We are doing something brand new at our Wednesday evening Worship & Word, and you won't want to miss it. Beginning April 18th, we will offer a variety of choices for you to consider to enrich your faith and assist you in your walk with Christ. If you would like to study a book of the Bible, we have that! If you would like to explore a particular topic in Chrisitianity and learn how it applies to your life, we have that! If you need to delve into a practical aspect of your life, perhaps a particular struggle you are dealing with, we have that! We've taken away all the excuses not to get your mid-week "booster shot" of faith and spiritual growth, so just come on over and enjoy beautiful & uplifting worship, good food, great fellowship (which includes some fun & laughter), and meaningful discussions to help you on your journey as a follower of Christ. Everything starts at 6:00 p.m. See you there!

Conspire is a conference for Junior and Senior High Students in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. The conference will take place November 30 – December 2, 2012. The purpose of the conference is to connect with new and old friends alike as well as learn who we are in Christ and how to share that story with others. Throughout the event, you’ll have the opportunity to hear dynamic Big Room talks by Donald Miller, author of New York Times Bestsellers, Blue Like Jazz and A Million Miles In A Thousand Years, worship together, see some Houston sites, attend break out sessions of your choice and so much more! In addition to opportunities for Junior and Senior High, there will be programming for college students, young adults and Youth Ministers. This is the first year of Conspire so come check it out. We are hoping to fill the New Island (Youth Building) at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Houston with DOT Youth and Youth Workers who love Jesus, want to tell their story and have a great time doing it! 

More details will be coming, so check back often!

The Grand Opening of Clay Mound Sporting Center is Saturday, July 2nd with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the St. Stephen's Youth Mission Trip to Tennessee July 23 - 30.

100 Bird NSCA Main Sporting Event: $65.00 entry

50 Bird NSCA Five Stand: $38.00 entry

OPTIONS AVAILABLE

Shoot times 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Lunch is provided

RENTAL GOLF CARTS ARE AVAILABLE

Clay Mound Sport Center is located at 2001 Texaco Road just outside of Liberty. From Liberty, go west on Hwy 90 one-half mile past the Trinity River Bridge. Turn left on Texaco Rd. and follow the signs for 2.4 miles to the clubhouse on the right.

Phone 936-334-9200

www.claymoundsporting.com

If you would like to help with this event, please call the church office or just show up at Clay Mound at 4:00 p.m. Friday to help set up, and/or Saturday at 8:00 a.m. to be given assignments. We need cooks, food servers, clean-up crews, drinking water distribution crews, parking attendants, scorekeepers, and much more, so there is plenty to do, and it's going to be great fun as well! Call the church office for more details. We are so grateful to Dwight Lumpkins for organizing, coordinationg and holding this event for the benefit of our young people. God bless you! Come out to Clay Mound Sporting Center Saturday to help out, participate in the shoot, or just to see what's going on!
 

This Sunday, May 22, our congregation will commission our new Stephen Ministers. These dedicated people have been training for over 4 months and are now ready to begin their caring ministry. We thank God for our Stephen Ministers and pray that God wil bless their work. If you would like more info about our Stephen Ministry program, please see Fr. Ted, or one of our Stephen Leaders, Lori Williams or Pam Turner.

Sunday, April 17,  10:30 AM  The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday

The dual nature of this powerful service is evident from its title. It begins with the pomp and glory of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem with the waving of palm branches and shouts of “Hosanna” to our King. The hosannas soon change to “Crucify him, crucify him,” as the Passion is narrated and dramatically proclaimed by members of the congregation. The impact of the passion and death of our Lord is stark and vivid in this service, so that the glory of the Resurrection may be properly celebrated the following Sunday. We will have only one service on Palm Sunday, at 10:30.

Wednesday, April 20,  7:00 PM  Tenebrae

The name Tenebrae is Latin for “darkness” or “shadows”. This moving service provides an extended meditation upon, and a prelude to, the events in our Lord’s life between the last supper and the Resurrection.

