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Grow in Faith: Becoming Beloved Community
Please consider this invitation to Grow In Faith, as we examine how our Baptismal Covenant may guide us in our exploration of the nature of our Christian faith in relation to Racial Healing, Reconciliation, and Justice. Join us on Sunday, October 18 at 11:30 a.m. by zoom, using the coffee hour link found on our website.
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 We’re all invited to Diocesan Convention this year! Like our own Annual Meeting in January, this annual gathering of the Diocese includes a worship service at which the Bishop addresses the Diocese, election of individuals to various offices of responsibility and other pieces of business, presentation and discussion of the diocesan budget, and fun videos of widely varying parish missions throughout the Diocese. (In 2017 the emergence of Saints James and Andrew was enthusiastically celebrated at Convention.) Ordinarily Convention takes place over one or two days in Springfield, and involves a registration fee as well as the commitment of travel.
This year’s Convention has been split into a series of virtual meetings, and is free to attend. What a golden opportunity to enjoy some great worship and learn and hear about the larger church body of which we are members, all from the comfort of your own couch! Here is the Convention Schedule:
Sunday – November 1: All Saints’ Day Choral Evensong 5:00 p.m.
Streamed on Facebook and YouTube – no registration necessary.
This service, celebrating All Saints’ Day, will serve as the annual Convention liturgy, and will include the Bishop’s address, as well as music and prayer.
Monday – November 2: Prayers for the Elections 7:00 p.m.
Streamed on Facebook and YouTube – no registration
Prayers for the November 3 General Election, led by our Deacons from locations around the Diocese.
Saturday – November 7: The 119th Convention of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts 9:00 a.m.
Zoom meeting, registration required -
REGISTER HERE
The streamlined business portion of the annual Convention including elections, budget and financial information, a look at the year ahead in mission, and other canonically-required elements.
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ONLINE SHOP OPENS on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, at 9 am
Be sure to tell all of your friends to visit the Mistletoe Mart To Go.
All proceeds go to our Mission Fund which allows us to continue providing free meals and personal items to our community.
We hope you enjoy the Mini Mistletoe Mart To Go!
Here’s how it works:
- The online catalog will be open from Monday, November 9 to Sunday, November 15, 2020
- Browse through our amazing products and click to buy whatever you like.
- Pick up your purchase(s) at the prearranged time at our walk-up windows at the Saints James and Andrew parking lot, 8 Church Street, Greenfield, Massachusetts.
- Shipping offered to customers outside of Franklin and Hampshire Counties.
Di Kurkulonis, for the Fundraising Team
dkurkulonis@gmail.com
Sponsored by the Vestry and the Mission Team
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Notices and Announcements
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All Saints Day Remembrances: We join with our siblings in Christ from Mexico on the Day of the Dead (October 31st) and in many countries and cultures throughout the world on All Saints Day (November 1st) who take time to remember their loved ones who have passed away. We invite you to send us the names of your deceased loved ones whom you would like to remember this year by October 27. Their names will be part of a tree we will have decorating our worship space on Sunday, November 1. Please call or email your names to the office@saintsjamesandandrew.org
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Directory Update: We will be publishing a new church directory before Christmas. It will include parishioners, mailing addresses, phone numbers and emails, but not photos. We would like it to be as up-to-date as possible. If you have updates to your contact information, please email them to Beau in the office by November 1st, office@saintsjamesandandrew.org
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Reopening Status Update
All COVID-19 & Reopening Updates (view here)
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Forward Day by Day is a booklet of daily inspirational meditations reflecting on a specific Bible passage, chosen from the daily lectionary readings. We typically have these booklets available for free at church. During this time of social distancing, here are some ways you can still access this rich resource.
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- Kenneth LaPalme
We are saddened to inform you of the death of Kenneth LaPalme on Thursday, October 8. Our prayers are with Ken's family and friends as they remember and give thanks for his life.
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May the soul of God's faithful servant rest in peace and may light perpetual shine upon him. |
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 A Friendly Reminder: Please return your pledge card/form by All Saints Day, on November 1, 2020.
Thank you.
