Out On the Staffing Frontier
Here is a happy update from the cutting edge of news at St. James. We have added a member to our staff! Krystal Poindexter has been hired to fill the position of Parish Communicator. She starts work on the morning of Tuesday, August 2. She has just the kind of experience we need in the person who is in the position to do so much for our community. Keep your eye out for a picture and more information about Krystal after she starts work.
The rest of the parish’s employment news is, if nothing else, consistent. We are not currently in a position to offer an attended nursery during services on Sunday morning. We have a few nursery volunteers (thank you!), and we need more. More than that, we are looking for someone to be employed as the person staffing and running the nursery. The hours are few, the responsibility sacred, and the benefits can be life-changing ... not to mention, the person hired will be paid to do this love-filled job. If you or someone you know is interested in this employment opportunity, please contact formation@stjameswichita.org.
A working committee has been formed to help us make some final decisions about music leadership at St. James. Richard Bowman, Erin Compton, Adrienne Edwards, Randy Harrison, Marlene Hallstrom, and Dawn Frankfurt will meet this Sunday to begin nailing things down for the program year. We are hoping to hit all of the right notes.
As if the offering of these employment positions isn’t enough, there are also several important opportunities available for parishioners to volunteer at the front desk. The shifts are shared among volunteers for approximately 3 hour morning or afternoon assignments.
We are grateful for our volunteers:
Crystal Barber and Craig Rich (Monday mornings),
Joan Bledsoe (Wednesday mornings) and
Mary Druding (Thursday and/or Friday afternoons).
If you would like to volunteer, choose a day not mentioned above and let us know if you would prefer to be here in the morning or evening. You will be very welcome. Please know that this is not a difficult or busy placement. The primary function of office volunteers is to answer the occasional phone call and monitor the front doors. This leaves volunteers time to browse the internet, read a book, work on a crossword, and other personal pursuits. We occasionally need help stuffing inserts into the bulletin, folding newsletters, and putting address labels on a bulk mailing, but we usually plan ahead for this kind of work. Volunteer presence at the front desk is a wonderful way to be able to be at church and to share God’s love with people in our congregation and surrounding community. A friendly face is what’s most needed. You could be the first person a new member of the parish ever meets! Please contact the church office for more information or to volunteer. 316-683-5686 or office@stjameswichita.org. God bless you!
A few upcoming events of note:
Children's Sunday School & Children's Chapel is Sunday, August 7, starting at 9:30 am, this is the final time for our 5th graders before they move up to Youth Group starting in September! Congratulations to Gabe & Allie.
The next Wichita Minster meeting is Tuesday, August 9 at 7:00 p.m. at Breakthrough/ESS.
Special Back to School Prayers will be offered at church on Saturday, August 13, and Sunday, August 14.
The deadline for the Fall Seasons Newsletter (printed quarterly) is Friday, August 19.
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The nursery is closed for drop-off as of now. Gracie Moore has finished her summer commitment to our Nursery staff and we continue to look for a permanent replacement. The Nursery relies on volunteers to stay open, please consider volunteering for this important ministry. Contact Chelsea if you are interested. In the interim, the Nursery is available for you and your child to use, but you must remain with your child in the Nursery.
Our seminarian, Maddy Bishop, who is attending Princeton University for her education before ordination, will be in town soon and will preach at all services August 20 and 21. Additionally, there will be a spaghetti dinner fundraiser on the evening of Sunday, August 21 at 5:30 p.m. to help Maddy with her expenses for life at school (books, rent, etc.). Dine-in or drive-up and take away. Thank you to those who have donated in advance of the dinner to support Maddy.
Our next Seasons Newsletter deadline is August 19. Please send your articles to the Office. This newsletter will cover activities until Advent. If you'd like to receive the newsletter and are not currently, please call or email us .
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The Lessons appointed for the Seventh Sunday After Pentecost, Proper Twelve, Revised Common Lectionary, Year C
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St. James/ St. Stephen's Book Club is reading Cloud Cukoo by Doerr. They meet every Thursday at noon and welcome new members to join. As of now, they are meeting via Zoom. Click here for the link. Questions, contact Mary Sloan.
