Blessing of Candles

Join us tomorrow

Sunday, February 1

The Fourth Sunday in Epiphany

for the Blessing of Candles

11:00 am. Holy Eucharist

Be sure to bring any candles you would like to have blessed.

We also be commissioning this year's Vestry during the service

The week of January 26

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Wednesday January 28 

6:00 pm – Holy Eucharist

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

Incense will be offered at this Mass

Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Thursday, January 29

6:00 pm – Confirmation

Friday January 30 –   

Fr. Jamie’s day off

Sunday February 1 –4 Epiphany

Blessing of Candles

11:00 am – Holy Eucharist

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

Children’s Chapel

Coffee Hour following

Annual Meeting

Annual Meeting

The week of January 19

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Wednesday January 21 

6:00 pm – Holy Eucharist

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

Incense will be offered at this Mass

Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Thursday, January 22

6:00 pm – Confirmation

Friday January 23 –   

Fr. Jamie’s day off

Sunday January 25 –3 Epiphany

11:00 am – Holy Eucharist

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

Children’s Chapel

Coffee Hour following

12:oo pm – Annual Meeting

Michael Eklund's birthday celebration

Celebrating Michael Eklund's birthday at Osaka following Wednesday night Mass

 

At Mass we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the death of Bl. Richard Meux Benson, founder of the Society of St. John the Evangelist.

 

The week of January 12

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Wednesday January 14 

6:00 pm – Holy Eucharist

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

Incense will be offered at this Mass

Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Thursday, January 15

3:00 pm – Wedding

Fr. Jamie, officiating

7:00 pm – Vigil Service/Reception of ashes for Rick Holbrook at St. Stephen’s

Fr. Jamie, officiating

Friday January 16 –   

11:00 am – Requiem Eucharist for Rick Holbrook at St. Stephen’s

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

Deacon Charlotte Robbins, assisting

James Mackay, music

Michelle Gelinske Patnode, soloist

Sunday January 18 –2 Epiphany

11:00 am – Holy Eucharist

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

Children’s Chapel

Coffee Hour following

12:45 - Vestry

If anyone is interested in helping out or serving the luncheon following Rick’s Requiem on Friday, please contact Lavonne Marubbio at slholbrook@cableone.net

The Requiem Eucharist for Rick Holbrook

The Requiem Eucharist for Rick Holbrook will be 11:00 a.m. Friday, January 16 at St. Stephen’s, Fargo.

A Vigil Service with time for remembrances will be 7:00 pm Thursday evening, January 15, also at St. Stephen’s.

Burial of ashes will be in the St. Stephen’s Memorial Garden at a later date.

Please continue to keep in your prayers the repose of Rick’s soul, as well as Sandy, their sons Martin, Brad and their families at this time.

Rest eternal grant to him, O Lord;

and let light perpetual shine upon him.

May Rick's soul and the souls of all the departed through the mercy of God rest in peace

and rise in glory. 

Prayers for the repose of the soul of Rick Holbrook

I ask the prayers of St. Stephen’s

for the repose of the soul of

Rick Holbrook

who died this afternoon (January 7)

I also ask your prayers for Sandy

for their sons Martin and Brad

and their families at this time

Information regarding the service at St. Stephen’s will be forthcoming.

O God, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus 
Christ destroyed death, and brought life and immortality to 
light: Grant that your servant Rick, being raised with him, may 
know the strength of his presence, and rejoice in his eternal 
glory; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one 
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Most merciful God, whose wisdom is beyond our 
understanding: Deal graciously with Sandy and her family in their grief. 
Surround them with your love, that they may not be 
overwhelmed by their loss, but have confidence in your 
goodness, and strength to meet the days to come; through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayers for the repose of the soul of Jason Schroeder

The prayers of St Stephen’s are requested for the repose of the soul of Jason Schroeder, grandson of Greta Taylor, who died last evening (Jan. 6) after a long battle cancer.

Please also keep in your prayers his wife Angie, his children, Payton and Bailey, his parents Bobbi and Jim, his brothers Eric, Joe and Christopher, as well as Verdell.  

Almighty God, before whom live all who die in the Lord: Receive Jason into the courts of your heavenly dwelling place. Let his heart and soul now ring out in joy to you, O Lord, the living God, and the God of those who live. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, look with pity upon the sorrows of your servants for whom we pray. Remember them, Lord, in your mercy; nourish them with patience; comfort them with a sense of your goodness; lift up your countenance upon them; and give them peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The week of January 5

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Wednesday January 7 

6:00 pm – Holy Eucharist

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

Incense will be offered at this Mass

Supper afterward at a local restaurant

Thursday, January 8

Finance meeting

Friday January 9 –   

Fr. Jamie’s day off

Sunday January 11 –1 Epiphany/Baptism of Our Lord

NEW MEMBER SUNDAY

11:00 am – Holy Eucharist

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

Renewal of Baptismal Vows

Children’s Chapel

Coffee Hour following

Join us

this Sunday, January 4, 2015

the Second Sunday after Christmas,

11:00 am Holy Eucharist

We will once again have a traditional

“Blessing of the Chalk”

“Blessing of the homes of the parish”

“Proclaim the Date of Easter”

and Three Kings Cake at Coffee Hour

Blessing of Chalk/Blessing of the Homes of the Parish

Since the Middle Ages there has been a tradition that on (or near) the feast of the Epiphany we pray for God’s blessing on our homes, marking the entrance with chalk (an incarnational image reminding us of the dust of the earth from which we were made). We mark the main door of our home with the initials of the Magi and the numerals of the new year, connected with crosses:

20 + C + M + B + 15

The initials remind us of the legendary names of the Magi – Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar – and also stand for the Latin motto: Christus mansionem benedicat, “May Christ bless this house.” In the Book of Exodus, the Israelites marked their doors with blood so that the Lord would pass over their homes; but in this ritual, we mark our doors with chalk as a sign that we have invited God’s presence and blessing into our homes.

It is traditional to write the inscription on the lintel, above the door, but it can be written anywhere near the entrance. The following prayer may be said while the entrance is marked:

The three Wise Men,

C Caspar,

M Melchior,

B and Balthasar followed the star of God’s Son who became human

20 two thousand

15 and fifteen years ago.

++ May Christ bless our home

++ and remain with us throughout the new year. Amen.

The Proclamation of the Date of Easter

The Proclamation of the Date of Easter on Epiphany dates from a time when calendars were not readily available. It was necessary to make known the date of Easter in advance, since many celebrations of the liturgical year depend on its date. The number of Sundays that follow Epiphany, the date of Ash Wednesday, and the number of Sundays that follow Pentecost are all computed in relation to Easter.

Three Kings/Epiphany Cake

 Following Mass, please join is for the traditional Epiphany cake. A nut or plastic baby figurine is baked into the cake and whoever gets the nut or baby in her or his piece of cake brings the cake the next year.

 May this Epiphany Blessing be a reminder that Christ is incarnate in the love and care we manifest to each other in our ordinary daily lives together.

 Even if you are unable to make it to the Epiphany Mass this year, the chalk will be available for anyone who would like to use it to bless their homes.