Very proud of our very own Dr. John Baird

The week of April 24

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Wednesday April 26 –

6:00 p.m. – Holy Eucharist

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/ preacher

Supper at a local restaurant follows

Sunday April 30  – 3 Easter

11:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

Children’s Chapel

Coffee Hour following

12:30 – Acolyte training

Music this morning at St. Stephen's

 Paul and Kristofer Sando on trumpets

Michelle Gelinske, James Mackay, Kelson Demmons and Paul Sando

ERD Ingathering THIS SUNDAY

Plan to bring the Episcopal Relief & Development (ER&D) coin boxes (or at least their contents!) to church for our ingathering of these offerings this Sunday, April 23. The contents of our individual boxes will be combined with the ER&D Sunday and the Lenten Wednesday offerings. Together we anticipate that there will be at least enough money ($175) to pay for one family’s share in a community garden through ER&D’s Gifts for Life.

Of course contributions, in addition to those from the coin boxes, will be welcome on April 23 as well.

Thank you from Fr. Jamie

Thank you!

I would like to sincerely thank everyone who worked hard this past week to make our liturgies work smoothly.  Thank you to our acolytes, lectors, eucharistic ministers, flower organizers, ushers, and those who cleaned up after the services. You all made these liturgies run smoothly.

Thank you to our cantors and especially thank you to our organist James Mackay, who proved us with some incredible music. Thank you to  Leo for cantoring so effectively for the very first time at the Easter Vigil and to Michelle Gelinske for the beautiful cantoring on Palm Sunday and Easter Day. Thank you also for those who took photos, who shared events on social media and those who invited friends and loved ones to our church during this week.

Thank you especially to Kelson Demmons for his wonderful gift of music on Easter Day!  

Thank you especially to Sandy Holbrook and Alice Hauan for their very faithful Altar Guild duties, and to Alice for the wonderful job of polishing.

I am personally grateful for each of you.

The attendance at each of Holy Week liturgies increased greatly this year, and all of our liturgies were very well-attended, especially our Easter Vigil and Sunday Masses. We also had a great influx of visitors (not including the members of St. Mark’s who shared two of our liturgies this year) Thank you especially to everyone who worshipped and shared their presence.

Although I am physically exhausted after this week of activity, (which also included several pastoral visits, an emergency baptism and a few other unforeseen situations) please know I am so grateful to be serving such a vibrant, amazing and committed congregation as St. Stephen’s.

St. Stephen’s showed yet again that it was a worshipping community, striving to live out in its life the commission of the Risen Christ.

Fr. Jamie+

The week of April 17 (Easter Week)

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Wednesday April 19 – Wednesday of Easter Week

6:00 p.m. – Holy Eucharist

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/ preacher

Supper at a local restaurant follows

Sunday April 23  – 2 Easter

11:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

Children’s Chapel

Coffee Hour following

12:45 – Bible Study on the Prophets

Easter morning

Easter Vigil

It was a truly gorgeous and very well-attended Vigil Mass. Thank you to Pastor Joe Larson for concelebrating and for a wonderful sermon, and the members of St. Mark's who braved our all-no-holds-barred “smells and bells” Mass. Thank you once again to James Mackay for his excellent music,  and it was a great joy to have Leo Wilking cantor for the first time. Thank you also to Darcy for her extra duties as acolyte and to all the readers. 

 Blessing the New Fire

 Censing the New Fire

Easter

Holy Saturday/Easter Vigil at St. Stephen's

Good Friday

Maundy Thursday

A very moving Maundy Thursday Mass this evening

 The stripped altar

 The empty aumbry

The Altar of Repose

Maundy Thursday

Episcopal News Service story on the Integrity Window

North Dakota church dedicates window commemorating LGBTQ ministry

The Integrity Window, or St. Aelred Window, was dedicated April 2 at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Fargo, North Dakota. Photo: St. Stephen’s

[St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church press release] St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Fargo, North Dakota, dedicated and blessed a new stained-glass window on April 2 commemorating the congregation’s longtime LGBTQ ministry.

The Integrity Window (also known as the St. Aelred Window) was designed by St. Stephen’s parishioner and local artist Gin Templeton. Michael Orchard Studio of Fargo built and installed it.

St. Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167) is the patron saint of Integrity, the LGBTQ organization in the Episcopal Church. The window features an overarching rainbow, the Pride flag and a depiction of the St. Stephen’s Noah’s Ark float used each year in the Pride Parade.

The window also references the Baptismal Covenant of the Book of Common Prayer, with the message, “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect with the dignity of every human being?” A verse from the book of Galatians also included. The window is dedicated in memory of “those who died trying to be their authentic selves.”

“Loving God, loving your neighbor as yourself, that’s really the basis for all Christian ministry as I see it, and I think that’s the basis for how we see GLBTQ inclusion,” the Rev. Jamie Parsley, priest-in-charge at St. Stephen’s, told local TV station KVLY-TV.

St. Stephen’s has a long history of being committed to gay and lesbian causes, and in 2015, it sought Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight in the Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota so the congregation could offer same-sex marriage rites. Bishop Carol Gallagher was appointed to provide that episcopal oversight of the congregation.

The congregation also was a trailblazer in the Diocese of North Dakota in including women in its leadership, clergy and liturgical ministries. It was the first congregation in the diocese to have female senior wardens and acolytes, and it was first to welcome a female priest. The congregation dedicated a window to these milestones in September.

HOLY WEEK at St. Stephen's

HOLY WEEK at St. Stephen’s

Thursday, April 13 – Maundy Thursday

7:00 pm Holy Eucharist + Foot washing + Stripping of Altar

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/John Anderson, preacher

James Mackay, music

Friday April 14 –Good Friday   

12:00 pm – Good Friday service + Solemn Collects +

Veneration of the Cross + Eucharist of the Pre-sanctified (with St. Mark’s Lutheran Church)

Fr. Jamie, Pr. Joe Larson, co-officiating/Fr. Jamie, preacher

James Mackay, music

 3:00 pm – Stations of the Cross

Fr. Jamie, officiant

James Mackay, music

Saturday, April 15 – Holy Saturday

10:00 am – Holy Saturday service

Fr. Jamie, officiant

James Mackay, music

8:00 pm—Easter Vigil (with St. Mark’s Lutheran Church)

Lighting of the New Fire + Service of Light + Return of the Alleluia

Fr. Jamie, Pr. Joe Larson, concelebrants/Pr. Joe, preacher

James Mackay, music

Sunday April 16 – Easter

11:00 am – Holy Eucharist

Renewal of Baptismal Vows

Fr. Jamie celebrant/ preacher

James Mackay, music

NO Children’s Chapel

Coffee hour following

Palm Sunday

Sign of Spring

A sign of spring this morning before Mass

Palm Sunday

Join us tomorrow for

PALM SUNDAY

11:00 am – Holy Eucharist

Blessing/Procession of Palms + Reading of the Passion Gospel

Fr. Jamie interviewed

Fr. Jamie sounded actually pretty articulate when he was interviewed by the News about the dedication of the Integrity Window yesterday.

The week of April 3

Join us this week at St. Stephen’s

Wednesday April 5 –

6:00 p.m. – Holy Eucharist

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/Dan Rice, preacher

James Mackay, music

Soup supper following

Friday April 7 –

6:00 p.m. – Stations of the Cross

Sunday April 9  – Palm Sunday

11:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist

Fr. Jamie, celebrant/preacher

Children’s Chapel

Coffee Hour following

12:45 - Vestry