St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church 82 Kimberly Drive Durham, NC 27707 919.493.5451 919.493.5452 (fax) www.ssecdurham.org Office Hours Monday – Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday 8:30 a.m. to Noon Worship at St. Stephen’s Regular Schedule Sundays 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite I In the chapel & 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite II In the church Mid-Week Eucharist Thursdays 11:30 a.m. service in the chapel Adult Education Sunday Mornings 9:15 a.m. Nursery Care 9:15 a.m. - infant to 4 years Education Bldg Coffee Hour Following the 10:30 a.m. service What’s Inside … ? Rector’s Message…...Pages 1-2 Birthdays & Anniversaries….. …………………………Page 4 Around the Parish………. ……………….... Pages 3,5,6,7 Upcoming Events…Back Cover Stephen’s Window June 2011 June 2011 Dear Parish Family and Friends, Is life more threatening that you care to admit? “Hah,” you say. “Of course not. I’m doing pretty well. Everything may not be perfect, but life is generally good and pretty much under control. Besides, if anything goes wrong, it is usually someone else’s fault. Don’t believe me? Then let me tell you what happened just yesterday….” And so it goes. The troubles caused by others weigh us down and we spend so much time and energy making up for their failings that sometimes we barely have time to keep up with life’s necessities. Since time immemorial it seems, one of the most powerful tools human beings have at their disposal is the capacity to shift the blame, to deny responsibility. Think about Adam and Eve, the serpent and the apple, all those wonderful examples enshrined in scripture: “It wasn’t me, it was the WOMAN! SHE gave it to me, and so I ate.” “It was the SERPENT.” Am I my brother’s keeper?” “Look, our brother Joseph must have been attacked by a LION!” People don’t love me as King any more because of that DAVID! To think I trusted that little traitor. He deserves to die!” “I find no fault in this man. Look I wash my hands of it. Do with him as you will; let his blood be upon you.” It is practice compelling enough that its best practitioners become wealthy and influen- tial, commanding and authoritative, recognized and successful leaders. Those who can shift the blame most effectively rise to the top and our culture reinforces the behavior by cele- brating it in story, song, and the media spotlight. It is the way one gets ahead in business, in politics, and in social relationships. So the world rewards us and we become masters at pointing the finger. We are so good at it that we even fool ourselves into thinking that we don’t do it, or at least not without a Very Good Reason (we really had no choice, you see). There is also the added bonus that we can become innocent of the underlying motiva- tion – pride, envy, gluttony, lust, wrath, greed, or sloth. We desire success and we fear the alternative. Thus, the game, the pointing, the blame, cascades from those who are most adept to those who are unable (or unwilling) to pass it on in socially acceptable ways. We watch them fight; we watch them fail, and the world is ravenous for the spectacle, thirsting for more and more. Now, let us be very clear: this is a practice that is spiritually bankrupt and we engage in it at our peril. It can be difficult ignoring the siren song of the world. We are tempted to dismiss statements such as this as being “a little over the top” or to ask others what they thought, with a knowing smile. It is, after all, not such a big deal. It happens all the time. Don’t be so thin-skinned. People (including our children?) need to learn to cope…for their own good, of course. (continued next page)
Transcript
St. Stephen’s
Episcopal Church
82 Kimberly Drive
Durham, NC 27707
919.493.5451
919.493.5452 (fax)
www.ssecdurham.org Office Hours
Monday – Thursday
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Friday
8:30 a.m. to Noon
Worship at
St. Stephen’s
Regular Schedule
Sundays
8:00 a.m.
Holy Eucharist Rite I
In the chapel
&
10:30 a.m.
Holy Eucharist
Rite II
In the church Mid-Week Eucharist
Thursdays
11:30 a.m. service
in the chapel Adult
Education
Sunday Mornings
9:15 a.m. Nursery Care
9:15 a.m. - infant to
4 years
Education Bldg
Coffee Hour
Following the
10:30 a.m. service
What’s Inside … ?
Rector’s Message…...Pages 1-2
Birthdays & Anniversaries…..
…………………………Page 4
Around the Parish……….
