In this week's edition of the eNews:

- This weekend: Back-to-school Sunday

- ICE detentions surge in CT this week: What you can do

- Rev. Nathan away next week

- Meet our 2026-2027 seminary intern: Shujin Zhang

- Church jazz concert this Tuesday, 9/1: "Farewell to Summer"

- This Thursday, 9/3: ECW CT (Episcopal Church Women CT) quarterly Zoom meeting

- See St. PJ's member David Tate in "Disaster! The Musical," 9/18 - 10/10

- Submit Parish Directory updates by 8/31

- News from the Wider Church: Creation daily devotions for September, remembering Dolly Parton, and more

- This Sunday at St. PJ's

• Cycles of Prayer
• Video: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon

- There's Always More...

This weekend: Back-to-school Sunday

The Children's Garden Sunday School returns from summer break this weekend! To prepare for the coming school year, we will have a special Backpack Blessing during church, just before Communion. Families, please plan bring your kiddos' backpacks with you.

This year will be a little different from last year. Instead of designing a new lesson to match the lectionary each week, Ms. Sarah and 
Rev. Nathan have selected a one-curriculum from Forward Movement (an Episcopal publisher) to help the children learn the big Bible stories in a year. Each Sunday School family will receive a copy of "The Path Family Storybook: A Journey Through the Bible for Families."

Although it will begin a little later in September and not follow the exact same schedule, Adult Education will also study The Path for 2025-2026, using the original adult version of the curriculum. This means that all of St. PJ's -- adults and kids alike -- can walk the Path and study the Bible together this year!

ICE Detentions Surge in CT This Week: What You Can Do

This has been a hard and heartbreaking week in Connecticut, particularly in Danbury and Fairfield County, where ICE activity has surged and immigration advocates have documented at least 64 migrant detentions, including some using unnecessarily brutal and violent tactics. This is the number confirmed by local Rapid Response groups, who estimate the actual number is closer to 376.

Connecticut clergy, community organizers, and elected officials have been speaking out against ICE abuses and for the values of dignity, justice, nonviolence, and welcome. (I -- Rev. Nathan -- tried to respond to a call for clergy presence in Danbury early Wednesday but experienced a punctured tire on the way. I will try again if needed.)

Here's what organizers are doing to help impacted individuals, according to the CT Immigrant Support Network and CT Students for a Dream (C4D, whose New Haven office is in the St. PJ's parish hall): "Connecticut's ability to bring detained residents home depends on a coordinated pipeline. We have trained rapid-response volunteers to conduct rapid intake with each affected family. If appropriate, those intakes are referred immediately to The American Immigrant Legal Clinic (TAILC), which files emergency habeas petitions and bond motions. These filings can secure release and stop out-of-state transfers before a detention becomes a deportation. Speed is decisive, because the window to file before a transfer is measured in hours. Rapid response groups are the front door to this system, and trained intake is skilled legal-support work. Our initiative provides ongoing support and training for rapid-response post-detention committees, offering guidance on document compilation and on bond logistics as needed. The rapid response groups are the backbone of this work. They provide stability and develop trust with families in their communities."

How you can help

1) Pray for justice for immigrants and refugees, and safety for immigrants, their families, organizers, clergy, and all involved. Remember that Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Zipporah, and the Holy Family were all immigrants -- and none had to jump through impossibly complex legal process to cross borders or be treated fairly.

2) Learn more about the New Haven Immigrants coalition and sign up to volunteer

3) Support immigrants' rights charities like C4D and TAILC; publicly affirm the rights and God-given dignity of all Connecticut residents, regardless of immigration status; and share accurate know-your-rights information. See ctimmigrants.org

4) No ICE uptick has been reported in New Haven, but if you do see ICE activity here: Observe from a safe distance, document what you can safely observe, and report it to the New Haven Rapid Response team at (854) 666-4472. Do not physically interfere, and please do not post unverified sightings or identifying information about impacted community members on social media.

Rev. Nathan away next week

Following Tuesday's St. PJ's Jazz Collective concert, I (Rev. Nathan) am heading to North Carolina for continuing education, and will be back in the office on Tuesday, September 8.

I'll be in a big grassy field on the Piedmont an hour north of Charlotte to attend, learn, and join some community singing at the Wild Goose Festival, an annual progressive Christian event with speakers like authors Diana Butler Bass, Lisa Sharon Harper, Jennifer Butler, Jim Wallis, and Kristen Kobes du Mez. I'm also scheduled to give two talks myself, including "God's Microphones: The Saints Who Opposed Fascism," based on last spring's St. PJ's adult-education series.

This festival's singing events are also the inspiration for St. PJ's own hymn sings - the next of which will be on Sept. 23! Please pray for my safe travels, and I can't wait to see you when I'm back.

