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THE SUNDAY NEWS
January 8th, 2012
First Sunday after Epiphany
St. James’s Episcopal Church—Porter Square, Cambridge
This Sunday at St. James’s
Services:
- 8 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite I in the Chapel
- 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite II with Music
Readings for January 8:
Genesis 1:1-5, Psalm 29, Acts 19:1-7, Mark 1:4-11
Serving this Sunday, January 8th:
Presider & Preacher: The Rev. Holly Lyman Antolini
Deacons: The Rev. Katie Rimer, the Rev. Edwin Johnson
Readers: Susan Robinson, Thomas Wohlers, John Gay
Acolyte : Marian King
Chalicers: Shawn Ricketts, Marian King, Anne Shumway
Welcomers: Susan Lenn, Kate Saylor
Nursery: Ashley Boyd, Verna Estes
Sunday News Summary
Short on time? Here’s a quick list of the most important goings on in the next two weeks. Keep reading for more details!
- Jan. 15th: Hearing on the 2012 Budget after the 10:30 Service
- Jan 29th: St. James’s Annual Meeting following the 10:30 Service. Vestry elections! Budget! Lunch! Fellowship!
Ongoing Reminders
- Please remember to wear your nametags!
FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST
We leap into the season of Epiphany right at the start of the year this year, with January 8th being the Feast of the Baptism of Christ. Those seeking baptism have chosen Easter as their date, so we'll have a quiet celebration of the Eucharist in honor of Christ's baptism this year. If you are interested in baptism, please see the Rev. Edwin Johnson -- assistantrector@stjames-cambridge.org; 857.998.1461 -- to arrange for our three-session preparation.
SUNDAY JANUARY 15TH: COME WEIGH IN ON THE PROPOSED 2012 BUDGET!
Our outgoing Treasurer Michael Walters Young will offer a presentation on the proposed 2012 Budget at a Gathering following the 10:30 service on January 15th. This is your chance to learn how our budget supports God’s mission in Porter Square, and give us your feedback before the Vestry votes to approve the budget at their January 17th monthly meeting. The completed and adopted Budget will be presented again at the Annual Meeting on January 29th.
ST. JAMES'S MOVES (LATIN EXPLOSION) BEGINS SUNDAY JANUARY 15TH!
St. James's Moves will begin Sunday January 15th, immediately after the budget discussion. St. James's Moves will happen after church (or thereabouts) every Sunday in Epiphany. Classes will range from Dance, Stretching, Tai Chi, Yoga, and whatever else can get us active and moving during the colder winter months. Last year four different parishioners and one volunteer teamed with Edwin to offer a vast array of classes. Bring comfortable clothes and loose hips for Edwin's Latin Explosion class on the 15th and stay tuned for news of each weeks offerings. There will be latin dancing, music, movement and all ages and ability levels are welcome. Email Edwin if you have any questions or would like to lead a future session.
ANNUAL MEETING COMING UP ON JAN. 29TH
Every year in January, following our 10:30 Eucharist, at which our outgoing Sr. Warden, Mark Yoder, will be the preacher, St. James’s holds its Annual Meeting and Luncheon in the Crossing of the church. We’ll present the Annual Report of the state of the parish and the Vestry-adopted Budget, bring the congregation up to date on important developments in the parish, and most importantly, elect our leadership for the following year. This year, all St. James’s voting members – regular communicants over the age of 16 attending the meeting – will be electing a new Jr. Warden, a new Treasurer, five new Vestry Members-at-Large, two Delegates and one Alternate to Annual Diocesan Convention, two representatives to Episcopal City Mission, and one representative to the Alewife Deanery Assembly. (Keep your eyes peeled for the nomination slate, coming SOON!)
The Rev. Edwin Johnson will present information on the demographic make-up of our congregation and its surrounding community, pointing up our evangelical opportunities among those hungry for God in our neighborhood.
All ages and stages of the St. James’s family are welcome at the lunch; the Nursery will be open in the Vestry for infants and children who find the Meeting too squirmy.
WELCOMING OUR NEWCOMERS ON ANNUAL MEETING SUNDAY, January 29TH!
St. James’s is growing and thriving, and we want to welcome and celebrate all our new family members at our Annual Meeting Sunday 10:30 service. If you have joined us in the year since January 2011, please plan to join us for the service, come up to be honored and welcomed at the Celebrations, stay for lunch, and vote at the Annual Meeting!
ANNUAL REPORTS DUE IN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
All ministry leaders are requested to please send your Annual Reports to Hannah Reeves -- hreeves08@gmail.com -- as soon as possible, describing your work in 2011.
BECOMING AN EPISCOPALIAN: CONFIRMATION IN APRIL: PREPARE NOW!
Are you interested in exploring the possibility of joining the Episcopal Church? Come join our Exploring Our Faith class on January 31st at 5:30 PM at 2161 Mass Ave! We're reading Louis Weil's Theology of Worship from the New Church Teaching Series on a gentle monthly basis, but this winter, we'll move into higher gear and add extra preparation sessions for those seeking to learn about the Episcopal Church more comprehensively. Email or call the Rev. Holly Antolini -- rector@stjames-cambridge.org; 857.998.1777 -- and let her know of your interest.
GETTING CONNECTED @ ST. JAMES’S
Looking for a way to go deeper in your relationship with God? New to St. James’s? New to church? Consider a small group. Try one of our three weekly bible studies or perhaps the every-other-week book group. Explore your Rule of Life. Join our ongoing Exploring Our Faith, with the New Church Teaching Series. Or look outward and get active: join the team working on health care initiatives with GBIO, Greater Boston Interfaith Organization. Or the Prison Ministry team. Or cook and share meals with local women in The Women’s Meal. (Scroll down to “OUTREACH” below!)
