Dear Friends,

We rejoice this week in the nativity of Christ and an astonishing year of ministry as it comes to a close. We have five glorious Christmas services to mark it and Christmas caroling services on the 28th and 4th. Christmas is a season, not just a day!

After a December of Advent joy and condolences in the losses of beloved members of the congregation, we will intentionally take a lighter January. This means we will not have a First Friday compline or a Saturday night mass. Our Sunday morning Forums in the New Year begin on the 11th and 18th with the new candidates for vestry introducing themselves, and the election will be at the Annual Parish meeting on January 25th at 9:30 AM.

With prayers from all the clergy and staff team for a blessed Christmas and New Year,

David+

Christmas Offering

If you have satisfied your 2025 giving commitment and wish to make an additional end-of-year gratitude gift, you might consider the traditional Christmas offering.

Your gift can even be made in memory or thanksgiving for

someone special in your life. Simply write ‘Christmas offering’

in the memo line of a check or click here to give online by

selecting Christmas Offering from the dropdown list of funds.

Holiday Office Hours

Closed December 25 & 26

Limited office hours December 29, 30 & 31

Office hours will be flexible between Christmas and New Years. If you need to access the church or parish house, please call to make an appointment. The Pastoral Care team is also available for any urgent needs.

There will be no Headlines & Happenings December 25th.

There will be no forum hour on December 21st or 28th.

Forum will resume on January 11th.

2026 Giving Envelopes

Giving envelopes have been ordered for people who mail in their contribution or give weekly/often by check or cash.

Please note that we have discontinued the numbered envelope system for identifying households; instead, our Realm software scans checks to determine the giver. Those who give with cash will need to add their name to their envelopes. Any envelope can be used; a quantity of these giving envelope books will be available in the narthex and parish house office.

Saturday, January 10 | 8:30 - 11:00 AM

Membership Class to Meet in the New Year

Pathways: Exploring Membership at Saint James

Are you curious about the Saint James Community and the Urban Well? Do you want to explore the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion in more depth? These sessions are an engaging way to share our faith journeys, explore Church history and its impact on our present practices, tour our beautiful campus, and learn more about our school of prayer and service in the Lord. Join us to discover what it means to be a member of this vibrant community!

Click here for more info and to register.

Saturday, January 10 | 10 - 11:30 AM

Women's Gathering

Via Zoom

Women's Gathering walks through Epiphany with internationally celebrated poet, David Whyte.

In The House of Belonging, Whyte explores the individual and often lonely journey toward identity and voice and the longing we all have to belong. He places individual discovery in the context of belonging to homes, places, times, creatures, people, and "miraculous otherness." David speaks about how to live in deep appreciation and sympathy for all life, all of the time.

If you would like to discover how you can nourish those you love, please join us. Click here to email Lorraine Rollo for the Zoom invitation link.

Sunday, January 18 | 10:30 AM Mass

Beloved Sunday

Gather with us for a Sunday morning celebration of our growing understanding of the importance of racial justice through the Sacred Ground study circle curriculum of the Episcopal Church. We’ll listen to the testimonies of past participants, allowing us to consider joining a new study circle that uses documentary films and discussions to explore the historical and ongoing distortions of race and racism in our country.

In a Greater Light

We pray for the souls of Dr. Ken Eshleman, III, who died on December 21st, and The Rev. Stanley (Stan) Imboden, who also died on December 21st.

Service details for these funerals are yet to be announced. Click here to read a Diocesan tribute for Stan, who was a beloved rector of Saint James.

Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord; and let light perpetual shine upon them. May their souls, and the souls of all the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Save the Date!

THE ORDINATION OF

JOSEPH EDWARD PRITCHETT

To The Sacred Order of Priests

In Christ's One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church

January 24, 2026 | 10:00 AM

St. John's Episcopal Church

321 West Chestnut St.

Lancaster, PA 17603