St. Stephen's Episcopal Parish

More good news about our new sofas!
Hillsdale Community Church (UCC) Foundation has given us a generous grant to help fund our new couches in the Parish Hall. Thank You, Hillsdale UCC!! Thanks also to parish members Sue Rossiter, Steve Walters, Kevin Gardner for their equally generous donations to support this project. You can see photos of our new sofas at our Clay Street Table Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clay-Street-Table/458660300839235?ref=stream

Remember to wear red — this Sunday is Pentecost!

9:15am Adult Inquiry gathers in the library to continue a discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

At 8am and 10:30am Eucharist, Fr. Dennis preaches and presides. Brass players accompany all the music, and there will be a reading of multiple voices and different languages to remind us of the Pentecost story from Acts.

On Sundays from May-August, Paul is preacher and presider at Waverly Heights UCC, a partner church in service at Clay Street Table.

At St. Stephen’s (StSt), we celebrate one message spoken by many voices. The message is that we are all welcome at the Table.

A Celebration of Life for Choi Marquardt will be held on Sunday, June 9 at 2 p.m.

We hope you have a Spirited Pentecost!

I came to St. Stephen’s over 40 years ago. I came because of the music program and it was close to my home on the Park Blocks. I was made welcome and have continued to sing in the choir. Over the years I have moved several times and for most of that time I have lived in the suburbs, but I have stayed at St. Stephen’s, and served in many capacities. St. Stephen’s has become my spiritual family. They have prayed with me, for me; rejoiced with me and wept with me and always I have been enfolded into the love of the St. Stephen’s family. I have been directed on to paths that I never expected but always it has been a joyful and wonderful journey.

The sun is shining, and Portlanders everywhere are crawling out of their homes and offices, blinking in the light.  It’s a great time to reach out and meet some new friends, or reconnect with some old ones.  Picnic at the park, anyone?

How we found St. Stephens:  Being new to Portland and moving to Terwilliger Plaza located downtown, St. Stephens was a logical parish to explore.  It is within walking distance and also has plenty of free parking in the area on Sunday mornings.

Why we chose St. Stephens:  We attended the cathedral, Trinity, a few Sundays and decided a smaller parish would serve our need for “a connected feeling” where our spiritual and personal community needs could be met.  St. Stephens is located in an area of low-income housing and takes advantage of carrying out the Christian mission of caring for others.  We have belonged to a number of Episcopal parishes throughout our octogenarian lives where we felt we were part of “God’s Christian Frozen People” as contrasted to others where we felt a part of “God’s Christian Chosen People.”  At St. Stephens  we really feel part of the “Chosen People” practicing the Christian mission as there are many and varied opportunities.  Each service and activity makes one realize everyone is “really welcome” regardless of their circumstance in life.  One can actually feel that warmth and Christian love.  At St Stephens one feels a sense of community and gratification in being able to contribute practical skills to the second oldest church in Portland.

We had another amazing Pantry Day

On Thursday, 44 volunteers (including 30 of our friends from the community we serve) provided 256 households, representing 356 people, enough groceries to prepare over 4,200 meals on their own. This month we also welcomed a new Table Companion, Barb, to our Clay Street Table program. She is making herself available to our friends to talk about their housing struggles.

This Sunday

9:15am Adult Inquiry discusses the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Fr. Dennis leads the class.

At 8am and 10:30am Eucharist, Fr. Dennis preaches and presides.

Following 10:30 Eucharist, we gather for coffee hour at the back of the church. Please join the conversation and greet our newcomers. Members of the Vestry provide refreshments.

Beginning this Sunday, Paul has been invited to serve as the part-time interim minister at Waverly Heights United Church of Christ during the May-August sabbatical leave of their pastor, Rev. David Zaworski. This means Paul will be away on Sundays to preach and preside at Waverly. Paul is excited about the ways this added time with the congregation will strengthen their connection to St. Stephen’s. On May 5, the congregation will break ground on a Community Garden that will grow vegetables for our Clay Street Table.

At St. Stephen’s (StSt), we celebrate one message spoken by many voices. The message is that we are all welcome at the Table.

HomePdx @ 12:30 p.m.

This week is the last Sunday before our friends from HOMEpdx move their Sunday lunch outdoors for the summer. The group returns when the fall rains come. Please remember to greet our friends as they wait to come to 12:30pm lunch in the parish hall this week. Those interested in joining HOMEpdx’s outdoor ministry, please contact Paul@ClayStreetTable.org.

Missing St. Stephen’s music the other six days of the week? Can’t wait till the next concert? God’s got you covered, with all the melody you want. All you have to do is listen…

When Ed and I arrived in Portland seven years ago, it was a great leap of faith into a community we barely knew. Other than a brief visit as tourists, Portland was an adventure for our partnership and retirement.
Joining the Episcopal Church in 2004 while residing in Santa Rosa, California, I found a welcoming and loving community there. I was hoping to find a parish equally as welcoming and loving as the one I had experienced there.
Walking into St. Stephen’s in midwinter, 2006 I was greeted by the interim rector. He made me feel completely at ease in what could have been an alien experience. I was feeling close to God by experiencing the liturgy and sermon at St. Stephen’s that day. I transferred my membership from the Santa Rosa church to St. Stephen’s in early spring, 2006.
All during 2006, I felt wanted, accepted and needed by the community of St. Stephen’s. My relationship with God grew deeper and more loving each week while attending St. Stephen’s.
When I was asked to serve on the Vestry starting in 2007, I gladly accepted as a way to serve God and St. Stephen’s parish. It was gratifying to hear that my abilities and contributions were welcome and encouraged.
Each year as I served on the Vestry and attended our worship service each Sunday, I grew closer to God and to the friends I have made at St. Stephen’s.
God speaks to me clearly and directly at St. Stephen’s. I can share the joys of good times, reassurance in difficult times and comfort in bad times because of the clergy and community of St. Stephen’s.
St. Stephen’s liturgy is inspiring, loving and comforting to me and I have made it the most important event of each week. At times, I have experienced difficulty in making the long, slow and uncomfortable journey from my home on the far east side to St. Stephen’s, but have always realized waiting for me at St. Stephen’s is a meaningful and comforting liturgy, the company of good friends and acquaintances and most of all the nearness to God.
I treasure my participation in the worship of God at St. Stephens.
Samuel R. Ganczaruk,
Vestry