Creation Care Committee
There are many ways you can make a positive difference for the environment: Check out the ideas in this article: Click here.
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For those helped by Breakthrough/ESS, please drop off a bundle of water bottles – any size – in the front entry. The water received by Tuesday will go to Breakthrough/ESS on Wednesday morning. Your generosity makes a difference and is very appreciated!
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Paxton's Blessing Box
Needs your donations! Please consider dropping off non-perishable food items (especially ready-to-eat food), snacks, and/or hygiene products in the box in the lobby. This food feeds people in our immediate neighborhood. Thank you!
Adult Forum meets every Sunday
Join us at 9:45 in the Guild Hall as we discuss the weekly readings in our series "Going off the Lectionary Grid."
Children and Youth
Children's Sunday School & Children's Chapel
is this Sunday, August 7, starting at 9:30 am.
This is the final time for our 5th graders before they move up to Youth Group starting in September! Congratulations to Gabe & Allie.
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Father Dillon is offering Morning Prayer by Zoom at 9:30 a.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Morning Prayer Zoom Link.
YAW (Young Adults Wichita) is a ministry of the Wichita Minster led by Father Dillon. It includes members from St. James, St. John’s, Good Shepherd, and St. Stephen’s. We meet weekly, currently Mondays at 6 p.m. (time/dates subject to change). If you know anyone interested in participating, please connect them with Dillon at 256-762-5110 or at dillongreen7@gmail.com. If you aren’t a young adult (18-35) and want to be involved, we are always looking for people to provide meals for the group each week. Instructions are to prepare for six to 10 people. If you’re interested in helping out that way, please contact Dillon.
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Spiritual Life
The Canon for Spiritual Life and Clergy Care is offering quiet days and retreats around the diocese throughout the year. A complete list is kept on the website https://episcopal-ks.org/spiritual-life/. If you would like to invite her to create something for your parish, minster or convocation please reach out.
Sacred Collage
In this workshop we will be putting paper and thoughts together in a method that might feel random but isn’t at all. Using tissue paper, pictures, words from magazines, and old boxes of family snapshots, the collages will come together. During this time, we will do four pieces, one on family, one on prayer, one on dreams, and one outside on the beauty of nature. Since our date is in summer, I suggest this is a gentle way to realize how we’ve been blessed. Guided by The Rev. Mary Donovan.
Monday, August 15, 2022, 10 am - 1:30 pm
Upton Hall, Topeka
Cost: $25
https://edok.formstack.com/forms/sacred_collage2022
Vocationers’ Retreat
The Vocationers' Retreat welcomes all seekers in the Diocese of Kansas to support their response to God with their lives. Hosted by the Commission on Ministry and led by the Canon for Spiritual Life and Clergy Care, the Vocationers' Retreat is strongly recommended for those exploring ordained ministry. Others who are interested in exploring lay ministry in a more formal way are also welcome.
The retreat will use techniques in the Christian art of discernment so that each participant is personally invited to reflect with God in community. There will be time for large group learning, small group sharing and personal time of guided reflection. Content will include exploration of various expressions of professional vocations, and choose optional learning about Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, the official ordination process in the Diocese of Kansas, and other workshops on ministry.
Friday, August 26, 6 pm to Sunday, August 28, 11:30 am
Upton Hall, Topeka
Canterbury House at K-State
Seeks new Program Assistant
The Campus Ministry Program Assistant facilitates the development and administration of Episcopal Campus Ministry at Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. Their work is focused on the identification and formation of student peer ministers who will grow and maintain the ministry.
There is a monthly stipend with housing and utilities provided at the Canterbury House. This position is especially designed for recent college graduates discerning a call to ministry, service, or higher education work. We will be accepting applications until the position is filled. A complete job description and the application is available online here: https://edokformation.wordpress.com/program-assistants/
If you have questions, please contact the Director of Young Adult Ministries, Chad Senuta at 913-620-0007 or csenuta@episcopal-ks.org.
