From the Rector
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?
The poet Mary Oliver died today. It is hard for me to overstate the importance of her poetry to me – though I did not begin reading her until I was nearly 30. I always find it an odd thing that our hearts can grieve for those we’ve never met, but feel we know so well – writers, musicians, actors, artists. But I think in reality, we grieve not because we feel we know them so well, but that through connecting with their art and craft we feel that they somehow have known us. That is a powerful thing. So today I’d like to share with you the poem Mary chose to have shared upon her death.
Yours in God’s peace,
Kristin+
When Death Comes
When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse
to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
when death comes
like the measle-pox;
when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,
I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?
And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,
and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,
and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
tending, as all music does, toward silence,
and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.
When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
When it’s over, I don’t want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.
I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.
Nursery School
Vestry
The Vestry Nominating Committee is very excited to announce the candidates for the Vestry Class of 2019-2029: Ty Conlon, Bill Ellis, Steve Stowell, and Andrew Gobien. We are happy to present to you pictures and brief bios for each candidate. Please mark your calendar now for our Annual Meeting to be held on Sunday, January 27th at 9:30 a.m.
Ty Conlon
Ty grew up in the Poolesville area of Montgomery County attending St Peter’s Church where he was an acolyte and participated in youth group. With the exception of some time serving in the Marine Corps, Ty has been a lifelong Maryland resident graduating from UMD in 1999. Ty has worked as a police officer with the Montgomery County Police Department since 2001 and has been a canine handler since 2009. In 2014 Ty and his wife Ashley moved to the Mt Airy area and shortly afterwards began attending services at St James. Ty and Ashley have five children JT (8), Penny (6), Daphne (4), Marshall (almost 2) and Flynn who was born this past October.
Ty is completing his first three year term and enjoyed the experience so much that he wanted to stay on for a second term on the Vestry. This past year Ty additionally took over the role of Junior Warden and found that calling to be incredibly rewarding.
Bill Ellis
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the age of 12, Bill’s family moved to Mt. Orab, Ohio having purchased a family farm. Upon high school graduation, Bill joined the US Air Force in 1960. His training took him to Lackland AFB in San Antonio, and Chanute Air Force Base in Champaign County, Illinois. Bill was then stationed at Yokota AFB Japan until 1964. Taking his discharge in Japan he stayed in Tokyo for another year selling life insurance to the military.
Bill came back to the states in 1965, went to work for Nevada’s largest newspaper, the Review Journal as a display advertising salesman where he met his wife of 49 years, Lynda. Bill moved back to Japan in 1968, Lynda joining him in 1969. They were married in Tokyo in 1969. Bill, Lynda and their daughter Misty, born in Tokyo, stayed there until 1976 when Bill was asked to open the first military division office within the US for Mutual/United of Omaha in San Antonio, TX. Subsequent to San Antonio Bill and his family lived in Sandy, UT and Scottsdale, AZ before moving to Maryland in 1992 where Bill worked for an antique arts dealer prior to joining Capitol Concierge, a family owned company. Bill and his family have been members of St. James’ since 2006 and Bill has volunteered for many church projects such as helping with both the St. James’ Nursery School and St. James’ Thrift Shop audits and as an usher. Bill and family live in Glenelg, MD.
Steve Stowell
Steven Stowell grew up in rural California, lived in Mount Airy for 15 years, and currently resides in Baltimore. He has professional experience in materials, mechanical, electrical, and test engineering. He is a cofounder of two Baltimore nonprofits focused on science education. He is very interested in reaching out across various social, economic, political, and religious silos in these times, using the practical application of faith. He really believes in the power of the unique character and grace of the Episcopal faith in general, and St. James’ in particular. With God’s help, he looks forward to using his skills to prayerfully help solve church problems through Vestry service.
Andrew Gobien
I grew up in Springfield, VA and attended St John’s Lutheran Church where I was active in youth groups and also in various choirs. After growing up there I moved to Blacksburg, VA to attend Virginia Tech where I got a bachelor and master’s degree in Electrical Engineering. In 1997, I took a job at Motorola in Boynton Beach, FL and moved there with my wife, Diana. We attended Trinity Lutheran Church and I worked with the youth groups as a counselor. In Florida, I designed pagers, and then cell phones when pagers became obsolete. In 2002, Diana and I moved to Mount Airy to start a family. We have two sons, one is now in middle school and the other is in high school. In 2005 we joined Calvary United Methodist Church and I started working at the Mount Airy Net food pantry, organizing and filling totes of food to deliver to clients. I’ve worked for several companies in Maryland including Thales Communications, Digital Receiver Technologies, and now G3 Technologies. I design tactical radios, some of them hand-held and others larger, rack-mount systems. In 2017, Diana and I decided to start attending St James. We are newcomers, but have been welcomed and have started to become active in church activities. I joined the choir, and sang for a season. We work with the Thrift Shop and spent last year developing a presence for the shop on eBay. Between April and December we sold and shipped 400 items. I look forward to discovering where my journey will lead next, deeper in service and nearer to God.
WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
There is a possibility for inclement weather again this weekend. An email will go out only if we make a decision to cancel something. In addition to the email – cancellations will be posted on the website, our Facebook page, our Facebook group, and on the outgoing office phone message. If you don’t see anything in any of those places then things are still on!
Here is the “call by” schedule we will be working from:
- By Saturday at 8 p.m., a decision will be made about whether to cancel Sunday’s 8:30 a.m. service and Sunday School
- By Sunday morning at 7 a.m., a decision will be made about whether to cancel Sunday’s 10:30 a.m. service.
Office Schedule
Monday – Wednesday 10-4. Thursday 1-5.
Breakfast-In-A-Bag
Our Sunday School will be putting together “breakfast-in-a-bag” items for Shepherd Staff in Westminster. These bags will be given to children in need of a morning meal. Please help us by donating the following items by January 27: granola or breakfast bars, juice boxes, and fruit cups.
Guiding Stars!
You’re invited to add a guiding star – a word, a hope, or a prayer – to our Epiphany sky: things to help guide us toward the transforming love of God in our lives, our community, and the world. We’ll continue adding stars the whole season after Epiphany.
Return Advent Wreath Forms
Have you pulled apart your Advent wreath yet? If so, please return the metal form to the box in the narthex and we will store them for reuse next year!
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:
Chris and Misty Tieman (Holten, Haeden, Ascher)
Linda Bonifant-Travers and John Travers
Thomas and Beverly Williams (Jordan)
A member of the Daughters of the King will be contacting you this week for special prayer requests.
Readings for the 2 Epiphany, January 20, 2019 :
Isaiah 62:1-5
Psalm 36:5-10
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
John 2:1-11
Commemorations for the week of January 20, 2019:
