In this week's edition of the eNews:

- Fall Hymn Sing THIS WEDNESDAY!

- Our new Pastoral Care Associate, Kelly Park, has begun

- Unfortunate Intern Update

- No outdoor service this month, but Season of Creation reflections and the October 4th Blessing of the Animals continue

- New: "Celebrate! 2026" regional Episcopal event October 10

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

- News from the Wider Church: Season of Creation reads, book reviews, justice ministry other Episcopal parishes' justice ministries, and more

- This Sunday at St. PJ's

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

- There's Always More...

Fall Hymn Sing THIS WEDNESDAY,

September 23

On Wednesday, let's gather once more with around Dylan's piano in the sanctuary, call out beloved hymn titles, and make a joyful noise to the Lord in community!

Music is one of the most powerful parts of worship, but a typical Sunday can only give us 3-4 hymns and songs. This is a chance to dive deep with our favorites.

Fun fact: Rev. Nathan's parents, John and Deacon Glenda, will be with us from North Idaho! Their visit does not include a Sunday, so this is your one chance to ask for embarrassing stories...

Our new Pastoral Care Associate, Kelly Park, has begun

St. PJ's is delighted to formally welcome Kelly Park back to the staff, now as our Pastoral Care Associate. Please contact Kelly to arrange for any pastoral-care needs, including requests for the Prayer List. Her new email address is kelly@stpaulstjames.org.

Kelly will also be working to arrange new programming and resources for seniors in St. PJ's and the wider community. As Kelly wrote in part in her remarks to the Homecoming luncheon,

"Over the next year, I plan to visit with and get to know anyone who would like to talk with me! I would love to hear your stories, your fears, your memories of the past and your plans for the future. I hope that in learning more about you all as individuals, I will also learn about the connections, relationships, and networks that make St. PJ’s a church and not just a collection of people who come to the same building together. I will come pray with you when you need intercession, be here at the church occasionally during the week, and worship with you on most Thursdays and Sundays.

"I am also excited to put together resources, events, and programs that will be useful for you all! So put your minds to it a little bit, and think about what you’d like to learn about, what you could use support with, and what about life at St. PJ’s that you think is important enough to make sure lives on. Over the next year I hope to help us strengthen our life of ordinary rituals and our intergenerational connections, participate in community, support one another in love, and serve God together in the world."

Unfortunate Intern Update

Some frustrating and sad news, as announced in church last week:

Due to a new federal administration rule, we will not have a seminarian intern this year after all. The divinity student who was to be our intern is an international student. The administration has just announced that, effective immediately, international students may only have employment (including unpaid internships) required by their degree program.

While Yale's Master of Divinity program encourages two internships with both stipend funding and academic requirement, and while many diocesan ordination processes require two internships, the degree program itself only requires one -- and this was to be our student's second internship, following a food pantry last summer. Therefore, Yale's international student office will not support the required visa paperwork for a second internship. 

She will still be a very active volunteer at St. PJ's, like many other church members, but not at the level of an intern. But while I (Rev. Nathan) lament this new law and its cruel impact not only on academic freedom and migrants but also on our religious freedom, we also remain deeply grateful for her profound faith and her time among us as a fellow member of the Body of Christ!

No outdoor service this month, but Season of Creation reflections and the October 4th/4's Blessing of the Animals continue

Like last year, we had hoped to hold one of our Season of Creation services in the park next Sunday. Unfortunately, we have still not heard back from the city about our permit application, so we will plan on having all services at the church like normal. Enormous credit and thanks go to our administrative director, Monifa Atkinson, for calling and following up many times, including with at least one in-person visit to City Hall.

The good news is that the opportunity exists for a different outdoor service on Saturday, October 10 -- see below for details! We will also have the Blessing of the Animals on Sunday, October 4, at our regular 10:30 service.

From now through October 4, you can visit the "Climate and Environment" section of the Episcopal Office of Government Relations website to take action for the Season of Creation, and sign up to receive daily email devotions from the Episcopal Church's Province One EcoRegion, promoted by the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. These devotions are designed to open our eyes to some of the “created ones” with whom we share common ground.

New: "Celebrate! 2026" regional Episcopal event October 10

On Saturday, October 10, at 4 p.m., please join Episcopalians from across south-central Connecticut for fellowship, food, and praise.

This event, "Celebrate! 2026," is a chance to connect with the wider Episcopal Church in Connecticut's region, see the broader Body of Christ beyond our parish walls, and make joyful new connections. Details are still coming together but we will gather outside St. John's in North Haven (3 Trumbull Place) for a casual Eucharist, a food truck meal, lawn games, and community. Bring a tasty treat for the Autumn Dessert Potluck!

