Good morning, Church Family!

And happy (almost) birthday! This Sunday is Pentecost, the day the Church was birthed. The onrush of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room, the conversion of over 3,000 that day, we mark our beginning in prayer and end it in joyous celebration.

When we were looking into coming into the Episcopal Church, one of the great joys and comforts for me was how often I heard the emphasis on the Holy Spirit, both from my rector and in the small encounters I had with the Canon to the Ordinary and the Bishops. We did not have to get all excited but could still take it/him/her very seriously and profoundly. One of the things I always found lacking in my church of origin was how the Holy Spirit often seemed an afterthought when both Jesus and Scripture emphasized it so heavily.

So this Pentecost I want to ask, what is the role of the Holy Spirit in your life? How do you feel the Spirit? How does the Spirit direct your choices and actions? We dismiss the Holy Spirit at our peril. We fight the fires raging in our lives with the fire from above. As T.S. Eliot penned in the Four Quartets: 

The dove descending breaks the air 

With flame of incandescent terror

Of which the tongues declare

The one discharge from sin and error.

The only hope, or else despair

Lies in the choice of pyre or pyre-

To be redeemed from fire by fire.

Who then devised the torment? Love.

Love is the unfamiliar Name

Behind the hands that wove

The intolerable shirt of flame

Which human power cannot remove.

We only live, only suspire

Consumed by either fire or fire.

We need the Holy Spirit in our lives. Someone this week asked me how to live their life with love leading the way. In these days, it can seem so hard. It used to be that we needed the Holy Spirit to lead, but nowadays, we need the Holy Spirit to just get out of bed. Instead of adding the Holy Spirit, maybe we can begin there. The Church certainly did, which is why we focus on Pentecost. N. T. Wright (New Testament scholar and former Bishop of Durham): 

“Those in whom the Spirit comes to live are God's new Temple. They are, individually and corporately, places where heaven and earth meet.”

That is what the world needs. That is what I need. Hope to see you Sunday!

Rock+

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

• 7:30am- Eucharist Rite II & breakfast to follow
• 10:30am-Vinyasa Yoga

Sunday, May 28, 2023

• 8am- Eucharist Rite I
• 9am- Sunday School for adults and children
• 10am- Eucharist Rite II (music)

Monday, May 29, 2023

• OFFICE CLOSED for Memorial Day
• NO Vinyasa Yoga
• NO Good Grief group

WOW! What a weekend! We ended our program year with incredible times in community! Our picnic was fantastic, being held outdoor in our new pavilion. A HUGE thank you to ALL our amazing volunteers for making that happen. It was a true gift!

Our beloved Ann Lawrence worked her magic again transforming our Memorial Garden to it's "summer look." We are so grateful for her willingness to bless us with her talents and time. If you look closely you might even see one of her helpers.

The Annual Gatorade Games rounded out the year for our awesome Youth Group, J2A. Miriam planned some fun times in fellowship! We are already looking forward to next year's program.

Our Cherub Choir sang their hearts out in the 10am service. Their joy is contagious!

Parking for Graduation Downtown

Dear parents of graduating seniors, if your graduation ceremony is to be held at the Siegel Center, Margaret Rush lives near there and can offer guest parking (neighborhood street parking is restricted), if you like. Please contact her at margaretrush1009@gmail if you are interested. 

Yoga

We have the most wonderful woman, Lorie Lower, who teaches yoga on Mondays and Wednesdays here at St. James the Less at 10:30am. They've even begun practicing yoga in the pavilion on the nice days. If you'd like more information or would like to be added to her mailing list, you can do that here.

Book Club

Thursdays at 10am in May and June we have Book Club on Zoom. We are reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. You can purchase it HERE from Amazon. The Pamunkey Library system also has it and you can check it out HERE. We really hope you can join us! If you have any questions or would like to be added to our Book Club email list, let us know.

Graduates

It is getting close to the time we start celebrating our graduates in our community. Our graduate Sunday is June 4th. We would love to have them participate in the service if they are willing.  It is always a favorite for this community to be able to celebrate with our graduates and their families.  

If you have a graduate (high school, college, trade school, etc), we'd love to know:

• Full name as they would like to be celebrated
• Where they are graduating from 
• Their degree (if applicable)
• Their future plans (if known)
• And we’d love a picture to put in our weekly eblast to celebrate them
• If they would like to participate in our Graduate Sunday service at 10am on June 4th

If you can get this information to me by May 21^st, I’d be so grateful.  We look forward to celebrating with you!

8am Service for the Summer

For the months of June, July and August we will be holding our 8am service in the Pavilion on Sundays. It is such an incredible addition to our property and worship space. We hope you will mark your calendars to join us for a few of these services.

Children's Summer Plans

As we begin to wind down the program year we wanted to let you know upcoming changes so that you can plan. We will have no nursery, Sunday School or Children's Church over the summer, starting May 28th.

We will be refreshing and renewing to come back inspired in the fall. We will have a few children & youth events over the summer to keep us connected. If you have any ideas, let us know!

