Weekly e-Epistle
from
St. James' Mill Creek
Wilmington, Delaware
March 21st, 2021

We'd love for you to join us!

We would be pleased if you joined us in person or online from the comfort of your home for church services via Facebook Live at 9:30am.


Here is a PDF of this Sunday's bulletin for you to enjoy.
An update from the Search Committee...

We are excited to announce that the Rector job description has gone to the Canon to the Ordinary, the Reverend Martha Kirkpatrick, and it is posted on the national church search site. This is a site where clergy go to look for job postings and it is not public. This description was based on the information you supplied by completing the Congregational Assessment Tool (aka Holy Cow). Thank you again.

The next step is the updating of our St James’ website to reflect who we are for candidates to get to know us better. We anticipate that this will be done sometime this week. Thanks for your photos and all the work done by the sub-committee members, Val Brunson, Larry Heinold, Liz Lichtenstein and Nancy Patterson. 

We will keep you updated as the process moves along. Please keep this process in your prayers.

Carolyn and Jenny
We will continue to collect items for the Hope Center through March. Please continue to add this notice below:
 
UPDATE-- New Castle County HOPE Center
for Individuals and Families in need of temporary housing
    Winter 2020-2021 Code Purple Plan for Wilmington    
    
New Castle County purchased the former Sheraton Hotel on Airport Rd (now named the New Castle County HOPE Center) and Friendship House is running Code Purple programing out of this location to provide housing for individuals and families who are homeless this winter. The County retained the hotel management staff to keep the facility running.
·        Code Purple started with the first snow on December 15th and will run through the end of March (and then they will evaluate how to proceed.) The County will continue working to obtain more significant housing for the individuals and families who come to the HOPE Center.
·        At this time, many of the families that would be housed with Family Promise are being served at the HOPE Center and a worker from Family Promise is on site at the HOPE Center for counseling and other services.
·        Code Purple will be every day and night this winter (not just when temperatures drop below freezing). Being able to offer 24 hour/7 day a week winter shelter during the pandemic is a huge gift and opportunity for our friends living on the streets.
·        The hotel can accommodate 400 and suites and adjoining rooms are given to families and enables households to stay together.
·        Housing is coordinated through the Delaware Housing Alliance.  
·        If you know of anyone who needs this housing, please ask them to call 1-833-FIND-BED (1-833-3463-233) and leave a message.
 
How St. James' can help:

·     Review the list below and see if there are items you could provide.
·   We offer "contactless drop off" at the parish hall Monday-Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.  
·   Please place your donations in the bin labeled Donations for HOPE Center - CODE PURPLE on the porch of the parish hall.  

    Liz will bring in the bin and any donated items at 1:30 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and we will take the donations to Friendship House at the end of each week.
 
Items needed: 
  •    Hygiene items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste and soap (regular and travel size). 
  •    Tide pods or other laundry pods 
  •    Containers of ground coffee (the staff brews coffee daily for the guests)
  •    Gift cards for local grocery stores  
Clothing items:
  • NEW socks and underwear (men's, women's, or children's)
  • NEW or gently used winter items (coats, gloves, and hats)


Thank you, 
St. James' Outreach Ministry
Prayer Team

On the first Sunday of every month the members of the prayer team hold a “virtual” ZOOM prayer service at 11:30 a.m. (focusing on the prayer requests shared by parishioners through calls or emails to the church office or to individual members of the prayer team.) We lift up these prayer requests and other concerns of the parish, community, and world.
During this time of Covid19, the prayer team is holding ZOOM prayer team gatherings twice a month. Also, weekly we share the prayers and petitions that have been given to us and they are lifted up daily by members of the team. All are welcome to participate in these services.

Our next meeting will be on Sunday, March 21, 2021 at 11:30am.

For those who have an immediate prayer need or would like to receive the ZOOM codes and join the prayer team service, we invite you to email your prayer needs/requests to Sister BJ Brown at: sisterbjbrown@gmail.com or call Cindy Fauerbach 302-584-8053
St. James’ Pastoral Care Team is here and wants to help.

If you or someone you know is in need, we send cards, we make phone calls, we will pray with you and/or for you. NOTE: Once safety from the Covid19 virus permits, we will continue to make home and hospital visits and make Eucharistic visits.
Please call the office (302-994-1584) and leave a message. Someone will get back to you. Messages are retrieved daily, seven days a week.

NOTE: once safety from the Covid19 virus permits, on Sundays there are forms and envelopes labeled “Pastoral Care” next to the prayer requests in the church entrance. Please place your request in the offering plate or the prayer basket.
Please let us know if you need us or someone you know needs us, we won’t know if you don’t tell us.
A Prayer for the Fifth Sunday in Lent

Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.




Find more Morning Psalm and prayers please visit

A note from your Wardens about attending church in person

  • Your safety is our top priority.
  • No one should feel obligated to attend church in person. If you are not comfortable being around others, it is okay to stay at home.
  • On-line services will continue to be available through Facebook Live.

For those who do wish to attend church, please click on the button below to read more of the guidelines and safety protocols for the Return to In-Person Services. We look forward to seeing you. 
Join us for ZOOM Coffee Hour

You are invited to a virtual coffee hour following worship at St. James’ Mill Creek, beginning approximately 15 minutes after service concludes. So after service is over, grab a beverage or snack and connect to your church family. All are welcome.

For those who have not used Zoom previously, this page has a video and instructions on how to join a Zoom meeting from various devices (PC, Mac, iOS device, Android, regular telephone with a toll call, etc.): https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-How-Do-I-Join-A-Meeting- . You do not need to sign up for a Zoom account to attend.

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 931 0834 7195
Password: 766583
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St. James' Mill Creek
2106 St. James Church Road
Wilmington, DE 19808

302.994.1584