Shop in our free “store” at the St. Stephen Lutheran Church Spring Clothing Giveaway this Saturday, April 27, from 10 am to noon at 537 Bolton St (that’s Route 85), Marlborough. Clothing in great condition for men, women and children at no cost, plus accessories, too, like costume jewelry, purses, scarves and shoes. A Thrivent Action Team project. Some new socks and underwear also available.

Have you chatted lately with your well-dressed neighbors? Or the friend trying to clear out before downsizing? How about the school buddy whose children seem to grow 6" a month? Invite them – today– to donate unwanted, unused and outgrown clothing and accessories in great condition to our Spring Clothing Giveaway, set for Saturday, April 27 from 10 am to noon. 
Clothes should be in very good to excellent condition, washed, folded, bagged and labeled by item, size and gender – for example, men’s shirts size L in a separate bag from toddler clothes, 2-4.

Donation times begin THIS SUNDAY, just after room set up, which occurs right after church, during coffee hour, or shall we say coffee-15-minutes? Please leave your donations in your car until after church and set up. 
Look at the sign up sheet in the narthex for donation times and other ways you can help our 15th Clothing Giveaway to be its usual success. We have a job for everyone. 
– Like to work out and looking for some great exercise? Bring your strength and help us set up the room after church on April 21, and/or restore it after the Giveaway at noon on April 27. 
– Enjoy organizing and seeing a project come to fruition? Follow the floor plan and put the chairs and signs in place. 
– Looking forward to re-homing good clothes and accessories? Bring your donations into the store after set up on Sunday, around noon, or any of these other times: 
- Monday, April 22, 6-8 pm 
-Tuesday, April 23, 10 am-noon and 6-8 pm - morning volunteers needed 
-Thursday, April 25, 5-6 pm - donation and final set-up 
Note that these are DONATION times, not drop-off times. We strongly encourage you to put your donations out in the store. If you need help or can’t possibly stay to play sales associate for a little while, see a volunteer when you bring in your donations. 
Here are some sobering statistics: An estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste end up in U.S. landfills yearly, accounting for approximately 85% of all textiles. This equates to an alarming 81.5 pounds (37 kilograms) of textile waste per person per year. Although most clothing will break down into smaller pieces over time, it is likely to sit in landfills for up to 200 years before decomposing fully. 
Remember the three Rs– Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! (Yes, THOSE 3 Rs.) Open your closet now and choose some items to donate! It might be time for the things you enjoyed buying but haven’t worn for a year to go to a new home – and it doesn’t have to be a trash can or a landfill.

In addition to the traditional Lenten and Holy Week church services leading up to Easter Sunday on March 31, this year St. Stephen Lutheran Church, 537 Bolton St., Marlborough, will offer a Prayer Path, open to the public on Monday, March 25 from 12 noon to 2:00 pm and Tuesday, March 26 from 5-7:30 pm.

            “This year's path will guide people through interactive stations that lead them through confession, forgiveness, grace, and gratitude as they prepare their hearts to enter Holy Week,” said St. Stephen pastor Rheanna Goodrich. The prayer path will be located inside the sanctuary and people are welcome to take a quiet break from their routine for a meditative prayer-walk.

            Prayer paths in early Christianity were often formed as labyrinths, with a single continuous path. Unlike a maze, which is designed to be confusing, a labyrinth leads you to a center. Dating from the 12th Century, prayer paths were established as part of, or an alternative to pilgrimages to the Holy Land during the Crusades. Chartres Cathedral in France is considered to have one of the most visited Medieval labyrinths, established in the 13th Century. 

            Labyrinths, both outdoors and inside, have had a resurgence in popularity over the past 20 years, and are used by both religious and secular groups. They can be found in churches, parks, hospitals, and retreat centers. In Christianity, prayer paths are considered walking prayers that can lead people closer to God.

