St. James' Parish Annual Celebration, Sunday, January 31

     Please join us via Zoom on Sunday, January 31, 2021, after the 10 AM service for the 329th St. James' Parish Annual Celebration. This annual event provides everyone an opportunity to enjoy fellowship and celebrate the parish activities and ministries of 2020. The participation of all parishioners, 16 years of age and above, will be important as we plan, along with our new Rector-Elect, the Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lenow, for the 2021 year in the life of our parish!
     The 2021 parish budget will be discussed, and three new candidates (Greg Davis, Chandler Keys, and Kaitlin Wilding) who have been called to serve on the Vestry will be presented for ratification. We hope you will make plans to join us for this wonderful opportunity to celebrate our past and plan for our future in each other’s fellowship!
     - St. James' Parish Vestry

Bible Study, Tuesdays at 9am on Zoom!

Join Fr. Joe for a weekly study of some of the greatest, most important, and most challenging stories ever told. We'll be working together through Ellen Davis' book Getting Involved with God: Rediscovering the Old Testament. Each chapter of this modern spiritual classic takes one passage of the Old Testament as its focus, and we'll use this book as a launching point for our discussion this week. Our first meeting will be on January 26, so get your book now! The class will last about an hour, but if this time doesn't work for your schedule, not to worry - we'll be announcing an evening class soon.

St. James' Youth: 11-17 Year Olds Are Zooming!

     The 11-17 Year Olds are continuing to Zoom and even did a craft. Materials were delivered to each participating student. If you would like to be included in these fun activities, please contact Kaitlin Wilding kaitlin6@comcast.net or Jacqueline Wilding jacqsmack6@comcast.net.

Boy Scouts Will Help Shovel Your Snow!

     Our Boy Scouts have offered to shovel driveways and/or walks for any of our Amazing Grays or other Seniors who could use their help. They would like to have your names and addresses ahead of the snow so they can just jump to help as soon as it snows this winter!
     Please contact Marjie Mack mmack3108@comcast.net or Michelle Doran+ at michellesdoran@gmail.com now if you would like to be added to their list. We are very grateful to our scouts for this kind and timely offer!

St. James' Parish Book Club, January 19

The St. James' Parish Book Club will meet online using Zoom on January 19th (and the 3rd Tuesday of every month) to enjoy fellowship and a contemporary book discussion. This month, they will discuss the book, American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. New members are always welcome! For additional information, please contact Edlu Thom-Harper at edlu.th@comcast.net or Nancy Horkan at nhorkan@comcast.net.

Christmas Food Baskets Distributed

Thanks to all who volunteered their time, talent, and money to help distribute approximately 60 Christmas Dinners to needy families in our community on December 19th! This ongoing food ministry is made possible through a partnership between St. James’ Parish and the Friendship United Methodist Church. Information about Easter Dinner distribution will be available soon. For additional information, or to volunteer to help, please contact Cindy Carrier at bccarrier@comcast.net.

Blue Christmas - An Invitation, December 22

     Christmas can be a painful time for some, especially in 2020. This may be the first Christmas without a beloved family member who has recently died; it may be a time of Covid or other personal or economic difficulty, or Christmas may simply be a time that has always been difficult.
     The constant refrain about the happiness of the season, about getting together with family and friends, reminds many of what they may have lost or may have never had. The anguish of broken relationships, the insecurity of unemployment, the weariness of ill health, the pain of isolation - all these can make us feel very alone in the midst of the celebrating and spending. We need the space and time to acknowledge our sadness and concern; we need to know that we are not alone.
     You are invited to join in this service of sharing prayer, scripture, and music that acknowledge that, even in these difficult times, God is present for those who mourn, for those who struggle - and that God’s Word comes to shine light into our darkness. Everyone, regardless of church background (or lack of it) is welcome.
     The Service is being offered via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 22nd. The Zoom Link will be sent out Monday, December 21st.

NEW PHOTO DIRECTORY!