There are lots of ways to get connected at St. James’s, find friends, and cultivate your relationship with God in the process. Give Assistant Rector Edwin Johnson (857.998.1461), Micah Fellow Reed Loy (603.706.2218) or Rector Holly Antolini (857.998.1777) a call and make a date for a conversation and discernment about your call to join our common journey toward God.
SUNDAY NEWS & ST. JAMES'S ONLINE NETWORK: ARE YOU CONNECTED?
If you are a member of St. James's but not yet on St. James's own social network or receiving the weekly emailed Sunday News, please make sure we register you!
To get the Sunday News, go to our website, www.stjames-cambridge.org, and click “This Week’s News,” at upper right corner. That will give you this week’s news, and a way to sign up to receive future News in your email.
For the Online Network, click on this link -- www.stjamescambridge.ning.com--- to let us know you need help to get online. Then you can post your own announcements, events, and news, as well as prayer requests and discussion topics directly to the rest of the congregation. It's for members-only, so your sharing will go to the St. James's congregation only.
BIBLE STUDY, RULE OF LIFE, & BOOK GROUPS
RULE OF LIFE GROUP CONTINUES THIS ADVENT!
Edwin is deep into another Rule of Life group this Advent. If you have always wanted to form a Rule of Life, are curious, or are just interested in taking a longer look at how Spirituality pervades your entire life please contact Edwin and let him know you are interested in the next group that forms. Edwin will schedule the sessions around the schedules of those interested.
PRAXIS LECTIO DIVINA BIBLE STUDY GROUP ON TUESDAY MORNINGS
On Tuesday mornings at 7:30am, we gather in Holly’s office at 2161 Mass Ave., at the corner of Milton St., for an hour of "spiritual practice" or "praxis." After opening with a brief devotion, our time is centered on an exploration of the coming Sunday's Gospel reading using the technique of lectio divina or spiritual reading, letting God’s Word address our lives, and listening to our lives open the Word. It's a Bring Your Own Coffee (or Tea) event, and we finish in an hour. This is a drop-in event; no preparation is necessary. The awning door on Milton St. will be unlocked. Come "taste and see!"
SCRIPTURES IN CONTEXT BIBLE DISCUSSION GROUP ON SUNDAYS, 9:15 TO 10:15
Come join an informal group meeting to discuss the appointed Sunday scriptures in the hour before each main Sunday worship service. We will share our questions, knowledge and ideas as we consider what each passage meant in its historical and Biblical contexts and then what we hear the spirit saying to us in our present liturgical, social and personal contexts. We will meet at 9:15 in the vestry room, to the left of the sanctuary and finish by 10:15 so that people can set up for the nursery. Visitors, newcomers, occasional and regular participants are always welcome. For more information contact us at 617-547-0838 or judyjohngay@comcast.net
--Judy and John Gay
NEXT “EXPLORING OUR FAITH: THEOLOGY OF WORSHIP” CLASS JANUARY 31ST
Amber Sarpy and Holly Antolini have begun a mutual exploration of the Anglican faith, as Amber prepares for Confirmation in the Episcopal Church in the spring. But this is an open-ended process. Are you curious about the tradition and practice of Christian discipleship in the Episcopal Church? Why don’t you join us? Are you pondering confirmation yourself? You might choose confirmation or you might not. Or you might continue coming even though you’re already confirmed. After all, Holly is! All adults are equally welcome.
We’re beginning by reading Louis Weil’s A Theology of Worship from the New Church Teaching Series as a mutual exploration of the Anglican faith. We’re meeting for an hour and a half once a month, having read a chapter. We’ll meet next on Tuesday January 31st at 5:30 PM in Holly’s office, bringing our own sandwiches. Let Holly know at rector@stjames-cambridge.org if you are interested. And order yourself a copy of the book at amazon.com!
ST. JAMES’S BOOK CLUB TUES. JAN. 10; NOW ONLINE AT ST. JAMES’S ONLINE NETWORK!
The St. James’s Book Club selects books by consensus that are helpful in nourishing the community of faith and grounding our personal faith journeys in the context of the challenges to faith posed by the culture and events of our time. All are welcome to join us at any time. We meet in the first floor conference room at 2161 Massachusetts Avenue every second and fourth TUESDAY of the month from 5:45 – 7:00 in the evening. We will start reading The Wisdom Jesus by Cynthia Bourgeault on Tuesday, January 10. Wisdom Jesus is a masterful guide to Jesus’s vision and to the traditional contemplative practices we can use to experience the heart of his teaching for ourselves. If you can’t attend our meetings join us on the St. James’s Online social network site and share your comments on the reading with us there. For more information contact Saskia at saskiakali@gmail.com. Thanks for your interest.
CONGREGATIONAL LIFE
STEWARDSHIP 2012 – 1/1/12 UPDATE REPORT
Number of Pledge Forms Received: 88
New pledges: 10 (special thanks!)
Number of Pledge Forms with Comments: 25 ( special thanks!)
Total pledges as of 12/30/11: $190,601.68
Parishioner witness: ”I feel called to join the St. James’s community in all its efforts to address the economic and social inequities around us,…as well as involvement in other community outreach activities such as the food bank or women’s meal. I also feel called to challenge myself to grow in Christian faith-intellectually and spiritually…as well as finding avenues at St. James’s to learn from other people about their own paths.”
THANKS to all of you who completed and turned in a pledge form or emailed your pledge to thomastufts@comcast.net. For those who have not yet done so, the pledge form for 2012 is available from an usher and at various convenient locations in the sanctuary. Please fill it out and put it in the offering basin or in one of the three donation boxes. Let us commit ourselves to be built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, ready to reach out, expand our congregation, renew our ministries and engage in new mission! May God bless you for your faith and generosity!
