From the Rector
All Saints and All Souls, A Celebration of Faith and Remembering
Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
The prayer above is the Collect for All Saints’ Day which we will celebrate this Sunday. All Saints’ Day is classed in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer as a Principal Feast, taking precedence of any other day or observance. Among the seven so classified, All Saints’ Day alone may be observed on the following Sunday, in addition to its observance on its fixed date. It is one of the four days recommended in the Prayer Book for the administration of Holy Baptism, and it is with great joy that we will baptize Juliana Lila Batdorff at the 10:30 service.
It is the tradition at St. James’ to include a reading of the names of the faithful departed on this day, and so we will begin both services with a Litany of Remembrance including all the names submitted this year. This is a practice that most accurately belongs to All Souls’ Day – or the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed.
Per one of our liturgical resources, A Great Cloud of Witnesses, in the New Testament, the word “saints” is used to describe the entire membership of the Christian community, and, in the Collect for All Saints’ Day, the word “elect” is used in a similar sense. From very early times, however, the word “saint” came to be applied primarily to persons of heroic sanctity, whose deeds were recalled with gratitude by later generations.
Beginning in the tenth century, it became customary to set aside another day – as a sort of extension of All Saints – on which the Church remembered that vast body of the faithful who, though no less members of the company of the redeemed, are unknown in the wider fellowship of the Church. It was also a day for particular remembrance of family members and friends.
Though the observance of the day was abolished at the Reformation because of abuses connected with Masses for the dead, a renewed understanding of its meaning has led to a widespread acceptance of this commemoration among Anglicans, and to its inclusion as an optional observance in the calendar of The Episcopal Church. Because we do not celebrate it separately, it has been folded into our observance of All Saints’ Day.
All Saints’, as noted above, has a different history. Per another liturgical resource, Holy Women, Holy Men, it is believed by many scholars that the commemoration of all the saints on November 1st originated in Ireland, spread from there to England, and then to the continent of Europe. That it had reached Rome and had been adopted there early in the ninth century is attested by a letter of Pope Gregory IV, who reigned from 828 to 844, to Emperor Louis “the Pious,” urging that such a festival be observed throughout the Holy Roman Empire.
However, the desire of Christian people to express the intercommunion of the living and the dead in the Body of Christ by a commemoration of those who, having professed faith in the living Christ in days past, had entered into the nearer presence of their Lord, and especially of those who had crowned their profession with heroic deaths, was far older than the early Middle Ages. Gregory Thaumaturgus (the “Wonder Worker”), writing before the year 270, refers to the observance of a festival of all martyrs, though he does not date it. A hundred years later, Ephrem the Deacon mentions such an observance in Edessa on May 13; and the patriarch John Chrysostom, who died in 407, says that a festival of All Saints was observed on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Constantinople at the time of his episcopate.
It is, then, from both the place of a desire to remember those who have exemplified living faithfully and the need to remember those we’ve loved but see no longer, that the celebration of these days has become an important part of our yearly faith journey. Join us Sunday to remember and celebrate.
Yours in God’s peace,
Kristin+
Formation
Sunday School News
Fall is in the air! Sunday School classes continue to meet every Sunday from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. in the lower area. While our preschool group hears Bible Stories each Sunday, the rest of our classes (kindergarten through high school) continue to use Living the Good News curriculum. It follows each Sunday’s lessons with age appropriate stories and activities for each level.
Our Sunday School students had a wonderful surprise during the St. James’ Basket Raffle fundraiser. They were given free tickets donated by a parishioner to select baskets of their choice. How exciting!
During our last group activity (on each 4th Sunday of the month), our students made fall and winter decorations for a local nursing home. It’s always fun to be together working on outreach projects, with thanks for our older students assisting the younger ones.
November and December will be busy months for everyone. Please be sure to check the Shell Newsletter for information.
Yvette Allen – Preschool Bible Stories
Betsy Davis, Jessica Bahorich – Kindergarten-2nd Grades
Natalie DelRegno – 3rd-5th Grades
Joan Fader and Peter Sabonis – Middle-High School
Nancy Nanavaty – 4th Sunday Group Activities
Mara Snyder – Children’s Music
Adult Formation
Book Group Dates!
