A Note from Father Michael | |
Dear Friends at St. Mary’s,
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s break and are feeling refreshed and ready for the year ahead. While the world might have packed away its holiday decorations, we’re still celebrating Christmastide, which continues right up to the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th. This is such a special time to keep rejoicing in the incredible gift of God’s love born among us.
A huge thank-you to everyone who helped make our Christmas services so beautiful and meaningful. From the stunning floral decorations to the music, the altar guild, lectors, ushers, acolytes, and everyone who had a part in worship—your time and talents brought the joy of Christ to life for so many. I am also thankful to all who put together the Mingle & Jingle Christmas Party, which kicked off the season in a fun and joyful way. I’m so grateful for all you did.
As we step into 2025, there’s a lot to look forward to at St. Mary’s. Our annual meeting is coming up soon, where we’ll look back on the year and plan for the future. Thursday Books & Breakfast will kick off a new book—a great chance for connection and conversation. Our outreach ministries are continuing their important work, meeting the needs of those in our community who need it most. We’ll also be exploring new ministries and programs, so stay tuned.
This year we are diving deeper into our strategic planning process, which is an exciting way to dream together about the future of St. Mary’s. Be sure to check out Sally Cameron’s article in this month’s newsletter for all the latest updates. Sally is the chair of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee. Strategic planning helps us think about who we are in the context of the community and world we serve, who God is calling us to be in that context, and how we can best serve both our congregation and our wider community.
The truth is the world around us is changing all the time - faster than ever. What worked 15, 10, or even 5 years ago might not fit the needs of today. As a church, we’re called to keep listening for where God’s Spirit is leading us so we can be faithful to our core mission of service and spiritual growth in the love of Christ. Strategic planning gives all of us a chance to pause, reflect, and make sure we’re ready for what’s next. Your participation will be key to helping us set our missional goals for the next 5 to 10 years.
You’ll hear more from Sally and the rest of the committee in the months to come.
I’m excited to see how God moves in our lives this year. In the meantime, Charles, Freddie, Hugo and I wish you all a happy and healthy 2025!
Faithfully,
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Click here or on the flier below for a list of our parishioners celebrating a birthday in January. If we have missed yours, please reach out and let us know. | |
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Please mark your calendars for the following special events: | |
Feast of the Epiphany
Monday, January 6, 2025
10:00 AM
St. Mary's invites you to observe the Feast of The Epiphany on Monday January 6, 2025. Worship will take place at 10:00 AM. All are welcome.
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Book & Breakfast Group Update
Starting Thursday, January 16th, the Books & Breakfast Group will begin discussing A Pilgrimage to Eternity: From Canterbury to Rome in Search of a Faith by Timothy Egan.
On Thursday, January 9th, biographer and historian Charles Calhoun will facilitate a discussion on the development and history of Christian pilgrimages from medieval to modern times. Join the Books & Breakfast Group either in person or on Zoom.
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Third Saturday Potluck Reception
January 18, 2024
6:00 PM
Please join us after the 5:00 PM Worship service for a potluck reception in Walden Hall. All are welcome. If you are able, please bring a lite bite or beverage to share.
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Movie Theology
January 19, 2025
2:00 PM Matinee
The Movie Theology program will begin the New Year at 2 pm on January 19 with a film from down under. The Light Between Oceans focuses on a young couple, Tom and Isabel, who operate a lighthouse off the southwest coast of Australia, between the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean. A few years after World War I, they find a small boat floating in the ocean that contains a dead man and a baby girl. Desperate for a child after Isabel suffered two miscarriages, they decide not to report the find, but rather to claim that the baby, whom they name Lucy, is their own. But on land a few years later, they learn of the baby’s mother, Hannah, who still seeks to find her daughter. Tom anonymously sends Hannah a silver rattle that they found with the child. That act has devastating consequences, for Tom, Isabel, Lucy, and Hannah.
Bring your favorite adult beverage, and a seat cushion if you’d like. We’ve got the popcorn! Any questions, feel free to reach out to Kinnet, Bill, and Peter.
Thank you and we’ll see you at the movies!
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Martin Luther King Day Observed
Monday, January 20, 2025:
To help us remember and honor the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. we are sharing a 2024 reflection from the Director of Reconciliation, Justice, and Creation Care for the Episcopal Church. Please click here to read her call to action.
A Prayer for Martin Luther King Day
Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant you led your people out of slavery,
and made them free at last: Grant that your Church, following the example of your prophet, Martin Luther King
may resist oppression in the name of your love,
and may strive to secure for all your children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen
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Staff Retreat
January 23 and 24, 2025
Saint Mary's parish offices will be closed all day on January 23 and 24for their annual planning retreat days. The staff will be gathering off site these two days as they to focus on setting goals and planning for 2025.
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A Rest for Our Choir
Dr. Mark Lawlor will be taking some much deserved time off as well participating in some Professional Development in January and Febrauary. We are fortunate to have Organist Charlene Higbe be covering while Dr. Lawlor is away and our Choir members will have a much deserved break on the following Sundays: January 12, February 9 and February 16, 2025.
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Voices From Our Parish & Ministry News |
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Annual Meeting/ Annual Reports Due
It is that time of year again!. Our Parish Administrator, Julie Remie is busy compiling the Annual Report for the Annual Meeting coming up in February. Julie will be looking for Summary Reports from all Ministry Heads. Please keep your reports to half a page and pictures are always welcome. The deadline for your submissions is January 2027, 2025.
