Easter Week!
Dear St. Stephen’s church family,
The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia! May his grace and peace be with you. May he fill our hearts with joy!
I am grateful for all of the people who worked to make Holy Week and our Easter celebrations filled with joy and beauty. Thank you to Margaret, Cathryn, the altar guild, community life members, Julie, Susan and so many others, serving behind the scenes!
A few parish notes:
1. Friday, April 26th at 5:30 That’s Amore!
It’s not too late to order tickets or sign up to attend the Okema fundraising supper at St. John’s Cathedral Hall. Tickets are $20. Door prizes and entertainment by camp Okema youth. Consider supporting this ministry and make a fun evening of it! Tickets can be bought online at https://www.campokema.com/ Or you could text Jen Isely at 306 230 0587
2. Marriage Sessions:
Our 4th and final session is on Sunday, April 28th. 6:30 pm. Topic: Commit
3. City Wide Food Bank Drive: Saturday, May 4th. (May the FOURTH be with you!)
We need drivers and runners who can help pick up food from doorsteps in neighbourhoods provided to us. This doesn’t take a huge amount of time and makes a big difference for those who rely on the foodbank. This is a down time of year for foodbank donations and so churches have pooled their time and resources to shore up their supplies. Please consider helping out. Sign up in the Mitchell Hall or by emailing Amy.
4. Confirmation News:
Our retreat was awesome. We had 10 youth attend (1 was sick ☹ so couldn’t attend), along with Wyndham, Dee and I. There 6 from our current class, and 4 from the upcoming group. We spent time in silence for a portion of the retreat, and listened to the gospel of Mark read aloud. We had morning and evening prayer and time to just be together. Next stop=ConfirmMitzvah Saturday, May 11th. This special parish event will include Games, supper and a presentation of the candidates, followed by a social time (square dancing!). All are welcome to attend, suggested donation of $5 to help cover costs. Confirmation May 12th during 10:30 service, Bishop Chris to preside.
Parish Cycle of Prayer:
We continue to pray for our confirmation candidates: Nathan, Henry, Garen, Quinlyn, Josh, Rachel and Kaiden.
We pray for Bob and Liz and their families and for Graham and Marcia and their families.
In this Holy Week of Easter, here is a prayer of Thanksgiving from the Book of Common Prayer:
O most merciful Father, we humbly thank thee for all they gifts so freely bestowed upon us. For life and health and safety, for power to work and leisure to rest, for all that is beautiful in creation and in the lives of mankind, we praise and magnify thy holy name. But above all, we thank thee for our spiritual mercies in Christ Jesus our Lord, for the means of grace and for the hope of glory. Fill our hearts with joy and peace in believing; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
In Christ’s love,
Amy <><