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Dylan Mass is this Sunday
at 9 am (prelude begins at 8:45)
In the documentary, No Direction Home, Bob Dylan says, “When I was young I had this feeling that I was born very far away from where I was supposed to be, so.... I’m on my way home.” Throughout time, men and women who have the ability to see and speak truth have graced the earth. They don’t fit in. They don’t want to. In Biblical language they are known as prophets. In the secular world the artist fills the bill. Bob Dylan is both.
The language we use to describe God and to articulate our beliefs clouds our eyes, closes our ears and numbs our hearts. Dylan wrote, “the more you live a certain way, the less it feels like freedom,” and life certainly validates those words – routines shackle us.
This is the motivation behind the Dylan Mass –
a new vocabulary in the sanctuary, both musically and lyrically, for the age-old truths for which we hunger.
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Readings for Friday
in the 2nd Week of Lent
The COLLECT
Grant, O Lord, that as your Son Jesus Christ prayed for his enemies on the cross, so we may have grace to forgive those who wrongfully or scornfully use us, that we ourselves may be able to receive your forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The GOSPEL: Matthew 21:33–43
Jesus said, "Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, `They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.' So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time."
Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures:
`The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes'?
“Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.”
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WomanKind Information and Leadership Discussion
on Wed., March 6
All women are invited to join us for a WomanKind Information and Leadership Discussion on Wednesday, March 6 from 7 to 8 pm in Valentine Hall. This year is the 20th Anniversary year of WomanKind and it’s time to celebrate and to look forward to WomanKind 2026.
The conversation will include updates about plans for a celebration of WomanKind and the 2026 WomanKind Conference returning to St. James’s.
Please contact Amelia, aarthur@doers.org, with questions.
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Join us for the final
Interfaith Dialogue
Thurs., March 7
Our final Interfaith Dialogue is this coming Thursday, March 7, at 7 pm. We’ll be joining our friends from Beth Ahabah for session #4 – Birth and Development of Christianity
We’d love for folks to sign up in advance.
We'll meet at St. James's in Valentine Hall for dessert and learning.
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Next Young Family Social
is Saturday, March 9
Our next Young Family Social will be at the home of Marisa and Will Trible (8203 Lydell Drive, 23228). It's sure to be a good time.
St. James’s will provide some snacks, water, and juice. Parents, please feel free to bring a favorite beverage or snack to share. Young Family Socials are open to anyone with children living at home.
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Tuesday, March 5
Tuesday Men's Bible Study - 7:30 am, Valentine Hall
For details and contacts see the DOERS guide
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Wednesday, March 6
Living Faith Bible Study - 10 to 11:30 am
Currently on Zoom (in person gatherings TBD)
For details and contacts see the DOERS guide
Noon Eucharist & Healing Service -- 12 noon in the Chapel
Wednesday Night Dinner tonight
at 6 pm in Valentine Hall
WomanKind Information and Leadership Discussion
7 to 8pm in Valentine Hall
This year is the 20th Anniversary year of WomanKind and it’s time to celebrate
and to look forward to WomanKind 2026.
The conversation will include updates about plans.
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Thursday, March 7
Thursday Men's Breakfast Bible Study - 7:30 am, Valentine Hall
For details and contacts see the DOERS guide
Brown Bag Book Group - 12:00 pm on Zoom
The 2023-2024 book list is available here.
March Book: The House is on Fire by Rachel Beanland
For details and contacts see the DOERS guide
Interfaith Dialogue - 7 pm, Valentine Hall
We’ll be joining our friends from Beth Ahabah for
session #4 – Birth and Development of Christianity
We've be having dessert with our discussion.
We’d love for folks to sign up in advance.
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Looking Ahead & Ways to Get Involved | |
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In case you missed the Annual Meeting...
...or missed something that happened you can:
• Download the Impact Report from the meeting here.
• View a video of the highlights here.
Thanks to everyone who came and everyone who made presentations. And, of course, congratulations to our new Vestry members: Benjamin Crowley, David Gardner, Teri Miles, Melinda Parker, John Reynolds and Karen Townsend. You can read their bios here.
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Adult Forum
NEXT Sunday, March 10
Endowment Board Q&A
At the annual meeting, we all got a great overview of the Endowment Fund and how it works. But we know there’s a lot more to know.
Please join us NEXT Sunday in Valentine Hall at 10:15 for a conversation with the St. James’s Endowment Board. Members of the Endowment Board will discuss who is on the board, what it does, and, most importantly, be available to answer questions.
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Lenten Discussion Series
resumes Wednesday, March 13
The next session of our Lenten discussion series, St. James’s in Transition, is Wednesday, March 13,
at 7 pm, right after the Wednesday Night Dinner.
Penny will be leading our discussion focused on the church’s mission.
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Thursday, March 14
Meet the Author, Greg Jones:
Keeping the Christ ... in Christian
Join us from 6 to 8 pm on Thursday, March 14, to hear from the Rev. Greg Jones as he discusses his newest book “Keeping the Christ…in Christian”. Greg is a former associate rector of St. James's and currently the Rector of St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Raleigh, NC.
