Dear St. Stephen’s Family,

As we send this message to all of you, many members of our church family are still experiencing the stress of evacuations due to the lightning fires in the Santa Cruz mountains. In addition to the Curry / Abler Family, we welcomed Jean & Mark Petersen to shelter here.  All are doing as well as can be expected.  Tara McMilin has been told it will be 2-3 months before she can return home….transitional housing is needed beginning in September.    

Dear St. Stephen’s Family,

In Isaiah we hear that God’s house shall be a house of prayer for all people and that God will gather the outcasts of Israel.  The Canaanite woman in today’s gospel is a Gentile, an outsider, who is unflinching in her request that Jesus heal her daughter.  As Jesus commends her bold faith, how might our church extend its mission to those on the margins of society?  In our gathering around word and meal we receive strength to be signs of comfort, healing, and justice for those in need.

Dear St. Stephen’s Family,

Elijah finds the presence of God not in earthquake, wind, or fire, but in the sound of sheer silence.  When the disciples face a great storm on the sea, they cry out with fear.  Jesus says:  “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.:  Amid the storms of life, we gather to seek the calm presence of Christ that soothes our fears.  In comforting words of scripture and in the refreshing bread and cup of the Eucharist, God grants us peace and send us forth to be a sign of God’s presence to others.

Dear St. Stephen’s Family,

“All ate and were filled!”  as our bulletin cover states this Sunday. It reflects one of our most cherished stories in the Bible of Jesus feeding 5000 men, besides women and children. These are days of relative scarcity in our lives, especially when it comes to gathering in person with others in our family and community – so it is very important to listen this Sunday and believe in God’s Word of welcome, abundance and enough for all regardless of any circumstance. All of the readings remind of us these central aspects of God’s will for us and all creation.