Thursday, April 21,  7:00 PM  Maundy Thursday

The word "Maundy" comes from the Latin for 'command'. It refers to the command given by Jesus at the Last Supper, that his disciples should love one another. This service begins the sacred three days of remembrance of the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. It initiates a time of watching, waiting and contemplation as we enter into the final days before Eastertide. On this night we celebrate Holy Communion with the powerful knowledge that Christ suffered and died for us.

Friday, April 22,  12 Noon  The Stations of the Cross

The Stations, or Way of the Cross, is an adaptation of a custom widely observed by pilgrims to Jerusalem: the offering of prayers at a series of places traditionally associated with our Lord’s passion and death.  The stations are pictorial representations of the events described in Scripture and tradition of Jesus carrying the cross to Golgotha, the place of his crucifixion. These stations are mounted along the walls of the church, and the participants move from station to station, offering prayers and devotions at each one.

Saturday, April 23,  7:00 PM  The Great Easter Vigil

This service is the culmination of the sacred observance of Holy Week and the beginning of the celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection. It is the climax of the Christian Year as the story of redemption unfolds in Scripture, psalm, Sacrament and liturgy. It begins in darkness and silence and proceeds to a joyous burst of light and the glorious proclamation of “Alleluia!” Of all the celebrations of the Church Year, the Great Vigil of Easter is pre-eminent, for it alone vividly and dramatically portrays all that was, is, and ever shall be in the drama of our redemption. This year's Vigil will be especially joyful, as we will be baptizing two of our young people into the Body of Christ.

Sunday, April 24,  9:15 AM  Children’s Easter Egg Hunt

This delightful Easter Sunday event takes the place of our Sunday School hour, as the children race about the church grounds in search of brightly colored eggs, the symbol of new life. This is fun for all ages as the adults enjoy hearing the squeals of delight from the little ones when they find another “treasure”.

Sunday, April 24, 10:30 AM  Easter Sunday Service

The Resurrection Sunday service is a glorious event, as we celebrate the risen Lord in Word, Song, and Sacrament. The church is beautifully adorned with Easter flowers, the wonderful Easter Hymns are sung, and the Resurrection of our Lord is proclaimed. Be sure and bring a small bell of any kind, as each time we say or sing the word “Alleluia!” everyone rings their bells. It is truly a joy to watch the children wait with eager anticipation for the next “Alleluia” so they can furiously ring the bells. Also, don't forget to bring flowers for the flowering of our beautiful Easter Cross. Refreshments and fellowship follow the service in the Parish Hall. We will have only one service at 10:30 on Easter.

Join your church family as we enjoy an evening of fun, food, fellowship and music at the Yepez Vineyards located at 12739 FM 2354 in Baytown (pick up a map in the parish hall or call 281-573-4193 for directions). Pack up a picnic-type dinner and water or soft drinks (no alcoholic beverages please, but wine may be purchased at the vineyard, and wine tasting is available), dress cool and casual, bring lawn chairs and bug spray and get ready to have a relaxing evening at the vineyard. Children are welcome and encouraged to come.

See you there!

For the fourth consecutive year, St. Stephen's is opening an African Crafts Gift Shop in the Parish Hall featuring hand-made items imported from Africa. The inventory includes hand-carved figurines, hand-made jewelry, fashionable scarves and ladies' purses, traditional African Musical Instruments and much more! Hours of operation are Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., and Sundays from 9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. All proceeds go to support the churches and missionary work in Africa. The gift shop will be open through May 5^th or until all inventory is sold, whichever comes first, so hurry on over to St. Stephen's and pick out that special, one-of-a-kind gift for Mother’s Day! Call the church office at 936-336-3762 for more information.

Commander Jim Sterling, USN (Retired) and his wife Sandra are hosting a special service and reception at St. Stephen's commemorating the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic, and honoring those whose lives were lost in this tragedy at sea. The service includes prayers, Scripture readings, and beautiful music by CMDR Sterling's Eastgate Brass. A light reception in the parish hall follows the service. It all has a maritime theme and begins at 5:00 p.m., so join us for this memorial event.

