Upcoming Congregational Activities
Holy Week Service Schedule:
Sunday, March 20 –Palm Sunday, regular service times 10:15am Ecumenical Pal Blessing at Thomas Moore Newman Center (arrive at 10am!)
Monday, March 21-Wednesday, March 23 –7:00pm Holy Week Services
Thursday, March 24 -7:00pm Maundy Thursday with Washing of Feet and Stripping of the Altar
Friday, March 25– 12:30pm and 7:00pm Good Friday Services with communion from the reserved sacrament
Saturday, March 26-9:00pm The Great Vigil of Easter
Sunday, March 27– 10:30am Easter Sunday service (there is no 8:30am service on this date) followed by an Easter Egg Hunt for the children!
Pastoral Care March 18 & 19
The Rev. Karl Stevens will be on call for Faith this Friday through Saturday morning. If you need care, please contact him at 740-326-0236
Transition News
I was at the church for an early evening Finance Committee meeting yesterday. Interesting and strange sounds were coming from the sanctuary out to the office area. Some of them sounded like foghorns; others sounded like bassoons; others like whistles. It was rather disconcerting, but at the same time exciting. Staff from Muller Pipe Organ Company are busy working on reinstalling our organ pipes and voicing and tuning them. As part of the project, we are also getting a new rank of trumpet pipes. It will be wonderful to have our refurbished organ back in place, hopefully this Sunday! I’m eager to hear the glorious music coming forth from it. That’s one more transition that will soon be completed.
Please see the news elsewhere in these announcements about the clergy we have lined up for Sundays for April-June. To celebrate Faith’s retirement, we are planning a celebration for her on April 17 after the 10:30 service. Faith’s last official Sunday with us will be Easter Sunday, but she’ll come back on April 17 to be in the pews with us and attend the party. Look for more news about that in the coming weeks. We have lots of exciting things ahead. It is a wonderful time to be part of this parish.
Cynthia Whitacre, Senior Warden
Ecumenical Palm Sunday Processional
St. Stephen’s will be joining the Thomas Moore Newman Center and University Baptist for an ecumenical blessing of the palms before the 10:30am service on Palm Sunday. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN US, PLEASE MEET AT ST. STEPHEN’S AT 10AM TO WALK OVER. The blessing will take place at 10:15 at the Newman Center, and then we will process back to St. Stephen’s. The usual 10:30am service will begin once the procession arrives. The church will be open at it usual time for those who would prefer not to join in the blessing of the palms.
AWAKE, AWARE, ALIVE
- AWAKE meets this Sunday……..and it will be MAKE! Jen Schmeid will lead the children with an art project this Palm Sunday.
- The St. Stephens Children’s Easter Egg Hunt, a longtime church tradition, will be held on Easter Sunday, following the service. ALL ages of children are invited. Bring your Easter baskets, and parents, bring your cameras/ cellphones.
- AWAKE and AWARE will both meet on Easter Sunday.
- Sunday, April 3; for all children and parents, we are having a special AWAKE/ AWARE activity after the 10:30 service. We will have a pizza luncheon, followed by a visit to the Wexner Center of Arts (which is a couple of blocks south of us). We plan on visiting the Center, as an artist is displaying making art from old, discarded stuff, and making it into new art. Sounds like ‘resurrecting’ the old, you know? We do ask that parents accompany their children on this walk/ activity.
- Many, many thanks to everyone who helped in the AWAKE Trade-In Bake Sale. The response was beyond all expectations. We received over 600 non-food items for Neighborhood Services. Inc (NSI). And it also contributed to the over 400 cans of fruit that was donated to NSI as well. Thanks to Carolyn Van Der Stow for announcing, for doing the cans of fruit ‘part’, for counting each item, and for transporting all of the donations to NSI.
-Thanks to all parents and children for making baked goodies throughout the five Sundays.
-Thanks to Chris Donaldson for the WONDERFUL pictures displayed in the sanctuary during the Bake Sale. She also made the beautiful bookmarks that were offered at the baked goodies table.
Celebrating Faith’s Ministry
Faith’s last Sunday with us as Interim Rector will be Easter. She will be returning to worship with us Sunday, April 17th, and we will be hosting a party for her after the 10:30 service. The plan is for a buffet of finger foods with accompanying beverages. If you can help by providing a dish, setting up or cleaning up afterwards, please contact Lorraine Deal, quichette@yahoo.com, or 614-291-6096.
Clergy Schedule for April-June
Here is the clergy schedule for April-June for Sunday worship. I’m personally excited about all the great folks that will be coming to be with us and hope all of you can turn out for as many Sundays as possible for some great preaching.