-Di Kurkulonis for the Stewardship Team
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ELECTION SEASON 2020:
FIGHTING DESPAIR AND MAKING ROOM FOR HOPE
I have always felt uncomfortable with our political process. It feels a bit like a glorified game show where no amount of carefully crafted rules can hide the fundamental obsessions with power and material gain. And yet – there are honest players. What’s more, this is the world we live in and this is the system we’ve got, so the question for me is this: what can I do, as one person, to exert what power I do have in favor of those honest players? How can I make my small voice heard in the midst of the chaos? I offer a couple of humble suggestions.
As Episcopalians, we have a strong voice for social justice and civil discourse in our Office of Government Relations. (https://episcopalchurch.org/OGR/general-advocacy-resources) Working from the hundreds of resolutions passed every three years by General Convention, they are our advocates for human decency in aWashington world better known for the opposite. By signing up to receive action alerts from their Episcopal Public Policy Network, you can receive regular emails on timely issues with easy actions attached. Just click on a link, and they will send a pre-crafted letter signed by you – which you can add to or alter as you wish – to your senators and representatives. (https://episcopalchurch.org/OGR/action-alerts). The topics that action alerts brought to my inbox in recent weeks include public health and economic measures to counter the COVID crisis, assuring a fair and thorough census, supporting disaster relief funds for wildfire and hurricane victims, and supporting the Land and Water Conservation Fund – to name just a few.
Of course we also have the privilege and the responsibility of casting our votes. Whether you choose to vote by mail following the guidelines below or to cast your vote in person, it is vital that everyone be counted. Because this election season has been even more contentious than usual, the Interfaith Council of Franklin County is offering two pre-election virtual gatherings, described in detail below, which are designed to counter the fear and divisiveness that have characterized recent conversations in this area. May God’s peace be with us all and with our public servants.
Maggie Sweeney, for the Mission Team
HOW TO VOTE BY MAIL
1. Massachusetts has mailed a vote by mail application to every registered voter.
2. Fill out the application completely.
3. Submit the request to your local election office. You should request your ballot as far in advance of the election as possible. The deadline to request a ballot by mail is (received by) 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28, 2020.
4. When your ballot arrives, read it carefully and follow the instructions to complete it and return it.
5. Your ballot must be postmarked by Tuesday, November 3, 2020 and received no later than Friday, November 6, 2020. You may also return your ballot in person by Tuesday, November 3, 2020 by close of polls. You can find ballot tracking information here.
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The Survival Center Food Pantry is accepting one bag per person on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The donations are isolated for 3 days before distribution. Donations are needed now more than ever!”
-Ella Ingraham
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Yes! You can donate “real” things at SsJA. There are bins placed inside the parking lot door to the parish hall – one for plastic grocery bags only (we have plenty of paper ones) and one for donations to Whitney’s Pantry and Sunday Sandwiches. Whitney’s Pantry again needs bars of soap and toothpaste (regular size, not travel). Sunday Sandwiches needs individual packs of granola bars, peanut butter crackers, and chips or a bag of Hershey’s kisses. Donations of sleeping bags, blankets, and tents may be placed next to the bins. (Please note: We ask that any other food donations be brought directly to the Survival Center.) Donations can be brought when our workers are there: 11:00 – 12:30 on Sundays and 3:30 – 5:30 on Mondays. Thanks from grateful recipients and the Mission Team!
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Sunday Sandwiches Program:
Each Sunday four volunteers (who are not experiencing any cold like symptoms) prepare bagged lunches to be handed out from the takeaway window in the Whiteman Room from 12-12:30 PM. Three Ways to Help:
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Donate items: individually-wrapped granola bars, trail mix, plastic sandwich bags and brown paper lunch bags--which can be dropped off at a bin near the elevator in the parish hall between 11 and 12:30 on Sundays.
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Volunteer: To help with preparing, distributing and cleaning up from Sunday Sandwiches, contact Nancy Maleno and she will add you to the schedule (413) 772-0678 or nkmaleno@gmail.com.
- Donate money: You can send donations to the church with a note marking it for ‘mission’.
