Monday, November 30, 2015

The week of November 30

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Wednesday December 2   
6:00 p.m. – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/  preacher
James Mackay, music
Incense will be offered at this Mass
Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Friday December 4
After 7:00 pm – Rectory Advent/Christmas party

Sunday December 6  – 2 Advent
PLEDGE IN-GATHERING
11:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist
Children’s Chapel
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher
Coffee Hour following
12:45 - Vestry

Monday, November 23, 2015

Thanksgiving Eve Eucharist Wednesday night


The week of November 23

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Wednesday November 25   
7:00 p.m. – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/John Anderson,  preacher
Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Thursday November 26 - Thanksgiving
4:00 pm – Gentle Thanksgiving.

Sunday November 29  – 1 Advent
11:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist
No Children’s Chapel
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

Coffee Hour following

Sunday, November 15, 2015

The week of November 16

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Monday November 16
7:30 pm – Matthew Patnode recital at Beckwith Recital Hall, NDSU

Wednesday November 18   
6:00 p.m. – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/ preacher
Incense will be offered at this Mass
Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Friday November 20-Sunday November 22
Acolyte Festival at Gethsemane Cathedral, Fargo.

Sunday November 22  – Christ the King
11:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist
Children’s Chapel
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

Coffee Hour following

Friday, November 13, 2015

Adolf Scott Committall

 In case you did not read this well-written article on the front page of yesterday’s Fargo Forum, here is the story that was done about the service we did for Adolf Scott:


 http://www.inforum.com/news/3881001-ashes-ashes-fargo-church-buries-unknown-urn









(All photos from the Fargo Forum

‘Ashes to ashes’: Fargo church buries unknown urn


  at 6:00 a.m.

FARGO – The air was thick with the sweet scent of incense at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church as the parishioners gathered to bury a brother they know only by name.
"Adolf Scott" is what it says on the label at the bottom of an ornate black urn that someone found in July at a north-end apartment building not far from the church.
No one has come to claim the ashes, and the coroner has been unable to locate his next of kin.
"We don't know where he was born, where he died, what kind of life he lived; we do not know if he was a good person or a terrible person," the Rev. Jamie Parsley told the congregation. "Ultimately, tonight, none of that matters. What matters, tonight, is that we are welcoming him here into our midst. We're providing him with some dignity in his death."
Parishioners prayed and called him "Brother Adolf" as the burial rites instructed. Parsley, the priest-in-charge at the church, then led them out into the churchyard to bury him in the memorial garden.
A strange find
Scott might have died recently, or he might have died a century ago.
"In an urn, (ashes) last forever," said Cass County Coroner John Baird.
And a portion of the ashes appear to be missing, but it's also possible that Scott died as a baby, or that his ashes were shared among family members, Baird said.
When Parsley heard about the urn, he offered to bury it in the church's new memorial garden.
"One of the things we envisioned from day one was we would also be able to provide burial for the ashes of others," he said. "It's just a privilege for us to give him a place."
Parsley is willing to return the ashes if an owner claims them, but this could mark the end of a saga that began four months ago at Edgewood Court Apartments, 3301 Broadway.
On July 22, resident manager Paula Schmidt heard from several tenants that an urn was on top of the mailboxes, and she brought it inside. Typically, her residents know to visit the office when they've lost something, but no one came.
She called Fargo police five days later and gave them the urn, then put up signs in the building's entrances. Again, no response, which surprised Schmidt.
"If it was my loved one, their ashes, I definitely would be looking around if I lost it," she said Wednesday. "If you did leave something like that, wouldn't you want to pick it up?"
Maybe it was dropped off by a person driving by, she suggested, but the incident still puzzles her.
"That's probably the strangest thing that's happened to me since I've managed," said Schmidt, who's been managing apartments for 25 years.
Mystery man
Police handed the urn off to the Cass County Coroner's Office, which attempted to find records of the deceased Adolf Scott or his family. No luck.
Deputy Coroner Kriste Ross determined there were 147 Adolf Scotts, living and dead, in the United States. But when she called the departments of vital statistics, which track births and deaths, in North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Winnipeg, "none had Adolf Scotts who were deceased," she said.
She checked the Cass County registries dating back to 1935, but discovered no Adolf Scott has lived here in the past 80 years. She also called all of the local funeral homes, "and nobody had handled those remains," she said.
It was a tedious process that took weeks, but what frustrates Ross most is "that (the ashes) are abandoned, for one, and then not being able to find the person or people who they belong to."
'Dust to dust'
In the dark churchyard, Parsley knelt on the ground as he carefully placed the urn in a hole next to a stone cross.
"Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust," he said and tossed a handful of dirt over the urn.
The parishioners followed as they helped bury Scott near the ashes of other parishioners.
Schmidt expressed relief that the church agreed to the burial.
"When somebody has died, you need to hold it in honor and respect," she said. "And I was kind of wondering what they were going to end up doing with it, but I'm so thankful that somebody agreed to do that."



