During the summer, the eNotes will be sent monthly.
Weekly issues will resume in September.
TopSt. James eNotes
August 2016
rectorFrom the Rector: 

So Much Going On!!!

St. James is a church that is always on the move! You can see this in our leadership, in our outreach to the community and in our worship. We are an active community ministering to each other and to the community at large through prayer, service, and fellowship. Summer is no exception!

As we prepare to move into our program year, I want to point out a few immediate opportunities to get involved before the summer is over. This Saturday from 6-9 pm will be our first Bluegrass and BBQ benefit for Project Host. We will be enjoying delicious BBQ and great bluegrass music as we support the work of Project Host, a local soup kitchen and vocational training program. It's not too late to register so click below!


Also, this Sunday we will be recognizing our college students as they prepare to go off to college. We invite all new and returning college students to attend the 10:00 service for a special blessing before they leave.

Likewise, we will be recognizing all who work in the educational profession (administration and teaching) at our 10:00 service. They will also be given a special blessing as they prepare to begin the school year.

Another opportunity to be involved is to be a part of the in-reach to our community. We have many parishioners who are not as mobile as they once were and would love to have visitors stop by. One particular case is Elaine Wells. Bill and Elaine have been members of St. James for a very long time and as many of you know, Elaine has had some neurological issues of late. One of the best therapies for Elaine is to be among friends, conversing and laughing. Due to her limited mobility, going out to be with people has become more difficult. With Bill's blessing, I am asking you to give Bill and Elaine a call at 244-5098 and ask to stop by for a visit. The best times for a visit are 10 - 12 in the morning and 2-4 in the afternoon. They would love to hear from you and you would be a blessing for Elaine's recovery.    

So much is going on and there are so many ways to serve and be involved! Go forth and DO ministry! 

 

Stephen+
Table of Contents
 
Items of Interest Please click on each item for more information. 
Coming Events: Save the Dates!
  • September 24 - Oktoberfest
  • October 1 - Blessing of the Animals
  • October 13 - ECW Wine & Cheese
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  •  
Emergency Info: In the event of a pastoral care emergency outside of regular office hours, you may contact the clergy at 864-907-6565 and leave a message regarding the nature of the emergency.
ArticlesArticles
Karen
musicFrom the Music Director and Organist:  

Fall Choir Season Begins

You Are Invited: If you have wondered about singing in the adult choir, our only requirement is that you have fun working in a group and that you enjoy music! You do not need to already know how to read music; we will help you learn to read, and we often have recordings available to help you learn your music "by ear." We would love to have you join us, even if right now you only sing in the privacy of your car! We do need additional singers in all sections. See below for information on our choir retreat - new choir members are invited, and this is a great time to join! Please email me with any questions (music@stjamesgreenville.org). If you can't attend the retreat, just come to choir rehearsal on Wednesday evenings, starting on August 31. Rehearsal times are 7:30-9:00 on Wednesdays, with a short warm-up before the Sunday service.

Choir Retreat and Lunch: The Adult Choir will gather for our start-up retreat on Saturday, August 27, 10 AM - 2 PM. This is a time to sing through fall anthems and look ahead at some of our Advent and Christmas music. There will be a mix of familiar and new music. Our retreat also includes time for food and fellowship, giving us a chance to welcome new choir members and to get caught up with each other after the summer break. We will also rehearse our anthem for the next day, August 28, when we will be singing for the 10 AM service.

Children's and Youth Choirs: The student choirs will have their first rehearsals on Wednesday, Sept. 7. The Children's Choir rehearses 3:15-4 PM, and is for all boys and girls in elementary school. The Youth Choir meets at 5:15 PM (after their school extracurricular activities), and is for all middle school and high school students. Please e-mail me (music@stjamesgreenville.org) if you would like to know more about signing your child up for either choir.

Karen Eshelman

TinaFrom the Youth Minister: 

Over the last couple weeks I had a number of remarkable experiences, there is one in particular that continues to live close to my heart.
 
It was not my birthday, but rather a high school girl who was a part of my team in Ecuador. She turned 16, and was having her first birthday away from her home, and more importantly, from her family. Many members of the team pulled together to show her love in a number of different ways. After the workday had ended and we completed our final group devotion, our trip hosts brought out two huge birthday cakes.
 
We learned two things about birthday traditions that day. Apparently, part of the Ecuadorian Birthday tradition includes putting mini sparklers on the tops of the cakes, and another part of the Ecuadorian tradition includes attempting to smash the lucky person's face into the birthday cake. Once everyone was happily eating cake, I left the room for just a few quick minutes. And when I came back in to the room, I noticed something different... numerous people's faces were covered in icing. An official cake fight had broken out. While I managed to make it back to my seat unscathed, the cleanliness didn't last long. First the birthday girl got me, and  then Mother Lourdes (the priest in charge!) of all people, confidently walked across the room with a handful of cake, and "anointed" me as well. She couldn't hold back her smile while patting my face in the shape of a cross "en el nombre del Padre, y Hijo, y Esp�rtu Santo." Amen?
 
