Welcome to Easter Season
The Easter Season, also known as Easter Time and Eastertide (among other names), is celebrated for 50 days, ending on Pentecost Sunday, when Jesus ascends into heaven.
During the Easter Season Jesus appears numerous times to his disciples and others (often in disguise) and shares some of his most powerful teachings, including The Great Commission (“Go and make disciples of all nations.”), which is at the heart of the Christian experience. These teachings are recorded in the four gospels and The Acts of The Apostles, which is why Acts and the Epistles replace our Old Testament readings during this Season.
More than just a seven-week celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, the Easter Season goes back to the early church when Christians spent Lent learning how to live the way of Jesus as they prepared for baptism on Easter Sunday. The Easter Season that followed was used to continue their Christian education.
Today, Easter Season is a time to rejoice and experience what we mean when we say Christ is risen and that we, as the church, are the body of the Risen Lord. It’s also a time to remind ourselves of both the core beliefs and mysteries of our faith as we prepare for the ministries that make each of us a Doer of the Word.
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Tuesday, April 18
Tuesday Men's Bible Study - 7:30 am, Valentine Hall
A weekly hour of fellowship, discussion of the bible and good food.
Young Adults - 5:45 pm, location varies
We'll gather for a combination of fellowship, prayer, and Bible or book study.
For more information and/or to get on the GroupMe, contact the Rev. Blake Singer.
Wednesday, April 19
Living Faith Bible Study - 10 am via Zoom
This opportunity for fellowship, study and discussions that help to make
our Christian faith a “living faith” and apply the witness of the Scripture
to our everyday lives. Please contact Betsy for the Zoom link.
Wednesday Noon Eucharist
in the Chapel
Tour the St. James's Children's Center - 5:00 pm, Gibson Hall Atrium
Come discover all the amazing things happening at SJCC
Wednesday Night Dinner - 5:30 pm, Valentine Hall
Please RSVP for dinner by 12 noon on Monday so we know how many to expect
Thursday, April 20
Thursday Men's Breakfast Bible Study - 7:30 am
This group meets every other Thursday to read and discuss the Lectionary Readings
for the upcoming Sunday. It’s a great way to learn the scriptures and
build deeper relationships with other St. Jamesers.
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This week's eChimes features
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- Sunday, April 23 Evensong
- 7:45 am Sunday service
- Wednesday Night Dinners and Children's Center Tours
- DOERS Doing in the community April opportunities
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- Celebrate Earth Day with us next Sunday
- Join the LiveStream Team
- Prayers of The People
- Diocese of Virginia
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To me, there is no better way to bring a lovely day to a close than the service of Evensong. A beautiful church, candles, readings, quiet reflection and beautiful music by choir and organ. It's as good as it gets. I hope you can join us.
--Dr. Mark Whitmire
Next Sunday evening at 5 pm, St. James's will hold one of only two Evensong services we hold each year, featuring our Parish choir performing gorgeous works by Thomas Tomkins and Herbert. Make every effort to join us for this musically beautiful and spiritually rich service. For more details, click here.
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The 7:45 Sunday service will now be in the Sanctuary.
Because the number of people attending our 7:45 service on Sundays has been growing, starting this Sunday the service will move from the Chapel to the Sanctuary.
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Wednesday Night Dinner
Our Wednesday Night Dinners during Lent were so popular that they've been extended from through May 17.
So.come for the fellowship and food. There's nothing better than a meal cooked by someone else. Dinner begins at 5:30 pm in Valentine Hall.
The suggested donation is $5 per person, with a $20 maximum per family.
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Children's Center Tours
the next two Wednesdays
While we won’t be having a formal Adult Formation during this series of dinners, we’re inviting every St. James’ser to visit the St. James’s Children’s Center the next two Wednesdays (April 19 or 26) to see the amazing work going on there.
During the tour, you’ll learn about the mission and diversity of the Children’s Center, along with their social-emotional curriculum and how their children learn through play. Finally, you’ll learn how this center came to be at St. James’s. After the tour, stay for fellowship at Wednesday night dinner in Valentine Hall!
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Celebrate Earth Day with us next Sunday during formation hour.
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Earth day is April 22, and on April 23rd, our very own Sharon Wayne will be leading the Adult formation with a Creation Care presentation that promises to be inspiring and meaningful.
Our youth will be making seed bombs that day as well.
We may also have a Creation Care Liturgy at an upcoming Wednesday night supper.
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April opportunities to be a DOER DOING.
As you may recall, we’ve restructured our Service Ministries by focusing the efforts of Doers Doing in the Community from many agencies to three ongoing partners–CARITAS, REAL LIFE and Peter Paul Development Center. There are ongoing opportunities (what we call everyday opportunities) to work with all three partners. Each month we’ll have a specific opportunity that focuses on just one partner and sometimes we'll have another opportunity with one of outreach partners.
This month we're sharing opportunities with Peter Paul Development Center and project:HOMES
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project:HOMES build day
Saturday, April 22
Please join us for a project:HOMES build day on Saturday, April 22 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. We will be at the home of Rosemary Taylor, building a ramp to her house and helping to clear some bushes.
The Richmond Mission will return to this house in the summer to do more work.
Spots are limited! Sign up now. Volunteers should bring bug spray, gloves, sunscreen, gloves, a chair, and lunch. Any questions? Please reach out to Katie Ricard at [email protected].
project:HOMES takes an all-encompassing approach to housing. We challenge the misconceptions of what defines affordable housing through the production and preservation of high-quality affordable housing, large-scale home repairs, and improved accessibility and energy efficiency for existing homes.
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Peter Paul Garden Cleanup
Sunday, April 23
On Sunday, April 23 from 1:30-3:30 pm come help clean up Peter Paul's gardens and put together new picnic tables.
There's no need to sign up, just show up and have a good time while helping in the community. Be sure to wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty and bring some gloves too.
Peter Paul is located at:
1708 North 22nd Street
Richmond, VA 23223
Peter Paul Development Center's mission is to support the residents of the East End and educate its students, equipping them to serve as positive contributors to their family, community and society.
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We’re looking to grow
our LiveStream Team.
No experience or special skills required.
In 2022, the livestreams and recordings of the worship services at St. James’s generated well over 30,000 views, while the number of our YouTube subscribers increased nearly 7%. All of which means that our live-streaming efforts are providing a valuable service to our parish.
We now have a crew of trained people who create the live-streams of our Sunday services and other worship events – but we’d love to have some volunteers to help us make things run even better.
You don’t need any special skills to join the Video Squad, just enthusiasm and reliability. Over time, you’ll learn how we create our live-streams and you’ll have the satisfaction of being part of an important ministry here at St. James’s.
If you think you’d like to help out, call Jay Sandusky, Director of Communications, at 804.355.1779, ext 344 or write to him at [email protected].
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We do our best to keep this list current, but if you want your name added or removed, please email Mary Brown at [email protected] or call her at 804-355-1779 ext. 313
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St. James’s Episcopal Church | DOERS.ORG | (804) 355-1779
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