Important Communications Note

We want to be sure everyone is receiving all of the news we send out each week. Unfortunately, many email platforms cut messages that are over a certain size. When our emails are too lengthy the message is often "clipped" resulting in the second half of the email not being displayed without the reader intentionally clicking the link that is always displayed at the bottom of the message. Please look carefully for the following text:

[Message clipped]  View entire message

Some e-mail platforms will also include 3 horizontal dots as an indication the message is to be continued. Clicking this language/link will result in the ENTIRE newsletter opening in a continuous uninterrupted scroll view in a separate web browser window and will ensure you do not miss any of our communications. Saint Mary's is a busy and vibrant place and we want to be sure everyone is kept up to date.

Thank you.

Christ in The Wilderness

Giacinto Calandrucci (1646–1707)

He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan;

and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

This Week of February 18

Weekly Calendar

Quick Links for Online Worship and Fellowship

A Prayer for our Community in Transition

Almighty God, you know the needs of your Church in every place: look graciously upon the people of Saint Mary’s and grant us the guidance of your Holy Spirit as we seek a new Rector for this parish. Guide the members of our Search Committee as they labor to be faithful in seeking your will. Inspire those who will discern with us, that each may be responsive to Your call. Give us wisdom and confidence in your timing, and in all things help us to seek the path you have set for us to follow. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

Prayer Requests

If you have additions to our Parish Prayer List, please fill out this,

Online Prayer Request Form There are also always paper forms available in the rear of the church or our parish office.

Saint Mary's Annual Meeting February 25, 2024

You are all encouraged to attend our Annual Meeting this year, immediately following the 9:00 AM Worship service at approximately 10:15 AM on Sunday February 25. The meeting will be held in the church to ensure there is enough seating for all. We will review the Annual Report, approve the 2024 Budget, and elect various parish leaders. The Annual Meeting is an assessment of the health of our community and a celebration of all we are and all we do. There will be a celebratory brunch in Walden Hall following the meeting. Please click here to see the meeting Agenda and the full slate for elections.

The Stolen Beam: Essential Conversation and Spiritual Reflection on Reparations 

The name “Stolen Beam” refers to a Talmudic debate about the right thing to do when we discover that the house in which we live was built with stolen materials, i.e., a “stolen beam” – do we tear the house down and return the beam to its rightful owner or do we acknowledge the crime and offer compensation to the beam’s owner? We use this metaphor, the Stolen Beam, in recognition of the fact that much of our country was built on stolen land with stolen lives and stolen labor.

The Stolen Beam is a course of educational engagement and personal reflection, originating from the Jewish Community of Amherst, exploring the legacy and aftermath of African enslavement, what was stolen, and what may be owed.  It examines the historical case for reparations; global and national precedents for reparations; practical proposals for national and local reparations; and theological reflections on reparations from Jewish and Christian sources. 

Offered under the auspices of Episcopal City Mission, and facilitated by Dr. Constance Holmes and the Rev. Steve Bonsey, Stolen Beam will be offered over seven Zoom sessions.

Monday evenings, 7-8:30 p.m., April 8 through May 20. 

Registration is open until March 1 at https://www.tfaforms.com/5107491. 

A course overview is available at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DdnJvMVHcg. 

Questions? Email margotcritchfield@gmail.com

Lent Flicks & Luncheon Series:

All are warmly welcome to join us in Walden Hall on Sunday afternoons throughout Lent for a simple lunch of soup and bread followed by a movie and stimulating theological discussion. Our Lent Flicks will begin after Ash Wednesday, on Sunday, February 18 at Noon. We have a fabulous line-up of films selected. All are warmly welcomed. Please sign-up in advance here to help us know how many to expect for lunch.

Thank you!

If you are interested in helping make soup or bread for one of the Sundays please contact Marian Ferguson.

Lenten Meditations

Washington National Cathedral clergy offer a written meditation each day in Lent. The path from ashes to Alleluia is one that we walk together, in community.

If you would like daily meditations sent directly to your inbox, click the link below and then select the box for “Lenten Meditations” on their subscription page.

https://cathedral.org/meditations/?date_year%5B%5D=2023

Author Talk: Coming Black to Cape Cod



Sturgis Library is hosting author, poet and educator Robin Joyce Miller or a program entitled, Coming Black to Cape Cod next Saturday February 17 at 1:30 PM. Click on the flier below for more information.