FRIDAY JAN. 13TH, LEONORA QUARTET PLAYS BACH, SCHUBERT, & MORE!
The Leonora String Quartet, in which congregation member Beth Abbate plays violin, will be performing on Friday the 13th at 7:30 PM (for good luck :-), at First Parish Church, Lexington (on the Battle Green, 7 Harrington Road, parking in back and accessed from the left side of the church). The concert will include a quartet version of parts of Bach's Art of Fugue, Mendelssohn quartet op.13, and Schubert's wonderful "Death and the Maiden" quartet. There will be no admission fee, but donations are requested. The quartet has been together since 1993 (although the cellist joined a few years later), and they have performed music from Haydn and Mozart to Bartok and beyond. They are all free-lance musicians, and have played with a wide variety of Boston groups in addition to their chamber music lives.
Beth is known professionally in the Boston area as both a violinist and a music historian. After studying with Jascha Brodsky (violinist with the Curtis String Quartet) at The New School of Music in Philadelphia, she attended Yale University, where she completed a B.A. in 1981 and an M.M. in 1983, studying with Syoko Aki (The Yale Quartet) and members of the Tokyo and Muir quartets. After Yale, she was a member of the Fort Worth Symphony and Chamber Orchestra until coming to the Boston area in 1988. She received her PhD in Music History from Harvard University in 1996 with a dissertation on meanings in Mahler’s early symphonies, and has been on the Music History faculty at The Boston Conservatory since 1998. She also does private teaching extensively in the area.
The Leonora Quartet has played for Harvard, Brandeis & MIT, and also for retirement communities in the area. What a wonderful ministry! Happy New Year to all! Beth
PAT MICHAELS FEATURED IN FESTIVAL OF HYMNS, FEBRUARY 11
Pat Michaels would like to invite all St. James's congregation members to a Festival of Hymns featuring his texts and tunes. The Festival will be at the Episcopal Divinity School, St. John's Chapel on Saturday, February 11. This will be an all-day event---you may come for all of it, or any part of it. We will sing in the morning, have lunch, and sing some more in the afternoon. No singing or worship experience is necessary. All ages are welcome. The day will be informal, with Pat giving commentary on various pieces he has written. We will spend most of our time singing. We will begin at 10 a.m. and finish at about 3 p.m.
The Festival will include 7 or 8 published pieces of his, and a variety of others, in many musical styles. Hymns are written mostly by contemporary poets--Carl Daw, Brian Wren, Shirley Erena Murray and others. Invitations to the event have been delivered to two local poets whose work is represented. New pieces as well as "favorites" will be included. This repertoire points in both an emerging and a traditional direction--it takes the best of contemporary theology and puts it at the service of congregations and choirs.
All are welcome. Friends and family, colleagues and co-workers, believers and doubters will all find something to think and sing about! Come and join us!
Thank you!
Jóvenes Pa' lante: ST. JAMES'S YOUTH GOING TO COSTA RICA!
As part of our mission to deepen the formation of our high school-aged young people, St. James's will be putting on a spiritual pilgrimage to Costa Rica. The trip will occur from February 18th through February 26th (school vacation week) and the main details were organized by Edwin while he was in Costa Rica. Our main collaborators will be the Padilla-Deborst family who will host us at their home in Heredia, outside the capital city of San Jose, and provide much of the content. The Diocese of Costa Rica is excited to have us and will set us up with work and exchange at their Barrio Cuba community center, which is where Edwin's family first found the Episcopal Church. The families of the youth attending are contributing $300 for each student, but the majority will come from fundraising so stay tuned to hear about how you can help us make this a reality. We will be selling food and other things at the Christmas Fair and will be reaching out to the community in a variety of ways. We are very excited! Once the final group is locked in we will let you know who is going so you can begin praying for us. Amber Sarpy, another St. James's young adult, has graciously volunteered to co-lead the trip with Edwin. If you have any questions, please contact Edwin at assistantrector@stjames-cambridge.org.
ST. JAMES'S MOVES COMING BACK: FUN & EXERCISE IN THE SANCTUARY
Have you ever wanted to dance, do yoga, tai chi or otherwise engage in healthy movement in a beautiful space? Come to St. James's Moves which will be held after church starting Sunday January 15th. Edwin will lead a dance lesson/activity for the inaguaral session and is looking forward to hearing from potential participants and leaders. We have yoga mats and some other pieces of equipment and are looking forward to moving together and staying active during the cold winter months. Please email Edwin at assistantrector@stjames-cambridge.org if you are interested. The expressed interest will help determine the schedule of activities.
MEET OUR NEW FOOD PANTRY DIRECTOR: THE REV. DR. KAREN COLEMAN
We are delighted to welcome a new Helping Hands Food Pantry Interim Director, the Rev. Dr. Karen Coleman. Karen has long ties with St. James’s Cambridge, and is currently Priest-in-Charge at St. James’s Somerville, right up the road in Teele Square. She brings strong skills in grant-writing, a long experience with food ministry, and a passion for the theology of food that inspires her to visions not just of providing physical nourishment but nourishment of all kinds to all involved at Helping Hands. In addition to supplying the Pantry and overseeing the Pantry’s volunteer staff, Karen will be working closely with St. James’s Micah Fellow Reed Loy in studying our food pantry and the dynamics of food ministry throughout Cambridge, to see how we can best strengthen a ministry that is ever-more crucial in these hard times.
ELECTING VESTRY MEMBERS: NOMINATION CONTINUES
St. James's Parish Nominating Committee has the job of presenting a slate of Vestry candidates for the parish to elect at its annual meeting. We are particularly interested in making sure that the candidates represent the diversity of St. James’s parish so that they bring a wide range of perspectives to the job. The Nominating Committee is preparing a slate of candidates for election on January 29th, 2012.