April 3: Karl Stevens, Preacher and Celebrant
April 10: Cam Miller, Preacher and Celebrant
April 17: Bruce Smith, Preacher and Celebrant
April 24: Maia Kotrosits, Guest Preacher; Hanci Newberry, Celebrant
May 1: Pam Elwell, Preacher; Marjorie Menaul, Celebrant
May 8: Bruce Smith, Preacher and Celebrant
May 15, Sherm Everett, Preacher; Hanci Newberry, Celebrant
May 22, Karl Stevens, Preacher and Celebrant
May 29, David McCoy, Preacher and Celebrant
June 5, Sherm Everett, Preacher; Hanci Newberry, Celebrant
June 12, Susan Beem Beery, Preacher and Celebrant
June 19, Bruce Smith, Preacher and Celebrant
June 26, Karl Stevens, Preacher and Celebrant
You all know Karl, Hanci, Pam and Sherm. Bruce Smith has supplied for St. Stephen’s many times and his sense of humor always has me chuckling. Cam Miller was the Rector of St. Stephen’s in the 1990s. There will also be the opportunity on Saturday, April 9 to attend a book reading and signing for Cam’s newly published book. Maia Kotrosits is a professor of religion at Dennison University; it will be great to have her as our guest preacher, as well as have her speaking on Saturday, April 23. Publicity on both those Saturday events is forthcoming. You’ll remember Marjorie Menaul who supplied with us twice in December 2014. David McCoy was the Rector of St. Stephen’s in the 1980s and is our official Rector Emeritus. Susan Been (now Beery) was an assistant at St. Stephen’s in the late 1980s. It will be a delight to welcome all of these folks to our parish and will, I hope, be thought provoking and fun.
Cynthia Whitacre, Senior Warden
BREAD Issue Update
“Welcome Columbus”
We found that there are many vulnerable groups in our county who need identification such as the undocumented, homeless, victims of domestic violence, the elderly with low-incomes, and others. We are working with 5 other organizations in a collaborative effort to bring a municipal ID program to Franklin County. This has been done in several communities across the country including New York City, Newark, New Jersey; San Francisco and Oakland, California, New Haven, Connecticut; and Johnson County, Iowa. Our goal is to have this ID benefit everyone in our community through having incentives and discounts attached to the card and allowing people to open bank accounts with it.
NSI Donations for Easter
Many, many thanks for all you’ve given to NSI You brought in a total of 648 personal items for the Trade In Bake Sale. At the same time you donated 411 cans of fruit for the Easter food baskets, surpassing our goal of 400!
The item for the rest of March and all of April is any kind of pasta.
Easter Flower Memorials
Envelopes are now in the pews for contributions to the Easter Flower arrangements. You may make donations in memory or in honor of loved ones. Names for memorials must be received by the parish office by noon on Tuesday, March 22.
Thanks, Meghan
STATIONS OF THE CROSS AND THE REFUGEE’S JOURNEY
Explore the Stations of the Cross through the voices of refugees.
Friday, March 25, 2016
Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS)
1925 E. Dublin Granville Road, Suite 102
1:00 and 7:00
Art provided by The Rev. Karl Stevens. Narratives and stories provided by refugees from around the world. Sponsored by St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Westerville, OH
Kitchen Donations Needed!
Thanks to the Kitchen Krew for all their hard work on cleaning up, organizing, and planning for the future! We discovered that the following items are needed:
Small wisks
Small Bowls for Mixing
Large Cutting Board
Donations of these items would be appreciated: we are asking for new items and not something that folks have used and want to get rid of. Monetary donations are also accepted toward purchase of these items; please make a notation of “Kitchen needs” in your memo line.
-Faith Perrizo, Jen Schmeid (Kitchen Koordinator)
A Note from the Sexton
Please note that there are several dishes, pans, etc. in the kitchen that have been leftover from previous potluck dinners, etc. They are located on the rear counter of the kitchen.
Religionless Christianity: A Reflection on Christian Spirituality In Our Time
With a reading from “The Steam Room Diaries” and an opportunity for conversation and book signing: Cameron Miller, a former rector of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, will be on campus for a public conversation about Christian spirituality and reading from his new novel in the genre of spiritual fiction. Saturday, April 9th from 2:00 – 4:00 PM at St. Stephen’s. Cam will also be the preacher and celebrant on Sunday, April 10th at 8:30 & 10:30 AM.
For more information contact: Shelley Boales at boales@yahoo.com or 614-327-4682 and see the full flier below!
Book Club News
The April book is Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. The book is available for free download to lots of electronic devices if you have trouble obtaining it from a library. The April meeting will be on Wednesday, April 12 at 6:30 PM at Julia and Wayne Sheppard’s home (5055 Riverside Drive, Delaware, OH 43015 614-286-2826, mmesheppard@yahoo.com). We’ll share a meal, followed by book discussion. Please bring food and/or beverage to share. Kindly let Julia and Wayne know in advance if you plan to attend. Everyone is welcome. If you want to get a head start on the book for May, it is Wolf in White Van by John Darnelle.
Conversation: Farms, gardens and food
You are invited to connect with others who are passionate about farming, gardening and food.
Join with others from around the diocese at Gabriel’s Place on Saturday, March 19 at 10 a.m., to follow up on the conversation started at convention. We’ll have a chance to see Gabriel’s Place and learn a little about the great work they do. Robert and Erin Lockridge will share about their urban farming in Norwood, their pizza and pie Moriah Pie, and new Parish Farming Internship. We’ll also get to hear a little about the work at Procter Farm and CSA. There will be a chance for others to share about their work as well, so contact Aaron Wright at awright@diosohio.org if you’d like to share what you’re working on.
We’ll end with a potluck lunch, so bring something to share. Drinks will be provided. Please let Aaron know if you can make it and feel free to invite others.
Gabriel’s Place is located at 3618 Reading Road in Cincinnati. For further questions, contact Aaron Wright at awright@diosohio.org.
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