Spring Message - St. Stephen`s Episcopal Church

The Message
The Message
God breathes new life...
Jesus's resurrection is the beginning of God's new project
not to snatch people away from earth to heaven
but to colonize earth with the life of heaven.
That, after all, is what the Lord's Prayer is about. N.T. Wright
And he departed from our sight that we might return to our heart,
and there find Him. For He departed, and behold, He is here. St. Augustine
What can we do but keep on breathing in and out,
modest and willing, and in our places? Mary Oliver
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
St.Stephen’s Episcopal Church
Ridgefield, CT
Spring 2015
The heavens are telling the glory of God!
Spring is finally here! The one good thing about a hard winter is that spring is so hopefully anticipated and
joyfully received. The same can be said about the relationship of Lent and Easter. Observing the season of
Lent makes the experience of Easter more glorious than it would seem an annual festival would warrant.
Inside these pages you’ll find the schedule for Holy Week, complete with photos from the Holy Land of some
of the locations referred to in scripture. If you missed Whitney’s pilgrimage presentation in January, come hear
a repeat of it on April 12 at 9am in South Hall. The excerpt of an interview about Eternity is included on page
12-13 and information about Natural Church Development, a program that we are utilizing to attend to church
growth can be found on page 10 . These two pieces remind us of God’s ongoing creation and our being made
to dwell in it. You’ll want to save the date for the 109th Nutmeg Festival. Find drop-off dates and how to get
involved on page 6 . For the first time ever, St. Stephen’s will be hosting the Yom HaShoah (Holocaust
Remembrance) service. Rabbi David Reiner of Temple Shearith-Israel, along with Cantor Deborah Katchko-Gray,
are the primary leaders in this service which is sponsored by the Ridgefield Clergy Association. There are many
opportunities for responding to the needs of others through mission initiatives and the Parishioner’s Fund.
You can read about them on page 15.
The Spirit is alive and well here at St. Stephen’s. If you haven’t been in worship in a while, come see for
yourself.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind
you of all that I have said to you.
John 14:26
Faithfully,
Table of Contents
Schedule of Services & Spring Dates
Page 3
More from the Holy Land
Page 4
Mission & Nutmeg Festival;
Page 5
Music
Page 6
Children & Youth
Page 7
Stewardship
Page 8
Natural Church Development
Page 9
St. Stephen’s Nursery School
Page 10
Eternity is Real
Page 11-13
Yom HaShoah
Page 13
Financial Update
Page 14
Parishioner News/Parishioner Fund
Page 15
Schedule of Services for Easter
Entering into the Mystery of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection through worship
The wonder of Holy Week is that we walk through the last week of Jesus’ life
at the same pace that he walked through it.
March 29- Palm Sunday, 8am and 10am
We raise our palms high shouting “Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!”
as Jesus enters into Jerusalem.
March 29—5:00 pm The Gospel According to Mark
Mark’s Gospel is the first Gospel written and the shortest of the four (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). To
read it in its entirety takes about 75 minutes. Come hear the Gospel read by parishioner and professional
actor, Tucker Smith. Tucker is a lifelong Episcopalian, having grown up at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in
Providence, RI and involved in Episcopal churches in New York in his adult life. He received his BSS at Northwestern University and has worked professionally in NYC for 22 years in film, television and theatre as well
as voice over narration and commercial work. He and his wife Allison have two children, Avery and Jackson.
April 2- Maundy Thursday, 7:30 pm
We go to the Last Supper where Jesus washes his disciples’ feet and shares the holy meal with them.
It is at the end of that meal that Judas starts the process of Jesus’ betrayal.
9pm Thursday-7am Friday in the sanctuary
We go to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prays all night.
We manage to “stay awake for one hour.”
April 3 - Good Friday, 10:00 am—12:00 pm Children’s Program
7:30 pm Service in the Sanctuary
We go to the trial and witness the crucifixion.
April 4- Holy Saturday and the Easter Vigil, 7:30pm
We recognize the quietness of this day. At sundown, we begin the first service of Easter.
