Last Sunday evening in October, the youth of St. Stephen went to a favorite mission site – Casa House, a low-income, Catholic Charities multi-ethnic senior citizens apartment complex.  Lynn Yeoman, Social Service Coordinator, and St. Stephen church member, announced our arrival so that 15 – 20 seniors came out of their apartments to play games, and get their fingernails painted led by the Youth of St. Stephen.

Typically, the seniors love Bingo and have the need, like every child, to win a prize or pout.   Prizes purchased and donated were holiday themed gadgets and decorations, books, pencils, and bags of candy.   John Bollman called the Bingo with loud measured pace and we made sure that everyone earned a prize twice over.  The youth were exuberant and so attentive to our senior partners in Bingo, you would have been proud.Simplify the Seasons

The new hymnals have arrived and will be dedicated and used for the first time on Sunday, November 17th. A joint project between the Christian Education and Worship Committees St. Stephen placed its order a… Sing a New Song

Idyllic, amazing…This picture is the Lyons Community Church, in Lyons, Colorado, a hamlet at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. We, the youth and sponsors of St. Stephen, held a week-long Vacation Bible School at this church in July, 2013, just two months ago.  As the rains have inundated these foothills these last few weeks, I am in mourning for the loss of life, limb, possessions, and this loving small township.

Lyons Community Church is 1/10 the size of St. Stephen with a heart bigger than both. It is a white clapboard church atop a rocky ridge with a basement that affronts the Main Street.  Our first day into service, we met adult volunteers, Holly and Jani and Zeke, in the basement of the church fixing our breakfast and asking us to advertise the VBS with hand colored poster boards.  It worked, along with Facebook, as everyday our crowd grew bigger and bigger.  We started upstairs in the small old fashioned Sanctuary singing our signature Christian songs with movement and abandonment. Lyons, Colorado, and the Devastating Flood

(Recent reads by Mark Scott, Summer 2013)

1. “Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls” – David Sedaris (2013, Little, Brown and Company) Sedaris is one of my favorite writers.  He is a frequent contributor to “The New Yorker,” and a skillful wordsmith as well as a wonderful humorist.  The title is an example of his humor.

2. “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” – Mark Haddon adapted Simon Stephens (Methuen Drama)

The author speaks through the voice of the main character, a child, verbalizing the thoughts of that child.  It becomes apparent that the child suffers from some kind of autism.  The author has spent his career studying these conditions and working with  adults and children so afflicted.  He is cleverly able to give the reader a look into the inner workings of this particular child, “Christopher.”  It is a great, informative read.  Although the subject matter is quite serious, you will laugh out loud at the predicaments in which Christopher, his family and friends find themselves.  It immediately draws the reader into a world of extreme logic, often perilous to a given situation.  I think any teacher would benefit from reading this book that maps the thought process of people with autism.But Where Are the Color Pictures?

St. Stephen Presbyterian Church Music Day Camp performance of “Land of the Lost and Found, a musical encounter with the parables” by Kimberly Ingram, Joe Milton, and Heather Olson, on Friday, August 9th, was a… Music Camp DVD Available for All Campers & Parents!