CLICK HERE
Vestry
Vestry members completed the final session of the book study: “We Shall Be Changed: Questions for the Post-Pandemic Church.” The essays collected in this book helped us identify issues and opportunities arising from the pandemic. Several essays pointed out that the pandemic amplified and accelerated preexisting trends.
It hasn’t been easy and we are not finished yet – our county’s numbers place us in the diocesan orange phase, but we’re approaching the yellow phase. The impacts to our faith community, Thrift Shop and Nursery School began rather suddenly. The process of climbing out will take longer than the onset, but we’re making progress in small steps. I want to thank everyone – our staff, volunteers, and those serving on Vestry for going above and beyond. We’re pulling through this with your help and prayers. You can find diocesan Coronavirus info here.
Sunday Worship Information
INDOOR HOLY EUCHARIST
Reserve Your Seats for 8:30 Worship
or watch the service livestreamed on Facebook
Based on Diocesan guidelines and the size of our sanctuary our max capacity for this service will be 40 people. This means that if you would like to attend the 8:30 am service you will need to sign up in advance. The link to sign up will be in the Shell Newsletter every week and on the website homepage about half way down.
To read our COVID Protocols click here.
NOTE: If you are assigned to serve as an usher, reader, or on altar guild you do NOT need to sign up for any date at which you are serving.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SEATS FOR May 30 and June 6
OUTOOR HOLY EUCHARIST WITH MUSIC
Join us on Trinity Sunday for Holy Eucharist with music
in the Memorial Garden at 10:30 am
- We ask that folks wear masks when coming and going to outdoor services, but you are welcome to unmask when seated if you wish.
- There is no sign up for attending the 10:30 am outdoor worship
Our Saturday worship email will continue to be sent through the end of June.
Beginning in July, look for this information in The Shell Newsletter every Thursday.
Thrift Shop
Thrift Shop Happenings
The shop has many wonderful summer clothes for ladies, men and children and some even have designer labels and we have an abundance of athletic wear for the entire family.
We hired a new Customer Service Representative, Traci Smith, who previously volunteered at the shop along with her fiancé. She is a great asset to our staff and we are delighted to have her. April 21 was her first day.
We have started posting dolls on Facebook Market Place and eBay as well as placing other collectible items in our new “Specialty Items” showcase in the shop to display items of higher quality and value. If you have a collectible item and would like to donate it to the shop, call Deb Schaeffer at 301-829-0314 or email mauideb54@gmail.com. We will provide you with tax deductible donation slip.
The updated St. James’ Thrift Shop Handbook is finally finished and was given to staff and volunteers at our monthly meeting. Thank you to all who made contributions.
Sales continue to increase due to the wonderful donations we receive and the excellent help from our staff and volunteers. We have an average of 19-20 different volunteers each month; some from our church, some from the community and some from the Mormon Missionaries.
Thank you to all who donated supplies to the shop! Our shelves are stocked and replenished. A parishioner donated new rugs for the shop and they were put on the floors after our spring clean up day! Thank you all again!
BSA Troop 829
A lot has happened in 2021 for Troops 829 B and G. Over the winter a scout from both Troop 829 B and G earned the highest rank in Scouts BSA, the rank of Eagle. Both scouts worked very hard throughout their scouting career and this achievement was well deserved and earned. We will be celebrating their achievements next month at their Eagle Courts of Honor. Both scouts will be continuing their scouting career. Our scout from 829B will continue within the troop and is now the Troop Guide for our newest scouts. Our scout from 829G will be instructing at Scout Camp as an adult and returning to us as an adult leader when home from college.
This spring also brought great accomplishment and achievement, Troop 829B enthusiastically welcomed six scouts from three different cub scout packs in March. In the two months since these scouts joined the troop, two have earned their first rank within Scouts BSA and the others are very close. Either way, they have fully embraced scout life and are enthusiastically meeting each challenge they face head on and earning their ranks, as are all our other scouts. However, these achievements do not stop with the new scouts. Other scouts from Troop 829 B and G have continued to work hard and many have also earned their new rank. All these achievements will be celebrated the beginning of June at our Court of Honor.
We have continued to camp, hike, and have fun activities. Both troops climbed, ziplined, and walked through the trees at Sandy Spring Adventure Park. Both troops are also working on the Hiking Merit Badge where they are going on hikes ranging from 5 to 20 miles. Also, in supporting our community, we helped Mt. Airy Net with their move in May.
Looking forward to summer, Troops 829 B and G will be attending their first resident camp since the troops formed. This June, we are headed to the eastern shore for a week of fun, achievement, and camaraderie. As Lord Baden-Powell said, “A week of camp life is worth six months of theoretical teaching in the meeting room.” We are also planning on continuing to grow our unit with the addition of a cub scout pack.
Anyone interested in joining our unit, either as a scout or scouter (volunteer), please reach out to us.
Troop 829B, ages 11-17 – Bill Cunnane (Scoutmaster.Bill@troop829.org)
Troop 829G, ages 11-17 – Jennifer Swift (Scoutmaster.Jen@troop829.org)
Pack 829, Kindergarten through 4th grade – Bill Cunnane
Volunteering (18+) – Bill Cunnane and/or Jennifer Swift
Outreach
DONATIONS NEEDED FOR MT. AIRY NET
During the month of June your Outreach Committee would like to request donations of non-perishable items to help replenish supplies for our local food pantry.
The Mt. Airy NET Food Pantry is dedicated to alleviating hunger and increasing awareness of the hunger problem in the Mt. Airy community and has recently relocated to acquire more storage space. It is now conveniently located just across the street from our church at the Mt. Airy Baptist Church.
Your donations may be placed in our own St. James’ NET shopping cart on Sunday mornings or brought in during our office hours. On Sundays, the donation grocery cart will be located in the narthex for the 8:30 service and outside the rear entrance for the 10:30 service.
If you have a larger quantity of donations or are in need of assistance, the hours of operation for the Mt. Airy NET are Tuesday -Thursday 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at 1402 North Main Street; their office phone number is 301-829-0472.
Suggested donations needed are listed below. Your generosity will be greatly appreciated by those in need.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Kristin+ Away
Kristin+ will be out of the office from June 3 through June 12 for The College for Congregational Development. If you have a pastoral emergency please call her cell phone.
The Rev. Joanna White, Canon for Pastoral Services, Diocese of Maryland, will be our guest celebrant on June 6. Joanna serves as the chaplain for clergy, diocesan staff, and their families. Joanna graduated from Yale Divinity School and was ordained by the Diocese of New York. Prior to that she studied nursing at Wesley College in Dover, Delaware and obtained a degree in criminal justice while practicing psychiatric nursing. Joanna holds additional master’s degrees in Community Health from Long Island University and Spirituality and Pastoral Care from Loyola University. She has served as rector of three parishes and done combined parish ministry and chaplaincy work, as well as work in recovery services. Joanna lives in Annapolis and has three children and four granddaughters. She has 2 grand-dogs and one ungrateful grand-cat who requested to be added to the family
Lectionary Readings for Trinity Sunday:
Next Week’s Commemorations:
JunePrayer 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:
Robert and Karen Larrimore
Ed and Tonya Lee (Brooke, William)
Phillip Massay and Jie Yang (Ethan)
A member of the Daughters of the King will be contacting you this week for special prayer requests.