The light of Christ pierces the darkness of the tomb.
April 5 - Easter Sunday, 6:30, 9, and 11am
We go to the empty tomb. He is RISEN! This is good news to proclaim!!
Spring Dates
Our Sanctuary is Celebrating it's Centennial! Save the date for a day-long celebration on Sunday, May 3rd.
A dedicated committee is hard at work planning the event which will include special period worship music
at the 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. services and a display of historical artifacts documenting the building of the present
church structure. After service we'll enjoy a community lunch and old fashioned ice cream social on our
beautiful campus, and lots of family activities with a 1915 theme. The day will close with a special concert
presented by Scott Torperzer, the Saint Stephen's Choir and Organist Arno Steinig.
Don't miss this special day in the life of our church and community.
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St. Stephen’s
Message
Garden of Gethsemane/ Mount of Olives
"They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples,
'Sit here while I pray.' He took with him Peter and James and John, and
began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, 'I am deeply
grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake." Mark 14:32-34
The steps that lead to the
house of the high priest
They took Jesus to the high priest and all the chief priests, the elders,
and the scribes were assembled. Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting
with the guards, warming himself by the fire." Mark 14:53-54
(the Mount of Olives/Garden of Gethsemane is just off of the
upper left hand corner of the photo)
Old City Jerusalem (view from Mount of Olives)
The wall of the Old City horizontally intersects the middle
of the photo. Directly in the center of the photo is the location of the House of the High Priest, where Jesus stood before the Jewish Council, before being taken to Pilate. Jesus
would have walked from the Mount of Olives/Garden of
Gethsemane (from which this photo is taken) after being
betrayed by Judas' kiss, to the High Priest's home, walking
up the steps as seen in the photo above.
Save the date for a Holy Land Pilgrimage October 16-28,
2016. You’re invited!! Mother Whitney will lead this
pilgrimage. Planning starts this summer, so contact her
before the end of May, 2015 to learn more. Please don’t
allow your fear to stop you from taking this incredible trip! Hear from Whitney regarding personal experiences and hard data about the safety of this trip. Start saving now, because you can afford this- total cost
(including air fare) is less than $5000.
4
St. Stephen’s
Message
Mission News
For the rest of March and all of April Change the World donations will go to help Ridgefield's Meals on
Wheels, which provides home cooked meals to the housebound—three times a week.
Please remember the EmptyBowl fundraiser on April 26th after the 10 AM service. Several different soups
will be offered. All moneys from this will go to Mozambique in memory of Stephen Becroft who donated his
bowls as part of this fundraiser in the past.
Daily Bread continues at St. James in Danbury once a month on the first Friday and always welcomes new
volunteers that are needed from 9 AM until about noon, usually carpooling from church.
Tuesday, April 7th, we have a chance to return to Bridgeport to St. Luke and St. Paul's Church where we have
helped with their food pantry and also taken the meal for their Soup Kitchen. We will take dinner again, preparing before we go (details to follow about day and time) and then leaving about 3:30 to head to Bridgeport, returning by 7 PM. Again, mission welcomes any who might be interested in joining us to help serve
and to meet some of our friends down there.
Renewal House in Danbury, which provides transitional housing for senior citizens from surrounding areas,
has a breakfast on May 1st. Please let the office know if you are interested in attending. Also we are trying
to find some individuals who might like an opportunity to visit with some of the residents to play cards, take
a walk, take someone out for coffee, or maybe prepare a meal. There are 7 who are able to live there at a
time and they are helped to find ways to return to their own housing and often a job.
Alternative Giving Mission continues to offer opportunities to donate to a non-profit in honor of someone
special for a birthday, anniversary, holiday, or "just because". Cards and inserts with the charity's specifics
will be provided. No donation is too small.
And, last but not least, the Backpack Mission will be returning in June. At that time we will begin collecting
supplies, backpacks and donations.
109th Nutmeg Festival
Save the date ~ July 25th from 1010-4
Drop off dates: May 30, June 13 & 27, July 11
From 9-1, behind South Hall
Time to start spring cleaning!
