Dear Parish Family,
Cynthia and I wanted to express our appreciation to everyone who was able to attend our farewell reception a few weeks ago. We were touched deeply by the love and support from all those who were able to join us for this special celebration. We have also been overwhelmed by the many cards and emails we have received over the past few weeks from so many members of our church family who were not able to be with us.
We were grateful to all those that worked on the reception and provided the food, flowers, and hospitality for this parish event. (And special thanks again to Mark Whitmire and members of the choir, for their farewell chant minus the incense.) As we begin a new chapter in our lives, we will continue to keep you in our prayers, and we remain grateful for the love and support of our ministry during these past six years.
Blessings in Christ,
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Another great chance to get to know Penny.
This Sunday from 8:45 to 9:45, we’ll be holding our Midsummer Parish Meeting – but with a twist. Instead of our original plan to divide our time between getting to know Penny better and giving ministry updates, we’re devoting the whole time to a discussion and Q&A with Penny.
As for the ministry updates, we’ll be handing out booklets with information about various ministries – including Mission – that you can read at your leisure. Remember, the meeting starts at 8:45 am so we can have a full hour before the 10 am service.
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Curious about Confirmation?
Stay tuned for more information at the end of July!
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Sunday, July 16
Mid-Summer Parish Meeting
Valentine Hall, 8:45 - 9:45 am
Thursday, July 20
Women in Fellowship Social, 7-9 pm
at the home of Laura Strickler (1238 Rothesay Circle)
Brown Bag Book Group
Meets the first Thursday of each month via Zoom
August Book: The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict
Tuesday Men's Bible Study, Young Adults, and Women in Wisdom
are taking a summer break, but will return in the fall.
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Peek at the Week is now on the website (doers.org) too. So if you need to check in on what’s going on this coming week, click on the Peek at the Week banner (The Week's Events)
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This week's eChimes features |
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- Summer Book Club with the clergy
- Read about future mission work
- We're firing up the grills for July parish dinner
- Parish Retreat signup is coming soon
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- Save the dates for these fun August events
- Praying for St. James's Armed Forms members
- Prayers of The People
- See what's happening this summer in one place.
- Diocese of Virginia
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It's time to talk about our
first Summer Book Club book.
This coming Monday (July 17) at 7:30 pm is the first meeting of our Summer Book Club. Led by Amelia, we’ll be discussing Anne Lamott’s Help, Thanks, Wow. Here’s the Zoom link.
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A few words from Blake about his Summer Book Club selection
Full disclosure, I hadn’t read On the Road with Saint Augustine before this summer, and I’m about a third of the way finished. I have, however, encountered the author, James K.A. Smith, on several occasions through his other works, appearances on podcasts, and public speaking events. In my experience, Smith is a brilliant scholar who manages to present profound theological truths in compelling and easy to understand ways that are relevant to the present moment. In particular, much of his work has centered around bringing Augustine (considered by many to be the most influential theologian of Western Christianity) into the 21st century.
In On the Road with Saint Augustine, Smith blends the traditional genres of devotionals, history, and theology as he narrates the journey that so many of us are familiar with and the one that Augustine traveled and summarized with his famous quote from his Confessions, “Our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.” During a season of the year when many of us find ourselves literally “on the road”, I thought there was no better time to journey together, with Augustine as our guide, back to our heart’s true desire.
On Monday, August 14 at 7:30 pm, Blake will lead a discussion of the book.
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READ about the future of
Mission work at St. James’s.
The St. James’s Mission Committee has been hard at working trying to answer one simple but powerful question: How is God calling St. James's to engage in missions in 2023 and beyond?
The results of their hard work can be seen in the Mission Update that’s just been published. You can click here to read the two-page report, read in the Ministry Update we'll be handing out this Sunday, or you can pick up a copy in the church narthex. Either way, this is essential reading for every Doer of the Word.
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We’re firing up the grills on
Wednesday, July 26.
Our July Parish Dinner is just around the corner: Wednesday, July 26 at 5:30 pm. We’ll be grilling hamburgers and hot dogs and enjoying other cookout favorites on the surface lot (next to Michaux house). If it’s raining, we’ll move inside to Valentine Hall. To RSVP, click here.
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The Signup for our Parish Retreat is coming soon!
Mark your calendars. The Parish Retreat registration will go live on Tuesday, August 1 at 10:00 am.
At that time, an email will go out with instructions on how to register for the retreat.
The Parish Retreat will be held at Shrine Mont on Oct. 20-22. Please plan to join us for this special weekend of fellowship, faith, and fun.
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Save the Dates
Mark your calendars for these fun Parish events. There's something for all ages.
We'll have more details in upcoming eChimes.
Saturday, August 12
Young Family Social from 4-6 pm
Saturday, August 26
Shalom Farms Service Opportunity for all ages from 9 am-12 pm.
Wednesday, August 30
Parish Dinner at 5:30 pm
We’re having local food trucks on the surface lot.
Come and celebrate the end of summer and buy dinner.
Dessert is on St. James’s
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Praying for St. James's members serving in the Armed Forces.
St. James’s is resuming our weekly prayers for members of our church who are serving in the Armed Forces. This week we remember:
David Bhatta
Robby Farmer
Sam Moffatt
William Smith
Mitchell Teefey
If you would like to submit the name of someone for our Military Prayer List, please reach out to Mary Brown at mbrown@does.org or call her at 804-355-1779 ext. 313.
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We do our best to keep this list current, but if you want your name added or removed, please email Mary Brown at mbrown@doers.org or call her at 804-355-1779 ext. 313
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There's so much happening this summer.
See it all in one place.
We’re making it as easy as possible to know what’s happening this Summer at St. James’s. In addition to clicking on the Summer at St. James’s artwork, you can always go to doers.org/summer, where you’ll find the full schedule of summer social and musical events, book clubs and classes, and, of course, worship – all in one place.
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St. James’s Episcopal Church | DOERS.ORG | (804) 355-1779
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