In this week after another mass shooting, this time 26 people killed in their place of worship last Sunday, my heart has been heavy. Should we have had another service of lament, ringing our bells for those who died? How do we decide when to do this, and when not? Should we gather after every mass shooting? That would mean weekly services…
St. James' Episcopal Church – Mt. Airy, Maryland
Posts by Rev. Kristin Krantz
Last Sunday we heard the last two of our stewardship reflections on generosity. I was blown away again by the power of people sharing their stories with bold vulnerability. Thank you Jane Barger and Alan Nanavaty. This Sunday we will celebrate All Saints’ Day, giving thanks for all who have come before us in faith. We will remember those whom we love…
Over the past month we have all been invited to reflect on the ways we’ve experienced generosity in our lives. From the way we see each other offer it on Sundays, to our reflections from Vic Pellicier and Jennifer Meisenkothen the last two weeks, it is clear that generosity is something that changes our lives. …
I am thrilled to announce our Summer 2018 service trip! Mark your calendars for the week of July 22-28, 2018. We will be joining folks from St. Andrew’s, Glenwood for a week of service in Kentucky at St. Timothy’s Outreach Center, which is a part of Episcopal Appalachian Ministries. While this trip is a special…
Over the summer at our Vestry meetings, we began taking a few minutes each month to reflect on a brief article or resource about congregational life. One that really struck a chord with all of us was an article written by Erin Wathen about volunteering at church. The point she makes, and you can read her full article here, is that when…
This Sunday, as we kick off another program year, we will also be celebrating that 10 years ago St. James’ made the move into this “new” building on North Main Street. In honor of this anniversary we are asking everyone to bring 10 items for the Mt. Airy NET Food Pantry. And to mark a…
I am excited to share that we are in the final stages of planning for the launch of the NEW digital Shell Newsletter. We stopped our monthly paper newsletter at the end of last year, and have been relying on our This Week at St. James’ Thursday news emails in the interim as we’ve dreamed…
At the beginning of every Vestry meeting we open with prayer and our norms. This month we began a new prayer practice, and it’s one I’d like to invite our whole parish family into. Each month three Vestry members are volunteering to choose one of the prayers from the Prayers & Thanksgivings section at the back of the Book of Common Prayer. …
Greetings from high school camp week at Claggett! As many of you know, church camp has a special place in my heart which is why I am so thankful the leadership at St. James’ supports my serving as chaplain for a week each summer. This year’s theme is Go and Do Likewise, and throughout the…
Yet again as news unfolded of tragedy and violence this week, I was at a loss for words to pray with. It is at times like these that I turn to scripture – and then to books of prayer and poetry. I have a stash of favorites., but invariably one of the first places I look is the back of our Book…