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Please sign up for the upcoming Blood Drive scheduled on February 12th. If you need more information or assistance please contact Dottie Evans at dottieevans6@gmail.com or call 785-341-4532. Thank you for helping us save lives.
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This Sunday, February 12 is Breakfast Sunday. Join us in the Guild Hall with your favorite breakfast dish between Sunday services (9:30-10:45) for a potluck breakfast!
Oyster Dinner tickets are on sale now. Tickets are $50 per person.
Ash Wednesday is February 22. The service of the Imposition of Ashes and Holy Eucharist is at 7:00 p.m. We will reflect on human mortality with Ashes on our foreheads, readings from Holy Scripture, and music with the St. James Choir.
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Is it Time for Tea?
According to long-standing tradition in England, afternoon Tea occurs daily between 3 and 4 pm. According to [modern] tradition at St. James Church, the Olde English Tea occurs annually on the first Saturday in May.
At this time of year, while a handful of people in our congregation consider the obligation inherent in the tradition of holding the Olde English Tea, I am making use of this opportunity to reflect on the reason we have the Tea in the first place. The first Olde English Tea (OET) was held in 1921 (a year after our parish was founded) as a response to a request from Bishop Wise who needed help raising $300. Mrs. Walter Winlte, among many women of St. James Church, accepted that initial challenge. Every iteration of the OET since then has been held for the purpose of raising money for local charities. All of the proceeds each year have been given to Wichita area charities.
Of course, the need for money to support good causes has never gone away, in fact, the need has only grown. Aid organizations need what we can give – and then some. Think of the need now in places like Ukraine, Turkey, and Syria. Proceeds from the OET don’t go to help people in those places; however, what can happen is that desperate need around the globe captures our attention (rightly so!) and contributions which might have gone to support local organizations are sent to help people in other desperate situations. The women who run and organize the OET have stayed committed to raising money for good causes in the Wichita area.
Aware of Jesus’ commandment to us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, this primary Christian value has been at the heart of every properly served cup of tea, mouth-watering tart, lavish table, and the parish adorned in silver, finery, and flowers. Unless you’ve seen it, you wouldn’t believe the preparation, planning, and good old-fashioned work that is poured into the OET.
Our belief in the teachings of Jesus and desire to serve others is as strong as it ever was. Yet, as with many traditions, our culture is changing when it comes to volunteering, ladies’ lunches, and polishing silver. No one has yet been identified to lead the OET this year. A group of people got together to lead the Tea last year as a single individual to oversee the whole event was not available. Each year we learn that more and more people don’t have the time or the inclination to devote to an event like the Olde English Tea.
While they may not be able to devote themselves to lemon curd tarts and fancy hats, the desire to help those in need has never waned. Perhaps it is time for us to be creative about how we raise money to fund our outreach. Sometimes the urge to uphold long-standing tradition gets in the way of the original purpose. Perhaps OET traditions and ways of doing things need real re-examination. This event, which once made perfect sense, may have (painfully) become unnecessary, or even detrimental, to our purposes of charity, fellowship, and community service.
Sometimes, a long-standing tradition will still offer a great deal of value and it doesn’t need to be done away with entirely — just revamped. In other cases, a traditions has to be gently moved to the museum. As we think about the future, we need to remember that change is not an attack on the past. Change is scary, difficult, and there’s no guarantee that it will bring success. So, why would we change? We would change with the hope that if we let go of an aging tradition, we will be giving ourselves the bandwidth to do something else to help our parish grow into the future. It’s risky, but it’s worth it.
Think of the risk Abraham took when he followed God’s instruction to sacrifice his son Isaac. Think of the risk Mary took when an angel appeared and asked her to bear the offspring of God. Think of the risk Jesus took as he carried his own cross to the top of Golgotha. These risks were of the most serious kind, but in each of these cases God brought to fruition something that the risk-takers could not yet imagine. God opened the way of salvation for the whole world.
