Sermon for Christmas Day, December 25, 2023

'When we look at our manger scenes, we see Mary and Joseph and the baby. But if we look with the eyes of John’s vision, if we look as the hymnwriter does, we see God. The Word became flesh.'

Read the whole thing.

The Holy Communion on Christmas Day, 10:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of service may be found here.

Sermon for Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2023

 'Of course, there is something new and different

about this Christmas Eve –

and every Christmas Eve, for that matter.

That new and different thing is you – and it is me.

 

We never come to church on Christmas Eve

exactly the same as we were last year.

The angel’s message is consistent year after year,

It is the shepherds in the field who are not the same.'

Read the whole thing.

The Holy Communion on Christmas Eve, 7:30 p.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of service may be found here.

O Come, All Ye Faithful!

Sunday, Dec. 24:

Service for Christmas Eve, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 25:

Service for Christmas Day, 10:30 a.m.

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 24, 2023

 'Some of us, I hope most of us, will ‘count our blessings’ at Christmas. Might I suggest that along with the usual thanksgivings for food and shelter, for health and for family and for plenty, you might count the blessing of vocation, of your ‘callings’ in life? God has made you part of his story of salvation by calling you into relationship with others. '

Read the whole thing.

The Holy Communion on the Fourth Sunday of Advent: December 24, 10:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of service may be found here.

The Holy Communion on the Third Sunday of Advent: December 17, 2023, 10:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of service may be found here.

Evening Prayer, December 13, 2023, 7 pm: St Lucy, Martyr at Syracuse

 The livestream may be found here.

The order of worship may be found here.

Join us for Christmas Services!

O Come, All Ye Faithful!

Sunday, Dec. 24:

Service for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, 

10:30 a.m.

Service for Christmas Eve, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 25:

Service for Christmas Day, 10:30 a.m.

Sermon, Second Sunday of Advent

'The word ‘repentance’ which we use so often simply means this, ‘to turn,’ or ‘to turn around.’ We turn away from that which is passing away towards that which is coming into being. This is what it means to repent: we turn from evil and towards God, from sin towards holiness, from death towards life. Martin Luther reminds us that this is to be the Spirit’s work in us every day.'  

Read it all here.

The Holy Communion on the Second Sunday of Advent: December 10, 2023, 10:30 a.m.

Click here to view the livestream.

Click here for the order of worship.

Evening Prayer for St Nicholas Day, 7 p.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of worship may be found here.

NALC Advent Devotion, December 5

Devotion by The Rev. Dcn. Andrew Ames Fuller

The First Monday of Advent, Dec. 4

Devotion by NALC General Secretary The Rev. Amy Little

Sermon for the First Sunday of Advent, December 3, 2023

'The Advent of our Lord for which we are to prepare is his coming into the midst of our lives, as we remember that he has come in the Christ-child and will come as judge of the living and the dead.'

Read it all.

The Holy Communion on the First Sunday of Advent, 10:30 a.m.

 

Click here to view the livestream.

Click here for the order of worship.

Academy Concerts Presents! December 8, 7:30 pm

 

Evening Prayer for the Eve of St Andrew's Day, November 29, 7 p.m.

Click here for the livestream.

Click here for the order of service.

Sermon, Christ the King Sunday: November 26, 2023

'Jesus rules! That is the message today, and it is awesome, it fills us with awe and wonder. But not dread of condemnation. Since his grace has touched us, since we have been washed in the waters of his baptism, been filled with his Spirit, and made members of his body, the message of Jesus' kingdom, his rule, is unvarnished good news.'

Read the whole thing.

The Holy Communion on Christ the King Sunday: November 26, 10:30 a.m.

Click here to view the livestream.

Click here for the order of worship.

Service of Word and Prayer for Thanksgiving Week: Tuesday, November 21, 7:00 p.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of worship may be found here.

Thanksgiving Service this evening, Tuesday, November 21, 7 p.m.

Join us for Thanksgiving worship!

The Holy Communion on the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost: November 19, 2023, 10:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of service may be found here.

Sermon for the Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, November 12

Texts for the Day

'For the judgment of God is not against the out-group, but the in-group as well. We recognize our complicity with and our participation in the absence of justice and righteousness in the world. In our angers, our fears, our jealousies, our frustrated desires, our aggressions, and our false judgments, we contribute to the total of the alienation of the world from God. Alas for those who desire the day of the Lord without recognizing their complicity.

 

Is there hope? We wouldn’t be here if there weren’t.'

Read the whole thing.

Evening Prayer, November 15, 7 p.m. (Soren Kierkegaard)

The livestream may be found here.

The order of worship may be found here.

The Holy Communion on the Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, 10:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of service may be found here. 

Evening Prayer, November 8, 7 p.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of service may be found here.

