Amazing Grays, Helping to Stay Connected!

    The Amazing Grays senior lunch and conversation group continues to serve as a resource for those seniors who are at home and need a little extra help or encouragement. We continue to receive numerous phone calls and notes expressing appreciation for who have taken time to help. In addition to making phone calls and mailing cards to those with birthdays, volunteers continue to deliver goodie bags to the most senior members of the Amazing Grays!
    If you (or a senior you know) is in need of a little help, please let us know! We can always use more volunteers, so if you can help make phone calls, send cards, run errands, or provide some technical help for accessing worship services, please contact us! For more information, or to volunteer, please contact Michelle Doran+ at michellesdoran@gmail.com.

Staying at Home? Let Us Help!

The high school youth in the J2A class provide a ministry of service to parishioners in need of a little help on a project at home. If you are unable to go out or are in need of a little "socially distanced" assistance during this time, please contact us! We would be happy to help you with basic yard work or projects. We'll also be happy to do your grocery shopping and other errands so you won't have go out! Just contact us, and we'll work something out! Kaitlin Wilding kaitlin6@comcast.net or Jacquelin Wilding jacqsmack6@comcast.net.

Acolyte and Lay Eucharistic Minister Training, August 29

After our 10am service on August 29, we'll be having an Acolyte Training Session for both old and new acolytes—adults, teens, and children! Maybe you've been an acolyte or LEM for years; maybe you're brand new, and interested in trying out this really important ministry. Either way, this session is for you! We'll walk through the service top to bottom, so you'll always know exactly where you should be. Bring your friends, and come for some PIZZA! We'd really like to have all people involved in these ministries turn out on the 29th, but if you're unable to make it that day, get in touch with us and we can arrange a make-up session. If you have any questions, contact Fr. Joe at joe.lenow@stjameslothian.com or Greg Davis at arkhamaslm@aol.com.

Paint & Prayer Group, August 25th

The Paint & Prayer Group will meet Wednesday, August 25 at 7 pm in Ticknor Hall. Materials will be provided. For more information contact Laura Miller at LMBirdwatcher@live.com.

New Sunday Study, Starting August 16

We'll be starting a new book study on August 16th on Zoom: Rachel Held Evans' Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church (available here). This book is perfect for anyone wondering what the Episcopal Church has to offer in our modern world. Look for the link to the Zoom study in the weekly parish email update.

Regathering Update: Congregational Singing

The new Covid case rate in our area continues to climb upward. We have received guidance that congregational singing should temporarily be discontinued in our worship services. As a result, there will be no Summer Choir rehearsal before the 10am service until further notice. We hope this will be a short intermission in our singing, and that the new case rate will soon begin falling. The best thing you can do to contribute to that outcome is to wear a mask whenever you're in a public place, and to get vaccinated if you haven't done so already. We make these decisions, and observe these precautions not out of fear, but out of love for our neighbors. Please keep our parish and our community in your prayers.

Paint and Prayer Group, August 11

The Paint and Prayer Group will meet again August 11 at 7 pm in Ticknor Hall. Materials will be provided. For more information contact Laura Miller at LMBirdwatcher@live.com.

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.