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‘We are called to learn from and follow the example of Jesus’
A statement from the Bishop Suffragan-elect regarding recent events in Ferguson, Missouri ‘We are called to learn from and follow the example of Jesus’ Our nation has been gripped by the events in Ferguson, Missouri, following the shooting death by a police officer of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, on August 9. The…
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Suffragan Bishop-Elect Cook’s Ordination and Consecration
Our recently elected Bishop Suffragan of Maryland, the Rev. Canon Heather Cook, will be ordained and consecrated at the Church of the Redeemer in Baltimore on Saturday, September 6, 2014. During the service, it is customary that a newly elected bishop be given symbols of that office from the congregations of the diocese. These…
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Reflections for August: Why We Sing a Manifesto
Inspired by a well-known set of singing instructions by John Wesley, I wrote this piece for a parish that was in the throes of what some in the church have called “The Music Wars,” battling about what kinds of music were suitable for church and what should be excluded. I offer it to you as a look…
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Are Not These Our Children?
A Pastoral Letter from Bishop Sutton July 22, 2014 Yesterday I joined with faith leaders from across Maryland to meet with Governor Martin O’Malley in Annapolis to address the humanitarian crisis facing our nation of the large numbers of young refugees seeking to enter into the United States. In recent weeks almost 60,000 Central…
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Diocese of Maryland EYE (Episcopal Youth Event)
Over 1,100 youth from the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland will be gathering July 7-13 to celebrate the gifts and the power of the Spirit. Katie McKeever and Brennan Henyon will be representing us at this event, so please give them your good wishes, and hold them and all of the youth of the diocese…
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Summer Vacation
Happy summer!! Schools out and vacations begin! A friendly request…please keep your pledge up to date. If you miss church for several weeks, you can drop your pledge off at the church office or even use the mail. St. James’ utility bills and payroll still need to be paid every month…would be nice if…
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St. James’ Sunday School Happenings
The Sunday School closing ceremony-recognition is scheduled for June lst at 9:30 a.m. in the Great Hall. All students and teachers will be recognized at this time. We give thanks for a wonderful year together. We were pleased to welcome Mary Ann & Rick Smith, directors of A is for Africa, to our outdoor…
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Some thoughts about music …
“Sing unto the Lord a new song,” says the psalmist. The Episcopal Church’s Canon II.6.1 requires each minister of the church to “see that music is used as an offering for the glory of God and as a help to the people in their worship.” But even if music were not required of us…
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Holy Week
Holy week began on the Sunday before Easter with two services rolled into one: the reenactment of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in the Liturgy of the Palms, followed by the Dramatic reading of the story of Jesus’ betrayal and death in our Passion Sunday service (‘passion’ comes from the Latin word ‘passio,’ which…
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A Holy Lent
Every year on Ash Wednesday this day I am struck by the strange contradiction that we read the Gospel lesson in which Jesus tells us not to disfigure our faces when we fast, and then we disfigure our faces with ashes to begin our Lenten fast. One thing we need to bear in mind, though, as…