May 2008

Here's the News about the Steeple and Tower Restoration

I want you to use my message this month to bring you up to date on the restoration of our steeple and tower and the Capital Campaign.

It's good news.

We have received a grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust to cover most of the costs of the actual construction documents and the contractor's pre-qualification reports. We are now in the search process for a general contractor for the project. A cover letter, pre-qualification report, and summary construction document has been sent to ten contractors. Several have already replied before our May 2 nd deadline.

On Monday, April 14 th , the Vestry met with Ann Webber our architect and Brian Wendt from the engineering firm of Keast and Hood to review the full

construction documents. A few suggestions were made by Vestry members and these will be incorporated into the final blueprints. After selecting a general contractor, the contractor and the Vestry will work together to select sub-contractors for the actual construction. We will then apply for a matching grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust for the construction work. This grant application is due June 26 th .

The Capital Campaign is now beginning its third and final year. To date, over $113,000 has been received in pledge payments and contribution. This money is being held in certificates of deposit and a Capital Preservation checking account so the current fluctuations in the stock market have not affected the funds we've contributed. The loan the Vestry took from the checking account to meet parish expenses last summer was paid back into the Capital Preservation account at the end of 2007. There is still time in this campaign's last year to make a pledge or contribution. Pledge cards and offering envelopes are available from the table in the church and from Treasurer Assistant Cathy Clair and the church office.

Our Church School has reached its goal of A Mile of Nickels totaling $4,019.11 for the Capital Campaign. There is more about this in the enclosed Sunday's Child. Congratulations.

We anticipate that actual construction will begin next spring 2009.

As you know, we've been working on this project to preserve the steeple and tower for a long time. The preservation plan was developed by Farewell Mills Gatsch in the spring of 2004. Since that time, we have completed additional engineering studies, mounted a capital campaign, and applied for grants from the New Jersey Historic Trust. Although the pace seems slow, this work is moving forward and we can all give God thanks for that. I also want to thank the Vestry members for their leadership, our grant writing team of Sue Legnani, Amy Bent, Debi Topley, and Jo Pirylis, and the Capital Preservation Campaign Committee of Dan and Terry Guthrie, Lynne Borden, Sarah Dattilo, Bob Germer, and Robyn Harker. Finally, I want to thank you, the members and friends of St. Stephen's Church for your continuing commitment and support of this preservation of the steeple and tower. This is a witness of our congregation of its presence and ministry to the riverfront communities of St. Stephen's Church, our Heritage from the Past…our Gift to the Future.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rector

May 2008 Dates to Remember:

1 - ASCENSION DAY . 10 a.m. Bible Study Group; 7:30 p.m. Holy Eucharist (chapel).

3 - 9 a.m.-1 p.m. HOAGIE SALE .

4 - THE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER . 8 a.m. Holy Eucharist; 9 a.m. High School class; 10 a.m.

Holy Eucharist and Church School followed by Coffee Hour and Choir rehearsal; 2 p.m. AA meeting;

4 p.m. Confirmation class.

6 - 7:30 p.m. AA meeting.

7 - 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist (chapel).

8 - 10 a.m. Bible Study Group; 6 p.m. Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring.

9 - 2 p.m. Riverfront Seniors Executive Committee meeting ; 6-8 p.m. ECW BOOK SALE ; Night Watch

(Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York ).

10 - 8 a.m. Habitat for Humanity Convocation Build; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. ECW BOOK SALE .

11 - THE DAY OF PENTECOST . 8 a.m. Holy Eucharist; 9 a.m. Parish Family Breakfast; 10 a.m.

Baptism of Abel Medrano and Holy Communion followed by Pentecost Church Birthday Coffee Hour

and Choir rehearsal; 2 p.m. AA meeting; 4 p.m. Confirmation class.

12 - 7:30 p.m. St. Stephen's Guild meeting.

13 - 7:30 p.m. AA meeting.

14 - 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist and Healing Service (chapel); Noon Riverfront Seniors Luncheon.

15 - 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. CHICKEN LUNCHEON ; 6 p.m. Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring.

17 - 11:30 a.m. ST. STEPHEN'S SECOND ANNUAL GOLF OUTING.

18 - THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST: TRINITY SUNDAY . Third Sunday Ingathering.

8 a.m. Holy Eucharist; 9 a.m. High School class; 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist and Church School followed

by Coffee Hour and Choir rehearsal; 2 p.m. AA meeting; 4 p.m. Confirmation class.

19 - 12:30 p.m. Parish Mailing; 7:30 p.m. Vestry meeting.

20 - 7:30 p.m. AA meeting.

21 - 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist (chapel).

22 - 10 a.m. Bible Study Group; 6 p.m. Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring.

25 - THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST . 8 a.m. Holy Eucharist; 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist

followed by Coffee Hour and Choir rehearsal; 2 p.m. AA meeting; 4 p.m. Confirmation class.

