Volume 21 Issue 5 May 2017 Welcoming Worshiping Working

The Final Installment of “Money, Sex & Power” By The Rev Ian M Delinger

The final installment of our adult education program “Money, Sex and Power” is going to be on sex. For nine months, I’ve been wondering what to do with this final ses-sion. Then I came up with a brilliant idea that we should all dust off our bibles open them up and read Song of Solomon or Song of Songs. So, the “article” for this month is for you to read Song of Songs. If you want to read any commentaries or historical background, please do that as well. We will meet on May 17 to have a conver-sation about sex, the Bible and being Christians. It’s a very taboo subject. Americans don’t like to talk about it. After all, we were founded by Puritans! But hey, we’re all adults; it’s part of our lives; it’s part of the Bible; Western Christianity has become obsessed with what goes on (or what they think shouldn't be going on) in other people's bedrooms. In order to form a healthy, Christian understanding of sex, we might as well dis-cuss what it’s about. So, read Song of Songs, and come on May 17 prepared to be enlightened.

NB: There were some who were unhappy about the Huffington Post article I included with last month’s arti-cle on “Power” for Adult Ed. It’s inclusion certainly was not to offend anyone or to take any particular political stance. I apologize if it was perceived that way. The inclusion of the article was to illustrate how difficult it is to bring the conservative and liberal voices together for civil discourse. That particular article was the only one I could find that wasn’t a one-sided rant – that’s how bad the news is these days! In November, the 36th Conven-tion of the Diocese of El Camino Real “Resolved, That this Convention calls on all congregations in the diocese to insist on civil discourse in our parishes, advocate for civil discourse in our communities, and model civil dis-course with one another.” The April Adult Ed was an opportunity for that. Putting the Huffington Post article behind us, I hope and pray that each of you, and we (collectively) are gaining the courage, charitableness, and language with which to have these difficult conver-sations.

Fr. Ian

Wedding Gowns from Past to Present Saturday, May 13, 2017, 1 to 4 p.m. Displays of Wedding Accessories Vow Renewals — All are welcome

Schedule of event:

1:00 PM Wedding Gowns from Past to Present;

3:00 PM Renewal of Vows.

The Rev. Ian Delinger & Mayor Heidi Harmon will together preside over couples gathered to re-commit themselves to one another. All couples, all faiths, sacred and secular marriages are welcome.

Share 150 Years of Joy at St. Ste-phens Episcopal Church. Wed-ding gowns from a century ago to cowboy present will be gliding down the aisle at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church when it cele-brates 150 years of weddings May 13 at 1 p.m. The com-munity is invited to this joyful free event.

Renewal of marriage vows for all couples, all faiths at 3:00 p.m. will be topped off with cake and champagne. The Rev. Ian Delinger and Mayor Heidi Harmon will pre-

side as couples renew their marriage vows as a group.

Lynn Hollister, event planner for the occasion, said one of the gowns on display was worn by Octavia Stapelton Thompson who said her wedding gown was the only thing she rescued from the

San Francisco 1906 earthquake.

The event includes vendors who will display their services for memorable weddings and a champagne and cake re-ception provided in part by Spencer’s Market and Madon-na Inn.

Carol Misson, who is moderator and assisting in planning, said Bob Gordon, floral designer, is designing bouquets that match the era each wedding gown was worn.

All couples, singles and folks who enjoy wedding celebra-tions are welcome to share the joy at St. Stephen’s.

The Renewal of Vows includes a Certificate of Renewal if couples RSVP in advance.

http://evite.me/KRSyncZhx7.

Lynn & Lee Hollister

Francis & Ron Ewing Rev Miles Reneau

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VESTRY MEMBERS

Ian Delinger Rector Bud Zeuschner Sr. Warden Bruno Giberti Lynn Hollister Jim Murphy Carole Merrill Doris Highland Clarke Lewis Shannon Larrabee Bill Walter Chris Arndt Sexton Katie Arndt Treasurer Linda Zeuschner Clerk

Scriptures for May

May 7, 2017

Fourth Sunday of Easter Acts 2:42-47

Psalm 23 1 Peter 2:19-25 John 10:1-10

May 14, 2017

Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 7:55-60

Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 1 Peter 2:2-10 John 14:1-14

May 21, 2017

Sixth Sunday of Easter Acts 17:22-31 Psalm 66:7-18 1 Peter 3:13-22 John 14:15-21

May 28, 2017

Seventh Sunday of Easter Acts 1:6-14

Psalm 68:1-10, 33-36 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

John 17:1-11

Happy Anniversary – The Rector of St Stephen’s One Year By The Rev Ian M Delinger

The anniversary of my time at St. Stephen’s is May 1. (Coincidentally, Easter Day was the anniversary of my move back to California.) Ironically, I will be in England on the anniversary. It has been a wonderful year! Thank you to all who have made this first year smooth, joy-filled, spiritually-uplifting and nourishing, and enlightening. I am looking forward to more years as fantastic as this one!