We will need a new Sr. Warden, new Treasurer, and four new members-at-large, in addition to two Episcopal City Mission representatives (Tom Tufts is our sole representative and eligible for re-nomination), two Deanery representatives (Marian is our sole representative and has served many years; she would be glad of fresh recruits), and two delegates to Diocesan Convention.
JOIN THE ST. JAMES’S PSALM-WrITING INITIATIVE!
St. James’s has had a long tradition of congregation-members writing musical settings for our weekly Psalms. There has been and continues to be so much musical talent and skill in our congregation that it would be a shame not to bring it out and share it with others! It is not every congregation that has been blessed in this way--we are glad indeed! May God have the glory!
We hope to continue this tradition for a very long time here at St. James's. The Worship Commission thought it would be a good idea to put our energies into a renewed season of composing new settings for Psalms. This is especially appropriate since we are using a newer lectionary (the Revised Common Lectionary) which was not in use when we began our project years ago. What this means is that we currently use many Psalms for which we did not write settings. And that means we are in need of composers to step up and write new Psalm settings!
Please speak with Margot Chamberlain -- margot.chamberlain@gmail.com -- and Amber Sarpy -- sarpyac83@gmail.com -- about what Psalms are available. Pat Michaels can assist with some of the musical process. Enjoy writing!
A NEW ST. JAMES'S CALENDAR, ON OUR WEBSITE!
Don’t miss the new, comprehensive St. James’s Online Calendar for the coming academic year at our website, http://www.stjames-cambridge.org/. It’s a work in progress, but we hope it will show all our worship services, events, ministries, committees, and activities of all kinds, so that those new to our parish can quickly discover what’s happening and how to get involved. Please let us know if your ministry or activity is not yet on the calendar, and give us a short description and a name and phone/email for contact. THANKS!
OUR MINISTRIES VISIBLE FOR ALL TO SEE!
Thank you Vestry members Marietta Sbraccia and Tami Stanton for creating two wonderful new bulletin boards in the rear of our nave! One has photos of all our Vestry members so you can recognize our leadership and address any brainstorms or concerns to them. The other bulletin board is a work in progress, and we need your help: Marietta is assembling ALL our ministries in one place, so those who wish to join a new effort can easily locate the possibilities and contact people for each. Please take a good look at her work: if your ministry is missing or you need to add or change a contact person, please let her know at MariettaSb@gmail.com or 617-354-9093. We want our newcomers (and even our long-timers) to know ALL God’s good work going on at St. James’s!
EDUCATION
CHURCH SCHOOL BACK!
The Lower and Middle School classes will meet this Sunday with the Lower School Students gathering at Pine Village (2067 Massachusetts Ave) and the Middle School students gathering at our offices on 2161 Massachusetts Ave. The Lower School class will dive head on into the parables and the middle school class will continue it's biblical journey. We look forward to having every one back. As always, please email Edwin at assistantrector@stjames-cambridge.org
OUTREACH
GBIO – HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HEALTH CARE REFORM?
Take a look at http://bit.ly/uyUKCR . This short, animated movie -- featuring the "YouToons" -- explains the problems with the current health care system, the changes that are happening now, and the big changes coming in 2014. Written and produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Also view it and comment in the Forum on the St. James’s Ning site. To join the St. James’s Ning social network email our parish communicator Jacqueline Francis at office@stjames-cambridge.org and, if she knows through your contact information that you are a worshipper with us, she'll sign you up. Thanks!
WOMEN’S MEAL THURSDAYS: WE STILL NEED HELP & IT’S EASY & FUN!
The Thursday Women's Meal is still in urgent need of more volunteers. Don’t be daunted by thinking you must cook a whole meal! Here are simple ways you can help:
1) Come to the meal as often as you like; help set the table and serve and talk to the women. It’s a precious experience of community!
2) Volunteer to bring one item to the meal, once a month or once every other month, such as a salad, drinks, bread or dessert, for 15. (The first week of the month is already filled by Community Cooks!)
3) Get together with two or three friends and take on the whole meal, every other month.
Money is available from our budget to pay the cost, and we can suggest recipes and amounts needed if you want to take on some of the cooking monthly or every other month. Please call Anne Shumway at 617 491-7986 if you can help in any of these simple ways.
KNOW A GOOD MISSION WE SHOULD SUPPORT?
Each year St. James’s supports 10 missions/ministries through our Missions fund, which receives 5.5% of congregational giving. We consider a few new missions each fall. Do you know of a good mission we should consider? We are looking for ministries which:
- have an existing connection with our parishioners
- are smaller ministries where our contribution can make an appreciable difference
- allow us to maintain a balance between ministries with different emphases
- are explicitly Christian (or sometimes inter- faith) in motivation
If you have a recommendation (and can vouch for the ministry,) please contact Nancy McArdle at nancymcardle@comcast.net.
THE OUTDOOR CHURCH MOVES INTO WINTER
Every Sunday at 9 AM, a cart departs from St. James’s nave for Pigeon Park outside the Porter Square T Stop to offer worship and communion to congregation members from all over Cambridge, through the ministry of The Outdoor Church. Many congregation members in the Outdoor Church prefer not to be indoors, or simply cannot afford to be. So the Outdoor Church brings worship and fellowship to them, in all weathers at all times of the year. The Reverends Jed Mannis, Jean Chapman and Pat Zifcak help lead The Outdoor Church. St. James’s houses their equipment and provides once-a-month sandwiches (see below). ALL are WELCOME to join The Outdoor Church for worship – just show up at Pigeon Park!
JOIN ST. JAMES’S SANDWICH MINISTRY FOR THE OUTDOOR CHURCH!
