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Patio Pot Color
courtesy of Amy Crocker
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The Rev. Scott P. Bellows, Interim Priest | |
Dear Friends,
Our Saint Mary’s Thursday morning Eucharist and Discussion Group is currently reading a a wonderful book published by Forward Movement titled Vital Signs of Faith: Finding Health In Your Spiritual Life. The author is the Very Rev. Kate Moorehead Carroll, tenth Dean of St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral in Jacksonville, Florida. In a recent conversation within the group, responding to Dean Carroll’s thoughts on gratitude and giving, one of our regulars reminded us that, because of the way in which our brains respond to repetitive patterns of behavior, a practice of generosity can become habitual because of the positive feedback we receive from acting out of a posture of gratitude.
The late Henri Nouwen - priest, theologian, educator, and writer of influential spiritual classics of the 20th century – share the following about his own discovery of the importance of living a life born out of generosity: Gratitude goes beyond the 'mine' and 'thine' and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.
As we continue our journey together in this time of transition, please know of the gratitude I have for each of you as we seek to faithfully live into God’s plan for us, together.
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Our World United Celebrates!
Our favorite preschool just graduated it's first class. Congratulations to Sarah and her staff on a successful first year. We were privileged to watch all the growth, learning, fun and joy happening on our campus.
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Celebrating Our Seniors
June is a month full of celebrations. Many of our own youth have been busy celebrating with proms, parties, final games, concerts, recitals etc. High school graduations will be taking place all over the Cape these next few weekends. We wanted to take a minute to share about some of our own incredible young men and women as they celebrate the end of their high school careers.
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Cece Brisbois is graduating from Barnstable High School on June 3. She graduates having placed in the top 10% of her graduating class for academics. Cece played varsity lacrosse at Barnstable and was also the Captain of her school swim team. Cece will be going to UNC Chapel Hill in the fall to study pre-law.
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Schuyler McMahon is graduating from Sturgis East this June. She plans to attend Boston College in the fall on a pre-medical track. She will miss her Saint Mary’s family dearly as she moves on to the next chapter of her life, and is excited to participate in worship activities at BC! In the next 4 years, she is looking forward to involvement in service and research activities, as well as gaining experience in the medical field and creating memories and friendships that will last a lifetime. | |
Thomas Bresette is graduating from Cape Cod Academy on June 9th. Thomas was an honor roll student while at CCA and a star on the basketball court throughout his high school career competing at the State Championship tournament 3 years in a row. Thomas also has a deep love of music and is a proud member of a rising band, Nikki and The Barn Boys. They released their first album, Complicated Love this week and will be performing all over New England this summer. Thomas is the band's rhythm guitarist and their main song writer. Thomas will be attending Saint Michael's College in Vermont in the Fall. He is excited to be near the Burlington music scene and hopes to study Creative Writing, Music and Business. Thomas is really excited to be in the beauty of Vermont for inspiration for his writing. | |
John Bresette is graduating from Sturgis East high School this weekend. John was the team captain of the Cape Cod Youth Rowing team for 3 years. As John became more involved with the phenomenal music program at Sturgis, his love of music eventually surpassed his rowing. John played in the school jazz band, the swing band, the pit band and was selected to play in New England invitationals this spring. He and his twin brother joined forces with longtime childhood friends to form their own band, Nikki and The Barn Boys. John began as a drummer but switched over to bass guitar. Today they released their debut album on all music streaming platforms. John will be attending Saint Michael's College in Vermont as well and he hopes to focus on Environmental Chemistry as he has a deep passion for Environmentalism. John plans to hike in the beautiful Green Mountains as much as he can. | |
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Looking for a Great Summer Camp?
Registration is open for summer camp season at the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center in Greenfield, N.H.: Families of all configurations can enjoy an extra-long weekend of activities, worship and family-oriented fellowship during the June 30-July 5 Family Camp session. The summer schedule also includes four week-long youth Overnight Camp sessions, running from July 9 through Aug. 4, for those completing 3rd through 12th grades.
Part of the mission at the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center is that no child or family be unable to participate in camp due to financial need; camperships are available for those who need them. For details and registration, visit bchcenter.org/bchcamp.
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Pastor Russ is sharing a very special invitation from the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative, an exciting opportunity to see renowned environmentalist author and activist, Bill McKibben speaking at Barnstable High School on June 12th.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
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Movie Theology Continues
All are welcome to the final Movie Theology Sunday Matinee on Sunday, June 11 at 3:00 PM in Walden Hall.The film this month is Best in Show. CLICK HERE to learn more about this fun film.
