The
St. Stephen's
A
little History
St. Stephen's Church in Rochester New York is an urban church
committed to mutual neighborhood ministry. The congregation
has been in conversation for several months, the focus of
which is the form and shape of their ministry with and within
the neighborhood.
One
day an idea thrust its way into the after-church forum, "for
the Sundays of Lent, let's replace our traditional worship
with an effort to pick up the neighborhood litter.
It was a frightening idea. But the congregation caught hold,
and framed it in such a way that it could be approved at their
annual meeting.
The congregation named three teams: trash team; the prayer
and song team; the cooks. At ten o'clock on the Sundays of
Lent, the congregation would meet, sing and pray, and self-select
one of the teams.
They
would meet over the meal, share the prayers, share their reflections,
and give thanks for their life in the neighborhood.
What follows is a first hand report.
We have omitted the use of last names.
The
First Sunday of Lent
The
morning started at 9:45 with the ringing of the bells.
It
was bitter cold. Five degrees and a white out blizzard. Ken
had already fallen on his way to the car, and cut open his
hand. Not an auspicious beginning. We wondered if we should
postpone it.
Barb and Jim arrived, totally ready. It was a "go."
Lots
of people. More than expected. More than accustomed.
We sang a hymn and Lynn greeted us with "Welcome to a new
adventure."
Ken gave a brief description of the St. Stephen's Neighborhood
Project and we divided into 3 teams; Trash Team/Kitchen Team/Prayer
Team. We went to our team locations (while singing, Come,
Labor On) and began.
Jim,
Barb, and Ken had made vests for the trash team with St. Stephen's
Neighborhood Project on the back. They got their instructions
from Jim, divided into small teams and went out.
Tad was more than ready for the Kitchen Team and had jobs
for all. Bob was dressed and ready in a chef suit!
Lynn and Mitzie welcomed us and we began the prayer team with
a song. We wrote Prayers of the People: prayers for the neighborhood,
for this ministry, for our church and the excitement about
this project, for our leadership at St. Stephen's and how
Ken is always leaning on us to go farther, for God's call
to adventure.
Millie read all of the prayers for peace and for the world
from the Book of Common Prayer.
We added personal prayers and people were able to share personal
concerns. These were scribed by Bonnie.
We all gathered at 11:15 in the parish hall where the meal
was on the table. We had a reflection from each group.
Comments?
- "Actually
doing this work was joyful and more worshipful than talking
about it."
- Tom
said that the kitchen work felt monastic.
-
Those praying felt that they knew each other in different
ways and were grateful to be doing this.
-
Carolyn from the Diocese was there and entered in.
She said she was blown away by the energy.
Ken
, then, talked about the holiness of the bread and wine at
eucharist and our lunch was the holy food of this eucharist.
We would confirm this holiness in our Amen response. We read
the Thanksgiving prayer from the Morning Prayer Office, ,
the creed from the baptism, and the first section of the Catechism.
It all fit together.
We
all had lunch. It was wonderful.
Other comments:
"Why
don't we paint Thurston Ave. in the spring?"
"We
should do this once each month!"
Chuck
pondered, "We were asking 'what will the community think
of what we are doing?' and after I had though about that for
a while I suddenly came to the realization that we've been
here for over a hundred years ... We are the community!
"A
phrase to describe us, Happy people doing something different."
There
were many children, all of them participating. There were
many in the kitchen. Next week they will make a covenant mural
in the prayer team.
Look for More!
We
keep you informed of the progression of the project as the
weeks of Lent go by. Our heartfelt congratulations and admiration
to this community who braved a five degree blizzard to go
into their beloved neighborhood and work to clean it up.
It's a spirit-led project and has been recognized as such
from the beginning. If you would like to learn more about
the decision making process, please contact csfairless@childrenatworship.org.
Our prayers are with the people of St. Stephen's. We are grateful
for their vision and courage.
THIS
JUST CAME IN!!!
We
just received the following letter from Betty Bordner and
an article from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle below.
Good
Morning,
I
have lots to tell about yesterday. Use it as you want. I,
mostly, want to tell you about it.