As I discussed with the Vestry at the April meeting, I have spent the first year getting to know the St. Stephen’s community and the community of San Luis Obispo. In doing so, my aim was to re-engage St. Stephen’s with San Luis in a more deliberate way. That is taking place, and our 150th events are helping. As we all continue to do that, I will endeavor to tidy up our administrative needs. And long overdue is a new pamphlet!

One thing I believe important to do is to look back at what I said I was go-ing to do. So, I went back to my first sermon on my first day. Below is what I preached from the pulpit. The words in parenthesis are inserted from our Mission Statement. And the final sentence is both the final sentence from that very first sermon…and the sentiment I want to share again now.

The underlying principles I have for a robust Christian community at St. Stephen’s is 3-fold:

1. We come to worship God together, to share in the Body and Blood of Christ, to be spiritually energized. … [O]ur worship together will always endeavor to praise God and bring each of us closer to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Worshiping)

2. Our worship, then, is to compel us to care for one another, to love one another as Brothers and Sisters in Christ. We are to serve one anoth-er, support one another and pray for one another, and together. Our service to one another will make us a stronger Church Family. (Welcoming)

3. And lastly, our worship and our care for one another is to equip us to go out from here and serve the San Luis Obispo Community as Chris-tian witnesses of the Gospel. We should serve the wider community not to fill our pews, but simply because we are Christians. We come together for worship and fellowship to be filled with Christ in order to take Christ to others. (Working)

[…] I want us to go out of our way to do what needs to be done to serve the people of San Luis Obispo, to serve those in need, to serve God’s peo-ple, and do that as Christians.

I am an American who is an English priest. In the Church of England, so many priests build kingdoms and empires based on their very strict parish boundaries, backed by a severe lack of accountability. I don't want to build a kingdom or an empire here at St Stephen’s. I want to grow a family. Kingdoms have subjects who do the bidding of the Rector or face punish-ment...usually of the passive-aggressive kind. Families work together for the sake of the family and the greater good. Families bicker sometimes, but then come together through love, doing things in the name of the fami-ly, with pride...healthy pride. And as a Christian family, doing things in the name of the family are done in the name of Christ...and that is what I see St Stephen’s doing in San Luis. So, thank you for welcoming me into your family.

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General Information The Witness is a monthly newsletter published by St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, San Luis Obispo, CA to provide information about the parish to the congregation. Subscriptions are free to anyone. Send request along with your name and mailing address to the church office. Donations to help offset distribution costs are appreciated. Make checks payable to St. Stephen’s.

The Church’s e-mail address is: office@ststephensslo.org

The Witness Editor is Chris Kellett. Contribution of articles is encouraged. Please e-mail submissions to the editor at witness@ststephensslo.org

See the monthly calendar for the next deadline for articles. Call or email editor with any questions. © Copyright 2017 by St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Please send address corrections to: St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1344 Nipomo St., San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3935

Chocolate Factory Report There were fourteen Chocolatiers in the Chocolate Factory at St. Stephen’s working about 173 hours to make 191 pounds of chocolate Easter Eggs this year…. 128 pounds without nuts and 63 pounds with nuts. They shaped it into over 400 egg shapes of various sizes, coated them with semi sweet choc-olate and covered them in beautiful frosting flowers. 87 eggs were donated to local homeless and needy children and over $3,000 was raised for the Parish Council to donate to various local needs. Thank you to everyone who was a part of this project, either by working in the Chocolate Factory, helping at the Chocolate Egg-stravaganza 150th Anniversary Event, buying chocolate Easter eggs, or donating toward the chocolate eggs given away!

The Memorial Garden

The area for the St Stephen’s Memorial Garden was dedicated in 1991. In 2003, a committee began meeting to set written policy for the use of the Gar-den and plan physical improvements for it and the patio around it. This was completed in 2004.

The fee was set at $500 in 1991, which is the fee at present. The Vestry approved a plan put forward by The Rector to raise the fee for interment in the Me-morial Garden in line with inflation, with a grace peri-od to give time for those of you who wish to reserve your final resting place to do so at the current fee. The fee will go up substantially to $850 on November 1, 2017. This will include a linen biodegradable bag for the cremains, a plaque to be affixed to the plinth near the Memorial Garden, and the maintenance and upkeep. To reserve a spot in the Memorial Garden is easy: There is a very short form you can get from the office, fill it out, and make the payment. This will be logged in our Memorial Garden book, and after you have lived out your long and full life, where your re-mains will go will be ready. In addition to considering the Memorial Garden, I encourage you, however young or old you feel, to talk about end-of-life issues and wishes with your loved ones. If you recall, I preached about it on Lent 4. It’s actually a rewarding and spiritually-uplifting activity, which often brings families closer together.