A Special Forum Hosted by The Washington National Cathedral:

With Malice Toward None, Charity Toward All

Wednesday, February 21 | 7:30 pm EST

In our polarized and often poisonous politics, it can be challenging to even talk to someone who has different beliefs. Our relationships are strained, loving our neighbor feels impossible and we’ve lost a sense of empathy for each other. Together with Wesley Theological Seminary and the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University, Washington National Cathedral will explore how to repair the breaches in our civic life.

Republican Gov. Spencer Cox (Utah) and Democratic Gov. Wes Moore (Maryland) will dig into Gov. Cox’s initiative to “Disagree Better,” followed by a conversation of leaders, including ABC’s Donna Brazile, attorney Rachel Brand, legal scholar Ruth Okediji, and activist Tim Shriver, who are trying to model a new kind of politics. Columnist Peter Wehner will join Joshua DuBois, Director of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships for the Obama Administration to uncover how to aim higher and do better.

This event is in partnership with the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University and Wesley Theological Seminary, and sponsored by Deseret Magazine.

Click here to register for the livestreaming.

Registrants will receive the livestream link by email on February 21.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to register and/or update their profiles on Realm. Julie reported that close to 40 people activated their Realm Connect accounts last week! Thank you all for your efforts. If anyone needs further assistance, please reach out to Julie or Allison.

Featured Finds of the Week

The shop is such a fun place to browse. How about an electric juicer to help you "eat the rainbow" and get in all of those fruits and veggies? Or perhaps you'll like this whimsical hand-painted rooster napkin holder, wooden beaded earrings, a watercolor of a duck hunter or a beautiful ceramic pitcher and basin. Which of these treasures tickles your fancy?

Stop in any Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

If you are on facebook please take a peak at our new

Angels' Treasures Facebook page. and PLEASE like, follow and share our page with all your social media friends.

Strategic Planning

Holy Conversations in progress!

Your Vestry has embarked on a strategic planning process and will look to all members of the Saint Mary’s family to engage. Strategic planning may seem like it is too “business-y,” but it is for any organization that wants to chart a productive, reasonable path to the future. A short description -- an organization's leaders define the organization’s vision for the future and identify their organization's goals and objectives.

For your Vestry, that means diving into the information you have already given us – the CAT survey of last year that many of you took to inform our search for a new rector. We worked with a consultant in church strategic planning this fall to get us launched – and the Wardens have appointed a committee of current Vestry members to move the process forward.

It also means, as the Beloved Community, we seek God’s direction for Saint Mary’s, informed by Scripture and discernment and prayer. Hence the Holy Conversations! We are using a book called Holy Conversations: Strategic Planning as a Spiritual Practice for Congregations by Gil Rendle and Alice Mann.

You will hear much more in the days ahead. The goal right now is to give the new rector tools for moving forward with us together.

The Strategic Planning Steering Committee

Fr. Scott Bellows, Sally Cameron, Marian Ferguson, Brad Goodwin, Beth Hearn, and David

Nawrocki.

Think Ahead

You have a will and an IRA/retirement account. You think you are all set. Remember the beneficiary form

on your IRA trumps your will. Check to make sure your beneficiaries are correct. Make sure you have a

primary and secondary beneficiary.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can help St. Mary’s, please contact Linda Gadkowski at 508-292-5500

Amy Crocker has shared with us Monthly Action Sheets from the Creation Justice Ministry at CreationJustic.org The website is full of articles and resources for anyone interested in learning more about the Theology of Creation Care.

• Weekly E-News deadline: Wednesday at noon.
• In an effort to keep it brief we will only highlight happenings of the next 10 days in our E-News.
• The deadline for submissions for our Monthly E-Newsletter will be the 25th of the prior month.
• For your convenience, the Monthly Newsletter (printed out) will be available in the sunroom and the back of the church for those who would like a paper copy. If you know of someone who would enjoy receiving a paper copy in the regular mail please let Allison know.

     Saint Mary's Episcopal Church

P.O. Box 395

3055 Main Street

Barnstable, MA 02630

508-362-3977

www.stmarys-church.org