27 - 7:30 p.m. AA meeting.

28 - 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist (chapel); 6:30 p.m. ECW Covered Dish Dinner

29 - 10 a.m. Bible Study Group.

Please have all items for the June/Summer edition of The Steeple Times to the church office by

Wednesday, May 14 th

Treasurer's Ledger

This month's Treasurer's Ledger includes three requests from our Parish Treasurer, John Bohlert, and Contributions and Pledge Co-coordinator, Cathy Clair.

* When making donations or paying on a pledge to the Capital Preservation Campaign, please mark

“Capital Campaign” on the memo line of your check. Additionally, special envelopes are available

for campaign contributions (brown print instead of the black print on the parish pledge envelopes).

* John Bohlert is asking for one more assistant in the form of either an Accounting Clerk or a Controller.

Having this assistant share one of these positions would relieve him of the responsibility of auditing his

own work as he now does both jobs. The breakdown of responsibilities is as follows: The Accounting

Clerk is responsible for entering invoices and miscellaneous income and working with Accounts Payable

Person, Dori Schubert, on maintaining paying invoices and providing status reports. The Controller

is responsible for auditing financial reports, reconciling bank statements, filing tax and related reports

and paying non-invoiced items such as taxes and benefits.

•  Cathy Clair would like additional help in counting the Sunday offering and data inputer in our computer

system. These are done on Sunday mornings following the 10 a.m. service and normally take no more

than an hour. Volunteers are part of a roster so the work is done by a rotating list of counters and data

input persons (that means you're not on every week!).

Please speak to John or Cathy for more information.

We thank our Treasurer Team of John, Cathy, Dori, Pam Slocum, Ron Paice, and all who help each week with counting and data input. Their thoroughness shows that our parish takes seriously its responsibility for the stewardship of the pledges, contributions, and financial assets of St. Stephen's Church.

Ascension Day Begins the Month of May

Service at 7:30 p.m.

Ascension Day commemorates the taking up of our Lord into Heaven forty days after his resurrection (Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1:1-11). Since Easter Day is always a Sunday, forty days after Easter Day is always a Thursday. This year Ascension Day is May 1 st . Ascension Day is one of the Principal Feasts in the Episcopal Church calendar. ( Book of Common Prayer p. 15). St. Stephen's will keep the feast with a celebration of the Holy Eucharist at 7:30 p.m. in the parish hall chapel. The 7:30 p.m. time is selected in order to make this service more convenient for all who work during the day as well as for other members. St. Augustine (354-430 A.D.) wrote this about Jesus' ascension:

“He Ascended into Heaven”

Our Life himself came down to earth and took away our death. He slew it with the abundance of his own life,

called us with a voice as of thunder to return hence to him, to that secret place from whence he had come forth

to us – calling us by his words and deeds, by his death, his life, his descent to the dead and his ascent to heaven – calling us to return to him. He departed from our sight that we might turn back into our hearts and find him

there. Though he departed, lo! he is still here. He did not will to be with us long, yet he did not leave us. He

went back to the place from which he had never left, for the world was made through him. He was in the world,

and he came into the world to save sinners.

Let's keep the Feast!

Episcopal Youth in Christ

To Attend Night Watch

On Friday, May 9 th , members of our youth group will join the EYC of Trinity Church, Moorestown, for a trip to the

Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City to participate in Night Watch. Night Watch is a program of the

cathedral that brings together young people from several parishes for an experience of one of the largest gothic

cathedrals in the world. Beginning in the evening, Night Watch includes activities in the cathedral itself, a candle-

light Eucharist at midnight, and concludes with a tour of the cathedral Saturday morning.

The group will leave from Trinity Church at 4 p.m. on Friday and return around noon on Saturday. This is a unique opportunity for our young people to learn about a gothic church that can hold St. Stephen's many times over!

Episcopal Church Women

List May Activities

Boxes of new, almost new, well-read, somewhat tattered and (possibly) rare books are arriving weekly at the parish hall for the annual ECW Book Sale to be held in Conklin Hall in May. The sale will be open on Friday, May 9 th ,

6-8 p.m. and Saturday, May 10 th , 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Book donations are still welcome, but, please no encyclopedias or textbooks (technology is always changing!). Any questions about the sale can be answered by calling Roxane Blow (609-877-5524) or Jackie Faux (609-877-6918).

The final ECW event of the season will be a Covered Dish Dinner in Conklin Hal at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday,

May 28 th . Come with a friend to join in the good food and conversation.

Dust Off Those Golf Clubs

2 nd Annual Golf Outing on May 17 th

This year's event will again be held on Saturday, May 17 th , at the Robert Trent Jones, Sr. designed Rancocas Golf Club in Willingboro. Proceeds from the tournament benefit the ministries and programs of St. Stephen's Church. The cost for the 4 player Scramble Golf Outing is $115 per person or $400 for a party of four.

Schedule

Sign-in: 11:30 a.m.

Lunch Noon

Tee-off: 1 p.m.

