May 2020 Newsletter (PDF)
May 14, 2020
Word from the Interim Priest
Grace and peace to everyone connected to St. Stephen’s Church,
As we enter the ninth week of the Coronavirus stay at home and social distancing protocols, I am glad to report that St. Stephen’s Church continues on. Our Sunday services on Zoom has a growing attendance. It is nice to see each other and worship together. The services are also posted on website, https://www.ststephenslynn.org/ and on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ststephenslynn/. Even while I greatly miss being able to celebrate the Eucharist with all of you, it has been nice to rediscover the service of Morning Prayer.
RE-OPENING: On May 12th we received a directive from our Bishops stating:
Current restrictions on in-person public worship and gatherings in our churches are now extended until July 1, 2020. … Essential office and maintenance functions and life- sustaining neighborhood ministries may continue, provided these are carried out while maintaining recommended physical distancing and cleaning and hygiene protocols, and respecting the maximum number of people allowable under the orders of Governor Baker. …
We are profoundly grateful for the dedication and creativity with which congregations are responding to provide alternative, virtual opportunities for worship and fellowship, as well as continued ministry to the most vulnerable in our communities.
Last Friday the church calendar commemorated Julian of Norwich, who is perhaps most widely remembered for the assurance given the mystic by Jesus: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” May we, too, know the assurance of Christ’s nurturing and sustaining love, spoken to us in our troubled time.
Faithfully, in Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates
The Rt. Rev. Gayle E. Harris
