Monday, September 27, 2010

The week of September 27

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Wednesday September 29 - The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels
6:00 pm – Mass
Incense will be used at this Mass
supper afterward at a local restaurant

Sunday October 319 Pentecost
11:00 am – Holy Eucharist - Fr. Jamie Parsley, celebrant/preacher
Children’s Chapel

1:00 pm – Blessing of the Animals

4:00 pm Multi-Piano concert at the Fargo Theatre

Blessing of Animals and Pets

PLEASE JOIN US FOR

A Blessing of Animals and Pets

1:00 pm
Sunday, October 3, 2009
honoring St. Francis of Assisi

at the Labyrinth
of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
120 21 Avenue North
Fargo

Any and all animals and pets of any size may join us

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Prayers for the repose of the soul of Tracy Ford


The prayers of St. Stephen’s are requested for the repose of the soul of Tracy A. Ford, who died at his home of natural causes on Monday, September 20, 2010. Please also keep in your prayers Tracy’s mother, Marlys Lundberg, and his stepfather, Lowell Lundberg.

The Burial Liturgy will be 10:30 Friday at Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home, with Fr. Jamie officiating. Burial of ashes will be in the Enderlin Cemetery, Enderlin, ND.

Monday, September 20, 2010

The week of Sept. 20

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Wednesday September 22
6:00 pm – Mass
Incense will be used at this Mass

Friday, September 24
10:30 am - Burial Liturgy for Tracy Ford (+September 20) at Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home, Fargo.
Fr. Jamie - officiating
Burial of ashes will be in the Enderlin Cemetery, Enderlin, ND.


Saturday, September 25
- 11:00 am – The Requiem Eucharist for Ruth Stickney (+September 17) at Gethsemane Cathedral, Fargo.
Fr. Jamie – celebrant/preacher
Committal of ashes in the Columbarium of Gethsemane Cathedral, Fargo.

- 7:00 pm – Sarah Morris/Jeffrey Bernstrom wedding at Trollwood,
Trollwood, Moorhead, Minnesota
Fr. Jamie, officiating

Sunday September 2618 Pentecost
11:00 am – Holy Eucharist - Fr. Jamie Parsley, celebrant/preaching
Children’s Chapel

Requiem Eucharist for Ruth Stickey


The Requiem Eucharist for Ruth Stickney (+September 17) will be Saturday, September 25 at 11:00 am at Gethsemane Cathedral, Fargo.

Fr. Jamie – celebrant/preacher

Committal of ashes in the Columbarium of Gethsemane Cathedral, Fargo.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Prayers for the repose of the soul of Ruth Stickney

The prayers of the St. Stephen’s congregation are requested for the repose of the soul of Ruth Stickney, 90, a longtime member of St. Stephen's, who died Friday afternoon, September 17, 2010.

Please remember her husband Tom and their family as they grieve.

May she rest in peace and rise in glory.

Details about the Requiem Eucharist will be posted as they are available.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Wednesday night Mass canceled this week

The Wednesday night Mass at Stephen's has been canceled this week due to the sudden and unexpected death of Fr. Jamie's father, Albert Parsley on Tuesday morning September 14. Your prayers are requested for the repose of his soul.

The memorial service for Albert Parsley will be Saturday, September 18 at 2:00 pm at Maple Sheyenne Lutheran Church, Harwood, North Dakota. Burial of ashes will be in the family plot in the church cemetery.

Monday, September 13, 2010

The week of Sept. 13

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Wednesday September 15Observing the Feast of the Holy Cross 6:00 pm – Mass
Incense will be used at this Mass
Supper afterward at a local restaurant.
7:30 pm – Vigil service for Florence Anderson, Korsmo Funeral Home, Moorhead

Thursday, September 1610:00 am – The Funeral Mass for Florence Anderson at Gethsemane Cathedral, Fargo.
Fr. Jamie – celebrant/preacherCommittal at Riverside Cemetery, Moorhead.

Sunday September 1917 Pentecost – Jubilee Sunday
11:00 am – Holy Eucharist - Fr. Jamie Parsley, celebrant/preaching
Children’s Chapel
12:45 – Vestry

Also please keep Ruth Stickney in your prayers as she continues her hospitalization.

Dedication Sunday September 12, 2010









































































































































Sunday, September 12, 2010

Prayers for the repose of the soul of Florence Anderson


The prayers of the St. Stephen’s congregation are requested for the repose of the soul of Florence Anderson who died Sunday morning, September 12, 2010.
The Requiem Eucharist for Florence will be 10:00 am Thursday, September 16 at Gethsemane Cathedral, Fargo, with Fr. Jamie presiding.
Rest eternal grant to her, O Lord; and let ligth perpetual shine upon her. Amen.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

In Today's Fargo Forum

Published September 11 2010

St. Stephen’s marks 54th anniversary

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 120 21st Ave. N. in Fargo, will celebrate the 54th anniversary of its dedication during its 11 a.m. service Sunday. A potluck will follow.

The congregation held its first service on Sept. 9, 1956.

Monday, September 6, 2010

The week of Sept. 6/prayer requests

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Wednesday September 8 - The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary/ Eve of the Feast of Bl. Constance and the “Martyrs of Memphis”
6:00 pm – Mass
Incense will be used at this Mass
Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Sunday September 216 Pentecost – DEDICATION SUNDAY
11:00 am – Holy Eucharist - Fr. Jamie Parsley, celebrant/preaching
Children’s Chapel resumes (a brief, special service will be held before the children are dismissed for Children’s Chapel).
Potluck following

Also...
-please keep Ruth Stickney and Joanne Droppers in your prayers. Ruth is hospitalized at Innovis with double pneumonia and other ailments and Joanne is at Sanford with casts on both her wrist and leg.