When I looked around the room at all of us, laughing and smiling and enjoying one another's company, it struck me that there was something about that cake that managed to break through every barrier that should keep our group categorized. We covered ages from infant to elderly, we came from different genders, we came from different churches, we had different social economic statuses, we had different skin tones, and we spoke different languages. But in that moment, none of those things mattered; we were all one family, one body, one smile, one voice.
 
In one of my favorite books, An Altar in the World, by Barbara Brown Taylor, she calls her readers back to acknowledging the sacred in the midst of the simple, and the holy moments at the tips of our fingertips that we may otherwise miss.
 
While I know that for an outsider looking in, I was merely another face getting smattered with cake icing, in the moment it was as if I was being welcomed in to a holy community, like the icing became a special sacramental element nobody knew existed.
 
My team quickly came to experience God's mission at work in Ecuador through relationships, partnerships, and community. I am thankful to have had the experience of being able to join in on what God has been up to in Ecuador, among God's fellow people who God deeply loves. It was a beautiful image and snapshot of the kingdom of heaven on Earth, and I look forward to bringing more people in to this partnership of love and grace we have with the Vivanco family, the people of Ecuador, education = hope, and Cristo Liberador.
 
Peace,

Tina Boyd
Youth Minister
St. James Episcopal Church
O: 864-244-6358
M: 770-361-8469
youthminister@stjamesgreenville.org
Katie Allen
schoolFrom the Day School Director: Back to School

"Back to School." These three words mean big changes for all of us.   Children are called back to their classrooms with excitement and anticipation. Teachers are called back to their regular work schedules with new goals and rosters. Parents are called back to carpools and homework help. Grandparents are called back to special school events where they are invited as guests of honor. The community is called back to the familiar sights of yellow buses on the roads and retail stores loaded with bins of school supplies crowding the aisles.   
 
All of us are called back to something when school resumes, whether we realize it or not, whether we have school children at home or not. Nowhere is this truer than at a church day school. Nowhere still  is this truer than at St. James. The doors of the St. James Episcopal Day School will open for the 2016-2017 school year on Tuesday, September 6th. On that day, a passel of eager children - ages one, two, three and four - will meet their teachers, find their cubbies and stomp around the St. James playground. Are they adorable? Beyond words, yes they are.
 
Please consider how you might be "called back" to school this year with the St. James Day School. It might be by regular prayer for the program. It might be by volunteering as a mystery reader to a classroom. It might be by sharing a special gift or talent you have in an assembly for the students. "Back to School" is about much more than glue sticks and lunch boxes. It is about new beginnings for both the children and for us. When the doors to the St. James Day School open this fall, I hope you consider those doors open to you as fellow ministers to our little ones as they learn and grow in our care.    
 
Katie Allen

Please join us as we follow our mission for each child: 
  • To develop the habit of creative thinking
  • To develop within the child a positive self-image
  • To develop attitudes of social cooperation and moral responsibility
  • To develop a knowledge and appreciation of persons, things, and events in the environment
  • To provide a readiness program which utilizes the experiences of the children while building a foundation for future math and reading skills
  • To establish and maintain an open relationship with parents
  • To appreciate the beauty of God's love and of His handiwork in the world around us
We are currently accepting registrations for the 2016-2017 school year.
Please contact director Katie Allen at 864-884-9095 or school@stjamesgreenville.org for more information. 

Day School Tuition
  • 1, 2 or 3 year olds   2 days - $170/mo
  • 3 or 4 year olds       3 days - $210/mo
  • 3 or 4 year olds       4 days - $265/mo
Registration Fee: $250
 
Please Note: St. James church members and grandchildren of St. James church members receive a 10% discount for each child enrolled.
prayersParish Prayer Lists
PrayerCmsn
Prayer and Spirituality Commission

We all experience times of difficulty, and it is comforting to know that others are praying for us.  Prayer is connecting to God's power.  The newly formed Prayer and Spirituality Commission would like to invite the people of St. James to share, receive, and pray for each other's needs. Our own chapter of the Daughters of the King provides prayer request cards in the narthex near our name tag board. You are invited to write your prayer concern on a card and drop it in the wooden box provided for that purpose. You may email or call our church office to add a name to the parish prayer list. If you do not want it printed in the church bulletin, please let us know. 

We are searching for individuals who have a calling to intercede in prayer.  If you have a heart for prayer and want to be included as an intercessor, please email Karen Wolfe.  She is in the process of building a page on the St. James website where you will be able to share a prayer concern with the intercessors and the Daughters of the King. It will be published soon.  In the meantime, pray and love one another as Christ loves us.

