Congregational News
Quick Dates
Campus Ministry Services Sundays at 6pm
Saturday, December 24: Christmas Eve Services 4pm and 9pm
Sunday, December 25: Christmas Service with Pageant (transferred) 4pm followed by potluck
Monday, Dec 26- Monday, Jan 2: OFFICE CLOSED, voice and email will be monitored
AWAKE/AWARE
Christmas Pageant has been moved to the 4pm service on Christmas Day due to weather, participants should arrive by 3pm to get into costume!
Please note that there will be NO AWAKE or AWARE on January 1 and January 8 due to the Holidays.
AWAKE/ AWARE photos from past years are on display in the sanctuary, presented by Chris Donaldson (as she has done for seven years!).
Christmas Service Schedule
Christmas Eve -Holy Communion -Saturday, December 24
4:00 pm Family Friendly Service
9:00 pm Festive Eucharist with Choir and light incense
Christmas Day -Sunday, December 25
NO MORNING SERVICE
4:00 pm Christmas Day Eucharist –Christmas Pageant, Eucharist, and Carols followed by “Encore Potluck”, bring your leftover festive goodies to share. Wassail will be provided.
Year End Financials
Please make sure that any financial gifts including pledge payments for calendar year 2016 are postmarked on or before December 31st, placed in the offering plate no later than Sunday, December 25th , or hand-delivered to the church office by making arrangements with the Parish Administrator at (614) 294-3749 in advance.
The IRS requires that all pledges or donations collected on the first Sunday in January (whether they are intended for your 2016 pledge AND regardless of the check date) be reported as 2017 contributions for income tax purposes. If you have any questions about this, please contact Wayne Sheppard at awsheppard@lovelandlaw.net , or 614-928-9107.
Christmas/Epiphany Offering
In this season of light breaking into the darkness of our lives, we have decided to expand the season of giving to include the weeks of Epiphany following Christmas. Please use one of the Christmas offering envelopes found in the pews or simply mark your check “Christmas/Epiphany offering”. This year the proceeds will be divided between refugee assistance and “Street News”, a project of the Coalition for the Homeless that employs 50 people to both write and personally sell the news on Columbus’ streets in order to prevent homelessness for those on the economic edge.
In memory of Trudy Bush
A memorial service in thanksgiving for the life of Trudy Bush will be held Thursday, December 29, 2016 at 1:30 pm at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. A light reception will follow. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be sent to:
This progressive Christian magazine is where Trudy spent the happiest 13 years of her professional life.
Trudy had a life-long love of elephants. The National Resources Defense Council has set up this fund to fight the world’s illegal ivory trade.
Friends of Sabeel, North America
Sabeel is a Christian Palestinian peace, justice and reconciliation center in Jerusalem. This North American organization supports its work.
A gift in her name to the Church, Synagogue or Mosque you attend.
Please continue to hold Elliott Bush, Karl Stevens, and the whole family in your prayers.
Book Club News
The next meeting of Book Club is at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, January 11, 2017. The January meeting is where everyone brings 1-2 book suggestions that they want to suggest for book club for the year. We’ll all share our ideas, resulting in a list. We’ll decide together on a book for February. After the list is compiled and shared, we’ll vote on the list to see what we’ll read and discuss throughout the year. This is a great meeting, since you hear about so many books that you may want to read, even if they don’t get selected for the book club. The only rules: books must be available in paperback OR readily available from the public library for borrowing. We’ll be meeting at Kaethe Sandman’s home. Please let Kaethe know in advance if you plan to attend. We’ll share a potluck dinner; please bring something (main dish, side dish, dessert, beverage) to share. Everyone is most welcome, and the January meeting is a great first meeting for anyone!
A Fond Farewell
Dear friends,
In preparation for the birth of our second child, Brian and I have given much consideration to the needs of our family. After much thought we have decided that I will not return to work after the baby is born, and have provided my resignation to the Rector, Wardens, and Vestry. I will remain with you through January 15 at which time I will take my leave. It has been a pleasure to work for St. Stephen’s for the past 5 years, and I leave behind many fond memories and connections. I wish you all the best as you continue forward through your transitions and I hope that our paths may cross again in the future, as God wishes.
With all of my best, and blessings,
Meghan Western
St. Stephen’s has been greatly blessed by Meghan’s cheerful spirit and “can do” attitude these past five years. During a parish transition the person on staff who feels it most is always the Parish Administrator. Despite enduring several transitions Meghan has met that stress with grace and we are in her debt. In thanksgiving for her meritorious service here and in anticipation for another young soul in her household we are offering everyone an opportunity to contribute to a purse for Meghan (who decided to resign now rather than take her well-earned maternity leave and then resign) and to present it to her at a festive coffee hour after the 10:30 am service on Sunday, January 15, 2017. Please mark any available envelope or note in the memo line of your check “Meghan’s purse” and we will combine all contributions into one large gift. Thank you.
Becky Michelfelder, Rector
Service Opportunities
NSI Donations for November/December
You are so very generous! Thank you! THANK YOU! St. Stephen’s supplied 479 boxes of potatoes for the NSI Christmas food baskets. Besides that, you “adopted” 36 children for gifts. Those children will have a joyous Christmas because of you.
For the rest of December and all of January we will be collecting cans of soup.
BREAD NEWS
On Monday Dec. 12, several members of St. Stephen’s attended the BREAD research kick-off. After a review of the BREAD research process, Rae Fellows and Norm Wernet joined the group working on Jobs and Economic Opportunity. They are both members of this research committee. The committee meet with more than 30 different workforce agencies in the past year to look for best practices and find ways to improve job opportunities for those who have served sentences in prison and are coming back to the community. BREAD formed a relationship with City Council member Elizabeth Brown, who agreed to sponsor an ordinance to give preference to city vendors who employ returning citizens. She has found support from other members of council and plans to bring the ordinance to a vote in March. The Jobs Committee will continue to work with City Council to put this ordinance into effect, while searching for ways to bring social enterprise to Columbus neighborhoods like Linden and the Hilltop.
The next Jobs Committee meeting will be held on Monday January 23rd at 6:00pm. If you’d like to attend, please let Rae or Norm know and we can provide you with more information.
With your help, BREAD rises!
Around Town and Beyond
Refresh Your Soul Conference
Exciting news! ERS Parish Health Ministry (PHM) and Xavier University (XU) are partnering to present two days devoted to dementia care.
Refresh Your Soul 2017 – Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Overcoming the Struggles & Living Inspired: Monday, March 13, 2017 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. &
XU Dementia Care Summit: Tuesday, March 14, 2017 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Location for both events: The Cintas Center at Xavier University
For more information or to download a printable flyer to share, please visit parishhealthministry.com/rys
Reminder: If you’re mailing something to the church, especially time-sensitive materials, we recommend using the PO Box! St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, PO Box 82263
Columbus, OH 43202