Check out our the Nutmeg website and FaceBook page
www.nutmegfestival.org
www.facebook.com/nutmegfestival
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St. Stephen’s
Message
Music Ministry
This Spring, God Breathes New Life into….
The Choristers Program!
Do you know a child that loves to sing? Encourage them to give the program a try! Every Wednesday from
April 29th through May 27th will be an open rehearsal where prospective members can come in and see what
we’re all about. Make sure to stay and join all of the choristers and their families for dinner at 6! Please contact Scott
at [email protected] for more information.
Instrumentalists!
Do you play an instrument? Well dust off that old violin and dig out the trombone! The St. Stephen’s Music
Ministry is looking for instrumentalists to play in ensembles or as soloists to add some color to our wonderful
worship services and other church gatherings. Please contact Scott at [email protected] for more
information.
Adult Choirs!
We are thrilled to welcome some new and returning members to our choirs! There is always room for you in
our music ministry, and the adult choirs are a wonderful way for us to offer you hospitality through fellowship and
music making. Making a commitment to the choirs can be done in segments, so we do make room for your busy
schedules! Please contact Scott at [email protected] for more information.
The Spring Concert!
Please plan on joining the Music Ministry for a very special concert as the church celebrates the 100th anniversary of
our amazingly beautiful sanctuary. On Sunday, May 3rd at 5:00 PM we will present a thrilling concert including Antonio Vivaldi’s superb “Gloria” and scintillating works for St. Stephen’s own “Mighty Moeller” pipe organ expertly played by our parish organist, Arno Steinig.
Musical worship
Our final Choral Evensong of the year will be on Trinity Sunday, May 31st at 5:00 PM. Come and spend a
worshipful hour filled with glorious music, scripture, and silence. You will leave feeling better, guaranteed!!
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Youth and Family Ministry
Spring always reminds me of Isaiah 42:5 -.9 - This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches
them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who
walk on it...“I am the Lord; that is my name! See, the former things have taken place and new things I declare; before
they spring into being I announce them to you.” It seems as the snow melts and the green shoots peep out that God is
once again breathing life across the land and I notice his two-legged creations begin to perk up as well. New energy is
found and new projects undertaken. It is so with the Youth and Family Ministry. We look forward to guidance from
Andrew Kellner our consultant from the Diocese of Pennsylvania.
The youth are committed to several outreach events this spring.
Sole Hope: April 26, the youth of St Stephen's will host a Sole Hope shoe cutting party from 3:00-6:00 in Rector's Hall.
In Uganda there are critters called “jiggers” that burrow into the soles of uncovered feet and cause very serious health
problems. Shoes that can protect little feet that change so quickly are too expensive for most families. Sole Hope
provides jobs to people they train as cobblers to make very reasonably priced shoes for feet of all sizes while providing
a living wage for the cobblers. We will be cutting the uppers of shoes for toddlers from jeans, old and new, for the
cobblers to complete. This is an outreach project suitable for families with children seven and above who want to help.
Please go to solehope.org for more information. Please bring in old or new jeans for shoes to the third floor of
North Hall.
Homeless Help: In May the youth will be making bag sandwiches
and chicken chili to take to New York for Midnight Run and to
New Haven for Chapel on the Green.
Friday May 1st we will carry food and clothing to New York to feed the
street people for this 30+ year old ministry.
Sunday May 3rd the confirmands will lead worship and feed 200 people
at Chapel on the Green a ministry of Trinity on the Square.
HOPE Mission Trip: . Twenty youth and four adults will serve
in Charlotte NY, July 26-August 1. They will be helping
elderly residents by painting houses,
building wheel chair ramps,
and fixing up properties.
NYC Museum Trip: There are also trips planned to New York City for a meal at Ellen's Stardust Diner
and a museum visit. Date to be announced.
Our children are busy finishing their studies in church school.
The pre-school classes continue their work with the stories of Jesus’ life
Grades 1, 2 & 3 are learning what 'Family' means and where in the Bible they find the words to live by.
