St. Stephen's Church
Episcopalians
What we believe
We Episcopalians believe in a loving, liberating, and life-giving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As constituent members of the Anglican Communion in the United States, we are descendants of and partners with the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church, and are part of the third largest group of Christians in the world.
We believe in following the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection saved the world.
We have a legacy of inclusion, aspiring to tell and exemplify God’s love for every human being; women and men serve as bishops, priests, and deacons in our church. Laypeople and clergy cooperate as leaders at all levels of our church. Leadership is a gift from God, and can be expressed by all people in our church, regardless of sexual identity or orientation.
We believe that God loves you – no exceptions.
The Jesus Movement:
What is the Jesus Movement?
The Jesus Movement is the ongoing community of people who center their lives on Jesus and following him into loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God, each other and creation.
Together, we follow Jesus as we love God with our whole heart, soul and mind and love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40), and restore each other and all of creation to unity with God in Christ (BCP, p. 855).
Jesus launched this movement when he welcomed the first disciples to follow his loving, liberating, life-giving Way. Today, we participate in his movement with our whole lives: our prayer, worship, teaching, preaching, gathering, healing, action, family, work, play and rest.
In all things, we seek to be loving, liberating and life-giving—just like the God who formed all things in love; liberates us all from prisons of mind, body and spirit; and gives life so we can participate in the resurrection and healing of God’s world.
TRY THIS: Begin your day by asking: How could my words, actions and heart reflect the loving, liberating, life-giving way of Jesus? Ask God to help you, especially at decision points.
At day’s end, with genuine curiosity and zero judgment, ask: When did I see myself or others being loving, liberating or life-giving today? Where do I wish I’d seen or practiced Jesus’ Way?
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God is love, and God’s very being is a trinity of loving relationship: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In Christ, God invites us to share that love; wherever there is pain or alienation, God longs to knit all people and creation back into wholeness and relationship.
As the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, and followers of Jesus’ Way, we seek to live like him. We’re serious about moving out to grow loving, liberating, life-giving relationships with God (evangelism); to grow those relationships with each other (reconciliation); and to grow those relationships with all of creation (creation care).
TRY THIS: Look around and notice wherever you see people nurturing relationship 1) with God, 2) with each other and 3) with creation. What’s happening? What’s helping people to heal and live in sync with God, with each other and with the earth? What are the fruits of these relationships?
The Presiding Bishop Michael Curry
"Being a Christian is not essentially about joining a church or being a nice person, but about following in the footsteps of Jesus, taking his teachings seriously, letting his Spirit take the lead in our lives, and in so doing helping to change the world from our nightmare into God’s dream.” ― Michael Curry, Crazy Christians: A Call to Follow Jesus
The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry is Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church. He is the Chief Pastor and serves as President and Chief Executive Officer, and as Chair of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church.
Presiding Bishop Curry was installed as the 27th Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church on November 1, 2015. He was elected to a nine-year term and confirmed at the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City, UT, on June 27, 2015.
"If it's not about love,
it's not about God."
SUSPENDING IN-PERSON WORSHIP: A LETTER FROM BISHOP SEAN
MARCH 12, 2020
Dear People of God:
Today, I write with regret to tell you that I am suspending Sunday worship effectively Sunday, March 15. The COVID-19 epidemic is spreading so quickly that I cannot in good conscience permit gatherings that could easily hasten the spread of the disease and contribute to the collapse of our health care system.
I reached this decision after consultation with the Standing Committees, and it is based on the best public health advice available to me. My only concerns are the safety of the people of our dioceses and the welfare of the communities in which we live and work. As Christians, we are obligated to care for our neighbors and the vulnerable among us, and in the circumstances now before us, we can best do that by helping to slow the spread of the virus.
Doing our part to slow the spread of COVID-19 will require willingness to make sacrifices and to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. I urged our congregations to explore online worship through the helpful guidelines on the partnership website. I am aware, however, that it may take some time for many of our congregations to begin offering worship in this way.
When we embarked on this experiment for the sake of the gospel, we knew that the road ahead of us would be rocky at times. This is a challenge we did not foresee, yet I am confident that we can confront it with the same courage, the same resilience, and the same deep faith in a loving God that has marked our collaboration from the outset.
As we continue finding new ways to meet this challenge, I ask you to join me in praying for the people of our partnership, for the most vulnerable members of our congregations and communities, and for the health care workers on whom we all depend.
Faithfully,
Sean
For Pastoral emergencies, questions or concerns please feel free to contact Pastor Kim Rossi at 585-993-0322 or kimrossi@rochester.rr.com.
St. Stephens Church
109 South Barry St.
Olean, NY 14760
716-372-5628
Web Site – www.ststephensolean.net
We are here to be Christ in the world.
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