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The 1891 Society to Host A Legacy Giving Seminar
All are welcome to attend a seminar on Legacy Giving offered by our own Linda Gadkowski., certified financial planner. The first session will go over:
Knowing the “what ifs” when one passes. Learn how to be prepared to handle the hurdles of the first year of being a widow/widower or being alone and the resources available to you. Handouts will be provided.
Please see the weekly E-News to learn more about the following sessions. There will be 3 sessions in total.
- June 11 in the library following the 10:00 AM service
- July 11 a brown bag lunch in the parish hall
- July 25 the final brown bag lunch in the parish hall.
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MUSIC and GIVING
June 10th there will be a benefit for the Cape Cod Chorale Scholarship Fund and for the Family Table Collaborative. Click on the flier below to learn about an upcoming opportunity to enjoy some fun music while supporting Cape Cod Charities.
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4th of July Float
Before you know it the 4th of July will be here! We are hoping to put together a group of people who would be interested in helping us represent Saint Mary's Church in the annual village parade. We have a banner for you to hang or carry so, now we just need the creativity gurus to come up with a plan. It could be walkers in costume, a choir singing, decorated bikers, design a float, pull a wagon, drive in a convertible or the back of a truck etc. Do you have a cool old car or a tractor or golf cart that might work? Please let us know if you feel inspired to be part of the fun. We want to show the village how much fun we have at Saint Mary's. The parade is always on the morning of the 4th. Please reach out to Allison if you want to help. Thank you! .
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Tea on the Terrace Time
We are transitioning from Coffee Hours inside Walden Hall to enjoying the beautiful weather with Tea on the Terrace after our Sunday 10:00 AM services. We are looking for volunteers to host and provide the tea/lemonade and some nibbles. There is a paper sign-up on the bulletin board in the sunroom as well as an online sign-up here. Thank you!
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The Gardens are a true sanctuary. Please treat yourself to a few moments meandering through them and taking in the sights and sounds of our Cape Cod springtime. This is the busy season for our garden volunteers and we are always looking for more helpers. Please email Allison if you are interested in joining the fun. We are also in search of a pond expert to advise and or help us restore the leaking frog pond and dormant fountain in the Lambert Rose Garden. All leads are welcome. I can not end without saying a giant thank you to our faithful volunteers who are always out there behind the scenes working on the gardens and especially to Lanny who worked so hard to clean out our frog pond. We were thrilled with the extra help from Princi and Sons Detailed landscaping. Pictures are worth more than words sometimes. Please enjoy these. | | |
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Business has been booming this spring and consequently we are passing on a few friendly reminders/requests from the angels. If you come to the church campus for reasons other than shopping at Angels' Treasures during AT's open hours, we ask that you PLEASE DO NOT PARK in the spots in front of the shop as it makes it difficult to load furniture and larger items into customers cars if they have to park to far away. Angels’ Treasures Thrift Shop is open for business, Wed.-Sat., 10am-3pm. Thank you as always for all of your support.
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Outreach Committee News
Did you know that the Saint Mary's Outreach Committee annually donates more than $50,000 to local, national, and international groups? Please click here to read the latest minutes from the Outreach Committee and learn more about all the important ways your giving is doing good in our community. We encourage you to reach out to the Outreach Committee if you know of a charity that could use our support.
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Socks for Souls
Thank you all for your generosity. Our combined eforts with First Lutheran resulted in close to 300 pairs of socks for those living on the streets. The socks were delivered to the good folks at Here Now Ministries to be distributed during the Street Reach and Here Now Ministry Services. The next distribution of care package for the homeless will be at the Here Now Ministries worship service and picnic on June 25. Please save the following dates on your calendar for our next service with picnic and distribution of care packages.
June 25, July 23, August 27:
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Vestry Meeting Minutes
Please click HERE for the minutes from the last Vestry meeting.
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With Gratitude
We would like to again say a heartfelt “Thank You!” to each and every member of our Saint Mary’s Community who has given of your time, talent, and treasure to support the church this year, including those listed who have turned in a Commitment Card, are completing their capital campaign pledge, or are giving regularly with financial support for 2023. Every gift is important, necessary, and gratefully received, whether it be contributing your valuable time, your gifts and skills, or your monetary resources.
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June Birthdays
Click here for a list of all our parishioners celebrating a birthday in June. If we have missed yours please reach out and let us know.
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Saint Mary's Episcopal Church
3055 Main Street
P.O. Box 395
Barnstable, MA 02630
Phone: (508) 362-3977
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