Grades 4 & 5 have studied the worship service and learned what makes our Episcopal worship distinct.
Grades 6-8 meet weekly in the WEB and discuss biblical themes relevant to their daily lives.
Thanks to the wonderful teachers who have devoted their Sunday mornings to this work!
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St. Stephen’s
Message
After Easter it is time to sign up to teach next year. We have twenty-seven teaching Sundays per year and the rest of
the Sundays are special events. After Easter we will send out position descriptions and ask parents and people without
children in the school to join this ministry. We need 20+ teachers to cover the year. The time commitment is not great,
but the rewards are abundant. We are especially looking for story tellers, artists, musicians and anyone who has a few
hours to spend with our children.
A new role in the fall is that of Church School Dean. This is person would be available Sunday morning: to help the
teachers when things are needed; would help set up classrooms Sunday AM; put away the materials for the day; and
help greet new comers. This will free up Sarah Moden-Alliston to be available to parents before and after church and
allow her to teach occasionally. If you are more comfortable with a clip board than a classroom this is the spot for you!
Finally we are looking forward to our Vacation Bible School June 22-26, from 9:00-12:30. It is time to register to be a
camper, a counselor in training or if you are in 10-12th grade we have new Junior Counselor positions. The fees are the
same as last year, with the exception of the Junior Counselors (10-12th grade) who do not pay for camp. The registration form is on the website. Please contact Sarah Moden-Alliston with any questions.
__________________________________________________________________
Stewardship Update
Have we heard from you? Join those who have made a financial commitment to the work of St. Stephen's.
Our church home is alive with initiatives to pass on the Word of God. The generous giving of your time, talent
and treasure allows this goodness to continue and expand. Together let’s continue our service to community
and beyond. Please contact Kay Gelfman at [email protected] to pledge your support.
As of February 20, 161 families had pledged $408,986.20 against our goal of $469,000 and 200 families.
The Word of God changes lives. It is just one reason why stewardship is important. Each of us is called to be
a steward of our church – when we give generously of ourselves, we live abundantly. What we do, how we
serve and how we give is in thankful response to a good and loving God.
Please consider making a financial commitment today
so that we may glorify and share God’s good works year after year.
Live the Word of God and Pass It On!
Give Generously. Live Abundantly.
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St. Stephen’s
Message
How does the church grow? …Naturally
Everyone who loves St. Stephen’s wants to see it grow. We have something so good here that it seems
only natural. The vestry continues to lead the parish in the process of Natural Church Development,
a process for church growth that has been tested over two decades in thousands of churches worldwide. By paying attention to the quality of our life together, the fruitfulness of growth follows.
A task force is beginning its work of implementing Natural Church Development (NCD) processes
which will affect every area of our life together. NCD will be a guiding paradigm for our work over
the next several years. Hear what some of the vestry said about NCD which was the primary focus
of our annual retreat in February.
By the end of the day on Saturday I thought we had some good direction for the major projects
we'll have to tackle in the coming year or perhaps longer. –Eliza Shanley, Sr. Warden
I get the NCD approach. . I'm excited! We need to focus on the work at hand, how it benefits
St. Stephen's, and avoid distractions.- Andy Robertson, Jr. Warden
From the retreat, I understand our work this year to be about leading St. Stephen’s forward in an
organic - biotic - way. We will do that by listening in open ways if approached by parishioners and
looking to developments that help us grow organically and securely through (big picture, long term)
love and not through fear based solutions. –Martha Morris
I understand the framework to be to leverage NCD principles and practices, to foster a stronger
community, broader participation, and longer term, a growing community. –Tom Byrne
When I think about the work that we have before us, I am eager to see our parish community drawn
together so that it can rally as a unified force around the goals set for it. –Tom Katzenbach
(I see the work before us as) using the communication/reasoning skills that we studied and trying to
move the parish forward in the area of NCD, which also encompasses stewardship, celebration, and
staffing. –Lori Seibert
God is an active part of the life of the church. We must always be mindful of God’s interest in being
involved in his body, the church, and do our part to foster the environment in which God dwells. In
the parable below, we are the farmer, capable of choosing and scattering the seed. It is God that
brings the growth.