……………….... Pages 3,5,6,7
Upcoming Events…Back Cover
Stephen’s Window
June 2011
June 2011
Dear Parish Family and Friends,
Is life more threatening that you care to admit? “Hah,” you say. “Of course not. I’m doing
pretty well. Everything may not be perfect, but life is generally good and pretty much under
control. Besides, if anything goes wrong, it is usually someone else’s fault. Don’t believe
me? Then let me tell you what happened just yesterday….” And so it goes. The troubles
caused by others weigh us down and we spend so much time and energy making up for their
failings that sometimes we barely have time to keep up with life’s necessities.
Since time immemorial it seems, one of the most powerful tools human beings have at
their disposal is the capacity to shift the blame, to deny responsibility. Think about Adam
and Eve, the serpent and the apple, all those wonderful examples enshrined in scripture: “It
wasn’t me, it was the WOMAN! SHE gave it to me, and so I ate.” “It was the SERPENT.”
Am I my brother’s keeper?” “Look, our brother Joseph must have been attacked by a
LION!” People don’t love me as King any more because of that DAVID! To think I trusted
that little traitor. He deserves to die!” “I find no fault in this man. Look I wash my hands
of it. Do with him as you will; let his blood be upon you.”
It is practice compelling enough that its best practitioners become wealthy and influen-
tial, commanding and authoritative, recognized and successful leaders. Those who can shift
the blame most effectively rise to the top and our culture reinforces the behavior by cele-
brating it in story, song, and the media spotlight. It is the way one gets ahead in business, in
politics, and in social relationships. So the world rewards us and we become masters at
pointing the finger. We are so good at it that we even fool ourselves into thinking that we
don’t do it, or at least not without a Very Good Reason (we really had no choice, you see).
There is also the added bonus that we can become innocent of the underlying motiva-
tion – pride, envy, gluttony, lust, wrath, greed, or sloth. We desire success and we fear the
alternative. Thus, the game, the pointing, the blame, cascades from those who are most
adept to those who are unable (or unwilling) to pass it on in socially acceptable ways. We
watch them fight; we watch them fail, and the world is ravenous for the spectacle, thirsting
for more and more.
Now, let us be very clear: this is a practice that is spiritually bankrupt and we engage
in it at our peril. It can be difficult ignoring the siren song of the world. We are tempted to
dismiss statements such as this as being “a little over the top” or to ask others what they
thought, with a knowing smile. It is, after all, not such a big deal. It happens all the time.
Don’t be so thin-skinned. People (including our children?) need to learn to cope…for their
own good, of course.
(continued next page)
ST. STEPHEN’S WINDOW - June 2011 Page 2
Faithfully,
From the Rector ……….. (continued)
The time has come to see it for what it is – the Devil’s handiwork, made manifest in us and in
those we love and respect. Without a corrective witness, our political, social, and economic life will
implode. Our nation, “founded in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created
equal,” will go the way of nations before it. Our church, that supposed beacon of tolerance and the
“middle way,” will dissolve in bitterness and recrimination, in fights over property and control. Our
parish, with all its beauty and wonderful memories will become but an empty husk, devoid of the ani-
mating Spirit. Our most precious dreams, the ones we dare not even speak, will slip through our fin-
gers like sand and we will become like dust in the wind.
As tempting as it may be, that corrective witness cannot be pointing the finger and blaming the
Other (but, oh, the satisfaction!). We must go deeper; we must risk seeing that which we do not even
want to acknowledge (“I can’t understand you!”). We must speak the truth, but speak it in love, with
patience, with kindness, bearing the misunderstandings and the accusations, the humiliation, the pain,
the fear. For we have been called. No, more than called, we have been sent.
Pentecost is June 12 this year, the day we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disci-
ples. Let that spirit, that ‘wind of God,” kiss your face, bear you up, lighten your burdens, and
enlighten your life. If you would like a preview, come on June 5 when we say Godspeed to Claire
Wimbush. The Spirit will be with us that day, too, in sorrow, in thanksgiving, and in joyful acknowl-
edgement that we can live, if only for a moment, without blame, without finger-pointing, without
anger, without fear.
Keep the faith. Share the joy. See you in church.
CHURCH REPAIRS
Repairs to our main church building are underway! The building is over 30 years old
now, the side panels have deteriorated badly and the lower roof has had problems with
drainage and leaks for years. Under the careful direction of Durham-based contractor
Riggs-Harrod, we will have a new lower roof and new side panels by the end of July.
