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1 fàa fàxñ{xçëá XÑ áàäx May/June 2015 Inside this issue: Parish News 2-4 Local Businesses Spotlight 5 Calendars 6-7 Back St. Stephen s Sunday Worship Schedule September May 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, no music 10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, music 9:45 a.m. Sunday school, Lounge Beginning June 7th Single Service at 9:00 a.m. No Sunday School Till September Notes From the Rev. Dr. Jill McNish Right before Jesus ascended to heaven, the Gospel of Matthew tells us in the great commission that he commanded future disciples to Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is the great project that we call evangelism the spreading of the Christian message. There are many ways to spread the Christian message. We might think of someone standing on a street corner preaching the Gospel. But our task here at St. Stephen s is much more subtle and difficult. Our task, in an increasingly secular society, is to get people in the church doors so that they can be part of church community. Because without community, you can t really be a Christian. One of the ways to build church community is to make our church an attractive, welcoming and inviting place. This is why the Vestry, Wardens and I are trying to make physical improvements every year to our property. Let s face it. If a church and its grounds look beat up, run down and uncared for, it is not inviting to newcomers. So we are trying to paint areas that have not been painted in years. We are expecting to redo the women s bathroom in the parish hall this year and maybe paint the office and sacristy areas. We are having a clean up day on Saturday May 2 to do some heavy cleanup inside and out. On May 13 our Garden Group will meet beginning at 10:30. Why not join us? We always have fun planting and cleaning our front bed. We have a very attractive church and good stewardship requires it to keep it up. Another aspect of evangelism is to do everything we can to welcome newcomers once they are inside our doors. Beginning this spring, weather permitting, we will be setting up coffee hour outside by the front doors. We will put out a table and some chairs, but we hope that people will mill around a bit more than they have done in the past and talk with people they might not ordinarily talk with, especially newcomers. I know that many St. Stephen s members have strong friendships going back many years but it is off-putting to be a newcomer and find that most people just talk to the friends that they already know. We are hoping that by having coffee hour outside our front door, people who might not ordinarily come to coffee hour might be tempted to have a cup of coffee or some iced tea with us. Also, it will present an inviting picture to people driving or walking by St. Stephen s to see us gathered outside. Please try to be open to this change. Obviously we will not be able to have coffee hour outside when it is cold or inclement, but I do believe that this small change will set a more inviting tone for our church. On May 31 Bishop Lee will be here. Weather permitting, the reception will be outdoors. There will be one service for the Bishop s visit at 10 am. After that day, we will go directly to our one service and this summer the one service will be at 9 am. This comes with my prayers for many blessings this spring! Yours in Christ, Rev. Jill McNish

2 Page 2 PARISH NEWS St. Stephen s Epistle Leadership at St. Stephen s Episcopal Church, Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania VESTRY TERM EXPIRES IN 2016 TERM EXPIRES IN 2017 TERM EXPIRES IN 2018 Ginny Thompson John Bartholomeo Debbie Werts Joan Durbano Rhea Elias Barbara Stump Dave Hash Connie Wright Bonnie Prendiville Rector: The Rev. Dr. Jill McNish Accounting Warden: John Bartholomeo Vestry Secretary: Bonnie Prendiville Rector s Warden: Debbie Werts Treasurer: Frank Prendiville Episcopal Day with the Phillies Save the Date! June 27, 3:05 pm at Citizens Bank Park In response to popular demand our Phillies game will be on a Saturday afternoon this year. Join us with members of your family for a fun day of fellowship and support for our baseball team. To order tickets go to: For groups of 25 or more, or if you want to sit in the same section, please contact Catherine Brown in the Group Sales Office at ext All groups of 25 or more will be welcomed on the Phillies side auxiliary message boards at the top of the 5th inning. 40,000 will see your parish s name in lights! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ St. Stephen s fans! Let s try for a group of 25 this year! Contact Rev. Jill, Ginny Thompson, or Frank Prendiville to reserve a ticket. Payment in full must be made by all participants before the order can be placed. NEWSLETTER PUBLISHING SCHEDULE. St. Stephen s Epistle is published every two months. If you have any articles you would like to share with the parish, please provide them to Bonnie Prendiville by leaving a note in her mailbox in the office or by ing her at blp722@aol.com. All articles must be received by the 25th of the month preceding publication. Rector's Warden Debbie Werts with birdhouse she helped install. We are hoping this will be the first installation of a prayer garden on this location. Think about whether you would like to donate some bushes or a stone cross in memory of someone.

