The E-pistle

Thursday, November 28th, 2024

A Note from Father Sam

Dear friends in Christ,

I wish you and your families a happy, healthy, and holy Thanksgiving. Today, I am giving thanks for this community of faith, for the privilege of serving as your priest, and for the abundant grace of God in Jesus Christ, grace that I feel in different ways every day in this place, often through the kindness, generosity, and compassion that you all share so freely. Thank you for making Saint Paul’s a place of love and good news.

If you are around this weekend, consider joining us for our first red letter day, a celebration of St. Andrew’s Day on Saturday. We’ll gather at the church for Eucharist at 6, and walk over the rectory for a light reception afterward. If you enjoy listening to bagpipe music, come 30 minutes early!

On Sunday, we’ll begin the season of Advent with our normal services at 8 and 10 am. Together, let us watch and wait for the coming of Christ in our midst, bringing the good news of God’s love to all people.

With thanksgiving,

Father Sam

Sunday, December 1st, 2024

8:00 AM Holy Eucharist Rite I

10:00 A.M Holy Eucharist Rite II

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Scripture for the First Sunday of Advent: Jeremiah 33:14-16, Psalm 25:1-9, 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13, Luke 21:25-36

Serving this week, Dec 1 (8:00 a.m.)

Celebrant: The Rev’d Jane G. Tillman

Preacher: The Rev’d Samuel T. Vaught

Acolyte: Rob Maloney

LEM: Diane Dillon

Lector/Intercessor: David Pearson

Greeter: Jorja Marsden

Altar Guild: Jorja Marsden

Serving next week, Dec 8 (8:00 a.m.)

Celebrant: The Rev’d Samuel T. Vaugh

Preacher: The Rev’d Samuel T. Vaught

Acolyte: Rob Maloney

LEM: Jorja Marsden

Lector/Intercessor: Vaunie Graulty

Greeter: TBD

Altar Guild: Tracy Johnson

Serving this week, Dec 1 (10 a.m.)

Celebrant: The Rev’d Jane G. Tillman

Preacher: The Rev’d Samuel T. Vaught

Acolyte: Virgil Stucker

LEM: Kendra MacLeod

Lector: Carl Sprague

Intercessor: Vaunie Graulty

Musician: Nancy King

Greeters: Jean Rousseau and Genet Jeanjean

Fellowship: Ginny Willcox

Altar Guild: Jorja Marsden

Serving next week, Dec 8 (10 a.m.)

Celebrant: The Rev’d Samuel T. Vaught

Preacher: The Rev’d Samuel T. Vaught

Assisting Priest: The Rev’d Jane G. Tillman

Acolyte/LEM: Kim Savery

Lector: Torey Winn

Intercessor: Gale Page

Musician: David Smith

Greeters: Frank Smith and Gale Page

Fellowship: TBD

Altar Guild: Tracy Johnson

Altar flowers are given by Bernadette Brusco, in memory of those who have died of AIDS and in honor of their caregivers.

Parish Prayer List

Those who are ill or in need of intercession

Charles, Jacob, Kathleen, Donna, Cynthia, Cindy, Lori, Elaine, Kit, David, Ann, Jessica, Heidi, Lisa, Shawn, Betty Jo, Celia, Anne, Dawn, Natalie, Bill, Tom, Ginger, Tracey, Mary

Those who have recently died

Those who have asked for our long-term prayers

Rick, Doug, Allie, Ginger, Joan, Duncan, Bernadette, Ray, Piers, Katrina, Rich, Karen, Michael, Khali, George, Barbara, Christy, John, Anthony, Astrida

Those celebrating birthdays or anniversaries

Peter Wright

Diocesan Cycle of Prayer (Week of 12/1)

Congregations, Ministries, and Partners in Ministry

Saint Luke’s Church, Worcester (The Rt Rev’d Martin Field, Interim Rector)

The Chaplain to Williams College

The Church and Wider Mission

The Vergers’ Guild

Integrity USA

Anglican Cycle of Prayer

Sun 12/1: The Episcopal Church of South Sudan

Mon 12/2: Diocese of Kitale (Kenya)

Tues 12/3: Diocese of Kiteto (Tanzania)

Wed 12/4: Diocese of Kitgum (Uganda)

Thurs 12/5: Diocese of Kitui (Kenya)

Fri 12/6: Diocese of Kivu (Rwanda)

Sat 12/7: Diocese of North Kivu (Congo)

Mark your Calendars: Advent and Christmas

Advent and Christmas are nearly here! Mark your calendars for these special events, and stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks:

Sunday, December 8: Advent Lessons and Carols, 6 p.m. in the Church

Saturday, December 14: Oakes and Smith Annual Holiday Concert, 7:30 p.m. in the Church

Tuesday, December 24: Christmas Eve services at 5:30 and 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, December 25: Christmas Day service at 10 a.m.

“Lord, teach us to pray:” Advent Series on Prayer

Are you looking to deepen your prayer life? Would you like to explore new ways of praying with others? This Advent, Join Father Sam for a three-part series all about prayer. We’ll meet on three Sundays in December after the 10:00 Eucharist: December 1, December 15, and December 22 (skipping Dec 8 for the Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas festivities).

In Advent, we slow down to watch and wait for the coming of Christ, both in our annual remembrance of Christmas and in our anticipation of Christ’s second coming. Amidst what is sometimes a busy season, it is the perfect time to take a pause, breathe deeply, and join with those first disciples of Jesus who asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

Sunday, 12/1: The Lord’s Prayer

Sunday 12/8: break–no session

Sunday 12/15: Praying with Scripture

Sunday 12/22: Praying with Beads: The Rosary

Introducing: The Red Letter Days

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Red Letter Day?” You sometimes hear the term to describe a day of special significance or an important anniversary. Its origin, however, is ancient, and religious! In pre-Christian Roman times, holidays in the calendar were printed in red ink, to help them stand out from the regular days printed in black ink. In Christian calendars, including older editions of the Book of Common Prayer, special holy days apart from Sundays were also printed in red. Hence, “Red Letter Days.”

Our 1979 Book of Common Prayer contains a list of about 30 such days—days like the feasts of the Apostles and Evangelists, events in the life of Jesus like his Transfiguration or Ascension, and events in the life of Mary, his mother, like the Angel’s Annunciation of the news of Jesus to her or her Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth.

After conversations with the Worship Committee and Vestry, Father Sam is inviting the parish to celebrate these days over the course of the coming Church Year, beginning in Advent. There are about 2 to 4 Red Letter Days each month, and we’ll include a few “Lesser Feasts,” too, that either celebrate local saints like our former bishop Phillips Brooks, or occasions that have been special to St. Paul’s in the past, like Thomas Bray on February 15.

We’ll celebrate each day with a simple Eucharist in the church. If the day falls on a weekday, we’ll gather at 6 p.m. If the day falls on a Saturday, we’ll gather sometimes at 10 a.m. and sometimes at 6 in the evening. If the day falls on a Sunday, it gets transferred to the next day. In addition to worship, we will use the Red Letter Days to offer “one-off” events: an outreach project, a fellowship event, or a formation/learning event. This gives us a chance to increase our offerings of outreach, fellowship, and formation at regular intervals with smaller, more accessible options. For example, perhaps on the feast of St. James of Jerusalem in October, we can do advocacy or education about the Diocese of Jerusalem and our Christian and inter-faith partners in the Holy Land. Perhaps on the feast of St. Mark in April, we can invite an expert in Mark’s Gospel to teach us something about it. And there is certainly appetite for bringing back the Thomas Bray dinner on February 15. Perhaps now we can start the celebration with a simple Eucharist in the church, and also do something good for our neighbors in prison, knowing what an advocate Thomas Bray was for the welfare of prisoners.

We will begin with the feast that always heralds the new Church Year: St. Andrew’s Day, November 30. St. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter and one of Jesus’ first disciples, is the patron of fishermen, as well as the country of Scotland. Come give thanks for his role in the story of our salvation on Saturday, November 30, with a simple Eucharist in the church at 6:00 p.m. followed by a light reception in the Rectory. Because of Andrew’s association with Scotland, in the Rectory we’ll have an offering of scotch whiskey, some Scottish poetry, and perhaps an exploration of that most Scottish of church services, the Kirkin o’ the Tartan. Bring along your Thanksgiving guests still in town and extend the holiday cheer by celebrating St. Andrew’s Day with fellow parishioners!

You can find a list of most of these days on pages 32-33 in the Prayer Book under the heading “Holy Days.”. If you have any questions, or suggestions of fellowship/outreach/formation activities that can be combined with worship throughout the year, let Father Sam know!

November Red Letter Days



Saturday, 11/30: Saint Andrew the Apostle. Eucharist at 6:00 p.m. followed by a light reception in the Rectory.

Are you looking to deepen your faith? New EfM group forming!

Do you want to know more about the Bible, Christian Tradition, and Church History? In our

complex world, do you find yourself longing for a group to reflect on your personal experiences

and how they connect to our Christian Tradition? If so, EfM (Education for Ministry) may be for you!

EfM is a four-year Christian Formation program founded by the School of Theology at Sewanee and designed for lay (non-ordained) people. Through study, prayer, worship, and reflection, EfM groups journey together through Scripture, Church History, and Tradition to help make sense of our own Faith and the world around us. At the end of four years, it is our hope that Christians will be empowered to take on ministries in their home parishes in whatever way God calls them! While EfM is a four-year program, we only ask that you commit one year at a time. You can learn more about EfM here.

There is a new EfM group forming in the Berkshires! If you’d like to be a part of the group or

simply want to know more, please contact Brett Roberts from St. Paul’s, Stockbridge at

brett.roberts25@gmail.com.

Upcoming Events

+Saturday, November 30: Saint Andrew the Apostle. Eucharist at 6:00 p.m. followed by a light reception in the Rectory.

+Sunday, December 8: Advent Lessons and Carols, 6 p.m. in the Church

+ Saturday, December 14: Oakes and Smith Annual Holiday Concert, 7:30 p.m. in the Church

+Saturday, December 14: St Paul’s serves at the Lee Food Pantry, 8:30 AM

+Tuesday, December 24: Christmas Eve services at 5:30 and 10:30 p.m.

+Wednesday, December 25: Christmas Day service at 10 a.m

Two Opportunities to Pray Together Each Week

Wednesday: Morning Prayer at 8:30am (Online)



Every Wednesday, a group of parishioners meet at 8:30am to pray Morning Prayer online via Zoom. All are warmly welcome to join via the Zoom link on our website. Thank you Darryl Lafferty for continuing to lead this weekly offering.

Friday: Intercessory Prayer at 8:30am (In-person)

Some may remember that several years ago, a group of parishioners met each week to pray for the needs of those on the parish prayer list. All are invited to join on Friday mornings in the church as we revive this tradition of intercessory prayer. Thank you Alice Wohl for your leadership in reviving this weekly offering.