Throughout our lives, we should pray: Direct us, O Lord, in all our doings with your most gracious favor, and further us with your continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in you, we may glorify your holy Name, and finally, by your mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Join us in welcoming the Award-winning St. Peters-burg Men’s Ensemble as they perform “The Master-pieces of Russian Classic and Sacred Choral Mu-sic” on Friday, May 12 at 7 p.m. Suggested dona-tion $ 15.

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Camp St. Andrews July 30-August 5 Boys and girls ages 8-15 are invited to attend Camp St. Andrew’s, the camp of the Diocese of El Camino Real, for a full week of fun-filled out-door activities. This traditional over-night camp program includes ar-chery, trips to the lake, tie-dye, arts and crafts, campfire skits and songs, and more!

Registration and more information can be found at www.campsaintandrews.com. Financial assistance is available through St. Stephen’s Campership Fund, and there may be carpooling available with others in our Deanery. For more information contact Kathleen at kapennington@netscape.net

Canterbury San Luis Obispo

Needs Your Support

We have one month left in our checking account!

The Episcopal Campus Ministry at Cal Poly & Cues-

ta College (SLO Canterbury / The Shire) has been

engaged in great work this academic year through

our Chaplain, Berkeley Johnson. In addition to his on

-campus work, we have students now attending

church and meeting on a regular basis, a first in the

ten years of SLO Canterbury! Our ministry has

grown also to include Berkeley serving as chaplain

of the Cal Poly Men’s Soccer Team, leading memori-

al services for families and the University when stu-

dent deaths have occurred, and being a pastoral

support and Episcopal witness to the Multicultural,

Pride, and Gender Equity Centers at Cal Poly.

Additionally, St Stephen’s has benefited from Berke-

ley’s connection with staff from Cal Poly, and the

Adult Education program there has included presen-

tations from teaching and support staff on three oc-

casions. Through this work, we are extending the

connections between students, campus, and our

faith communities. We will expand and deepen this

connection to other churches in the deanery in the

coming year. Our board has also grown this year

with new members from throughout the deanery,

bringing new skills, vision, and gifts.

This great work needs your prayers and your fi-

nancial support. Our annual budget to pay our

Chaplain and support this ministry is only

$40,000/year, of which 75% is provided through

generous contributions from individual donors

and congregations in the SLO deanery and be-

yond.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians "I have planted, Apollos

watered; but God gave the increase.” Canterbury is

a “seed ministry”, one that is planting seeds of faith

and fellowship that touches not only our churches,

but touches the lives of young people who are hun-

gry to hear and share the Good News that we have

encountered in the risen Christ. We need your finan-

cial support to continue this important work with the

students and young people among us.

You can send us your tax-deductible donation right

now in the following ways:

Send a check to SLO Canterbury, 1344 Nipomo

Street, SLO 93401

Use PayPal: www.paypal.me/CanterburySLO

Whatever way you choose to support SLO Canter-bury, we appreciate it. Campus ministry reaches well beyond the campus, and enriches us all.

Yours in Christ, Brian Spolarich Fr. Ian M. Delinger Board President Board Member St. Benedict’s St. Stephen’s, Los Osos San Luis Obispo

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Hands-On Stewardship at St. Stephen’s!

THANK YOU TO Doris Highland, Bob Levison, Kathleen Pennington, Lynn Hollister, Alison Preston, and Gail Taylor for teaching Sunday School classes in April. THANK YOU TO The Teen Class for filling plastic eggs with treats for the younger children to hunt for on Easter. THANK YOU TO Bob & Mary McCorkle, Clark, Kay and Amy Lewis, and Bud and Linda Zeuschner for hosting a Coffee Hour in April. THANK YOU TO The Chocolatiers who worked in our Chocolate Facto-ry: Katie Arndt, Carol Astaire, MaryLud Baldwin, Fr. Ian Delinger, Doris Highland, Lee Hollister, Lynn Hollister, Diane Levison, Carol Misson, Charlene Odekirk, Kathleen Pennington, Elizabeth Potter, Lynn Wiech, Bud Zeuschner. THANK YOU TO SLO Parks and Recreation for letting us use their Easter Bunny costume for our Chocolate Egg-stravaganza. THANK YOU TO Family Care Network and Women’s Shelter staff for being a part of our Chocolate Egg-stravaganza event . THANK YOU TO Everyone who ordered our Parish Council’s Choco-late Fudge Easter Eggs for their family and friends, and especially those who ordered eggs to donate to local children served by the Family Care Network, Women’s Shelter, Transitions Mental Health and Homeless Overflow Sheltering. THANK YOU TO everyone who contributed to the Food Basket for the Hungry helping to get St. Stephen’s Pantry filled up again. Yes…the pantry is full! THANK YOU TO St. Stephen’s Altar Guild for their work in preparing the Palm Crosses and decorating the church so beautifully for Easter. THANK YOU TO Katya Gotsdiner-McMahan for organizing the Long Beach College Choir Concert & Potluck. THANK YOU TO Lynn Wiech for helping with the Lent and East-ertide Service booklets.