He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep
and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe,
at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Mark 4:26-29
May God be glorified!
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St. Stephen’s Nursery School
Expanding the Mind. Nurturing the Spirit. Celebrating the Child.
St. Stephen’s Nursery School is always buzzing with activity and laughter. Our classes have enjoyed
the winter months and the many fun activities of winter – like our Christmas parties, Pancake & Pajama
Day, Valentine’s celebration, and playing in the snow with our friends. We are getting ready for spring
and our biggest event of the year – Wiggle Giggle & Groove!!!! Wiggle is our Family Pizza & Dance
Party and it is very popular with our families! We have dancing, limbo contests, conga lines, and also
mother-son and father-daughter dances. If you pass North Hall in March and see disco lights swirling
in the windows you’ll know why!
Our SSNS children have been attending Chapel with Miss Sarah each month and they really enjoy
this special time. This year they have learned many Bible lessons and had the chance to help others
with our Christmas and diaper ministries.
We are looking forward to all that the new season brings with our wonderful SSNS children and
their families.
Valentine’s Day Girls
The 4’s saying grace
Happy three year olds!
Our Solar System
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Eternity is Real
A Conversation about Time with Br. Geoffrey Tristram and The Rt. Rev. Nick Knisely
A joint offering of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island and the Society of Saint John the Evangelist
So many people today seem to suffer from a sense of disordered time; our experience of time is polluted by misuse and
abuse. And it’s poisoning our lives—like a disease, really. Yet time is meant to be a gift from God. Geoffrey Tristram sat
down with Nick Knisely in the hopes of gaining a better understanding of this complicated realm in which faith and science
intersect. This is an excerpt. To read the full article, go to www.ssje.org
GT: Thanks so much for sitting down with me, Nick. I know that you wear two hats, being both a bishop and a physicist.
I’m hoping that you might be able help us to gain a clearer understanding of how time and space relate to each other.
NK: If we can solve that one, we’ll win a Nobel Prize! Well, let’s start with Einstein. Essentially, Einstein took the relativist
philosophy of the nineteenth century and began to express it mathematically. To do so, he went back to some mathematical equations that Hendrik Lorentz had devised at the turn of the century, dealing with the mathematical idea that when
you move, things begin to change their character, or your experience of them begins to change their character. Lorentz’s
equations found a way to express the idea that as you are moving, space begins to collapse or conversely time slows
down. Either way, whether it’s time slowing down or space collapsing, the two effects give you the equivalent result: that
light is always the same speed in every direction no matter whether you’re moving or stationary or anything else. This is a
huge deal for physics, because Einstein is able to take this equation and say there is no privileged reference frame. Anybody can say, “I am the center of the universe,” and they would be absolutely correct. Everybody is the center of the universe. It’s really a quite lovely thing to meditate on.
GT: What are the implications of this for our understanding of time?
NK: This means that time—which Isaac Newton imagined as a river flowing ever majestically, like the Thames, on down to
the sea—does not in fact flow at a constant rate at all. Instead, time bubbles, whirls, slows down, and speeds up effectively
depending on what the observer is doing at the moment. This becomes hugely important! Practically, it means that even
something as simple as sending a radio message to a robot on Mars has to take into account the relativistic effects of Martian motion, our motion, and then the dual effect of climbing out of our gravitational field, because general relativity shows
that gravity also slows down time.
GT: So that’s a quite practical example. And if I understand the implications of it: time itself is not a constant.
NK: Not even close. This idea—that your reality, your experience of reality, is valid for you, and my experience and my
reality is valid for me—means that the idea of finding an absolute truth becomes a lot more difficult.
GT: And I take it that this includes any notion of time as an absolute truth. What does this mean, theologically, then for our
understanding of God?
NK: I think the poetic imagination is helpful here: I’d say that God is the ultimate truth in eternity, outside of the flow of time.
And we who live in the boundaries of time and matter and space can get asymptotically close to God, but cannot cross that
barrier—in this life at least.
