Christ & Saint Stephen's Church

08/13/2026

Collect ~ August 13: JEREMY TAYLOR, Bishop and Theologian, 1667

O GOD, whose days are without end, and whose mercies cannot be numbered: Make us, like your servant Jeremy Taylor, deeply aware of the shortness and uncertainty of human life; and let your Holy Spirit lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Artist unknown, Jeremy Taylor, detail from a portrait hanging in Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University, date unknown.

08/12/2026

Here is the Pentecost XII, Proper 15, Year A, RCL SCRIPTURE & SAINTS Edition of the CSSeNews for Wednesday, August 12, 2026!

Christ & Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church in August 2026.

08/12/2026

Collect ~ August 12: FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, Nurse, 1910

O GOD, who gave grace to your servant Florence Nightingale to bear your healing love into the shadow of death: Grant to all who heal the same virtues of patience, mercy, and steadfast love, that your saving health may be revealed to all; through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Tomkins after Butterworth, Florence Nightingale an angel of mercy, coloured mezzotint, “when all the medical officers have retired for the night, and silence and darkness have settled down upon those miles of prostrate sick, she may be observed alone, with a little lamp in her hand, making her solitary rounds” letter from Scutari, in the Times, February 1855.

08/11/2026

Please join us in praying for the people of Colombia following a devastating earthquake.

On Monday, 10 August, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia, with its epicentre near San José del Palmar in the department of Chocó. The earthquake caused severe damage across several parts of the country, including Cali, Pereira and Manizales.

Over 100 people are reported to have died and hundreds have been injured. Buildings and homes have collapsed, rescue teams are continuing to search through the rubble and communities are facing continuing aftershocks.

We hold all those affected in our prayers, including our sisters and brothers in the Episcopal Diocese of Colombia.

🔹A prayer for Colombia:

God of compassion,

We pray for the people of Colombia and for all whose lives have been devastated by the earthquake.

Comfort those who mourn, bring healing to the injured, shelter those who have lost their homes and sustain all who wait for news of loved ones.

Give strength, wisdom and protection to rescue workers, medical teams and all who are responding to the disaster. Be close to churches and communities offering comfort and practical help, and grant courage and hope in the days ahead.

In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

08/11/2026

Collect ~ August 11: CLARE OF ASSISI, Monastic, 1253

O GOD, whose blessed Son became poor that we through his poverty might be rich: Deliver us from an inordinate love of this world, that we, inspired by the devotion of your servant Clare, may serve you with singleness of heart, and attain to the riches of the age to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale, Clare of Assisi Tending Plants, watercolor illustration from Eleanor Fortesque Brickdale’s Golden Book of Famous Women. London New York Hodder and Stoughton, 1919.

08/10/2026

Our artist-in-residence Paul Jacobs!

08/10/2026

Collect ~ August 10: LAURENCE, Deacon and Martyr, 258

ALMIGHTY GOD, by whose grace and power your servant Laurence triumphed over suffering and despised death: Grant, we pray, that we, steadfast in service to the poor and outcast, may share with him in the joys of your everlasting kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Fra Angelico, Lawrence before Valerianus, detail, from The Lives of Saints Stephen and Laurence, c. 1447–1450.

08/09/2026

Collect ~ PROPER 14

GRANT TO US, LORD, WE PRAY, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Guardian Angel Window in the north wall of the Nave at Christ & Saint Stephen’s.
Crafted in the London Workshops of Heaton, Butler & Bayne, before 1950.
Photo by Gwendolyn R. Chambrun.