Thank you!

Thank you! I continue to be amazed by the generosity of so many people at St. Stephen’s.

First of all, thank you for the generous gift given to me and the staff at St. Stephen’s. It’s a tangible way of knowing that our efforts are appreciated. And it inspires us to re-dedicate ourselves to doing the best jobs we are able.

And thank you for all the work you are doing to keep St. Stephen’s standing as an ensign and witness on North Broom Street. First, we are a small group, and your presence in worship makes a HUGE difference. Second, some of us have the gift of hospitality. The way you go out of the way to greet people is noticeable. And some of us have the gift of joy – with your genuine smiles you set relaxed mood of welcome and expectation that something good will happen. And some of us have the gift persnickettiness. This is not actually listed as a gift of the Holy Spirit by St. Paul, but without you mistakes would go unnoticed until it was too late; our livestream would be less watchable, the sanctuary wouldn’t look nearly as nice, etc all these “little” thing add up! And some of us have the gift of engineering. Paul doesn’t list that one either (he missed a few). We have an old building, and it takes lots of work, persistence, observation, knowledge etc. to keep it going.

And did I mention generosity? Right, I did. Twice now. One in the area of money, and one in the area of giving of yourself and your gifts and abilities.

In a recent conversation, one of our members said, “There is no deadwood here.” What you do and who you are gets noticed. Thank you.

And Happy New Year!

Pastor Mark Walters