Remember In Your Prayers

Those who are sick, confined indoors, and others dear to us: 
*Janet Atkins, *Lafa Black, *Nan Black, Bruce Brown, Cengiz & Ozlem, *Lena Clary, Loraine Day, *Don & Dorothy Doria, *Phil Elliott, E.J. Ellis, *Cynthia Faress, *Cliff Gammons, *Barbara Hackett, *Nancy Harlan, *Ilse Holliday, Jahvari Jenkins, *John Jones, Pat Kennell, *Suzanne Keenan, Coni Kifer, Suzanne Kolb, *Sarah Lane, *Jeff Leonard, *Harriet Littlejohn, *Lee Marr, *Will McMasters, Jan Meadows, *Lilly Mueller, *Nancy Pilgrim, Tara Posner, *Phil Pressly, *Chip Preusse, *Jean Rhodes, Salley Family, *Nick & Lani Strange, *Colleen Taylor, Victoria Thomas, *Jody Thompson, *Gail Tomkins, Glen Walter, Douglas Wedgworth, *Bill & Elaine Wells. 
*denotes member of the St. James community

Resquiescat in pace: We commend to the prayers of the parish Ethel DuBose, mother of Gigi Blackwell.  May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace, and may light perpetual shine upon them.

Prayer list updates:
In order to keep our prayer list current, each name will stay on the printed list for four weeks and then be removed. If you wish to have a name added or returned to the list, please contact the office.
 
Missionaries in Ecuador: Roberto and Cameron Vivanco, Graham, Liam and Francis.

Service men & women: Chad Arness, Steven & Jessica Bellue, Chris Goepper, Landon Hayes, *Patrick Holliday, Lee Kemp, David Mathews, Pamela Peigler, Carlos Ramirez, *Clarke Sumerel, Jeff Wright.

If you would like to honor or remember your loved ones by giving the Altar Flowers or Sanctuary Candle, please contact Carol Clark in the parish office.
 
NowHappening This Month
gaihnGreenville Area Interfaith Hospitality Network (GAIHN)

This week St. James is hosting several families who are experiencing temporary homelessness and who are not served by any other providers. Thanks to everyone who is helping to cook meals, lead activities, and offer hospitality. 
BBQ
Pig Pickin' Party: Saturday, August 6 at 6:00 p.m.

 

This Bluegrass and BBQ fundraiser will take place in the Parish Life Center to benefit Project Host. Their culinary school will prepare sides and desserts as well as serve at the event. 
St. Joseph's Society will prepare the BBQ. Cost: $7.50 children, $15 adults. The entertainment for the evening features the Bluegrass Band Fifth String.  This is sure to be a fun time for everyone. Please join us!

School
School Supplies Drive


School will be starting soon.  St. James is currently collecting school supplies for students in need.  As you shop for your own children, please pick up a few items for those less fortunate. Please bring your items to the church by Sunday, August 7. 

college

teacher
The Blessing of Teachers: Sunday, August 7

All educators are invited to attend the 10:00 service on August 7 to be recognized for their dedication to teaching and to receive a special blessing at the start of the new academic year.  If you have apparel from your school, please wear it!
backpack
Blessing of the Backpacks: Sunday, August 14

All K-12 students are invited to attend the 10:00 service on August 14 and to bring their backpacks and lunch boxes to church for a special blessing before the start of school. If you have school apparel, wear it to the service! 
highwayAdopt-a-Highway Pickup
Saturday, August 20, at 8:00 a.m.

St. James picks up trash along Piney Mountain Road four times each year. Our next opportunity is Saturday, August 20. We will meet in front of the Parish Life Center at 8:00 a.m. to divide into groups. We will provide orange vests and trash bags. Many hands make light work--please join us! The final pickup date for 2016 will be Nov. 19.

Contact Cam Walters with any questions. 
choir
Adult Choir Retreat and Lunch: Saturday, August 27

The Adult Choir will gather for our start-up retreat on Saturday, August 27, 10 AM - 2 PM. This is a time to sing through fall anthems and look ahead at some of our Advent and Christmas music. There will be a mix of familiar and new music. Our retreat also includes time for food and fellowship, giving us a chance to welcome new choir members and to get caught up with each other after the summer break. We will also rehearse our anthem for the next day, August 28, when we will be singing for the 10 AM service.
OpenHouse
St. James Ministries Open House
Sunday, August 28
following the 10:00 service

St. James will have an Open House on August 28th. This is a good day to invite a friend to visit St. James! Following the 10:00 a.m. service, refreshments will be served in the Parish Life Center. There will be activities for the children! 

Leadership from each St. James ministry will be available to share information and to answer any questions you may have about all the ways you can serve our congregation and the greater community. 

