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ST. JAMES - MONTHLY VIRTUAL NEWSLETTER
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5: 1-2)
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Discipleship - working wisely with Christ and one another
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Brothers and Sisters in Christ
You'll probably notice in this month's Communicator that there's a bunch of activities going on at St. James! The newsletter offers a brief yet captivating review of all of the various programs happening in August. Just take one look at the Communicator or the parish's online calendar and you'll see.
I want to highlight a few noteworthy activities. First, we just finished up this year's Summer Music Camp. Joe and the camp staff did an amazing job of offering the campers an enjoyable, one-of-a-kind musical experience.
Our camp offers participants a unique opportunity to learn more about music and practice their talents. Few if any camps provide the quality of one-on-one lessons the campers receive on a daily basis. They get to spend a raucous afternoon at Scallywag tag. Bruce Ford did an amazing job of preparing a delicious meal for the campers, their families, and friends following the camp recital. Leftovers from that meal were offered to Bethany House Shelter in an effort to ensure that no food was wasted. Those are just a smattering of the benefits Richard Wesp's Memorial Summer Camp offers as an extension of Jesus' Gospel here at St. James.
The camp is one of our amazing Outreach programs. It isn't cheap and it takes people passionate about its existence to make it happen. Many of our campers receive full or partial scholarships. Thus, the vestry financially supports it and a small and dedicated group of volunteers offer their time and resources. I hopefully pray that the Music Camp will continue to flourish in the years to come while pondering how to make it less stressful, less costly and more pleasurable for volunteers, staff, and campers alike. Living as Jesus' disciples is difficult. It becomes rewarding beyond measure, especially when people share their grateful hearts and hands.
Then, just last week, Nancy Jacobs reported that the parish had collected more than 1300 #2 pencils and 318 boxes of 24 count crayons. That's a heckeva lot of pencils and crayons from a church our size! All of these gifts will benefit the children of nearby Westwood Elementary School. I'm very thankful for the parishioners' generosity and I'd like to let everyone know that there is an opportunity this weekend, August 8th and 9th, for us to help stuff these and other abundant offerings of school supplies into backpacks. Email Carol Wright if you would like to sign up and make sure everything gets to the elementary school students, joyfully and beneficially. What would it be like for us to move from just giving a child a pencil to working with them to write their stories?
Somewhat behind the scenes an emerging series of gatherings are taking place. The parish's Purpose and Vision teams are meeting, brainstorming objectives, setting tasks, and initiating the parish's vision for the future. I've sat in on or observed some of the creative activity taking place. I'm really impressed as I believe that the parish is processing what is most purposeful for us to achieve here. Part of that process is accepting that we can't do everything if we're going to dig deeper into our shared faith. Another aspect of this visioning is praying earnestly about the gifts we should share and receive from the neighbors around us.
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For today, the Communications Team is working on revamping our church's virtual and day-to-day communication practices. The Pastoral Care team is looking at how we can make our Sunday School programs better for our growing number of children and their parents alike. The Outreach team is churning through a spreadsheet full of potential ideas to activate the church's programs and resources.
It's amazing to observe how almost two years of purpose and vision planning is beginning to bear fruit. Take a look around and enjoy the fragrant offerings of Christ's Love for us, one another, for God, and for the World that happen here. There are many, many opportunities for members, guests, and friends alike to contribute their time, talent, and treasure for St. James and our neighbors. It is thus so important to recall that many hands and hearts together make light and joyous work of the inreach and outreach programs we accomplish here. We may need to let some things go. That's not shameful or wrong. Church programs like people are in fact mortal. Coincidentally, there are an abundance of possibilities for collaborating with friends and strangers alike. Our Christian discipleship and worship are ultimately all about connecting to Christ's Gospel and living into our core purpose for being God's Episcopal presence in Westwood. It happens, through God's Grace, with one another in everything great or small we strive to achieve.
Blessings Along The Way,
Jim+
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