Flying Squirrels Game

Take me out to the ballgame! We are going to see the Flying Squirrels on Thursday, August 10 for Faith night at the Diamond. They will have pre-game faith-based bands, player testimonials on the field, post-game fireworks, and more! St. James the Less has tickets together for $10 a ticket. If you'd like to purchase tickets and sit with our community, you can do that HERE. (They will email your tickets to you directly, but you will be sitting with all of us)

• Sign up to bring meals for the Clinic Volunteers HERE
• Help stock our Emergency Food Pantry (outside the clinic)
• Send in your Pop Tops for McDonald House
• Bring in Hygiene or laundry items for Peter Paul
• Donate to ACES (see below)

Pantry:

• Canned meat (spam, chicken, ham, salmon, tuna, etc.)
• Canned vegetables (anything but green beans and corn)
• Canned fruit
• Canned soup
• Peanut butter
• Spaghetti sauce
• Spaghetti noodles
• Instant potatoes (small and medium size boxes)
• Rice (small and medium size bags)
• Hot & Cold Cereal (healthier varieties preferred)
• Bar soap (we are completely out)
• Personal care items (toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, toilet paper, etc.)
• Cleaning products (laundry soap, dish soap, etc.)

Children's Clothing:

• Boy's summer clothes (sizes 16 - 20)
• Boy's and Girl's summer pajamas (all sizes)
• Boy's underwear (sizes 2 - 10)
• Girl's underwear (sizes 14 - 18)
• Boy's and Girl's shoes (all sizes; especially boy's shoes)
• Diapers (size 4, 5, 6 and 7)... We do not need pull-ups
• Baby Wipes (we are completely out)

Adult Clothing:

• Men's athletic socks (all sizes)
• Men's athletic shoes (all sizes)
• Men's jeans (waist sizes 28 - 38)
• Men's white undershirts (all sizes)
• Men's boxers (all sizes)
• Women's underwear (sizes 2X and larger)
• Women's bras (cup size C and larger, band size 38 and larger)
• Women's sanitary products

ACES is open on both Mondays and Wednesday from 8:30-11:30am. Thank you for your continued support!

Lord, we lift up this nation struggling with itself these days, reeling from this pandemic and its repercussions. Encourage us to faithfulness, righteousness, and compassion for all God’s Children. We lift up Justin, Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael, our Presiding Bishop, Mark, Dabney & Gail, our Bishops, Rock+, our priest, and Dawn+, our Deacon. May they be strengthened and encouraged as the work with us to proclaim your Good News in this world. We pray for Joe, our President, Glenn, our Governor, and Steve, our Mayor, and all our elected officials. Guide them to lead us to the common good. 

We ask your prayers for peace; for goodwill among nations; and for the well-being of all people. Remembering especially Gus Miller, Erin Yagla, Meredith Moon, Meghann Batten, Michael Fox, Bill Blakemore, Dennis Folsom, Debra Bernard, Smith family, Court Warfield, Andrea Alexander McCallum, Janet Taylor, Jessica and family, Joy Stevenson, Brad Rose, Wendy Vaughan, Andy Newchok, Pam Bowers, Bettilee, Iana Mason, Bill Mercier, Rebecca Hottman, Lyde Longaker, Haden Hopkins, Charles Bridges, Hilda Kelly, Lee & Susan Chambers, Michele Murphy, James Crump, Sr., Tre’ Michael, Brennan McFarlane,Tim Easter, Marie Bohrer, Melanie Fischer, Frank Buckingham, Jim Segneri, Barbara Brzozowski, Richard Grosse, Harry Hassell, Carl Morlock, Luke David, Baker/Penland family, Carol Barnes, Vikki Snelgrove, Melissa & Riley Jones, Kendall Martin, Kathy Wimberly, Joel Blunk, Lin Varner, Holly Rison and family, Britton Stewart, Rebecca Paxton, Dennis Ray, and Bobby & Parker family.

We ask your prayers for the poor, the sick, the hungry, the oppressed, and those in prison. We also ask your prayers for those serving in the diplomatic corps, the military, and as missionaries: Larson Flanagan, Kemper Jones, Greg Ericksen, Matthew Thomas, Philip Morison, James Ashley, Ellie Deas, Andrew Brunson, Jordan Fox, and Katherine Murphy. 

We ask your prayers for those who have died, especially Gordon Sutton. We ask your prayers for those who grieve.  

We pray for governments and governing bodies of Metropolitan Richmond: For the Mayor and City Council of Richmond, the City Administrator, and all city employees.

For all those who seek peace in the world and for ourselves, that we may bring about God's Kingdom here on earth. For our enemies, and for those who wish us harm.



Praise God for those in every generation in whom Christ has been honored.

• Prayer List- Prayers of the People
• Giving Online- Click here to give online or text "GIVE2THELESS" at 73256 from your phone.
• Ask for prayer-Send in your prayer request (please acknowledge if the prayer is private or for our Parish list)
• The Collect Collective- Daily short prayer with Father Rock
• List of Local Food Pantries- Click here for a complete list of local food pantries.
• Fall Line Farms- A wonderful organization that supports local farmers. Click here to order food so you can pick it up here at SJTL on Thursdays.
• Self- Guided Ways Of Worship Brochure- It has wonderful ways of engaging with your own space (and the spaces around the church) to find the Holy, already present, within them.
• Father Rock's Blog- Access reading of all of Father Rock's Homilies.
• Blessings & Dressings- A copy of the SJTL Cookbook 
• End of Life Planning Kit- Help with estate planning from the Episcopal Church Foundation.
• Diocesan Creation Care Website- Creation Care Task Force

Saint James the Less Episcopal Church

125 Beverly Road

Ashland, VA 23005

(804) 798-6336

Staff:

The Rev. Rock Higgins, tssf Rector

The Rev. Deacon Dawn McNamara Deacon

Reggie Long- Organist/Music Director

Miriam Smith- Christian Formation- Children & Youth Director

Kasey Buckland- Parish Administrator