Sometime in mid-October, the city put holiday wreaths up on the streetlights outside the church. I’m not sure that I had ever gawped before, but I did that warm October day when I saw them. Don’t worry, this isn’t one of those bah humbug Advent purist rants people like me like to go on. But it is, I hope, a realistic recognition of some of the challenges of this time of year for many people. The problem with the wreaths isn’t that they encroached on the liturgical season of Advent. They went up so early that Advent wasn’t even around to be encroached upon. They went up so early, in what still felt like late summer, that they felt disconnected from everything—not just the church’s worship, but even the holiday gift-buying season, the Hallmark holiday movie sweeps, and especially any person’s actual life. They were, for me, a pretty good symbol of the completely disembodied jollity that permeates this time of year. “Be merry!” Why? “It doesn’t matter, just start chortling!” When things are going well for us, this disembodied jolliness, this meal of flavored air, can seem harmlessly dumb or harmlessly fun. But when we’re grieving or hurting, it’s part of the complex that makes December so hard for so many of us each year.

The first Christmas without him, the tenth Christmas without her, another year of fruitless waiting for a child, and then having to walk through an atmosphere of ho ho ho that has no relation to hope—for many, these things add up to an intensifying of grief and a deeper feeling of alienation and loneliness. The holidays can be hard. For some it’s the death of a loved one. For others it’s the failing health of someone we love. For others, it’s some other variety of absence: the kids who moved away, the child longed for but never born, the friends never made, a home lost.

There is no fast track to the easy life. And there is no cure for grief—how could there be, when grief is made up mostly of love? So, here’s what we’ve got. First, you’re not as alone as you may feel. God draws near to us in darkness. And your siblings in Christ are ready to share your burdens, or at least to sit beside you with them. On Tuesday, December 14, from 1:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon, Saint Paul’s will host our third and final Advent Quiet (Half-) Day. This one is especially themed for “Blue Christmas,” for the ways this season can be uniquely hard. It will not cure your grief or end your trials. But we’ll sit together with it/them, with each other, with God.

And in January, we’re launching a new group for caregivers. Our first thought is people caring for people they love (ailing spouses, aging parents, children who need extra attention, and other relations of mutuality in which one-way care has grown), but anyone who is a caregiver for another is welcome. We will have a first, exploratory and introductory meeting on Thursday, January 20 at 1:30 PM. If there is sufficient interest for an evening session, we will do everything we can to make it happen. If the person you care for needs company, but not necessarily specialized care, the church will send a volunteer friend to come hang out with them so you can attend. Please just let me know.

Eric+

If you’ve been baptized but not confirmed, or were confirmed elsewhere and now consider the Episcopal Church your home, join us to take the next step of Confirmation or Reception. (For more detailed information, read Fr. Eric's letter of invitation here.)

Confirmation is a mature affirmation of faith, a responsible renewal of the promises made (perhaps on our behalf) at Baptism, and an invitation to go deeper, to take the next step. To wrestle seriously with the questions that matter most and then make a deeper commitment to keep pursuing these questions with this group of people, in this way of living the questions. Confirmation is not an end—it is a commitment to continue.

Reception is the Rite for those who have been confirmed in another Christian communion/denomination and want officially to become Episcopalians. The promises to be reaffirmed are the same as Confirmation and Baptism. If confirmed in another denomination, Reception is the process of joining the Episcopal Church.

Everyone who wishes to take a class to prepare for Confirmation or Reception will be accommodated, but we need to know who you are, fast. Signal your interest by emailing Fr. Eric by Thursday, December 23.

Bishop Logue will next be at Saint Paul’s on Thursday, February 10, 2022, for the Celebration of New Ministry (sometimes called the Installation of a new rector) and for Confirmation. We won’t see him again at Saint Paul’s after that 2023.  

The Finance Committee and the Vestry are beginning the work of preparing the 2022 budget. Your pledge allows them to prepare a more accurate budget. If you have not yet completed a pledge card, please prayerfully consider your pledge to a momentous year. Pledge cards are available in the Narthex and by contacting the parish office. You may also pledge online using the link below.

85 Increase (17 new), 5 Decrease, 35 no change 

as of 12/09/2021

Offerings received this Week $7,835.00

Operating Expenses to Date $809,573.72

Total Income Received to Date $814,840.09

The Vestry Nominating Committee is seeking candidates whom you believe would make outstanding Vestry members for Saint Paul's. If you'd like to suggest someone, including yourself, please contact retiring Senior Warden Ashley Wright. Prior to nominating someone else, please discuss with them their interest and willingness to serve in this role.

The basic responsibilities of the Vestry are:

We expect to elect for three full three-year terms and the remaining year of Matt Gullette’s unexpired term. If the new senior warden comes from the current vestry, we may have an additional unexpired term to fill.

To be eligible for the Vestry, a nominee must answer "yes" to all of the following questions.

Each nominee slated to run for election to the Vestry will be invited to share a profile with the parish via our regular parish communications including the weekly newsletter.

A Note on Eligibility: It was recently brought to our attention that some of our election practices vary from what is required in the diocesan canons (church law in our diocese). Conversations with the Bishop’s staff have clarified the language that will bring our practices into alignment with diocesan canons. On page 19 of the attached Constitution and Canons, those eligible for election are those “confirmed adults in good standing eighteen years of age or older enrolled in the Congregation” (Canon 2.1). Those eligible to vote in an election are “those confirmed adults enrolled in the Congregation who are in good standing and who have reached the age of sixteen” (Canon 2.3). Those already in the process of being confirmed or received and otherwise eligible, are eligible to run and vote while waiting for the bishop’s next visit.

Please contact the Parish Office to update our files.