St Stephen’s Spring Fling 2010
Parishioners, friends and guests of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Three John Street, Westborough, enjoyed St. Stephen’s annual "Spring Fling" on Sunday afternoon, May 23rd, 2010. A light lunch was served followed by a funny two-act play. The play was a spoof with threads from the "Twilight Zone" with the host part of Rod Sterling played by St. Stephen’s retiring priest, Fr. Bill Martin. Instead of the "Twilight Zone" the audience and actors were entering the "Twinight Zone”. In the play the central character who is a good man finds himself sent to hell and hell is Yankee Stadium. In the second act he wakes up to find this all to be a nightmare and that he is really in Red Sox territory as any good Red Sox fan would want to be.
The Spring Fling was enjoyed by all.
Mother's Day Brunch at St. Stephen's
Mothers were honored with a brunch between services on May 9 at St. Stephen's. Various quiches, muffins, fresh fruit and fellowship were shared by all.
The Search Process
On April 19, the vestry took our first step in the search process by appointing a committee to review candidates for interim priest. We also agreed upon the basic structure of the profile/search committee.
For those of you unfamiliar with the search process we will be following the canons of the national church as follows:
We must hire an interim priest to serve between Bill and his replacement. This person (he or she) must be schooled in the interim process and be certified by our diocese. We expect that this person will be with us for about one year.
Establish a profile/search committee. This committee will be made up mostly of members of the congregation and will function independent of the vestry.
Our parish profile is a document that tells a prospective priest all about us (sells us to him or her). Every member of our congregation will be asked to input into this profile. As there are far more parishes looking for priests than there are priests available it is critical that this document show all of our many assets, yet present a realistic picture.
We will receive profiles from the diocese of priests who have shown an interest in coming here. The search committee will then follow up with them and recommend one priest to the vestry.
During the search process, we will try to keep everyone updated as much as we can. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to speak with the “Vestry Person of the Day” or any other members of the vestry.
April 25, 2010
Time and Talent Opportunities
Several years ago, St. Stephen’s had developed forms to invite members to offer up their time, talent and treasure to the parish. Recognizing that stewardship entails more than matters of finance, the Stewardship Committee has spent time during its monthly meetings this year reviewing these and has recast them as opportunities for parishioners to share their time and talents with the St. Stephen’s family. Each year’s Every Member Canvas addresses the opportunity to share one’s treasure.
Briefly, we have identified five areas of opportunity. These are:
Opportunities to Love God
Opportunities to Worship God
Opportunities to Learn of God
Opportunities to Proclaim God
Opportunities to Work and Serve in God’s Name
Each of these areas has several specific opportunities and a contact person associated with each one.
In the near future an area in the church narthex will be devoted to presenting more detailed information for each of these. Fellow parishioners who desire to find a way to share their time and talents with the St. Stephen’s family are encouraged to look at these and contact the appropriate person to explore that opportunity further. There will be printed information available to take home with you so you won’t have to write down or memorize who to contact about what. If you have a specific interest that doesn’t seem to match any of the areas listed please contact Fr. Bill to discuss your interest further.
St. Stephen's Christmas Eve Pageant 2009
Click on the picture to link to the Web Album.
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| St. Stephen's Christmas Pageant |
The Peace and Justice Committee has adopted another U.S. soldier
St. Stephen’s Mission and Outreach plus the Peace and Justice Committee with help from the Youth Group, has adopted a female soldier, Ana, who is a chaplain assistant, deployed in Afghanistan. She has written the following:
“I've been in the army five years, this is my second deployment. My first deployment was to Iraq, now I'm in Afghanistan. I have been here two months so I have long way to go before I go back home. The reason why I'm asking for care packages is because as a chaplain assistant I feel that my job is not only to help the chaplain provide religious support to the troops here but also to always come with something new to bring the soldiers’ moral up.”
St. Stephen’s plans include sending packages to help Ana and support the troops. Ana is in a location that is not near a PX so it is hard for the soldiers to get supplies. Personal hygiene products and detergent are a priority but Ana would be happy to get other items such as treats, nerf balls, microwavable food, board games, stationary, books, cds, and flavor packs for water bottles, like green tea or fruity flavors.
We are waiting to hear from the male soldier as to his needs. Ana has graciously accepted the role of passing on packages to other troops who need them in her area.
St. Stephen's Fall Festival 2009
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| St. Stephen's Fall Festival 2009 |
(click on the picture to bring up the album)
The annual Fall Marketplace at St. Stephen’s Episcopal church of Westborough held on October 17th was a lively event due in part to all of the parishioners, friends and townspeople that came out to support St. Stephen’s. Tables that were filled with baked goods, crafts, themed baskets, yard sale goods and holiday items as well as a delicious lunch brought in a large crowd. St Stephen’s would like to thank the people of the town for making the sale a success.
Church Basement Renovation
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| St. Stephen's July 2009 Flooded Basement |
(click on the picture to bring up the album)
On Tuesday, July 7,2009, a heavy rain storm caused significant flood damage to both the church and the rectory basements. The rectory damage was a result of a flash flooding of the stream in the back yard, filling the basement with over 5 feet of water. The church damage was caused by a flash flooding of the pond on the east side of the church property. Several inches of water filled the rooms throughout the lower level with very muddy water.
The photo album is a collection of progression pictures showing the result of the flooding, along with the progress of the renovation as the work continues.
Check back often for updates!
Why the Glass Jar? 
Have you ever wondered about the glass jar on the serving table in Fay Hall? Not all of us have been here to know the reason why its there. Just before his death, Men’s Group Member Steve Hull was working with Bob Lewis on a worthwhile project for the group. They had researched Food For The Poor, a highly rated charity working to help the poor of Central and Latin America and the Caribbean. Steve and Bob suggested that everyone in the parish take a collection canister home and contribute their pocket change every evening at dinner in thanks for our God given bounty. Following Steve’s death in 2002, the Men’s Group dedicated the project in his memory. Will you join the effort and take a container home? If you can’t find a container in Fay Hall, please use any jar or can. And so far the parish effort has been able to provide 177, 840 meal equivalents to families in the area served. It only takes a nickel a day to save a child for one more day. Please help us.
For more information, please contact Tim Moss.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Men’s Group