ELECTRONIC EPISTLE ST. STEPHEN EPISCOPAL CHURCH April 30 May 14, 2014

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1 ELECTRONIC EPISTLE ST. STEPHEN EPISCOPAL CHURCH April 30 May 14, 2014 VICAR S LETTER Beloved of Christ, As we enter into the great fifty days of Easter we are just starting to celebrate that which is over and done with in the culture around us. All things Easter are 50% - 75% off and stores have moved on to market Memorial Day and Summer Fashions. Yet, here we are still pondering the great mystery of the resurrection. In his poem St. Thomas the Apostle Anglican Priest and poet, Malcom Guite, touches on this mystery. We do not know how can we know the way? Courageous master of the awkward question, You spoke the words the others dared not say And cut through their evasion and abstraction. Oh doubting Thomas, father of my faith, You put your finger on the nub of things We cannot love some disembodied wraith, But flesh and blood must be our king of kings. Your teaching is to touch, embrace, anoint, Feel after Him and find Him in the flesh. Because He loved your awkward counter-point The Word has heard and granted you your wish. Oh place my hands with yours, help me divine The wounded God whose wounds are healing mine. I imagine that many of us, like Thomas, would like to have answers, facts and figures about the mystery of the resurrection. Maybe we, like Thomas, are invited to place our hands with his that we may divine The wounded God whose wounds are healing mine. To enter more fully into this season of resurrection you are invited to come to a retreat Encountering the Beloved on the Road to Emmaus on Friday, May 9 th. It will be held at St. Luke and will include scripture, communion, poetry, painting, prayer beads, labyrinth and quiet time. Senitila and I will be facilitating the retreat. I hope many of you will be able to come. Blessings,

2 DATES TO NOTE (other than the usual regularly scheduled services and Stone Soup Suppers): Sun May 4 On the schedule*: Ushers Jorge Hernandez and Sofia Bonnilla-Rios Lectors Clay Richman and Tia Richman Eucharistic Ministers Gavin Shumate and Ethel Myers Offertory counters Carol McDowell and Allan Preece Altar Guild Amy Shumate Nursery? Coffee Sofia Bonilla-Rios and Jorge Hernandez Wed May 7 UTO (United Thank Offering) Ingathering Cinco de Mayo Fiesta! noon - 4pm Desert Spaces study 10:30am Dine out for Samaritan House Yummy Bowl Sun May 11 On the schedule*: Ushers Jorge Hernandez and Sofia Bonnilla-Rios Mother s Day Lectors Ethel Myers and Jorge Hernandez Eucharistic Ministers Jan Sedlacek and Gavin Shumate Offertory counters Carol McDowell and Bill Hoeflin Altar Guild Jan Sedlacek Nursery? Coffee men of the church Wed May 14 Desert Spaces study 10:30am PFLAG 6pm *NOTE: Information in Dates to Note may differ from and takes precedence over the monthly Ministries Schedule as there may have been trades or substitutions among the participants subsequent to the printing of the Ministries Schedule. If you do not print this Epistle you may wish to note on your copy of the Ministries Schedule any changes that affect you. UNITED THANK OFFERING The ingathering of our United Thank Offering those coins and/or bills we ve been collecting in our little blue boxes will be Sunday, May 4. The offertory counters would greatly appreciate it if you would exchange your loose change for dollar bills to put in your UTO envelope or you may write a check payable to St. Stephen s and make the designation on the memo line. Our little daily offerings do add up and, when added to other contributions throughout the United States, make it possible to award grants for the mission of the Episcopal Church. If you re not familiar with the United Thank Offering, this may help: United Thank Offering (UTO) is a ministry of the Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole church. Through United Thank Offering, men, women, and children nurture the habit of giving daily thanks to God. These prayers of thanksgiving start when we recognize and name our many daily blessings. Those who participate in UTO discover that thankfulness leads to generosity. United Thank Offering is entrusted to promote thank offerings, to receive the offerings, and to distribute the UTO monies to support mission and ministry throughout the Episcopal Church and in invited Provinces of the Anglican Communion in the developing world. If you don t have a little blue box and are interested in having one in which to collect your daily thank offerings over this next year, please see Ethel Myers. At the end of the day: did you have a good day? did you receive some good news? was the weather just perfect? just many reasons to be thankful? - pocket change into the blue box. DINE OUT FOR SAMARITAN HOUSE May's Dine Out for Samaritan House [will be] on May 7th at Yummy Bowl Restaurant. Donating 20% of their proceeds and serving 11 am - 9:30 pm. Yummy Bowl lets you dine in, take out or receive delivery. Enjoy! Rose Davies, Volunteer, Samaritan House

