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
Lord, you have given us your word for a light to shine on our path. Inspire us to meditate on that word, and follow its teaching, that we may find in it the light which shines more and more until it is perfect day; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Jerome, 420
Jerome moved to a cave near to the place where Jesus was born in Bethlehem, so that he might immerse himself in the background that Jesus knew, while he translated the Scriptures into Latin, creating what is known as the Vulgate version. He also wrote many letters to those who sought his advice, instructing those who could not join communities on how to live a life of prayer in their own homes, based on regular reading of the Bible and other devotional works.
Jerome was not the warmest and fuzziest of people. Prickly and unpleasant, his rhetoric and style sound today rather rigid and didactic. As far as saints go, he is a bad-tempered porcupine among bunny rabbits. His life, though, is one of encouragement: if Jerome can make it to heaven despite his faults, then there, true hope for the rest of us.
Today is his feast day on the Episcopal calendar.
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 those affected by the wild fires in the west: for those who are grieving the loss of homes, possessions and loved ones, that their safety and security may be restored.
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 all historical acts of injustice and oppression: especially those perpetuated against native, Black, Hispanic and various Asian Americans in this abundant land, that we may recognize racism in ourselves, in our church, in our society, and the times we have failed to take action.
For those on the Parish Prayer Chain: Sylvia, Irene, Jeanne, Chris, Theresa, Emily, Bridget, Josh, Amy, Sid, Edwina and her husband, Donald, Mark.
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.
Members who request our prayers for strength and healing: Budd, Sid, Jean, Cindi, Mary Frances, Debbie, Joe.
For Austin – today is his baptismal anniversary!
For all the blessings of this life.
For our dioceses in the Anglican Communion: Pennsylvania (The Episcopal Church), Chester (England).
For all who have died: especially Ronald, Robert, Harry, Lawrence, Ralph.
For one another.
Something to share
O Christ, the Word incarnate,
O Wisdom from on high,
O Truth, unchanged, unchanging,
O Light of our dark sky:
we praise thee for the radiance
that from the scripture’s page,
a lantern for our footsteps,
shines on from age to age.
The Church from our dear Master
received the word divine,
and still that light is lifted
o’er all the earth to shine.
It is the chart and compass
that o’er life’s surging sea,
‘mid mists and rocks and quicksands,
still guides, O Christ, to thee.
Oh make thy Church, dear Savior,
a lamp of purest gold,
to bear before the nations
thy true light as of old;
O teach thy wandering pilgrims
by this their path to trace,
till, cloud and darkness ended,
they see thee face to face.
Hymnal 1982, #632; William Walsham How
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 need a prayerbook, and are not in a position to purchase one, please contact me: james.ross.mcd@gmail.com. I will make sure you have your own Book of Common Prayer.
Prayerbook 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)
Our church campus is closed, except for our Eucharistic Ingathering on Sundays at 9:00 am. Please see our website for further information: https://st-stephens.church. All other 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,
he 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.