            In addition to the prayer path, St. Stephen Lutheran Church offers these worship services during Holy Week: 
Palm Sunday Worship, 10 am on March 24; 
Maundy Thursday Worship, 7 pm on March 28; 
Good Friday Tenebrae Service, 7 pm on March 29
Festive Easter Vigil, 7:15 (sunset) March 30
Festive Easter Worship, 10 am March 31. Easter Brunch follows the Sunday service. All are welcome.
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            For more information about the church, visit www.sslcma.org or the church’s Facebook page. Saint Stephen is a member of the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (www.elca.org). The church is a Reconciling in Christ congregation, inviting people of every gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, ability, marital status, or class. Parishioners come from Marlborough, Hudson, Berlin, Northborough, Southborough, Westborough, Shrewsbury, Stow, Bolton and Worcester. 

Parishioners at St. Stephen Lutheran Church, 537 Bolton St., Marlborugh, began their Christmas outreach early this year, with both social and charitable activities in November. Members and friends collected warm clothing and prepared meals for the Northampton-based Cathedral in the Night, wrapped sweatshirts a month in advance for the local Sweats for Vets program, and knitted and shopped for Christmas gifts for merchant marines through Seafarers International House’s Christmas at Sea program. The Senior Friends met in November and decorated more than a dozen gingerbread houses for their own homes. 
            Now that Advent has begun, activities have not stopped. Dozens of Secret Santas at St. Stephen Lutheran Church shopped for area children through the Hope for the Holidays initiative and on December 6, members delivered Christmas gifts for 41 children.

            Advent worship services continue on Wednesday evenings at 7 pm, now through December 20. Recognizing that Christmas is sometimes a sad or stressful time, the December 20 service will be a “Darkest Night” offering. Traditionally held on or near the longest night of the year, it provides an opportunity for lament and healing during a time that is difficult for some.

            On Sunday, December 24, there will be no morning service, but Festive Christmas Eve worship, with choir, bells, and carols, will take place at 5 p.m. Christmas morning worship will be at 10 am, and communion will be offered at both Christmas services.
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            For more information about the church, visit www.sslcma.org or the church’s Facebook page. Saint Stephen is a member of the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (www.elca.org). The church is a Reconciling in Christ congregation, inviting people of every gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, ability, marital status, or class. Parishioners come from Marlborough, Hudson, Berlin, Northborough, Southborough, Westborough, Shrewsbury, Stow, Bolton and Worcester. 

​Fall and winter holidays are just a few weeks away.  For people on tight budgets, this season can be stressful when gift-giving occasions compete for the same dollars needed to buy food or clothing. If only clothing were FREE! It will be, at the Saturday, November 4 Clothing Giveaway at St. Stephen Lutheran Church, 537 Bolton St. (Route 85), Marlborough from 10 am to 12 noon.
            Clothing is in good to excellent condition. Most is arranged by size, with some on hangers, to create the feeling of shopping in a store, with“departments” for men’s, women’s, and children’s clothes. In addition, accessories – hats, gloves, shoes, boots, belts, costume jewelry, scarves, and pocketbooks – will also be available, all at no cost, to add an element of fun, or provide the opportunity to reward yourself for smart shopping. 
            The event is open to the public, regardless of need; recycling advocates are especially welcome to shop. Bring your own bag, or take a bag provided and fill it with whatever you can use. 
             John the Baptist said, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none.” (Luke 3:10) In addition to sweaters, slacks, jeans, long sleeve shirts and tops, and a limited selection of new socks and underwear, a whole rack of coats and jackets will be available at the Giveaway.       
            Donated items come from Saint Stephen parishioners and friends who give clean, popular, wearable items that customers will take and use, believing they are helping not only individuals but also the earth, keeping good clothing out of landfills.  The November 4 event marks the church’s 14th Clothing Giveaway and the first since 2019. The twice-a-year events were not held from 2020-2022 because of the pandemic.
            For more information about the church, visit www.sslcma.org or the church’s Facebook page. Saint Stephen is a member of the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (www.elca.org). The church is a Reconciling in Christ congregation, inviting people of every gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, ability, marital status, or class. Parishioners come from Marlborough, Hudson, Berlin, Northborough, Southborough, Westborough, Shrewsbury, Stow, Bolton and Worcester.  Worship services are held Sunday mornings at 10 am followed by coffee hour and preceded by Sunday School for adults at 9. 

