SSJE brothers to visit in Lent

Brothers from SSJE return to St. Stephen’s in Lent

Before the pandemic it was customary for St. Stephen’s Church to receive one or two of the brothers from the Society of St. John the Evangelist to lead a retreat here at the beginning of Lent. Last year, for obvious reasons, that did not occur. (In fact, one of the last public events we held at St. Stephen’s in 2020 before things closed down was the Lenten retreat led by Br. David Vryhof and Br. Sean Glenn.)

So we’re especially pleased that Br. James Koester, the order’s Superior, and Br. Lucas Hall plan to join us the weekend of February 25, 2022, just before Ash Wednesday.

As soon as we receive additional details about their visit, we’ll communicate with you via the Spirit, the eSpirit, and our Web site (ststephensRVA.org/lent).

The Society of St. John the Evangelist is the Anglican Communion’s oldest religious order for men. SSJE is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near the campus of Harvard University. In addition to having the brothers come to Richmond to lead retreats, individuals and groups from St. Stephen’s often travel to the monastery in Cambridge, or to Emery House, SSJE’s retreat center in Newburyport, Massachusetts, for silent retreats, spiritual direction and refreshment, and worshiping, taking meals, and entering into the rhythm of life with the brothers.

Sarah Bartenstein

Ruff… meow… quack

The annual Blessing of the Animals service took place Sunday afternoon, October 3. While most of the animals the clergy meet at this service are dogs and cats, with a few gerbils, rabbits or guinea pigs, we had an unusual visitor this year: a duck. Larry Bidwell of the parish staff brought his two dogs, and Larry’s girlfriend brought a rescue duck, Philomena.

St. Stephen’s is here for us from the beginning of our life in Christ.

Thank you for supporting St. Stephen’s Church

If you have not made a pledge for 2022, it’s not too late!

Since March 2020, the people of St. Stephen’s Church have learned to stay in community even while physically apart. We have learned new ways to remain connected, to worship and pray and learn together, and exercise important ministry while doing all we can to keep one another safe and healthy.

We’ve learned how much we want to be together: to praise God, to receive the Sacrament of Communion, to share a meal and enjoy one another’s company, to work together to help others, and simply to sit in our beautiful church.

We’ve held fast to what is good, while we’ve learned to sing a new song.

As we move through our current season of transition, we’ll need to take what we learned and continue to hold fast and to sing a new song. The financial support of St. Stephen’s pledging members is always crucial. But at no time has it been more important than in 2022, as we prepare to call a new rector.

Talented clergy being considered for service as the next rector of this great parish will look for signs that we have weathered these extraordinary times with strength and grace, and that we are positioned to continue serving as a leader in the Episcopal Church. One of the most significant signs of this vitality is the strength of our annual giving.

The leadership of St. Stephen’s Church is grateful to God, and to all who have made a pledge thus far, for the gifts entrusted to us for the work of St. Stephen’s Church. If you already have

made a pledge for 2022, thank you.

If you have not yet made a pledge for that work, please give this your prayerful attention. You may make a pledge in any of the following ways: • Using the pledge card mailed to you in September • Picking up a pledge card at any of the tables throughout the parish house. • Calling the parish office to request that a pledge card be mailed to you. • Making a pledge online at

ststephensRVA.org/pledge

If you have any questions, you may contact Christi McFadden, 804.288.2867 or cmcfadden@ ststephensRVA.org, or either of our annual giving campaign co-chairs: Alison Fauls, afauls@icloud.com, or Blair Nelsen, bhnelsen@gmail.com. Thank you for your support.