PARISH NOTES
Sunday 15 July 2018
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| Benozzo Gozzoli, Dance of Salome and Beheading of John the Baptist, 1461 or 1462 Tempera on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC |
FROM THE RECTOR
This Sunday's Gospel relates the story of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. Medieval and Renaissance altarpieces and other works of art occasionally depicted John the Baptist side-by-side with Saint Stephen, our Patron.
People sometimes ask why Saint Stephen is called the "Protomartyr" (first martyr) when John the Baptist died before him. It might be more accurate to say that Stephen was the first Christian martyr: first to give his life in explicit witness to Christ within the New Covenant.
This is not to take anything away from John the Baptist, whom the Christian tradition regards as the last of the Old Testament Prophets and Forerunner of the Messiah. He died for his fidelity to the precepts of the Jewish Law, bolding denouncing the sin of King Herod Antipas and "speaking truth to power." John the Baptist has much to teach us.
- Fr. John D. Alexander
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
Eighth Sunday After Pentecost – Proper 10, Year B
Psalm 85:8-13
Amos 7:7-15
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:14-29
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 first 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!)
Epiphany Soup Kitchen (ESK) – A reminder that S. Stephen's turn to supply the volunteers for the Soup Kitchen is Saturday 21 July. We have been getting good crowds in the summer. Last year we had over 70 several times during July and August and only once in the last three months have we had less than 50. Our date in July is the third week of the month which should mean a busy day. Please let Bruce Lennihan know if you can help.
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 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: Laura Rejto (Sunday 7/15), Ed Hooks (Monday 7/16), Luke Tessier (Tuesday 7/17), Fr. Harrington Gordon (Thursday 7/19), Molly Elizabeth Bledsoe Ellis (Saturday 7/21), and Tatjana Johnson (Saturday 7/21).
The faithful departed: Year’s Mind: John Austin MacIntyre, Sr. (16 July 1992), Georgia Merrill Wray (20 July 1983), James H. Hurn (20 July 1987), and Louis Garland Davis (21 July 2009). Recently Departed: John Douglass Ruff.
Anglican and Diocesan Cycles of Prayer – In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we are asked to pray for The Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea: The Most Rev’d Allan Migi, Archbishop of Papua New Guinea; in the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer, we are asked to pray for the retired clergy of the Diocese.
THE SUNDAY ROTA
Acolytes – Acolyte/MC J Ihnen; Thurifer J Starks
Lector – P Martin
Ushers – Phoebe Pettingell and Simon Newby
Coffee Hour – Alison Huff and Kate Lester
THIS WEEK AT S. STEPHEN’S
EXTRA-PAROCHIAL EVENTS HOSTED AT S. STEPHEN’S
Saturday 21 July
Epiphany Soup Kitchen 2:30 pm (Great Hall)
LITURGICAL CALENDAR & SERVICE SCHEDULE
15 July
THE EIGHTH 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 10, Year Two
Monday 16 July
Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, 1099 (W)
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Patron of Rhode Island (W)
Evening Prayer 5:30 pm
Low Mass 6:00 pm
Tuesday 17 July
FERIA (G)
Noonday Prayer 12:00 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm
Wednesday 18 July
Elizabeth Ferrard, Founder of the Community of Saint Andrew, 1883 (W)
Evening Prayer 5:30 pm
Low Mass 6:00 pm
Thursday 19 July
Macrina, Deaconess, Teacher, c. 379 (W)
Noonday Prayer 12:00 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm
Friday 20 July
Margaret of Antioch, Martyr, 4th century (R)
Bartolomé de las Casas, Bishop of Chiapas, Mexico, 1566 (W)
Noonday Prayer 12:00 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm
Saturday 21 July
FERIA (G)
Morning Prayer 9:30 am
Low Mass 10:00 am
22 July
THE NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (G)
Morning Prayer 8:00 am
Low Mass 8:10 am
Mass with Hymns 10:00 am
NEXT SUNDAY'S READINGS (22 July)
Ninth Sunday After Pentecost – Proper 11, Year B
