Monthly Archives: September 2016

Blessing Of The Animals – 1:00 PM Sunday, October 2nd, 2016

St. Stephen’s will hold our annual Blessing of the Animals at 1:00 PM on the Parish lawn (or inside if it rains). As always, we will have a brief ceremony to celebrate the joy our pets bring us and then bless each animal individually. “Hambone Kelly” will provide music and there will be refreshments for animals and for people. Each pet will receive a “certificate of blessing” to commemorate the event.

For the safety of the pets, we ask that they come in appropriate carriers and containers or on a secure lead.

We sincerely hope that you and your animal friends will be able to attend.

Tour of St. Stephen’s Historic Cemetery
2-4pm Sunday, October 16, 2016
(Rain date October 23)

  Sunday afternoon, 16 October, is the date for an event that no parishioner should miss.  Tours will leave the cemetery gate at 451 Millburn Avenue (across from the high school) at intervals between 2:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M.  Tours will visit 11 grave sites and make one stop in the mausoleum.

At each site, an impersonator will speak for the person buried there.  A Millburn resident will speak about his Scottish roots that went back to Robert the Bruce; two fathers of our township will hold forth, and  a Broadway actress will perform in an excerpt from a play by Bret Harte.  The actress has appeared on previous tours, but she insisted that this time the play be a different one.  A woman who served in the Women’s Army Corps in World War II will talk as will the depression-era Bishop of Newark.

Below are some scenes from the previous tour.

Please invite – and bring with you if possible – family members, friends, and neighbors.   

Rev. Sheelagh’s Thought For The Week

“Join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God”
2 Timothy 1:5

These are uncomfortable words to hear.  So often we step back from claiming “religious” things because we are afraid to cause offense to others, and yes, of course we are to be sensitive about our values and beliefs.  This week we are reminded of our heritage as Christians.  Christians who were persecuted, burned, hunted down, crucified, for their faith, and still persisted in confessing their faith.  Maybe our twenty first century question needs to be “Why did they persist?”   Continue reading →

Rev. Sheelagh’s Thought For The Week

This week continues the theme of the ethical and moral issues that surround righteousness and money.  I don’t think that God eschews wealth per se, but these examples are given to show us how easy it is to be tempted by the pursuit of riches.  “But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction,” we read in the first letter of Timothy.  That seems pretty clear.  However, we are caught in our time by a need to provide for ourselves and our children in ways that are way beyond just survival, and just living hand to mouth might be seen as irresponsible by many. Continue reading →

Rev. Sheelagh’s Thought For The Week

Welcome back everyone, and I just want to say how glad I am to be back.  Of course it was wonderful to have the summer on sabbatical, but it is also good to re-establish routines and return to normal life.  I also want to express my deepest gratitude.  I was able to rest and return restored, and as I shared on Sunday, I gleaned much. Continue reading →

Rev. Sheelagh’s Thought For The Week

It’s 9/11 again.  How can it be that this year’s high school freshmen were not even born on that iconic day?  It is fifteen years ago now.  For many of us though, the tail end of summer and the slight freshness of the breeze bring back memories of that beautiful September morning.  I had planned to can tomatoes with my friend. I was a stay at home mom, had not begun seminary, and my daughter was six.  The scriptures this week speak of God’s faithfulness even in the face of evil and desolation.  That even when “the fool has said in his heart there is no God,” and “all are corrupt and commit abominable acts;” God still looks “to see if there is any who is wise, if there is one who seeks after God.”(Ps14:1).

In times of tragedy and horror, it is hard to find the presence and action of God, but that struggle is the true nature of hope and faith.  God it seems, always hoping that we will get it, never abandons us, no matter how far we stray. + Continue reading →