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 God, it is easy to love the whole world, but hard to love the person
one works next to;
O God, it is easy to campaign for world peace, but hard to contribute
to the peace within my own home;
O God, it is easy to be fascinated with some new truth, and miss you in
the thing I have known so long;
O God, it is easy to share my home and possessions with people I like.
Teach me how to be generous towards others.
Enable me today to say something, or do something that will make a
difference to the discouraged, to the inexperienced, to the despairing.
Let no selfish concern with my own affairs shut me off from any today.
For your love’s sake.
– Rita Snowden, 1999
Rita Snowden lived in New Zealand and from an early age was active in the Methodist Church. As a young woman, her leadership skills were quickly evident, given her involvement in almost every aspect of the life of her church. After training as a Methodist Deaconess, Rita traveled many miles on rough roads on her motor bike, John Wesley, preaching, teaching, and ministering to people in need. After suffering a serious illness, she dedicated her life to writing. Over a period of 56 years, she averaged more than one book a year – most of them devotional in nature. It was said that her chief indoor sport was conversation, and her passion ‘people’.
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 our allies around the world in harm’s way: for those who are still trying to leave Afghanistan; may God be with them and their families.
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 vaccinations, may God grant them wisdom and skill, sympathy and patience, and may God keep them healthy and safe.
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 recognize 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: Reena, Jim, Bruce, Chris, Audrey, June, Caleb, Sunny, Josh T, Pat J.
For our Government Leaders: Joseph Biden, President of the United States; Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York State; Gary McCarthy, Mayor of Schenectady.
For our Church Leaders: Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop; Michael G. Smith and Carol Gallagher, Assisting 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: Charline, Janet, Marilyn, Don, Eunice, Ruth, Mary Frances, Vincent, Priscilla, Joe, and all their families.
For all the blessings of this life.
For our dioceses in the Anglican Communion: The Diocese of Kampala – The Church of the Province of Uganda.
For all who have died: Jane Tatge, Jesse Dipley and Gladys Wilcox.
Something to share
The art of awareness of God,
the art of sensing His presence in our daily lives
cannot be learned off-hand.
God’s grace resounds in our lives
like a staccato.
Only by retraining the seemingly disconnected notes
comes the ability
to grasp the theme.
~Abraham Joshua Heschel
News and Updates
A Eucharist of the Resurrection for Jane Tatge will be held this morning, January 29 at 11:00 am at Saint Stephen’s Church. If you would like to attend today’s service from home, just visit: https://www.facebook.com/SaintStephensSchenectady/ at 11am and wait for the live stream to be posted. If there are technical issues with the livestream so that it stops, please try re-entering. Do not wait for it to come back on. It may take a few minutes for the livestream to start again, so please be patient.
The February Messenger:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jsCMIVNwrlM9jhYmH_KEIW_K1_sPiWWC/view?usp=sharing
Tomorrow’s Scripture Readings:
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. Sunday Morning Prayer is at 8:00am.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 next year.
Our office email is: office@st-stephens.church.
Home Communions: If you or someone you know is unable to attend church on either a long or short‑term basis, please contact me (james.ross.mcd@gmail.com ) if you would like to have communion brought to you. We will make visits on Sunday after our regular Eucharist at church and always wear a mask.
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.
For All Gatherings at the Church – Every individual on site NEEDS to wear a mask, even if you have been vaccinated! The mask should conform to ASC standards (covering both nose and mouth, well fitted – not a bandana/gator/scarf). Let’s work together to keep the few activities we have!
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.