Please plan now to join us for this great opportunity to kick off the 2016-2017 program year.

itemsItems of Interest
readings
Readings for the Sundays in June
Track 2

summer
Summer Schedule at St. James 
  • Summer Sunday Services begin at 7:45 and 10:00 a.m.  (Continues through Sunday, September 4)
  • Nursery is available for younger children at the 10:00 service on the lower level. Our nursery, staffed by paid, trained and caring employees, depends on church member volunteers to assist during the service. If you are interested in helping with this important ministry, please contact the church office.
  • Sunday School and Adult Christian Education classes will resume with the regular program year in September.
  • Office Hours: St. James Parish Office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The office closes at noon on Friday.
columbariumColumbarium Update: 

We're well on our way to getting the 25 commitments necessary to purchase our columbarium for the St. James Memorial Garden. Nineteen people had signed up as of June 29th to purchase a columbarium niche for the initial offering price of $1,000.  We need 25 commitments by July 15 to purchase the columbarium. Once the 25 commitments are received, the price will increase to $1,500.  If you would like to purchase a niche, please sign the list in the foyer.  Should you have any questions, please contact Ed Winkler at 240-5377 or Stan Gibson at 325-2500. 

Please note: Arrangements for ashes to be buried in the ground will continue to be an option.
Youth News:  Summer Calendar
soundSound Team Ministry Urgently Needs Your Help

 St. James needs several more people to learn how to use our sound system.Each weekwe record the Sunday service for our homebound members. If you are interested in participating in this important ministry, please contact Ed Snape at 864-360-0015 or esnape@bellsouth.net
beansBag O' Beans Challenge

St. James collects one-pound bags of dried beans for United Ministries. They particularly appreciate pintos, northern and navy beans. Please add this to your grocery list and help us reach our goal of 300 bags each month. Thank you for your generosity and compassion for those in need in our community. For more information about this and other ministries of UM, please visit the United Ministries website.

bdays
August Birthdays

 01 Steve Englert
01 Pat Wood
01 Robyn Harmon
01 Heather Kanipe
02 Marion Fore
03 Jim Radecki
04 Judy Williams
04 Bob Dillon
04 Dake Stover
06 Jacob Bishop-Pirrone
07 Kay Teague
07 Rachel Kaup
07 Everett Owens
07 Patrick Mauro
08 Sandi Ghrist
08 Carol Anne Bettencourt
09 Caleb Stephens
10 Don Robbins
10 J. T. Harrell
11 Judy Armandroff
12 Julia Britt
13 Judy Warnock
13 Stuart Rabb
13 Stephanie Davis
14 Katherine Tiffany
16 Keith Filter
17 Elizabeth Kellett
17 Richard Kaup
18 Robert Taylor
19 Nan Black
19 Chip Martin
19 Ashley Tingom
19 Sally Ferebee
19 Park Ferebee
20 Mary Stover
21 Donna Childress
22 Pat Day
22 Phil Pressly
22 Gail Burch
23 Mary de Monterey
23 John Karns
23 Aidan Huston
24 Shaun Arness
24 Ian Rhoades
24 Sabrina Kindervater
25 Alice Crowe
26 Steve Teague
26 Ron Jerina
26 Melissa Glover
26 Courtney Weber
26 Hunter Bergin
27 Pam Snape
28 Carolyn Jones
28 George Dickert
28 Reed Freeman
29 Gigi Blackwell
29 Randy Burch
30 Sam Britt
31 Sarah Lane

August Anniversaries

 03 Henry & Judy Warnock
04 Pete & Mary Bellinger
07 Tom & Mary Nicoll
10 Christopher & Leesa Brotherton
10 Al & Karen Hipp
12 Carlos & Rosemary Sanchez
18 Nick & Lani Strange
18 Vince & Nancy LeDonne
20 Calhoun & Julie Clark
20 Ray & Betty Meyer
20 Rick & Dena Veazey
28 Cliff & Nancy Gammons
30 Bill & Lisa Sauerbrey
31 Mel & Jodye Pfister

itemsComing Events
staff
St. James Episcopal Church Staff

The Rev. Stephen J. Rhoades, Rector, rector@stjamesgreenville.org
Ms. Tina Boyd, Youth Minister, youthminister@stjamesgreenville.org
Dr. Karen A. Eshelman, Music Director and Organist, music@stjamesgreenville.org
Mrs. Dena Veazey, Parish Administrator, admin@stjamesgreenville.org
Ms. Carol Clark, Office Assistant, office@stjamesgreenville.org
Mrs. Katie Allen, Day School Director, school@stjamesgreenville.org
St. James Episcopal Church
301 Piney Mountain Road ~ Greenville, SC 29609-3035
864.244.6358
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