Upcoming Sunday Worship
Anniversary Service & Baptism - Sunday January 6th, 2012
Sunday January 29th - Congregational Lunch Hosted by Family Group 5
Visioning Day - Saturday February 4th, 2012
St. Stephen is a place to belong and a place to explore. In this changing world, St. Stephen has a significant role to play.
This Vision Day will challenge and move us to explore and celebrate what the St. Stephen congregation is being called to be and do in a changing world.
Come be challenged and moved, renew your faith and engage in God’s invitation to a new day.
This day will be led by the Holy Spirit and Rev. Rob Dalgleish.
The Annual Meeting will be held February 26th
Past Sunday Worship
Sunday, November 27 - ADVENT ONE "HOPE"
10:30 am - Lighting of Candles for those we are missing.
Thursday December 1st - Christmas Caroling
6:00 pm - Caroling at Lakeshore Retirement Residence - Everyone is welcome!
Sunday December 4th - ADVENT TWO - "PEACE"
10:30 am - This is White Gift Sunday and the service will be put on by the children of St. Stephen.
They are busy learning lines and organizing costumes for our Christmas Play “Michelle Mouse".
We will also receive and bless gifts for Wesley Centre.
Sunday December 11th - ADVENT THREE "JOY"
10:30 am - We invite each family to bring a decoration that represents a Christmas when they felt the presence of God with them in a
significant or meaningful way. We will bless them and then you may take them home or leave the decoration on our St.
Stephen Christmas Tree throughout the season.
Sunday December 18th -ADVENT FOUR - "LOVE"
10:30 am - Celebrate the Season
7:30 pm - Choir Cantata
Saturday December 24th - Christmas Eve
5:00 pm Interactive Family Service
11:00 pm Candlelight Communion Service
Sunday December 25th - Christmas Day!
10:30 am - Tansley United joins us for Worship led by Rev. Stephen Huntley
Sunday January 1st - New Years Day!
10:00 am - St. Stephen joins Tansley United for Worship led by Rev. Allison Playfair
Advent and Christmas at St. Stephen United
Advent is a time of waiting and watching for Emmanuel, God-with-us in our daily lives and in our worship time. But that does not always mean standing still. Sometimes we are called to move as we wait. Mary and Joseph travelled a long hard journey to get to the stable. Their wait included the perpetual, “ Are we there Yet?” Camping out each night, 7-8 months pregnant, existing on whatever supplies they could carry and the hospitality of strangers, maybe family, along the way.
The shepherds, who camped out pretty much all the time, left their fields and followed the song of the angels into the unknown city of Bethlehem. Then there were the family members of Mary and Joseph, anxiously waiting at home to hear news of their safe arrival and return. Waiting takes many forms.
Even though we often picture the magi at the stable on the night of Jesus birth, according to the story, they didn’t actually arrive until Jesus was a toddler! The magi spent years of disciplined study before finding the star in the sky that told them of the advent of the prince of peace. Only then did their two year long journey to pay homage to the baby king begin.
Where are you in your journey? Can we journey together? Perhaps we can discover new paths that will make this year’s wait for Christmas morning even more meaningful.
The holidays can be wonderful, but they can also be a time that brings into focus the traditions that have gone by the wayside, the loneliness for some who will be missing loved ones and a time of challenge for those of us who experience a Christmas season very different from the Hallmark/Norman Rockwell depiction. In worship, we find meaning that is not dependent upon any preconceived notions of what Christmas should or shouldn’t be, but instead calls us into the deep welcoming of God’s love
One of the ways we get ready for Christmas is to adorn the sanctuary and building with symbols that bring us closer to the Christmas story. Angels and shepherds. Evergreen wreathes and Holly and Mistletoe. Bells ring out and voices are raised in Joyous Celebration. The Mitten Tree awaits the woolly gifts that will be delivered to the Wesley Centre. The Christmas Tree will also go up in the Sanctuary. This year it will hold memories precious to the members St. Stephen, telling the stories of Christmas’ past and holding the hopes for Christmases to come.
We pray that as you prepare for Christmas, You will both give and receive the Blessing of Christ in all you do and remember that above, beyond and throughout the season, God is with us!
Blessings, Rev. Allison Playfair and the Congregation of St. Stephen United Church- a place to belong
November 6th - Remembrance Day. We thank the Boy Scouts for taking part in the service and honouring living and deceased family members of the congregation who have served our Country.
August 14th - A male quartet LAMAJANO will be providing musical leadership through the worship service.
August 21st - The worship service will celebrate CAnadian Hymn writers.
June 12, 2011 - Pentecost / Picnic Sunday - Everyone was invited to wear Red, yellow and Orange to represent "flames of the spirit" and Service was held on the front lawn. Service was followed by a potluck luncheon. During service, the young people of the congregation were washing cars at the back of the Church. Please take a moment to view the slideshow of the service and the car wash (LINK)
May 15, 2011 - Outreach Sunday (Guest Speaker: Andrea Butters), followed by a Congregational Lunch
May 8, 2011 - Christian Family Sunday & Mother's Day
April 24, 2011 - Easter Sunday - Sunrise service at 7:30 am in the back garden at the Carpenter Hospice followed by a potluck breakfast. Worship at 10:30 with communion and special music.
April 22, 2011 - Good Friday - Service held at 10:30 in Sanctuary
April 21, 2011 - 6:30 Service followed by alight supper upstairs in the church hall.
March 4, 2011 - World Day of Prayer