Our First Lenten Soup and Bread Supper, February 24

Our first Lenten soup and bread supper will be held Wednesday, February 24, with fellowship at 6 p.m. and supper at 6:30 p.m. Our clergy will introduce us to our Lenten program. Each person is asked to make a free will offering for their soup and bread supper. The funds collected will go toward the various outreach programs which will be presented each Wednesday night.

Library Committee Spring Luncheon and Wedding Gown Fashion Show

The Library Committee is sponsoring a Spring Luncheon and Wedding Gown Fashion Show. Please contact Lillie Barrett 301-855-7829 if you have a wedding gown, mother of the bride outfit, flower girl and ring bearer outfits from the past, present, or vintage ones.

All services for tomorrow are canceled.

All services at St. James' Parish and St. Mark's chapel are canceled for tomorrow, February 7. If you know of anyone who does not have internet access please pass this information on to them! Thanks so much and have a safe weekend!

Services Tomorrow

Tomorrow morning's service at St. Mark's chapel has been canceled. All Sunday School classes are canceled as well. Please know that the walkways and parking lot at St. James' will not begin to be shoveled until after the snow stops.

Souper Bowl Sunday will be postponed until February 21st. Please do not attempt to travel on hazardous roadways. Be safe and stay warm. See you all next week!

Souper Bowl Sunday, February 7

Please join young people around the country as they demonstrate God's love by loving their neighbors through the Souper Bowl of Caring. It’s a simple, yet significant act of caring for others. Since the Souper Bowl of Caring began in 1990, more than $60 million has gone to help people in need. Please support the youth of our church in this effort to "love our neighbors" by dropping your donation in the soup pot on February 7th. Thanks!

Confirmation Classes Starting Soon

Confirmation classes will begin at the end of January. If you are interested in being confirmed this year, please e-mail Amanda at Amanda@stjameslothian.com. You must be at least 14 years of age. We will be using the curriculum, "I Will, With God’s Help" by Mary Lee Wile.

The Women of St. James' Parish Need Your Recipes

The Women of St. James' Parish are preparing a cookbook of soups and desserts, many of which were served at our Lenten Suppers. We are planning to have the cookbook ready for sale during the Lenten season and also at our Spring Dinner. If your family has a favorite soup or dessert recipe that you’d like to share, please send your recipes to Susanne Smith - shsmith38@aol.com. We are particularly in need of delicious desserts. We need to have the recipes ASAP in order to have the cookbook printed in time for the Lenten season. Thank you.

St. James' Parish Annual Meeting on January 24 at 1 p.m.

Our Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, January 24 at 1 p.m. The following members of the Vestry are rotating off: Donald J. Collins, JoEllen L. Kelly, and Linda L. Rines. We will be voting on proposed Parish by-law changes. Copies of the current and proposed by-laws may be found in the back of both the church and chapel.

Special Coffee Hour, January 10, following the 9 am Service

On January 10th following the 9 am Service there will be a special coffee hour to honor Priscilla Hardesty. The "bare-bones budget" for this New Year does not allow us to have a Parish Secretary. Priscilla has agreed to volunteer one day a week to assist wherever possible. We are indebted to her for her many years of service in this capacity since 1980. If you are willing to bring some "goodies," please contact Peggy Horn.

Youth Ice Skating at Bowie Ice Arena, January 10th

Youth of all ages are invited to go ice skating at the Bowie Ice Arena. We will meet at the church at noon for lunch and carpool to the Ice Arena for a public skate from 2 – 4 p.m. We should return to church by 4:30 p.m.

Admission is $4.50 and skate rental is available for $2.75. If we have a large enough group, we could have a reduced rate. A sign-up sheet will be posted in the Parish Hall.

Proposed By-Laws Changes Announcement

The vestry of St. James' Parish is proposing modifications to our By-Laws. These changes will be adopted if a majority of the members of St. James' Parish vote to ratify them at the Annual Parish Meeting on January 24, 2010. Copies of the current and proposed By-Laws will be available in the back of the church and chapel as well as on the News Section on the St. James' website. The major changes include:

• appointment of a youth representative to the vestry
• procedure to administer the vestry selection process
• ratification or election of new vestry members
• termination of a vestry member due to three months of unexcused absences.

If you have any questions, please contact James Dowell at dowellfarm@verizon.net.

It's the 12 Days of Christmas with a Christmas Pageant Twist!

Due to the snow storm, the Christmas Pageant has been rescheduled to Jan. 3rd at the 9 a.m. service. Please come out and support our children this Christmas Season. You may just experience Christmas in a whole new way!

Offering Envelopes for 2010 Available

Offering envelopes for 2010 are available on a table in the hallway of the parish hall. If you would like some envelopes, please contact the parish office and we will make sure that they will be there.

Weather-related Cancellations and Postponements

Due to the large amount of snow that has fallen and will continue to fall, the following parish events have either been canceled or postponed:

• The 8:00am service at St. Mark's Chapel has been canceled for 12/20.
• The Christmas Pageant scheduled for the 9:00am service on 12/20 has been postponed. The pageant will be held during the 9:00am service on 1/3.
• Christmas caroling scheduled for 1:30 on 12/20 has been canceled.

Christmas Caroling, December 20 at 1:30pm

The St. James’ Parish Annual Christmas Caroling will take place on Sunday, December 20th, at 1:30 p.m. Please join us for a fun afternoon of Greenstreet Gardens and neighborhood caroling. We’ll be singing for some of our homebound friends as well. Please sign up outside Amanda’s office or email sharon.mcglaughlin@yahoo.com. Everyone of every age is welcome!