The week of January 1

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s


Wednesday January 2 –
6:00 pm – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher
Incense will be offered at this Mass
Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Sunday January 6– Epiphany
10:00 am - Rock Talk! (for pre-teens) with John Baird

11:00 am – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher
Children’s Chapel
The blessing of Chalk/The blessing of the homes of the parish/Proclamation of the date of Easter

Three Kings cake will be served at coffee hour

The birth of Oscar Thaddeus Slomski Reusch

Oscar Thaddeus Slomski Reusch

Son of Vincent Reusch and Heather Slomski

was born Saturday, December 15, 2012

O God, you have taught us through your blessed Son that whoever receives a little child in the name of Christ receives Christ himself: We give thanks for the blessing you have bestowed upon Vincent and Heather in giving them Oscar. Confirm their joy by a lively sense of your presence with them, and give them calm strength and patient wisdom as they seek to bring Oscar to love all that is true and noble, just and pure, lovable and gracious, excellent and admirable, following the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The rose in Oscar's honor, on the reredos at St. Stephen's

December 30, 2012

Christmas Eve at St. Stephen's

 The Nativity Set on Christmas Eve

 The Procession in

 The Reading of the Gospel/Children's Tableau

Goodbye, Pew

Moving the two huge pews out of the undercroft and over to Michelle Gelinske's music studio

December 23, 2012

Greening the Church

Greening the Church following Mass

December 23, 2012

St. Stephen's Day Mass

Join us

This evening

Wednesday December 26

at 6:00 pm

For a celebration of

the Holy Eucharist

Commemorating

St. Stephen the Protomartyr

and patron of the Parish of St. Stephen’s.

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

James Mackay, music

Incense will be offered at this Mass

Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Christmas Services

Christmas Caroling

 Seth Keene, Sue Morissey, John Ranney, Regina Ranney, Stephanie Parrot, Mike Morissey and Jan Stewart enjoying some post-caorling treats

 Seth Keene, John Ranney, Regina Ranney and Stephanie Parrot warming up after caroling

 Kathleen Keene, Mike Morissey, Gin Templeton and Sue Morissey tuning up

Regina Ranney gives instructions on caroling

The St. Stephen's Christmas Carolers were out in full force last night, December 21.

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s


Wednesday December 19 –
6:00 pm – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher
Incense will be offered at this Mass
Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Friday December 21
6:15 pm – Caroling (please meet at the church)
Warm-up afterward at the Rectory

Sunday December 23– 4 Advent
11:00 am – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/Sandy Holbrook, preacher
Children’s Chapel

Greening of the church (after Mass)

Gaudete Sunday

 Rose-colored paraments introduced for Gaudete Sunday (3 Advent)

Advent Lessons & Carols

Join us

This Sunday, December 16th

at 6:00 pm

For a Service of

Advent Lessons and Carols

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church will be joining us for this service.

Fr. Jamie and Pastor Mark Strobel will officiate.

James Mackay will lead music.

Leah Elliott and Michelle Gelinske will cantor.

The St. Mark’s Choir and the Treble Clefs will also perform.

Join us for this beautiful and meaningful service

as we wait in joyful expectation for the coming of

The Christ Child.

The week of December 10

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Wednesday December 12 –
6:00 pm – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher
Incense will be offered at this Mass
Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Friday December 14
6:00 pm – onward – Rectory Open House

Sunday December 16– 3 Advent
Gaudete Sunday
11:00 am – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher
Children’s Chapel

6:00 pm – Advent Lessons and Carols

The week of December 3

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s


Wednesday December 5 –
Noon – Michelle Gelinske recital (with Darin Henze) at the Plains Arts Museum (704 1 Ave. N., Fargo)

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

Sunday December 9– 2 Advent
PLEDGE IN-GATHERING
11:00 am – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher
Children’s Chapel

12:45 – Vestry

Bishop's Visit 2012

 St. Nicholas celebration during the Children's Chapel, Bishop Michael with Erich, Luci and Siri.

Bishop Smith confirmed and received (front row from the left, Paul Mott, Michael McMullen, Cathy McMullen, Leah Elliott, Sandy Kenze and Vinnie Reusch).

BIG Sunday at St. Stephen's tomorrow

Don’t forget about Bishop Michael Smith’s visit tomorrow (December 2). Three confirmations, three receptions and three new members being recognized. Also, Rock Talk! at 10:00 am, St. Nicholas celebration during Children’s Chapel (with treats for the kids) and check out the new coat rack. And be sure to bring something for the potluck following the Mass. Plus, the church is all decked out in Sarum Blue for Advent (which begins on Sunday).

New Coat Rack at St. Stephen's

Because we needed more room for coats, we had to extend the coat racks out. Here's the after, and the before photos.

After

and before....

Bishop's Visit/Potluck/Confirmations/Receptions

A friendly reminder that Bishop Michael Smith will be joining us this Sunday for his annual visit. He will be confirming and receiving several at least six people, and we will be welcoming new members as well.


