College Ministry

If you have a student who is in college or will be starting college this fall, please send their name and address to Taylor Milbradt at tayfm@aol.com.

Adult Forum: Quarks, Chaos & Christianity, September 8th

The Adult Forum meets at 10 AM In the Parish library on Sundays. Starting September 8th, we will begin a study of John Pilkinghorne's , "Quarks, Chaos & Christianity." This book brings together both the leading scientific views of our century together with a reasonable explanation of current Christian thought. It is written with economy and plain language so as illustrate the command that the author has in both science and spiritual thought. This welcoming group offers and open and lively discussion. Hope to see you there; bring your coffee and jump right in! For more information, contact Dean Lewis at deanlewis47@gmail.com.

Join us! Adult Choir Rehearsals Resume

St. James' Parish offers two adult choirs—the Senior Choir and the Celebration Choir - both staffed by volunteer singers. No special musical ability or great singing voice is required to participate in the choirs! Everyone is welcomed and encouraged to come together for fun, fellowship, worship, discipleship and ministry - oh, and they sing, too!

The Senior Choir sings at the 11 AM service and features traditional music. The Celebration Choir sings at the 9 AM service choosing more contemporary praise music. Both choirs enjoy singing spirit-filled music that blesses them and lifts up the congregation!

The adult choirs rehearse on Thursday evenings. The Senior Choir will resume rehearsals on September 5th at 7:30 PM. The Celebration Choir will begin on August 29th with dinner at 7 PM and rehearsal to follow.

For more information about choir activities, please contact St. James' Parish Music Director, Michael Ryan, at mryansings@verizon.net.

Blessing Backpacks - Extended

Backpacks, totes, briefcases, and a few purses were blessed August 18th at the 10:00 AM service. For those of you who were not able to bring your backpack, briefcase, or tote blessings and tags are still available! You can bring your backpacks, briefcases, tote bags, etc. to the 10:00 AM service on 8/25 or 9/1 for a blessing and a laminated tag.

"The Bible for Dummies" Class

"The Bible for Dummies" Class, a discussion group, which will be led by Deacon Kerry Smith and our Assistant Rector Dawn Campbell on Tuesday nights from 7:30 PM until 8:30 PM in the Music Room beginning on Tuesday, September 17th. Signup sheets will be available at St. Mark’s Chapel and in the Parish Hall beginning 8/18. This is a study about the Bible, not a Bible study. We will use the book "The Bible for Dummies" as our reference which is written by two PhD theologians who work as Assistant Professors of Theology at Boston College and Xavier University. We hope to have copies available for purchase at the first session.

Adult Confirmation and Reception Classes

There will be classes for adults, who desire to be Confirmed or Received into The Episcopal Church on Sunday, June 22, 2014. At the same time that the Youth Confirmation Classes are being held beginning Monday, September 30th from 7 p.m. - 8 p.m., adults will be meeting with the Rector and the curriculum will be Your Faith, Your Life: An Invitation to The Episcopal Church. Each adult will receive a copy. The class will follow the format of a book club. Each month we will review and discuss one chapter. Please contact Bill+ at ticknor@stjameslothian.com or 410-867-2838 before September 30th.

Youth Confirmation Classes

Youth Confirmation classes will begin Monday, September 30th from 7:00pm-8:00pm and will be held monthly until June 2014. On Sunday, June 22, 2014 Bishop Eugene T. Sutton will be making a visitation to St. James' and will officiate the Rite of Confirmation for those youth who have completed the Confirmation class. The curriculum will be My Faith, My Life: A Teen's Guide to the Episcopal Church. Each youth will receive their own copy. The class will follow the format of a book club. Each month we will review and discuss one chapter.

If your teenager (10th -12th grade) would like to participate in the Rite of Confirmation, please contact Dawn+ at dawncampbell@stjameslothian.com or (410)867-2838, before September 30th.

Blessing Backpacks - Don't forget yours!

On Sunday, August 18th at the 10:00am service (the Sunday before school starts for Calvert County) the backpacks of children, youth, and college students can be brought up to the altar at the end of the service for a blessing. Each backpack will receive a laminated tag showing that it has been blessed. This has now been expanded to include adults, so bring your briefcase, laptop bag, etc.

Update from Linda in Ghana

Linda Rines from our parish is currently on a mission trip through Ghanaian Mothers' Hope. Please read her August 6th blog post to learn more about her experience and this important mission.

Sunday School Registration

Sunday school begins September 8th after the 9:00am service!! On-line registration is available! Click here to register on-line. Click here to fill out a digital registration form that can be printed and mailed, or dropped off to Dawn+.

Flowers in St. James' Church

Deale Florist has closed. For years they have been arranging most of our flowers for the altar and the organ. We have been using Floral Expressions in Owings. There has been some interest in us arranging the flowers ourselves at St. James' Church. Lillie Barrett is looking for 8 individuals, who might be interested in this project. If you are willing to consider this, please contact Lillie at 301-855-7829.