Congregation members assist the Outdoor Church on the Fourth Sunday of every month by making 10 sandwiches to be distributed to Outdoor Church parishioners after their services (see above). This seems to me to be one of the ways in which we can heed Jesus’ plea that we feed the hungry. The favorites are egg salad, tuna salad, roast beef, turkey and ham and cheese. Congregation members in the Outdoor Church prefer white bread without mayonnaise or mustard for the meat sandwiches, which makes the preparation move much more quickly. Egg and tuna salad need mayonnaise, so that is fine. Please label them so that the servers know what they are passing out. You can leave them in the back corner of the church near the cabinet before the service. If you have any questions, please contact me and I will respond as quickly as I can. All of us in The Outdoor Church so appreciate your help. Mardi Moran, margaret.moran2@verizon.net.
YOUR FOOD PANTRY NEEDS YOU!
St. James’s Helping Hands Food Pantry needs you! We need people who can devote three-and-a-half hours to shadowing our Interim Food Pantry Director Karen Coleman and learning the ropes of the Pantry’s operation at the Fresh Pond Apartments, 362 Rindge Ave., Cambridge. The Food Pantry is held each Tuesday (4 to 6 PM), Wednesday (4 to 6 PM, Fresh Pond Residents only), Thursday (11 AM to 1 PM) and Saturday (10 AM to noon). There is about an hour’s set-up and perhaps a half-hour clean-up for each Pantry session. Karen is looking to train up to three volunteers who would be able, if needed, to pinch-hit for her on occasion, overseeing her highly competent, experienced volunteers, so that she knows she has back-up if she needs it. This is your opportunity to meet a lot of fascinating folks on both sides of the Food Pantry counter, and to see St. James’s outreach in action. If you think you could help, please call Holly at 857.998.1777 or email at rector@stjames-cambridge.org. Of course, food donations from St. James's parishioners are ALWAYS appreciated! Just bring them to the big baskets below the chancel steps and we’ll make sure they get to the Pantry!
THE MASSACHUSETTS CHAPTER OF THE UNION OF BLACK EPISCOPALIANS
The Massachusetts Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians invites you to discover what God is doing to expand our common mission and strengthen our connections to one another in the Diocese of Massachusetts. If you are a black Episcopalian over the age of 16, please ask Holly for a copy of the UBE invitation letter to you. You can also email The Rev. Leslie K. Sterling at ammaleslie@gmail.com with questions or for information about UBE monthly meetings. Come and see how the UBE is actively involved in the 21st century church!
REDEVELOPMENT NEWS
WI-FI IN THE CHURCH!
Steve Clark, our Vestry member IT-guy par excellence, is nearly done installing wi-fi service for our church. Who KNOWS what magical worship and forum possibilities lie ahead!?!
NEW LIGHTS MAKE OUR STREET FRONT SHINE!
Did you notice over Christmas??? Our handy Sexton Hong Chin has added lights to our St. James’s sign and our Beech St. Corner door, to light us in at night during these dark winter days and to draw peoples’ eyes to our lively activity. These are added to the ones Hong already installed in the stairway to the left of the corner door at Mass Ave. and Beech St, leading to the Undercroft. The light switch for the stairs is on the back side of the hand rail at the top of the stairs. This will turn on a light just above the bottom of the stairway and inside, past the door. A second light switch has been added on the inside of the door (on the left side) just past the brick arch: this will turn on the big light box. There is also a motion-sensor-controlled light installed with the sensor facing the brick arch as you enter the Undercroft. These will light you to the next set of lights in the Undercroft, controlled from a power strip attached to the ceiling just to your left as you enter.
DON’T MISS OUR SPIFFY NEW “WORK IN PROGRESS” SIGNS
Thanks to the ever-talented Anne Read and our architect Sasaki & Associates’ beautiful drawings of our building-to-come, we have some WONDERFUL NEW BANNERS on the construction fencing on both Mass Ave and Beech St., letting everyone know of the hopeful and exciting redevelopment process in motion at St. James’s. TAKE A LOOK!
OUR PRIZE-WINNING BOILERS ARE SAFELY IN THEIR NEW PERMANENT HOME!
MORE PROGRESS! Our environmentally top-of-the-line gas boilers are in their new (permanent) home in a concrete room in the Undercroft, under our north wall of the church. We have new plumbed-and-heated outside temporary toilets installed against the west wall of the church, easily accessible from the great West Door. Indoors, next to the Vestry where it’s toasty, the new (permanent) sacristy bathroom is completed, open for use and BEAUTIFUL! The old window formerly enclosed in a closet is open into the bathroom. The bathroom is all handicap-accessible. And it re-uses the old sacristy door so the woodwork and plaster match our historic building. Thank you, Sasaki & Associates, our architect for the redevelopment, for designing us this useful and handsome addition to our life at St. James’s, in addition to the handsome new handicap ramp to the Mass Ave/Beech St. corner door!
ST. JAMES’S OFFICES @ AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE!
At last the St. James’s staff has fulfilled our original office plan: the American Friends Service Committee building has been renovated, following their electrical fire last August. St. James’s staff moved to 2161 Massachusetts Ave. on June 22nd. Please note: Our official address will remain 1991 Massachusetts Avenue and our phone is still 617.547.4070.
NEIGHBORS APPEAL CITY PERMIT FOR ST. JAMES’S/OAKTREE
Having moved the parking ramp for our proposed parish house and condominiums back to the existing curb cut, so that it slopes down under the condos and puts garden space in place of the old ramp design down the back property line by the Kingdom Hall, St. James Place has received its final Historic Commission and City Planning approvals and as soon as they have construction financing, Oaktree will be ready to move to demolition. That should also have calmed neighbor/abutter opposition, since the ramp was their expressed concern. However, six abutters have filed an appeal charging the Planning Board with misplacement of the curb cut and lack of due process. Oaktree’s and St. James’s lawyers regard this appeal as a frivolous one, since the process was especially meticulous and the curb-cut issue is already resolved. However, it is the nature of our democracy that people are permitted to file such suits, and we are hopeful that we can resolve it quickly. The trial date is set on the fast track for May 21, 2012.
