Our Vision Statement: ‘With the heart and mind of Christ, we transform the world.’

Reflection from our Pastors

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

The Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

[Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: love your very Self, and love your Neighbor as you love your very Self. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” (Mt 22:37-40)*

You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with you God. (Micah 6:8)*

The official federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was yesterday, Monday, January 20 although his birthday was January 15. The reason this and some other federal holidays celebrated on Mondays in the United States is because of the "Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by Congress in 1968, which officially moved federal government observances of many holidays to Mondays, largely at the behest of the travel industry. The resulting long weekends are often termed ‘three-day weekends’ as a result.” (AI response to “Why?”)

In Pres. Lyndon Johnson’s 1971 announcement, he refers to the resulting “new efficiency to our economy from the three-day weekend.” This change was publicized as intended ‘for the worker’ but in our deeply capitalist culture, the focus is on efficiency and the gains to be made by business are the stated objective. He talks about what the ‘worker’ will gain even as the bill intends to support increased revenues for the travel and retail industries. (Read more here)

Some of us object to the overwhelming worship of unbridled capitalism. The increasing focus on efficiency and its gains trivializes many humanitarian efforts, humane considerations, and diminishes the historical significance of the day. Some of us might say that we want to remember national holidays on their actual day as recorded in history not on an assigned day for convenience. What have we learned from increasing efficiency to one of the highest goals of society.? Amazon is a good example of ‘worker’ irrelevance in the contest with efficiency. Is there a future where fewer decisions will be based on monetary gain and more decisions will be based on human reverence and relevance?

What would Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr say about this 3-day weekend? Listen to this inspired homily given on behalf of the voice of Dr. King by Kevin Beckford a member of Mary Magdalene, ECC, in East Rochester, NY. Kevin is a member of the ECC Truth & Reconciliation Commission and a participant in the book study, A New Origin Story: The 1619 Project, created by Nikole Hannah-Jones. Here is Kevin Beckford’s homily.

Other resources you may find interesting:

1. Equal Justice Initiative, eji.org

2. Turquoise and Lavender Institute for Transformation and Healing with Dr. Catherine Meeks, https://www.turquoiseandlavender.com

3. God is a Black Woman by Christena Cleveland, PhD, 2022. HarperCollins, NY.

4. Footnotes Substack with Jemar Tisby, PhD, found here.

Blessed are the Peacemakers as Jesus taught,

Rev. Jane

*Courtesy of Rev. Don Pachuta, Holy Spirit ECC Community, West Newton, Mass.

Image by LuAnn Hunt from Pixabay

This Week at Mary of Magdala

Weekly Evening Peace Prayer 

Join us in a prayer for peace in the world and within ourselves. 20 minutes every Monday and Tuesday via Zoom. (Families invited!)

Tuesday Evening Peace Prayer

7:00 pm on this Zoom Link

Meeting ID: 881 2656 0118 Passcode: 295075

Table for 4 Beginning Soon

“Table for 4” will begin again for January and February 2026.

If you would like an opportunity to get to know other members of Mary of Magdala in smaller groups then “Table for 4” is right for you. Singles, couples - all are welcome to join in.

To join a Table, here are the reserve directions... After signing up, you are arranged into a group of 4 (or 6 depending on responses). An email will be sent to let you know who will be joining your Table. Then the group decides whether to go out to breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, or whatever. The group finds an agreeable date to meet one time during the months of January and February. And finally, the best part, is going out with a nice group of people and enjoy the time together.

If you are interested, select the 'RESERVE My Seat' button below by January 20th. You will be contacted by the Hospitality Team regarding your Table of 4. Any questions please email or call Joan Chapman-Smith at jcs1320@gmail.com or (970) 224-0297. Table for 4 will be offered again in April/May and October/November 2026.

THIS THURSDAY

The Rocky Mountain Region of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion

invites you to participate in

an online Ecumenical Service for the



'Week of Prayer for

Christian Unity'

• Thursday, January 22, 6:30 pm MT
• Join on  this Zoom Link
• Meeting ID: 894 9781 7643   
• Passcode: 10500

Please bring a candle to your sacred space.

You can access the worship aid HERE to view or print

Service Recordings

The 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The recording of the readings and homily for 1/18/2026 has been uploaded here. Mother Rosean Amaral presided and Kerrie Anderson delivered the homily.

Missed a homily or readings? Here is the link to past recorded services.

Social Justice Reflection

By Tom Moos

This week’s shooting and killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis followed the next day by the shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant by another ICE agent in Minneapolis have stirred outrage and fueled tension across the country. In both cases, the victims were confronted while in their cars. In another incident, a woman who claimed she was autistic and on the way to a doctor’s appointment, had her car window broken, seatbelt cut with a knife, and was forcibly dragged from her car, restrained and arrested in the vicinity of the Renee Good shooting when she didn’t move her car immediately as directed by ICE. The administration quickly defended ICE officers with claims that the victims are “insurrectionists” and “agitators”, getting in the way of ICE operations by using their vehicles as weapons. Kristi Noem, secretary of Homeland Security, in a TV interview accused Renee Good of “domestic terrorism” within hours of Renee’s death, before any type of investigation into the facts of the case were completed.

