In this week's edition of the eNews:

- Church office closed today

- Pictures from Deacon Milton's Ordination

- David Tate in Shakespeare on the Green

- St. PJ's Memorial Wall

- News from the Wider Church: Faith Reflections on the Fourth of July, America at 250, and White Christian Nationalism

- This Sunday at St. PJ's

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

- There's Always More...

Church office closed today

The church office is closed today, Friday, July 3, in observance of the federal holiday. The eNews weekly reflection is also on break.

Happy Fourth -- stay safe, hydrated, and cool this weekend!



A Collect for the Nation, Book of Common Prayer, p. 258

Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Pictures from Deacon Milton's Ordination

In a beautiful service on Saturday, June 20, the Rev. Milton Frank Gilder II was ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons in Christ's One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church by Bishop Jeff Mello, alongside four other new deacons. St. PJ's has long sponsored Milton for ordination, and it was a great day for the Episcopal Church.

I'm especially pleased to say that, during the announcements when Bishop Jeff asked anyone from sponsoring parishes to stand up, St. PJ's was by far and away the largest contingent!

David Tate in Shakespeare on the Green

St. PJ's member David Tate will perform the part of Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, outdoors at the Sterling Farms Theater Complex, 1349 Newfield Avenue, Stamford, July 9-12 and 16-19 at 7:30 p.m. each night.

A goodwill donation of $20 is suggested. Lawn chairs are allowed in designated areas. For more information, click here >>

St. PJ's Memorial Wall

Plaques on the Sanctuary’s back wall are available not only to remember friends and family who have died but also to welcome, honor, and thank those who have made an impact on our individual lives.

Please consider purchasing a plaque to honor someone while also supporting our church. For more information, contact Agatha Zichichi-Evans.

News from the Wider Church: Faith Reflections on the Fourth of July, America at 250, and White Christian Nationalism

- [ENS] For America 250, Episcopal leaders reject nostalgia, lift up church’s prophets

- [ENS] Derry residents offer ACC lessons in forgiveness, reconciliation after decades of conflict

- [ENS] Venezuela Episcopalians join earthquake recovery efforts, as death toll nears 3,000

- [RNS] The Bible verses dividing Washington: How Matthew 25 became a political litmus test

- [RNS] A Christian nation? At 250, America is still fighting over what that means

- [Sojourners] One of the First Woman Episcopal Priests Now Resists ‘Christofascism’ With NAACP

- [Sojourners] Why These Conservative Evangelicals Rejected Christian Nationalism

- [Substack: Jim Wallis] A Big Fourth of July

- [MS Now - Rev. Brian Kaylor] The Christian nationalist vision of America couldn’t be further from the founders’ plan

- [Substack: Jemar Tisby] The Trick Inside Frederick Douglass's Fourth of July Speech

Come 10:30 a.m. this, Sunday, July 5, for a beautiful service of Morning Prayer, featuring powerful prayers from a special Litany for Independence Day Weekend, written by the Very Rev. Thomas Blake, Rector at Trinity Branford and Dean of ECCT's Southcentral Region.

We will also have jazz music and Coffee & Community to mark the sixth Sunday after Pentecost. David Tate will officiate and Tudy Hill will preach.

Children's Sunday School is on summer break until September.

Serving this Sunday:

Sunday

10:30 a.m.

Jazz Service

In-person and online

Wednesday

12:30 p.m.



Quiet Communion

In-person only

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 July 5, we pray for St. Paul’s, Plainfield; Christ Church, Pomfret; Trinity, Portland; and for all deacons, the Archdeacons’ Council, and the Province I School for Deacons.

In the Anglican Communion Cycle of Prayer, we pray for the Anglican Church of Southern America.

On the St. PJ's prayer list, we pray for Doug Parker, Calvin Griffin, the 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, the Rev. Carl Scovel, Karl Mini, Margaret Perry, Ryan Welch, Kyle Park, Fr. Tom, George Moore, A.J. Crosby, Adrienne Brady, Jeannie & Clemente Campos, Joan Farrell, Sharyn Kessler, Michael Montenegro, Meryl Tate Triplett, Tom Olds, Dawn Magliulo, the Gilder Family, Carolyn Wigley, Wendy McLeod, Anne Cheney, Sandy Sanford, Judy Hopkins, Andrew Aiken, Cotton Burlingame, Richard Holcomb, Deacon Felix Rivera, and Marie Blake

Deceased: Joan Capella, Dr. Ann E. Garrett Robinson (6/27)

VIDEO: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon

Last week was the fifth Sunday after Pentecost. Rev. Nathan celebrated the Eucharist and preached.

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.

Jazz, Justice, and Jesus: Urgent Needs for St. PJ's Ministry and Community

Church finances are urgently tight and getting tighter. Our budget is in the red, there is essentially no cash on hand, and expenses have already been cut.

There are questions each month about whether certain bills will be paid.

To help ensure that St. PJ's can continue to:

• offer robust worship with unique and spiritually grounded jazz
• physically support the work of Loaves & Fishes and Sunrise Cafe
• speak out for justice in Jesus's name
• gear up for a full year of Christian adult formation
• and more

Please spread the word about our available event and office rental facilities and consider making an extra donation if you can.

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

Please contact 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

- Adding a name, birthday, or anniversary to the St. PJ's prayer list

- Arranging pastoral care needs

- Purchasing grocery-store gift cards to benefit St. PJ's

- Reserving a place in the St. PJ's columbarium or purchasing a plaque on the Memorial Wall

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
• Administrative Director: Monifa Atkinson, office@stpaulstjames.org
• Sexton: Sammy Rodriguez
• Children's Sunday School: Sarah Hill
• Interim Director of Music: Dylan Rowland
• Tech and Music Intern: Dontae James
• 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