The Shell Newsletter – January 14, 2021

From the Rector

When we feel overwhelmed

The events in Washington, DC last week are still reverberating through our nation and in our lives. Those of us with children have had to have hard conversations about what happened and have needed to offer assurances of safety. All of us have likely felt anxiety mixed with other strong emotions.

So here’s my question: how are you taking care of yourself? How are you managing your feelings, and helping those around you do so as well? What are you doing to remind yourself that God is with you in all of this?

This week I came across a resource for parents with two activities to use with children when they experience traumatic events. They are both simple but faithful, designed to help children and their adults find calm and safety through reassurance of God’s presence. You can download this resource here.

But here’s the thing I really want to say. These activities aren’t just for kids. We all need to take time and make space for prayer and for the practices that help us remember that God is with us always. We are living in extraordinary times – the layers of the pandemic, economic distress, and social strife are wearing us all down. I pray that you will do the soul work of spiritual re-centering when you feel the overwhelm of the world. And I extend the offer for conversation and prayer if that would be helpful for you, I am here if you need me.

Yours in God’s peace,
Kristin+

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

Reminder to Ministry Chairs
Please be sure your report is turned in to the office by January 17.

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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.  You can read their stories here.  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.

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Sunday Worship Information

The Middle-High School class will not meet indoors during the month of January but will resume classes on February 7^th.
Pre-school through 5^th Grade will have Zoom lessons with Betsy Davis and Yvette Allen at 9:30 a.m. Sunday mornings.

St. James’ Annual Meeting will be held – on Zoom – at 9am on January 31, 2021 to review the year 2020 in our parish life and ministries…..and what a year it has been!  The entrance of COVID 19 into our lives and worship in March totally caused a huge adjustment in how we worshipped and ran our ministries and our Nursery and Thrift Shop. Church services, Sunday School, Mite Boxes, Stewardship, Basket Raffle and much more resulted in many conversations as a new ‘way of doing things safely’ had to be brainstormed, discussed, decided and executed – and church finances were not an exception to this new process!

A major effort for the Finance Committee has always been transparency – assuring that St. James’ parishioners know and understand the finances of the church since ………..parishioners are the ones whose pledges and dedication are the bedrock of our parish. Much has happened in the finance area since March 2020, when St. James’ Church, Nursery and Thrift Shop closed for 2+ months, as the Vestry made many decisions to keep St. James’ financially stable. We urge parishioners to attend the meeting to hear the Finance report and applaud the Vestry for their determined and positive work during 2020.