What does St. James' mean to you - in 25 words or less

You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and today many people's first impression of a church is the church's web site. We need your help in making a good first impression. We are looking to add brief statements from people to various pages on the stjameslothian.com - statements about what being part of the St. James' community means to you.

Please consider taking a few minutes and write a brief note describing a meaningful part of your relationship with the parish; for example:
* Why do you feel more at home or what moves you at a particular service?
* Has there been a particular Christian Ed. class that changed the way you looked at things?
* Has your involvement in a particular St. James' ministry made an impact in your life?

Please e-mail your statement to Rick Downs - stjameslothianweb@gmail.com. Quotations will not be attributed to you by name when they appear on the web site.

Young Families Ministry, Post-Thanksgiving Feast

A Thanksgiving feast Friday, November 26, at 6 p.m. in the parish hall. Please bring your favorite Thanksgiving leftover to share as we celebrate Thanksgiving with our church family. We’ll feast on turkey and all the sides, listen to Christmas carols, and decorate the St. James' Christmas tree with all the kids.

Christmas at Sea

The Women of St James’ Parish are planning to prepare shoeboxes for the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center as we did last year. Our goal for this year is 50 boxes or more. Each box will contain new toiletries, a scarf or hat, and a small Bible. We need your help. We will provide the boxes, and plans are being made to assemble the gifts "assembly line" style with the help of the youth. Donations of toiletries (sealed), postcards of Baltimore or Annapolis, new socks, pens, notepads, playing cards will be appreciated. Monetary donations to cover the cost of the Bibles would also be appreciated. Checks should be made out to St. James' Parish with Women of St. James’ Parish - Seafarers in the memo line. Questions? E-mail Peggy Horn: plantlady04@hughes.net.

Feed the Need: Donate a Turkey!

As the Holiday Season approaches, please make a donation of cash or one or more 10-20 pound frozen turkeys for St. James' Parish Holiday Food Baskets. If you plan to donate turkeys, please sign up on the sheet in the Parish Hall and place your turkeys in the kitchen freezer before Nov. 17 and Dec. 15. The Outreach Committee will coordinate distribution of about 70 Holiday meals on Sat., Nov 20 and again on Sat. Dec. 18. Please contact Linda Rines (Linda.Rines@comcast.net) if you can help between 7 - 11 a.m. on either Saturday. Thanks for supporting St. James' Parish's help for needy families in our local community.

Education for Ministry (EfM) Alumni

EfM Alumni: How do you know when you have done your work well?

We are inviting all Education for Ministry (EfM) alumni to join this year’s EfM group for food and fellowship on Sunday evening, November 14th, when we will be discussing this question as our common lesson. Our group is asking ourselves what we are called to change and how the consequences of our actions will affect our friends, neighbors, families and the world. We want the benefit of your experience - both during EfM and after graduation, as we each choose one calling that seems most dominant in our lives right now and we each make a "journey chart."

We would love to have you join us! Please RSVP to Marjie Mack, and we’ll send you the material we’ll be using for the discussion.