Dinner: 6:30 p.m. (awards and raffles)

The deadlines for Sponsorship sign-up is April 30 th and for Golfer sign-up May 10 th . To help us properly plan for this event, please pre-register by going to http:/www.golfinvite.com/ssgt. Sponsors may also use the site to sign up for the tournament. We accept Visa, Master Card and personal checks. For more information, please check out the church website www.ststephensbeverly.com or call Rob Uibel at 609-261-1787.

So, practice your swing and tell your friends and fellow golfers. It was a great afternoon last fall and promises to be a great day again this year.

A Prayer for the World Around Us

Look at your hands, see the touch and the tenderness –

God's own for the world.

Look at your feet, see the path and direction –

God's own for the world.

Look at your heart, see the fire and the love –

God's own for the world.

Look at the cross, see God's Son and our Savior –

God's own for the world.

This is God's world and we will serve God in it.

- from School Chapel Services & Prayers

Habitat for Humanity

Third Sunday Ingathering and Convocation Build

Habitat for Humanity is well known to the members of St. Stephen's. The Burlington County affiliate has either built or rehabbed homes in many of our communities including recently Burlington City, Palmyra, and Mount Holly. Currently, Habitat is building new homes on south Broad Street in Beverly. Habitat builds good homes aimed at low to moderate income families who contribute 500 hours of work either on the home itself or at the Habitat office (a portion of the time must be at the construction site).

There are two opportunities to participate in Habitat's ministry in May.

•  May 10 th : Participate in the Burlington Episcopal Church Build at the Beverly sites. Members of

the Episcopal churches of our county will meet at 8 a.m. at St. Stephen's for Morning Prayer and

then proceed to the Broad Street houses. A Saturday Habitat work day is from 8:30 a.m.-330 p.m.

Coffee and lunch breaks will be provided by St. Stephen's EYC.

•  May 18 th : The Third Sunday Ingathering will be dedicated to Habitat for Humanity Burlington

County. Donation boxes are now on the table in church. Please make checks to “Habitat for

Humanity Burlington County”.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Our last Chicken Luncheon until September is May 15 th . And it is time to say thanks for the generosity of those who provide the desserts. We always have a tasty variety. And thank you to the entire “CHICKEN TEAM” who work to serve the luncheons. Everyone does a super job and our efforts make a nice profit. To you all, I repeat my headline…THANK YOU1 THANK YOU1 THANK YOU1.

Diocesan Youth Choir Week Scheduled

The Diocese of New Jersey is holding the 20 th Youth Choir Week at The Church of the Advent in Cape May. This year the camp runs from Sunday July 27 th , at 4 p.m. to Friday, August 1 st , (noon). The Choir concert will be held on Friday morning, a change from previous years. The cost is $300 per chorister and includes room, meals, and fun events. Scholarship aid is available. See Fr. Legnani for more information and applications.

A Diocesan Fund for Children

The Jane O. P. Turner Fund is an endowment of the Diocese of New Jersey that is available for families who need financial assistance due to expenses that have been incurred from their child or children who have incurable or terminal illnesses. The funds are available to all children not just Episcopalians. All requests to the Trustees of the Fund are carefully considered and grants are subject to the Trustees' approval. The form for submitting requests for aid under the provisions of the Fund is available from the Rector who also can refer any need for more information to the Fund's Trustees.

ECVA NJ:

Encouraging the Arts in the Life of the Church

ECVA NJ (The Episcopal Church and the Visual Arts) is part of a church wide organization dedicated to supporting and encouraging artists in the Episcopal Church. The Diocese of New Jersey chapter is headed by Ruth Tietjen Councell, artist and published book illustrator and the wife of Bishop George Councell. ECVA NJ is now calling for submissions for an exhibition at Trinity Cathedral from May 24-June 12 with a gala reception at the Trenton cathedral on Sunday afternoon, June 1. The exhibition is called “Many Gifts, One Spirit”. Forms for submission of works are available from the Rector. The deadline is May 2. For more information, check out the parish hall bulletin board or the ECVA NJ website www.newjersey.anglican.org/arts .

The Day of Pentecost Arrives

May 11 th

The Day of Pentecost is seven weeks or fifty days after Easter Day. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the new church (Acts 2). At St. Stephen's, the 10 a.m. service will include the administration of Holy Baptism and the reading of the Acts lesson in different languages. Again this year, paper doves, the biblical symbol of the Holy Spirit will be hung from the church chandeliers. Look for more about this in the enclosed Sunday's Child. The doves will remain in place through the season after Pentecost (the end of November) and witness not only to the blessing of the Holy Spirit on all who worship in the church but also our prayer for the human family and peace which the dove also symbolizes in the pages of Holy Scripture. The liturgical color for the Day of Pentecost is red, symbol of the tongues of fire of the Holy Spirit in the Acts scripture reading. Members of the congregation are asked to wear something in red if possible to spread the joy of the color of this day throughout the church.