The event will begin with appetizers and fellowship followed by a presentation from Greg. Books will be available for $20 or you can purchase them on Amazon, and Greg will be available to sign books after his presentation.
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Lenten Quiet Morning:
A Morning of Learning and Practice
of Spiritual Practices
Saturday, March 16, 9 to 11:30 in Parkinson Room
In the midst of life we often struggle to find time to slow down and focus on ourselves as spiritual beings. During Lent, we often talk about taking on particular spiritual practices or disciplines…but we don’t always know where to start.
Join Rev. Amelia and special guest facilitator Fontaine Williamson for a morning of learning and practicing spiritual disciplines and practices. We are offering this time and space to introduce (or re-introduce) you to spiritual practices to help you deepen your connection to God on a day to day basis.
We will begin with a welcome and introduction, and then spend a few hours learning about and practicing spiritual practices that you can continue in your daily life. Please dress comfortably, bring a yoga mat or other mat or cushion to sit on, a water bottle, and journal.
Please RSVP to Amelia, aarthur@doers.org, or contact her with questions.
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Summer Missions 2024 for Youth and Adults
We’re offering lots of meaningful mission opportunities this summer: Hurley Community Development Center in Hurley, VA, Harvest of Hope on the Eastern Shore, Project Homes, and Our Little Roses Home for Girls in Honduras.
The deadline for signing up for the Honduras Mission is March 15 (just over two weeks from now). We hope you’ve seen the video with Blake and Katie that gives an overview of our plans, but if you haven’t, you can see it here. There's also information on the Missions page at doers.org.
If you have questions about the Hurley and Harvest of Hope trips, please reach out to Katie Ricard at youth@doers.org.
To know more about our Honduras trip, reach out to Julie Wade at juliecwade12@gmail.com.
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Project Homes 2024
St. James’s will be partnering with Project Homes in Richmond for a week of service from June 17-21. The St. James’s team will be assigned a home and help with projects such as replacing windows, painting, carpentry repairs, and yardwork/cleanup. The team will meet from 9am-2:30pm each day and regather for dinner and prayer each night.
This week is intended for both youth and adults
- Youth ages 13-15 are invited to participate with an accompanying adult
- Youth 16+ that can drive are welcome to participate without an accompanying adult.
If you’re interested in signing up or learning more, contact Kyle Martin at kyle@bkmartin.com or 804-673-0138.
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Remembering those we love
with Easter Lilies.
The St. James’s sanctuary is filled with beautiful lilies on Easter Day. If you would like to contribute a lily in thanksgiving for a loved one or in memorial, now is the time to do it - March 18 is the deadline.
- The cost for each lily is $25.
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You can pay and send the names of those you wish to honor and remember by going to PushPay
Important: Put the names in the PushPay memo
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OR if you prefer, you can mail a check (with Easter Lily in the memo) and include a note with the names to:
Betsy Lee
St. James's Episcopal Church
1205 West Franklin Street
Richmond, VA, 23220
If you have any questions, please email Betsy at blee@doers.org
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Come help us make
Palm Crosses
on Sunday, March 17
Join us on Sunday, March 17 during formation hour for an All Ages palm cross making workshop!
During this workshop, you’ll learn how to make palm crosses, which we will then hand out at Palm Sunday. Come have fun and learn a new skill - we need to make over 300 crosses!
For our children, we will have another palm activity if they wish to do that instead.
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You’ll flip
for this service opportunity
on Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is March 25. This means The Palm Sunday Pancake breakfast
is approaching and we need cooks! Youth in grades 5-12, as well as any adults, are invited to volunteer for this fun event.
To sign up, click here.
For those attending, breakfast will be from 8:30 - 9:30 am and the Palm Sunday Parade will begin at 9:30 am. There is a suggested donation of $5 per individual, $20 per family.
All donations benefit youth missions.
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DOERS Doing
in the Community:
Creation Care
Our March Doers Doing activity focuses on Creation Care! Join us for a James River clean up at Belle Isle on Saturday, March 23 from 10 am-12 pm.
We’ll meet in the Belle Isle parking lot (300 Tredegar Street). Cleaning materials will be provided, just wear sneakers and bring water!
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The Website Calendar has been updated.
And is fully up to date.
We know the Calendar on the website hasn’t always been as reliable as it should have been. But that's changed. We have a new calendar up – and it is being maintained on a full-time basis. So you can confidently use it as a resource for events going on at the church.
We apologize for any frustration you’ve experienced in the past. This new calendar should be a vast improvement – which will only get better as time goes by.
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Just a reminder that Easter is earlier than usual this year ....
Sunday, March 31.
See our updated Winter Calendar for Holy Week events too.
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Elevator is closed until further notice.
The elevator outside the sanctuary that gives access to people with accessibility challenges will be closed for the time being. Repairs are already underway and shouldn’t take too long. We apologize in advance to anyone inconvenienced by the repair work.
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Parishioner who passed away recently:
Cary Tilton Doyle (d. 2/28/2024)
We commend Cary to God’s love.
If you would like information on how to reach out to the loved ones of the deceased, please do not hesitate to contact the church office at (804)355-1779.
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St. James’s Episcopal Church | DOERS.ORG | (804) 355-1779
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