Announcements

ST JAMES PNC UPDATE – PNC Update June 11, 2021 – Greetings to our St. James family! After a l-o-n-g winter, spring has arrived and there are actual face-to-face activities happening in our world! It feels like we are breaking through to the “other side” of quarantine and isolation. We thank God for this positive direction, remembering those still suffering with the disease or the losses it caused. We carry many in our hearts. But as we are all moving forward with cautious optimism, your PNC has been steadily meeting and discussing our path to finding a new full-time spiritual leader.  Over the past couple of months we have reviewed any new candidate listings on the Church Leadership Connection website and have followed up on several self-referrals to our Ministry Information Form. We have been fortunate to actually meet with some candidates in person and spend time with them. Socially-distant and masked, but at least in the same space! It has been a joy and a blessing to become acquainted with them (and in some cases their families) and to see and hear about their love for ministry. Each meeting has been met with prayer and enthusiasm. We have discussed each candidate’s potential as a pastor at St. James. As you know, there needs to be a mutual feeling of call for a candidate to move on to the next step in the process. Although we have met a few wonderfully qualified and truly amazing people, there is a candidate with whom we share a strong mutual connection. Because this candidate is a recent graduate and still in the process of finishing all requirements, there are some steps in the process that require patience. But St. James appears to be pretty good at that! We are of the belief that our very lives, and the life of St. James, are in God’s hands and we trust that the right candidate will find their way to our pulpit in His time. In Jeremiah 29:11, God tells the Ancient Israelites “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  And we haven’t even come CLOSE to 70 years of exile in Babylon! But we can hold fast to these scriptural words of assurance and find hope in them as we continue the process of discernment. The entire PNC thanks all of you for your continued prayer support and words of encouragement as we have been navigating through these waters. Please continue to keep us, and our future spiritual leader, in your prayers as we look forward to some smooth sailing! We hope you enjoy some beautiful sunny days in the coming summer months!

Peace & Grace,

Karen McLaughlin

ST. JAMES SUMMER READ – This summer, join your St. James friends and family and read Sudden Onset, by our very own Tom Dardick and his brother, Chris Dardick (a molecular biologist).  Tom and Chris’ first book was published on June 8, 2021 to high praise and currently occupies the #1 New Release position in the Religious Studies – Science and Religion category on Amazon. The book is a culmination of ten years of work by the Dardicks.  Here is a preview of the book which was excerpted from a review on Amazon. 

 

 

Our summer read will culminate with a book-end coffee and dessert reception with the authors on September 12, 2021 at 6 p.m. at the church.  Participating in our “summer read” is simple:

 

1.  Purchase the Book.  It is available in Kindle and Paperback formats and can be found on Amazon and other bookseller websites.

2.  Read the Book.  Read at your own pace throughout the summer.  Discuss the book with your friends and family as you read.  

3.  Attend the September 12, 2021 reception at St. James at 6 p.m.  Get rare access to the author of the book to ask questions about the book and the process of writing and publishing a book 10 years in the making. 

 

MISSION UPDATE FOOD DRIVE – So how are we doing with the Jesus’s commission to take care of the “least of these”.   Our Saint James collections goal for the New Hope Ministries food bank is 2000 LBS for the year and we are grateful to have collected 750 LBS as of the end of June. Collections for the New Hope Ministries food bank have slowed down this summer but hopefully you will consider a commitment to add a donated portion to your weekly food shopping to this effort. We will continue to keep the collection box outside of the front doors of the church.   Thank you

SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE – St. James is currently improving our social media usage in order to let everyone know all of the amazing things that happen at and through St. James! If you haven’t yet, please follow us on Facebook and our newly created Instagram! (St.James_Presby)  We will be posting about everything that is happening around the church and this should allow you (as a member of St. James) to stay fairly well informed with your faith family! Other communication will still be sent out (emails, bulletins, announcements, etc.) but this will allow you to stay connected in another way without checking your email! Please follow us if you’re able!