Do you love flowers?

St. Stephen’s Flower Guild members experience beauty in many forms

Flowers by Preston Lee of St. Stephen’s Flower Guild

Sarah Bartenstein

Each week several members of St. Stephen’s Flower Guild gather to create arrangements for the altars at St. Stephen’s. The time we spend working together is as important as the results on display. Indeed, each of us gets to know and learn from one another, whether we are seasoned arrangers or brand new to the guild. Stories from the Bible come to mind as many hands work together. While the team leader selects the flowers, the actual arrangements are an act of pure creativity. Someone may have a vision based on the colors and textures of flowers and plant material in the buckets, but the wet lump of green oasis awaiting glorious transformation

is always a mystery, offering infinite possibilities. Without fail, however, the mystery takes shape through loving hands, and the arrangement comes together. I think of this process as a minicreation story, experienced anew each Friday. One Friday I was working on a flower team when someone noticed, after we had completed all the altar arrangements, that we had forgotten an important arrangement at the Grove Avenue entrance. We had used all the best flowers and greenery and what appeared to be dregs were all that was left in several buckets. Someone suggested a quick run for more flowers, but our team leader suggested instead that we work with what we had. Seeing that we only had a few pieces, one member worried aloud, “What are we going to do?” So we pooled the buckets and found enough to create a stunning arrangement with greens of many textures. I heard an echo of the loaves and fishes story, as we gathered the leftovers, said a silent prayer, and went to work. Miraculously, there was more than enough for the arrangement. In fact, there was even enough for a small vase for the parish house. Creativity and fellowship go hand in hand in this guild. While making something beautiful, we also encourage and inspire each other. Once the arrangements are placed on the altars, each member By Catherine Whitham dries her hands and says her own prayer of thanksgiving for time shared together for the glory of God.

If you would like to join a team, please contact me at catherinecwhitham@gmail.com. We welcome all who love flowers.

Catherine Whitham is co-chair of St. Stephen’s Flower Guild.

Women’s Forum features local authors, our clergy, and a record-shattering swimmer

The Women of St. Stephen’s host a monthly forum from October through May (with a break in January), and everyone is invited. Unless an event includes a meal, there is no charge and no registration required. Please come and bring a friend. October 5, 2021 (refreshments, 9:30 a.m., program, 10)

Meet our clergy

A panel will feature St. Stephen’s clergy who arrived just before or during the pandemic “lockdown.” Take this opportunity to learn more about them and ask questions. November 2, 2021 (refreshments, 6:00 p.m., program, 6:30)

Rives Fowlkes Carroll

“I think I was certain he was going to come home. He just seemed to have a faith I couldn’t even understand.” So writes Rives Fowlkes Carroll about her father in Chaplain: The World War II Letters of Army Air Corps Chapain Pascal Dupuy Fowlkes. Hear Rives talk about her father and her book, available for purchase. December 7, 2021 (program at 11 a.m.)

Advent and Christmas Music Program

Join us for seasonal music in the church; watch The Spirit, the eSpirit, and the Women of St. Stephen’s email newsletter for details closer to the time. If covid protocols are such that it is possible, our traditional holiday luncheon will follow. January 2022–no program