So Great A Cloud of Witnesses
“Ultimately, one should not ask what the meaning of her life is, but rather must recognize that it is she who is asked. In a word, each person is questioned by life; and he can… So Great A Cloud of Witnesses
“Ultimately, one should not ask what the meaning of her life is, but rather must recognize that it is she who is asked. In a word, each person is questioned by life; and he can… So Great A Cloud of Witnesses
St. Stephen Presbyterian Church is excited to announce that, after a year-long search, we have hired Mitchell Crawford to be our new Organist and Director of Music Ministries. Mitchell is a graduate of the Juilliard… Welcome Mitchell Crawford, our new Organist!
WEDDING POLICY & PROCEDURE Effective: 06/2016 Contact Anne Barrett (817) 927-8411 • admin@ststephenpresbyterian.com Call the Church office, Wedding Coordinator or Assistant Wedding Coordinator and speak about wedding policies, procedures, dates and forms. The… Wedding Policy
10. You’re put off by hierarchy and energized by community. 9. You’re tired of simple answers to difficult questions. 8. You’re looking for community where not everyone looks the same, talks alike, or believes the… Top 10 Reasons You Might Like It Here
March 20 – Palm/Passion Sunday: Experience the emotion of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem that begins on the lawn with a procession of palms, donkey, clergy, choir and worshippers– continues with stirring music, liturgy and powerful preaching,… Holy Week 2016
Worshipers will notice that the draped crosses carried in our Processional and Recessional by our Acolytes and placed in the Chancel during worship are a symbolic depiction of the Easter season. They are currently draped… Why are the Processional Crosses Draped?
At its last meeting, St. Stephen’s session selected and approved the implementation of two of the objectives of our strategic plan. There are a number of objectives for each of the main goals of the… Strategic Plan News
This past November, the officers of the church participated in a retreat led by Presbyterian church consultant the Rev. John Wimberly. Wimberly is the retired pastor of Western Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC, a church… Session Update
Room in the Inn, our hands-on ministry to the homeless, is always looking for volunteers. Throughout December, January, and February St. Stephen welcomes homeless men into our Parish Hall on Tuesday nights, to spend the… Room in the Inn
Rev Dr. Fritz Ritsch
Baptism of the Lord Sunday
January 10, 2016
Isaiah 43: 1-7
“He who created you, O Jacob; He who formed you, O Israel.” That’s how our Isaiah passage begins; and it ends speaking of all people whom God will redeem: “Every one who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made.”
Now what the Lord means in context is that God created the nation of Israel and that God will save it from the trouble it’s in, specifically, the Babylonian exile, in which the nations of Israel and Judah were defeated by the Babylonians and sent into exile throughout the empire. God is promising to bring them back from exile to their homeland again. In Isaiah’s poetry, God’s people are called by turns Jacob and Israel. This is because of the story of the founder of Israel, Jacob. It’s a story worth repeating.Born as Jacob, Reborn as Israel