Why is ICE concentrated in Minnesota’s twin cities? Both are home to sizeable Somali immigrant communities. In fact, more Somali Americans live in Minnesota than in any other state and the President sees them all negatively - “ruining our country”. Even during the Biden administration, Somalis in Minnesota were accused of fraud and corruption involving federal aid during the Covid pandemic. Operation Metro Surge is part of a longer outstanding push by the administration to deport undocumented immigrants. But what separates this operation from others is its size and the tactics used to identify potential deportees. 2,000 federal agents and officers descended on Minnesota’s twin cities. Instead of targeted enforcement in which individuals with criminal records are identified, investigated and located, ICE is stopping people randomly on the streets and questioning them in the hopes of locating somebody deportable. Many news stories have emerged of crackdowns, threats, arrests as well as heavy handed protest response.

The President has threatened to send the US military into Minnesota, meeting the moment with even more force.

Minnesota faith communities are at the forefront of resistance, organizing public witness, mutual aid and political action. Some volunteers are following ICE agents into neighborhoods, blowing whistles and honking horns to alert people to the federal presence. Others are driving immigrants to work to help them avoid public transportation, where enforcement actions have occurred.

The Bible tells us to be “the salt of the earth” – in these icy times, may God guide us to be exactly that.

Prayer Requests

Praying for peace, health and well-being through challenging times.

+Ryan Mayer, nephew of Denise Mayer, member

+Deborah Hughes, for healing, spouse of Laura Templet, member

+Len Russ, member

+Fr. Frank Quintana, ECC priest

+Zoe Wahl, sister of Kristina Bulik-Hocum, member

+Colleen DeMuth, member

+Courtney and Cache, family of Jean Christin, member

+Jane Kommrusch, spouse of Richard Kommrusch, member

+ Jeff Klein, son of Debbie Klein

+Mary Powers and Katie Richards, members healing from long COVID

+Milo Pasquale Cushman, brother of Liz Urban, member

+Julie Lucas, daughter of Bruce & Carol Yeazell

+The Grant and Cloyd families, for healing

+Pastor Rick Reiten, Pastor at Trinity Lutheran

~~~~~~~~~~~

A blessed and peaceful repose of souls for those who've passed and comfort for the friends and families.

+Roy Harsh - brother-in-law to Linda Joyce, member

+Lois Hug, mother of MaryAnne Heyman, member

+Richard Life, member of Mary of Magdala

+Donald Sherlock, brother-in-law of Dori Healy

+Joseph Grant, nephew of David and Cindy Cloyd

+Dennis Healy, Tom Healy's brother and Dori's brother-in-law

+Pauline Devlin, David Devlin's mother

+Jim Carroll, husband of member Dori Carroll

Please send prayer requests to marymagdalafc@gmail.com. Prayers will be listed for one month unless requested for longer. Prayers for the repose of souls will be listed for six months unless requested for a longer time.

Wednesday Mass -

January 21 at 11:00 am

• In person in the Fireside Room
• No Zoom available
• Mother Rosean Amaral presiding

Sunday Mass -

January 25 at 12:30 pm

• In person and Zoom available
• Rev Jane Reina presiding

Wednesday Mass -

January 28 at 11:00 am

• In person in the Fireside Room
• No Zoom available
• Mother Rosean Amaral presiding

Sunday Mass -

February 1 at 12:30 pm

• In person and Zoom available
• Presider TBD, details to come

Did you miss an article or announcement?



Past e-bulletins are posted on our website here. Below are links to some key articles:

• News from Bishop Paul & 'The Mary Magdalene Society' here.
• Happy Thanksgiving from The House of Laity here.
• Read the ECC statement on immigration here.
• Ongoing Giving Opportunities in Fellowship hall; see list here.
• Dedicating Altar Flowers? Contact Joan Stepleton at JoanStepleton@gmail.com or 864-650-2816. A $25 dollar donation is kindly requested.

Mary of Magdala Parish Community

Members: Need to view, update information or download a copy of the member directory? Just click here.

-->If you are in need of a picture for the directory, contact David Cloyd via this email. Put 'Need Picture for the Directory' in the subject line and include your name and telephone number in your email <--

CONTRIBUTIONS TO MARY OF MAGDALA

If you would like to contribute to Mary of Magdala,

click here to schedule a single or recurring Sunday offertory.

All are invited and ALL are welcome to join our parish community. Here is the webpage with more information on membership

The ECC Regional Website - View here.

Newsletters of Trinity Lutheran Church and the St. Paul's Episcopal  

Click here for the Trinity Lutheran Church monthly newsletter, "Tidings". And here is St Paul's weekly bulletin.