On Sunday 29th September, St Stephen’s celebrated its Harvest Festival.

At the 9.30am Mass, members of the Sunday Club performed in a funny and creative sketch about the ‘Parable of the Sower’.  At the end of the service, two members of the Sunday Club were baptised and congratulated by all of the church family.

At the 11.00am Mass, we considered what it means to offer our ‘first-fruits’ to God; and as we did so, we were surrounded by beautiful Harvest decorations provided by Kate McCall and members of her team.  It is obvious that Kate has a real gift for interior design!

 

On Sunday 26th May (Rogation Sunday), a group of children and adults visited the Meadow Court Farm in St Andrew’s, where they were given a fabulous tour.

The group saw the cows returning back to the farm from the fields, the milking of the cows using special machines and young calves (one was only 3 days old) in a separate barn.

Following the tour, the group tasted a selection of delicious cheeses (made from the milk produced at the farm) and biscuits. Many thanks to Ray Watts for a wonderful visit and to Tony and Ann Goss for organising it!

 

On Wednesday 22nd May, Fr John was invited to address the Monthly Prayer Breakfast of the States of Deliberation of Guernsey, presided by Jonathan Le Tocq, Secretary of State and Minister for External Affairs.

Using Acts 15 as his text, Fr John suggested that the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem was instructive both for the States of Guernsey and for the modern-day Christian Church.

 

On Saturday 27th April, St Stephen’s organised a posh Spring Tea Party which was held in the Community Centre.  Ladies were invited to wear hats and men were asked to don buttonholes.  Guests were then royally spoilt by a magnificent collection of sandwiches, quiches, cakes and tarts.

Many thanks to Jean Le Huray and her team for all of their hard work, and to everyone for looking so elegant!

 

 

 

This year, St Stephen’s celebrated Holy Week with Masses on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday; a Mass and a Watch on Maundy Thursday; the Liturgy of Good Friday during the morning and the Stations of the Cross in the afternoon; the Great Easter Vigil on Saturday evening; and celebratory Masses on Easter Sunday.

Below, you will see photos of:

The Altar of Repose (in the Lady Chapel) on Maundy Thursday

and The Garden Tomb.

Alleluia, Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed, Alleluia!

 

 

On Sunday 31st March after the 11.00am Mass, Hazel and John Greany shared the celebration of their 60th wedding anniversary with champagne and a beautiful cake for the whole congregation.

They were married at St Stephen’s Church on 4th April 1959.

Congratulations, John and Hazel!

 

 

On Sunday 16th December, various groups from the St Stephen’s Community (Guides, Scouts, Brownies, ‘Little Treasures’ Toddlers, Choir and Church members young and old) came together to produce a ‘Christmas Stocking’ musical extravaganza.  Just as different gifts are extracted from a stocking on Christmas Day, so each group came with its own talent and gift which had been prepared:  a song, a carol, a skit or a play.

A great time was had by all (including by Fr John, who played the role of a gumpy innkeeper), and after carols were sung, everyone enjoyed mince pies and refreshments.

Monies collected at the event were donated to the Tumaini Fund and to Mission Aviation Fellowship.

Many thanks to Ann Goss for the organisation of this pleasant afternoon – the beginning of a new tradition at St Stephen’s?

 

During the months of December, January and February, St Stephen’s is privileged to welcome Joshua (‘Josh’) Paine to our parish.

Josh, a Guernsey native, works as Assistant Registrar at the Guernsey Harbour Authority and is married to José.

They have one daughter, Jemimah, who lives in London.

Josh and Jo worship at Holy Trinity Church in St Peter Port and have been involved in various activities and ministries of that church over the years.

Recently, Josh decided to gain a broader experience of the Anglican Church in Guernsey and asked if he could join us for a time.

We are obviously delighted!

Thanks to hours of patient, hard work put in by Anne Le Maitre, Beth Bourgaize and their mother Dorothy Harper, St Stephen’s Church was appropriately decorated for the Requiem Mass which was celebrated on Remembrance Sunday (11th November).

A beautiful tribute to those men and women who sacrificed themselves for us and our freedom.

From 6th-10th August, Fr John Moore provided short talks on Guidelines, the daily programme aired by BBC Radio Guernsey.

Given the brilliant summer weather that we have had recently, Fr John chose various scenes from the Bible that take place in the sea as a basis for his reflections.

Scriptures used for the talks included:

• Exodus 14 (the parting of the Red Sea)
• Jonah 1 and 2 (the swallowing of Jonah by a giant fish)
• Luke 5. 1-3 (Jesus preaches from Simon’s boat on the Sea of Galilee)
• Mark 4. 35-41 (Christ calms the wind and the waves in the Sea of Galilee)
• Matthew 14. 22-33 (Our Lord walks on the water of the Sea of Galilee and encourages Peter to do the same).