St Mary's Election Eve Sauerbraten Dinner will take place on Monday November 2nd at 5:30 PM

Take-out will be available starting at 5PM

Tickets are $60 adut and $25 children

Call the Office for Reservations 749-0770 ext. 2.  

Plenty Good Room | Stewardship 2026/2027

2026 Year A

 This year's stewardship reflection theme is "Plenty Good Room." In God’s house there is always room for more: more ideas, more people, more ways to share, more stories to tell. And in the world that God created, there is more needed: more love, more connection, more peace, more creativity. Plenty Good Room reminds us that there is always room in God’s house; we just need to make ourselves at home and invite others to join us. The ways we steward our relationships, resources, and responses to grow ministry and serve our neighbors are the ways we connect our gratitude to our generosity. There’s Plenty Good Room in God’s House; pull up a chair and sit down.

The end of our Stewardship reflections and discernment will be Sunday, November 29th, The Feast of Christ the King, the Last Sunday of the Church's year. On that Day the Pledge Cards with our intentions to support St. Mary's life in 2027 will be received and placed on the Altar.

October 29th our 9:00 AM service will be followed by a catered "brunch" and our election for two vestry members and one warden

Top Ten Vestry Responsibilities

"Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Howard Thurman

I am proposing a book club focused on spiritualty that will meet on a weekly basis for most of the year. Scheduling, time of day, day the week are yet to be determined. I'd like to start in the first week of November. Though Zoom will be available, it would be great to have as many of us in person as possible. I also intend to open it up to the Deanery and the Island.

I have chosen a relatively new text and a 20th century American mystic to get us started, as an approachable way to think about the classic themes of spirituality.

What Makes You Come Alive: A Spiritual Walk with Howard Thurman is a 2023 book by Lerita Coleman Brown—not a book written by Howard Thurman himself. It explores Thurman’s life, contemplative spirituality, racial justice, nonviolence, and spiritual practices such as silence, attention to nature, and “centering down.” 

(https://www.amazon.com/What-Makes-You-Come-Alive/dp/B0CJB6C7Y3) 

(https://livingchurch.org/books-and-culture/learning-from-martin-luther-kings-mentor/)

- Author: Lerita Coleman Brown

- Publisher: Broadleaf Books

- Published: 2023

- Format: Also available as an audiobook

- Structure: 10 chapters, with reflection questions and spiritual practices at the end of each chapter 

The title refers to Thurman’s well-known spiritual question: rather than asking only what the world needs, identify what makes you fully alive and devote yourself to it. The book draws especially on Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited. 

This text influenced Martin Luther King Jr. and remains central to understanding Thurman’s theology. We will also use and study some of Thurman's beautiful prayers and poetry

Howard Thurman’s words offer profound guidance on living authentically and purposefully. Here are several of his most impactful quotes:

On Inner Guidance:

• "There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have." This emphasizes trusting your inner voice rather than external pressures A-Z Quotes
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• On Courage and Hope:
• "In the stillness of the quiet, if we listen, we can hear the whisper of the heart giving strength to weakness, courage to fear, hope to despair." Thurman highlights the power of reflection and inner resilience A-Z Quotes
• .
• On Love and Community:
• "Love has no awareness of merit or demerit; it has no scale by which its portion may be weighed or measured."
• "Wherever love is present, hatred cannot live." These quotes underscore love as a transformative force in human relationships snugfam.com
• .
• On Life and Purpose:
• "There are two questions that we have to ask ourselves. The first is 'Where am I going?' and the second is 'Who will go with me?'" This encourages reflection on direction and companionship in life A-Z Quotes
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• .
• On Stillness and Spiritual Connection:
• "The quietude of the mind is the access into the divine."
• "How good it is to center down. We must learn to be quiet, to settle down in one spot for a spell." Thurman emphasizes the importance of stillness for spiritual insight and clarity lifesuccessjournal.com
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• .
• These quotes collectively reflect Thurman’s philosophy of authentic living, spiritual awareness, and the power of love and community, offering timeless inspiration for personal growth and meaningful action.

Fr. Plant's Commentary on the Gospel

Rev'd Up for Sunday



The Gospel

Matthew 22:15-22

The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

Enid Chadwick Calendar for Anglican Children 1957