We need your help so our new Rector can get to know us during a pandemic! We’re doing this ourselves (casual photos are fine) and we want to have it ready to help welcome Fr. Joe when he arrives on January 1, so we need these photos by December 13th. Photos received later will be added as time allows. Please submit a family (or individual) photo ASAP by doing one of the following:

• Email your photo (with all names) to StJamesDirectoryphoto@gmail.com.
• Mail your photo (with all names) to Directory Photos, c/o St. James’ Parish, 5757 Solomons Island Rd, Lothian MD 20711.
• Drop off your photo (with all names) to "DIRECTORY PHOTOS" tray on the right side of the Copier Room (Door 10) in the Parish Office Building.
• Come in person to the Parish Office Building from 9:00 to 11:00 AM on Thursday December 10, Friday December 11 or Saturday December 12, when Jim Cheston will take informal photos (no appointment needed).

Your submitted photo implies your consent for its use for church purposes only. Questions? call Jim Cheston at 443-822-1571. Thank you so much for helping to welcome Father Joe! -- Marjie Mack

Advent Book Study - Incarnation: Rediscovering the Significance of Christmas

Be Transformed this Advent Season! His parents gave him the name Jesus. But the prophets, the shepherds, the wise men, and the angels addressed him by other names. They called him Lord, Messiah, Savior, Emmanuel, Light of the World, and Word Made Flesh. In Incarnation: Rediscovering the Significance of Christmas, best-selling author Adam Hamilton examines the names of Christ used by the gospel writers, exploring the historical and personal significance of his birth. Please join us on Saturdays, (28 November through 19 December) from 0830-1030 to reflect upon the significance of the Christ-child for our lives. If you are interested in participating in this study please email Brenda Boucher at totheskies@msn.com to receive a Zoom invitation.

2020 Holiday Food Baskets, November 21

St. James' Parish will be distributing groceries for 75 Thanksgiving dinners to needy families in our community on Saturday, November 21 from 7-10:30 AM. This year, special safety measures and new logistics will be in place in order to ensure everyone's safety. For additional information, or to volunteer to help, please contact Cindy Carrier at bccarrier@comcast.net.

St. James' Parish Book Club

The St. James' Parish Book Club will meet online using Zoom on November 17th (and the 3rd Tuesday of every month) to enjoy fellowship and a contemporary book discussion. This month, they will discuss the book, Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family, by Robert Kolker. New members are always welcome! For additional information, please contact Edlu Thom-Harper at edlu.th@comcast.net.

Don't forget! Fall back Saturday night with end of daylight saving time

It's that time of year again! Daylight saving time ends as clocks "fall back" one hour. The official time change is at 2 AM Sunday, but for people that turn in earlier, go ahead and set your clocks back before going to bed. Your smartphone and computer should automatically adjust. However, you’ll need to manually change the clocks on your car radio, oven, alarm clock and the other standalone clocks around your home.

Parish Leadership Workshop, November 4

The 2020 Annual Parish Celebration is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, January 31. At that time, the three members who will be rotating off the Vestry will be replaced with new parishioners. A Leadership Workshop will be held on Wednesday, November 4 at 7 PM (most likely via Zoom) in order to provide information to those who might be interested in learning more about what it is like to serve in a leadership position on the Vestry, or as the parish representative to the Southern Maryland Regional Council or the Diocesan Convention. Please give prayerful thought to a call to serve. For additional information, or to register for the workshop, please contact the Rev. John Keydel at jkeydel@gmail.com.

Announcing The Reverend Joseph E. Lenow as our 33rd Rector

St. James' is pleased to announce that The Rev. Joseph E. Lenow, Phd. has been called to be our parish's 33^rd rector. Father Joe comes to us most recently from Nebraska, where he wore multiple hats as a professor of religion at Creighton University, Interim Priest Associate at St. Mark’s on the Campus Church at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Priest Associate at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Omaha. He is a graduate of Duke Divinity School and the University of Virginia. Father Joe’s ministry with us will begin January 1st, 2021!
Introducing Father Joe ()

2020 Fall Oyster and Country Ham Dinner & Festival - Cancelled

The 2020 Fall Oyster and Country Ham Dinner & Festival has been cancelled due to the challenges associated with providing adequate social distancing and other safety precautions required to protect volunteers and guests from the Coronavirus. We're hopeful that we will be able to hold the Spring Crab Cake and Country Ham Dinner & Festival as usual.