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A Note From the Strategic Planning Committee
The Strategic Planning Steering Committee is actively working on a strategic plan for St. Mary’s. This committee, made up of vestry members and other parishioners, is focused on creating a plan deeply rooted in St. Mary’s core values. Please click here to read a letter from the committee updating you as to their progress and future goals.
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Announcing Sacred Ground
Sacred Ground is a film and readings-based dialogue series on race, grounded in faith and sponsored by the National Episcopal Church:
(https://www.episcopalchurch.org/sacred-ground/).
During the summer of 2020, nearly 100 St. Mary’s parishioners participated in ten online Sacred Ground groups. We are pleased to offer Sacred Ground again.
The 11-session program will be provided via Zoom on Saturday mornings from 9:00-11:00, beginning February 8. The first ten sessions will meet weekly through April 12, and session 11 will be held on April 26, the Saturday following Easter Sunday.
If you could not complete the program when it was initially presented, or you are new to the parish since then, we invite you to participate in Sacred Ground this spring. You are also welcome to repeat Sacred Ground, as the curriculum has been updated since 2020. We will limit the group size to 6-12 people, plus facilitators. Sacred Ground graduates Susanne Bennett and Karen Morgan will co-facilitate.
To register or discuss further program details, please get in touch with Susanne by email at csusanne.bennett@gmail.com
or by phone at 508-789-6048.
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Vestry
Please click here for the minutes from the Vestry's October meeting. We will send along the next batch of Vestry minutes as soon as they are approved.
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Creation Care
This month Pastor Russ is sharing a Creation Care Reflection on the profound power of taking a Sabbath in Nature. Click here to read Pastor Russ's reflection.
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Pastoral Care
Your Pastoral Care Team is sharing an important article that shines a light on Hospice care. The article is from the Cape Cod Hospital Newsletter and entitled, Ten Myths Associated With Hospice.
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Aging Gracefully
By Pastor Russ Norris
The Gospels say we should “Be in the world, but not of it.” For those of us growing older, some degree of detachment is necessary and even desirable. But that
isn’t the same as ignoring the world around us. The political turmoil in America since the recent election makes many of us sad, but it’s possible to find a spiritual path, whether you’re young or old:
“Even our most respected spiritual leaders know that accepting not only the way things are, but our own limitations can be easier said than done. Spiritual
advancement can’t guarantee that we won’t feel sad sometimes, or that we won’t become frustrated. But after a good cry, we can simply get on with it.
When your world spins out of control, of course you should do what you can to rectify your part in things. This includes being honest about your limitations, forgiving yourself and accepting life for being what it is and what it is not.
You don’t have to feel happy about all this, but there’s a difference between feeling bad—and feeling bad about yourself.”
From: Spiritual Aging: Weekly Reflections for Embracing Life, by Carol Orsborn (Park Street Press, 2024).
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Volunteering Opportunities |
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Outreach Action Team - OAT
The St. Mary’s OAT (Outreach Action Team) looks forward to 2025. Meetings are held the third Thursday of every month in the St. James Room.
OAT finished out the 2024 calendar year hosting a Veterans Appreciation Breakfast, supporting the CAC turkey give away and Christmas gift drive-through, and participating in the Annual Barnstable Stroll.
We’re just getting started and welcome any ideas for serving our community outside the church that you may have. We also invite all church members to join with us as planners or participants in next year’s activities. Let’s spread the love and be in community as a caring presence from St. Mary's.
Submitted by:
Beth Hearn
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Angels' Treasures Thrift Shop
CLOSED for January! We remind you that January is a great time to clean-out and de-clutter after the Holidays! Please don't forget to store up your items designated for the Thrift Shop.
Did you know Angels' Treasures Thrift Shop is the single biggest source of revenue for our parish outreach efforts? It takes a lot of people to make the best little Thrift Shop around hum along. Maybe working in retail isn't your thing? Do you enjoy researching antiques, doing dump-runs, re-finishing or repairing furniture? How about helping with marketing and social media posts? There are so many different ways you can help at Angels' Treasures. Just send Janis Umschlag a note and she will find a way for you to volunteer.
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Stewardship at St. Mary's
Stewardship is everywhere at St. Mary's. This month we captured it as volunteers are hard at work in our fabulous Thrift Shop, Angel's Treasures.
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Walk In Love: A Season Of Giving
Pledging Report - December 2024
I’m delighted to report that our pledging dollar goal is within sight: as of December 23 you have pledged
a total of $369,656, just $2,144 short of our goal, and about $20,000 more that last year.
Those of you who still intend to pledge are likely to do so before this Newsletter is published, thus
bringing up to, or even beyond our goal! We are most grateful to everyone who has demonstrated their
commitment to St. Mary’s in this way.
While our pledging season draws to a close and we begin work on next year’s budget, please know that
pledges are welcome throughout the year. This year we have 15 new pledgers. BUT our total number of pledgers continues to fall as it has for the past several years. This is a troubling trend, as to my mind St. Mary’s community of parishioners is its greatest asset (along with clergy and staff). We are bound together by faith, love and a commitment to the Gospel. May we never lose sight of the value of that connection as we seek to grow our base of financial support in the years ahead.
Marian Ferguson
Senior Warden
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Save The Dates
February 2025
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February 13 - Vestry Meeting
February 14 - Valentine's Day
February 16 - Movie Theology
February 17 - President's Day
February 23 - Annual Meeting and Luncheon
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