Relatedly, Monifa returns from her time off this coming Monday 8/31, and the church office is scheduled to be open its regular hours of 8am-noon, Monday-Friday.

Meet our 2026-2027 seminary intern:

Shujin Zhang

Shujin will officially begin her internship with us next week, but she will be at St. PJ's to worship this Sunday. Please introduce yourself at Coffee & Community Hour and say hello!

Hello everyone at St. PJ's! My name is Shujin ("Shoo-jin") Zhang, and this fall I will begin my third year in the M.Div. program at Yale Divinity School.

I come from mainland China and am the first Christian in my family. Though the journey was very difficult, my mother has since also come to faith! I first encountered Christianity in 2019 while studying ethnomusicology and researching Christian music among Chinese ethnic minorities. Later, during my anthropology studies in the Netherlands, I researched belonging among Chinese Christian women immigrants. Through my own struggles with mental health, I came to know Jesus Christ as my Savior and was baptized in 2022.

God’s healing and guidance led me here, where I now study under Professor Chloe Starr [a member of St. PJ's]. Although I may seem quiet at first because English is not my first language and I am naturally introverted, I carry a deep love for Christ and a heart for pastoral ministry. In my free time, I enjoy playing the violin and singing.

I am deeply grateful to join St. PJ's as an intern and look forward to growing through cross-cultural ministry and Anglican discernment alongside this community in the coming year!

The next St. PJ's Jazz Collective Concert:

This Tuesday, September 1, 7 p.m.

The St. PJ’s Jazz Collective will play two more concerts this year: Tuesday, Sept. 1, and Friday, Dec. 4.

Get your tickets for September 1 now, and invite your friends!

(PLEASE NOTE: If you previously tried to purchase tickets and experienced a "Sold Out" message, this was a technical error (Rev. Nathan's fault, he says!). It has since been fixed, so please try again!

This Thursday, 9/2: ECW CT

Quarterly Zoom Meeting

What: "The ECW Spotlight: Sharing Inspiring Stories and Connecting Our Parishes," the quarterly virtual meeting of Episcopal Church Women (ECW) in Connecticut

Who: Hosted by Dr. Paulette Blythe Russell, President of ECW in CT, featuring Allison Fresher of "A Sacred Place - Programs of Hope for Incarcerated Women"

When: Thursday, September 3, 2026, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Where: Zoom - save this email and click this link when it's time to join

See St. PJ's member David Tate in

"Disaster! The Musical," 9/18 - 10/10

What: DISASTER! the Musical

Who: David Michael Tate as Ted

When: September 18 – October 10, 2026

Fridays & Saturdays: 8 p.m.

Sunday matinees: 5 p.m.

Where: Ridgefield Theater Barn, 37 Halpin Ln, Ridgefield, CT

Tickets: $45 adults | $40 seniors/students/veterans

“Pay-What-You-Want” Matinee: Sunday, September 27

Official description: It’s 1979, and New York’s hottest A-listers are lining up for the opening of a floating casino and discotheque. Also attending is a faded disco star, a nightclub singer with her eleven-year-old twins, a disaster expert, a feminist reporter, an older couple with a secret, a pair of young guys who are looking for ladies, an untrustworthy businessman, and a nun with a gambling addiction. What begins as a night of boogie fever quickly changes to panic as the ship succumbs to multiple disasters, such as earthquakes, tidal waves and infernos. As the night turns into day, everyone struggles to survive and, quite possibly, repair the love that they’ve lost…or at least escape the killer rats. With larger-than-life characters, snappy dialogue and some of the most recognizable songs of the ’70s, Disaster! is a laugh-out-loud jukebox musical packed with big personalities, outrageous situations, and disco flair!

Submit Parish Directory Updates by 8/31

Homecoming Sunday will be September 13, and that means it's time for annual updates to the parish directory!

If your contact information has changed -- or if you are new to the parish and not yet in the director but would like to be -- please email office@stpaulstjames.org to let our administrative director Monifa Atkinson know by August 31.

News from the Wider Church:

Creation daily devotions for September, remembering Dolly Parton, and more

- [ECCT] New Season of Creation Daily Devotions beginning Sept. 1: https://www.episcopalct.org/news/new-season-of-creation-daily-devotions-beginning-sept-1/

- [ENS] Michigan church hosts interfaith rally supporting Muslim neighbors as hate groups target Dearborn: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/08/26/michigan-church-hosts-interfaith-rally-supporting-muslim-neighbors-as-hate-groups-target-dearborn/

- [ENS] Episcopal medical equipment ministries help ease the burden of illness, mobility issues: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/08/25/episcopal-medical-equipment-ministries-help-ease-the-burden-of-illness-mobility-issues/