This diocesan event may have sprung from an idea of Rev. Nathan's, but a broader regional planning team gets all the credit for making it happen. We hope to see and hear you there!

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!

News from the Wider Church: Season of Creation reads, book reviews, justice ministry other Episcopal parishes' justice ministries, and more

Season of Creation Reads

- [Christian Century] Annie Dillard’s unrestrained hallelujah: The visionary writer showed us that paying attention could make us certain that the world is holy: https://www.christiancentury.org/features/annie-dillard-s-unrestrained-hallelujah 

- [Sojourners] What Evolution Means for Being Made in God’s Image: https://sojo.net/sojoshare/NTE5NTJ8MjM4ODcyfDE3ODk4NDU0NDZ8MTM%3D

And now, the rest of the story:

- [ENS] East Tennessee clergy cosign interfaith letter calling for end to county jail’s ICE enforcement agreement: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/09/16/east-tennessee-clergy-cosign-interfaith-letter-calling-for-end-to-county-jails-ice-enforcement-agreement/

- [ENS] All Saints, Pasadena, unveils plaque acknowledging its history of racial segregation: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/09/15/all-saints-pasadena-unveils-plaque-acknowledging-its-history-of-racial-segregation/

- [ENS] Episcopal City Mission distributes $2.75 million in reparations to Massachusetts organizations supporting justice: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/09/15/episcopal-city-mission-distributes-2-75-million-in-reparations-to-massachusetts-organizations-supporting-justice/

- [RNS] RNS tracked the religious lawsuits against Trump’s immigration policies. Here’s what we found: https://religionnews.com/2026/09/16/rns-tracked-the-religious-lawsuits-against-trumps-immigration-policies-heres-what-we-found/

- [Sojourners] Book Review: "Live Laugh Love," from the author of "Jesus and John Wayne," Untangles the Politics of White Christian Women: https://sojo.net/sojoshare/NTE5NTJ8MjM4ODg0fDE3ODk4NDQ4NDd8MTE%3D

- [Fierce Love by Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis] Here is what I'm not trying to do. In a racist nation, don't "white" on my page: https://jacquilewis.substack.com/p/here-is-what-im-not-trying-to-do

Come 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, Sunday, September 20 -- the third Sunday in the Season of Creation and the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost in Ordinary Time -- for Holy Communion, children's Sunday School, and jazz hymns.

Rev. Nathan will preach and celebrate Communion.

Serving this Sunday:

Sunday

10:30 a.m.

Jazz Service

In-person and online

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 September 20, we pray for St. John’s, Stamford; Calvary, Stonington; St. Mark’s, Storrs; and for children & children’s ministries, Rhythms of Grace, and ministries for children with special needs.

In the Anglican Communion Cycle of Prayer, we pray for The Anglican Church of Australia.

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, Adrienne Brady, Dawn Magliulo, Carolyn Wigley, Wendy McLeod, Cotton Burlingame, Deacon Felix Rivera, Hossna, Peter Loden, Roni Holcomb & family, Mary Ellen Price, Judy Hopkins, the Forni family, Trish Farrell, Jay Lechausse, Stephen Livingstone Price, Ronald Willams, Vivian, Saul, Larry Harris, Pam, Curt, Henry, Marilyn Bergen

✠ Birthdays: Tiras Jaske (9/20), Dorothy Harris (09/21)

✠ Deceased: Paul Klein

VIDEO: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon

Last week was the 16th Sunday after Pentecost, as well as Homecoming Sunday. Dr. Samuel Ernest preached and Rev. Nathan celebrated Communion.



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 Empsall know at revnathan@stpaulstjames.org by next Wednesday afternoon.

For prayer-list additions or pastoral-care requests, please contact our pastoral care associate, Kelly Park, at kelly@stpaulstjames.org.

To donate to or volunteer with our independent mission and building partners at Loaves & Fishes and Sunrise Cafe, please visit their respective websites to learn more. "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me."

Please contact administrative director 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

- Purchasing grocery-store gift cards to benefit St. PJ's [Monifa will connect you with the right lay leader]

- Reserving a place in the St. PJ's columbarium or purchasing a plaque on the Memorial Wall [Monifa will connect you with the right lay leader]

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
• Pastoral Care Associate: Kelly Park, kelly@stpaulstjames.org
• 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