Weekly Bible Study:
Join us on Mondays from 7:00 p.m. to whenever we finish, usually 8: 15 p.m.
Via Zoom.
Call Charlie at 413-522-7914 to get on the notification list.
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Second Helpings To Go:
On Mondays starting at 4:30 p.m., our volunteers package and distribute a nice hot meal for our neighbors in need! Our “customers” respectfully keep social distance as they pick up their dinner at the Whiteman take-out window.
-Contact Maggie, magsween10@yahoo.com or Erin, erin.donnally.drake@gmail.com for more information.
Weekly Spiritual Reflection:
Join us on Fridays from 7:00 p.m. to around 8:15 p.m.
Via Zoom.
Call Charlie at 413-522-7914 to get on the notification list.
Whitney’s Pantry:
From 4:30 to 5:30 p.m, on the last Monday of the month, a dedicated group of volunteers pack bags of personal essentials for our neighbors in need. The bags are then distributed free of charge at our Whiteman take-out window to very grateful recipients.
-Contact Doris dorismcl219@gmail.com for more information.
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Give to God the things that are God’s
BY THE RT. REV. DIANE M. JARDINE BRUCE
  Once again in today’s gospel the Pharisees are trying to trip up Jesus. If Jesus supports the paying of the tax, his Jewish siblings who are rebelling against the Roman occupation will shun him. If Jesus says it’s unlawful to pay the tax, he’ll be in trouble with the Roman authorities. What does Jesus do? He asks them to look at the coin. It is a Roman coin. Pay the tax – meaning give the Emperor back his own coin! Then Jesus adds that wonderful line — give to God the things that are God’s.
What exactly IS God’s? Well, we are! Our Christian faith in God points us always to live a life of gratitude and generosity. God showed us how we are to live and how to give to God the things that are God’s: God gave us God’s son, God’s first fruit, and we are asked to do the same, remembering that everything we have, everything we do, everything we are is a gift from God — and it is a gift that is meant to be shared. When we share from our first fruits, as God shared God’s first fruit with us, we are modeling the same generosity God has shown us.
Remember, we have two sets of three legged-stools in our Episcopal Branch of the Jesus Movement: scripture, reason and tradition, and time, talent and treasure. The first shapes our faith; the second is how we use the gifts we have been given to live out our faith.
The Rt. Rev. Diane M. Jardine Bruce is the Bishop Suffragan in the Diocese of Los Angeles. Her ministry focuses heavily on stewardship, financial sustainability and New Community development.
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Two more events from the Interfaith Council of Franklin County:
Interfaith Sharing for Prayer and Reflection: music, poetry, hopes, fears, prayers and anything else to help each other get by in these challenging times! Thursday, the 15th of October. It will begin at 7 p.m. and end no later than 8:30. Liz Kelner and Julie Orvis will be the hosts. All participants are invited to bring anything they want to share. The hosts will make sure the time is equally shared among various readers, singers, poets, etc. Please know that this shared time is offered to assist us all in getting through these conflictual and isolating times.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4880143382
An Interfaith Service for our Country: The second evening is Monday November 2 – the night before the elections – at 7:00 p.m. Sue Bowman, Sandra Boston, Ben Tousley and Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Keiner will host the evening. This will include time for prayers, reflections, music and silence. We are offering this as an alternative to listening to more polls, and election coverage.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4880143382
Please feel free to join us for both or either of these gatherings.
If you are interested in attending either one or both, send an email to me – Kate – songline50@aol.com
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Prayer List: Names are on the list for 4 weeks, then removed. Feel free to add a name again.
Robert, Donna, Melvin, Cody, Charlie, Felicia, Karen, Allen, and Fred.
Contribute to The Newsletter: by emailing the office by Monday, November 2, 2020. Published on the first and third Thursdays of the month.
Our Mission:
We believe God is calling us to cultivate a community of love, joy, hope, and healing. Jesus is our model for a life of faith, compassion, hospitality, and service. We strive to be affirming and accessible, welcoming and inclusive; we seek to promote reconciliation, exercise responsible stewardship, and embrace ancient traditions for modern lives.
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Vestry Contact Information
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