Join us this evening as we dine together (Lynn & Lori are tonight's dinner hosts) and then gather in the church to sing some of our favorite hymns! Before each hymn, a member will give us the Bible verse upon which the hymn is based, and a brief history of how the hymn came to be and what prompted the author to write it. The stories behind these great old hymns of the church are compelling and inspiring, some may make you laugh, others will bring tears to your eyes. We will close with our service of Compline. You won't want to miss this- Dinner begins at 6:00 p.m. with singing at 6:45, so join us for a wonderful evening of fellowship and song! 

Join us as we gather to give thanks to God for our blessings. The annual LIberty Community Thanksgiving Service will be held at St. Stephen's on the Thursday before Thanksgiving Day. We hope you will be here as we lift our voices in joyful song, read passages from Hoy Scripture, offer up prayers of thanksgiving, and hear an inspiring message taken directly from God's Word.

This event is joyfully brought to you each year by Liberty Ministers United, an association of area pastors dedicated to working together to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Join us for a single worship service at 10:30 a.m. where our completed pledge cards will be collected and brought to the altar to ask God's blessing on our gifts for the continuing mission of the Church. After the service we will feast on food as well as gratitude, as we enjoy lunch together and talk about our stewardship journey. Please bring a main dish, salad or dessert to share, but if you can't bring a dish, just come and enjoy, there is always plenty for all.

Remember, no 8:00 a.m. service on Nov. 13. Our 8:00 service will resume on Nov. 20.

If you have not yet considered making a financial commitment to the ongoing work of the church, we hope you will prayerfully consider giving back a portion of what God has freely given you. The amount to which you commit is between you and God, just remember no matter how great or small the gift, the Lord loves a cheerful giver, and every dollar helps support our worship and ministry within the church, as well as helping those in our community who are in need. If you would like more information on proportional giving, contact Fr. Ted at the church office.

Join us for fun, fellowship and prayer as we continue our Summer Ice Cream Socials. We'll get together in the Parish Hall for some delicious ice cream and just plain old relaxing fellowship and conversation for us older folks, while the kids play on the playground or enjoy indoor games and activities. We are also having a send-off party for our youth missionary team who leave Saturday for the hills of southeastern Tennessee to be the hands and feet of Christ to those in need. Then we'll wrap up the evening in the church with the Service of Compline.

Compline is a beautiful and ancient candle lit service that usually lasts about 15 - 20 minutes. These are the church's bedtime prayers that mark the transition from day into night. Compline serves as a way to reflect on the day, as we renew and refresh ourselves for tomorrow. What better way to end the evening than to spend some time with God!

The ice cream will be dipped up at 7:00 P.M. and Compline will begin at 7:45.

This is a community event, all are welcome, young and old alike, and there is no cost, so invite your friends and neighbors and come on over!  

We are blessed to have a youth mission trip from Austin serving the needy in our area this week. Reaching Others Through Christ (ROTC) is a group of wonderful young people who are building wheelchair ramps for the disabled as well as doing some other service work throughout the Liberty-Dayton area. St. Stephen's is ministering to these young servants of God by providing a meal for them tonight. If you would like to help cook, serve, and/or clean up, please be at the fellowship hall of First Methodist Church at 5:00 P.M. this evening. You can serve these young missionaries as well as get to know them and see first-hand what a mission trip is like, as we will be leaving on our own mission trip next month. Come out if you can and help, and enjoy the fellowship, it's gonna be fun to see these young people on fire for the Lord and doing His work! 

Attention all interested potential "Missionaries"! Father Ted will present info on the 2011 Missionpalooza trip to Tennessee this Sunday, Feb. 20, at 9:15 A.M. in the Parish Hall. The presentation will include a brief video of an actual mission trip from last year, a slide presentation about this year's trip, and a few minutes of Q & A to answer any questions or concerns you may have. Everyone is invited to attend this session, not just those interested in actually going on the trip. We need our entire Parish Family to support our young missionaries as they venture out into the unknown to be the hands and feet of Christ.

We hope to see you there!