During Children’s Chapel, there will be a St. Nicholas celebration in honor of the Feast of St. Nicholas on Dec. 6th. Special treats will be given to the children.

After the mass, we will be having a potluck, so please bring feel free to food to share.

Most of all, we hope you will come out for this great celebration of our congregation.

Rock Talk! This Sunday

·                                 ROCK TALK is a ministry for youth 9+. If you know any pre-teens that would like to join, they are welcome! Next ROCK TALK is this Sunday, Dec. 2, 10 AM, with James Mackay. The topic will be lots of fun! : If you were writing a Christmas Carol today, what would you put in it? We'll talk about the folk origins of Christmas caroling and Carols--and we'll gather ingredients for our own carol.

The week of November 26

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s


Wednesday November 28 –
6:00 pm – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher
Incense will be offered at this Mass
Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Saturday December 1
Sertoma Holiday Lights begins at Lindenwood Park, Fargo.
St. Stephen’s has a display this year

Sunday December 2– 1 Advent
BISHOP’S VISIT
10:00 am – Rock Talk!

11:00 am – Holy Eucharist
Bishop Michael Smith, celebrant/preacher
Children’s Chapel - St. Nicholas celebration
Confirmation/Reception of New Members

12:00 pm - Potluck Lunch and Presentation following Mass
Please plan to bring food to our potluck in honor of Bishop Smith’s visit and for Confirmands and Newly received.

Please pray for our confirmands:
Leah Elliott
Michael McMullen
Vincent Reusch

And for those about to be received into the Episcopal Church
Sandra Kenz
Catherine McMullen
Paul Mott

And for our new members:
Emily Woolwine
Jeanne Woolwine

Apse repainting

After

....and before.

 

Holiday Lights display painting party

The finished product at Lindenwood Park, Fargo

Mike McMullen

Cathy McMullen

Seth Keene

Seth

Seth and Karl Keene

Karl

Karl

 King Wencelaus

November 24, 2012

The week of November 19

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s


Wednesday November 21 – Thanksgiving Eve
7:00 pm – Holy Eucharist at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
(670 4th Avenue North , Fargo)

Thursday November 22 –
Thanksgiving Day

Sunday November 25– Christ the King Sunday
11:00 am – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie Parsley, celebrant/preacher
No Children’s Chapel

Stewardship Sunday/Vestry potluck this Sunday

Join us

This Sunday

November 18

for

STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY

Holy Eucharist at 11:00 am

Vestry potluck following Mass

Pledge cards and Time-and-Talent sheets

will be handed out at this time.

Please join us

as Fr. Jamie and the Vestry

express their heart-felt gratitude for the many ways

in which you have given of your time, talent, gifts and self

to St. Stephen’s

and as we look toward another year

of Ministry.

Fr. Jamie's Stewardship Letter

November 8, 2012

St. Wilibrord

Dear St. Stephen’s family,

Five years ago, the membership of St. Stephen’s was 55 members. The Average Sunday Attendance at that time was 24.

How things have changed! Our current membership is 121. This past Sunday, as we celebrated the Baptism of our own Leah Elliott, there were over 50 people in church. At no point during this past year (even during the summer) did our attendance slip below 30. And almost every Sunday brings new visitors.

This not just good news; this is incredible news! Whenever I share information like this with colleagues and others in the wider Church, they are as shocked and amazed as I am often am. In the wider Church, numbers reflect growth and vitality.

But, for us, it is more than a matter of numbers. It is a matter of a congregation that has come together and is doing wonderful and transformative things in the name of God. As we look around us, we see a congregation of changing faces, of a church building that is being updated, of ministry that is reaching beyond these walls to the farthest stretches of the world.

Of course, a common question I am asked is: what’s the secret of our success? My first answer is always, of course, the Holy Spirit. This Spirit is most definitely at work in our congregation. God’s Spirit, as we all know, is a Spirit of renewal and life. And it is this Spirit feel in our midst when we gather together and it is this Spirit that empowers us when we go out and do ministry in the world.

My second answer is this: we are simply living out the Gospel. This is a congregation that has been committed to following Jesus’ message of loving God and loving one another, and, in doing so, being radically welcoming to every single person that comes through our doors. This is what makes the difference, and this is what makes us who we are.

We have so much to be thankful for at St. Stephen’s. It is an exciting time for us. New people are finding a home and a family at St. Stephen’s. Those of us who have been here for years are finding ourselves renewed and recharged, as well as confronted with all the changes and challenges of a growing congregation. And all of us, together, are doing ministry in whatever ways we can.

All that is happening here at St. Stephen’s is something to celebrate. This is a time in which we should be giving thanks to God for this church home, this church family and these opportunities to do the ministry of loving God and one another in worship and service.

On Sunday, November 18, we will all have an opportunity to celebrate these blessings God has granted to us. On November 18, we celebrate Pledge Sunday. Pledge time is the time in which we take a good, long look at our selves as a congregation and what we are doing in our own lives to help St. Stephen’s live even further into this growth and life we are celebrating.