CHECK OUT REDEVELOPMENT UPDATES ONLINE
If you a registered member in our parish data base, you are welcome to sign up for the new Redevelopment Group on our St. James’s Online Network. There you’ll find the latest about the redevelopment of our Parish House and Garden, and the logistics of transition during construction. For example, our temporary transition office for clergy and staff is posted there! Right now, the materials from our June 6th Gathering are posted under “Files” in the Redevelopment Group. Click right in to find them! These materials will help us maintain transparent communication within our congregation. Public “digests” will be put in our electronic newsletter and elsewhere for more general information.
KEEPING THE PARISH HUMMING
WELCOMERS, CHALICERS, INTERCESSORS, ACOLYTES AND READERS NEEDED!
As the St. James’s family grows, we find ourselves needing more Sunday volunteers! If you’ve just joined St. James’s, this is a great way to get to know people! If you are interested in participating in the Eucharist, or would just like more information about training, please contact Jacqueline Francis at office@stjames-cambridge.org.
THE ST. JAMES’S ONLINE NETWORK AN INSTANT PHOTO DIRECTORY
When you sign up to be on the St. James's Online Network, you are invited to post a photo of you and your household. What a great way to create an instant St. James's photo directory! ONLY the St. James's congregation will have access to the Online Network. Email our parish communicator Jacqueline Francis at office@stjames-cambridge.org and, if she knows through your contact information that you are a worshipper with us, she'll sign you up. Let us SEE YOU THERE!
YOUR VESTRY & LEADERSHIP AT ST. JAMES’S IN 2011
Check out the new bulletin board in the church, showing all the bright faces of your church board, the VESTRY!
Vestry
Officers:
Senior Warden - Mark Yoder
Junior Warden – Anne Read
Clerk – Hannah Reeves
Treasurer – Michael Walters Young
Members-at-Large
2009-2011 Benazeer Noorani, Elvin Atkins, Becky Bjork
2010-2012 Win Barnard, Joan Jordan, Donna Thompson
2011-2013 Steve Clark, Tami Stanton, Marietta Sbraccia
Diocesan Convention Delegates|
Mark Agard & Annie Bonsey
Deanery Representative & Convention Alternate
Marian King
Episcopal City Mission Representative
Thomas Tufts
JOIN ST. JAMES ONLINE NETWORK: CONNECT WITH PARISHIONERS, ACTIVITIES
We have established our own parish-only St. James’s social network site on NING to support the needs of the St. James’s community to connect, communicate, and share important information related to our life as a congregation. Among other things, Ning will enable us to post podcasts of the sermons and living epistles, add updates and photos related to the redevelopment project, store important documents like the St. James’s Strategic Plan, and coordinate annual events such as the Christmas Fair and the Parish Retreat. We hope you will find the new St. James’s Online Network easy to use, effective and enjoyable. The more congregation members we sign up, the better the St. James's Online Network will serve God's mission at St. James's.
NEW POLICY ON ST. JAMES’S FURNITURE
St. James’s has long generously loaned chairs and tables to parishioners for special occasions. However, since we relinquished our parish house, our chairs and tables are so few and so very necessary that we will no longer be able to loan them out during this time of transition. Please be patient as we move toward our new parish house.
WARNING: WATCH YOUR BELONGINGS IN CHURCH
Sadly, several of us had items stolen during worship recently, right in the church. Our hearts and prayers go out to those affected, and to the desperate person who used our Holy Thanksgiving ("eucharist") as a time to steal from others. This is a common occurence in urban churches. Our Cathedral always has to warn people not to leave purses or bags in the pew when they go to communion. We hate to have to ask the same of St. James's members, but given how many visitors we usually have, it's impossible to know for sure that everyone is there to worship. Please protect your belongings carefully, even when you are in church! Holly and Edwin.
HOLLY (NOT) ON FACEBOOK
New technologies offer new opportunities, and new pastoral challenges. We clergy have been wrestling with what to do about Facebook and our congregation members. In consultation with our Bishops and my clergy colleagues, I've decided NOT to "friend" people in my current or past congregations on Facebook. Admittedly, this decision is a bit belated, because I've already "friended" a few of you, so I apologize for the shift in policy. (Such is the challenge with emerging technologies -- we don't always realize their implications at the beginning.) The Communications Committee and I are working to make our wonderful St. James's Online Network even more accessible and usable and I'm delighted to "friend" ALL of you there. But I will not use Facebook as a way to stay in touch with you. There is too much liability that my Facebook friendships might privilege some of you over others, or that my personal information and views might become more public than I intend. Also, I am increasingly aware that I simply do not have the time to follow up consistently with Facebook relationships. So if I ignore your request for Facebook friendship, please hop on over to the St. James's Online Network, and let's be in touch with each other there, in a forum to which the whole congregation has access. If you want to be sure I know something important about you, please call me at 617.547.4070 or email me directly at rector@stjames-cambridge.org.
OUR COMMUNITY PRAYERS…
PARISH PRAYER LIST
Prayers for loved ones near and far are very important. Sometimes, however, people forget to update us in the office about those on our weekly prayer list. Holly and Jacqueline will update the prayer list on the first Sunday of every month. If you wish your loved ones to remain on the list for the next month, please let us know by noon of the last Thursday of the previous month that you wish us to continue our prayers, and we will keep their names on our list. THANK YOU!
