This last week has been hopping at St. Stephen. Once again there are things going on in every part of the church, not just the sanctuary building and grounds! The windows are being installed throughout the education building, starting with the casement windows and those in the Parish Hall and kitchen. Why there? Because Beth wanted to use Parish Hall and the kitchen for Vacation Bible School, and they’re EVERYWHERE this week. We have some 70 kids participating, including huge turnout from our teens and some returning college students to serve as shepherds. The energy and excitement in the building are tangible.
They aren’t just only in the Ed building, either. They are on the grounds: I know it seems strange to have a fenced-in area on the front lawn, but that serves as the playground for our VBS kids so that they are kept safe from any hazards created in the lawn while the windows are repaired.
But not only that: they’re in the sanctuary building. They’re watching movies and napping in the Narthex, but they are also in OUR COMPLETELY NEW CLASSROOMS IN THE SANCTUARY UPPER BASEMENT. Eduardo Calderon, our intrepid Property Committee chair, saw to it that insurance covered a build-out of classrooms in the basement since we still cannot use classroom space upstairs for VBS. We now have two completely new full-size classrooms in the sanctuary building. After decades, we will be able to use the downstairs as well as the sanctuary itself for ministry purposes.
In the meantime, Anne Barrett and I are growing accustomed to a great deal more light in our offices than we’ve had in a long time. Workers completely replaced the french windows in my office, and likewise the casement windows in Anne’s space. There’s a new cheeriness and brightness that is lifting up everyone’s spirits.
There’s a lot coming up in the next few months. Below is information about our July 2nd service and patriotic organ concert with our good friend, Michael Britt; and our exciting upcoming intergenerational all-church retreat to Mo Ranch, with program led by your staff, me, Beth, and Mitchell. The theme will be “Rising from the Ruins” and we’ll use the recovery from the vandalism as a jumping-off point to talk about how God enables all of us and each of us to rise up when things get us down. The program will include all ages, and we have 20 hotel-like rooms reserved that can hold up to four people, so we really hope you’ll bring the entire family. This is a good way to get to know your fellow church members, especially the many who’ve joined us fairly recently and who may not know other members of the church as well.
On July 4th, Independence Day, Room in the Inn celebrates its Tenth Year providing hospitality to the homeless in Fort Worth. I will be leading an orientation for those who want to learn more about this exciting and meaningful ministry on TUESDAY, JULY 18, AT 5:00 in the Parish Hall where
RITI meets. If you aren’t involved and would like to be, please join me! You can contact me at [email protected] .
And keep your eyes open for the upcoming announcement of St. Stephen’s big “Topping Off” party, in which we have a “ribbon cutting” ceremony for the re-opening of the Education Building in late August. We plan to have special guests and anticipate news media will be present to see how, by the grace of God, we have recovered and have continued to pursue the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness!