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Saint Mary's is a busy and vibrant place. We want to be sure everyone is receiving all of the news we send out each week. Unfortunately, many email platforms cut messages that are over a certain size. Please look carefully for the following text and link at the bottom of our longer emails:
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Photo: Courtesy of Amy Crocker | |
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Fearless witch-hazel! braver than the oak
That dares not bloom till spring,
Thus to defy the frost's benumbing stroke
With challenge of November blossoming!
And yet it has an airy, delicate grace
Denied all other flowers,
And lights the gloom as some beloved face
Dawns on the dark of melancholy hours.
Miraculous shrub, that thus in frost and blight
Smilest all undismayed,
And scatterest from thy wands of golden light
A sudden sunshine in the chilly glade.
Witch Hazel
By: Elizabeth Akers Allen
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Celebrating A Successful Annual Meeting
We have much to be grateful for at Saint Mary's. A heart-felt thank you once again to everyone who made our Annual Meeting such a success. We celebrated all that we are and all that we hope to be. We expressed our deep gratitude to so many for their devotion and service to our community and welcomed new individuals into leadership and volunteer service. If you were unable to attend the meeting it is recorded on our You tube channel. Click here for a copy of the full Annual Report. Please let the office know if you would like a copy mailed to your home.
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Host on the Coast!
Interested in housing a student who is doing real, impactful work to support sustainable and affordable housing on Cape Cod? The Massachusetts Housing and Climate Innovation Center is looking for residents to host Housing and Climate All-Stars for 8 weeks this summer while they undertake projects to improve climate resilience, environmental sustainability and affordability in our Cape Cod communities.
Starting in mid-June and running to mid-August, the Innovation Center’s All-Stars program takes talented graduate and undergraduate students and provides them with the funding, contacts and knowledge necessary to develop a project of their own design while working with local government to further our common housing goals. Host families will receive a stipend of $150/week to offset costs. For more information, speak with Pastor Russ.
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Aging Gracefully by Pastor Russ
MARTIN SCORSESE ON OLD AGE
Martin Scorsese, world-renowned director of films such as “Goodfellas,” “The Color of Money,” and “New York, New York,” is the oldest nominee for an Academy Award as director. In a recent interview he shares his thoughts about growing older:
DEADLINE: You’re 80. Do you still have that fire to get right back behind the camera and get the next one going?
SCORSESE: Got to. Got to. Yeah. I wish I could take a break for eight weeks and make a film at the same time [laughs]. The whole world has opened up to me, but it’s too late. It’s too late.
DEADLINE: What do you mean by that?
SCORSESE: I’m old. I read stuff. I see things. I want to tell stories, and there’s no more time. Kurosawa, when he got his Oscar, when George [Lucas] and Steven [Spielberg] gave it to him, he said, “I’m only now beginning to see the possibility of what cinema could be, and it’s too late.” He was 83. At the time, I said, “What does he mean?” Now I know what he means.
See Scorsese’s interview “I Have to Find Out Who the Hell I Am” at:
https://www.gq.com/story/martin-scorsese-profile
Francisco Goya lived until he was 82. His later work included this drawing on which he inscribed the words “Aun Aprendo” (I’m still learning)
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Grief Support Opportunities at Saint Mary's
The Pastoral Care Ministry of Saint Mary’s Church invites anyone experiencing a significant loss in your life to consider participating in one of the grief support opportunities listed below.
The Bereavement Group will begin meeting on Wednesday, March 20 in the Saint Mary's library and will continue on the third Wednesday of each month. This group is for those in need of compassionate, non-judgmental support while processing and embracing the grief of a death or significant loss. To participate in this group, or for more information, please email Pastor Russ Norris. The group is open to all and will be facilitated by Hospice Chaplain Kristy Hodson. Chaplain Hodson spent the first half of her career in the fields of Accounting and Human Resources connecting with people in all aspects of their lives. Since 2010, she has focused on pastoral care, earning a M.A. in chaplaincy, a M.Div., and working as a local church pastor and healthcare chaplain. Kristy currently works as a Hospice Chaplain with Gentiva in Sandwich, MA.
