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| For more information on Episcopal worship, please explore these online resources: What To Expect When You Visit What Makes Us Anglican An Outline of Faith What Is The Episcopal Church (USA)? |
| Please do not park on the church side of the street (Regatta Dr), as it is difficult to see oncoming traffic and, therefore, very dangerous. This request applies to both of our services and the service in the main church building. Services 9 and 11AM. All are Welcome! |
St Stephen Episcopal Church, Oak Harbor, is a fully supporting member of the Episcopal Church, U.S.A.. We are not affiliated with the Anglican Communion Network, nor with any schismatic or reform movement or group which protests the Faith and Practice of the Episcopal Church, U.S.A.. We are a family centered, lay led, clergy guided, Christ governed community of Christians. We invite you to join us in our worship and service of Almighty God. Episcopal worship is rooted in an appreciation of the Holiness of God. A God who communicates himself, and yet is beyond our knowing. Divinity expressed in the humanity of Jesus has opened our way to the heart of God. Baptism is our intentional immersion into the Love of God. Our responsive relationship is sealed in the outward and visual sign of baptism. It is an eternal covenant and an inward grace is bestowed. |
| "Christ when he was lifted up did not say,'I draw some people unto myself'. He said, 'I draw, all, all, all." Archbishop Desmond Tutu |
| Contact Information for the Diocese of Olympia The Right Reverend Greg Rickel (Bishop): Phone: (206)325-4200x2010 The Right Reverend Bavi Edna "Nedi" Rivera (Bishop Suffragan )Phone: (206)325-4200x2030 Tiffany Brannon- (Adminstrative Assistant to the Bishops) Phone: (206)325-4200x2010 |
ST STEPHEN EPISCOPAL CHURCH
A Faith Community Serving Oak Harbor on North Whidbey Island
Bishop Greg Rickel
| Our Sister Church |
| Announcements and Dates for the Faithful |
| St Stephen Episcopal Church Oak Harbor, WA |
9 & 11 AM Sunday School at 11 All Saints Chapel at 555 S. E. Regatta Dr., Oak Harbor, WA Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2754 Oak Harbor, WA 98277 Information Phone: 360-279-0715 |
| NEWS FLASH: The majority of Episcopalians in the United States voted to stay in the Episcopal Church today. "They did so by going to church, by receiving Communion, by participating in God’s mission and ministry, by praying, preaching and acting on God’s holy word, by working with youth and the elderly, by doing all the myriad things that have been doing through the history of the church, and by proclaiming, in many and varied ways, the love of God for all of God’s beloved children." The Rev Lauren Stanley |
Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence whereever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer for those in the Armed Forces of our Country. Book of Common Prayer (823) |
| Make the Pledge!! Shop Green! Use Your Shopping Bags and Make a Difference in our Environment!! |
| **The Episcopal Reading Group** will be 6:30PM on December 2 at Virginia Wagner’s home. We are reading The Shack by William P. Young and Wayne Jacobsen & Brad Cummings. Contact Virginia for more information. |
| Diocesan School of Ministry and Theology Winter Schedule January 10, 24, February 7, 21, 2009 The Christian Story 102 :Church Planting and Conflict in the First Century: the Epistles and the Acts of the Apostles Class time: 8:30 – 11:20 a.m. Instructor: The Rev. Alan Mack The Christian Story 105 The Reformation and the Anglican Church Class time: 1:10 – 4:00 p.m. Instructor: Dr. Ron Schwartz, Ph.D. Spiritual Growth 104 Making Moral Choices in an Immoral World: Ethics Class time: 8:30 – 11:20 a.m. Instructor: The Rev. Stephen Moore Spiritual Growth 102 Faith in Search of Understanding: Theology Class time: 1:10 – 4:00 p.m. Instructor: The Rev. Richard Buhrer Worship 108 Worship and the Visual Arts Class time: 8:30 - 11:00 a.m. Instructor: The Rev. Dan Conklin Spiritual Growth 105 Celtic Spirituality Class time: 1:10 - 4:00 p.m. Instructor: Mr. Tom Cashman Worship 103 Chanting the Daily Office as Spiritual Practice Class time: 1:10 - 4:00 p.m. Instructor: Mr. Joseph Anderson This class will meet at the Thomsen Chapel of St. Mark’s Cathedral, 1245 10th Avenue E., Seattle, WA 98102 Practical Ministry Skills 102 Conversational Spanish The class will meet at the St. Nicholas Building at St. Mark’s Cathedral, room 216, ten Thursdays January 15 through March 19th. Class times: Thursdays, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Instructor: The Rev. Maria Jimenez For more information contact Phone: (206) 826-2029 or |
| Convention Address Diocese of Olympia November 14, 2008 The Rt. Rev. Gregory Rickel "One other follow up I owe you from last year. In regard to St. Stephen’s, Oak Harbor, and St. Charles, Poulsbo. I mentioned last year our beginning work with everyone in these covenants. I can report that this year has seen much good work done, and even in this very moment, we continue to work on those relationships and in finding ways for all in this situation to move ahead. I want to commend the people of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, our Episcopal remnant there for their great work. When they arrived back on that property to continue in the place they have called home for years, they came with 12 people. They now have 57, and they continue to grow! So, some amazing thanks to their leadership, lay and ordained. Many of you know that Rachel Taber-Hamilton has accepted a call to be the Director of Pastoral Care at the Maine General Hospital System, thus resigning from St. Stephen’s. Rachel and I are referring to this as a long working sabbatical, and perhaps the longest commute of anyone I know! I think [her husband] Nigel [Taber-Hamilton] would like to think of it as that as well. I can assure you of our work with the vestry there and our commitment to have leadership quickly in place. If you doubt that, I urge you to speak with any of St. Stephen’s Episcopal faithful who are here." |