Sermon All Saints Sunday, November 5

'Why does the Church observe the date of death? Normally it is a person’s birthday that is celebrated. But did you know that Christians have three birthdays?' 

Read the whole thing.

The Holy Communion on All Saints Sunday, November 5, 10:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of worship may be found here.

You know who you are...

 

Annual Spaghetti Dinner, Saturday, Nov. 18

 

Evening Prayer, November 1, 7 p.m.

The livestream may be found here.

An order of worship may be found here.

Evening Prayer cancelled for tonight

The regularly scheduled service of Evening Prayer will not take place tonight, Wednesday, October 25. I look forward to praying with you next week.

Pastor Frontz +

Sermon: October 22, 2023

'When he calls his disciples friends, Jesus does not simply mean that they are his ‘best buds.’ He means that they are intimately involved in his project to save the world from sin, death, and evil. He lets them know everything that the Father has shared with him, so that they can know exactly what to do when he has gone into glory to prepare a place for them.'

Read the whole thing.

The Holy Communion on the Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost: October 22, 2023, 10:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of worship may be found here.

Evening Prayer, October 18, 2023, 7 pm: St Luke, Evangelist

The livestream may be found here.

The order of worship may be found here.

The Holy Communion on the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost: October 15, 2023, 10:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of worship may be found here.

Evening Prayer, October 11, 7 p.m. - Philip, Deacon and Evangelist

The livestream may be found here.

A copy of the order of worship may be found here.

Academy Concerts Presents Miguel Espinoza Fusion!

 

The Holy Communion on the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, October 8, 2023, 10:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

An online copy of the order of worship may be accessed here.

Evening Prayer for the Day of Francis of Assisi, Renewer of the Church, October 4, 7 p.m.

The livestream may be found here.

A copy of the order of worship may be found here.

Sermon, October 1, 2023 (Proper 21A)

'In our time, we don’t have a unit of currency called a ‘talent.’ What each of us do have is competencies, skills, interests, abilities, non-financial resources, which are particular to us and are to be used for the upbuilding of God’s kingdom. And these so-called ‘talents’ don’t need to be what the rest of the world thinks of as ‘talent.’

Read the whole thing.

The Holy Communion on the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost: October 1, 10:30 a.m.

 

The livestream may be found here.

(The stream will go live around 10:25 a.m.)

An online copy of the order of worship for today may be found here.

Evening Prayer, anticipating St Michael and All Angels, Sept. 27, 7 p.m.

The livestream may be found here.

An online copy of the order of worship is available here.

The Holy Communion on the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, 10:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

An online version of the bulletin can be found here.

Evening Prayer on the Eve of St Matthew's Day: September 20, 7 p.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of worship may be accessed here.

Sermon for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, September 17

When Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother who sins against him, he thinks that seven is an incredibly extravagant mercy. Imagine his consternation when Jesus says, seventy-seven times (or seventy times seven, as some translations of the Bible have it.) This does not mean that Peter is to count to seventy-seven, and then to not forgive the seventy-eighth, or even the four hundred ninety-first, time. Jesus is proclaiming the heart of God his Father, his mercy beyond extravagance. 

The Holy Communion on the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, 10:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

You may access a copy of the worship bulletin here.

Evening Prayer on the Eve of Holy Cross Day, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 7 p.m.

Please find the livestream here.

An order of worship may be found here.

Sermon for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18A)

'The word ‘corporate’ has to do with the body, for the Latin word ‘corpus’ means ‘body.’ This is why we refer to the statue of the crucified Christ as the ‘corpus.’ When our worship book names a service ‘corporate confession and forgiveness,’ it makes the point that what is happening is the bringing of the parts of the body back into healthy relation.'

 

The Holy Communion on the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, 10:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

An order of worship may be found here.

Sermon for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17, Year A)

'Now for most of us, who have been raised from childhood in the Christian faith, this is what a Messiah does. He dies and is raised from the dead. What could be easier to understand? But we’ve heard this Scripture so many times that we cannot possibly understand what a shock and a scandal this must have been to the disciples.'

Academy String Quartet at St Stephen, Friday, September 8, 7:30 p.m.

Check out WQED-FM 89.3 on Wednesday, September 6 at 8:10 a.m. for an interview with music director Warren Davidson, and get your tickets for Friday's performance! We are excited to be partnering with Academy Concerts.

The Holy Communion on the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, 10:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

An online copy of the order of worship may be found here.

Sunday worship time moves to 10:30!

Don't forget that this Sunday, September 3, worship returns to a 10:30 a.m. start time. Get here a little bit early and hear wonderful music! Blessings to all!

Join the Choir!

St Stephen choir season begins on Sunday, Sept. 10. 

Rehearsals are at 9:30 on Sunday, beginning September 3, followed by the 10:30 worship service.

You may email Doug Starr at Douglaspstarr@gmail.com with questions or for more information.

