St. Stephen's Episcopal Church Fargo

Congratulations Leo Wilking and Matha LeClerq on the birth of their grandson, Jack Edward Thomas, son of Virginia Wilking Thomas and Jack Thomas. He was born this morning in New York, weighing in at 8.4 pounds and 21 inches.

My 15th book of poetry, Salt, was published today by Kelsay Press. These are the poems I wrote following the death of my mother in 2018.

Be sure to order it from your local bookstore.

And yes, it’s also available at Amazon:

S A L T S A L T

CONSIDER A YEAR-END ONE-TIME PLEDGE TO ST. STEPHEN'S

I don't usually do such things but, as everyone on this page knows, St. Stephen’s, the parish I serve as Rector, is a unique and amazing place. There aren’t a whole lot of congregations quite like it. We are eclectic. We are brave. We strive to be what the Church should be. We are not just a place a where people gather together and sing hymns and pray (thought we do those things). We are not just a place that does liturgy just a bit differently than most other places (we do that too). We also go out into the world and try to make change it for the better. We also stand up loudly for the underdog. We speak out boldly for those who cannot speak for themselves. We confront the powers that be and shake our fists at them at times. And we welcome and fully include those are just don’t quite fit in in any other church. Without question. Without judgement. We even bury those who have no other place to rest. For us, this is what it means to follow Jesus. For us, this is the radical message of the Gospel.

As we head into the last days of the year, we are wrapping up our annual Pledge Drive. If you are considering a year-end offering someplace, please consider giving a one-time pledge to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. A one-time pledge can be as little as $10 or $25 or $50 or as much as you can give. All of it helps us be the unique place that we are.

If you would like to give, just take send a one time pledge (marked : One Time Pledge) through our Paypal account at Ststephensfargo.org or send a check (also marked “pledge”) to 120 20 Avenue North Fargo, or send an email to our recording secretary Laura Nylander at [email protected] and tell her that you would like to make a one time pledge. All pledges are strictly confidential. Only Laura knows who gives what. But a year-end offering to St. Stephen’s will help us continue to be the eclectic, unique place we are.

Ash Wednesday Mass will be livestreamed this evening at 7:00 p.m.

If you would like ashes, please feel free to stop by the church between 1:00 and 3:00 or after 5:00 and Fr. Jamie will distribute them (they are being placed on note cards). Or you can simply attend attend Mass tonight.

I think we have more palms to burn this year than any time in the past. Liturgy for the Burning of Last Year's Palms is tonight at 6:00 p.m.

Join us tomorrow evening (February 16) at 6:00 p.m. for the Burning of the Palms liturgy which will be held in front of the church. Please bring your palms from last year's Palm Sunday Mass and we will burn them to make ashes for Ash Wednesday.

There will also be ashes available for distribution as well. Ashes will be placed on note cards, which will be distributed. You can then apply the ashes to your forehead yourself or simply keep the card as a memento.

Social distancing with masks will be observed. You can also attend by remaining in your vehicle. We will also be livestreaming the service.

Outgoing Senior Warden Jean Sando masterfully presided over the Zoom Annual Meeting this afternoon while incoming Senior Warden John Baird took care of the technical aspects of the meeting. Hopefully next year we will be meeting in person once again.

Prayers for our ever-faithful organist James Mackay who had the first of two cataract surgeries today (his second surgery will be next Thursday). Here he is resting comfortably at home post-surgery with his faithful companion, Mr Hedwig (his other faithful companion and spouse William is not pictured). Michelle Gelinske will be covering for James this Sunday and next while he recovers.

***Fr. Jamie in Vacation***

Fr. Jamie will be on vacation January 25-February 16.

While Fr. Jamie is on vacation, Deacon John Anderson will be officiating at a co-called “Deacon’s Mass” for those three Sundays.

A Deacon’s Mass is a service of Morning Prayer with Holy Communion from the Reserved Sacrament. The elements of Bread and Wine were previously consecrated by Fr. Jamie and the hosts will be distributed at the Deacon’s Mass (the chalice is not being offered due to Covid protocols at this time.

Our preachers during Fr. Jamie’s vacation will be:
January 31 - Jean Sando
February 7 – Deacon John
February 14 – Annette Morrow

Deacon John will be covering any pastoral emergencies while Fr. Jamie is gone.

If there are any pastoral emergencies, please call the church and leave a message (messages will be checked daily), or simply contact Deacon John himself.

Fr. Jamie will not be answering emails, Facebook messages or text message while he is gone.

I ask the prayers of St. Stephen’s for Annette Morrow. Please keep her in your prayers.

God of this uncertain world,
you sent Jesus to bring
comfort and good news to the troubled and the suffering:
Reveal yourself to Annette and bring her healing
so that she may continue to serve you
and do the work you have called her to do,
we ask this in the name of Jesus our Savior. Amen.