ST. STEPHEN’S WINDOW - June 2011 Page 3
AROUND THE PARISH ………..
Summer Adventure?
Willing to take a daring chance? Be brave and step off into the abyss? Come to church at 8 AM on Sunday? If so, you could be a reader! Yes, one of our intrepid band of 8 AM Les Readers. It’s summer. You want an early start anyhow. The sun is up early – and so are you. Yes, even the kids. Why not come to the chapel at 8 – and why not dare to read the lessons or the prayers? No scary trek from the pew, up the steps, in front of a microphone, facing the huge nave. Just a few steps to the lectern with a close bunch of friends in a sunlit chapel to read the lesson, lead the psalm, and read the epistle. For the intercessions, you just stand up in the pew and read. What could be easier? That’s why I’m always at 8. It’s close and homey and friendly and sort of a dress rehearsal for the 10:30. And it gets me home for breakfast and a cool bike ride in the summer. No, we are not a bunch of old fogies who can’t stand children. Just watch how we play with any kids who ever show up. We just like an early start. So, if you might just consider reading the lessons or the prayers, how about giving the 8 AM service a try this summer? I’m just about to start scheduling readers. We have so few at 8 – too many of us are aging out of deciphering the lectionary without a magnifying glass– that most of us read several times a month. So there’s plenty of room to fit in some new blood. And summer is the time to give it a try. And you might just discover that 8 is a great service with a wonderful group of new friends. Yes, it’s a tad early. But there’s coffee and snacks after. And you’ll be ready and eager for Sunday school and Adult Ed. And a lovely long Sunday afternoon.
NancyC
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Volunteer at the Duke Summer Institute (Duke Divinity School, June 6–11). Volunteer opportunities
are available at the 2011 Duke Summer Institute - a unique, five-day institute that serves to nourish, renew,
and deepen the capacities of Christian leaders in the ministry of reconciliation, justice, and peace. For more
information or to volunteer, e-mail Chris Yoder ([email protected]). THANK YOU!
BREAKFAST-SUMMER BREAK !
We will be having summer break beginning in June this year; so, on the First
Sunday of the month we will NOT be having Clyde’s Big Breakfast. Save your appetites until we resume breakfast on Start-Up Sunday in September!
ST. STEPHEN’S WINDOW - June 2011 Page 5
AROUND THE PARISH ………..
JOIN THE CELEBRATION !
Mark your calendars and reserve the evening of June 29 (7:00 p.m.) to join in the service at St. Titus celebrating the life and ministry of The Reverend Pauli (Anna Pauline) Murray, the first African-American woman ordained in the Episcopal Church. She was raised in Durham and lived on Carroll Street; efforts by the Pauli Murray Foundation at Duke are underway to purchase the home and preserve it. The granddaughter of slaves, she was taken to the Chapel of the Cross by her grandmother, who could only sit in the balcony, to be baptized. Following her graduation from Hunter College, she was denied entrance into UNC Law School because of her race. She received a Masters of Law degree from the University of Chicago and twenty years later became the first African-American to receive a Doctor of Judicial Science from Yale University. She was an attorney and a tireless worker for human rights and equality. Feeling a call to the ordained ministry she graduated from General Theological Seminary in 1976 and was ordained Priest in the Episcopal Church in 1977. Shortly thereafter she celebrated her first Holy Eucharist in the Chapel of The Chapel of the Cross, the original church building and the site of her baptism. One of my treasured memories is of at-tending this service and meeting this remarkable woman. Charles Kuralt was present and taped the service for his program, “On the Road”. She served churches in Washington and later in Baltimore until her death in 1985. St. Titus would welcome any contributions to help with the expense of her celebration. Gifts may be sent to St. Titus Church, 400 Moline Street, Durham, NC 27707. Checks should be made payable to St. Titus Church, designated “Pauli Murray”. - Submitted by Scott Hughes
ST. STEPHEN’S WINDOW - June 2011 Page 6
MEN’S GROUP JUNE MEETING
All men of St. Stephen’s Church are invited to the June 8th Men’s Group meeting at 6:00 p.m.