Saint Mary’s Grief Support Group, is an additional ongoing group at Saint Mary's which has met weekly for many years and can be attended either in-person at 1:00pm on Friday afternoons in the Saint Mary’s Library or remotely via Zoom. This group brings together men and women who are experiencing grief due to the death of a spouse, relative, or friend. In some cases, members may be experiencing anticipatory grief due to the impending loss of a significant person. Members share their wisdom and personal stories. Their time together is characterized by honesty, transparency, compassion, and mutual support. There are tears but also laughter as we walk this sad journey together for a period of time. All are welcome to Saint Mary’s Grief Group, regardless of where you are on your journey. Cay Hartley has an extensive history of working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing grief due to the death of a loved one. Cay was licensed as a Clinical Social Worker in Maryland and the District of Columbia prior to moving to the Cape and Saint Mary’s in 2016.
To participate in this group, or for more information, please email Cay at:
cayhartley1040@gmail.com
We are grateful for the gifts of these two skilled professionals who have committed themselves to walking with us on this journey of loss and renewal.
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Education For Ministry
Have you ever wondered just what EFM is and what they are up to?
A devoted group of parishioners from Saint David's and Saint Mary's who have been faithfully meeting for several hours each week for theological study and we welcome you to consider joining the group this Fall.
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The EfM program is designed to help Christians prepare for their ministry. It is that vocation for which we pray at the end of the communion service: “And now, send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord.”
During the service of Confirmation, we ask God to “Renew in these your servants the covenant you made with them at Baptism. Send them forth in the power of the Spirit to perform the service you set before them.” EfM offers an opportunity to discover how to respond to the call to a Christian life.
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The Stolen Beam: Essential Conversation and Spiritual Reflection on Reparations
The name “Stolen Beam” refers to a Talmudic debate about the right thing to do when we discover that the house in which we live was built with stolen materials, i.e., a “stolen beam” – do we tear the house down and return the beam to its rightful owner or do we acknowledge the crime and offer compensation to the beam’s owner? We use this metaphor, the Stolen Beam, in recognition of the fact that much of our country was built on stolen land with stolen lives and stolen labor.
The Stolen Beam is a course of educational engagement and personal reflection, originating from the Jewish Community of Amherst, exploring the legacy and aftermath of African enslavement, what was stolen, and what may be owed. It examines the historical case for reparations; global and national precedents for reparations; practical proposals for national and local reparations; and theological reflections on reparations from Jewish and Christian sources.
Offered under the auspices of Episcopal City Mission, and facilitated by Dr. Constance Holmes and the Rev. Steve Bonsey, Stolen Beam will be offered over seven Zoom sessions.
Monday evenings, 7-8:30 p.m., April 8 through May 20.
Registration is open until March 1 at https://www.tfaforms.com/5107491.
A course overview is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DdnJvMVHcg.
Questions? Email margotcritchfield@gmail.com
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Lutheran and Episcopalian Friends
We continue to build our collaboration and friendship with the First Lutheran Church in West Barnstable. You are invited to participate in the following regular meetings at First Lutheran Church:
- Tuesdays - Silent Meditation Group meets at 12pm
- Wednesday Nights - Sacred Journey (Via Sacre) Worship Service. Potluck Supper at 6:00 PM and Worship at 7:00 PM
Learn more about everything that is happening at First Lutheran Church by visiting their website.
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Click on any of the flier below to see the full schedule. | |
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The Return of our Lent Flicks & Luncheon series:
All are warmly welcome to join us in Walden Hall on Sunday afternoons throughout Lent for a simple lunch of soup and bread followed by a movie and stimulating theological discussion. We have a fabulous line-up of films selected. All are warmly welcomed.
Please sign-up in advance here to help us know how many for lunch.
Thank you!
If you are interested in helping make soup or bread for one of the Sundays please contact Marian Ferguson.
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We hope you will journey with us through Holy Week and Easter.
Please click on the image below to see the full schedule.
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The 60th Annual Daffodil Tea – Saturday, April 20th
Volunteers needed for the Daffodil Tea
This year’s Tea will be held on Saturday, April 20 at 1pm. It takes many hands to make the Daffodil Tea the lovely experience that it is for our guests and to maintain the excellent Cape-wide reputation that this annual tea has acquired over the past six decades. This wonderful event would not be possible without the hard work of many volunteers.
There are many ways you can help – prepping mixtures for tea sandwiches on Thursday. & Friday., creating tea sandwiches and serving trays on the day of the Tea, as a member of the kitchen crew, ironing tablecloths, arranging and setting the tables, making simple flower arrangements for the tables, welcoming and seating our guests, serving delicious food and tea as a member of the wait staff, directing traffic in the parking lot, serving as a member of the crack clean-up crew in the kitchen and Walden Hall.
A sign-up sheet is located on the bulletin board in the Sunroom for those wanting to participate in this very special Saint Mary’s event.
Seeking Donations for a Spring Display in Angels’ Treasures
Angels’ Treasures Thrift Shop will be open for business the day of the Tea. We hope that many of our guests will come to the shop. We would like to create a display of tea-related and seasonal items for sale. We are requesting donations of new and “vintage” items such as teapots, teacups & saucers, cozies, creamers & sugar holders, tableware, fancy aprons, fancy plates – dinner size & dessert size, lace of any type or size, knick knacks, and most anything with a daffodil design. Handmade notes cards and artwork would be especially welcome and sure to be a hit with our guest shoppers.
If you have items that you would like to donate, please bring them to Angels’ Treasures Thrift Shop during business hours, Wed.-Sat., 10am-3pm. Please contact me if you have any questions jumschlag1@gmail.com, 508-362-9519 or see me at the shop or in Church.
Many thanks,
Janis Umschlag, Daffodil Tea Committee
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Outreach and Volunteering
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The Garden Committee is looking for new members!
Spring has sprung! The crocuses poked their pretty faces out the other day. Our daffodil meadow is covered in little green tips shooting through the ground. We have lots of plans to continue restoring some of the areas of the garden that need more TLC. Our next meeting is next Tuesday March 5 at 4:00 PM in the Saint James room. All are welcome!
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Video Streaming
We are looking to train more people for video streaming. If you are interested in joining this ministry please let Allison know and she will arrange for you to train at your convenience. You do not need to be a technology wizard at all. This is an important way for us to reach people outside the walls of our church. Thank you in advance for considering this.
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In-reach Opportunities
Soup/Salad Makers
Bread/Cookie Bakers
For our Movie Theology and Lent Flicks series
to help please contact Marian Ferguson
Angels' Treasures Volunteer Staff
contact Janis Umschlag
Angels' Treasures Social Media Marketing
contact Allison Bresette
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Out-reach Opportunities
FAITH FAMILY KITCHEN
Faith Family Kitchen is a program that provides nutritious meals to anyone who is hungry. It is located at Faith Assembly of God at 154 Bearses Way, Hyannis, MA. Their kitchen offers both dine-in and take out meals for individuals and families on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week.
Saint Mary’s has been involved from the beginning of this program 12 years ago. Saint Mary’s helps to serve and prepare food every 4 th Monday. We have a very committed volunteer family of approximately 8 people every month and we serve about 1100 meals yearly.
Please reach out to Carolyn Thomas if you are interested in being a substitute.
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Angels Treasures is on Facebook!
Angels' Treasures re-opened this Wednesday! If you are on facebook please take a peak at our Angels' Treasures Facebook page. We will try to keep the feed fresh with photos and information highlighting the constantly changing inventory. Please check out our Facebook Page Here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553985862261
LIKE It, FOLLOW us and SHARE it with friends near and far. We will not be selling items online yet but we will be marketing them to help spread our reach. Thank you for helping us with this mission.
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1891 Society members help grow our endowment which in turn, supports Saint Mary’s community outreach, contributes to key programs and protect the church from unanticipated adverse financial circumstances. Most importantly, the commitment from members of the 1891 Society, empowers future generations of Saint Mary's parishioners to make visible the extraordinary light that comes from God.
In each monthly newsletter, we plan to hear from current members of the 1891 Society about what becoming a legacy donor to Saint Mary's has meant to them personally.
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Recognizing Our 1891 Society Members
A Note From Walter and Linda Gadkowski -
Why We Remembered Saint Mary’s in Our Estate Planning
We were searching for a church for ourselves and our children to foster their and our spiritual beliefs and growth. The church was warm and wonderful and our experience was the same. Measuring this effort is not really possible.
Therefore, it was our decision to make a gift to our church to support the important efforts of the church in the future.
We hope that you will consider doing the same. As Winston Churchill said, “ We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
Walter and Linda Gadkowski
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Please click here to read the Vestry minutes from the January 2024 meeting. Please note that minutes are not published until approved at the subsequent Vestry meeting. | |
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Barnstable Village SPRING Clean-Up!!!
Saturday, March 23, 9am - 11 AM
Rain Date, Saturday, March 25
Help pick up litter on the beaches, roadsides and parking lots!
Meet in the parking lot behind the Fire Station
at 9 a.m. to be assigned a clean-up location.
Bring work gloves, small plastic shopping bags
(we will supply large trash bags),
and your community spirit!
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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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