That Sunday, the Vestry of St. Stephen’s will host a dinner after the 11:00 am celebration of Holy Eucharist. That dinner is a way for your Priest-in-Charge and your Vestry to thank you for all you have done for St. Stephen’s this year. At that meal, you will be given a packet that will contain your pledge card and your Time and Talent sheet. Your pledge card is an opportunity for your consider what kind of monetary pledge you would like to make to St. Stephen’s. As you know, ministry and the practical upkeep of our physical building is not done without finances.

The Time and Talent sheet is a way for you to consider pledging from your time and talent. What ways can you pledge from the gifts God has granted you in areas such as personal expertise? Are you an artist? Are you good at social care? Are you mechanically inclined? These are ways in which you have been blessed by God and, recognizing them as blessings, they are ways in which you can give back.

More than anything, know how grateful and humbled I am to be serving you. I am truly blessed by God to be serving a congregation that is excited about what it is doing, that is renewed by its energy and committed to its following of Jesus. Thank you for all you have given to me.

-peace,
Fr. Jamie+

The week of November 12

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s


Wednesday November 14 –
6:00 pm – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher
Incense will be offered at this Mass
Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Sunday November 18– 25 Pentecost
STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY
11:00 am – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie Parsley, celebrant/preacher
Children’s Chapel

Vestry potluck following Mass

5:00 pm – Gentle Thanksgiving (FM Veg)

Undercroft remodeling

 

Newly painted walls, following All Saints Sunday Mass

 

Sue Morrisey, Sandy Kenz and Kim Baird

 Sandy Kenz working on the new shades, November 10, 2012

The new shades, November 10, 2012

The week of November 5

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s


Wednesday November 7 –
6:00 pm – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher
Incense will be offered at this Mass
Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Sunday November 11– 24 Pentecost
11:00 am – Holy Eucharist
Fr. Jamie Parsley, celebrant/Sandy Holbrook, preacher
Children’s Chapel

12:45 pm – Vestry

St. Stephen's at the Movies TONIGHT

Join us

TONIGHT

Thursday, November 1st

for

St. Stephen’s at the Movies

6:00 pm – meet at Spicy Pie (322 Broadway) for pre-Movie meal

7:00 pm – The Master at the Fargo Theater (314 Broadway)

There will also be an opportunity for gathering afterward to discuss the movie for anyone who would like to do so.

All Souls Requiem

The week of October 29

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s


Wednesday, October 31- The Feast of All Faithful Departed (All Souls) observed
6:00 pm – Requiem Mass for all our deceased loved ones
Fr. Jamie – celebrant/preacher
The names of all those buried from St. Stephen’s throughout the years as well as those written on the list in the Narthex will be read.
Incense will be offered at this Mass.
Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Thursday November 1 - The Feast of All Saints
St. Stephen’s at the Movies
6:00 pm – meet at Spicy Pie (322 Broadway) for pre-Movie night meal

7:00 pm – The Master at the Fargo Theater (314 Broadway)

Friday, November 2
The Feast of All Faithful Departed (All Souls)

Saturday, November 3
Remember to set your clocks back one hour

Sunday November 4– All Saints Sunday
10 am – Rock Talk! for youth ages 8 and up

11:00 am – Holy Eucharist
Baptism of Leah Elliott
Fr. Jamie Parsley, celebrant/preacher
Children’s Chapel

Octave of All Saints/All Souls

This year at St. Stephen’s we will once again have an entire week to celebrate the saints in our lives. In preparation for the Feast of All Saints (which is one of the most important feast days in our Church year), we will be remembering all of the saints in our lives (those whom we have loved and who have shown us something of who God is). We will be offering several opportunities at St. Stephen’s to honor those who have passed on before us to the larger Communion of Saints.

+ A list will be placed in the Narthex for you to write the names of your deceased loved ones so they may be remembered at the special Requiem Mass we will celebrate on Wednesday October 31. You can also send me any names to Fr. Jamie at apium@aol.com and he will make sure they are remembered at the Requiem Mass and their names placed on the altar on All Saints Sunday.

+ A special altar will once again be placed in the Narthex. Please bring a photograph or other memento of your loved one to be displayed there from October 28 through November 4.

+ Attend the Requiem Mass at 6:00 pm Wednesday Oct. 31 and the All Saints Sunday Mass on November 4.

Wednesday, October 31- Eve of the Feast of All Faithful Departed (All Souls)

6:00 pm – Requiem Mass for all our deceased loved ones
Fr. Jamie – celebrant/preacher
James Mackay, music
The names of all those buried from St. Stephen’s throughout the years as well as those written on the list in the Narthex will be read.
Incense will be offered at this Mass.
Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Thursday November 1
The Feast of All Saints

Friday, November 2
The Feast of All Faithful Departed (All Souls)

Sunday November 4– All Saints Sunday
10 am – Pre-Teen gathering

11:00 am – Holy Eucharist
Baptism of Leah Elliott
Fr. Jamie Parsley, celebrant/preacher
Children’s Chapel