Copy
News from St. James

St. James is a church of people who worship God, follow the gospel of Jesus, love and connect with each other, and walk alongside the most vulnerable members of our community. 

We don’t hide from the hard stuff.

October 3, 2018

Returning And Rest

REFLECTIONS ON SCRIPTURE AND THE LIFE OF FAITH
What are mortals that you should be mindful of them, their children that you should seek them out? You have made them but little lower than the angels; you adorn them with glory and honor; you give them mastery over the works of your hands; you put all things under their feet; all sheep and oxen, even the wild beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and all that walks in the paths of the sea. -Psalm 8:4-8

Every choice we make, no matter how small, affects the wellbeing of the whole world. Read more.

Welcome Amaia McDonald



Amaia is a 2018 graduate of Keene High School and currently a freshman at Keene State College, studying film production.  Amaia will be our new child care provider on Sunday mornings beginning on October 14.  You will find her in the rear family pew, which will now be designated as our Child Care Pew.  Children will be welcome to move back and forth from where their families are sitting to this pew at any time during the service, and Amaia will help them with their wiggles right there in the pew itself, or when needed, out in the Jonathan Daniels Room. 

We hope Amaia's presence and our new Child Care Pew will give helpful support for families attending church together. 

It's Coming!
 
     Congregations that make deepening in faith their top priority approach financial stewardship as far more than just paying the bills. Each fall, when stewardship season arrives, such parishes see financial contributions as a way to help people grow spiritually in their relationship with God by supporting their church’s mission and ministry with a percentage of their incomes.
     Our vestry has selected the New Consecration Sunday Stewardship Program in order to put our faith first and to focus on the spiritual and scriptural principles of generous giving as our stewardship emphasis this year.
     New Consecration Sunday is based on the ancient scriptural philosophy of the need of the giver to give for his or her own spiritual development, rather on the need of the church to receive. Instead of treating people like members of a social club who should pay dues, we will treat people like followers of Christ who desire to develop a spiritual practice of giving from the heart unselfishly as an act of discipleship. New Consecration Sunday encourages people toward proportionate and systematic giving in response to the question, “What percentage of my income is God calling me to give?” During morning worship on Consecration Sunday, we are asking our attendees and members to make their financial commitments to our church’s ministries in our community, in our region and around the world.
     Every attendee and member who completes an Intention Card does so voluntarily during morning worship on Consecration Sunday. Even if you are opposed to filling in a card, we urge you to attend. The procedure is done in such a way that on one feels personal embarrassment if he or she chooses not to fill out a card.
     We will do no home visits, phone or other solicitations to ask people for money this year. During morning worship our guest leader will conduct a brief period of instruction and inspiration, climaxing in members making their commitments as a confidential act of worship.
     Our stewardship team and vestry will encourage participation in Consecration Sunday events. Since we will make no follow-up visits or calls to ask people to complete their cards, we want to make every effort to inform, inspire and commit everyone to attend Consecration Sunday worship on November 4.
     Thanks in advance for your enthusiastic participation in Consecration Sunday events

Coffee Hour Ministry  - join the team
Love food, fellowship and fun? We are seeking folks to set up/clean up coffee hour after the 10 am Sunday Service. Coffee hour can be as simple or fancy as you'd like; our kitchenette is always stocked with cookies and crackers which you can supplement or not. We'd like to start coffee hour on a rotation using our scheduling software, so please give your name and contact information to either Jaclyn Headings or Patrick in the office to get on the list. 

This is not a hard thing to do and makes a big difference for everybody on Sundays. And don't worry, you'll get any instruction you need.

 
Interested in Formally Becoming an Episcopalian?  Interested in Confirmation?

If you’d like to learn more about the Episcopal tradition and to prepare to be formally received or confirmed by the bishop at the Easter Vigil in 2019, Elsa is currently gathering the names of those interested.  For more information about this process, visit our website page here, and please let Elsa know if you have questions or are interested in participating this year.  She would also like to hear from you if you are a confirmed Episcopalian and would be interested in serving as a companion for a new confirmand.

News from Reus, Spain
As Elsa mentioned in church on Sunday, the largest UTO grant given this year was for a ministry in Spain called the Jonathan Daniels Youth House.  She sent an email to the director and got a very informative response.  To learn more about this exciting ministry for refugee youth,  you can click  here.

Here is one of the activities offered by the Youth House to refugee youth.
Who's Down There in the Undercroft?

After two weeks here at St. James, Molly Gray has settled into her office in one of the old classrooms off the Undercroft. Molly is part of the Monadnock Region System of Care, an initiative to unite local communities and and child-serving organizations around a framework that's family-driven and youth-guided, community-based and culturally and linguistically competent. We have donated this space for her to use as her office until such time that we may need it again.

The organization is focused on the Greater Monadnock Public Health Region, which includes all the towns surrounding the city of Keene in Cheshire County and the 10 western most towns of Hillsborough County, including Peterborough. They work with families that have children with mental illness, but have no resources for what is often very expensive treatment for these illnesses.  Molly helps connect these families with agencies and organizations that can help.

"Our work is being done in conjunction with broader system of care efforts happening across the state of New Hampshire," stated Dennis Calcutt, project director of the Monadnock Region System of Care. "Our primary areas of focus are the development of a regional wraparound practice ... and the development of practices supporting early screenings, awareness and readiness."

Keene Community Breakfasts - Will St. James Take Part?

The community breakfasts that have been served during the colder months Monday- Saturday at the Keene UU Church will be moving to the Community Kitchen this winter.  The response from congregations around Keene is making this a strong interfaith ministry.  We could create a team from St. James to help once a week.  Or, if we do not have a whole team, perhaps there are individual volunteers at St. James who are interested in helping at the breakfasts.  Further information about the program can be found HERE. St. James already contributes money equal to or more than this request through the Thrift Shop and the rector’s discretionary fund each year.  For St. James to be full participants in this interfaith project, we could also contribute some volunteers.  If you are interested, please contact Elsa.

Big Sale this weekend!
On Friday, October 5 and Saturday, October 6 everything in the St. James Thrift Shop clearance room will be free, and books will be 50 percent off! Come on out and save big!


Share the experience of live classical music with your child at our new series of concerts for pre-school kids. Tailor made performances for babies and toddlers, Moms and Dads, Grandparents and Care-Givers.
It’s never too early to introduce a child to music!
Watch the wonder that classical music brings to your child and allow them to express themselves however they choose: Dancing, crawling, singing, feeding, playing and gurgling are all encouraged as we perform!

The first concert is Tuesday, October 9 from 10 to 11 am at the Keene Parks and Recreation Department on Washington Street. Tickets are $10 per family.

What are the Readings this Sunday?
(We are using Track 2 of the Lectionary.)
 
Please send news for the E-piscopalian to Patrick at office@stjameskeene.com and put “E-news item” in the subject line. Send items by Wednesday noon for submission  the same week.  Let us know if you have any questions or comments about this  format.

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can
update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

 






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
St. James Episcopal Church · 44 West Street · Keene, NH 03431 · USA

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp