Please join us this Sunday for our last IN PERSON Bluegrass Mass of the year at 5pm. We are looking forward to a beautiful time of wonderful music and deepening of faith and community. We hope you will join us!

The Stations of the Cross have changed to for our Advent Season. We hope that you will bundle up and come take a walk around the property, enjoying each station. What a beautiful way to celebrate the coming of our Lord.

The Altar Guild provides beautiful poinsettias during Christmas in honor of loved ones. If you would like to order one in memory or honor of your beloveds, please email Kasey or call to let her know. Please be sure to include your name and the name(s) of your honoree(s). The cost is $25. The deadline for orders is December 19th.

As excitement and anticipation of the coming holidays build for many, others may be struggling with their addiction or the addiction of another. Our town of Ashland, the Center of the Universe, is home to a warm community of people recovering from addiction, including Alcoholics Anonymous, aarichmond.org or 355-1212; Narcotics Anonymous, rvana.org; and Al Anon and Al-a-teen, vaalanon.org. More information is available online, or feel free to reach out to the Church office at (804) 798-6336. There is no reason to struggle alone.

The Bishop's Appeal makes grants possible for things possible like providing equipment to congregations so they could stream services through the pandemic. It also feeds those who are hungry, provides meals to children through backpack programs, and fresh food through community gardens and farmer's markets- making a difference in lives of those most in need throughout our communities in the Diocese of Virginia.

Thanks to a challenge grant, donating online is more important than ever. The Jessie Ball duPont Fund has generously offered to match online gifts up to $25,000 in November and December. Please help us, if you are able, by donating online HERE. It will double the difference in the life of a person struggling right now. (Rules: Donations must be made online by individuals, not organizations. The match is capped at $500 per transaction, but you can make as many transactions as you like.) Thank you for your incredible generosity!

During the season of Advent we will have Children's Church during the Sunday 10am service. Children are welcome to begin the service together and then they will go to Brydon Hall for a special craft and games and will return to the service at Communion. This will be distanced and masked to provide the safest experience for our families. We hope you will join us in person for this! Here are pictures from this past week.

Our theme this year is "Advent is Adventures" during Advent. A few bags are still available for families. They contain weekly crafts, newsletter and suggestions on ways to reconnect during this season of waiting. Please reach out to Miriam if you would like one. 

Sunday school will be held virtual on December 12th at 9am.

We need one volunteer to help. We have it every Sunday morning at 9am from the comfort of your own home. Come learn and listen as our wonderful children share how God works in their lives. Please email Miriam if you are interested.

Children and youth are invited to come to church on Sunday the 19th and during the service we will have a Pop Up Shop for them to get gifts for their family members. We are looking for donations of small items to gift away. Please drop them off at the church before December 17th. If you would like to help with this, please let Miriam or Kasey know. 

Have you ever wanted to develop daily practices that would enrich your life? Come learn how to make that happen. Father Rock will be leading a small group in person on Tuesdays at 10am in Brydon Hall for 3 weeks, November 30th- December 14th. We would love to have you! If you aren't able to make it- that's okay too. We will be recording it so that you can be part of this online, if that is your preference. The link to watch week one is below. We hope you will join us in any way you are comfortable.

The memorial service for Karl Meyer will be this Saturday, December 11th at 2 pm at Saint James the Less. A reception will be immediately following the service from 3:30 to 5:30 pm in the Glen Dining Room, Main Floor, Madison Building, Virginia Crossings Hotel and Conference Center, 1000 Virginia Center Parkway, Glen Allen, VA. We hope you will be able to join us as we celebrate his beautiful life.

Would you like to be on Vestry or know someone you think would do great at it? We would love to hear from you if so! Email Father Rock with any suggestions or questions you might have about the positions.

We had a wonderful seminar a few weeks ago on preparing for the end of life. Since then, we've had many people reach out to get the resources from the class. We wanted to share those with you as well if you were interested.

Here is the End of Life planning kit that will walk you through all the steps of preparation. (We have copies of this in the folder on the wall in the hallway)

Here is the full webinar on The Ministry of Planned Giving can be found on the diocesan website along with webinars on a variety of topics.

Stephanie Higgins passed along many good links. One that she suggested as a good place to delve into is What is Special to You?

The Episcopal Diocese dedicated website for planned giving is here. You can sign up for the free e-newsletter, check out information about ways to give, learn more about wills, and research other giving vehicles all from the privacy of your own home!

If you or your family would like to sponsor the flowers in the Sunday service, you can email Kasey to reserve your date. There are no flowers in the Advent season, but as we look forward to the 2022 calendar you can make sure you remember holidays and birthdays with the gorgeous flowers the Altar Guild does. The cost is $35 and the money goes to support purchasing the flowers and all the things that the Altar Guild provides for this awesome community.

Are you hoping to add some Saint James the Less "swag" to your collection? Looking for the perfect Christmas gift? We have a online website, through The Supply Room, that allows us to order items with the SJTL logo on it. There are all kinds of shirts, jackets, and bags that you can get with Saint James the Less on it. Click HERE to see the many different options.

Peter Paul is in need of these supplies on behalf of their students. The collection boxes are in our hallway.

We ask your prayers for peace; for goodwill among nations; and for the well-being of all people. Remembering especially Gus Miller, Erin Yagla, Meredith Moon, Madge Carter, Meghann Batten, Mark Longaker, Michael Fox, Bill Blakemore, Chambers Cromwell, Dennis Folsom, Carter and Lila, Shirley Dols, Jack, Pam Bowers, Lin Varner, Connie Geisenderfer, Paul Robb, Jonathan Smith, Debra Bernard, Rev. Dr. Susannah Metz, Smith family, Alex Gillette, Pam Gillette, Sally Budd, Sarah Chamblee & family, Loisanne Rockwell, Wiley Hughes, Jimmy Smith, Jeff Lawrence, May and family, Debbie Hill, Brian, Llelwyn Schofield, Schuyler, Harry Hassell, Melanie Fischer, Court Warfield, and the Diocesan Search Committee for our new Bishop.

125 Beverly Road

Ashland, VA 23005

The Rev. Rock Higgins- Rector

The Rev. Becky McDaniel- Associate Rector

Kasey Buckland- Parish Administrator

Reggie Long- Organist/Music Director

Miriam Smith- Christian Formation- Children & Youth Director