July 30, 2021

New Masks Guidelines for Mass this Weekend:

The Delta variant, which is highly transmissible, is now widespread across the United States and has quadrupled the case count this month alone. Reports acknowledge that even people who have been vaccinated may still transmit the virus and be infected by this Delta variant. Because of this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated is masking guidance, recommending that everyone wear masks in indoor public spaces – even if they’ve been vaccinated.

Due to the risks of the Delta variant and our desire to protect our children and the vulnerable in our communities, we are recommending mask wearing during indoor Mass celebrations.

Given the rise in cases, it is also a good time to remind people of the safety basics:

Do not come to Mass if you are feeling ill.
Do not come if you have a temperature.
Wash your hands frequently.
Avoid "close contact" with people outside your family, which is 15 minutes of face-to-face contact within 6 feet of an infected person.
Wear a mask.

Annual Catholic Appeal Progress

We have reached our Parish goal of $185,000!

THANK YOU to all who have pledged!
432 families have pledged $ 185,158! We greatly appreciate your generous support of the archdiocese and our parish. If you have not yet given, we will continue to accept pledges and all new pledges will come to St. Stephen the Martyr.

Gifts of any amount and one time gifts are welcome, and your gift will make a big impact on many lives - Thank you!

To make a donation click here.

Join Us for RCIA Inquiry Sessions Starting Tuesday, Sept 21st!

Do you or someone you know wish to learn about the Catholic faith and receive the Sacraments of Initiation?
INQUIRY SESSIONS are for
▪ Those who want to learn about the Catholic faith.

▪ Those in other faith traditions who are interested in joining the Catholic Church

.▪ Adult Catholics who have not received all their Sacraments.
Inquiry Sessions for RCIA are Tuesdays, 7:00pm - 9:00pm in the parish Social Hall (and will meet all covid-19 restrictions/guidelines).
If you have any questions, please contact Anne Merklin, sstmassociate@gmail.com or call 253-480-7108.

Vicar Status at St. Stephen the Martyr

We are fortunate to have Fr. Vinner Raj with us for the month of July. He will be traveling back to India on August 1st for one year while he reapplies for an R1 Visa that would allow him to return to the Archdiocese of Seattle. Fr. Dominic is going home to Malawi, Africa for a vacation July 22- August 24. He is currently committed to 3 days/week at St. Stephens and 3 days at Holy Rosary in Edmonds. He is committed here until Fr. Robert arrives from India. Fr. Robert is in India awaiting a visa appointment with the American Consulate. I received this news today (7/20/21): The embassy is open and is accepting only the student and emergency visas at this time. We are also dealing with the continued travel ban in the US from travelers from India. In the meantime, I hope to be on retreat/vacation July 25-29 at Duchovny Dom Byzantine Monastery in Weston, Oregon. You will remain in my thoughts and prayers. - Fr Ed

Support Your Priests Sunday!

Calling all Parishioners! Join the Seven Sisters and the Fasting Brothers here at St. Stephens in saying a novena for our Priests, in particular for Fr. Ed and Fr. Dominic, and Fr. Vinnerraj. Parousia and Divine Renovation sponsored a novena for the intentions of priests commencing on Tuesday, July 27th, leading up to the feast day of St. John Vianney (patron of priests) on Wednesday, August 4th, 2021. Lay people are encouraged to give their parish priest a token of love, thanksgiving and support for his ministry on the Sunday preceding this feast day. This may take many forms, such as gifts of money, and other tokens, cards and letters of thanks and encouragement, fasting and other acts of penance for our priest may be offered. Read here for more information: https://www.parousiamedia.com/support-your-priest-sunday-2021/Click here for the novena: https://www.parousiamedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/20210727_SYPS_Novena_v02.pdf

Email, text or call Diem Hallaq for any inquiries about joining a Seven Sisters group or about this event. diemhq75@gmail.com or (206) 751-6643.

Family Fun August 8

Enjoy fun activities as a family, make new friends and maybe even challenge Fr. Ed or our resident seminarian to a 'friendly' game following the 11:00am mass this Sunday, August 8th. Bring a picnic lunch and blanket if you like! Games include Croquet, Spike Ball, Ultimate Disc Game, Badminton, Lawn Darts, Bean Bag Toss and Bocce Ball. Join us on the lawns behind and to the right of the Marian Grotto. All are most welcome!

