PARISH NOTES
Sunday 12 August 2018
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| Juan de Juanes, The Savior with the Eucharist (1545-1550) Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain |
FROM THE RECTOR
At every Eucharist, we administer Holy Communion using the words "The Body of Christ, the Bread of heaven." The older formula is even more explicit: "The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life." The theology underlying both forms derives in part from this Sunday's Gospel from John 6, known as "the Eucharistic Discourse," in which Jesus identifies himself - indeed his flesh - as "the Bread of Life," and "the living Bread which came down from heaven." He promises that those who eat this bread shall live for ever. Some of the early Church Fathers thus described the Eucharistic Bread and Wine, the Body and Blood of Christ, as "the medicine of immortality." It gives us a pledge and foretaste of the heavenly banquet. Join us this Sunday and every Sunday as we gather at the altar to receive "the Body of Christ, the Bread of Heaven."
- Fr. John D. Alexander
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost – Proper 14, Year B
Psalm 34:1-8
1 Kings 19:4-8
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
John 6:35, 41-51
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.
Weekday Services in Rector’s Office – Please note that during the hot summer weather, weekday Offices and Masses may be held in the air-conditioned comfort of the Rector’s Office instead of in the Lady Chapel. If the Church doors are closed at the appointed time, please enter through the Guild House doors; once you are inside, the parish office is the first door on your left.
Monthly Requiem – for the departed of this parish whose year’s mind falls during August will be offered tomorrow, Monday 13 August, at 6:00 pm (preceded by Evening Prayer at 5:30 pm). If you have any names to add to those to be remembered, please let Fr. Alexander know. See GAS announcement below.
Guild of All Souls: St. Stephen, Proto-Martyr Branch – S. Stephen’s celebrates a parish Requiem Mass on the First Monday of most months at the 6:00 pm Mass. Departed members of the parish whose anniversaries fall during the month are remembered in prayer, and anyone may submit additional names of the departed.
Thank you – to all who helped make last Sunday’s choral Evensong and Benediction such a success: splendid liturgy and music; an excellent sermon by our visiting preacher; contingents of visitors from St. John’s, Newport, and All Saints, Ashmont; many visitors from the wider diocese and community; a lively reception with food and drink provided by parishioners; attendance of 114 people; and a collection of over $2,000. Most of all: an offering of worship and devotion to God in Christ in the best S. Stephen’s tradition. Job well done, everyone!
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 this 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. (Please note that Noonday Prayer and Low Mass will be offered at S. Stephen's at 12 noon for those who cannot make the trip to Ashmont.)
Choir Season – resumes on Sunday 30 September. In the meantime, the Sung Mass with Minor Propers sung by the Cantors will resume during the Labor Day weekend on Sunday 2 September. Kudos to everyone for the enthusiastic congregational singing during the summer months!
Sunday School and Nursery – Some good news: We have engaged Naomi Subotnick to run the Nursery on Sunday mornings during the 10 am Mass. Please join in welcoming Naomi to the S. Stephen’s team! Also: one generous and talented individual has volunteered to teach Sunday School in the coming program year, but we need at least one more volunteer to alternate with her and cover the Sundays she cannot be here. Please speak to Fr. Alexander or one of the Wardens (Tom Bledsoe or Bill Dilworth) 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. We pray also for the Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, as he recovers from prostate surgery.
Birthdays this week: Catherine Bledsoe (Sunday 8/12), Phoebe Pettingell (Tuesday 8/14), Patricia Fuller (Wednesday 8/15), and Bruce Lennihan (Friday 8/17)
The faithful departed: Year’s Mind: J. Thomas Kershaw (14 August 2001), C. Jane Latham (14 August 2016), Myra F. Craven (15 August 1985), Naomi Lane Babson Grieder (15 August 1985), and Sybil Moss (16 August 2006). Recently Departed: Stephen P. Cowardin (Priest).
Anglican and Diocesan Cycles of Prayer – In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we are asked to pray for Church of the Province of South East Asia: The Most Rev’d Ng Moon Hing, Archbishop of South East Asia & Bishop of West Malaysia; in the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer, for the people and clergy of St. Mary's, Portsmouth and of St. Mary's, East Providence and for the leadership, staff, and students of St. Mary's Home for Children.
THE SUNDAY ROTA
Acolytes – Acolyte/MC J Ihnen; Thurifer F Pisaturo
Lector – P Pettingell
Ushers – Bruce Lennihan and Simon Newby
Coffee Hour – TBD
THIS WEEK AT S. STEPHEN’S
PARISH PROGRAMS, EVENTS & MEETINGS
Monday 13 August
Guild of All Souls 6:30 pm (Lady Chapel OR Rector's Office)
EXTRA-PAROCHIAL EVENTS HOSTED AT S. STEPHEN’S
Saturday 18 August
Epiphany Soup Kitchen 2:30 pm (Great Hall)
LITURGICAL CALENDAR & SERVICE SCHEDULE
12 August
TWELFTH 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 14, Year Two
Monday 13 August
Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down and Connor, Teacher, 1667
Evening Prayer 5:30 pm
Requiem Mass 6:00 pm (Black)
Tuesday 14 August
Maximilian Kolbe, Friar, Martyr, 1941 (R)
Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Seminarian, Civil Rights Worker, Martyr, 1965 (R)
Noonday Prayer 12:00 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm
Wednesday 15 August
ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (W)
Noonday Prayer 12 pm
Low Mass 12:10 pm
Solemn Mass 7:00 pm (at All Saints, Ashmont)
(Please note changes in times from the normal Wednesday schedule)
Thursday 16 August
Stephen, King of Hungary, 1038 (W)
Noonday Prayer 12:00 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm
Friday 17 August
FERIA (G)
Noonday Prayer 12:00 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm
Saturday 18 August
FERIA (G)
Morning Prayer 9:30 am
Low Mass 10:00 am
19 August
THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (G)
Morning Prayer 8:00 am
Low Mass 8:10 am
Mass with Hymns 10:00 am
NEXT SUNDAY'S READINGS (19 August)
Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost – Proper 15, Year B
Psalm 34:9-14
Proverbs 9:1-6
Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58