Two dates have been chosen for our first Book Group gathering next month – pick whichever works best for your schedule. We’ll meet at the Mt. Airy Inn over coffee and dessert. Whether or not you already signed up, everyone is invited to join the conversation about Everything Happens for a Reason – And Other Lies I’ve Loved by Kate Bowler – consider inviting a friend too! It’s a quick and engaging read – so pick up a copy today and bring your thoughts and reflections for conversation.
Youth Group
Youth Group is off to a great – and very fun – start! Youth Group consists of middle and high school aged youth and meets on the second Sunday of every month for our meeting and then again on the fourth Sunday for a fellowship activity. We met on October 14 and after checking-in by sharing our highs and lows from the last time we met, we donned old clothes and headed outside for a friendly paintball war! We should mention that this is not the paintball with protective gear and high speed paintballs – our paintball war featured throwable, washable paint balls in rainbow hues. Some of us came away without a single splatter of paint, while others were not as lucky (see pic below)! Covered in paint or not, it’s safe to say everyone had a great time!
For our fourth Sunday fellowship activity, we went to Summer’s Farm to explore the corn maze – always a good 
time!
Upcoming events include Bishop’s Unplugged on November 17, 2018. This year the event will be at St. John’s, Hagerstown, MD. Youth from western MD will join in fellowship with the bishops, music, and bible study. Open to middle and high school youth from 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm at a cost of $5.
If you know a youth, or are interested yourself, please join us! We continue to grow in community on the second Sunday of every month from 6 – 8 pm and the fourth Sunday for fellowship acitivities. If you have any questions, please contact us at youth@stjamesmtairy.org.
Kara Rosenker, Bobby Brown, Meghan McKeever, & Rev. Kristin
WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Tentative Office Hours For Laura Week of November 4
Monday through Thursday 11-3. Subject to change depending on surgery recovery.
Vestry Nominations
The Vestry Nominating Committee is excited to announce they are accepting nominations for the 2019-2022 Vestry Class. A nominating form is available in the narthex which details ideal qualities for candidates as well as Vestry member responsibilities. You can submit your name or the name or someone you think would be a candidate in the box in the narthex.
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR!
It is with very grateful hearts that we would like to thank all of our St. James’ family and friends for helping to make our 2018 Basket Raffle and silent Auction a wonderful success. With you help in so many ways, we raised $5,553 toward our church’s mission and ministry.
Blessings to each of you,
Marilyn Hancock and Ave Smith, Co-Chairpersons
Thanksgiving Food Drive
Thanks to all who signed up to donate to the Thanksgiving dinners. Please bring your food donation to the church by Sunday, November 18 at the `0:30 service. Please see Cheryl or Jeannie if you have questions.
Blood Drive Results
Thank you to every donor who took the time to donate. This fall we exceeded our goal of 25 units by collecting 39 units.
HOLIDAY QUARTERMANIA!!!
The holidays are quickly approaching, therefore, St. James’ is providing a great opportunity to get a jump on your gift shopping. Mark your calendars now for our Holiday Quartermania event at the church on FRIDAY, DEC 7th; the doors will open at 6 pm with the games beginning at 7 pm. Delicious refreshments will also be available for purchase throughout the evening.
For those who may not know, Quartermania is a game that can be played by anyone from three to 93–a great family activity! Imagine a game that combines Bingo and an Auction using only quarters with lots of prizes to bid on! This will be a great night to begin your holidays by gathering with your family and friends to win special gifts for yourself and your loved ones.
E-mail judysquartermanias@aol.com or call Judy @ 240-674-1961 to advance reserve a seat for $5 (a $3 discount!); admission fees will be collected at the door. Come join us to experience this fun and entertaining game!
Prayer Rotation
Please join the Daughters of the King in praying for each parishioner in rotation during 2018 by taking this notice home and by posting it where it will remind you to pray on a daily basis for the needs and blessings of:
Glenn Mullett and Averelle Smith (Kenleigh, Lindsay)
Sean and Lynne Murdock
Leslie Murphy and Chris Richard
A member of the Daughters of the King will be contacting you this week for special prayer requests.