There
were about 80-85 people at church. The morning was glorious;
warm and springlike. Following the bells, we started with
singing. Lynn welcomed all to "Chapter 2" of our great adventure.
We prayed a lot and sang some more.
During
this time, in the back of the church, reporters arrived to
report on the Celtic Service! When they were told that it
was next Sunday, they asked what was going on now. When they
found out, they said this was even better and they would stay
for this. There is a picture and article in the D&C this morning!
We
divided into teams and went forth. I was on the cooking team.
We had grills going outside to cook burgers and hotdogs while
some got all other food ready in the kitchen and set the tables.
The prayer team was in the room at the end of the hall and
were about 25 people. They prayed and made origami prayer
cranes. That was a real challenge and Kathy said she hadn't
laughed that hard in years.
We
all gathered for lunch at 11:15. Charlie was so into garbage
that we had to pull him in. Colleen was named "Queen of Garbage".
Kids helped with garbage collection and cooking.
We
reflected before lunch.
Some
reflections were that Jesus said,"The poor you will always
have with you," and that we will always have trash with us.
We aren't out to elimate trash forever, but to be in the midst
of it and acting upon it to serve others. We will always need
to respond to it but there will be others things for us to
do, as well.
Someone
else said that the world is changed by 1 person or 1 group
serving and we were that 1 group here in this neighborhood.
The
kitchen people talked of anticipation of the guests returning
to the meal we had prepared. Hospitality is anticipation of
the gathering.
The
prayer team was laughing so hard and that was their reflection!
Ken brought forth the lesson of Abraham being told, at 100
years to pack up and go. His information was that he and Sarah
would be the parents of nations and new things were to happen.
When he said that Sarah's response was to laugh, Elsie said
she would have cried!
Ken
asked those who were in their 80's and 90's to stand and asked
the age of SS church. It is about 103 years old. He said that
we were in the same age category as Abraham and that God is
calling us to pack up and do new things.
We
prayed over the meal and ate. Wendy took fun objects that
the trash team found and framed them. She brought it over
last night.
Peace
and Love, Betty
Taking
to the streets
ANNETTE
LEIN
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Rector Ken Bordner, left, and
church member Debbie Burrows work with other members of the
congregation to clean up trash on Chili Avenue around their
church Sunday. Worshipers are to perform the spring cleanup
in place of regular Sunday services each week in Lent.
[Day in Photos] (March 17, 2003)
Congregation
observes Lent by getting down to the nitty-gritty
By
Lara Becker Liu
Democrat and Chronicle
Members
of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church enjoyed the fresh air on
Sunday as few others probably did: plucking candy wrappers
and cigarette butts from the streets of the 19th Ward.
The volunteers, wearing blazing orange vests and rubber gloves,
had vowed to pick up trash over four weekends as part of their
Lenten contribution.
This
week, they got warm weather and sunshine to help them along
-- a sign from above, some of them said, that they were doing
the right thing.
“We’re doing this out of obedience,” said the Rev. Ken Bordner.
“We don’t know anything other than that it seems like a good
idea.”
A few residents watching from their driveways and front porches
seemed to think so, too, yelling out words of encouragement
as the crews went about spearing garbage from the muddy gutters.
Among their finds: a potholder, a pair of gloves, 26 cents
and the ragged half of a dollar bill (”for the collection
plate,” said church member Bonnie Schwingle).
They also picked up a bullet casing, a used condom and a dime
bag of marijuana.
“Write down that Normandy (avenue) is practicing safe sex,”
Schwingle said to a reporter, as she bent down to pick up
the proof with a pair of tongs.
Bordner tried to keep his group on pace (there were four groups
total, each tackling different streets) but failed. Invariably,
the person lugging the trash bin fell behind, and finally,
the reverend gave up. “Leading Episcopalians is like herding
cats,” he said, shaking his head.
Meanwhile, back at the church, a few members who did not participate
in the trash pickup were grilling hamburgers or attending
a prayer session.