- please keep Florence Anderson and her family in your prayers as Florence nears the end of her earthly journey.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Prayers requested

The Prayers of the congregation are requested for the following parishioners

Florence Anderson, who continues to fail, and for her family

Ruth Stickney, who was taken to the hospital this morning, and for her husband Tom and their family.

And for Joanne Droppers, who fell and broke her wrist

Friday, September 3, 2010

A Letter from Fr. Jamie+

September 1, 2010
Bl David Pendleton Oakerkater

Dear Friends,

On September 9, 1956, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church celebrated its first Eucharist. On Sunday, September 12, 2010 we will celebrate the 54th Anniversary of that first Eucharist with our annual Dedication Sunday. On that day we will utilize the Dedication of a Church propers found in the Book of Common Prayer, have a potluck lunch and, most importantly of all, we will celebrate all that St. Stephen’s has done in its 54 years, what it is doing at this time and what it will continue to do in the future. Dedication Sunday will also kick off a flurry of activity this fall at St. Stephen’s. A few activities are highlighted below:

Children’s Chapel
On Dedication Sunday, September 12 we will resume our second year of Children’s Chapel. On September 12, we will have a special ceremony for the children in the nave before we dismiss them to chapel. With the help of Junior Warden Gin Templeton, we now have a regular round of scheduled leaders and helpers to lead our Children’s Chapel throughout the year. It is exciting to see this wonderful ministry flower and flourish!

“Episcopal 101” class
Beginning Tuesday, October 5, I will be leading a month-long “Episcopal 101” class. This is geared specifically toward any new members and anyone who is wishing to join our church (but is open to anyone, of course). We will begin with Evening Prayer in the Nave at 6:00 PM followed by class afterward.

New members
In Narthex at church, you will find a new brochure entitled “How Do I Become a Member of St. Stephen’s?” for anyone interested in officially joining St. Stephen’s or who would like re-commit themselves as members. On March 6, 2011 Bishop Michael Smith, the Bishop of North Dakota, will be making his annual visit and, on that day, it would great to present to him people from St. Stephen’s who would like to be confirmed, received or who simply want to renew their Christian faith. Please read through the brochure and contact me if you are interested in joining us at St. Stephen’s.

Wednesday night Mass/”Nosh”
Also this Fall, we will continue our Wednesday night Eucharists. I believe everyone has to agree that these liturgies have been a rousing success! Each week we have an average of 8-15 people (some weeks more, some week a few less). Some of the people who attend on Wednesday Masses are people you might not see at Eucharist on Sundays mornings. Some belong to other churches (or who have no church) who come to find spiritual fulfillment and fellowship at these mid-week Eucharists.

This Fall, I will continue to utilize the Enriching Our Worship liturgies which use inclusive (i.e. non gender-specific) language in reference to God. We will also continue to celebrate the plethora of saints and special feast days offered in the Episcopal Church, using especially the new liturgical resource of Holy Women, Holy Men and also Stars in a Dark World by Fr. John-Julian of the Episcopal religious order, the Order of Julian of Norwich. We will also continue to use incense and other liturgical enhancements.

And on special “High” feast days, our organist extraordinaire, James Mackay, joins us with music.

The supper afterward (which is affectionately called “Nosh”), always at a different local restaurant, has been a wonderful opportunity for us to get together, to share and to bond. More than one person has said to me, “Without those suppers, I would eat alone on Wednesday nights. I really appreciate the fellowship time we have.”

Canon Carrie Boren, who visited St. Stephen’s and preached at our Wednesday night Eucharist in May, said that we, at St. Stephen’s, are truly doing the right thing by offering the Wednesday night Eucharist with supper afterward at a restaurant. It truly is, as she calls it, a “fresh expression.”

Music
Organist James Mackay has several wonderful ideas for music this year (which I will leave to him to explain—I simple won’t be able to do it justice). Suffice to say, the quality music at St. Stephen’s we have all come to enjoy will continue. And there may even be a musical surprise or two during Sunday morning Mass from your priest…

Service and outreach
St. Stephens’s will also continue to reach out to the community, the wider Church and the world through its many active ministries beyond the walls of the church building, including Salvation Army, Churches United for the Homeless, YWCA, ERD, UTO, Integrity, the Episcopal Peace Fellowship and many other opportunities for service.

Other events
Other events in the planning stages for St. Stephen’s includes a special opportunity to remember our deceased loved one at All Saints Day in November, Advent Lessons and Carol service in December, a St. Nicholas Day celebration for the children on Dec. 5, an earlier Christmas Eve Mass (this year at 8:00 pm instead of 11:00), with a special Christmas program for children during the service, several interactive artistic opportunities, just to name a very few.

I am so honored and blessed to be working alongside all of you. I find myself on occasion thanking God for this wonderful opportunity to be serving a congregation that truly does practice what it preaches. We truly are a congregation that is “called by Christ through the Holy Spirit
+ to live a life of common worship centered around grateful thanksgiving to God in the weekly celebration of the Holy Eucharist
+ to be faithful stewards of the gifts and resources entrusted to us
+ to be bearers of God's healing and reconciling love.”

I ask for your continued prayers for St. Stephen’s and its many ministries as we strive truly be a “vital, inclusive congregation committed to the ministry of all the baptized.” Please know that I pray for each of you in my daily prayers and at every Mass.

My blessings and deep affection to all of you, now and always.

Peace,
Jamie+