Staying Safe and Staying Connected
Good Morning Saint Stephen’s Church,
We continue our life of daily prayer. The Lord be with you!
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.
Today’s Prayer
Almighty God, by the hand of Mark the evangelist you have given to your Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: We thank you for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Book of Common Prayer, p.240
Today is the Feast of St. Mark
A disciple of Jesus, named Mark, appears in several places in the New Testament. If all these references are to the same person, then he was the son of a woman who owned a house in Jerusalem, perhaps the same house in which Jesus ate the Last Supper with his disciples. Mark may have been the young man who fled naked when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. Mark is also mentioned as a cousin of Barnabas. He traveled with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, but left early to the dissatisfaction of Paul, who refused to travel with him on his second journey. Later Paul reconciled with Mark, who became one of his companions and also a friend to Peter. Tradition holds that St. Mark, along with Simon of Cyrene, founded the Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria. He was their first bishop, and is honored as the founder of Christianity in Africa.
In 828, relics believed to be the body of St. Mark were stolen from Alexandria by Venetian merchants. A mosaic in St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice depicts sailors covering the relics with a layer of pork and cabbage leaves. Since Muslims are not permitted to eat pork, this was done to prevent the guards from inspecting the ship’s cargo too closely.
St. Mark is the patron saint of lawyers, notaries, opticians, pharmacists, painters, office administrators, interpreters, prisoners, and people dealing with insect bites. His symbol is the lion.
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: Ted, Kevin, Nick, Joe, Doug, Irene and Pauline.
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 Veronica Cohen – today is her birthday!
For our dioceses in the Anglican Communion: Morogoro (Tanzania), Wulu (South Sudan). Ijesa North East (Nigeria)
For all who have died: especially Jennifer, James, Lorraine, George, Ronald Jr., John and Sarah.
For one another.
Something to share
I have picked flowers where I found them – Have picked up sea shells and rocks and pieces of wood where there were sea shells and rocks and pieces of wood that I like.
Georgia O’Keeffe, From an Exhibitions Catalog, 1939 (Sacred Voices, edited by Mary Ford-Grabowsky
When I found the beautiful white bonds in the desert I picked them up and took them home too.
I have used these things to say what is to me the wideness and wonder of the world as I live in it.
A 5th Century Prayer of Egyptian believers
O Heavenly Father, in whom we live and move and have our being, we humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our daily life we may never forget you, but remember that we are ever walking in your sight; for your own name’s sake.
Coptic prayerbook, 5th century
Sound familiar? See Book of Common Prayer, p. 100
News & Updates
Worship for Sunday, April 26 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.
If you did not receive a phone call in the next few days from a member of the Vestry and you would like to be added to the communication list, please let me know (james.ross.mcd@gmail.com) and share with me the best telephone number(s) where we can reach you. We will add you to the list right away.
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!
May the road rise up to meet you,
Irish Blessing
May the wind be at your back,
May the sun shine upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
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+