The St. Stephen Knights of Columbus want to thank everyone involved with the Scholarship Fundraiser. The generosity of our parishioners is truly humbling, and the level of volunteering is amazing. Thanks to the 125 guests who attended the Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. Dinner. The can-can dancers were a big hit! Thanks to Dominick’s Italian Restaurant and the Kitchen Ministry for all their help as well. Another thank you goes out to all who offered cash donations for the fundraiser.

We are able to award 2 scholarships of $1,250.00 each for one young lady and one young man who are recently graduated high school seniors. The form needed to qualify can be found in the church Narthex starting this weekend. The cutoff date is July 31, 2024. You can mail in the form to St. Stephen, care of KofC, or drop it off at the parish office during business hours.

The Search from FORMED is a video-based journey that tackles the key questions of every human heart. In seven beautifully filmed episodes, Chris Stefanick and experts from the fields of science, medicine, psychology, art, and religion examine our place in the larger story of existence. Watch the trailer here.

Parishioners can access the entire seven-part series on FORMED for free on www.formed.org.

Inquiry meetings are in EC-1 Room 107 from 5:00 – 6:15 pm. If you are interested or have any questions/concerns, please contact Vera Howard at VeraH@St-Stephen.com.

Wednesday July 10:               Episode 1—What Do You Seek?

Wednesday July 17:               Episode 2—Who Are You?

Wednesday July 24:               Episode 3—Why a God?

Wednesday July 31: Episode 4—What’s Our Story?

Wednesday August 7:            Episode 5—Who Is Jesus?

Wednesday August 14:          Episode 6—Am I Saved?

Wednesday August 21:          Episode 7—Why a Church?

Come to St. Stephen in EC-1 on Thursday, August 1st, from 7-9 PM for an evening of music, art, and coffee. Bring your musical talents, performance art, and visual art to showcase for our parish community. All ages and abilities are welcome! (Pianos will be available) You are also welcome to simply view our parishioners’ art and hear their performances. Join us in supporting our parish artists!

For more information, please contact Phillip Revekant at phillipr@st-stephen.com.

A proposed amendment to our state constitution that seeks to legalize abortion through the third trimester will appear on the November 2024 ballot. While Catholic opposition to abortion is well known, even our friends and neighbors who would tolerate abortion to some degree are finding the proposed amendment too extreme and even deceptive. Additionally, Amendment 4 is being heavily bankrolled by out-of-state special interest groups. Please read below and take some time to learn what the Amendment really proposes, so you can make a well-informed decision at the voting booths this November.

We are starting up a new feature to be included regularly in our bulletins called “Ask Father George!” Parishioners are invited to ask Fr. George Nursey any questions about the Catholic faith—pastoral, theological, spiritual. We will publish Fr. George’s answers in the bulletin.

“An extremely grave amendment has been placed on the November 2024 ballot that seeks to erase pro-life protections by inserting language into the Florida Constitution banning regulation of abortion. The amendment would allow late-term abortion, including when the baby is capable of feeling pain, and would eliminate laws requiring parental consent and safety protocols for women. The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops is working hard to oppose this dangerous and deception amendment and urges all Floridians to vote ‘no’ on Amendment 4.” (https://flaccb.org/abortion-amendment)

On Friday, June 7, our pastor Father George Nursey will consecrate our St. Stephen parish to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on its feast day. Parishioners are invited to attend the 7:00 AM Mass in the chapel and stay for the prayers of consecration afterward.

When we consecrate something to the Sacred Heart, we place that thing (ourselves, our family, finances, etc.) totally under the loving care of Jesus. We trust that God will remain close to us, and become reminded of this special relationship we have made with consecration.

We invite you to also join in the 9-day novena to the Sacred Heart leading up to the feast day at your homes. For the novena, please pray daily the Act of Consecration linked below, starting on May 30 through June 7.

Our parish enjoyed a fun and relaxed evening at our first Spring Fling on Friday, April 19. Parishioners and their families got to listen to music as they ate over freshly served hot dogs, burgers, and pulled pork sandwiches. There were plenty of treats too—cotton candy, brownies, cupcakes, cookies, and other baked goods. The Knights of Columbus supported the event with their sale of beer and wine. Plus, there was a 50/50 raffle!

Kids were able to play games with a basketball hoop, cornhole, coloring activities, and a volleyball court set-up. They were also invited to join in on the Silly Hat parade, with Fr. George Nursey wearing his own silly hat! The small petting zoo was also a highlight, as people came to see the different animals and interact with them.

Thank you to all who came out for our Spring Fling and helped make it a fun and successful evening! We are very much grateful for all our volunteers who contributed to this wonderful parish event for all to enjoy.  

At our Town Hall meeting in March, we discussed the critical fixes and rejuvenation project that need to be done on the church building. As the project begins in mid-April, we will be keeping parishioners aware on the latest work and costs. Check our “Church Restoration Project” page (under the main menu tab “Our Parish”) on our parish website for new updates.

St. Stephen Catholic Church is holding a Town Hall Meeting in the church on Thursday, March 14 at 7:00 PM to discuss our upcoming building project. While parishioners are aware that we need a new roof, there is more to this project. Other work needs to be done in order to keep “the outside out, and the inside in”, in what we will call a Building Envelope Project. We will go into detail about the work, cost, and financing during this meeting.

The Town Hall meeting is of the greatest urgency to the whole parish, and Father George Nursey asks that as many parishioners attend so that we all know about the works and why we are doing them. We need the participation of all members of our parish family for this special meeting.