Help connect young adults to local ministries
We want to stay connected with Episcopal young adults after they finish high school. If college is in your future, we want to know if you'll be attending one of the schools in Kansas that has a campus ministry program. If you'll be attending elsewhere or doing alternative activities, we want to help connect you with a local program or church. Complete this form with a current phone and/or e-mail so we can stay in touch.
Other News & Reminders
Saturday, August 13, 2022, 10 am to noon
Trinity Episcopal Church, 1011 Vermont Street, Lawrence
In our Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage liturgy we promise to uphold newlywed couples in their marriage. Beyond the emotional and spiritual component, the legal rights of all married couples should also be supported by the Church. It is with that promised support in mind that Trinity Church is hosting a workshop on safeguarding the legal rights of LGBT+ couples and their families, including parental, medical, and property rights. The workshop will be led by David J. Brown, Attorney at Law.
David J. Brown is managing partner of The Law Office of David J. Brown LC in Lawrence. He began his professional career as an award-winning reporter and editor, working for 10 years in the field before attending Albany Law School in New York and then moving to Lawrence. He taught for one semester at KU's William Allen White School of Journalism, then went to work as a research attorney first for the Kansas Court of Appeals and later for then-Chief Judge Mary Beck Briscoe. He held that post until August 1992, when he opened The Law Office of David J. Brown. Since that time, Brown has held various legal leadership roles in the community and has been an involved board member and advisor for nonprofit organizations working to better life in Douglas County. He has written and lectured extensively on the areas of privacy, family law, and ethics. Brown has extensive experience in assisting traditional and nontraditional families on issues of premarital and cohabitation agreements, adoption, separation or divorce, child custody, estate planning, wills and trusts, and family business concerns.
Churchwide News & Events
By Mary Frances Schjonberg
The 80th General Convention passed 14 resolutions, with little or no debate, speaking to the full inclusion and protection of LGBTQ+ persons in the life of The Episcopal Church and the larger society.
By David Paulsen
The sudden, unexpected emphasis on a 1998 Lambeth Conference resolution opposing same-sex marriage has sounded alarms ahead of this year's Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops in Canterbury, which gets underway this week, with some warning it could become a 'huge distraction' for the conference.
By Melodie Woerman
Four bishops ordained and consecrated in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, with small services and a minimum of three bishops attending, have made a pilgrimage to the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney in the Scottish Episcopal Church, where in 1784 Samuel Seabury, the first bishop of The Episcopal Church, was ordained with three bishops in attendance.
Diocesan Calendar
We are doing our best to keep the Diocesan calendar updated with Task Force and Minster meetings as well as other diocesan gatherings. If you notice an error or have something to add, you may notify any diocesan staff person and we will get it updated as quickly as possible.
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Parish Prayers for the Week of July 29
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Parish Prayers
In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer: The Church of the Province of West Africa
In the World Council of Churches Cycle of Prayer: Republic of Congo, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe
In the Kansas Cycle of Prayer:
Pray for Grace, Ottowa
St. James Church prays for these individuals as well:
Our seminarian, Maddy Bishop;
Those serving in the military:
J. David Anderson-Lusk, Will Corkins, Maureen Tanner.
Those who have died:
John Luerding, Jean Crutchfield, Nancy Tapp, Don Foster, Don Yoder;
Those in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness or any other adversity: Gary, Terry, Deb H., Paula, Woody, Bill and Jeri, Tom G., Tom T., Jayne P., Barbara H., Dana F., Suzy R., Ashley M., Phil S., Helen B., Marcia & Lowell, Bill & Carolyn, Dave W., Carole, Kitty, Laura S., Bob & Sue, Marge R., Pam M., Dal, Gus, Joan J., Martha L., Betty, Sage, Joseph B., Sam & Beth, Jerry M., Joy J., Jonathan.
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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