      Celebrate the tastes and sounds of fall on Sunday, October 8 at 3 pm with “Apples and Music” at St. Stephen Lutheran Church, 537 Bolton St., Marlboro.  The afternoon will feature a concert by Stanley Hanson on the Woodberry & Harris organ, with apple snacks, apple desserts and apple cider available both before and after the musical performance.
            Both the church’s Woodberry & Harris organ and autumn apples are known for their versatility and variety. The music of Bach, Rohlig, Lasky, Arne, Walcha, Luebeck, Hegarty and Claussmann will be offered, showcasing styles ranging from classical to theatre organ to parlor music. Hanson will open with an organ transcription by Harold DeCou of Frances Allitsen’s stirring Victorian era vocal solo, The Lord is My Light.
            What will concert-goers hear next? They will decide! The interactive program will allow members of the audience to draw names of compositions to determine the order of the musical pieces. Among the selections are Edvard Grieg’s Romanza, arranged by Robert Hubble from Grieg’s Violin Sonata #3; Home, Sweet Home with variations, 19thCentury parlor music,  composed by John Zundel; the bold Trumpet Tune in F composed by Harold Rohlig; Toccata, by David H. Hegarty, a spirited work that incorporates both classical and theatre organ styles; and Impromptu, a piece by a local artist, David Lasky, a Massachusetts native, church musician and composer. This piece is meant to entertain with some elements of the theatre organ style.
            There is no admission fee for the October 8 “Apples and Music” program, but a free will offering will be taken to support future musical performances. The organ concert is part of the Music at St. Stephen series. Past programs have included a folk singing duo and a jazz quartet.

     Hanson, a long-time Hudson resident who recently moved to Maynard, has been the music director at St. Stephen for 16 years, but got his first job as a church organist at age 16, more than 50 years ago, when he played only the piano. Attracted by the “color and sound of the organ, I knew it was something I wanted to do.” He went on to study organ in college and has served churches in Maine, Ohio, and Massachusetts.
            He holds a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance from the University of Akron and has taken additional graduate study in organ, music education and musicology, and church music, and studied improvisation at Westminster Choir College.  He is a Colleague of the American Guild of Organists. In addition to playing the organ and piano at worship services at St. Stephen, Hanson directs the choral and handbell choirs. He has been active in community music, as piano accompanist for both the Worcester and Rivers Edge Youth Chorus and music director for several shows at Hudson High School. While music has been a loved and active avocation for Stan, his career was in administration and transportation logistics. 
            One of about 30 organs the Boston-based Woodberry & Harris made, the pipe organ now at St. Stephen Lutheran Church was constructed in about 1892. It served its first congregation in Abington for 60 years. It was then considered worn out and stored for decades. It was rebuilt for Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church in Shrewsbury in 1982. The organ was gifted to St. Stephen in 2019 after Mt. Olivet closed. It was disassembled, fine-tuned and reassembled and has been in service since the fall of 2019.
            For more information about the church, visit www.saintstephenlutheran.com  or the church’s Facebook page. Saint Stephen is a member of the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (www.elca.org). The church is a Reconciling in Christ congregation, inviting people of every gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, ability, marital status, or class. Parishioners come from Marlborough, Hudson, Berlin, Northborough, Southborough, Westborough, Shrewsbury, Stow, Bolton and Worcester. ​

September will be a busy month for parishioners at St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Marlborough, with three consecutive Sundays of education and social activities. Following worship on September 10, members and guests can explore opportunities to volunteer or simply find out more about the church at the Ministry Kickoff Fair. 