May

BIRTHDAYS

13th

: Ngozi Agbo

14th

: Jeff Wheelwright

Lynn Hollister

16th

: Dick Riggins

18th

: Jean Arndt

19th

: Katie Arndt

29th

: Rosey Parks

If you would like your birth-day and/or wedding anniver-sary noted in The Witness please contact Ann in the parish office.

Anniversaries

25th John & Chris Kellett

Get On the Bus 2017! Nancy Priddy will be at St. Stephen's on Sunday, May 7th to speak at both the 8am & 10am services about Get on the Bus, the program that brings children and families to see their parent who is incarcerated at CMC. GotB is set for Sat. May 20th. Please see Berkeley Johnson or Gail Taylor for more information if you would like to volunteer on that day.

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Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church 1344 Nipomo Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3935

Office: 805.543.7212 Ramsden Hall 805.543.7215 Fax 805.543.0744 office@ststephensslo.org http://ststephensslo.org

MAY 2017 Key: Ramsden Hall – RH; Boydston Room – BR; Library – L

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 3:30 Celebration Committee BR

2 10am – Yoga RH 3:30-4:30 pm Handbell Choir Beginners 4:00-5:00 Interm. (Sanctuary) 5:00 Centering Prayer

3 11am Women’s Prayer Group – L 12:15pm Morning Prayer

4 5:15 Choir Rehearsal

Children's Choir 3:30 -4:30 pm Ramsden Hall

6 10am – Altar Guild

7 Easter IV 8am Holy Eucharist 10am Holy Eucharist & Sunday School

8

9 10am – Yoga RH 3:30-4:30 pm Handbell Choir Beginners 4:00-5:00 Interm. (Sanctuary)

5:00 Centering Prayer

10 8am Bro. of St. Andrew B-fast – RH 11am Women’s Prayer Group – L 12:15pm Holy Eucharist

11 5:15 Choir Rehearsal

12 Children's Choir 3:30 -4:30 pm Ramsden Hall 7pm St. Petersburg Quartet Concert

13 1pm-4pm Bridal Show & Renewal of Marriage Vows

14 Easter V Mother’s Day 8am Holy Eucharist 10am Holy Eucharist & Sunday School

15

16 10am – Yoga RH 3:30-4:30 pm Handbell Choir Beginners 4:00-5:00 Interm. (Sanctuary)

5:00 Centering Prayer

17 11am Women’s Prayer Group – L 12:15pm Healing and Holy Eucharist 6:30pm Adult Ed & Potluck

18 5:15 Choir Rehearsal

19 Children's Choir 3:30 -4:30 pm Ramsden Hall

20 Get On The Bus CMC Children’s Visit

21 Easter VI 8am Holy Eucharist 10am Holy Eucharist & Sunday School

22 Witness Deadline

23 3:30-4:30 pm Handbell Choir Beginners 4:00-5:00 Interm. (Sanctuary) 5:00 Centering Prayer

24 11am Women’s Prayer Group – L 12:15pm Holy Eucharist

25 5:15 Choir Rehearsal

26

Children's Choir 3:30 -4:30 pm Ramsden Hall

27

28 Easter VII 8am Holy Eucharist 10am Holy Eucharist & Sunday School 11:30 Vestry

29 Memorial Day Parish Office Closed

30 10am – Yoga RH 3:30-4:30 pm Handbell Choir Beginners 4:00-5:00 Interm. (Sanctuary) 5:30 Centering Prayer

31 12:15pm Holy Eucharist

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Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid

San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Permit No. 57

ST. STEPHEN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

1344 NIPOMO ST SAN LUIS OBISPO CA 93401-3935

Address Service Requested

The Witness

St. Stephen’s Services

Sunday 8:00 AM Holy Eucharist without music 9:00 AM Bible Forum in Boydston Room 10:00 AM Holy Eucharist Rite II with music

Sunday School and Child Care available during 10:00 AM service

Tuesday 5:00 PM Centering Prayer

Wednesday 12:15 PM Holy Eucharist, Morning Prayer, or Healing Service

Office Hours Monday—Thursday 9:00 PM– 1:00 PM

1344 Nipomo Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3935

Office: 805-543-7212 Fax: 805-543-0744 Email: office@ststephensslo.org Website: http://ststephensslo.org

St . Stephen’s Easter 2017