Upcoming Congregational Activities
Sunday, January 17: 10:30am -African American Voices Gospel choir will provide music
January 21-22: Trinity Institute: Sacred Conversations for Racial Justice –St. Philip’s Columbus
MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW !
St. Stephen’s is partnering with St. Philip’s Episcopal Church to sponsor the Trinity Institute Jan. 21-23. The topic for 2016 is Listen For a Change: Sacred Conversations for Racial Justice. Information about times of the several different presentations are attached, as well as registration information. The deadline for registration is Jan. 18.
TRINITY INSTITUTE: LISTEN FOR A CHANGE
Sunday, January 24: 10:30am -Illuminati (CGMC) will provide music
Saturday, January 30th Speaker Series will feature the Rt. Rev. Thomas Breidenthal, Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Ohio, speaking on “ Manna for Exodus: Reflections on Baptism and Eucharist” . The presentation will include discussion of the Open Table. We will begin at 12 noon with a light lunch, followed at 1 pm by lecture and discussion. The event will conclude at 2:30 pm. The Speaker Series is open to both congregation and the larger community.
Manna for Exodus, January 30
Transition News
Rector Search – Accepting candidate applications
Friends of St. Stephen’s, if you haven’t had a chance to visit our new website lately please take a chance now. A page dedicated to our Rector search is up and running. http://ststephens-columbus.org/rector-search
The Office of Transition Ministry will be accepting applications through February 16. Lynn Carter-Edmands has posted the vacancy through traditional channels, and we also encourage you to send this application to rectors you know or have met in your travels. We would love to have a broad range of candidates who are open to sharing and growing our ministries with our congregation. For a point of reference, 15 parishes in our Diocese are in the midst of calling a Rector.
Once the application period closes, a tentative schedule is:
March: Skype interviews with long list candidates
April: Potential visits to short list candidates’ churches
May: Finalist interviews in Columbus
July: New Rector begins at St. Stephen’s
The Search Committee will gladly accept your prayers for clarity and stamina as we head into the next phase of the process.
Mikalene Guiser, Search Committee Co-Chair
NSI in January
The Neighborhood Services Inc. collection for January is SOUP
AWAKE, AWARE, ALIVE
All meet at their regular times this Sunday!
Vestry and Convention Delegate Nominations
Vestry and Convention Delegate nominations are open throughout the month of January. There are a four 3 year terms to fill on Vestry as well as 4 diocesan convention delegate spots to fill. Nomination forms will be in the pews on all January Sundays. Or, you may nominate a fellow parish member or yourself by sending the name to the parish office or to someone on the nominating committee. Ballots will be finalized in early February. Voting will take place on Sundays of February 14, 21, and 28, with the annual meeting taking place on February 28. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend the meeting. If you have questions, ask your nominating committee: Thomas Clark, Michael Harbin, Cynthia Whitacre, and Mignonne Whitlow.
Diversity Training
In support of St. Stephen’s commitment to diversity, the Diocese has agreed to sponsor an Anti-Racism workshop at St. Stephen’s on Sat., Feb. 13th, from 9am-4 pm. The workshop will be facilitated by Debby Stokes (St. Philip’s) and Faith Perrizo. Registration for the event can be found at : http://diosohio.org/events/event/anti-racism-training-6/.
Columbus Lenten School
In Lent, the Episcopal Churches in Columbus come together to share in worship and education as a way to “observe a holy Lent.” (BCP, p. 265). Courses on various topics are taught by clergy and laity from around the Columbus area. Dates for School are: Feb. 16 & 23; Mar. 1 & 8 from 6:30-8:30, and include Worship, Refreshments and Classes. Information on each course can be found in the attached document. Saint John’s Church of Worthington, Ohio is hosting the Columbus Lenten School 2016. The address for St. John’s is 700 High Street, Worthington, OH 43085 at the Southeast corner of Rt. 161 (Dublin-Granville Road) in Old Worthington.
The Columbus Lenten School is open to all interested persons and every effort will be made to accommodate every registrant. Reserving a seat in a class is as simple as sending an email indicating your name, your parish or other organizational affiliation, and the title of the session you wish to attend. The email address for registering is: associate@pats-dublin.org . A $10 course fee is due the first session and can be paid in cash or by check made out to St John’s Episcopal Church.
If you have questions about Lenten School, please contact George at Glazier.George@gmail.com
LentenSchool 2016 Course flier
Book Club News: 2016 Plans
The first Book Club meeting of 2016 will be on Wednesday, January 13 starting at 6:30 PM at Kaethe Sandman/Pete Anderson’s home. As in 2015, Book Club will meet on the second Wednesday of each month in 2016, so mark your calendar for the year and plan to join in the fun! At the January meeting we will be planning books for the year. Each person attending is asked to suggest one or two book titles for book club discussion. The only 2 rules are 1) you must already have read the book you are recommending, so that you know it will provide a good basis for discussion, and 2) the book must either be available for purchase in paperback or available in large quantity of readily obtainable copies at the local library. All types of books, fiction and non-fiction, are welcome. Do plan to attend to help select the reading list for the year. Even if your book is not selected for book club discussion, it will go on a list of recommendations for the entire group.
For the January meeting, please kindly contact Kaethe in advance to let her know if you plan to attend. We will share a potluck dinner. You are invited to bring a main dish, side dish, bread, dessert or beverage to share. Everyone is welcome!
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