Staying Safe and Staying Connected
Good Morning, Saint Stephen’s Church,
Today’s Prayer
For those who’ve known abandonment
God who stays,
Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything
to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something
unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through
some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don’t try to force them on,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances
acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.
– Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, 1955
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a ground-breaking paleontologist and Christian mystic whose vision encompassed the evolution of all matter toward a final goal in which material and spiritual shall coincide and God shall be all in all. A Jesuit priest from Auvergne and a professor of geology at the Catholic Institute in Paris, Teilhard was given high academic honors for his scientific work, but his religious writings were disapproved of by his superiors, and they forbade him to publish them during his lifetime. Teilhard believed God acts within and through the process of evolution towards an Omega Point, when all things are summed up in Christ.
Shortly before he died, he prayed: “O God, if in my life I have not been wrong, allow me to die on Easter Sunday”. He died on April 10th, 1955: Easter Sunday.
From Our Prayers of the People
For the special needs and concerns of our congregation.
For people throughout the world: in places of war and strife, and for all victims of violence and oppression.
For the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine, that wisdom and courage may prevail in the cause of peace.
For the people of Ukraine, the people of Russia, and for all who affected by violence and war.
For those who have taken up arms, whether aggressively or defensively, that a spirit of peace may reign in their hearts and in their lands.
For our allies around the world in harm’s way: for those who are still trying to leave Afghanistan and the Ukraine; 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, Josh T, Pat J., Daniel, Doris, Camellia, Beverly
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: Mary Ann, David, Marilyn, Eunice, Ruth, Mary Frances, Vincent, Priscilla, Joe, and all their families.
For Tom – today is his birthday!
For all the blessings of this life.
For our dioceses in the Anglican Communion: The Diocese of Malabar – The (united) Church of South India.
For all who have died: Paul Tanner, Lila Wood, Hugh Campbell, Jr., Tom Chouffi, Louis Hibbs, and Michael Cotton.
For one another
Something to share
This is the time to be slow
This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.
Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.
If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
and you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.
– John O’Donohue
News and Updates
New Ushers Needed – We are looking for new ushers to help us on Sunday mornings. If you are interested please see Vicki Hoshko or Allison de Kanel for more information.
SiCM Summer Meals Update – St. Stephen’s will be doing the summer meals at Central Park June 29-July 1 and July 5-8.
• We will need at least 4 volunteers per day, and it would be good to have a list of substitutes.
• Time commitment: 12:45 (at the latest) to 2:30
• All volunteers must complete a training session and sign a volunteer training form. A training video will be available on the SiCM website this week. The form can be downloaded from the SiCM site; there will also be copies in the nave extension. Get them back to Richey or bring when you come to Central Park.
• Duties: Greet truck and unload supplies, hand out meals, keep count, interact with /provide activities for kids, clean up site.
Thank you to those who have signed up! We need some more volunteers for July 1, 5 and 6. Please contact Richey Woodzell at erwoodzell@gmail.com or 518-852-6796 for any days you’re willing to volunteer or serve as a sub.
Coffee Hour – Volunteers are needed to sign up for coffee hour. Please visit the homepage of our website to choose an available date from now through the end of the summer. Thanks!
SiCM Pantry- Thank you for your donations of cleaning supplies! For June we are collecting spices and seasonings, which are not usually stocked by the pantry. Please see a full list of spices needed in the nave extension, near where you put your contributions.
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 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 office email is: office@st-stephens.church.
Our goal is for all of us to stay in touch and connected.
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.