Regathering Update: Masks Required in Worship

New Covid cases continue to spike upwards, and there is increasing evidence that our present vaccines are less effective in stopping the spread of the delta variant (seen especially in the Provincetown, MA outbreak, where 74% of those infected had been vaccinated). For this reason, the entirety of the Diocese of Maryland has returned to REQUIRING MASKS in worship. Please remember to wear yours this Sunday! Also, if there are any who have not yet been vaccinated, please remember also that the vaccines ARE incredibly effective at preventing serious death and illness.

Family Movie Night, July 31!

 
FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT will be held on July 31, at 6:30 pm in Ticknor Hall. The Family Movie Night will be a double feature. The first movie will be, Khumba - good for all ages and the second movie will be, The Greatest Showman for the older kids and adults alike. Snacks and drinks will be provided. Please RSVP to either Sharon McGlaughlin at sharon.mcglaughlin1692@gmail.com or Paula Davis at pk621@aol.com with the number of people attending in your family/group. Thank you and look forward to seeing you!

Music Director Update - Singers Needed!

In a couple of weeks, we'll be giving our final two candidates a chance to show us how they'd lead us in worship. To do that, however, we'll need as many singers as possible to come out and sing with us. Maybe you're a long-time choir member, or maybe you've never sung with the choir before—all are welcome to come and sing (and bring a friend)! The session with our first candidate will be held on Monday, July 26 at 7pm; the session with our second candidate will be on Thursday, July 29 at 7pm in the Sanctuary. See you there!

Regathering Update: Masks Optional

Following state and diocesan guidelines for mask use, starting July 18 our morning services at St. Mark's and St. James' will be MASKS OPTIONAL for those who have been fully vaccinated. We will reassess this practice regularly as we receive data on new infections for our county, and encourage those who do not yet feel safe in a masks-optional setting to join us for our 5:30 pm Zoom service!

Outreach Committee - Children's Breakfast Club

Last year, the Children's Breakfast Club bagged over 10,000 breakfasts! The need did not disappear, and neither have we! This year, even with the lift of most of the pandemic restrictions, we will continue with last year's logistics for packing and delivery a week's worth of breakfasts for the children to ensure they have a morning meal each day - but we'll be delivering them on a weekly instead of a daily basis. You can help by making a financial donation as you are able to help purchase food. For more information, please contact Nola Meyers at noreme@verizon.net.

Lay Visitation Program

The Lay visitation ministry offers the opportunity to be symbols of God's love. Parishioners who are homebound, living in nursing homes or assisted living are visited to offer the Eucharist, fellowship and a connection to the church. If you have someone to add to the visitation list or would like to be a part of this ministry, please contact Charlie Wolfe at cswolf7@comcast.net.

St. James' Audio/Visual Team

We are currently looking at options for streaming our 10 AM Sunday worship service to reach out to new people online, and to help keep home-bound members of our parish connected to our worship—but we won't be able to do that without a team of volunteers who will be trained to operate this new technology! If you'd be willing to be a part of this team, please contact Fr. Joe at joe.lenow@stjameslothian.com.

Paint & Prayer Group, Starting June 30

We will be offering a new opportunity for Christian Formation - a Paint and Prayer group will begin meeting every other Wednesday evening at 7:00PM in Ticknor Hall beginning June 30. Materials will be provided. More details will follow. For more information contact Laura Miller at lmbirdwatcher@live.com.

New Bible Study Begins June 27!

Beginning Sunday, June 27 at 7:00PM, we'll be gathering together to study the Book of Judith, one of the Deuterocanonical books of the Bible/books of the Apocrypha (we'll be talking about what that means on June 27!). Check to make sure your Bible has the Book of Judith in it — if not, Fr. Joe recommends the HarperCollins Study Bible, the New Oxford Annotated Bible, or any Bible that's advertised as including the Apocrypha.

New 20s/30s Group Forming :).

It's summer, and after the year we've all had, it's time for a night out! Are you just starting out a new career, and looking to get to know some folks in the area? Just married, and looking to meet some folks at the same stage of life? Have a kid or three at home, and want a chance to put that new babysitter to work? This is the group for you! On June 24 at 7PM, we'll be meeting up at JessieJay's for some Latin cooking, beverages, and good conversation. All are welcome — bring some friends!

Summer Choir, Starting June 20!

The Summer Choir is regathering for our indoor worship on June 20! Maybe you're a member of the choir of long standing, or maybe you've never sung with the choir before and want to give it a try. The Summer Choir is open to anyone—we're just excited to gather together and lift our voices in worship! Practices are at 9AM, right before our 10AM worship, starting June 20. We hope to see you there!

Regathering Update!

We are preparing to return to indoor worship at both St. Mark's and St. James', targeting a June 20 start date. Though we'll still have to wear masks indoors for now, we'll be able to sing and will not need to pre-register people for services. We will also continue to have a Zoom service for those who are not yet ready to return to in-person worship. We'll send out more information as the situations and diocesan guidance develops, but we're excited to be moving in this direction!

Parish Calendar: Planning Ahead

Good news! We are starting to put events (regularly scheduled and one-time) on the Parish calendar with the hope that we will actually be able to gather to do meetings and other events sometime this summer! As your Committees/Programs begin to plan activities for summer and fall, it is not too soon for Vestry Liaisons, Committee Chairs, or Program Leaders to make sure those requests for parish meeting rooms/grounds get onto the calendar so we can share our spaces and accommodate everyone: call the Parish Office 410-867-2838 (Janet or Maia) or email calendar@stjameslothian.com.

2021 Reading Camp South County - August 2-6

It is time to think about Reading Camp 2021. Our current plan is for the Reading Camp to return to an in-person format this year, which will allow us to reach the widest possible number of kids. To allow the students to participate at no cost, we depend on your donations! Please send your donation to the St. James' Parish office c/o Janet Bruce. To volunteer to help, please contact Paula Davis at southcounty.md.readingcamp@gmail.com.

Calling Acolytes, Readers, and Servers!

As we lay the groundwork for returning to worship at St. Mark's Chapel and St. James' Church in the months ahead, we're looking to add new members to our worship teams! If you're interested in helping on the altar at one of the Sunday Services, we'd love to have you! Acolytes, Readers, and Servers are important to the worship life of the parish, and we invite you to participate in this meaningful service. If you'd like to get on our roster for one of these ministries, please contact Jean Davis at jmd27@comcast.net, and stay tuned for information about future training sessions as our regathering process progresses!