Category Archives: St. Stephen's

Tomorrow: Ron James on “Societal Trends in Ethics”

Posted on February 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

The picture below shows the Commons Room at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Edina, Minnesota, which overlooks Minnehaha Creek through the windows on the left. This morning, however, all eyes were focused on Ron James, President and CEO of the Center for Ethical Business Cultures, who was our guest speaker at St. Stephen’s “Faith & Work Lecture.” About 40 people with backgrounds in the corporate world, non-profit organizations, and educational institutions registered for his presentation “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Exploring Ethics in the Workplace.” It was a wonderfully rich and thought-provoking conversation.

The good news is that Ron James will be returning to St. Stephen’s tomorrow morning to speak at the Rector’s Forum in the Commons Room at 10:15 a.m. He will be sharing with us “Societal Trends in Ethics,” so come and join us!

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Posted in Faith and Work, St. Stephen's

Monday Connection: Faith & Work Lecture

Posted on January 30, 2012 | 1 Comment

UPDATE: Please note that registration for this event is now closed.

Do you sometimes feel as if there’s a huge separation between the claims of your faith and the demands of your work? Have you ever struggled with making the connection between what you believe, or want to believe, on Sunday morning and what you’re asked to do after the alarm clock goes off on Monday morning? Have you wondered about purpose and meaning in your life and the role of the church in all of this? We think these are important questions at St. Stephen’s.

On Saturday, February 4, there will be a “Faith & Work Lecture” at the church with guest speaker Ron James, President and CEO of the Center for Ethical Business Cultures at the University of St. Thomas. He will be leading us in an exploration of trends in ethics in the workplace, differing ethical approaches, and how one works to create greater personal alignment in terms of our values between our place of worship and our place of work. This event is free, but registration is required.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Exploring Ethics in the Workplace
Saturday, February 4, with Ron James, Center for Ethical Business Cultures
8:00-8:30 a.m. coffee and muffins
8:30-10:00 a.m. presentation and discussion
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
4439 West 50th Street
Edina, MN 55424

Click here to register for the “Faith & Work Lecture” with Ron James.

Click here to read more details about his presentation and his background.

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Posted in Faith and Work, Monday Connection, St. Stephen's

The Rector’s Report in Poetry and Prose

Posted on January 29, 2012 | Leave a comment

Last week we experienced Jubilee Sunday at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Edina, Minnesota. The celebration included one worship service (instead of the usual four), followed by our annual meeting in the church and a festive brunch across the street at the Edina Country Club. It was a lot of fun. Seriously.

Events with an annual meeting at the heart of them are not something that most people look forward to. The Rev. Tim Schenck , an Episcopal priest in Massachusetts, explains this well in his blog post “Annual Meeting Haiku,” which concludes with a poetic description of this yearly ritual that the canons require:

Budget blah, blah, blah
Something about Jesus Christ
Please up your pledges.

Here’s another one that was offered in the comments:

Four corn casseroles
Cherry Cross of Jello. Say
Aye. Applause! AMEN!!

So I was inspired to write a haiku about our time together at St. Stephen’s:

Seventy-five years
in Christ. Budget surplus for
Three years. Now let’s eat!

That’s the short version. The long version is the Rector’s Report: Continue reading →

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Posted in Jesus, Sermons, St. Stephen's

Martyrs Topic: “. . . so much delight in one man.”

Posted on January 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Edina, Minnesota
The Reverend Neil Alan Willard, M.Div.
December 30, 2011

RODNEY DANFORTH HARDY
February 21, 1938 – December 1, 2011

O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

On behalf of Rod’s wife, Katie, and their daughters, Kim, Elizabeth, and Jo, I want to thank you all for your presence today as we give thanks to God for Rod’s life and witness not only in this community of faith but also in the community of friendship that has gathered here this afternoon. Please know of their deep gratitude for your prayers and your deeds of kindness throughout the fall months before Rod’s death at the beginning of December. His bow ties, his contagious joy, his encouraging words, and, above all, his presence will be missed. As one of my clergy colleagues put it, “Rod always made me laugh, and I have never witnessed so much delight in one man.” To that, I say, “Amen.”

On the cover of your bulletin, you’ll see a picture that was drawn by Rod, inspired by Psalm 121, which we read together a few minutes ago. It’s one of 15 “Psalms of Ascents,” songs that accompanied pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. Their walk upward into the city and then onto the temple mount was both a literal ascent and a metaphorical one. It represented a life that over and over reached toward the presence of God.

Psalm 121 opens with a question: “I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where is my help to come?” That kind of searching is a universal human experience. Everyone turns to something or someone in a time of need. Everyone wonders at some point if God, as a source of help, can be trusted. Continue reading →

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Posted in Jesus, Martyrs Topics, Scripture, Sermons, St. Stephen's

The Prayer Book Collect for St. Stephen’s Day

Posted on December 26, 2011 | Leave a comment

We give you thanks, O Lord of glory, for the example of the first martyr Stephen, who looked up to heaven and prayed for his persecutors to your Son Jesus Christ, who stands at your right hand; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

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Posted in St. Stephen's

The Episcopal Church: Scripture, Tradition & Reason

Posted on November 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

Last spring there was a wonderful thread of comments in response to a post on Osler’s Razor about the pros and cons of the Episcopal Church. At the end of that thread, I added something that I called “Haiku for the Anglican Way,” which is:

What makes sense of things:
scripture, tradition, reason,
intertwined with love.

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Posted in Anglican Communion, Episcopal Church, Scripture, St. Stephen's, Theology

Best Practices, Survival Guides, and Walleye Fillets

Posted on November 4, 2011 | Leave a comment

So yesterday, the day after I finished the last personnel review of those under my direct supervision at St. Stephen’s Church in Edina, Minnesota, there appeared in my Twitter feed a link to this post on the blog of the Harvard Business Review: “Delivering an Effective Performance Review.” I’ll save that in a file for next year.

Later that same afternoon, five days after the end of the annual convention of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, there appeared in my Twitter feed a link to this post by the Rev. Tim Schenck, a priest in Massachusetts: “Diocesan Convention Survival Guide.” If only I could have read those words of wisdom last week!

Because I don’t want this experience to happen to you, gentle reader, I would like to share the following information, which is both timely and, hopefully, useful:

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Posted in Episcopal Church, Minnesota, St. Stephen's