What an extraordinary Sunday this past week!  It was especially moving for me to listen to Doug Carpenter sharing stories during the Christian Education hour (10:15am – 11:05am) about the early days of Saint Stephen’s and how our Church grew to be the community that it is today.  What was most striking about the presentation was the realization that the most important thing to this community from the very beginning was not the building, the budget, or how many members called Saint Stephen’s home, but the care for those in our community who were in need. Saint Stephen’s has always been a place where mission and ministry where the most important priorities.  

Doug will be back this Sunday to wrap up the “History of Saint Stephen’s: The First 33 Years” during the Christian Education hour.  I encourage you to come and join in and be inspired as well.   For those of you who have been unable to attend, we will have recordings of both talks available in the near future.  

Sunday reminded me that the work of Christian community is actually pretty simple.  Doug reminded us that we gather to break bread, we gather for fellowship and to study God’s word, and then we go out and love the world, each other, and especially those in need.  May we all learn to support each other in this work that God has called us to do.

Faithfully,

John+