St. James’s Mission Initiatives
This month, we’re praying for the Missions Committee: for all in our St. James’s ministry who allocate the Mission Fund, 4.5% of our operating budget annually. The Mission Fund was established to support dedicated people and organizations who, in the name of Christ, work in such areas as theological education, community development, housing, medical care, hunger issues, etc. We select missions which:
have an existing connection with our parishioners
are smaller ministries where our contribution can make an appreciable difference
allow us to maintain a balance between ministries with different emphases
are explicitly Christian (or sometimes inter- faith) in motivation
This year, 2011, the Missions Committee funded the following:
Kenya Self-Help Project – Girls’ Empowerment: This comprehensive girls empowerment and AIDS prevention program is a model for strengthening self esteem and elevating the social role of women. The program trains teachers and organizes school-based Girls Clubs. During weekly meetings, girls learn decision-making skills and receive accurate reproductive health and AIDS education. To reduce absences, girls receive Dignity Kits containing underwear and locally-made reusable sanitary napkins. The program also supports a training program in sustainable agriculture and builds gender-sensitive latrines for girls at partner schools. The purpose of this program is to raise girls' self esteem by keeping them in school and giving them the tools for self empowerment.
Ministries of Aides International, Inc. Haiti: MAII currently assists 5,000 impoverished Haitian children and seeks to expand to help many more in need. They have constructed and operate orphanages, run a vocational school for the teens and adults in the city of Port-Margot, and operate kindergarten, primary and secondary schools. Additionally they provide a wide range of material aid including food, shelter, medicine, clothing, school supplies, uniforms, toys, etc. MAII runs annual health fairs and is in the process of building a modest medical center in Port-Margot and a small pharmacy to help alleviate the burden of health care concerns in these communities. MAII has operated since 1981 and is a501 (c) (3) non-profit affiliated with Grace Tabernacle Church of God.
On the Ground in Burundi, Jodi Mikalachki –Jodi is a St. James’s parishioner serving in Burundi as a volunteer with the Mennonite Central Committee, on a three-year agreement that ends in April 2011. She is working with a small NGO called the Christian Union for the Education and Development of the Underprivileged (UCEDD), which serves Batwa (or pygmies), a small minority group that suffers a great deal from discrimination and lack of access to education, health care, land, and employment. One of UCEDD's major projects is a school in a rural area. Jodi is teaching in the 7th Grade of the new secondary school, which began this fall to serve the first graduates of the Hope Primary School founded by UCEDD in 2001. She is also working on capacity-building with UCEDD, and on advocacy for Batwa in the region. Eventually Jodi will begin working on local community development projects for Batwa and other vulnerable families.
Ruth and Jim Padilla DeBorst –The DeBorsts are St. James’s parishioners in Costa Rica. They work primarily with the Institute for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education (IAPCHE) and with Seeds of New Creation in El Salvador. IAPCHE is a learning community of students, professors, and institutions in Latin America that are contextualizing a Kingdom worldview in the area of higher education and in their professions and are intentionally connected to their local churches for the transformation of their societies. Seeds of New Creation seeks to nurture a ministry home, Casa Semillas, as a community of hospitality and mutual learning in service of the Christian community and its mission in El Salvador, establish and strengthen bonds, ministry networks and opportunities of collaboration, and design, promote and carry out the training of transformational leaders whose service responds to a biblical perspective of life and the world.
Reverend Lucia Sirtoli: Rev. Sirtoli is a Brazilian Episcopal priest working in the city of Erechim, Santa Caterina, in the Southwestern Diocese in Brazil. Rev. Lucia and her husband Rev. Luis are both priests who serve three different parishes. In addition, Rev. Lucia is working with adolescents in the very poor town of Progresso, meeting with them to reflect on themes related to the realities of their lives and also illuminated by the Bible. The aim is for these adolescents to make commitments in their lives and to resolve to transform their realities beginning with small changes in their homes and in themselves. Our contribution would allow them to attend Diocesan functions, help provide for meeting space and supplies, and allow the ministry to expand to young children between 5 and 9 years old.
Outdoor Church: The Outdoor Church/Cambridge is a ministry to homeless men and women in the Harvard and Porter Square areas. The core of the mission is the outdoor prayer service held at 9:00 AM in Porter Square and 1:00 PM on the Cambridge Common every Sunday, regardless of season or weather. Outdoor church volunteers join people who are homeless and housed in ecumenical worship and pastoral care. Following the service, lay and ordained ministers carry sandwiches, pastry, coffee, juice and socks around the squares, where a meal and communion are offered.
The Rev. Chris and Trish Morck: The Morcks, former St. James’s parishioners, are serving as Episcopal missionaries in the Diocese of Central Ecuador. They are serving alongside the Bishop, helping to foster reconciliation and communication in a struggling diocese. They also foster ecumenism and collaboration by working with the Latin American Council of Churches. They write, “What we seek through mission is life together that promotes relationships built on companionship, dialogue, and partnership. . . Through mission we can better understand and love each other and more fully embrace the life and needs of the world in Jesus.”
St. James’s Prison Ministry: At St. James’s, the prison ministry group meets monthly, writes to our “adopted” prisoner at MCI Norfolk consistently, visits in pairs once a month, attends trainings, and hopes in the future to broaden it’s scope to include film series around the prison issue. At their recent meeting with the Deputy Commissioner for Classification, Programs and Reentry, it was announced that the College Behind Bars program will be expanded from a small group of facilities to all facilities and that the course offerings will increase dramatically because exam proctors will now be allowed into the prisons. In the past students in prison were unable to take courses requiring proctored exams. In addition, 2010 looks like a good year for the passage of CORI and minimum mandatory sentencing reform so advocacy will be timely.
