It is hard to believe we are approaching the end of June and the Fourth of July holiday is almost upon us. This Sunday Sandy will lead us in singing the many national and patriotic hymns that are found in the Episcopal Hymnal. She will be with us at both the 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. services. On Saturday at 11:30 a.m. all seniors are invited to join us for our "Annual Senior Summer Luncheon" , complete with a Pre-Fourth of July cookout (we will eat in the Great Hall). Bingo and door prizes will follow our lunch. Please note that we will hold a memorial service for Bill Laskey at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, with interment following the service in the Churchyard.

Please mark your calendars for Sunday July 29 th , and plan to join us for a festive coffee hour celebration after the 10:00 a.m. service in honor of Thelma and Gary Chesterfield . The Chesterfields have been members here at St. Mary's for fifty-four years.   They have served this church in many different capacities and both Thelma and Gary sang in the choir for many years. They also raised their sons Mike and Rob here at St. Mary's. At the end of July they are moving to Indiana to be closer to their son Mike and their grandchildren. Please join us as we give thanks for all of the time, talent and treasure that they have shared with this parish. Join us as we wish them a fond farewell and bless them as they enter this next exciting chapter of their lives . Thank you Gary and Thelma; we are so grateful for your devoted, faithful service to this parish and we wish you all the best! You will be greatly missed!

I will be out of the office from July 2nd through July 14th , attending the 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Austin TX .   General Convention is held every three years and it is the place where all of our major church decisions are made. It is the place where we vote on prayer book revisions, liturgical calendars, budgets, mission and ministry, hold elections, and make any changes to our constitutions and canons. Each diocese elects four clergy and four lay persons to serve as deputies to convention. I am honored to have been elected to be a deputy to General Convention, at our Chicago Diocesan Convention in 2017. Right now there are over 270 resolutions before convention, and all resolutions must pass both the House of Deputies (made up of clergy and lay people) and the House of Bishops in order to be approved. I will be eager to share all of the  news of the church when I return. However, you can also follow the convention in real time, as much of it is live-streamed, including worship services with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry preaching.   Please go to the General Convention website,  where you can find information to get the app for phones/computers/tablets, in order to follow the 79 th General Convention.

If you have a pastoral care concern or emergency, please contact Amy in the office or one of our Co-Wardens, Marge Smith, or Tracy Higgins.  They will contact our on call clergy if needed.