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Saint Stephen's Church
in Providence
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News and events for the
week of March 27
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Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt (1606-1669) |
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Mass Setting: Mass in the Dorian Mode
Herbert Howells (1892–1983)
Voluntary: Cortège et Litanie, Op.19 No 2
Marcel Dupré (1886 - 1971)
Motet: Emendemus in melius, William Byrd (1543 - 1623)
Voluntary: Le Tombeau de Titelouze, Op. 38, Marcel Dupré
15. Te splendor et vertus Patris
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Dear Friends,
Last Sunday, we heard some of the harshest words Jesus speaks in the Gospels. In our Gospel reading this Refreshment Sunday, we hear the familiar story of the Prodigal Son, and are given some of the most profound and comforting words and images about the nature of God.
The story of the Prodigal Son has been called the Gospel within Luke's Gospel, because it captures all the themes of Christ's life, teaching, and earthly ministry. If I'm not careful, I'll end up writing my sermon here, as it is a passage I love so deeply. But in essence, Jesus tells this story to upset those who think they "know" who's in and who's out of God's kingdom, and so like all good parables, it flips our expectations and turns them upside down. Furthermore, it's a story that is at once as universal as it is personal, since it deals with the relationships within a family -- something we all experience, with all their ups and downs.
At the heart of this parable is a message of unconditional and unending love: a window into the very heart of God, in which there are unfathomable depths of mercy, grace, compassion, and love. As the beloved hymn goes, "There's a wideness in God's mercy, like the wideness of the sea... There is grace enough for thousands of new worlds as great as this..."
And as another beloved Gospel hymn goes,
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
calling for you and for me;
see, on the portals he's waiting and watching,
watching for you and for me.
Come home, come home;
you who are weary come home;
earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home!
Come and let God's embrace surround you - come, and know yourself to be loved and treasured by the God who so wonderfully made you. Come, and see your truest self through the eyes of God in Christ.
Faithfully,
A fellow sinner saved by God's redeeming love.
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Supporting Ukrainian Refugees |
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In the Epistle of James, he reminds the church that true religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to care for the orphan and the widow. In other words, those who are without someone to care for them, and without the means to provide for themselves adequately.
St. James would also exhort us to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. In that same vein, I encourage you to offer what you can out of your own resources to support Ukrainian refugees at this time. One of the finest organizations with an excellent record of getting the needed resources to those on the ground is Episcopal Relief and Development.
Click on the blue button below to make your gift to the Episcopal Relief and Development's Ukraine Crisis Fund or send your gift via check to:
Episcopal Relief & Development
Ukraine Relief Fund
P.O. Box 7058
Merrifield, VA 22116-7058
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Lenten Study Series --
there is still time to join us!
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This year’s Lenten series is a study of Luke’s Gospel, using N.T. Wright’s Lent for Everyone: Luke, Year C. It is not too late to join us! Folks are having a very good time, and our questions go deeper each week. We are meeting via Zoom on Wednesday evenings from approximately 7:00 to 8:00, beginning on March 9th and concluding on April 6th. The link is in the e-news that goes out every Friday and will also be on the S. Stephen's homepage (sstephens.org). This week we will cover the readings on commentaries from Thursday in the Third Week of Lent to Wednesday in the Fourth Week of Lent inclusive.
