Staying Safe and Staying Connected
Good Morning Saint Stephen’s Church,
We continue our life of daily prayer. The Lord be with you!
Today’s Prayer
I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice,
Fanny J. Crosby, 1915
And it told thy love to me;
but I long to rise in the arms of faith
and be closer drawn to thee.
Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord,
by the power of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
and my will be lost in thine.
O, the pure delight of a single hour
that before thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with you, my God,
I commune as friend with friend!
There are depths of love that I cannot know
till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
till I rest in peace with thee.
Fanny J. Crosby (Francis Jane Crosby) was an American mission worker, poet lyricist, and composer. Despite being blind shortly after birth, she was one of the most prolific hymnists in history, writing more than 8,000 hymns and gospel songs. Fanny Crosby was known as the “Queen of Gospel Song Writers” and as the “Mother of modern congregational singing in America”. Some of her best-known works include Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior”, “Jesus is Tenderly Calling You Home”, “Praise Him, Praise Him”, “To God be the Glory”, and “Blessed Assurance”. Some publishers were reluctant to have so many hymns by one person in their hymnals. To solve that problem, Fannie Crosby used nearly 200 pseudonyms during her career.
“I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when he showered so many other gifts upon you,” remarked one well-meaning preacher. Fanny Crosby responded at once, as she had heard such comments before. “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I was born blind?” said the poet, who had been able to see only for her first six weeks of life. “Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior.”
The Episcopal Church celebrates the life of Fanny J. Crosby in the liturgical calendar on February 11.
From Our Prayers of the People
Today, let us 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: 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: Mary Alice, Pauline, John, Jane, Molly and David.
For those who are homebound: Stephen, Pauline, Joan, Janet and Marilyn.
Our Government Leaders: Donald Trump, President of the United States; Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York State; Gary McCarthy, Mayor of Schenectady
Our Church Leaders: Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop, William Love, and Daniel Herzog our bishops; James and Dennie our priests; Pat our deacon and Allison our Lay Reader
Those who are imprisoned: those particularly vulnerable at this time, especially the women in the Schenectady County Jail.
For those in need of healing: Vicki, Jean, Cindi, Mary Frances, Debbie, Joe, Matt and Lisa.
For all the blessings of this life.
For our dioceses in the Anglican North Carolina (The Episcopal Church), Asaba (Nigeria).
For all who have died: especially Hugh Campbell, Jr., Tom Chouffi, Louis Hibbs, Michael Cotton, Mary Ann Baum.
For one another.
Something to share
This well-known hymn reflects Fanny Crosby’s walk of faith, as expressed by St. Paul in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain” (NRSV).
Blessed Assurance
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels, descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.Perfect submission, all is at rest,
Fanny J. Crosby
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
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.
Prayerbook Parish Morning Prayer in Zoom – each morning. Join Dennie and me for an inter-active service of Morning Prayer at 9 am. Time to bring your prayer concerns will be provided. (contact me for the link: james.ross.mcd@gmail.com)
If you did not receive a phone call in the last few weeks 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!
Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you,
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.
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+