3 Page 3 From the Editor April was an amazing month for us at St. Stephen s. We celebrated Easter Sunday with a large crowd of parishioners and watched the children joyfully hunt Easter eggs in the yard. We received donations from Boeing in the form of food and cash for our food pantry. Several of the Boeing employees were kind enough to stop by to help us unpack and sort. And, our good fortune continued when a parishioner provided new shelving in the basement to store the non-perishables until they are needed in the food cupboard. And last but not least, we held a Nelson s BBQ/Flea Market event that brought in over $1, in profit. Our parish family is truly blessed and this is affirmed in every good deed that we are able to accomplish for our community. Spread the Good News! On Sunday, May 10, 2015, between the 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. services, there will be a Mother s Day brunch in the parish hall. Join us as we celebrate all Moms with us and enjoy a delicious meal. Please keep in your prayers: Dot McFee, Mary Platt, Carl Benner, Mike Mango. Episcopal Church Women (ECW) The next meeting of St. Stephen s ECW takes place on Sunday, May 17, 2015, between the 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. services in the Lounge. We are seeking Vendors and/or Crafters for a Christmas in July event to be held on Saturday, July 18, 2015 from 10 am to 4 pm. This will be an outdoor event, rain date is August 8, 2015, rain or shine. Spots are $15 each, tables are to be provided by vendors, although a very limited amount of tables will be available for parishioner use. Crafters accepted to space capacity, however, only one vendor per company first come, first serve. Raffles and food will be for sale in the parish hall. Volunteers needed in all areas: kitchen help, manning tables, set up, clean up. To rent a spot or to volunteer, please contact Bonnie Prendiville at ststephensecw@gmail.com or leave a message at the office Please join us for a single service at 10:00 a.m. on May 31st when Bishop Lee visits St. Stephen s to perform confirmations and baptism into the Episcopal Church. A reception follows the service.

4 Page 4 St. Stephen s Epistle Outr_[]h [t St. St_ph_n s Our next Blood Drive takes place Saturday, August 1st from 9am to 2 pm in the parish hall. Any questions, contact Joan Durbano. Rhea Elias heads our Ministry at Haskins House nursing home located in Secane. St. Stephen s visits each month with gifts to celebrate the residents birthdays. On occasion, The Holy Eucharist is brought to them. At Christmastime, gifts, Communion, and visits are provided to let them know someone cares. Most of the residents do not have family members that visit. This is a very rewarding ministry and if you would like to become part of it, contact Rhea. Three times a year, St. Stephen s hosts a fullcourse dinner available to the parish and the community. A Meatloaf Dinner takes place in March, a pork and sauerkraut dinner takes place in September, and an Italian dinner takes place in October. Whether you help in the kitchen, or buy a ticket and enjoy the delicious food, your support is welcomed and appreciated. To order tickets or to volunteer, contact Debbie Werts or Donna Colleluori. CONNECT MINISTRY On Sundays with the exception of the first Sunday of the month, St. Stephen s parishioners bring a meal to about 50 people to CONNECT, a daytime shelter in Upper Darby. See Rev. Jill for more details and to see how you can become part of this ministry. Every Sunday and Wednesday, from 10:30 a.m. till 12:00 p.m., volunteers hand out food and sundries from our food pantry. If you would like to become part of this ministry, contact Charlotte Hagopian or Connie Wright. The photo to the left shows some of the donations we received from Boeing s food drive. In addition, every second Wednesday of each month, Rosemarie Fegely helps package food at the pantry of St. Mary s in Chester. If you can help with this ministry, contact Rosemarie. You may contact any of these parishioners is by leaving them a phone message at the church office,

5 St. Stephen s Epistle Page 5 LOCAL BUSINESSES TO PATRONIZE Looking for a trustworthy business to help with repairs or other needs? The business cards noted here are either parishioners, friends, or vendors of St. Stephen s and we are happy to recommend them. Spotlight Nice try! Heather Wingate was confirmed here at St. Stephen s and returned this past September. She says that she felt "a calling to return" and felt welcomed right away. Heather graduated from University of the Arts and is a nursery school teacher at Bookworms Preschool in Philadelphia. Heather resides with her husband, Tiago, in Aldan. She usually attends the 10 am service and serves as a lay reader.

6 May 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 Clean Up Day EASTER V 8 am Holy Eucharist 9:45 am Sunday sch pm Vestry Mother s Day EASTER VI 8 am Holy Eucharist Mother s Day Brunch between services NO SUNDAY SCHOOL St. Mary s Food Packing at 10:30 a.m. 10:30 Garden Group EASTER VII 8 am Holy Eucharist ECW meeting between services 9:45 am Sunday sch DAY OF PENTECOST 8 am Holy Eucharist 9:45 am Last day of Sunday sch til Sept. 31 Memorial Day PENTECOST I/Trinity BISHOP S VISIT Single service followed by receiption

7 June 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 7 PENTECOST II 9 am Holy Eucharist pm Vestry 10 St. Mary s Food Packing at 10:30 a.m Flag Day PENTECOST III 9 am Holy Eucharist Father s Day PENTECOST IV 9:00 am Holy Eucharist, followed by Father s Day Brunch Episcopal Day w/ Phillies-3: PENTECOST V 9:00 am Holy Eucharist Transitions and Passings Bernard Vani, acolyte and chalice bearer extraordinaire, will be graduating from Delaware County Community College this spring and is presently weighing which four year college to attend beginning in the fall. Congratulations Bernard! In March, long-time St. Stephen s member Peg Wilson passed away after a brief hospitalization. Please keep her husband Nate and daughter Ellen in your prayers.

8 St. Step hen s Episcopal Church 199 W. Baltimore Avenue Clifton Heights, PA Phone: Fax: E: ststephensclifton@verizon.net We re on the web! Like us on Facebook at Episcopal-Church/ St. Stephen s Preschool Located in Parish Hall, the building adjacent to the church building. Phone: Like us on Facebook at We are a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. We are a loving church family which encourages regular ministry and parish activities beyond Sunday worship. We share our time, talent, and treasure with others in need. We will continue our work to bring God s message more fully to our community through increased outreach and evangelism.