From Fr. Jamie

As I write this I will have been Priest at St. Stephens’ for nine months. It certainly has been a roller coaster ride, but what I have especially enjoyed is being on the roller coaster ride with all of you.

In that time we have seen some real growth together. It always a good time to take a good look at such growth and to be thankful for God for all that has been given us. Taking account of where we’ve been and where we going is simply putting things into perspective.

The other day I was talking to the manager of Hurley’s. After asking me how things are going at St. Stephen’s, he said, “Well, in my experience there are always two signs of growth in a church: weddings in baptisms.”

If that’s the case, then we’re a pretty healthy church for our size. Already this year we have had two baptisms, with another two scheduled for later in the summer and no doubt a few more before the year is done.

As for weddings, the last wedding at St. Stephen’s was 1996. The last weeding in the actual church building was in 1993. The wedding of Sara and Kody Backman at St. Stephen’s on June 20 certainly seemed to break the wedding drought—we have three more weddings scheduled this summer.

Our Average Sunday Attendance (ASA as it’s commonly known) has been up—quite a feat for summer. Even usually “low attendance Sundays” such as Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends were up. Our new Wednesday night Eucharist has been much more successful than I had anticipated and it seems to be a something we will continue doing in the fall.

It has been several years since we’ve had a Sunday School at St. Stephen’s. This Fall, we will be starting one (more information later).

The signs of growth and potential growth are in the air. Certainly I am sensing and seeing a real excitement in the air at St. Stephen’s.

This is an exciting time for St. Stephen’s. This summer I read a wonderful book by Tony Jones, entitled The New Christians. In this book, Jones has a wonderful description of “the Church.” He writes:

“We are committed to doing justice, loving Kindness and walking humbly with God. In the words of Jesus, we seek to live by the Great Commandment, loving God and loving our neighbors—including those who might be considered ‘the least of these’ or enemies. We understand the gospel to be centered on Jesus and his message of the Kingdom of God, a message offering reconciliation with God, humanity, creation and self.”

In so many way, I think that is exactly what we are all doing at St. Stephen’s. It is an exciting time and I am very happy to be participating in it with you.

-peace,
Jamie+


Confirmation

Bishop Michael Smith will be visiting us on November 22. In preparation for that visit, I am willing to help anyone who would like to do prepare for Confirmation by Bishop Smith.

Confirmation, according to the Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer is “the rite in which we express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop.”

What is required of those to be confirmed?

“It is required of those who are to be confirmed that they have been baptized, are sufficiently instructed in the Christian faith, are penitent for their sins, and are ready to affirm their confession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.” (BCP, p. 860)

In other words, Confirmation is a way of reconfirming one’s Baptismal vows and “officially becoming an Episcopalian.” Since Bishop Michael Smith will be visiting on November 22, this will be a great opportunity for anyone who would like to confirmed to do so.

If you are interested in receiving the sacrament of Confirmation, please talk to Fr. Jamie