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Maundy Thursday – April 9

Dear Beloved Community,

Maundy Thursday begins the Three Days (Latin: Triduum) worship service, which signifies the end of the 40 days of Lent.

I believe that participating in these Holy Week services is a very real and timely resource for each of us in these troubled times. I hope you will be able to set aside some holy and sacred time for them. The links for the bulletin and Celebrate for Maundy Thursday are to the right.

For Maundy Thursday, please gather some bread and wine/grape juice so that you can receive Holy Communion, which is another meaningful spiritual resource we can draw from as we are brought together in the Spirit by receiving this sacrament from each other, or by ourselves.

God’s Spirit moves in ways we cannot fully understand around the meaning of this meal that Jesus left us to remember him by. I hope that you are drawing closer to God and each other by taking part in Holy Communion in this way, given our present circumstances.

Thank you to all of you who have sent messages of gratitude and encouragement for the recorded services. It means a lot to hear from you. And, as always, please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can provide any pastoral support to you and your family in these trying times.  831-325-9095

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Jim

Putting up the Palms

Many thanks to Don Smawley and his brother Bill for decorating the St. Stephen’s sanctuary for Palm Sunday. This is a labor of love they’ve done for many years.

They even put palms on the lamp post next to the church sign.

Fifth Sunday in Lent – March 29

Click on the bulletin cover to open the bulletin. Remember to have some bread and wine or grape juice ready for when I celebrate Holy Communion.

Please click on the Celebrate first page to open the Celebrate with today’s Scripture readings.

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From Pastor Jim: Insightful Article

Dear Fellow Captives of an Unseen Threat,

In my efforts to continue to draw us together in these ways while we endure these times, I feel called to lift up Martin Luther’s main question in his Catechism: “What does this mean?”

It is the task of all Christians to seek God’s will and discover God’s voice each day and in every circumstance. So as we all wonder how this unimaginable circumstance we find ourselves in right now will play out, I offer the attached article by David Brooks (which we read as COPA leaders trying to support one another), as a way to begin to figure out what all this might mean for our lives and for our lives together in the human community.

Let me know what you think. I found it very helpful and hopeful.
Pastor Jim