The Second “NEXT Church” Conference will be held at First Pres, Dallas, February 27-28. As the PCUSA experiences change generated both from within and… Read More »“NEXT” Church Con in Dallas Explores the Future of the PCUSA–You Should Go!
Our “Christmas on the Hill” event on Dec. 15, which welcomed the entire community into the church for an evening of food, fun, crafts, and… Read More »St. Stephen Gets a Cheer in the Star-Telegram!
Matthew 1: 18-25
St. Stephen Presbyterian Church
Fort Worth, TX
By Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch
We spend a lot of time celebrating and remembering Mary’s role at Christmas. What about Joseph?
Joseph’s role was simple but powerful. He was supposed to accept responsibility for one of God’s children who was not his own child.Read More »Being Joseph: Christmas Eve, 2011
For the fourth year in a row, St. Stephen celebrated Christmas on the Hill, this year with a Mexican theme. As always, there were food, crafts, people in First Century Palestinian costumes–and more. But what made it unusual was that for the first time, we were forced indoors, into the Parish Hall, because of the rain and cold.
But that didn’t spoil the fun. In fact, it made it more celebratory. There had to have been 300 people in that two hour span.
Who came? We had a lot who came for our first ever Las Posadas, a traditional Spanish and Mexican journey to celebrate Christmas. Read More »Rain Didn’t Spoil Christmas On The Hill!
By Rev. Fritz Ritsch
If you are, or have been, the parent of new baby, you’ve become intensely aware that in most social situations that baby in your arms is a ticking time bomb. Your little bundle of joy could go off at any moment: in the theater, in the supermarket, in the restaurant, even here in church—and people will turn and give you “that look”—the look that means, “What were you thinking, bringing that baby in here?”
When that happens, I’m often reminded of the words of the writer of Psalm 8: “Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.” To the psalmist apparently, this most mundane, even annoying sound is gifted by God with the spiritual power to stave off the danger of terrorists and assassins. The cry of a baby is the ultimate proof that life is more powerful than death. So cry away, babies, and thank you for the blessing you bestow upon us when you enter our doors!Read More »Miracle of the Mundane
Minute for Mission
November 2011
Written by Betty Arvin and Mark Thielman
I’ve been asked to talk to you about why you should consider pledging to St. Stephen. I don’t know why you should support this particular church. (Pause to see Fritz get a bit pale here.) What I mean by that is that church and faith are personal and individually centered. I can only tell you why I support St. Stephen.Read More »Why I Give To St. Stephen
Rev. Dr. Warner Bailey, Preacher
Ezekiel 34.1-24 Psalm 100 Ephesians 1.15-23 John 10.11-16
November 20, 2011
Before I go any further, I owe you a word of full disclosure. You may remember that you were told prior to the reading of the Old Testament lesson that what you would hear would be coming from the New Jerusalem Bible. If you were following the reading from your pew Bible, you were reading the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. The Jerusalem Bible comes from the work of scholars who are part of the Eccole Biblique in Jerusalem. The Eccole Biblique is an internationally respected school of biblical study founded by French Roman Catholic scholars. I chose the Jerusalem Bible over the pew Bible for today’s text because of what the Jerusalem Bible says God will do with the fat sheep when the new shepherd comes in judgment and salvation. The Jerusalem Bible says that the shepherd will watch over the fat sheep. The watching over is part of the overall plan to save the entire flock. Your pew Bible says that the savior-shepherd will destroy the fat sheep. Watch over or destroy. Those are pretty big alternatives.Read More »THE NINETY-NINE AND THE ONE
Bring your favorite animals to the campus of St. Stephen on Monday, September 26, at 6:00 p.m. for our annual Blessing of the Animals! We… Read More »Blessing of the Animals September 26
This last month we received six new members to the church, and we did it in every way that the Spirit and Presbyterian polity allow! Each of them is here for his or her own reason, but each is committed, excited, and wonderful.
Lynda moved here with her husband Tom from Canada. Quite a change from Alberta to Fort Worth! She was not a church-goer at all and had never been baptized, but driving around town one day was taken with St. Stephen. That often happens–the architecture itself speaks to people’s souls. She decided to come to church and was overcome by the friendliness and the sense of God’s presence.
2 Peter 1: 16-21
This past weekend I attended the “Next Church” conference in Indianapolis. I always feel l have to explain that this isn’t the “Next Church” as in, “What’s the next church I’m going to be pastor of?” I’m not going anywhere. No, it’s “Next Church” as in, “What is the next church we, as a denomination, are becoming?” The conference brought pastors, elders, and seminarians together to discuss the future of the PCUSA. It was exciting but also sobering. I’ll start with why we are asking the question in the first place.Read More »Vision Glorious