 

St Stephen Supports Water Mission: Walk for Water Pittsburgh 2023

 

 

St. Stephen is supporting the 2023 Pittsburgh Walk for Water. 

 

The walk will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 7^th at Millvale Riverfront Park, Pittsburgh, PA.

 

 

• We are collecting bottled water and snacks for participants on the day of the walk.  Donations can be placed by the large table in the Narthex. 

 

• If you are interested in being a part of the St. Stephen Walk for Water team, you can sign up here:  https://rb.gy/jre85

 

• Don’t want to walk?  No problem.  The Walk for Water planning committee is looking for help with set up and walker registrations the day of the walk.  Contact Karen Colussi at karen.colussi@comcast.net for details.

 

• Care to donate?  We would love your support. https://rb.gy/openy

Sermon for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 16A)

 'Many people might find it presumptuous, not to say blasphemous, for a human being to speak for God. And yet that’s what a pastor claims to be doing when, in the context of the rite of confession and absolution, she or he declares that a person’s sins are forgiven in the name of the Triune God.'

The Holy Communion on the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, 9:30 a.m.

 

The livestream may be found here.

An order of worship may be accessed here.

PLEASE NOTE: Next week, Sunday worship time reverts to 10:30 a.m.

Sermon on the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 15, Year A)

‘Oh, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith. And so it is impossible for it not to do good works incessantly. It does not ask whether there are good works to do, but before the question rises, it has already done them, and is always at the doing of them…

…Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man would stake his life on it a thousand times. This confidence in God’s grace and knowledge of it makes men glad and bold and happy in dealing with God and all His creatures.'

- Martin Luther

The Holy Communion on the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, 9:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

A copy of the service bulletin may be found here.

The Holy Communion on the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, 9:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

An order of worship may be found here.

The Holy Communion on the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, 9:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

A copy of the order of worship may be accessed here.

The Holy Communion on the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, 9:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

A copy of the order of worship may be accessed here.

Sermon, July 9, 2023: Proper 9 Year A

 ' We can see the difference between Jesus’ burdens and the burdens of oppression other powers would lay upon us. Jesus says to his disciples, ‘Come to me; take my yoke upon you.’ He is honest that there is a yoke which tethers the disciple to him. Compare and contrast that with the lies of the powers who promise total freedom but which produce only servitude.'

The Holy Communion on the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, 9:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of worship may be accessed here.

No live-stream this morning

Dear friends,

There is no livestream of this morning's service.

The livestream will be back up and running next week.

Grace and peace be with you.

 

Sermon, June 25, 2023

'We stand when the Gospel is read because when the Gospel is read in the midst of us, the living Jesus is addressing us in our time and place. It’s not simply a story about what Jesus did a long time ago, but it is Jesus’ message to us for today.'

The Holy Communion on the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: June 25, 2023, 9:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of worship may be accessed here.

The Holy Communion on the Second Sunday after Pentecost

The order of worship may be found here.

The livestream may be found here.

Sermon - The Holy Trinity, June 4, 2023

 '(O)ur relation to Jesus is not simply of teacher to student,

but we are given the unimaginable privilege

of ourselves entering into the life of God the Trinity.

By sheer gift, not from any worthiness of our own,

in baptism we become sons and daughters of God the Father,

brothers and sisters of the only-begotten Son of God,

we are anointed with the Holy Spirit who dwells in the Church.'

Read the whole thing.

The Holy Communion on the Feast of the Holy Trinity, 9:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of worship may be found here.

Sermon, May 28, 2023: The Day of Pentecost

'Finally, after the gift is identified,

as it is being developed,

it is shared with others.

Jesus says,

No one after lighting a lamp puts it on a bushel basket, but on a lampstand,

and it gives light to the entire house.

So let your light shine before others that they may see your good works

and glorify your Father who is in heaven.'

Read the whole thing

The Holy Communion on the Day of Pentecost: May 28, 2023, 10:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

Please worship with us! 

A copy of this morning's order of service may be found here.

Evening Prayer: May 24, 2023, 7 p.m.

The livestream may be found here.

The order of service may be accessed here.

Sermon, May 21, 2023: The Ascension of Our Lord

'The ascended, risen Christ, who cannot be contained, whom we cannot pin down, nevertheless is present in his Word and Sacraments. We may show our devotion to him in his poor and needy ones, these who are with us in this place and in other places. When we look at an unlit Paschal Candle, we may be reminded of both of these things. But I would also say that we should be filled with longing.'

Read the whole thing.

The Holy Communion on the Seventh Sunday of Easter (Ascension of Our Lord, Observed), 10:30 a.m.

The livestream may be found here.

Order of Service for the Day

Evening Prayer, May 17, 2023: Erik, King and Martyr, 1160 (transferred from May 18)

The livestream may be found here.

Link to the order of service