Vestry
It has been over three months since St. James’ has held a church service in our church building – there are times it seems like 3 weeks and other times like an eternity! Your Vestry, the Nursery Board and the Thrift Board have continued to hold Zoom meetings each month (and Vestry more often) to do the business of the church – planning for the future, considering how, when and if to go forward with the plans and dealing with the ‘uncertainties’ of this difficult time. We who have been so comfortable with making plans – short and long term – now are confronted with the ‘uncertainty’ of the future.
In the beginning of April, St. James’ applied for a loan/grant under the Payroll Protection Program (PPP as it is now commonly called) approved by Congress for small businesses and charitable organizations. We received $81,000 from the Small Business Administration which enabled us to pay all our employees (Church, Nursery and Thrift Shop) for 8 weeks. The last of the money was used for the May 29, 2020 payroll which means we are now back to funding our payroll with church funds. In addition, we were able to arrange with Frederick County Bank to defer 3 months of our 2 mortgage loan payments ($11,704.72 total per month) for April, May, and June. In July, we will return to having to fund these payments with church funds.
St. James’ is extremely grateful to our parishioners who have been able to continue their monthly giving by mailing or dropping off their giving at the church secure mailbox, arranging bill pay with their banks which mail funds directly to St. James’ or utilizing the Diocese giving program setup to help receive funds for the parishes in the Maryland Diocese. These funds have helped with the payment of our utilities and quarterly or semi-annual contracts for maintenance and equipment. At this point, we have not had to access any of our Money Market funds.
After much planning, the Thrift Shop reopened on June 2nd and customers and sales have been climbing steadily since then. The Nursery plans to open in the fall as scheduled since state guidelines now allow for 15 people in a classroom for daycare centers and pre-schools. Since these businesses provide over 33% of our yearly income, this is good news indeed! The church will soon open with a choice of outdoor service or Zoom service with adjustments as we move forward. Please continue to financially support our parish if you are able since St. James’ parishioner giving is a critical part of our maintaining a strong church family. The future looks so bright as compared to April and May and we pray that those big ‘uncertainties’ in our past will become small ones in our future.
Online Worship
Join us on the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost for the Liturgy of the Word at 9:30 am followed by Zoom Coffee Hour, or watch the service livestreamed on Facebook.
A printable bulletin is available here.
We will “open the doors” beginning at 9:15 am for folks to greet each other and say good morning. Kristin+ will give instructions at 9:25 am and we will begin recording and livestreaming the service promptly at 9:30 am. Don’t worry if you’re late – you can still attend via Zoom if you “get to church” at 9:40!
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 822 2912 8084
Password: 221751
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,82229128084# US
Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US
Facebook Livestream
We plan to begin streaming to Facebook at 9:30 am. If you arrive at Facebook and you don’t see the video, please refresh your screen. There is a delay.
Virtual Compline
Virtual Compline services on Facebook are Monday and Wednesday at 8:30 pm. You do not need to have a Facebook account to “attend” – just click here to participate. While your at our Facebook page be sure to “follow” and turn on notifications so you will be alerted when we go live or post updated information. Compline order of service
We are excited to introduce Compassion Camp!
Compassion is an important skill in creating resilient and caring children. Each day, leaders will work with children through bible stories, music, drama and art to teach compassion.
We are joining St. Andrew’s, Glenwood and other communities to partner for Compassion Camp, making this summer program available to children all over the place. All children who are in preschool through 5th grade are invited! Cousins, friends, grandchildren – the more the merrier!
Compassion Camp will be July 27 – 31 from 9:30 – 11 AM on Zoom.
We seek volunteer leaders to help teach, lead and love these compassion campers. There will be 2 required trainings for volunteer leaders.
A donation of $20 per camper/volunteer is suggested to cover the cost of your Compassion Camp T-shirt. Donations can be mailed to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, PO Box 52, Glenwood, MD 21738; “Compassion Camp” in the memo line.
Camper
Preschool – 5th grade completed,
Zoom access required
Volunteer
2 required trainings
June 18 6:30-8:30 pm
June 25 6:30-8:30 p,Zoom access required
Lectionary Readings for the Second Sunday after Pentecost:
Next Week’s Commemorations:
Prayer Rotation
Please join the Daughters of the King in praying for each parishioner in rotation during 2020 by taking this notice home and by posting it where it will remind you pray to on a daily basis for the needs and blessing of:
Kathleen Barazotto (Phillip, Daniel)
Jane Barger
Stephen and Jamy Batdorff (Jackson, Jacob, Juliana)
A member of the Daughters of the King will be contacting you this week for special prayer requests.
Long Distance Camp at the Claggett Center
This week is the beginning of Long Distance Camp at the Claggett Center. The campers, counselors, chaplains and leaders are missing the traditional camp season, but thanks to camp director Rita Yoe, Claggett is staying connected. “Camp may be ‘long-distance’ this year, but the connections we’ll make with new friends, old friends, and ourselves will be just as real. We invite every member of the Claggett community to bring camp to your home and community this year through” [our virtual camp portal]. Be sure to check out the opportunities and the season’s first Chapel Talk on the virtual camp portal.
News from The Episcopal Church
Episcopal leaders consider 2021 General Convention alternatives – “In light of our moral conviction and the realities we now face, it will come as no surprise to you that for many weeks, we have been considering how the pandemic will affect our plans to gather in Baltimore in 2021 for the 80th General Convention. Although we all pray that an FDA-approved vaccine or other safe and effective therapeutics will be available soon, we have concluded with regret that we must plan as if our traditional 10-day gathering of 10,000 people or more will not be possible in 2021.”