By
the time the cleanup crews returned, lunch was ready. E-mail
address: lbecker@DemocratandChronicle.com
More
of the Story!
The
following appeared in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
Some Personal
Observations:
I had the opportunity
to participate in this congregations project last Sunday (March
30) It continues to be something that, from my perspective,
has energized and inspired this congregation.
As we celebrated
our collecting and food preparation and praying, I shared
an observation that I had as I picked up the refuse along
the streets of the 19th ward of Rochester.
I thought of
the hands that had created the articles I was picking up.
The containers and pieces of automobiles ... the carelessness
of human beings (my own insensitivity included) ... my gratitiude
for the people who have come behind me when I have made a
mess of things and helped to put right what I left in disarray.
As I walked
with several young communicants of St Stevens and encouraged
them enthusiastically, I wondered what they were thinking
about the adults of their church and this project that they
had decided to do instead of regular church for the season
of Lent ... I wondered what their memory of this occasion
would produce in their lives ... or if it would mean anything
at all.
I was strangely
comforted by the connectedness of all things and as we came
in from the cold and washed up and ate our "stone soup"
prpared by loving hands, I realised that I am truly grateful
and humbled by the willingness of this group of people who
dare to do something different ... Thanks again and again!
Jim Sims
Lenten
Meditation
What
is this prayer we offer up, looking for and picking up all
the banal and tragic, pathetic and thoughtless; all the grimy,
soggy, mud bestrewn debris, cast off in street or walk or
yard? At what cost to us and our community have these tokens
arrived here? We come in Lent, hoping through our presence
and work to be a more active part of creation and God's plan
for us in creation. Certainly, in this work there is a taste
of the wilderness of human experience. Certainly, we may at
least glimpse the suffering of a loving and merciful God in
the face of our terrible misuse of each other and creation.
In my thoughts are the dread and sorrow of impending war.
As a nation we grudge the care of the poor and unloved as
we provide tax relief for the rich. We kill each other more
frequently than any other modern nation. We despoil the air,
water, and soil; destroying the inheritance we should be preserving
for our children. All creation groans, yearning to be set
free. We continue our work. With affection, we take some joy
in our work. People come out of their houses and encourage
us. Children smile from sunny porches. Geese overhead sing
the song that northern peoples associate with the promise
of spring. It may be possible, in our picking up, in this
quixotic sweeping back of a tide of brokenness, in the humility
of cleaning up small portions of a large ocean of our disjoint
and unhappy world, that we come to understand, or at least
begin to understand, how we might, where two or three are
gathered, participate not only in Good Friday, but in Easter
as well.
Chris
Farnum
From
Easter 2, Year B
by
Betty Bordner
A
couple of things from St. Stephen's:
Last
Sunday was a beautiful morning so the kids and I decided that
we needed to go outside and beautify the sidewalk that borders
the church driveway. Only one requirement and that was to
draw something beautiful to God. We had 12 kids and lots of
bright colored sidewalk chalk.
The
kids started.
Soon Cameron had created a tree which he dedicated, in large
block letters, "In Memory of Miles Brown, my Dad."
The
thought caught on and many of the kids, also, created memory
graffiti to members of their families and friends who have
died in violent acts (many but not all of them). They created
a memory walk.
We
all walked it together and thanked God for the lives of these
people and each child shared a memory of that person. The
wisdom of children is awesome.
What
I had envisioned as a fun little project they had turned into
theology.
This
week, I am going to take the idea from the World Prayer women
that you wrote about. I'll bring pictures from magazines and
newspapers. We'll create stories that these photos (many of
them from Iraq) and write prayers for these people of the
world.
I
was thinking that doing this as a follow up to last week might
extend vision from personal experience to more of a world
view. They will probably take me to a deeper level, though.
For the worship space section, Lynn and Brian took the origami
doves that the prayer team from Lent made and built mobiles
which they hung from the wires in the church. They are awesome
and look like a cloud of birds above the alter. Each one has
a prayer written in it.
Tomorrow
the worship committee will do the forum on the Lenten project
and we'll let you know the outcome of that.
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too, could be "In the News"
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