GT: See, this is interesting: the very possibility of a relationship between God who is timeless (yet who creates time) and
we who exist in time. For we do have these breakthroughs, moments where, somehow, we become aware that time is shot
through by the timeless. Or, to say it another way, there are moments when we sense that our timeless God had somehow
broken through to us, in time.
NK: Well, not to complicate matters further, but there is a whole pool of physicists who argue that time itself is an illusion.
There are great problems with time—one of them is called the “arrow of time” problem. Namely, we don’t understand why
you can go backwards and forwards in space in any direction—in the X-axis and the Y-axis and the Z-axis—but in time
you can only go forward. You cannot go backwards, and no one really understands why. It’s a huge unsolved problem in
physics and philosophy.
GT: And in theology! This issue of time moving in one direction is also a huge unsolved problem in people’s lives. In spiritual direction, we hear again and again how much of people’s longing is to go back.
NK: And there’s no reason, mathematically, why we can’t. And yet we can’t. This flow of time—we don’t know why, but it
goes in one direction. Now although time flows in one direction, it can go faster and slower.
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GT: Which I’m guessing opens up again the question of relativism.
NK: It doesn’t just open it up—it cracks it right open, and there you have it! It means that there is no absolute truth, at least
scientifically, that anybody who is in this universe can access. We don’t like it, but there it is. When you put together the
idea of multiple truths and the flow of time, you hit upon the fact that the flow of time is completely and totally subjective.
Think about it. This bears out in our experience. When I’m bored, time goes so slowly, when I’m having fun, time goes so
fast. And I’m not talking about the perception of time. I’m actually talking about what’s measurable with atomic instruments.
GT: So are you saying that time actually slows down? This would mean that each observer in time, so to speak, has his or
her own validity. Even if there is no absolute truth, wouldn’t their experience of time still be absolutely true for them? This
has to change the way we think, theologically, about the individual’s experience of everything—even God.
NK: Yes! Surely you’ve had the experience of hearing a directee explain their experience of the divine and thinking, “That’s
not what it’s like for me.” When I hear this, I know I’ve often had to just shrug and say, “Oh, I’m just wired differently.” Or,
“My neurotransmitters are firing differently.”
GT: Yes! Because such experiences are unique to the person having them. The question then is this: is there a point at
which you can say to a spiritual directee, “Actually, your experience of God is wrong”? Do we have any access to a greater
truth that we can use to help direct or confirm or deny the experience of others?
NK: I think we can use revealed truth. That’s the majesty of the gospel of salvation history: in salvation history the eternal
pokes its nose, if you will, into the temporal. As a natural theologian and as a natural philosopher, I’ve studied what I can
learn about God by looking at the machinery of Creation. And there’s a lot you can learn. But there comes a point where
that knowledge approaches absolute truth, yet does not cross over, because you just can’t get there. So the truth has to be
something that pokes into our experience from the absolute. And we, as Christians, would say that the fullness of that
revelation is the person of Jesus Christ.
GT: Can you say that this revealed truth, that “God is love,” actually trumps a person’s own particular perception of reality?
NK: That’s where faith comes in. As a person of faith, you have to give your assent to the gospel message. But you can’t
make the argument, as much as I’d like to be able to make it, that natural philosophy leads you to God.
GT: But if this God—who is Love—who is beyond time, can nevertheless poke through into time, then that’s incredibly
hopeful! Because it means that whatever happens in time, however awful, there will always be love returned.
NK: Yes. You see throughout all the biblical witness that God is actively engaging in human history. And the alternative is
terrifying: the idea of the watchmaker, God, who sets this thing up—
GT: But instead we see that God is constantly pushing into reality, into time.
