St. PJ's eNews: August 15, 2025 | | In this week's edition, an awful lot for an allegedly sleepy August: | | |
- Out-of-the-Office Updates
- St. PJ's in the News
- This Sunday, 8/17, at 3 p.m.: "Saying Goodbye," a Cathedral service for those affected by child or pregnancy loss
- Buy your books at Bookshop to support St. PJ's, and come to "Margins and Movements" on 8/26
- Hymn Sing and Ice Cream Social: Monday, 9/8
- 9/14: Homecoming Sunday Potluck (volunteers needed)
- Updating the Parish Directory
- A Note About Grocery Cards and Pledges
- New volunteer sign-up process
- News from the Wider Church: Diana Butler Bass on Jesus as homeless, DC bishop opposes Trump's militarization of DC, remembering a trans deacon pioneer, and more
- This Week at St. PJ's and Cycles of Prayer
- Video: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon
- Visits with Rev. Nathan
- Safe Church Training
- There's Always More...
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Out-of-the-Office Dates
The church office will have declined capacity for the next two weeks. Please be patient if things take longer than usual, and contact the wardens with any urgent requests.
I -- Rev. Nathan -- will be on vacation through next Friday, August 22, and working from home while school is out the following week.
(Side note: The Empsalls are flying to South Carolina for a beach trip. When we took this same trip in 2023, we flew Avelo from Tweed. This time, we're driving to Bradley to fly Breeze instead. Our faith prevents us from giving our money to ICE Air, even when it is cheaper, easier, and faster.)
While I am away, instead of a sermon at Morning Prayer this weekend, we will get an update on Loaves & Fishes from its talented (and soon-to-be full time!) executive director, Lorrice Grant.
Our administrative director, Monifa Atkinson, will then be out of the office from Monday, August 25, until Wednesday, September 3.
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St. PJ's in the News
St. PJ's was featured as part of a Connecticut Public (NPR) story on Tuesday, titled "Puerto Ricans express fear and solidarity as Connecticut ICE detainments ramp up." Here are the relevant paragraphs:
When a New Haven high schooler from Guatemala was detained by ICE in July, it wasn’t just Latinos who came out to the rally for his return.
Rev. Nathan Empsall is the priest-in-charge at St. Paul and St. James Episcopal Church in Wooster Square. He says attendance at the food pantry and clothing closet the church partners with is down in recent weeks, and volunteers say it’s because of fears of ICE.
“If this was about enforcing justice and laws like the authoritarians tell us,” he told rallygoers, “they wouldn't arrest people outside courthouses, they wouldn't target Puerto Rican neighborhoods, and they wouldn't be arresting our 11th graders.”
Empsall says he was referring to cases reported in similar communities, like the detainment of a Puerto Rican veteran in Newark in January and the presence of a dozen ICE agents outside of a Puerto Rican museum in Chicago in July.
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This Sunday, 8/17, at 3pm:
"Saying Goodbye": A Cathedral service for those affected by child or pregnancy loss
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Buy your books at Bookshop to support St. PJ's, and come to "Margins and Movements" on Aug. 26!
You might know that if you buy your books at Bookshop.org, a portion of the proceeds is given to support independent local booksellers, rather than certain tech billionaires. You can even go to your account settings and select a specific bookstore to benefit from your purchases, should you wish.
I'm pleased to share that as of right now, 10% of your Bookshop purchases can also benefit St. PJ's!
Visit the new St. PJ's affiliate page at Bookshop to find our "Margins and Movements" book club selections, Episcopal 101 books, and other recommended titles. We'll expand the featured titles all the time, and are happy to take your recommendations and suggestions.
If you want to shop for other books not featured on our page, I believe if you start your browsing session with our affiliate link, your purchase may also still benefit the church.
The first gathering of "Margins and Movements," our new neighborhood social-justice book club, will be on Tuesday, August 26, at 7 pm. We'll discuss "On Tyranny" by Timothy Snyder. Invite a friend, get the (very short) book at either the library or on Bookshop, and I'll see you in less than two weeks!
