Staying Connected: July 23, 2021

Staying Connected

WELCOME HOME!

Join us this weekend for worship.

Saturday at 5:30 pm on the 101st St. Beach Pavilion, or Sunday at 9:00 am or 12:00 noon in the church or online at https://www.facebook.com/www.stmarysstoneharbor.org

www.stmarysstoneharbor.org

PARKING for Sunday's Installation service will be available at Our Saviour Lutheran Church's parking lot at the corner of 93rd & Third Avenue.

Many thanks to Our Saviour and Pastor Eloise for the gracious accommodation.

Rector's Corner

July 23, 2021

Dear Family in Christ,

Continued Good News (BIG NEWS) in the Life of Christ here at St. Mary's!

I am so very excited to share that our continuing effort to build relationships across this seven-mile island is going most spectacularly and is generating much excitement.

CHOIR, get your voices ready!

I pray you will feel the abundant joy shared by me, the music committee, and the vestry as we welcome our new organist and Choir Director, Kyle Sheppard. Kyle is energetic, enthusiastic, and eager to build a mutual ministry of shared gifts and talents between us and the First United Methodist Church of Avalon. Kyle's excitement for church ministry, music, and building relationships are infectious. He is quite humble, but not shy. Kyle is a go-getter. I know you will absolutely love him.

Kyle is finishing his Master's as an Organ student at Rowan University where he studies with Dr. Gordon Turk. He is the Music Director at First U.M.C. of Avalon and Choir Director at the Cumberland Campus of Rowan College of South Jersey. In Avalon, he leads a year-round music program with two choirs that involve musicians from across the east coast including the West Point Cadet Choir, West Point, New York, and the Atlantic Brass Band. Before Avalon, he was the organist at the former Central UMC Bridgeton, and Music Intern at First Presbyterian Church, Bridgeton.

Kyle will be performing at The Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove on July 31st and at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on August 12th at Noon. Some of his other performance opportunities include but are not limited to, The Citadel - Charleston, South Carolina, Gettysburg Chapel - Gettysburg, and Milltown United Methodist Church as well as a choir tour to Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich. Kyle played at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Haddon Heights, NJ, St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Wayne, PA, and Trinity Episcopal Church in Moorestown, NJ. Kyle has also enjoyed singing with the Ocean Grove Auditorium Choir in the summers, as well as the Greater South Jersey Chorus in Haddonfield. Some of his hobbies include gardening, traveling, cooking, and singing.

Let's give Kyle a big, warm St. Mary's welcome!

While mutual ministry will require some sacrifice, the gifts of mutual ministry and the opportunity to build the Body of Christ throughout the island and beyond through music far outweigh the small sacrifices we may need to make in sharing Kyle's gifts and talents. Pastor Dave and the First United Methodist Church of Avalon are in the process of changing their service times in order to engage in this most beneficial ministry with one another. Pastor Dave will be here this Sunday, be comfortable in introducing yourself to him. I am so excited for this ministry, for us, for Kyle and the ecumenical opportunity it will provide.

Kyle's start date is to be determined, but likely will be after Labor Day.

Look for Next week's Staying Connected as Kyle will introduce himself.

Together we are planning a meet and greet introductory concert and reception for you to have the opportunity to get to know Kyle. That date too is to be determined.

See you all Sunday!

Blessings,

Mo. Allison+

551-697-6133

PARKING for Sunday's Installation service will be available at Our Saviour Lutheran Church's parking lot at the corner of 93rd & Third Avenue.

Many thanks to Our Saviour and Pastor Eloise for the gracious accommodation.

____________________________________________________________

If you would like a pastoral visit or a visit from one of our

Eucharistic Ministers, please contact Mo. Allison.

MAKE YOUR PLEDGE DONATION HERE

Let’s talk Stewardship . . .

Now that St. Mary’s has finally been able to get back to having REAL services in person with music and singing, I can’t tell you how much joy has been shared the past few Sundays. We’ve had great music on the organ and piano via Rev. Glenn Matis and Mila, and it feels so good to be able to sing. I think music enhances our spiritual connection to worship. At least it does for me.

We’re also having coffee hour again. It’s so nice to be able to enjoy social time with our church family, especially after this past year of COVID lockdowns and isolation.

Of particular importance was Mother Allison’s homily on June 13th. If you haven’t heard it, you can access it on our website under “Sermon Library”. It’s definitely worth your time. Dare I say . . . it is inspiring and gave all of us sitting in the pews hope and faith that our church is moving forward in a very positive way. We’re trusting that God has a plan for us. It was the much-needed “shot in the arm” we can all use right now. Mother Allison’s enthusiasm and joy are infectious and you can’t help but feel happy, positive, and hopeful that St. Mary’s will not just survive, but actually start to grow.

