January 27, 2023   

This Sunday (Jan. 29), immediately following 5pm Mass (6:20- 8:30pm). Join us for a Night of Blessings for Teens (6th-12th grade) and Parents at St. Stephen the Martyr! This night is about supporting you, the parents, and your teens together. We hope you’re able to join us! If you like, please invite a friend. It will be a great night!   Please RSVP (or regrets) at the bottom of this email.

For Parents: 
Featuring a wine & cheese reception with other parents, and a message and prayer with Fr. Ed. Teens join parents for Prayer, Adoration and Connection

For Teens: 
Food and Fun in the Parish Hall-
High School Hangout & Games with a Message
Middle School Hangout & Games with a Message
Join Parents for Prayer, Adoration and Connection
                   
Please RSVP or send regrets by clicking HERE.

Questions? (Adults) text Shannon Battles @ (253) 797-1454 or email sbattles@ststephenslife.com

Note: If you want to bring younger children (5th grade and younger), they are welcome, but will need to stay with a parent upstairs. (We cannot accommodate them downstairs.) Please bring something for them to do.

February 2^ndis the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas in honor of Jesus, the Light of the World!

Partners in the Gospel is a strategic pastoral planning effort taking place across the Archdiocese of Seattle to re-invigorate and renew our local Catholic Church. Today we face many realities that impact parish life and make it difficult to fully live out our mission. This archdiocesan-wide renewal effort, led by the Holy Spirit and grounded in prayer, will help us better support vibrant, sustainable, mission-focused parish communities across the entire Archdiocese of Seattle. To learn more about Partners in the Gospel, please visit ststephenslife.com/partners-in-the-gospel or archseattle.org/Partners.

Menu:  After the 8:30 AM Mass - French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, juice, coffee. After the 11:00 AM Mass - Monte Cristo sandwiches, juice, coffee. Good will offering requested: Net proceeds will go to support our St. Stephen the Martyr Seminarians & vocations. All arewelcome!

Sunday, February 12, 9:45 am -10:45 am. Are you a new volunteer or just curious about sharing your talents at St Stephen the Martyr?  Please join us to chat about the best fit for you, pick up a volunteer packet and answer questions.  

We are forming two music choirs for young people who are interested in learning to sing, grow in their musicianship skills and pray and learn the sacred music of the Liturgy. Begins February 17 (schedules of dates will be handed out).

Children’s  Choir :for young people from 3^rd Grade up to Junior High youths 12 years of age. Meets most Fridays from 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm.

Youth (Teens) Choir: For teenagers in Middle School (Junior High) and High School years. Meets most Fridays from 4:30 pm – 5:15pm. . 

For more information and to register, contact Niña de Jesus at ndejesus@ststephenslife.com  or 206-859-8902. More information will be added on our website at http://ststephenslife.com/children-youth-choirs

Are you a Baptized Catholic Who has Never Received Confirmation? Wouldn’t it be a blessing in your life to receive the GIFT of the Holy Spirit through Confirmation? Confirmation Sessions take place on Tuesdays, 7-9 PM!, Downstairs in room 127.To learn more about our Adult Confirmation program (adults over the age of 19 years) call or email Anne Merklin 253-480-7108 (126) or AMerklin@ststephenslife.com.

To view our annual report in Flipbook form, please click the image above. To download the original PDF, please click here.

Father Martin Staurt Kibiriage, who was sponsored by our parish for his seminary studies, was ordained in 2021. He currently is caring for the schools in his parish. He recently sent these pictures from St. Camillus Kalubanda Primary School with this request: “The Classroom block is in a very sorry state and needs urgent repair. Like you see that the walls are falling down. I stood beside it with two students, but l was afraid that it may fall on us. Pity those 420 pupils who study from it inside. They are guarded by poles. What needs to be done, is a new structure. The estimated cost is 20 million shillings. Thanks. We continue to pray for guidance and help.” The  exchange is about $7,000 U.S. Please prayerfully consider donating to the fund for the new building. If you write a check, please note Fr.Martin - Masaka in the memo. If you give online, simply click the image above. Select AFRICAN MISSION -MASAKA DIOCESE from the drop down list and note Fr. Martin in the “Other” box. Questions? Contact Diane Cooper at iamdcooper@gmail.com. May God bless you richly for your generosity.

Prayer Partners stand vigil at the Cedar River Clinic, 263 Rainier Ave S, Renton. They stand on Wednesday 9:30-10:30am. Prayer partners are also there Thursdays 9:30-Noon.  Care Net Ultrasound Mobile unit is in Renton from 9:30am-2:30pm every Thursday each month. Partners also stand on Fridays 11:00am-Noon and Saturdays 9:30am-11:30am.
February 3 - Respect Life ministry Eucharistic Adoration  6:30pm - 7:30pm.  All Life Ministries welcomed.  
February 9 - Respect Life Ministry Meeting 7pm - Our meeting will be on site at St Stephen the Martyr church building office conference room.
February 18 -  Renton 40 Days for Life Kickoff -  more information to follow.
February 22 - April 2 - Renton 40 Days for Life Campaign begins - Visit the St. Stephen Respect Life webpage: https://ststephenslife.com/respect-life for more information and to sign in and up to stand vigil in the Renton campaign. Scroll down to find the URL or QR code for the Renton 40 Days for Life campaign. For questions contact Mary K at: 19jmj54@comcast.net or Bernie W at: bkwit6gc@msn.com    

Would you like to start your New Year in a position that makes a difference? St. Barbara Catholic Church is looking for a Pastoral Assistant for Administration Level 2. This position offers a variety of duties, projects, and responsibilities that aid in Parish life and activities. The successful candidate will be a person who is:
 Able to multi-task, and has effective communication skills
 Able to work on a team and independently, a self-starter
 Organized and flexible to prioritize activities
 Able to take on new assignments and investigate workable solutions
 Has a working knowledge of MS office products (Word, Excel, Outlook required,
PowerPoint and Publisher preferred)
 Experienced with data entry and data bases
 Experienced and knowledgeable with Information Technology a plus
This position is Monday through Friday, on-site 25 hours per week and reports to the
Pastoral Associate. Starting salary is $20.00 to $25.00 per hour depending on experience. Benefits are commensurate to Archdiocesan guidelines.
 Prior in-office administrative support experience preferred
 Duties, projects, and responsibilities will occur in multiple Parish buildings
 Applicant must be able to negotiate stairs and walkways, indoors and outdoors
 Archdiocese of Seattle Safe Environment Training and a clear background check required If interested, please contact St. Barbara Church for more information. Attention: Valerie Winston Healy, paa@stbarbarachurch.org or 360-886-2229

For Parents of 7th Through 12th Graders
All youth, 7th grade through 12th, who are not confirmed, are welcome to join me (in lieu of our youth minister Debbie Blomquist’s retirement (~Dec. 31st ) I’ve jumped in and started evaluating and reorganizing the Confirmation class) on January 15th at 3:30pm. We are welcoming more students and volunteers. We’ll be emphasizing an experiential encounter with Jesus (Using Fr. Watson’s Sacred Story Youth program) along with learning more about our faith and the Holy Spirit. Shannon Battles’ (Children, Youth and Family Ministry) is helping me in the interim as we build our youth programming. For more information email teens@ststephenslife.com. - Fr Ed

Our livestream broadcasts have been upgraded with the addition of the video hosting service, Vimeo. Click the image 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.