Staying Safe and Staying Connected
Good Morning Saint Stephen’s Church,
Today is the Second Sunday of Easter
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.
The Collect for the Day
Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
From Our Prayers of the People
Today, let’s pray:
For the just and proper use of your creation; for the victims of hunger, fear, injustice, and oppression.
For comfort and healing for all who are affected by the Coronavirus, and for physicians, nurses, and all others who minister to the sick and the suffering, may God grant them wisdom and skill, sympathy and patience, and may God keep them healthy and safe.
For all essential workers; for police, firefighters, EMTs, postal workers, sanitation workers, grocery personnel, delivery and transport workers, and all who must report to work because what they do is essential for our well-being, health, and safety.
For those on the Parish Prayer Chain: Barbara, Frank, Jeanne, Chris, Walter, Theresa.
For those who are homebound: Stephen, Pauline, Joan, Janet and Marilyn.
Those who are imprisoned: those particularly vulnerable at this time, especially the women in the Schenectady County Jail.
For those in need of healing: Cindi, Peter, Mary Frances, Debbie, and Joe.
For all the blessings of this life.
For our dioceses in the Anglican Communion: Church of Church of Ireland
For all who have died: especially Jennifer, James, Lorraine, George, Ronald Jr., John, Sarah.
For one another.
Something to share
The late great Johnny Cash said that Christianity aint for sissies. And, as Vicar Dana Colley Corsello sees it, neither is life in the age of coronavirus. “We’ve had to reimagine Easter in a new way, to see it in a new way. But I also think that’s what resurrection is. We’ve all had to shed the old way of doing church, being together, having our communities, and we’ve had to take on this new life that’s been very uncomfortable. But we’ve done it.”
Vicar Dana Colley Corsello, Washington National Cathedral
Via Negativa
R. S. Thomas
Why no! I never thought other than
That God is that great absence
In our lives, the empty silence
Within, the place where we go
Seeking, not in hope to
Arrive or find. He keeps the interstices
In our knowledge, the darkness
Between stars. His are the echoes
We follow, the footprints he has just
Left. We put our hands in
His side hoping to find
It warm. We look at people
And places as though he had looked
At them, too; but miss the reflection.
A Prayer in this time of our Eucharistic Fast
St. Alphonsus de Liguori, 1696-1787
My Jesus, I believe that you are truly present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. I love you above all things, and long for you in my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. As though you have already come, I embrace you and unite myself entirely to you; never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.
News and Updates
Worship for Sunday, April 19 2020
Click on this post to view the National Cathedral live stream, Children’s Bible story and Fr. James’ Homily.
Reminders
If you have an update/news, a prayer or poem or something inspirational you would like us to share with the congregation, please send it to us. Please also send us any prayer requests. We will incorporate these into the Morning Prayers as best we can.
Our church campus is closed. All parish meetings and gatherings are canceled and postponed until further notice.
Our goal is for all of us to stay in touch and connected in this time of isolation.
Share this news, and spread some love, not the virus!
Be of good courage. We are in this together, and we will be together again soon. God bless you and may God be with us in the days ahead.
Peace,
James+