Pledge Sunday this Sunday

Join us this Sunday, November 15, for our Stewardship Sunday.

Luncheon will be served by the Vestry following the mass, at which time pledge cards and time-and-talent sheets will be distributed. The pledge in-gathering will be Sunday, December 6.

Please prayerfully consider both your monetary pledge and your pledge of your own time and talents. And join us this Sunday as e thank you for your support, care and ministry to St. Stephen’s. 

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Adolf Scott Committal Tonight

Please join us this evening for the interment of the ashes of Adolf Scott following a celebration of Holy Eucharist

6:00 pm
Wednesday November 11
The Feast of St. Martin of Tours

Incense will offered at this Mass

We will remember Adolf Scott during the Mass with prayers and the Commendation.

We will then process to the Memorial Garden for the committal of his ashes.

Please dress warmly if you are planning to attend the committal.


Supper will follow as usual at a local restaurant. 

Monday, November 9, 2015

Prayers for the soul of Adolf Scott/ Interment information

I ask the prayers of St. Stephen’s for the repose of the soul of Adolf Scott.

We have no information about who Adolf was, except that on July 22, 2015, an urn containing his ashes was found abandoned at an apartment house in north Fargo. The authorities were unable to find any other information about him, despite an extensive search. 

When the St. Stephen’s Memorial Garden was originally envisioned, we saw it as a place not only for interment of our own members, but also as a place in which all people would receive a proper and respectful burial.

With that in mind, on Wednesday, November 11, during our 6:00 pm Wednesday night Mass, we will include prayers for Adolf Scott, conclude the mass by commending him to God and then we will inter his ashes in the memorial garden. Please join us as we do so.


The week of November 9

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Tuesday November 10
7:00 pm – Celebration of Veterans concert at Fargo South High School (more information on St. Stephen’s blog:    http://ststephensfargo.blogspot.com/2015/11/celebration-of-veterans-community.html

Wednesday November 11   
6:00 p.m. – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/ preacher
Incense will be offered at this Mass
Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Sunday November 15  – 25 Pentecost
STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY
11:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist
Children’s Chapel
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

Stewardship Luncheon (hosted by the Vestry) follows


Sunday, November 8, 2015


Jessica Zdenek preached up a storm this morning

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Prayers for the repose of the soul of Huey Monnerjahn

The prayers of St. Stephen’s are requested for the repose of the soul of Huey Monnerjahn, the father of Vanessa Bourgeois. Huey died this evening (Nov. 7th) in New Orleans.

Please also keep Vanessa, Fred and their entire family in your prayer at this time.


Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your 
servant Huey. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of 
your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your 
own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, 
into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the 
glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

May his soul and the souls of all the departed, through the 
mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
 

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Wednesday, November 4, 2015


Sue Morrissey's birthday-eve dinner at HoDo following the annual Requiem Mass




New acolytes for Wednesday night Mass

Our two newest acolytes for Wednesday night Mass



 Darcy
Stephanie



Annual Requiem Mass 2015

Our makeshift catafalque for the annual Requiem Mass


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Annual Requiem Mass Wednesday evening

Join us
Wednesday, November 4
for our
Annual Requiem Mass
for All the Departed
6:00 pm

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/ preacher
James Mackay, music

Incense will be offered at this Mass


Supper afterward at a local restaurant



If you would like to include the names of any departed loved ones to be read aloud during this Mass, please send them to Fr. Jamie. All names will be read during the Mass.

Monday, November 2, 2015

The week of November 2

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Tuesday November 3
7:00 p.m. Deacons class

Wednesday November 4   
6:00 p.m. – Annual Requiem Mass
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/ preacher
Incense will be offered at this Mass
Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Sunday November 8  – 24 Pentecost
11:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist
Children’s Chapel
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/Jessica Zdenek, preacher

Coffee Hour following