Refugee Immigration Ministries: RIM is an interfaith, community based ministry originally founded to minister to people detained by the INS and aid asylees and asylum seekers. It has 8 clusters (including 1 in Cambridge) which provide support for vulnerable immigrant populations including at-risk youth. They train volunteer and lay chaplains to visit INS detention centers, have a special program for African women, offer computer training, trauma support, case management, and reduced fee legal support.
The Holy Trinity School: The School was founded to educate the many needy children who live near the Episcopal Cathedral in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It is run by the Society of St. Margaret, Boston, under the guidance of the Bishop of Haiti and had three parts: the Elementary School, Trade School, and Music School. Unfortunately it was completely destroyed in the Haiti earthquake. We are currently waiting to hear how our funds might best be used.
We Pray for Those Who Have Asked for Our Prayers
Robert Rose (Nancy Rose’s father), Kathy Udall, Vickie (Richard Oxenberg’s friend), Nancy Peters, Roger Shumway, Scott and Maria Walters, Eliza Petrow and baby Henry (still in utero), Michelle Holmes, Ken & Mary Holmes, Vida Carrington, Susan Robinson, Joan Hawkesworth, Marietta Sbraccia, Mabel & Eustace Moore Pollard, Julie and Lynne Campbell, Win Barnard, Sue Ritze (friend of Sarah Read), Arthur Oxenberg (Richard Oxenberg’s father), Nico de Niet (Saskia Grunberger’s uncle), John Carlton & family, Judith Carroll (former St. James’s acolyte), Jean-Claude Lahens (husband of Marie Lahens), Douglas Humphrey (Ed Humphrey’s son), Gloria Pingue, Dorothy Shumway and family (Judy Gay’s sister-in-law), Lanell Smith (friend of Joan Jordan), Trevor DeCourcy-Dawe and Grace Dawe (Mabel Moore Pollard's nephew and sister), Lois Harder (Laine Walters Young’s grandmother), Dorothy Mikalachki (Jodi Mikalchki’s mother), Jim and Nancy DePew (Bonnie Rubrecht’s dad & mom), Mateo Singer-Torres, Pamela Bergquist; Maya DeBorst, Emily Sunderland, Jing Lyman (Holly Antolini’s mother), Judith Rondinelli (Jacqueline Francis’s mother), Rose Settino (Jacqueline Francis’s aunt), Paul Levin (Jacqueline Francis’ father-in-law), Milton Tuff, Frances Williams (Bob Estes’ mom), Natalie and Jessica Sollee, Marsha White, Susanne Carrington, Magdalena Joseph, June Fifield, Randi Holmes, Pat Haynes, Cynthia Owen, Sonya Shumway, Bob Massie, Ebert Agard, Marie, Constance, & Lydge Lahens, Florence Stanley, Arne Nystrom, Barbara Butler, Karen Coleman, Lisa McDonnell, Emilienne Jules.
We Pray for Those Who Have Died
We pray for all those killed in conflicts in the Middle East. We pray for the Afghanis who were killed and all those who have been injured in the past week, but whose names have not been recorded. We pray for US American servicemen who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past week: Mikayla A. Bragg, Joseph J. Altmann, and all soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and veterans who are recovering from physical and mental harm sustained in the war.
The flowers this week in loving memory of Elsie Alkins by Win Barnard.
To donate memorial flowers – in memory of loved ones or in thanksgiving for birthdays, anniversaries or other life transitions – please contact Carolyn Taylor, Flower Committee at 617-623-2631 or email her at jtaylo7026@aol.com.
JOIN OUR HEALING PRAYER MINISTRY? REQUEST PRAYER?
St. James’s has a small list of people who offer intercessory prayer whenever a parishioner lets us know of a particular prayer need. We communicate requests very simply by email. Would you like to join this ministry? Please let Holly know at rector@stjames-cambridge.org. Or perhaps you have a prayer request you would like us to add to our intercessions? Please call or email Jacqueline Francis at 617.547.4070 or office@stjames-cambridge.org, and please let her know whether you’d like to have a name added to the Parish Prayer List, or are requesting intercession from the Healing Prayer ministers, or both. We’re glad to support our church family in prayer.
And Don’t Forget:
The Bell
The Bell is in hiatus for the time being for lack of an editor. Anyone feel called to a ministry of communication? Give Holly Antolini a call or an email at rector@stjames-cambridge.org. We’ll be happy to start back up again if someone has interest! We’ll be happy to start back up again if someone has interest! In the meantime, we post many things on NING St. James’s Online Network or in the Sunday News, or on the website www.stjames-cambridge.org.
Thanks for Wearing Nametags
Please remember to wear your nametag and help encourage others to do so, too. Wearing our nametags is important as a gesture of hospitality to every person who walks into St. James's, newcomers and old friends alike. Nametag supplies are in the vestry and the entries into the sanctuary
Parish Calendar
If you plan an activity and need to reserve time and space on the Parish Calendar, please email Jacqueline at office@stjames-cambridge.org or phone her during office hours. Or come into the office to make arrangements and to leave contact information: name, phone number and email address.
Please recycle Sunday bulletins and music! Place them in the containers on the desk in the vestry room or in the containers in the back of the church. Thank you!
Please use Holly’s office email – rector@stjames-cambridge.org -- for all St. James’s emails, rather than her home email address. She is ALWAYS available in an emergency at 1-857-998-1777.
Holly’s “days off” are Friday & Saturday. She’ll be in the office Monday midday, and Tuesday through Thursday, if you need to reach her. And Sundays, OF COURSE!
All announcements for the Sunday News must be submitted by Wednesdays at noon.
Email Jacqueline at office@stjames-cambridge.org.
Have an addition or correction to the prayer list? Email Jacqueline by Wednesday at noon.
Parish office hours: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays from 10AM-2PM
Readings for January 15:
1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20), Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, John 1:43-51