As we think about the Olde English Tea and what it has meant to St. James Church, we give thanks for the fellowship we have had, the fun we have provided for hundreds of women each year, and the sizable funds we have raised for the worthiest causes in our community. Now, today, is the time to join this community conversation about our history and our future. If you want to be the chairperson of the Tea this year, and if you are ready to recruit volunteers to support the event, then please let us know. Only when we agree that the time has come to fill the last pages of the Olde English Tea scrapbook will it be time for us to give thanks and dream about the future.
Yours in Christ,
Mother Dawn+
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2023 Oyster Dinner: Tuesday, Feb 21 at 5:30 pm. Tickets are $50 each. You can purchase tickets in-person at the church, or online using the Give Now button at the top of the homepage. Instructions for purchasing online are on the Oyster Dinner page of the website.
Articles for the Lent, Holy Week, and Easter Seasons Newsletter are due TODAY, Friday, February 10. If you haven’t turned in an article, there is still time to sneak one in before Krystal returns to the office on Monday! We will also need help folding, stickering, and labeling the printed newsletter. If you’ve never helped with this, it can be a really fun time of socializing. Many hands make the work go by much faster! We would love to have your help on Thursday, February 16th. Volunteers can start arriving around 10am, and we will continue until the work is finished! You can always call before you come to make sure we are still working if you want to join us in the afternoon.
St. James utilizes many ways for people to make extra contributions to the church, including Amazon Smile. Amazon recently announced that they are no longer implementing the Smile program after February 20, 2023. If you have been supporting St. James through purchasing this way, thank you! We are still enrolled with Dillon’s Community Rewards Program. If you would like to link St. James to your Dillon’s card as a way to contribute to the church through your everyday shopping, go to www.dillons.com/i/community/community-rewards
Service volunteers: Service schedules are linked in every eTower, right below the Readings This Week. This allows everyone to see who is serving and when, as that isn't something you can see on Connect. We have been told that occasionally people need to know the full schedule, in case they are hoping to swap dates, etc. We try to keep an updated, printed copy in the Tower Room as well. Instructions for how to request a replacement are directly below the schedule buttons.
We would love to have a few temporary (or permanent!) front desk volunteers to help handle Oyster Dinner ticket sales. Sales are starting to pick up, and it would be helpful to have someone up front to help people that stop buy to purchase tickets. Volunteer times are very flexible, but morning volunteers are here from around 9am-12pm, and afternoon volunteers from noon-4pm. Contact Krystal if you are interested in volunteering. We currently have openings for volunteers on:
- Tuesday morning and afternoon
- Wednesday afternoon
- Thursday morning
- Friday morning
Nametags - Please wear your nametags at church every weekend. Because of the pandemic, we have gotten out of the habit of wearing our nametags. This is an important thing to do and helps visitors and newcomers alike. This is one of the ways you can participate in welcoming new people to our congregation. If you need a nametag, please let us know. We will happily make one for you
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From Creation Care - to participate in a survey related to plastics use in Wichita, follow this link. For more information on state level efforts to prevent localities (including Wichita) from taking action on plastics see below;
Plastic Container Regulation: Last year, legislation was passed and sent to the governor that would have prohibited cities and counties from regulating plastic and other containers designed for consumption, transportation or protection of merchandise, food, or beverages. However, Governor Kelly vetoed the bill and there were not enough votes to override her veto. But a similar bill has been introduced this year as Senate Bill 47.
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Paxton's Blessing Box
Our pantry for Paxton's Blessing Box is getting low and the need is increasing during these cold winter months. Please consider dropping off non-perishable food and hygiene products in our box by the front door. You can also write a check to the church with the memo line: Paxton's Blessing Box. Thank you so much for your donations! If you have questions, please contact Chelsea
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Looking for an easy way to access Realm? If you aren’t using the Realm Connect app, you can now find a log-in button on the home page of the St. James website. Click Realm Login at the top-right of the homepage, next to the Give Now button.
