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 come together to:
- review all that we’ve accomplished in the previous year
- elect leaders to Vestry and our Diocesan Convention Delegate and Alternate
- pass our annual budget
- look forward to the opportunities and challenges in the year ahead
2020 was a year like no other, and this Annual Meeting will follow in those footsteps. We will gather for a virtual meeting on Zoom following guidance from our Diocese for how to do this canonically.
I know Zoom fatigue is a real thing, but it is both essential and important that we come together to do this work for our community. We have weathered the upheaval of the past year pretty well overall, but we need to take stock together to be able to best plan for the future. To make it as simple as possible, the Zoom link for the meeting will be the same as for online worship. We don’t expect the meeting to take the full hour and a half, but want to plan extra time in case of tech issues (there are always tech issues!). Any extra time between the end of the meeting and worship will be a bonus coffee hour! I hope to see you all on January 31st.
Reminder to Ministry Chairs: please be sure your report is turned in to the office by January 17.
Yours in God’s peace,
Kristin+
Vestry
This year we have 4 members of the Vestry whose terms are expiring: Heather Albertson, Jason Kilmore, Phillip Massay, and Lucy Winston. We thank them for their 3 years of leadership and service to the congregation, and we look forward to recognizing them at the Annual Meeting.
The Vestry Nominating Committee is pleased to announce the following candidates who will stand for election at the 2021 Annual Meeting: Heather Albertson and Jason Kilmore, who are signing on for a second term, and Vic Pellicier. We are still seeking one more candidate, please reach out to Heather Albertson or Rev. Kristin if you feel the Spirit might be calling you into this ministry.
Sunday Worship Information
The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland has suspended all indoor worship due to increasing COVID-19 numbers until further notice. We will continue our online service via Zoom and Facebook at 10:30 am.
ONLINE WORSHIP
Join us on the First Sunday after the Epiphany for the Liturgy of the Word at 10:30 am followed by Zoom Coffee Hour, or watch the service livestreamed on Facebook.
We will “open the doors” beginning at 10:15 am for folks to greet each other and say good morning. Kristin+ will give instructions at 10:25 am and we will begin recording and livestreaming the service promptly at 10:30 am. Don’t worry if you’re late – you can still attend via Zoom if you “get to church” at 10:40!
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 820 8668 4148
Passcode: 242425
One tap mobile +13017158592,,82086684148#
Facebook Livestream
We plan to begin streaming to Facebook at 10:30 am. If you arrive at Facebook and you don’t see the video, please refresh your screen. There is a delay.
The Middle-High School class will not meet indoors during the month of January but will resume classes on February 7th.
Pre-school through 5th Grade will have Zoom lessons with Betsy Davis and Yvette Allen at 9:30 a.m. Sunday mornings.
FAITH FORMATION RESOURCES for the FIRST SUNDAY after the EPIPHANY: The Baptism of Our Lord
Formation
SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS
Here we are – 2021! Happy New Year!
Looking back, we are thankful for the support of so many members in our first ever drive-through Christmas pageant. It was a cold evening but we had 30 participants in our Journey to Bethlehem and approximately 160 viewers passing through. Wow! Yvette Allen and Joan Fader are very appreciative.
Sunday School schedule
The preschool through 5th grade classes will continue on Zoom with Betsy Davis and Yvette Allen at 9:30 a.m. every Sunday. Betsy reports that they are a fun group, which even includes Ethan (who is now living in Texas with his family).
The middle-high school class with Joan Fader and Natalie DelRegno will take a break during January and resume classes on February 7th. It is our hope that we will be able to hold class again in the sanctuary (wearing masks and distancing). Please continue to read the Shell for information and updates of plans or, if you have any questions, please contact Joan at faderj1@juno.com.
St. James’ Teaching Team
Yvette Allen, Betsy Davis
Natalie DelRegno, Joan Fader
Winter Book Discussion Group
Join us for our Winter 2021 book group to discuss the book Born A Crime by Trevor Noah. Grab a copy and plan to meet on Zoom on Thursday, February 25th at 7:00 pm. Here’s an overview from the publisher:
Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.
Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.
The stories collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love.
~Dave & Kathy Rak, Book Discussion Group Leaders
Youth Group
The theme for Youth Group this year is a book club, where we will be exploring graphic novels that show us something about how to live faithfully. Our first pick was The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler by John Hendrix. We spent 2020 reading our way through this book discussing several themes including leadership, faith vs. reason, and individual vs. community. Our next book is March: Book One by John Lewis, a graphic novel trilogy which tells the story of the Civil Rights Movement from the perspective of John Lewis.
We were also able to have a few fellowship activities in 2020. In September, we took an outing to play mini golf at Green Family Fun Center in Westminster. Unfortunately, our October bonfire was rained out, but we were able to postpone until a beautiful (and slightly chilly) November evening. It was a great night in the field with a bonfire,
WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Next week our Nursery School children will be celebrating Pajama Days which always includes a community outreach. This year they will be collecting children’s toiletries to donate to Mt. Airy NET. If you would like to help, please drop off your donations in the Nursery School foyer by Wednesday, January 13th.
Winter Heating Help
A reminder that we have a winter utilities fund available for members of St. James’. Please reach out to Rev. Kristin for more information if we can help you in the coming months.
Lectionary Readings for the First Sunday after the Epiphany:
Next Week’s Commemorations:
Prayer Rotation
Please join the Daughters of the King in praying for each parishioner in rotation during 2021 by taking this notice home and by posting it where it will remind you pray to on a daily basis for the needs and blessings of:
Chris and Misty Tieman (Holten, Haeden, Ascher)
John Travers and Linda Bonifant-Travers
Thomas and Beverly Williams
A member of the Daughters of the King will be contacting you this week for special prayer requests.