From congregation support through the greeting card ministry, newsletter, and parish life, to outreach through evangelism and social ministry, and to Sunday morning service support through Christian education, worship and music ministries and more – there are choices for all interests and ages. A cookout will follow the ministry fair, with Harold Greer of Marlborough at the grill, creating some congregation favorites, with others providing potluck side dishes. Weather permitting, worship, the ministry fair and cookout will be held outside.
            
Sunday, September 17 will be the fall starting date for Sunday School at 9:00 am for adults, with prayer as the first theme. Sunday School for the youngest disciples, pre-K through grade 3, will take place during the 10 am service, with a story and craft to match the church worship theme.
            
Sunday School for middle school through high school students will begin September 24, after the worship service, and continue on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. This program will be led by Pastor Rheanna Goodrich, and members and teachers Heidi Richard of Worcester, Stephanie Ruggiere (Shrewsbury), and Dianne Bruno (Hudson).
            No preregistration is needed for any of the programs; everyone is welcome.
            
For more information about the church, visit www.saintstephenlutheran.com  or the church’s Facebook page. Saint Stephen is a member of the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (www.elca.org). The church is a Reconciling in Christ congregation, inviting people of every gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, ability, marital status, or class. Parishioners come from Marlborough, Hudson, Berlin, Northborough, Southborough, Westborough, Shrewsbury, Stow, Bolton and Worcester. 

Calendar events:
Sunday, September 10
St. Stephen Lutheran Church, 537 Bolton St., Marlborough, MA
Ministry Kickoff Fair, following 10 am worship
Learn about opportunities to participate, learn and serve
Cookout after the fair; all welcome
Sunday, September 17
St. Stephen Lutheran Church, 537 Bolton St., Marlborough, MA
Sunday School for adults @ 9, worship @ 10, Sunday School for pre-K to grade 3 during worship
Sunday, September 24
St. Stephen Lutheran Church, 537 Bolton St., Marlborough, MA
Sunday School for middle school through high school following 10 am worship

​SSLC parishioners and their friends stuffed backpacks, made greeting cards, created no-
sew quilts, turned paper bags into art projects and filled them with snacks at the annual Summer
Service Week earlier this month. The 4-evening program addressed themes of hunger, health and
wellness, education, and kindness. Following a light supper each night, Pastor Rheanna,
accompanied by youth members Kaili Goodrich and Lily Ruggiere, presented a Bible-based skit
on the day’s theme before the service project began. Stephanie Ruggiere, Dianne Bruno, Beth
Warner, and Heidi Richard organized and coordinated the Summer Service Week program.
A variety of local organizations, children, families, and seniors will benefit from the
activities of nearly two dozen church volunteers. Forty snack bags were targeted for Our Father’s
Table; 10 completed fleece quilts, many in kid-friendly patterns went to Fresh Start Furniture
Bank, along with 25 bags of toiletries. The United Way will distribute the 26 backpacks, filled
with pencils and sharpeners, rulers, calculators, scissors and more to children who can’t afford
school supplies. Greeting cards and bags of treats were delivered by the pastor to the Lutheran
Rehabilitation and Skilled Care Center in Worcester.
Summer Service Week was a Thrivent Action Team event. Thrivent is a Fortune 500
financial services company that sponsors generosity programs. Thrivent members from St.
Stephen applied for funding for materials and supplies for the various projects. Thrivent also
provided the Live Generosity tee shirts for the volunteers.

On this beautiful Sunday morning, St Stephen Lutheran Members and Friends gathered for the first outdoor service of the season.  Everyone enjoyed this time of worship, singing, praying and praising.  The weather was humid but lovely in the shade.  We were  joined in service by a pair of red tail hawks that sat up on the top of the church.  Pastor Rheanna's sermon was thought provoking and well presented on a difficult topic.  God is on the move,  please check out the replay video below.