Grief Ministry

If you are grieving the death of a loved one, come find strength and compassion with the St. Stephen’s Virtual Grief Support Meeting on Sunday, August 15th at 1:00pm. Our topic will be “Guilt—If Only….". For more information and to register, please contact Sharon Rasmussen at srasmussen910@yahoo.com. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes…for the old order has passed away.” Revelation 21, 4

Welcome Back to Mass at St Stephens!

If you have been away for a while, we want to extend a big invitation to you to join us in person for Mass! You will certainly note some changes to how things happen at Saturday Vigil and Sunday Masses. Following the Archdiocese recent guidelines, we are making the following changes:

Registration is no longer required to attend Mass!
Seating will be first come, first served.
Seating capacity is limited. Overflow to the Underground Church will take place at the 8:30 and 11:00 AM Masses.
Everyone is strongly encouraged to wear a mask.
There will be separate sections for distanced and no-distanced seating.

These guidelines could be relaxed in the future, stayed tuned for more updates.

Tips for the best Mass experience:

There is no Underground Mass for Saturday Vigil, so please arrive early as capacity is limited.
Sunday 8:30 am and 11:00 am the Underground Church in the Hall is available for Mass via Video with Communion served, if you prefer or if upstairs is full.
Sunday 8:30 am Mass usually has more seating available.
If you require seating assistance please arrive 15-20 minutes early.
Patience is a virtue, (and a blessing)!

Please arrive early!

We look forward to seeing you - God Bless!

St. Stephens' Medical Closet

The St. Stephen's Medical Closet provides free and easy access to medical equipment for St. Stephen's parishioners and their families. Parishioners can borrow donated equipment for as long as they need it, returning it when the need is no longer there. There are no fees. We run solely on charitable community giving.If you are in need of medical equipment or would like to donate medical equipment, please contact one of the following team members: Donna Williamson 253-854-1290 Willi3_5@q.com or Jennifer Walker 253-985-0109.

School Supplies
If any parishioner has children in need of school supplies, please advise what is needed and the approximate cost. Send requests to Darlene: darsimpson@gmail.com or via text : 206-369-1869. Outreach will try to assist.

Respect Life

Dear Parish family and friends. The month of July is upon us, which means it’s time for our Respect Life Ministry to join with our Knights of Columbus council in supporting 4US (For Ultra Sound). 4US is a local respect life charity, who have over the years, with our help, furnished ultrasound machines to pregnancy centers here in Washington and across the US.
The 4US mission is to illuminate hope for pregnant women in crisis through the power of ultrasound. Remember, 96% of women viewing their baby on ultrasound, opt to keep the baby. A powerful way they can do that is with help from our parish family and the Knights of Columbus. Please go to https://4us.org/adopt-a-center/about to learn more about this wonderful life saving organization and consider donating, so that we at SSTM can continue to stand for Stand for Life.

Records Update!

It has become evident that our parish database is in dire need of an update! So many folks have changed their contact information or had children that our records are now inaccurate or incomplete. Please click the image to go directly to our online update form.

St Stephen's Now Livestreaming on Vimeo!

Our livestream broadcasts have recently been upgraded with the addition of the video hosting service, Vimeo. Click the image above or visit https://www.ststephenslife.com/holy-mass-live-stream where you can enjoy Mass and devotions live, within a media player right on our parish website (yes, you can expand to full screen). Want to watch yesterday's Mass? In our new Vimeo player the liturgy won't be interrupted with commercials! Still a big Facebook or Youtube fan? No worries; our liturgies will continue to be simulcast to those platforms as well.

Little Saints Preschool

Although it has been a challenging year for all of us in many ways, we have been blessed to be open this year. Our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles have been AMAZING as they adapted schedules and made sure their children arrived ready to go each day. THANK YOU! If you are interested in registering your child or grandchild for Fall, 2021 please contact Abbie Nelson: sstm.littlesaints@gmail.com

Want to Learn More?

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