The past few Sundays we’ve seen more and more new faces in the pews. People see the big red doors open and feel welcome. All of the new initiatives we are embracing seem to be generating community interest in St. Mary’s and could very well mean we are attracting new members. New families. That would be a gift from God.

But we can’t do it without YOU.

Since the topic is “stewardship”, I want to remind everyone that being a “good steward” includes, not only pledging our financial support but volunteering our time to support the many activities and events planned, as well as programs designed to help us grow in our faith. Attending and being part of our weekly services is where it all starts.

This Sunday at 12:00 PM is the Installation of Mother Allison as our Rector and I’m hopeful all of you will be there in support of her ministry here at St. Mary’s. That, too, is being a good steward. Together, let’s demonstrate our renewed energy and love of God this Sunday.

Our 2022 pledge campaign will start in the fall. If you would like to help or have any ideas about how you would like us to reach out to everyone or what information you would like to have, please let me know. Hearing from you means your opinions count and we appreciate your input.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday . . .

Blessings . . . Janet Proulx

JULY 25th at Noon

Invitations were sent via email and thus far we have an impressive response, but email is funny sometimes and we are attempting to reach EVERYONE to Celebrate!

You do not have to register to attend, however, it sure does help us plan in advance.

If the email has slipped by you, click on the link or the picture of the invitation to let us know if you will be attending.

CLICK HERE

Can't wait to see you here!

It's good to be open again!

Coffee Hour has returned!

Come and enjoy coffee and fellowship on Sunday mornings after the 9 am service.

If you would like to provide a small snack for all to enjoy, a sign-up sheet is posted on the kitchen door.

Alanon has resumed meeting in the parish hall Friday mornings at 10 AM.

AA has also resumed meeting at St. Mary's on Tuesday evenings at 8 pm.

SUNDAY PARKING: Sturdy Bank lot and Fred's Tavern lot may be used.

Please remove your car from Fred's before 12 noon.

(The meters are off until 10 AM.)

*** MEMORIAL SERVICES ***

The Memorial Service for Timothy Fitzgerald Noble will take place on Saturday, July 24th at 1:00 pm

The Family is requesting masks to be worn by ALL.

For a list of all upcoming events and meetings, please see the calendar on our website at www.stmarysstoneharbor.org.

CHECK OUT OUR CALENDAR on our website for all activities taking place throughout the week.

Thursdays on the Lawn and Worship at the Beach

The Quietmen with the help of Irish step dancer, Madison Hawk, continued our concert series last night. Marnie and Nate will perform on July 29th, and C. Lynne Smith on August 5th. We'll wrap up on August 12th with Three and One.

Bring a chair, bring some friends, and plan to join us on the front lawn this summer!

A sign up sheet to help with refreshments can be found on the parish hall bulletin board or contact Cheryl Barton (908)334-5772 or Dina Ziemba at [email protected].

Our Saturday service has moved from the church to the beach for the summer months. "Come as you are" to Worship at the Beach on the 101st St. Beach Pavilion, Saturdays at 5:30 pm through August 28th. Plan to join us for a relaxed worship service in a glorious setting! Guitarist Tom Werkheiser adds his wonderful music to our worship experience.

In the event of rain, concerts and worship are held in the church.

Water Park Fun Day Event

Two years ago Branches was fortunate enough to take the children from local motels to a water park for the day. It was a spectacular day and the kids had a blast. Tickets to the water park were donated and we raised enough money to pack a bag lunch for each child and buy ice cream on the boardwalk at the end of the day.

COVID 19 prevented us from doing the same last year. However, thanks to the generosity of a very kind someone, we were able to have a game day and be visited by an ice cream truck.

Thankfully COVID 19 is not preventing us from planning a trip to the water park this year. It is happening on August 10th! The pandemic has made many things more difficult and our plans for this fun day for the kids are no exception. We are going to have to raise the money to make this a reality.

We understand that this is a big undertaking, but at Branches, we always have faith that where there is a will there is a way. If you would like to help us brighten the lives of some great kids there are several ways to do so.

You can send a check made payable to Branches to: 1304 Rt. 47 S, Rio Grande 08242. Please designate for “Water Park.”

You can stop by with a cash donation. Or, go to our website: www.thebranchesoutreach.org and locate the donate button. You may donate through PayPal. Make sure that you designate for “Water Park.”

Thank you in advance for your generosity and your faithful support of our mission at Branches! We are truly grateful.

concludes this week

at St. Mary's

It's been great to have kids in the parish hall, out on the front lawn and painting in the Mary Garden! Hearing their enthusiastic voices has been a real joy. Their final week with us begins Monday, July 26th.

Jr. Explorers is the theme. www.SCIENCEEXPLORERS.COM

Forward Day by Day

The August, September, October issue of Forward Day by Day, large and small print, is now available in the church narthex. Please help yourself to a copy. If you would like a booklet sent to you, please let the church office know and we will be happy to mail one out to you!

Sunday's Altar Flowers