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We will be offering the liturgy of Stations of the Cross at 5:30 pm on three successive Fridays: April 1, April 8, and April 15 (Good Friday). This short devotion is a wonderful way to prepare ourselves to unite more fully with Our Lord in his Passion as we approach Holy Week and Good Friday. |
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Holy Week at S. Stephen's |
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April 10 – Palm Sunday:
The Sunday of the Passion
8:00 Morning Prayer & Low Mass
10:00 Liturgy of the Palms and Solemn Mass
April 11 – Monday in Holy Week
5:30 Evening Prayer
6:00 Low Mass
April 12 – Tuesday in Holy Week
12:00 Noonday Prayer & Low Mass
April 13 – Wednesday in Holy Week (‘Spy Wednesday’)
5:30 Evening Prayer
6:00 Low Mass
April 14 – Maundy Thursday
7:30 PM – Mass of the Lord’s Supper
9:00 PM – Watch at the Altar of Repose
April 15 – Good Friday
12:00 Noon – Solemn Liturgy & Mass of the Presanctified
5:30 pm – Stations of the Cross
April 16 – Holy Saturday
7:30 PM – Easter Vigil & First Mass of Easter
April 17 – Easter Day:
The Sunday of the Resurrection
8:00 AM – Morning Prayer & Low Mass
10:00 AM – Solemn Mass of the Resurrection
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Please come to the 2nd floor of the Guild House and enjoy a time of fellowship after Mass. The Guild Hall is located through the doors at the back of the church, and up the stairs to the left. If you are interested in signing up to help host a coffee hour, please reach out to Leanna Hooks. |
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You can mail your pledge card or weekly/monthly offering to the church office, or pledge online here. Thank you for all the many ways in which you are already supporting S. Stephen’s.
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Prayers have been requested for: Meghan Butler, Charles and Sandra Calverley, Fr. Norman Catir, Trudy Egan, Fr. Harrington Gordon, Richard Hogarth, Rose Krawiec, Beverly Myers, Bryan Ripley, Beth Shirley, Rhoda Steinhart, Fr. Allan Warren, and Christopher Whittingham.
Birthdays this week: Fr. Benjamin Straley (3/30).
The faithful departed: Recently departed: Madeleine Albright. Year’s Mind: Dorothy Adams Bellman (3/27); Charles John McCloughan (3/30); Nancy Adams Thorp Steiny (3/30); Elizabeth Kershaw (3/31); Jesse Frederick Gudeman (3/31); Richard Sherman Nutt (4/1).
In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we are asked to pray for The Church of the Province of Myanmar (Burma) (3/27); The Diocese of Kobe – The Nippon Sei Ko Kai (3/28); The Diocese of Koforidua – The Church of the Province of West Africa (3/29); The Diocese of Kolhapur – The (united) Church of North India (3/30); The Diocese of Kollam-Kottarakkara – The (united) Church of South India (3/31); The Diocese of Kondoa – The Anglican Church of Tanzania (4/1); The Diocese of Kongor – The Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan (4/2).
In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer, we are asked to pray for Church Beyond the Walls.
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This Week at S. Stephen's |
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This Sunday, 27 March:
Fourth Sunday in Lent (Refreshment Sunday)
Morning Prayer and Low Mass 8 am
Sunday School 9:55 am
Solemn Mass 10 am
Coffee Hour 11:15 am
Monday 28 March
Lenten Feria
Evening Prayer 5:30 pm
Low Mass 6:00 pm
Tuesday 29 March
John Keble, Priest, 1866
Noonday Prayer & Low Mass 12:00
Wednesday 30 March
Lenten Feria
Evening Prayer 5:30 pm
Low Mass 6:00 pm
Lenten Book Study 7:00 pm (via Zoom)
Thursday 31 March
John Donne, Priest, 1631
Noonday Prayer & Low Mass 12:00
Friday 1 April
Frederick Denison Maurice, Priest, 1872
Noonday Prayer & Low Mass 12:00
Stations of the Cross 5:30 pm
Saturday 2 April
James Lloyd Breck, Priest, 1876
Morning Prayer 9:30 am
Low Mass 10:00 am
Holy Rosary 10:30 am
Society of Mary 11:00 am (Library)
Epiphany Soup Kitchen 2:30-4:00 pm
Next Sunday 27 March
Fifth Sunday in Lent: Passiontide Begins
Morning Prayer and Low Mass 8 am
Sunday School 9:55 am
Solemn Mass 10 am
Coffee Hour 11:15 am
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