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
Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and of mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by your grace we may be healed from all our infirmities and know you in the power of his unending life; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
– Book of Common Prayer, p. 242
Today is the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was a Jewish woman who, according to all four Gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and its aftermath. She is mentioned by name twelve times in the Gospels, more than most of the apostles. Mary’s epithet Magdalene may mean she came from the town of Magdala, a fishing town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
In the Gospel of Luke, she is named as one of the women who traveled with Jesus and who underwrote and financed his ministry, indicating that she was probably a woman of wealth and means. All four Gospels identify Mary, either alone or as a member of a group of women, as the first to witness the empty tomb and the first to witness Jesus’ resurrection. For this reason, Mary Magdalene is known as the Apostle to the Apostles, because she is the one who announced the resurrection first. The proclamation of the Resurrection began with Mary Magdalene and continues to reach disciples to this day and will continue into the future. Every Christian owes their discipleship to HER witness and testimony.
The inaccurate portrayal of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute began after a series of sermons delivered in 591, when Pope Gregory I conflated Mary Magdalene with Mary at Bethany and the unnamed “sinful woman” who anoints Jesus’ feet. Sadly this slander of this noble woman and saint persists to this day in popular culture. Mary Magdalene, like so many others, deserves better from the Church.
In the work that God would have us do for a world so desperate for love, peace, patience, generosity, gentleness, and hope, may Mary Magdalene – the patron saint of the slandered, the falsely accused, the wrongfully labeled and shamefully maligned – be our inspiration and guide.
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 comfort and healing for all who are affected by the Coronavirus around the world: for physicians, nurses, and all others who minister to the sick and the suffering, and for those administering the vaccination, 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 perpetrated 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 a reverence for the earth as God’s own creation: that we may use its resources rightly in the service of others and to God’s honor and glory, and for wisdom, guidance, and persistence as we face the challenges of climate change and work for the flourishing and health of all the earth.
For those on the Parish Prayer Chain: Robert, Heather, Jackson, Michael, Mary, Bill, Mary Frances, Jim, Eunice, Jane and Bruce, John, Audrey, Melanie, Joe, Rebecca.
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; 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: Dennie, Eunice, Vincent, Priscilla, Ruth, Mary Frances, Debbie, Joe.
For all the blessings of this life.
For our dioceses in the Anglican Communion: The Diocese of Dar-es-Salaam – The Anglican Church of Tanzania.
For all who have died: Betty.
For one another.
Something to share
The love of Mary Magdalene
On canvas was made to shame
For the world to despise her name
Portrayed as a whore
A dirty Mary nothing more
Hair that wiped Jesus’s feet of oil and tears
Never left his side even at the cross
Who was this woman from Magdala
Why has the bible tried to exclude her
She soothes a crucified body with aloes and myrrh
Believed while Peter denied three times before cock crowed
The Messiah who was resurrected on the third day
First appeared to this lady of immeasurable faith
Her heart knew the Lord above man’s horrid sins
No love greater than the love of Mary Magdalene
– Arturo Michael
THE RISEN ONE
Until his final hour he had never
refused her anything or turned away,
lest she should turn their love to public praise.
Now she sank down beside the cross, disguised,
heavy with the largest stones of love
like jewels in the cover of her pain.But later, when she came back to his grave
with tearful face, intending to anoint,
she found him resurrected for her sake,
saying with greater blessedness, “Do not –”She understood it in her hollow first:
how with finality he now forbade
her, strengthened by his death, the oils’ relief
or any intimation of a touch:because he wished to make of her the lover
who needs no more to lean on her beloved,
as, swept away by joy in such enormous
storms, she mounts even beyond his voice.– Rainer Maria Rilke, New Poems, Second Part, 1908
News and Updates
SiCM Food Pantry – During the months of July and August we will be collecting the following items that are needed by the SiCM food pantry:
razors (men/women)
shaving cream
shampoo
body wash
soap
toothpaste
lotion
deodorant (men/women)
Also, the van delivering the meals at St. Stephen’s for SiCM Summer Lunch Program will have kids’ books to give to the kids to take home. There is a basket in the nave extension if you would like to contribute kids’ books (picture books up through high school). Vicki Hoshko tells us that The Open Door is also giving customers 20% off books donated to the SICM summer program. There is even a display with suggestions!
There are baskets in the nave extension for your donations.
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 Daily Prayers as best we can: james.ross.mcd@gmail.com.
Prayerbook Morning Prayer in Zoom – each weekday & Saturday morning. Join us 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).
Our church campus is only partially open during the waning of the pandemic. Please see our website for further information: https://st-stephens.church/. Hopefully, most parish meetings and gatherings will resume this fall.
Our office email is: office@st-stephens.church.
We continue to comply with all of these: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html ; the NY Department of Public Health https://www.health.ny.gov/ ; and the Diocese of Albany https://albanyepiscopaldiocese.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/cleaning_guidance_houses_of_worship.pdf.
Be careful what you read online. There are reports of false information circulating in an attempt to create fear and confusion. It is critical to discern what and how something is said, as well as what is not said. And, God forbid, always remember – any online or texted-based solicitation from me for money is A SCAM. Do not reply to such messages. Delete them.
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 God’s 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.