August 26, 2024
Dear members of the Saint Stephen’s community,
Greetings! Enclosed you will find a new parish directory for Saint Stephen’s. We last produced a directory in the summer of 2020. It has been a long and complex road since then. As you know, our directory has taken the approach of requiring people to opt-in, as opposed to opting out. That means we have a fair number of changes between editions. Keep that in mind when reviewing it.
Now that we have an updated listing of active members, we are going to implement a few exciting changes. First, we are going to have a new parish cycle of prayer. Every week we will have two (to start with) households from our directory that we are invited to pray for that week. Also, I will call those households and check in with them. The cycle will follow the alphabetical order of households in the directory – so, the Asbels and Barneses are up first! These calls will come from the church office number, so stay tuned!
As you may remember, before COVID our great Lay Eucharistic Visitors, Steve Gerstner and George Kimmet, were visiting shut-ins on a regular basis. After the initial waves of the virus, we reached out to those people to see if they wanted visits from the visitors or myself, at that time no one said they wanted visitors. We will be reaching out again to see if there is interest. All of you are members of our parish family, whether or not you are able to join us in person for worship. So, we are trying to make sure that everyone knows they are part of our community and are cared for.
Next month we will be hosting an open house at our offices at 1645 Avenue D, Suite D (upstairs) following worship on Sunday, September 15. This will be an opportunity for people to come over and check out our new space and have some treats. So, please consider stopping by after church starting around 11:15 am. Following the open house the vestry will have our regular monthly meeting, and all are welcome to stay, as always.
I am also hoping to get an online weekly bible study going again utilizing the Zoom platform. We will look at the readings for the coming week using the Lectionary – http://www.lectionarypage.net. This won’t require deep research or background work, other than, ideally, having a glance at the readings. Please reach out to me or the office if you are interested and have a suggestion for convenient day of the week and time. We can also adjust as needed!
Another exciting opportunity I am eager to share about is working with Lutheran Family Services of the Rocky Mountains and their efforts to help resettle refugees in our community. In coming months and years, the goal is to settle around 100 families in the Billings area. These refugees have been through years and years of background checks and screening. On average it takes three and a half years to get through this part of the process. Overall, the average refugee spends seventeen years living in a refugee camp. The role of parish volunteers in the process is being a welcoming presence in the lives of these new arrivals. This is hospitality, one of the most basic elements of Christianity. Please reach out to me or the office to learn more about this great ministry opportunity.
From October 4 to 6 the Diocese of Montana will gather in Helena for the annual Diocesan Convention. I will be attending as a clergy delegate. Mary Chandler will be representing the congregation as a delegate. We are looking for another volunteer who might be interested in attending. Please reach out to the office or me ASAP! Convention is a great opportunity to meet new people from around the state, hear and share new ideas, and wonderful worship experiences.
Finally, as I might have said in a sermon or two over the years, we are all a work in progress and faith is a journey, not a destination. So, I want to publicly acknowledge that I, too, am a work in progress and always striving to be a better pastor for you and your family. Please feel free to reach out to me, our office, or our wonderful wardens (Lance and Doris) if you have any concerns, ideas, or suggestions. We are in this journey together and are all called on to support and care for one another.
Now, allow me to conclude with a prayer for our parish family:
Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family. Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent. Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer page 817)
Lovingly yours in Christ,
Father Stephen C. Day
