard, Norman, John, Shannah, Sister Carolyn, Lynne, William, Hannah, Kaitlyn, Mary, Gus, Leonard, Harrington, Joan, Elizabeth, Sally, Sandy, John, Phebe, Ed, Gregory, Richard, Colin, Sandy, Kiersten, Beverly, Jonathan, Deborah, Bryan, Angela, Bobby, Douglas, Beverly, Allora, Carlos, Betsy, Rhoda, William, James, and Louis.

Birthdays this week: Julia Steiny (Sunday 6/24), Louis Verdelotti (Tuesday 6/26), and Richard Viti (Wednesday 6/27).

The faithful departed: Year’s Mind: Alfreida Louise Moore (24 June 1996) and Mortimer G. Hitt, Priest (25 June 1994). Recently Departed: John Ladds.

Anglican and Diocesan Cycles of Prayer – In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we are asked to pray for The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion): The Most Rev’d Nicholas Okoh, Metropolitan & Primate of all Nigeria & Bishop of Abuja; in the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer, we are asked to pray for the people and clergy of St. Peter's, Narragansett and of St. Peter’s & St. Andrew’s, Providence.

THE SUNDAY ROTA 

Acolytes – Acolyte/MC F Pisaturo; 

Thurifer – J Starks
Lector – T Oakes
Ushers – Phoebe Pettingell and Simon Newby
Coffee Hour – Society of Mary

THIS WEEK AT S. STEPHEN'S

EXTRA-PAROCHIAL EVENTS HOSTED AT S. STEPHEN’S 

Saturday 30 June 

Epiphany Soup Kitchen 2:30 pm (Great Hall)

LITURGICAL CALENDAR & SERVICE SCHEDULE

24 June
THE NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST (W)
Morning Prayer 8:00 am
Low Mass 8:10 am
Mass with Hymns 10:00 am

Daily Mass and Office Lectionaries: Proper 7, Year Two

Monday 25 June
FERIA (G)
Evening Prayer 5:30 pm
Low Mass 6:00 pm

Tuesday 26 June
John and Paul, Martyrs at Rome, c. 362 (R)
Noonday Prayer 12:00 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm 

Wednesday 27 June 

Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, 444 (W)
Evening Prayer 5:30 pm
Low Mass 6 pm

Thursday 28 June
Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, Martyr, c. 202 (R)
Noonday Prayer 12:00 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm

Friday 29 June
SAINT PETER AND SAINT PAUL, APOSTLES (R)
Noonday Prayer 12:00 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm

Saturday 30 June
First Martyrs of the Church of Rome, 1st century (R)
Morning Prayer 9:30 am
Low Mass 10:00 am

1 July
THE SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (G)
Morning Prayer 8:00 am
Low Mass 8:10 am
Mass with Hymns 10:00 am

NEXT SUNDAY'S READINGS (1 July)

Sixth Sunday After Pentecost – Proper 8, Year B
Psalm 30
Wisdom 1:13-15,2:23-24
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Mark 5:21-43