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
O Lord, grant us faith, the faith that removes the mask from the world and manifests God in all things; the faith that shows us Christ where our eyes see only a poor person; that shows us the Savior where we feel only pain. O Lord, grant us the faith that inspires us to undertake everything that God wants without hesitation, without shame, without fear, and without ever retreating; the faith that knows how to go through life with calm, peace and profound joy, and that makes the soul completely indifferent to everything that is not you, O Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Charles de Foucauld, 1916
Charles de Foucauld was a cavalry officer who became a Trappist monk, then a servant of the Poor Clares in Nazareth and Jerusalem, a priest and finally a hermit who lived among and served the Tuareg people in the Algerian mountains on the fringes of the Sahara desert. He was trusted, but was ultimately assassinated. He drew up a rule for two religious orders, which were begun after his death: the Little Sisters and the Little Brothers, who have adapted to the local way of life wherever they have been established, in humble service to the poor.
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: Debby, Sylvia, Irene, Jeanne, Joe, Charles, Amy, Crates’ family and Josh.
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: Sid, Vicki, Jean, Cindi, Mary Frances, Debbie, Joe, Matt and Lisa.
For all the blessings of this life.
For our dioceses in the Anglican Communion: North Karamoja (Uganda), Auckland (Aotearoa NZ & Polynesia), Magwi (South Sudan)
For all who have died: especially Roger Butler, Elsie Mott, Louise Lowe, Ada Wemple, Dorothy Wieczorek, Agnes Riley, George Buell.
For one another.
Something to share
A short poem about humility
Start humble
Kavi Jezzie Hockaday
Stay humble in the middle
Be humble at the top
If you fail, be humble
Discover a deeper humility towards the end.
That’s it.
News & Updates
Graduations and Commencements! – Have you or someone you know graduated this season? We would like to recognize all who have graduated in the last academic year, from Pre-school to Post-Doctorate. Please send us the names of graduates. If you or someone you know is going off to pursue further studies, please let us know that too. Please let me know: james.ross.mcd@gmail.com.
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+