It will be co-hosted by Tom Kenan and Bill Losee and will be held at Bill Losee’s home, 5149 Troon Lane
in Durham.
Our guests again this year will be the men who are residents of Phoenix House. The goal of this meet-
ing is to give the men of St. Stephen’s the opportunity to share informally our business and life experiences
with these residents who are transitioning from homelessness to being contributing members of society.
THIS EVENT WILL BE A FUND RAISER, benefiting Phoenix House. It is our hope (Tom and Bill)
that all who attend will pay for their meal by CHECK, MADE PAYABLE TO ST. STEPHEN’S CHURCH,
and include a generous donation to Phoenix House, with the appropriate designation on the memo line. By
writing the check to SSEC you will, of course, add to your charitable donations to St. Stephen’s. ALL pro-
ceeds will be donated to Phoenix House.
The menu will be fried chicken, slaw, baked beans, hush-puppies and banana pudding – catered by
Durham’s Hog Heaven restaurant. Please RSVP by phone to Bill Losee at 383-4674 or by email to
[email protected] by Sunday, June 5th. Let’s make this a large turn out!!
Directions to Jean and Bill’s house:
Take 15-501 north exiting at Hillsborough Road. Turn left on Hillsborough Rd; turn right on to Cole Mill
Road. Stay on Cole Mill Road until after you cross the Eno River. Turn right at light on to Umstead Road.
Turn left onto Troon Lane, the first left past the Umstead Pines Golf & Swim Club sign. We are on the corner
of Troon and Inverness - the brown house with circular driveway.
SUMMER FAMILY MOVIE SERIES
It is that time of year again when children are out of school and all you want to
do is stay inside your air conditioned abode. But wait, there is another option for SIX
Saturdays this summer, Family Movie Nights. All ages are invited to share in the fun of
popcorn and a movie.
This year it is being altered for the better. There are going to be two early-bird
movies, one airing in June and one in July. On these dates, there will be two films
shown. Everyone is invited to see both movies, but are welcome to only come to one.
Movies this summer include Mulan and Shrek as the early films, E.T. and Stardust for Fantasy,
Amazing Grace as a hard-hitting biography, a romantic comedy and a SuperHero flick. There will also be the
standard mysterious film for the end of summer.
We will kick-off June 11th with a double feature, Mulan at 5:00 p.m. and Amazing Grace at 7:00
p.m. Then on June 25th, we will be watching Stardust (a movie based on the Neil Gaiman book of the same
name).
It is shaping up to be a great year for movies at St. Stephen’s. Bring friends, bring family, it will be a
jolly good time. Please contact Megan Carlson with any comments, questions, or suggestions at
On Wednesday, June 22, the “Young At Heart Group” is going to the DBAP to see the Durham Bulls “whomp” the Buffalo Bisons. The game is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. but we will take off from the SSEC parking lot by 11:30 a.m. in order to get a bite to eat before the game. Seats will be reserved for us and will cost $8 each. Please let us know by June 15 if you would like to join us! Call Ki Caldwell (489-1212) to RSVP!
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The book which caught my eye this month may be one you just want to pick out and sit down with right in that lovely and comfortable Davis Room after church some Sunday. You will still be under the beautiful spell of the church music which is provided for us at St. Stephen's. Some of you may be touched by a familiar hymn: one of special meaning to you or one whose words call you to sweet recollections of how your mother or father (or grandmother) often sang it to you when you were a child. The book, AMAZING GRACE, is a collection of 366 inspiring hymn stories for daily devotions. It is a wonderful collection of hymns used by many of our sisters and brothers in Christ and I looked up many of our Episcopal favorites like "Go Tell It On the Moun-tain" and "Breathe on Me Breath of God." There is a lot to learn in these pages. I was thrilled to know Henry Van Dyke wrote "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee," for example. Each hymn is given a fine explanation of its meaning to our religious beliefs and messages given us from the Bible. A pink ribbon will be identification for AMAZING GRACE on our library shelves this month. Learn and enjoy!
- Marion the Librarian
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
82 Kimberly Drive
Durham, NC 27707
Non-Profit Organization
US Postage
PAID
Permit No. 59
Durham, NC 27701
Address Service Requested
St. Stephen's is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina
