WELCOME HOME!
Worship with us:
Sunday at 9:00 am in person and Live on Facebook
Saturday 5:30 pm, July 9 to August 27 - 101st Street Beach Pavilion
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Dearest family and friends of St. Mary's,
Following the story of the Samaritan and our story for Sunday, we read of the disciples asking Jesus for instruction on prayer. We often hear the advice to pray what’s on our heart. Yet the disciples want to do prayer properly. Jesus teaches them what we call the Lord’s Prayer — or at least Luke’s version of it. Jesus gave a model prayer, and then told creative stories about why we should pray, even when we have doubts about God hearing our prayers.
These two passages, the parable of the Samaritan and the teaching about prayer, make an interesting combination. Some parts of the church would put the emphasis on the parable of the Samaritan: The church should go out and take care of the wounded — no matter where the wounds came from — and should also concentrate on preventing what causes people to become wounded in the first place. Other parts of the church insist that we should concentrate on developing our prayer and devotional life: We should nourish our spirit and stay connected to God.
We should not quarrel with those who support either side of this question. The wisest approach comes from those who see the connection between our prayer life and our work to heal the world’s wounds. We should pray and feed our spirit so that we can go out and fight for justice, bind up people’s wounds and love our neighbors.
Nestled in amongst these words from Luke lies our vignette for Sunday. On the surface, we may not see much. Two sisters display sibling rivalry. One sister, Martha, works hard to provide a meal and hospitality for Jesus, their guest. We value hospitality, as the biblical world did. The other, Mary, sits at Jesus’ feet, never lifting a finger to help Martha. Martha thinks Jesus should take her side and tell Mary to get up off the floor and help out. Jesus tells Martha that Mary has chosen the better part, to sit and listen.
Let’s be clear: the church needs Marthas. The church has much work in front of it. Being the church means getting our hands dirty. Yet, Jesus praises Mary for listening. Jesus praises Mary for attending to teaching. Teaching matters. As much as we need Marthas, as much as Marthas accomplish, the most diligent Marthas need to feed their souls and grow through Christian formation.
Why is the part Mary chose the better one? I will make the bold statement that listening, studying, Sunday School, Bible studies, lectures prepare us for everything else we do in the church. Do we want a better prayer life? In attending to our formation through listening and studying, we learn good ways to pray. We learn the difference between healthy, sound prayer and shallow, selfish prayer. We learn the different kinds of prayer: praise, confession, intercession, thanksgiving.
Do we want to get out there and make a difference? Study and formation teach us how to work effectively and faithfully. What strategies have worked before? How have people kept up their morale in the face of obstacles? How do we understand the causes of poverty and hunger? Study helps us with all of that. Study and prayer help those who work in the need of the world from burning out. Study and prayer keep us from self-righteousness.
Blessings in Christ,
Mo. Allison+
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Important Dates to Note
July 9th - August 27th - Summer Worship at the Beach 5:30 pm 101st Street Pavilion
July 21st - Thursdays on the lawn: Erik Simonsen
July 28th - The Quietmen
August 4th - Marnie and Nate
August 11th - Three & One
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Adult Forum - Book Study- Starting August 14th
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Lost Christianities: The Battles of Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew
by Bart D. Ehrman, Matthew Kugler, et al.
The early Christian Church was a chaos of contending beliefs. Some groups of Christians claimed that there was not one God but two or twelve or thirty. Some believed that the world had not been created by God but by a lesser, ignorant deity. Certain sects maintained that Jesus was human but not divine, while others said he was divine but not human. In Lost Christianities, Bart D. Ehrman offers a fascinating look at these early forms of Christianity and shows how they came to be suppressed, reformed, or forgotten. All of these groups insisted that they upheld the teachings of Jesus and his apostles, and they all possessed writings that bore out their claims, books reputedly produced by Jesus's own followers. Modern archaeological work has recovered a number of key texts, and as Ehrman shows, these spectacular discoveries reveal religious diversity that says much about the ways in which history gets written by the winners.
Ehrman's discussion ranges from considerations of various "lost scriptures" - including forged gospels supposedly written by Simon Peter, Jesus's closest disciple, and Judas Thomas, Jesus's alleged twin brother - to the disparate beliefs of such groups as the Jewish-Christian Ebionites, the anti-Jewish Marcionites, and various "Gnostic" sects. Ehrman examines in depth the battles that raged between "proto-orthodox Christians" - those who eventually compiled the canonical books of the New Testament and standardized Christian belief - and the groups they denounced as heretics and ultimately overcame. Scrupulously researched and lucidly written, Lost Christianities is an eye-opening account of politics, power, and the clash of ideas among Christians in the decades before one group came to see its views prevail.
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Spots are filling up fast!
The kids are here and having fun at St. Mary's with Science Explorers - Science Clubs and Camps for Children ages 4 to 11. Spots are still available but they are filling up, so don't delay, Call 877-870-9517 or go to www.ScienceExplorers.com to find out more.
"If it's not fun, we're not doing it!"
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We will be serving refreshments this year at the Thursdays on the Lawn intermissions. Please sign up to help with cookies, lemonade, or to hostess. A sign up sheet is on the parish hall bulletin board, or call the church office.
Thank you!
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Placing flowers on the altar in memory or honor of a loved one is a great way to remember someone special. Just fill in your information on the chart on the parish hall bulletin board and place a donation in the plate, noting it is for altar flowers. Flowers are available for you to take after the service.
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Membership at St. Mary's consists of several different groups of "members." Some are Confirmed Communicant Members or who have transferred their membership by Letter of Transfer to St. Mary's. Some are Baptized into St. Mary’s or have requested that their names be entered in the Parish Register. Others are “members” by virtue of the fact that St. Mary’s is their church—the Christian community of which they are a part and where they worship regularly. Still, others are “summer members" or friends of St. Mary's. Many are part of St. Mary’s life, worship at St. Mary’s when in town, and support St. Mary’s financially. Canonically, they are not members in the legal sense, but they are every bit as much members of our parish family as those who are official members.
Please contact the church office if you would like to become a member of St. Mary's and be added to our data base.
We welcome you to join us!
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Checking on our Job as Stewards
A young boy walks into a small drug store and asks the druggist, “Could I use the telephone?” The druggist replies, “You certainly can,” and shows him where the telephone is. The boy calls a grocery store and asks the man who answers the phone, “Is your grocery store looking for someone to stock the shelves?” The man says, “No, we already have a stock boy.” The boy inquires, “If he isn’t doing a good job, maybe you need to get someone who will do a better job.” The man replies, “No, we are pleased with the work the boy is doing,” so the boy hung up the telephone.
The druggist hears the conversation and says to the boy, “I’m sorry you didn’t get the job.” The boy says, “I don’t need a job, because I am the stock boy. I was checking to see what they thought of my work.”
What if we could call God to ask about the job we are doing as his stewards? If it were possible to call, what kind of response would you expect to hear? Would God see you as a person who acknowledges all that you have as having been given to you by him and yourself as a manager, not an owner? Would God tell you that you are using your time, talents, and treasures in ways that please him? Would God commend you for feeding the hungry, for sheltering the homeless, for giving generously to those in need? Would God be pleased with what you are giving to his church? Would God tell you, “Well done, good and faithful steward?”
Unfortunately, we all fall well short of God’s standards, but, because of what Christ did for us on the Cross, we are forgiven for all the times that we have failed to be faithful stewards. With God’s grace given to us through his Son, we can be molded and transformed into God-pleasing stewards. In Christ, we can be stewards who do God’s work well.
Some Ways to donate are:
- The Sunday collection plate
- Send a check payable to St. Mary's to:
St. Mary's Church,
9425 Third Ave., Stone Harbor, NJ 08247
(Your envelope and number is not necessary, only your name.)
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Setting up a personal online banking "bill pay" option. The bank will mail the check for you to the church office.
Please note: Offering envelopes have been discontinued. Only your name is needed in order for the counters to record your giving.
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St. Mary's This 'n That Thrift Shop
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One man's trash is another's man's treasure.
Please remember St. Mary's This 'n That Thrift Shop. Your donation of clothing and household items in good useable condition is welcome!
St. Mary's Thrift Shop has become a valuable presence in the Rio Grande community. As an outreach of St. Mary's, it provides assistance in vital ministry and mission by offering quality clothing and household goods at affordable prices to the community, along with jobs and work experience to those in need. Proceeds help to support The Branches, and other ministries and outreach of St. Mary's.
Store Hours: Monday - Saturday 10 am - 4 pm
Donation days: Tuesday and Thursday, 10 am - 3 pm
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Happy Anniversary to
Lou & Cynthia Schweickhardt on July 22nd!
Happy Birthday to
Jeffrey Tobias and Jayson Weider on July 10th, Janet Kowalski on July 11th, Henry Schellenger, III on July 13th, Stephen Mihalek on July 14th, William Handley on July 21st, Beth Blair on July 22nd,
and Ty Pettit on July 23rd!
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July 9th - August 27th - Summer Worship at the Beach 5:30 pm 101st Street Pavilion
July 21st - Thursdays on the lawn: Eric Simonsen
July 28th - The Quietmen
August 4th - Marnie and Nate
August 11th - Three & One
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12 Step Meetings in the Church Hall
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) Monday at 8:00 pm
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Tuesday at 8:00 pm
Alanon on Friday at 10:00 am
A seasonal additional Alanon meeting will be coming this summer on Tuesday at 8:00 pm in the chapel
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Sixth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 11
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Tuesday - Thursday 8:30 am Morning Prayer via Zoom
Saturday 5:30 pm, July 9 to Aug. 27 - 101st St. Beach Pavilion
Sunday 9:00 AM in person (church)
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