NK: Yes we do. An acquaintance of mine, Bob Russell, is the director of the Center for Natural Theology in Berkeley,
California. He and I are both members of a religious order, the Society of Ordained Scientists. He has Ph.D.’s in both
Theology and Physics and is an ordained member of the United Church of Christ. He has done some amazing work in
thinking through the way that science and theology can find what he calls creative mutual interactions. His latest work is
on the nature of time itself and the physical meaning of eternity—all of which is motivated by his desire to understand the
meaning of the bodily resurrection of our Lord. What he seems to have proved is that if there is an eternity that contains
our experience of the flow of time, not only is it possible that the resurrection of the dead is a physical possibility but, he
told me in a private conversation, we can explain why time only flows in one direction (which is why we can’t go backwards
in time). In a sense, the argument is that the flow of time and the bodily resurrection are intimately connected to each
other. I think that’s one of the key reasons that the Church has such a critical role to play in re-asserting moral teachings.
The Eternal did appear and show us that there are fundamental things that we cannot apprehend by intellectual thought,
but which we have to accept on faith. And these things are important. If we do not order our lives according to these we
will all die. We are all going to kill each other off. You Brothers are a proof that we can choose another way. You are in
touch with a different, rhythmic way of living. You are creating a kind of time outside the frantic flow of time in society.
And this is a simple proof that time is subjective and relative. People have a choice: are they going to live their lives at
Internet speed or are they going to live their lives at human speed, the speed for which we are created.
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GT: Can you calibrate your own time, then? Is there actually a choice—that you can move towards residence with
Creation, or away from it? Is that more than just a metaphor?
NK: It much more than a metaphor. What we’re talking about is actually real. When you change your time scale, it allows
you to be more present to the Creator who made this Creation. You’re living on the human scale—the time scale for which
we were built. Otherwise we’re living our lives at a frantic speed that doesn’t allow us to function as we are meant to. We’re
putting the wrong gasoline in our engine, the wrong weight of oil in the oil pan. It sort of works for a while but, you know,
our parts are wearing down. The Brothers, on the other hand, have a rhythm that the great spiritual lights of humanity have
discovered again and again. I think you’re living a rule of life that is baked into the nature of Creation.
GT: So the rule of life can shape our subjective experience of time.
NK: Ah, but that’s the key thing: I’m saying there’s an objective reality. This isn’t simply subjective, poetic imagery—
that it’s better for me if I stop for prayer. No, it’s objective. It changes us—like medicine. We were created and have
evolved to live on the surface of this planet, with its rhythms, and the surface of this planet was created and evolved by
the Creator to sustain our lives. I think the resurrection of eternal life is really about the destruction of death and this ability
of our own lives to enter eternity, to break through into that greater reality.
GT: So the resurrection is the moment when you break free from being bound by time to being timeless—
NK: —to living in the now, the eternal now. Bob Russell’s argument, which I find compelling (and boy, if he’s right it’s a
very big deal) is that the “arrow of time”— the argument that time only goes in one direction—implies that eternity is real.
GT: And eternity is God’s love.
Yom HaShoah- Holocaust Remembrance Day
A community wide observance of Yom HaShoah- Holocaust Remembrance Day
is planned for April 16, 7:30 pm, HERE at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.
Organized by the Ridgefield Clergy Association, the memorial service will include
prayers, readings and songs related to the Holocaust. Yom HaShoah is observed as Israel's day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust as a result of the actions carried
out by Nazi Germany and its accessories, and for the Jewish resistance in that period. In Israel, it is a national
memorial day. It was inaugurated in 1953, anchored by a law signed by the Prime Minister of Israel David
Ben-Gurion and the President of Israel Yitzhak Ben-Zvi.
“As a student of Prof. Elie Wiesel, I’ve learned we must remember and speak truth to power whenever there
is injustice. The lessons from the Holocaust are still needed today as a troubling rise of anti-Semitism is brewing in Europe and the Middle East. I am heartened to share in this remembrance in my community,” Cantor
Deborah Katchko-Gray shared.
I am so glad that Rabbi David accepted my invitation to hold this extremely important service for the Jewish
people here at St. Stephen’s. And I am grateful to the Ridgefield Clergy Association for sponsoring it. It is my
hope that the community will find in this service the opportunity to honor those who endured suffering and
respect those who died during the Holocaust. This one hour service is appropriate for anyone who knows of
the Holocaust. I pray that God will use our remembering to strengthen our bonds of caring for one another. Under Rabbi David and Cantor Deborah’s leadership, we will all learn how to remember.
