Weekly electronic newsletter
From the Rector-Reflections on Diocesan Convention Last Friday and Saturday people from around the Diocese met for the 234th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. Carla Kauffman, our Delegate, will be sharing her reflections at a later time. For my part, Convention this year was a bit chopped up. I missed Friday as I was home sick. I…
From the Rector- Comfort In, Dump Out One of the hardest things to know when someone is experiencing a crisis, trauma, or grieving, is what to say – and conversely, what NOT to say. You don’t realize how many trite platitudes there are out there, wrapped up in bad (and sometimes harmful) theology until you are the focus of people wanting to…
From the Rector- Transformation, Building a Stronger Church One of the questions the Vestry and I return to over and over, in various forms, is how can we be a vibrant, healthy faith community in a changing world – and specifically a world in which the role of faith communities is rapidly shifting. As with most things, there’s no silver bullet answer. …
Join us this Sunday at 9:30 am for a festive combined coffee hour as we cap off the REPLENISH & ESTABLISH PROJECT and announce the total raised in pledges & gifts WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS American Red Cross Blood Drive at St. James’ Please make your appointment for our upcoming blood drive to be held on Thursday, May 10 from 2:30 to…
From the Rector – I know it was just snowing on Monday, but I’m going to go ahead and talk about summer Last summer a conversation began about our summer worship schedule. It began when we worshipped together at a combined service Memorial Day weekend. Several folks mentioned how nice it was to see folks they usually don’t get a chance to…
From the Rector – Becoming Church – The Acts of the Apostles Throughout Lent folks gathered to study the Gospel of Luke, and this Eastertide we will continue The Good Book Club by exploring the formation of the early church in the Acts of the Apostles. We will meet on six Sundays, beginning April 15. …
From the Rector – It Begins With a Meal Today we enter the holiest days of the Christian year – the Triduum – the three great days that follow Jesus’ final footsteps. ~ Maundy Thursday, the last gathering with beloved friends. ~ Good Friday, the day Christ died. ~ Holy Saturday, when all the world…
Vestry St. James’ is in the process of establishing a Buildings and Grounds Team to help tackle the maintenance tasks, special projects and minor corrective repairs that come up routinely. Our goal is to use the wealth of resources we have in our congregation to keep our wonderful building in top shape while reducing our…
From the Rector – The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday Every year I feel the same tension between the celebration of Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday (March 25 this year). It feels like whiplash to have such a brief Palm celebration and then immediately dive deep into the solemnity of the Passion reading. Why…
From the Rector – Reading Luke I read scripture, in some way or another, almost every single day. But the joy I’ve been finding in purposely reading through the Gospel of Luke using Forward Day by Day as a guide, has been unexpected. Part of what’s making it extraordinary, is knowing that I’m reading alongside…