| Photo Courtesy of Rev Rachel Taber-Hamilton |
Local wisdom: Five things to know about being Episcopalian By Rochelle Feil World staff writer The Rev. Patton Boyle of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Wenatchee says he first considered becoming an Episcopal priest when he was 11 years old. He changed his mind when he reached high school, deciding he would be happy to be active in the church. A drive with the bishop of Hong Kong, when Boyle was about 17, caused him to question that decision. The bishop wouldn't accept young Boyle's excuse that he could not imagine himself standing up in front of people every Sunday and preaching. "I felt called into it (the ministry). It was something I was, for a while, anxious to avoid, but it continued to pursue me," says Boyle. "I could ignore that calling to the ministry for a while, but I knew it wasn't going to go away." Now, after being an ordained minister for 38 years and a priest for 37, Boyle says it's part of the natural rhythm of his life. "Ministry makes introverts more extroverted. ... I tended to think too deeply about stuff when I was younger. I think I've mellowed over the years." The Episcopal Church is a liturgical church, says Boyle. "The liturgical worship works on both a conscious and an unconscious level of my being. I miss it when I don't have it." 1. Worship is at the core of the Episcopal Church Episcopalians are united by their worship. The service is done in nearly the same way every week. If you're the kind of person who wants a lot of variations in the service, then there are other churches that might suit your needs better. "The central and organizing function for the Episcopalian Church is going to worship. Episcopalians tend to get spiritual needs fulfilled in the traditional Episcopalian worship." All churches use the Book of Common Prayer in worship services, and in most churches, communion is performed every Sunday as a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Morning prayer is common across Episcopal churches. 2. Worshipers don't follow a strict code The Episcopal Church approaches the faith from three basic standpoints: Scripture, reason and tradition. Episcopalians aren't expected to accept everything they are told or always agree with the priest or other leaders. "They take what is of value and use it. I expect them to disagree with me at times. ... The church expects people to make their own moral and ethical decisions." Parishioners are asked to explore issues thoughtfully and prayerfully and to come to their own decisions. The approach is more like, "I respect your opinion, and I will think deeply about that, but that may not be, in the end, what I decide is right for me." Parishioners make decisions based on thorough study, reason, prayer and examining one's own conscience rather than having them prescribed to them. 3. Parishioners encompass a wide range of views Episcopalians think differently about a wide range of issues, policy and politics. "We disagree often, politically and doctrinally. ... But we have a sense of unity. We respect the fact that we don't agree. Some people wish we would agree. I, personally, don't want a church where everyone agrees. I'm not looking for a church where everyone sees things the same way I do." 4. It has elements of Catholic and Protestant traditions The Episcopalian church split off from the Catholic Church in the 16th century as part of the Protestant Reformation. In structure and worship, the Episcopal Church continues to be similar to the Catholic Church in many ways, but there's no Episcopal equivalent to a pope or a cardinal. Also, clergy can marry and women clergy are accepted. Even the U.S. presiding bishop is a woman. Private confession is an option, but not required in the church. 5. Episcopalians are part of the Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion began with the Church of England separating from the Roman Catholic Church in the middle of the 16th century as part of the Reformation. It is now found in 160 countries throughout the world. The Episcopal Church is the American branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Although Anglicans share in a fairly similar form of liturgical worship, not all Anglicans think alike. "There are vast cultural and theological differences within the church. For example, most of the African churches were started by very conservative English missionaries and, thus, tend to have a rather conservative, literal approach to scripture, the authority of their bishops and social issues, including human sexuality. The American churches evolved in a totally different cultural, political and theological context. ... There's a tremendous clash in approaches" between African and American Anglicans, Boyle said. Many of the African bishops are demanding that the Americans approach the church and religion the same way they do. "The differences are so vast that they are not likely to get easily resolved. Part of what they are demanding is that we all think alike. To us it's normal to have differences of opinion. For us, our unity isn't found in thinking alike. It is found in our common worship." Rochelle Feil: 664-7153 feil@wenworld.com Local Wisdom appears weekly in one of The Wenatchee World's Features sections. Know someone who might make a good source? Send an e-mail, with "Local Wisdom" in the subject line, to features@wenworld.com. |
| The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions. They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest. UN Millennium Development Goals |