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Hymn Sing and Ice Cream Social
Monday, September 8
We have a new date for the Hymn Sing and Ice Cream Social: It will now be Monday, September 8, at 6:45 p.m. in the parish hall! Mark your calendars now to gather around the piano under the pretty lights in the parish hall, fill our hearts with song, have a sweet treat, and just simply be together.
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9/14: Homecoming Sunday Potluck
Food and Volunteers Needed!
Homecoming Sunday returns! Mark your calendars for a special service and potluck luncheon on September 14 -- and please consider bringing something for the potluck.
For this luncheon to be a success, we will need a few volunteers to help set up and take down, set tables, put food out, etc. Please let the church office know if you can help! Email office@stpaulstjames.org, or call (203) 562-2143 (office hours are M-F, 8-noon).
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Updating the Parish Directory
Speaking of Homecoming Sunday, we are updating the parish directory, and would like to have the new 2025-2026 edition ready to distribute that day. If there have been any changes to your contact information -- or if you are not in the directory and would like to be added -- please let Monifa in the church office know.
Simply email her at office@stpaulstjames.org, or call (203) 562-2143 (office hours are M-F, 8-noon).
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A Note About Grocery Cards and Pledges
Would you like 5% of your grocery purchases to go to St. PJ's?
You may know that St. PJ's sells gift cards to both Stop & Shop and Shop Rite. If you're anything like me, you always intend to buy one of these cards from Kate Galambos on Sunday morning, but keep forgetting to bring your check book as you dash out the door.
Yes, we could accept online payment, but then we have to pay 3% to the payment processing company -- and that's most of the money we'd get from the sale to begin with. So cash and check are best for the grocery cards.
If you shop at Stop & Shop or Shop Rite, please remember your checkbook on Sundays. Just think: If only 10 more families bought one $500 cards each month, that would be another $6,000 for the church every year!
The church has had some large unexpected expenses this year, such as updating the fire panel, dealing with insurance increases, and replacing defective commercial toilets downstairs. If you haven't fulfilled your 2025 pledge yet, if you'd like to buy grocery cards, or if you are considering an extra gift beyond your pledge, this is a great time to do so.
The church isn't the building -- it's us, and that means it's on us to make this spiritual community happen with our time, our talent, and yes, our treasure. Let us each give joyfully to serve God, to serve one another, and to benefit something we all love.
(And please note: These grocery store cards are the ONLY gift cards the church ever suggests you buy. And we never ask you to read the card code back to the church - so any other requests are a scam!)
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New Volunteer Sign-Up Process
(Phew, this eNews is turning into a long one... Lots going on for an August!)
Our process for volunteering on Sundays, and the sign-up table, have changed. Starting now, the church office will schedule volunteers rather than asking you to sign up manually.
We will send out a draft schedule for lectors/readers, liturgical assistants, altar guild, and bread bakers for the following month at the start of each month (e.g., the December schedule gets sent out the first week of November). Volunteers will have a chance to let us know if that schedule works or not, and we will then send out a revised, final schedule approximately two weeks later.
If you would like to start volunteering for a new role -- or volunteer to host Coffee and Community Hour after church -- new sign-up sheets are now in the Sanctuary at the usher's table, the Coffee and Community table, and the sign-up table. Indicate your interest in the role itself, return the form to the basket or the office, and the office will be in touch about training and scheduling.
Monifa sent the first draft schedule to our September volunteers earlier this week.
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Come for Morning Prayer this Sunday, August 17, at 10:30 a.m. as we celebrate the tenth Sunday after Pentecost.
Lynne Severance will officiate, and in place of the usual sermon, we'll get an update on Loaves & Fishes from its wonderful executive director, Lorrice Grant.
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Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m.
In person and online
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Wednesday Prayer 12:30 p.m.
In person
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Thursday Compline 8 p.m.
On Zoom
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Cycles of Prayer
In the cycle of prayer for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, we pray this week for fresh expressions of the church in Connecticut; missional experiments; and for students preparing to enter schools, colleges, universities & seminaries.
In the global Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we pray for the Scottish Episcopal Church (and God bless it for ordaining the very first Bishop of Connecticut as the very first bishop in the Episcopal Church, allowing for all this to happen).
ST. PJ’S PRAYER LIST:
Rachel, Doug Parker, Anne Matthies, Betty Hill, Tim Barnes, Calvin Griffin, Lenny Santarsiero, Rev. Walter MacNutt, Tom Caffelle, Kevin Gerbe, Leota Tucker, Edwina Johnson, Cynthia King, Paul D'Agostino, Richard Holcomb, Tiras Jaske, Uli Mackert, Charlie & Bridget Farrell, Alyce, Judi, Tom, Leslie, Andrew, Pam, Tommy, Beverly Lett, Vanetta Lloyd, Janea Barthle, Lydia Hamnquist, Kate Galambos, Rita Valenti-Piovane, Stephen Lett, Rev. Nihal de Lanerolle, Martin O’Brien, William Evans, Sr., Pam Sayre, Marilyn Bergen, Marietta D’Albero, Leonilda Sanchez, Maria Rodriquez, Brian Bussey
Birthdays: Pam Sayre (8/18), Drew Kwame Karikari (8/18), Alvin Roach (8/19)
New Haven concerns: Esdras R., Wilbur Cross junior seized by ICE
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VIDEO: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon
If you either missed or want to revisit last Sunday at St. PJ's, you can find the recorded livestream on our Facebook and/or YouTube pages.
Last week, Rev. Nathan preached and celebrated the Eucharist.
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Visits with Rev. Nathan
As previously announced, I am now trying to meet with every St. PJ's member -- as families or individuals -- and get to know you and your dreams for our community life together.
I want to hear about who you are, what makes you tick, what you believe and love, your history at St. PJ's, and your hopes for this congregation's future. Through these meetings, I hope to get a better feel for who we are as a community -- and where the Spirit might be leading us!
Ideally this meeting would be at your home, where I can also offer a home blessing. If you prefer a coffee shop, your office, or a park bench on a nice day, those are fine options too -- anywhere but the church itself.
Because I am half-time, it will undoubtedly take several months to get through these visits. If you would like to meet sooner, please let me know. Otherwise, I'm going to use an Excel random-number generator to determine the order in which I'll reach out. But whether it's next week or in November, know that I can't wait!
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New Fall Dates for
Safe Church Training
In an important effort to build and protect community for everyone, the Episcopal Church requires that all church leaders (including vestry), staff, and anyone interacting with youth or pastoral ministries take Safe Church Training every three years.
The training is free and can be done in person or online. New fall dates have now been announced by the diocese, and you can find them (and more information) online here.
Bishop Jeff Mello says: "Safe Church Training, and our commitment to creating a church that is safe for all of God’s beloved children, is at the center of our commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those most at risk for abuse are the very ones Jesus drew close; children, the frail, and those at the margins. To be made more and more into the likeness of Christ is to take seriously the safety and welfare of those Safe Church is meant to protect."
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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
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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
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Priest-in-Charge: The Rev. Nathan Empsall, revnathan@stpaulstjames.org
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Administrative Director: Monifa Atkinson, office@stpaulstjames.org
- Sexton: Sammy Rodriguez
- Children's Ministry: Molly Clayton
- Director of Music: Will Cleary
- Associate Director of Music: Dylan Rowland
- Tech and Music Intern: Dontae James
- Priest Associate: The Rev. Steve Crowson
- Vestry: Bill Evans (co-warden), Juhani Jaske (co-warden), David Hill (treasurer), Maggie King (clerk), Roni Holcomb, Steve Crowson, Maurice Harris, Pam Sayre, Vanetta Lloyd, Lynne Severance
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