Pentecost – May 23, 2021

Dear People of God’s Spirit!

We worship together on this Pentecost Sunday at 10 am outdoors in our parking lot and livestreamed on our website here.

You can also participate through the recording after 5pm on Sunday by going to our website.

Wear something RED as we adorn ourselves with the color of the coming of the Holy Spirit!

6 yr. old Ila Mendoza, who attended our Child Development Center and is the Great-Granddaughter of one of our members from St. Stephen’s Senior Housing – Tony (deceased) & Rose Guerrero, and the Granddaughter of another church member Gina Mendoza, will be baptized at the worship service!  Come and share in her excitement and welcome to God’s family forever.

Flowers for worship: Please sign up to provide flowers in honor of someone or a special occasion as another way to offer yourself in worship to God. The Flower Chart will be available at worship, or you can call the church office – 476-4700.

For the month of June and continuing through August, on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month at 10am, there will be an outdoor, live-streamed worship service.The recording of that service will be available after 5pm on our website. Sundays: June 13, 27 / July 11, 25 / August 8,22.   Will be in-person outdoors and livestreamed through our website.  All other Sundays will be recorded on Fridays at 11am. and posted to our website by Sunday morning.

The Church Council at its May 11th meeting, has voted to begin every Sunday indoor services on Sunday, September 12 at 10am. More information about how we will proceed with indoor worship will be shared next month as we develop our guidelines.

Our gathering for worship each Sunday at church, in our homes, or wherever we are able, is very essential to strengthen us to meet the world’s challenges. These days, especially, we cling to the messages of our faith that call us to new beginnings and living a new life. Previous Sunday worship services can be found at our website. “www.ststephenslutheran.org

Thank you all for your amazing support and love and faithful prayers for Leslie and our family. Please refer to Leslie’s “CaringBridge.org” page for updates and details about her story in case you may not have heard about her accident. Please look for your newsletter – Leslie has written an article sharing her thoughts and feelings since the accident. She is also now able to walk much easier and is returning to the office a few hours each day. We are so grateful for our office volunteers Sherilyn Jager and Kathy Allen who have graciously stepped in to help with office duties while Leslie recovers!

Thank you for your continued faithfulness in your financial giving back to God through our church. Please remember to either give your offering through the mail, through our website donation option, signing up for monthly electronic giving, OR if you just want to get out of the house, then come by the church and drop it off in the mailbox in a secure slot called “Incoming mail”!  Office hours are M-Th 8:30-2:30. If you come during those times, you may also want to step into the sanctuary for some prayer and quiet time with God. We would love to see you.  Our library is also open to you with quite a variety to choose from.

Thank you to those of you who have been sending notes and messages of encouragement and support. They help keep us hopeful and joyful! We always love to hear how things are going.  We would like to share your experiences in the Newsletter each month.  So, give some thought to what’s been happening in your life – we all miss each other, and would be thrilled to hear what’s up!

Other notes:

  • If any of you would like to participate, it really helps to have a few people Reading Scripture and offering the Prayers of Intercession from the Celebrate page.  Or if you would just like to come to worship – Fridays (new day) 11:00 am.  Call the office at 476-4700 to schedule your spot.
  • Habitat for Humanity Lunches.  We will be providing Lunches (sandwiches, chips, fruit & cookies) for 10 volunteers.  Reply to this email or call the office if you would like to help out. Our next date is Tuesday, May 25.
  • A few copies of “White Fragility” are available to borrow.  Call the office to inquire.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Jim