Trunk or Treat

Now you might have noticed that another church in town is advertising Trunk or Treat. . . . well make no mistake this is the original Pearl River Trunk or Treat Event. Friday, October 30 at 6:30 p.m.

It starts at 6:30 with hotdogs while people set up their trunks, then we have our service at 7 p.m. which features spooky music and a cool, Halloween story, and then about 7:30 p.m. we go to the parking lot and gather treats from trunk to trunk. Afterwards we have a Halloween Party with games, snacks, and prizes for Best Trunk, Most Original Trunk, etc. . .

Join us, bring your friends and get your spook on!!

Stewardship & All Saints

As has been our custon at St. Stephen's, the collection of stewardship cards will take place at the services on All Saints Day, this coming Sunday. I think it is an important reminder that we are stewards of our past as well as our future and that all that we do and give and share is a comfirmation of the gifts given by those who have gone before as well as a promise to our children and grandchildren of what will come after us.

I know that this a difficult time for many people. It reminds me of the story about a minister during the Great Depression. Someone came and asked him if it might not be better not to celebrate Thanksgiving. He said that it was more important than ever to give thanks to God for what we have. I agree. During this time of uncertainty it is more important than ever to share what we have, to ask God's blessing on the gifts we have been given, and to rejoice in this community.

Harry Potter Church School??!!! -- Way. . .

We will be having an intergenerational Harry Potter church school that begins on October 25 and runs for 5 weeks through November 22.

It will feature characters from the books (and movies), Bible readings, games, and an exciting trip to Daigon Alley, Hogswart's, and all of the places you know so well. What could be cooler?

Please sign up in the Narthex so we can be sure to have plenty of Wizard Hats and wands for everyone! Don't miss it. . . or you'll be a Mugwump. . .

Stewardship: October 18

On October 18 we will have a special guest pracher, Ms. Ross Wisnewski, join us for teh 8:30 and 10:30 services. Ms. Wisnewski is the stewardship coordinator for Province II of The Episcopal Church as well as the senior warden at St. Mary's Church, Sparta, NJ.

She is a gifted speaker and has much to share about the journey of stewardship. Please join us.

Also, that day there will be a pot luck lunch after the 10:30 service. Be sure and sign up to bring a dish to share!

Blessing of the Animals!

We had a great day yesterday for our Blessing of the Animals with 37 animals and many, many stuffed animals here to be blessed! Frogs, dogs, cats, guinea pigs, birds, fish, and Nikko (the bear) all took part in the fun and there were lovely refreshments for humans and animals available on the lawn. Thanks to our St. Stephen's Family choir for making "All God's Critters" feel welcome!