3 FRED MEYER COMMUNITY AWARDS Do you shop at Fred Meyer? Do you have a Rewards Card? Would you like to help St. Stephen s? If the answer to these questions is yes, or if you would consider getting a Rewards Card, then read on. Fred Meyer is establishing a Community Awards fund from which they will donate $2.5 million per year to non-profits in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington and St. Stephen s has been registered with Fred Meyer for this purpose. If you register your Rewards Card with Fred Meyer, every time you use it a donation will be credited to St. Stephen s. What a painless way for us to raise additional funds! Please see the last page of this Epistle for details and how to register your card. [Note: I registered my card and found it very easy to do. Jan] STEWARDSHIP REFLECTION FROM THE OFFICE Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others. [Barbara Bush (b. 1925), former American first lady] The Moores For all who remember Jerry and Edith Moore, please note that there is a card from Jerry posted on the bulletin board. When Susan visited with them while she was in California on her sabbatical Jerry indicated a desire to be kept informed about the goings-on at St. Stephen s so the weekly Epistle is being sent to them. To all Lectors (Readers) The Prayers of the People from which you should read on Sundays will now be found in a pink file pocket taped to the side of the cupboard to the left of the counter in the sacristy. The folder in which they had formerly been placed was often covered with other books, etc. so hopefully this will make them easier to locate. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU AT ST STEPHEN S Our church honors and welcomes lay ministries. Here are some opportunities you may already be doing or for you to consider as ways you can contribute: Join the Read and Feed group (contact Joyce Atchley, ); Maintain neatness and welcoming appearance of Nursery/Sunday School/Music Room Be a behind the scenes welcomer by keeping visitor cards and sharpened pencils in the pews Serve as a Eucharistic Minister (talk with Susan+) Usher on Sundays Larry and Donna Cox, coordinators (contact them at home: , or by donnacox1@centurytel.net) Teach Sunday school training and materials provided! (contact Joyce Atchley, ; masterjeans1@charter.net) Volunteer for the Christian Connection ministry to provide transportation to church a new coordinator is needed, might that be YOU? Work with the Stone Soup Supper team on Monday nights Join the ministry of the Altar Guild Be a reporter to interview church members to share via the Epistle as well as to update our timeline Sing in the choir during Lent and Advent Maintain the library and determine if new books should be added Bring food on Sundays for Food Share

4 Sign up for coffee hour (join someone on the schedule or offer to substitute) Participate in the Liturgy Guild a shared ministry with members from both St. Stephen s and St. Luke s to plan services for both churches. ST. STEPHEN EPISCOPAL CHURCH, (414 SW 9 th Street; corner of 9 th and Hurbert Streets) PO Box 1014, Newport, OR ststephen@peak.org SERVICE SCHEDULE Sundays Holy Eucharist 10:45am Wednesdays Holy Eucharist 12:10pm OFFICE MANAGER HOURS (gave myself a new title that I use on forms ) Mondays and Wednesdays 9am-noon (please call to confirm) MINISTERS OF THE CHURCH The people of St. Stephen s Eric Simpson Choir Director and Organist Mary Lee Scoville Organist The Rev. Dcn. George Goold Deacon The Rev. Susan C. Church Vicar The Rt. Rev. Michael J. Hanley Bishop of Oregon VICAR S HOURS Sundays, and Wednesdays EPISTLE EDITOR Jan Sedlacek (home: ; jaycee.sed@gmail.com) DON T SUFFER IN SILENCE: Please call the church office ( ) when: * You are ill or a member of your family is in the hospital. * You learn of a death in the church family. KEEP US POSTED: Please call the church office ( ) when: * Your group plans to meet at the church. * Your address, phone number or address is changed. * You learn of someone who may be interested in church membership.

5 YOU CAN HELP ST. STEPHEN S EARN DONATIONS JUST BY SHOPPING WITH YOUR FRED MEYER REWARDS CARD! Fred Meyer is donating $2.5 million per year to non-profits in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, based on where their customers tell them to give. Here s how the program works: Sign up for the Community Rewards program by linking your Fred Meyer Rewards Card to St. Stephen s at You can search for us by our name or by our non-profit number Then, every time you shop and use your Rewards Card, you are helping St. Stephen s earn a donation! You still earn your Rewards Points, Fuel Points, and Rebates, just as you do today. If you do not have a Rewards Card, they are available at the Customer Service desk of any Fred Meyer store. For more information, please visit