13
Financial Update
Statement of Activities:
Contributions:
Pledge Income
Plate Offerings
Nursery School Income
Rental and Other Income
Budget
Actual
YTD February
2015
$
57,734
15,413
34,715
58,484
YTD
$
78,000
7,000
49,068
52,194
166,346
186,261
13,566
94,864
31,191
2,978
13,567
90,093
42,054
2,450
14,685
27,545
18,271
29,220
Total Operating Expenses
184,829
195,656
Net Cash Flow From Operations
(18,483)
(9,395)
(20,500)
50,000
(31,350)
50,000
Total Support & Revenue
Diocesan Assessment & Mission Outreach
Personnel
Property
Program
Administration and Other Parish Expenses
Nursery School
Capital Expenditures
Endowment Withdrawal
Change in Net Assets
$
11,017
Percentage of Endowment Withdrawn
1.08%
14
$
9,255
1.08%
Parishioner News
Baptisms
The following individuals were sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own for ever.
Let us, as a congregation, do all in our power to support them as they grow in their life in Christ.
Erin Charlotte Hicks ~ January 4, 2015 Parents: Shaun & Amanda Hicks
Paityn Elizabeth Sommerer ~ January 4, 2015 Parents: Robert & Erica Sommerer
In Memoriam
Father of all, we pray to you for all those we love, but see no longer:
Grant them your peace and let light perpetual shine upon them.
William B. Dickinson ~ February 3, 2015
Albert G. Munklet ~ February 17, 2015
Derek Samuel McCleery ~ February 26, 2015
Our Newest Members
Let us welcome them into our parish family
Holly McClellan, Jack & Mary Lou Herr, Elisabeth Guerin
_______________________________________________________________________
Parishioners’ Fund
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
These words of comfort from Jesus remind us that sometimes in life, we may find ourselves in need.
Thanks to the generosity of Louise Hitchcock, since 1979 the Parishioners’ Fund has offered financial
assistance to St. Stephen’s parishioners facing loss of a job, unexpected medical or other expenses,
or those facing other transitions. The Parishioners’ Fund can also provide access to professionals in
personal counseling and financial planning, and other social services such as energy and fuel assistance.
All of these can be provided free of charge and all requests for assistance and the committee’s decisions
and actions are held in strictest confidence by the Rector and the three committee members.
So, if you find yourself in need, or in the words of Mrs. Hitchcock’s will, "sick or in want," or know
of a parishioner who is, please remember the Parishioners’ Fund is here to help ease the burden,
in the name of God.
Eleanor Arnold, Tom Carr, Charlie Prescott
15
THE MESSAGE
St. Stephen's Church
351 Main Street
Ridgefield, CT 06877
Upcoming Dates
Holy Week Schedule
See page 3
100th Anniversary of the Sanctuary!
Address Label
May 3
STAFF
ST. STEPHEN'S VESTRY
Eliza Shanley, Senior Warden
Andy Robertson, Junior Warden
Jeff Gabello, Treasurer
Jim Brown, Assistant Treasurer
Lauren Van Meter, Clerk
MEMBERS:
Class of ‘16: Martha Morris, Nancy Tortora, Ken Vivian
Class of ‘17:Lori Marks, Lori Seibert, Tom Katzenbach
Class of ‘18: Tom Byrne, Dayna Sierakowski, Nick Simard
The Rev. Whitney Altopp, Rector
Sarah Moden-Alliston, Assoc. for Youth & Family
Noelle Carr, Nursery School Director
Ginny Fitzpatrick, Parish Administrator
Kay Gelfman, Financial Administrator
Paul Lyons, Sexton
Susie McMullan, Administrative Assistant
Suzanne Perlman, Coordinator of Counseling Services
Arno Steinig, Parish Organist
Scott Toperzer, Minister of Music
The Rev. Les Hughs, Priest Associate
The Rev. Aaron Manderbach, Rector Emeritus