2017 Reading Camp - We Need YOUR Help!

It is time to assemble our team for the 2017 year. Camp will be held July 31 - August 4 at St. James' Parish. We need several kinds of volunteers. To run the instructional groups, we need teachers current or retired. We also need adults who were not teachers, and we need several teenagers. If you helped last year and are able and willing to help again, please let us know. If you didn’t help but wish to join the team, WELCOME! For more information, please contact Paula Davis at southcounty.md.readingcamp@gmail.com.

Summer Note Reading Course

Anyone seriously interested in the annual Note Reading Course should contact St. James' Parish Music Director, Michael Ryan, at mryansings@verizon.net by June 30 to register. The class begins in mid July and is held for 5 weeks, 2 evenings per week. All work is done in class and the workbook is available for $10.

Sing with the Summer Choir!

Music is an important part of our worship experience, and we make every effort to provide it to our congregations during the summer months. Beginning on June 11th, just show up in church at 9 AM on any given Sunday and practice an anthem to sing for the Service at 10 a.m. Everyone is invited to participate - either on a regular or a one-time basis. This is a great time to try singing in the choir... and, it's fun! Music is selected depending on the group we have on each Sunday. Everyone is welcome to participate!

St. James' Parish Community Yard Sale, June 3

St. James' is hosting a community yard sale on June 3 from 8 AM - 1 PM. Rain or Shine! Spaces will be in the lower parking lot and rent for $25 (10 x 10 foot spot with a table). The deadline for renting a space is May 28th (or until they are all rented). All rental space fees will benefit the work of the St. James' Parish Community Outreach Fund.

St. James' Parish will also have a table, and your donations are welcome! Items should be in good and usable condition (please no clothes, shoes, or electronics) and can be dropped off in the Library. Books are welcome but limited to 10 per donation. Please box and mark the items "yard sale." Proceeds from the St. James' Parish table will benefit the Community Assistance Fund.

For additional information, to register and submit payment, or to volunteer, please contact Ashley at Artemis914@aol.com.

The Breakfast Club - How You Can Help

The Breakfast Club is in their 7th year of feeding local children meals during the summer. Last year we fed over 200 kids daily throughout the summer. This is a community event and all are welcome to help. St. James' has been involved in packing a day's worth of meals on Wednesday evenings during the summer. We also have donated funds to help support this ministry. In addition to packing, they need drivers to deliver the food to Patuxent and Lyon's Creek Mobile Parks. If you are interested in helping with either packing or delivering, please contact Nola Meyers at noreme@verizon.net.

The Great St. James' Parish Bake-Off

Open to All Age Groups, this fun baking competition needs you! Bring your home-made-from-scratch cookies, cakes, pies and bread items to St. James' Parish on Saturday June 10th. Items will be judged by area chefs based on originality, appearance, and taste, and then auctioned at the annual Parish Picnic on June 11. For more information, please contact Lesa Eser at lesaeser@gmail.com, or Lillie Barret at garylillie502@gmail.com.

Buildings and Grounds Committee Meeting on Wednesday, May 10

ALL HANDY HANDS AND GENEROUS HEARTS--There will be a meeting on Wednesday, May 10, at 7:00 PM, in the Library to reestablish the Buildings & Grounds Committee. Since we have not had a Junior Warden since October 2016, the Vestry is working to re-establish this Committee which is responsible for the maintenance and improvement of our buildings and grounds. Many hands make light work, so please come be a part of this important ministry. There is need for committee members (5-7), others who can be called on to help with specific projects or skills, and a committee chair. Additionally, we need a Junior Warden who can be a committee member or its Chair. If you have any questions, please contact Kathy Newman, Treasurer, at newmankelly@comcast.net or Nancy Horkan, Senior Warden, at nhorkan@comcast.net.

Senior Recognition Sunday

On Sunday, May 21st, at the 9:00 AM service, we will be recognizing all graduating High School, Trade School, and College students. If you have a graduating senior, please email Bill+ at ticknor@stjameslothian.com, and state whether the graduate would like to receive a Book of Common Prayer or a Bible as a gift. Please provide to the office the name of the institution, from which the individual is graduating, and a brief paragraph about the individual to ticknor@stjameslothian.com, no later than May 20.

Spring Dinner - We Need YOUR Support!

St. James' Parish will hold the annual Spring Crab Cake and Country Ham Dinner and Festival on Saturday, May 20, from 1-5 PM. This is a wonderful day of fellowship for everyone at St. James' Parish and the community, and we need your support! Please donate your time, your talents to support the event. Financial donations to help offset the cost of food for the dinners are appreciated and can be given to Peggy Tucker. We also need donations of baked goods, attic treasure items, plants, books and DVDs.

• Baked Goods Donations Please be sure to make a note of the ingredients that you use in your baking. Many ingredients can potentially cause allergic reactions. We want to avoid any problems which may be caused by ingredients such as nuts, milk products, eggs or wheat.
• Attic Treasures Gather up all those unwanted, gently used items that you have been meaning to get rid of in the attic and the basement.
• Plants Please bring your newly divided house plants and perennials to the Parish Hall any time the week before the dinner. Please leave them outside by the North Portico.
• Book Stall Please consider donating your gently used books and DVDs. Just leave your donations in the designated box located in the Parish Library.

For more information, to volunteer to help, or to make a financial donation, please contact Lesa Eser at lesaeser@gmail.com, or Lillie Barret at garylillie502@gmail.com.

Easter Dinners Provided to 58 Families!

Thanks to the generous contribution of hams and other groceries, approximately 25 volunteers from St. James' Parish and Friendship United Methodist Church worked in partnership to organize and provide Easter food baskets to 58 local families in need on April 15th. And, thanks to the generous financial donation of approximately $2,000 from Friendship UMC and some additional money from St. James' parishioners, there were even extra groceries that we were able to donate to the SCAN Food Bank!

This Food Basket Ministry provides holiday dinners three times each year to families who need assistance - at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Thanks for your generous support that continues to make this important Outreach Committee project possible!

Calling all Handy-Hands

Whether you know something about gardening, household repairs, electrical work, plumbing, masonry, painting or just like to get your hands dirty helping on a project; we need You! We need you to join us Sunday, May 7th at 10 a.m. (in-between the two services) in the Parish Hall to discuss an approach to the maintenance and improvement of our buildings and grounds. Please reply to newmankelly@comcast.net and let us know you’ll be there. We plan to discuss how the work can be divided and shared to accomplish our buildings and grounds needs. If you have ideas to share but can’t make that meeting, please email newmankelly@comcast.net with your ideas. Thanks in advance. - Your Vestry

Lenten Program, The "Easter Experience" - Session 6, April 11

Join us at 6 PM in the Parish Hall for a fellowship and a pot luck supper before the lesson at 7:30. A free will offering will benefit our Community Assistance fund.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry Speaking at Goucher College on May 12

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will speak at The Big Tent Meeting on Friday evening, May 12, at Goucher College. This event, with music by Patrick Lundy and the Ministers of Music, is free and open to the public. Go to https://goo.gl/VnXB0m for more information, to register, and for a free ticket!

Crosses for Palm Sunday

Crosses for Palm Sunday will be made in the Parish Hall kitchen on Saturday, April 8 at 8:30 AM. Everyone is invited to help!

Lenten Program, The "Easter Experience" - Session 5, April 4

Join us at 6 PM in the Parish Hall for a fellowship and a pot luck supper before the lesson at 7:30. A free will offering will benefit our Community Assistance fund.