PARISH NOTES
Sunday 22 July 2018
 |
| Benjamin West, Christ Healing the Sick (1817) Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia |
FROM THE RECTOR
"As [Jesus] went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things" (Mark 6:34).
Shepherds perform four characteristic activities for their flocks: gathering, leading, feeding, and protecting. (The list could be elaborated, but let those four activities suffice for the moment.) We don't typically think of shepherds as "teaching" their flocks; yet strangely when Jesus has compassion on the great throng because they are "like sheep without a shepherd," his first response is to "teach them many things." In this context, however, teaching is a subcategory of protecting. The flock needs to be guarded against error and false teaching; this responsibility is one of the most important entrusted to the pastoral office. Bishops and priests are called to guard and protect the flock of Christ's Church with the truth of God's Word. Conversely, without God, without Christ, we are "like sheep without a shepherd" - lost, alone, wandering aimlessly, hungry, thirsty, vulnerable to predators. Our salvation lies in returning to the flock, where Christ gathers, leads, feeds, and protects us.
- Fr. John D. Alexander
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
Ninth Sunday After Pentecost – Proper 11, Year B
Psalm 23
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Ephesians 2:11-22
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
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 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 Jeffrey Mills at the organ for the second and final time this summer 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!)
New Flag – The Episcopal Church flag (6’ x 4’) now installed above the tower door is the generous gift of Janet and Michael D'Alesandre, who "donated the flag to provide an external and recognizable sign of S. Stephen's as an Episcopal parish, and as a reminder of the presence and commitment of S. Stephen's and TEC to the wider community." For a description of the flag’s symbolism, please see this week’s email newsletter.
The Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene (July 22) – a major feast day of the church year, will be celebrated this Monday 23 July with Evening Prayer at 5:30 pm and Low Mass at 6:00 pm.
The Feast of Saint James the Apostle (July 25) – a major feast of the church year, will be celebrated on Wednesday with Evening Prayer at 5:30 pm and Low Mass at 6:00 pm.
New Parish Directory – is available on the church website in the “members’ area.” To enter, click on "Log In" in the upper right corner of the home page and follow the directions to apply for a user account. For reasons of privacy and security, only parishioners and known members of the congregation will receive access. This is a work in progress, to which we plan to add much new content as time goes on. Check back often!
New Prices for Altar Flowers – Arrangements in the church’s brass vases cost $25 each, for a total of $50 (a considerable savings from the $75 per vase we have been charged before now). Please consider making an offering of flowers in thanksgiving or in memoriam to help beautify our worship of God. (Flowers can now be paid for online via our website; see notice following – but please verify with the parish office that your desired date is available.)
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, EMBR, 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 (www.sstephens.org) and click on the “Give” button at the top right corner to check it out.
Transfiguration 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 Vice Dean and 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.
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – This summer, we are joining forces with our fellow Anglo-Catholic parishes of Saint John’s, Newport and All Saints, Ashmont to celebrate this principal Marian feast at 7 pm on Wednesday 15 August. The Mass will be at the Parish of All Saints, 209 Ashmont Street, Dorchester, MA. Website: Allsaints.net. The church is blessed with a spacious parking lot. Please speak to Jacob Ihnen or Fr. Alexander if you need a ride or would be willing to volunteer your services as a driver for other S. Stephen’s parishioners.
Sunday School and Nursery – We still 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, Sandy, John, Phebe, Ed, Gregory, Richard, Colin, Sandy, Kiersten, Beverly, Deborah, Bryan, Angela, Bobby, Beverly, Allora, Carlos, Betsy, Rhoda, William, James, and Louis.
Birthdays this week: Hillary Nicholson (Sunday 7/22), Robert Forrest (Sunday 7/22), Arthur William Bledsoe (Monday 7/23), and Fr. Michael Pearson (Friday 7/27).
The faithful departed: Year’s Mind: Houghton P. Metcalf (22 July 2003) and Helen W. Williams (28 July 1996). Recently Departed: Vaughan P. L. Booker (Priest).
Anglican and Diocesan Cycles of Prayer – In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we are asked to pray for The Episcopal Church in the Philippines; in the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer, for the people and clergy of St. James, North Providence and of St. James, Woonsocket and of St. Ann’s by-the-Sea, Block Island.
THE SUNDAY ROTA
Acolytes – Acolyte/MC R Noble; Thurifer F Pisaturo
Lector – J Steiny
Ushers – Joy D’Ambra and Tom Bledsoe
Coffee Hour – Cathy and Tom Bledsoe
THIS WEEK AT S. STEPHEN’S
EXTRA-PAROCHIAL EVENTS HOSTED AT S. STEPHEN’S
Saturday 28 July
Epiphany Soup Kitchen 2:30 pm (Great Hall)
LITURGICAL CALENDAR & SERVICE SCHEDULE
22 July
THE NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (G)
Morning Prayer 8:00 am
Low Mass 8:10 am
Mass with Hymns 10:00 am
Daily Mass and Office Lectionaries: Proper 11, Year Two
Monday 23 July
SAINT MARY MAGDALENE (W)
Evening Prayer 5:30 pm
Low Mass 6:00 pm
Tuesday 24 July
Thomas à Kempis, Priest, 1471 (W)
Noonday Prayer 12:00 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm
Wednesday 25 July
SAINT JAMES THE APOSTLE (R)
Evening Prayer 5:30 pm
Low Mass 6:00 pm
Thursday 26 July
Anne and Joachim, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary (W)
Noonday Prayer 12:00 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm
Friday 27 July
FERIA (G)
Noonday Prayer 12:00 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm
Saturday 28 July
Samson of Dol, Bishop, Abbot, 565 (W)
Morning Prayer 9:30 am
Low Mass 10:00 am
29 July
THE TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (G)
Morning Prayer 8:00 am
Low Mass 8:10 am
Mass with Hymns 10:00 am
NEXT SUNDAY'S READINGS (29 July)
Tenth Sunday After Pentecost – Proper 12, Year B
Psalm 145:10-19
2 Kings 4:42-44
Ephesians 3:14-21
John 6:1-21
