From the Rector Notice of Annual Meeting The 2021 St. James’ Episcopal Church Annual Meeting will be Sunday, January 31, 2021 at 9:00 am on Zoom, followed by online worship at 10:30 am. The Annual Meeting is one of the most important things we do as a community. It is a time for us to…
From the Rector Advent Series: A Thrill of Hope Our Advent series begin this Sunday! Join us on Zoom for videos and discussion of the Christmas story as told in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, illustrated by the beautiful artwork of John August Swanson, with commentary from members of the faculty at the Candler…
From the Rector Advent–Christmas–Epiphany Take Home Kits! The First Sunday of Advent is November 29th this year. One of the things I look forward to all year at church is our annual Advent wreath making party. Like so many other things, this is something we will not be able to do in the same way…
From the Rector Diocesan Convention Follow Up Last Saturday the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland met for its 236th Diocesan Convention. Our Convention usually occurs in May but was postponed due to COVID. Because of the ongoing need for social distancing, most clergy and delegates gathered on Zoom, and it was livestreamed on YouTube. You can watch videos…
From the Rector Survey Results & What’s Next Thank you to everyone who filled out the August survey about worship and re-gathering. Fifty-three folks shared their thoughts and gave us lots of data to use for planning for the fall. The big picture is that while there is a small group of folks who prefer…
From the Rector – Supporting St. James’ Thrift Shop Today I have two asks for you – prayer and action. First, please keep our Thrift Shop Manager Sandy Baker in prayer as she faces some serious health issues (not COVID related). Please also keep our dedicated staff (Becki, Sergio, Jeanne, and Ed), and the volunteers who…
From the Rector The Grief & The Gifts A practice that I have taken up in recent weeks is to reflect each day on both the grief I’m feeling and the gifts I saw in the midst of everything. It’s a slight shift away from the standard gratitude journal, but one that I think is…
From the Rector Compline in Lent – The Daily Office in Practice Last fall our parish intern Tommy Turbyville led some conversations exploring praying the Daily Office, which then led into weekly Compline services during Advent. It was a meaningful practice for those who were able to come, and a group spearheaded by Jeannie Pellicier…
From the Rector – Vacation Bible School Update To better match our upcoming VBS program with the number of volunteers able to participate in planning and leading, we are changing up our plans. We are now planning for a week long, half day camp (9:00 am – Noon) centered on the theme WAY OF LOVE. …
From the Rector – Making VBS a reality this summer Last summer lots of folks weighed in on what type of Vacation Bible School (VBS) they would like to see here at St. James’ – and the winner was a week long daytime camp. We have set aside the week of August 3-7, 2020 on…