St. James/St. Stephen’s Book Club meets in person at St. Stephen’s every Thursday at noon. New reading fans are always welcome. Questions, contact Mary Sloan.
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The youth group is needing more adult volunteers to help this spring semester. We meet 7:00 - 8:00pm on Wednesday nights. We need at least one more adult leader to help in order to offer this program. Anne has everything planned, just need another adult to keep within Safeguarding God's Children requirements. If interested contact Chelsea in the office or Anne at 816-797-6177 or aws1155@yahoo.com.
The youth group will not have a rummage sale in 2023, due to lack of volunteers. They have other ideas for fundraisers for the year - more info to come later!
The Nursery is open each Sunday from 8:15 am - 12:00 pm and special events for newborns to five years of age. We are looking for volunteers to assist Lauren. To volunteer, contact Chelsea.
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Parish Prayers for the Week of February 12 | |
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In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
The Episcopal Church in the Philippines
In the World Council of Churches Cycle of Prayer:
Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland
In the Kansas Cycle of Prayer:
The Church of the Epiphany, Sedan
St. James Church prays for these individuals as well:
Our seminarian, Maddy Bishop
Those serving in the military:
Will Corkins, Maureen Tanner
Those who have recently died:
Joy Johnson; Fr. Bill Horn; Fr. John Kuenneth; Shirley Brookins Dewert; Janice Collins; Ron Harrison; Emily Swain Smith
And those who have died in Februarys past:
Constance Baker; Bobbie Bastian; Patricia Bayles Frances Brinegar; Virginia Buck; Betty Burns; Edward Burns; Dolores Ann Carter; David Childs; Colleen Didier; Betty Jo Durrant; Frederick Harrison; Peggy Hartman; Frank Kastor; Geraldine Lynd; Billie Matzen; Ruth McGuyre; Ruth McQuyre; Sid Platt; Darb Ratner; Larry Reynolds; Jess Sanders; Krista Schnee; Elizabeth Taggart
Those in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness or any other adversity:
Adrienne; Gene B.; Evan & Sue L.; Terrisa C.; Friends & family of Taylor; Jim P.; Liz; Marilyn T.; Jaime; Roberta P.; John O. and family; Darwin P. and family; Brianna P.; Peer M.; Drew H.; Kai; Ron D.; John R.; Marge Rine & family; Janet R.; Phil S., Celia B.; Sylvester; Sharon & Jerry; Jan. M., Edna & James; Pat; Peggy S.; Gary; Deb H.; Bill and Jeri; Jayne P.; Barbara H.; Suzy R.; Helen B., Bill and Carolyn, Dave W.; Carole; Bob and Sue; Dal; Gus; Joan J.; Martha L.; Betty; Sage; Joseph B.; Jerry M.
For the sake of privacy, we do not list the last names of those who are on our prayer list because of trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or adversity. We do our best to include last name initials in the event that two parishioners with the same first name exist.
If your prayers have been answered, let us rejoice with you. Please contact the office to let us know we can remove your prayer request. If you have prayers you would like added to the prayer list, please contact the office at office@stjameswichita.org or 316-683-5686.
Loving, Liberating and Life-Giving
Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas seeks to hire a Program Assistant for the Canterbury House at Kansas State University. The Campus Ministry Program Assistant facilitates the development and administration of Episcopal Campus Ministry at KSU. Their work focuses on identifying and forming student peer ministers who will grow and maintain the ministry. The Program Assistant works collaboratively with peer ministers and diocesan staff members to best serve the needs of students. This is a rewarding and life-giving position for those who desire to help college students grow in faith and love of God, through serving others and embodying the Episcopal expression of Christianity. See the full position description here. Submit resume and cover letter to Chad Senuta, Director of Young Adult Ministries to apply. csenuta@episcopal-ks.org
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