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
And God saw everything that He had made, and found it very
Good.
And He said: This is a beautiful world that I have given you.
Take good care of it; do not ruin it.
It is said: Before the world was created, the Holy One kept
creating worlds and destroying them. Finally He created this one,
and was satisfied. He said to Adam: This is the last world I
shall make. I place it in your hands: hold it in trust.
Jewish Prayer
From Our Prayers of the People
For the special needs and concerns of our congregation.
We remember people throughout the world: in places of war and strife, especially refugees and all victims of violence and oppression.
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 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: Bette, Mary Frances, Jim, Eunice, Jane and Bruce, John, Audrey, Marissa, Melanie.
For those who are homebound: Joan, Janet and Marilyn.
For our Government Leaders: Joseph Biden, President of the United States; Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York State; Gary McCarthy, Mayor of Schenectady.
For our Church Leaders: Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop, William Love, and Daniel Herzog, retired bishops; James and Dennie, our priests; Pat, our deacon emeritus and Allison, our Lay Reader.
For those who are imprisoned: those particularly vulnerable at this time, especially the women in the Schenectady County Jail.
For Members who request our prayers for strength and healing: Priscilla, Ruth, Cindi, Mary Frances, Debbie, Joe.
For Matthew – today is his baptismal anniversary!
For Brody – today is his birthday!
For Lisa & Matthew – today is their wedding anniversary!
For all the blessings of this life.
For our dioceses in the Anglican Communion: The Diocese of Armidale – The Anglican Church of Australia (New South Wales Province).
For all who have died: Morten, Helene, Mary, Marjorie, Edna, Raymond, Armando, Jane.
For one another.
Something to share
Do you ever wonder
Do you ever wonder,
old lover of mine,
where so much love comes from?
I wonder this often,
because no matter how distressing the world is,
wherever I am,
there never seems to be a shortage of love.
Is it true, as well, for you?
Alice Walker
News and Updates
Crop Walk – We will be picking up materials on Thursday, March 4. Look for details to follow.
We are hoping to get the families involved this year again.
Episcopal Relief & Development – In the Episcopal Diocese of Guatemala, Episcopal Relief & Development helped to establish a Diocesan Development Office to implement and monitor long-term projects. The activities focus on alleviating chronic poverty by forming savings groups to support small business development. Group meetings include training on financial literacy and business skills, and the program also builds social cohesion by empowering women to talk about and respond to domestic violence. The savings group program currently serves approximately 1,400 families, of which 90% are in a state of economic vulnerability. Additional training for some savings groups includes the formation and production of small family and community gardens that aim to address the food insecurity that many Guatemalans face as well as provide nutrition education to female headed households.
In 2020, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the Diocesan Development team maintained contact virtually to offer training and support to existing savings groups, as well as sharing motivational messages. They also supplied food and sanitation supplies to the neediest of families with the support of an emergency fund provided by Episcopal Relief and Development, reaching 1,260 families across 12 districts in Guatemala.
As a Lenten offering why not support Episcopal Relief & Development’s response to the COVID-19 Pandemic? Please consider making a donation. You may do this through St. Stephen’s.
Reminder
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: james.ross.mcd@gmail.com.
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 Becky for the link: becky.holder@gmail.com).
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.
Our church campus is only partially open due to the current pandemic. Please see our website for further information: https://st-stephens.church/. Most parish meetings and gatherings are canceled and postponed until further notice.
Our office email is: office@st-stephens.church.
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.