- [RNS] 'Our immigrants are invisible': A pastor ministers to the frightened at immigration court: https://religionnews.com/2026/08/27/as-ice-patrols-federal-plaza-a-lutheran-priest-accompanies-immigrants-to-court/

- [RNS] As tensions test interfaith ties, Omaha’s experiment with three-faith campus marks 20 years: https://religionnews.com/2026/08/27/as-tensions-test-interfaith-ties-omahas-experiment-with-three-faiths-marks-20-years/

- [RNS] New from Religion New Service: Religion & Immigration Litigation Tracker: https://religionnews.com/2026/08/27/religion-immigration-litigation-tracker/

- [Christian Century] Dolly's theology was love: https://www.christiancentury.org/online-columnists/dolly-s-theology-was-love

Come 10:30 a.m. this Sunday, August 30 -- the fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost in Ordinary Time -- for Holy Eucharist, children's Sunday School, jazz hymns, and Coffee & Community Hour.

Serving this Sunday:

Sunday

10:30 a.m.

Jazz Service

In-person and online

Wednesday

12:30 p.m.



Quiet Communion

No Wednesday service 9/2.

Will return 9/9.

Thursday

12:30 p.m.



Midday Prayers

In-person only

Cycles of Prayer and St. PJ's Prayer List

In the Episcopal Church in Connecticut cycle of prayer for August 30, we pray for Trinity College, Hartford; Berkeley Divinity School, New Haven; The Episcopal Church at Yale, New Haven; The Episcopal Church at UCONN, Storrs; and for sStudents, teachers & chaplains at Episcopal seminaries & campus ministries preparing to begin the school year.

In the Anglican Communion Cycle of Prayer, we pray for the The Church in the Province of the West Indies.

On the St. PJ's prayer list, we pray for Doug Parker, Calvin Griffin, Rev. Walter MacNutt, Kevin Gerbe, Leota Tucker, Edwina Johnson, Cynthia King, Paul D'Agostino, Tiras Jaske, Uli Mackert and family, Charlie & Bridget Farrell, Alyce, Pam, Stephen Lett, Vanetta Lloyd, Marietta D'Albero, Marietta Coppola, Alexandra Sanseverino, Dr Milton Coke, Pam Yesner, Rev. Carl Scovel, Karl Mini, Margaret Perry, Ryan Welch, Kyle Park, Fr. Tom, George Moore, A.J. Crosby, Joan Farrell, Sharyn Kessler, Michael Montenegro, Meryl Tate Triplett, Dawn Magliulo, the Gilder Family, Carolyn Wigley, Wendy McLeod, Cotton Burlingame, Deacon Felix Rivera, Marie Blake, Hossna, Peter Loden, Roni Holcomb & family, Mary Ellen Price, Judy Hopkins, the Forni family, Trish Farrell, Jay Lechausse, Nancy Hill, Stephen Livingstone Price

✠ Birthdays: Trevor Babb (9/1), Judy Lhamon (9/2), Chloe Starr (9/3)

VIDEO: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon

Last week was the 13th Sunday after Pentecost. Lynne Severance preached and Tudy Hill officiated Morning Prayer.



If you either missed or want to revisit last Sunday or other recent Sundays at St. PJ's, you can find the recorded livestream on our Facebook and/or YouTube pages.

There's always more...

Please remember that there is a blue Lost & Found bin in the church office.

If you would like to submit an item for consideration in the eNews or bulletin announcements, please let Rev. Nathan know at revnathan@stpaulstjames.org by next Wednesday afternoon.

Please contact Monifa Atkinson in the church office at office@stpaulstjames.org or (203) 562-2143 if you are interested in receiving more information about any of the following:

- Renting space at St. PJ's for your next party, meeting, concert, wedding, or other event. More info at the St. PJ's website here >>

- Volunteering with St. PJ's

- Adding a name, birthday, or anniversary to the St. PJ's prayer list

- Arranging pastoral care needs

- Purchasing grocery-store gift cards to benefit St. PJ's

- Reserving a place in the St. PJ's columbarium or purchasing a plaque on the Memorial Wall

St. PJ's Staff and Contacts

Administrative Office Hours: Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - Noon

Priest Office Hours: Tuesday - Thursday by appointment

office@stpaulstjames.org

(203) 562-2143

• Priest-in-Charge: The Rev. Nathan Empsall, revnathan@stpaulstjames.org, (203) 278-9199
• Administrative Director: Monifa Atkinson, office@stpaulstjames.org
• Sexton: Sammy Rodriguez
• Children's Sunday School: Sarah Hill
• Interim Director of Music: Dylan Rowland
• Vestry: Bill Evans (co-warden), Juhani Jaske (co-warden), David Hill (treasurer), Maggie King (clerk), Maurice Harris, Pam Sayre, Vanetta Lloyd, Lynne Severance, David Boyer, Roni Holcomb