Thank you to everyone who made our season of Advent and Christmas celebrations so 

lively and beautiful this year!  

To Hilary Kennedy, who organized our ReVive Christmas basket program; 

to the Adult Formation Team, who guided our weekly Bible study and sermon discussion opportunities;  

to Mark Farrell, Frank Senn, John Lang, and Debbie Buesing who led or preached Advent compline and Eucharist services; 

to Christmas cookie exchange host Martha Jacobson, and the elves who delivered 

extra cookies to parishioners at home; 

to Cecelia and Rick Daspit and Carolyn Eby, who beautified our church for the Christmas season; 

to the entire Altar Guild, who helped us transition from Advent to Christmas so 

seamlessly; 

to our fantastic musicians, soloists, choir and organist, Martin, who made glorious 

music for these celebrations; 

to the Worship Tech Team who worked behind-the-scenes to make our liturgies accessible via Zoom; 

to Carolyn Eby, Dorothy Dygos, Bill Kimball and the whole Buildings & Grounds Team, who have been hard at work on the roof and boilers for winter; 

to our ushers and greeters; lectors, assisting ministers, chalice bearers and acolytes; 

to our Sunday School leaders, who helped teach our children the stories of Christmas; and to St. Nick, for stopping by coffee hour on December 8.

to Nancy Freeman and Shannon Test, who coordinated the Christmas Eve receptions; 

to Julia Joehl, Kathy Gander, and all who helped host our Family Promise guests for two weeks during Advent; 

to every one of you who welcomed, invited, and reconnected with friends and neighbors; 

to each person who stepped in and helped where they could; 

to our incredibly talented staff, including Sue who keeps us rooted, Theresa who keeps us organized, Becky who keeps us learning, and Pisa who keeps us in working order; 

and to our Wardens, Vestry, and Treasurers, thank you. 

For all of this we are so grateful! For anyone else we have forgotten, we apologize and 

ask for your grace. 

Merry Christmas, church. What joy it is to be together in Christ. Our hope has come.  

Nadia, on behalf of a grateful congregation

The Columbarium Guild is delighted to direct your attention to the new original sculpture of Mary and Jesus now displayed in the niche above the Chapel door. The Guild has been working since 2023 to envision, create and install a new and more beautiful door in this location. We expect this to occur in early 2025. Installation of this sculpture is a wonderful first step! We were thrilled when Linda Laatsch approached us, offering to produce an original sculpture to place in the niche over this door. Please stop by to see the stunning finished result!

The Columbarium Guild: Terry Haight, Corkey Waite, Cecelia Daspit, Dave Carley

Artist’s Note:

The process of creating this sculpture, which is now installed in the niche, began in the Fall of 2023. The concept of creating a sculpture of Mary and Jesus to place in this niche appealed to me given its location – both facing the Columbarium and as the church entrance leading directly to Saint Mary’s Chapel. First, a small-scale model was made and shared with the Columbarium Guild. Their response was very positive, and fortunately Cecelia, who is a more experienced artist in both clay and paint, agreed to collaborate on the project. Because this sculpture was larger and more complex than I’ve previously attempted, we met several times, both in my studio and hers, and we conceived a sculpture both different from and more striking than the original model. After some difficulties with glazing, the full-scale sculpture was completed in November of 2024. It was mounted in the niche by Bill Braun and Dave Carley in December. Bill’s wife, Christine, was also a great supporter of my work in clay and especially of this sculpture. Dave assisted with the mounting system and the photography – which was also used on the 2024 parish Christmas card. The final result reflects a lovingly created joint effort and is most likely the only object ever to occupy this niche.

-Linda Laatsch