St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic Church

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PRAISE AND WORSHIP MINISTRY

A new Praise and Worship Prayer group is being formed at St. Stephen the Martyr.

This group also known as “the Nazarenes” will consist of men and women, young and old from different backgrounds who are open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and who come together monthly (First Mondays of the Month from 7-8:45pm) in a relaxed atmosphere of love and joy, to praise and worship the Lord; to support one another and to intercede for our parishioners and the whole church. This is the most ancient way of praying without holding back and letting God fill you with his Spirit of love. St. Paul says, “When you gather together, one has a song, another some instruction, still another a revelation, some exhortation, one speaks in tongue or an interpretation. Let everything be done for the building up of the body of Christ, the church” (1 Cor. 14:26). To do so, a big part of our gathering will be devoted to Eucharist Adoration, and Benediction; other parts will include Scripture Readings, teaching a variety of subjects that help us know God and live better lives, silent prayer, intercessory prayer and sharing of our experience of God’s blessings in our lives. But above all, praising the Lord will be the most important aspect of our gathering. We praise the Lord in songs and prayer with our whole lives because “the one who sings once, prays twice” says St. Augustine;  we praise the Lord by going out of ourselves and gazing at the Lord, whose goodness helps us overcome our problems. But above all, our main goal is to be open to the action of the Holy Spirit.

“Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your faithful.
Enkindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and we will be create;
And you will renew the face of the earth!”

Our kick off day will be Monday June 1, 2009, from 7:00 – 8:45pm, so mark your Calendar, come and join us in praise and worship to meet the Lord in all His might! If you have any question, contact Beau Iske at 895-4424 or beau.iske.bcq6@statefarm.com; Denise Wharton at 894-1902; or Fr. Chi Igboanusi at 896-9675 or c.igboanusi@stephen.org.