In this week's edition of the eNews:

- Traffic update: Tomorrow, 8/23, is Yale move-in day

- Church office semi-closed next week

- Sunday School returns next Sunday, 8/30

- Submit Parish Directory updates by 8/31

- September 1: The next St. PJ's Jazz Collective Concert (Note: Ticket link has been fixed)

- August 28: "Club Lost" with IONNE (Maurice Harris)



- September 5: Richard Holcomb's Celebration of Life

- News from the Wider Church: DHS spies on an Episcopal parish, churches respond to flooding, Pope Leo and Archbishop of Canterbury each condemn war, and more

- This Sunday at St. PJ's

• Cycles of Prayer
• Video: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon

- There's Always More...

Traffic update: Tomorrow is Yale move-in day

Tomorrow (Sunday, 8/23) is Yale move-in day. This won't affect St. PJ's or Wooster Square directly, but if your route to church usually involves Elm Street or other areas in the Yale College/downtown area, you might want to either leave a little bit early or seek a different route!

Church office semi-closed next week

For the week starting this coming Monday, August 24, the church office is semi-closed. Our administrative director, Monifa Atkinson, will be taking well-earned vacation time. Our priest-in-charge, Rev. Nathan, will be working his regular hours but many of them will be from home, as this is the week that kiddos are home -- when summer day camps are over but school hasn't quite started. He will remain reachable by email.

Sunday School returns next Sunday, 8/30

The Children’s Garden Sunday School with Sarah Hill returns next week! Kids, please bring your backpacks with you and Rev. Nathan can give them a special blessing during church, just in time for the new school year.

Submit Parish Directory Updates by 8/31

Homecoming Sunday will be September 13, and that means it's time for annual updates to the parish directory!

If your contact information has changed -- or if you are new to the parish and not yet in the director but would like to be -- please email office@stpaulstjames.org to let our administrative director Monifa Atkinson know by August 31.

The next St. PJ's Jazz Collective Concert:

Tuesday, September 1, 7 p.m.

The St. PJ’s Jazz Collective will play two more concerts this year: Tuesday, Sept. 1, and Friday, Dec. 4.

Get your tickets for September 1 now, and invite your friends!

(PLEASE NOTE: If you previously tried to purchase tickets and experienced a "Sold Out" message, this was a technical error (Rev. Nathan's fault, he says!). It has since been fixed, so please try again!

This Friday, 8/28: "Club Lost" with IONNE

From St. PJ's member Dr. Maurice Harris, aka the artist "IONNE":

Club Lost: A Music. Dance. Poetry. Social Experience.

This Friday, August 28, 2026

7:00pm - 9:00pm

Lost in New Haven

80 Hamilton St., New Haven, CT

Club Lost is a one-night music, dance, visual art, poetry, and social experience. IONNE (Maurice Harris) will perform a continuous DJ/live-song set featuring deep house, melodic house, and progressive house, along with two new original works connected to the 250th anniversary of the United States. The evening will also feature spoken word by New Haven Poet Laureate Yex and performances and artwork by several other New Haven artists.

The event is designed as an immersive, all-ages evening where guests can enjoy music and performances, move through the museum, see visual art, and spend time together in community.

IONNE has generously offered St. PJ's members the discount code CLUBLOST10, which provides 10% off orders of up to four tickets.

More information and tickets are available here: https://www.lostinnewhaven.org/events/clublost

September 5: Richard Holcomb's Celebration of Life

Our dear husband, father, friend, and brother in Christ Richard Holcomb's Celebration of Life will be on Saturday, September 5, at 1 p.m. to give thanks for the love, laughter, faith, and friendship he shared with so many. To RSVP or more information, please contact Roni Holcomb.

News from the Wider Church

- [ENS] Texas church’s sculpture near NASA center honors Black Americans, women tied to space race: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/08/20/texas-churchs-sculpture-near-nasa-center-honors-black-americans-women-tied-to-space-race/

- [ENS] Indiana bishops, dioceses offer prayers and resources as deadly extreme weather continues statewide: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/08/19/indiana-bishops-dioceses-offer-prayers-and-resources-as-deadly-extreme-weather-continues-statewide/

- [RNS] 11 faith groups accuse Trump administration of violating court order while spying on churches: https://religionnews.com/2026/08/20/11-faith-groups-accuse-trump-administration-of-violating-court-order-while-spying-on-churches/

- [RNS in ENS] Episcopal church listed among those DHS spied on during anti-ICE activist probes: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/08/20/episcopal-church-listed-among-those-dhs-spied-on-during-anti-ice-activist-probes/

- [RNS in ENS] As ICE closes in, Ohio churches line up families to care for Haitian kids left behind: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2026/08/18/as-ice-closes-in-ohio-churches-line-up-families-to-care-for-haitian-kids-left-behind/

- [Sojourners] ICE Is Moving More Quietly. Clergy Resistance Is Not: https://sojo.net/sojoshare/NTE5NTJ8MjM4NzgxfDE3ODc0Mjc3ODB8MTI%3D

- [ACNS] Archbishop of Canterbury calls for peace in Cameroon on final day of visit: https://www.anglicannews.org/news/2026/08/archbishop-of-canterbury-calls-for-peace-in-cameroon-on-final-day-of-visit.aspx

- [RNS] Pope Leo: War fuels a ‘vicious cycle’ of environmental destruction: https://religionnews.com/2026/08/20/pope-leo-war-fuels-a-vicious-cycle-of-environmental-destruction/

- [Sojourners] Preach the Gospel, but Not on a Plane: https://sojo.net/sojoshare/NTE5NTJ8MjM4NzgwfDE3ODc0Mjc3ODF8Nw%3D%3D

Come 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, Sunday, August 23 -- the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost in Ordinary Time -- for Morning Prayer, jazz hymns, and Coffee & Community Hour. Lynne Severance will preach and Tudy Hill will officiate.

Children's Sunday School is on summer break until next Sunday, August 30.

Serving this Sunday:

Sunday

10:30 a.m.

Jazz Service

In-person and online

Wednesday

12:30 p.m.



Quiet Communion

In-person only

Thursday

12:30 p.m.



Midday Prayers

In-person only

Cycles of Prayer and St. PJ's Prayer List

In the Episcopal Church in Connecticut cycle of prayer for August 23, we pray for Rectory School, Pomfret; Salisbury School, Salisbury; South Kent School, South Kent; and for students, teachers & chaplains at Episcopal schools preparing to begin the school year.

In the Anglican Communion Cycle of Prayer, we pray for the Church of the Province of West Africa.

On the St. PJ's prayer list, we pray for Doug Parker, Calvin Griffin, the Rev. Walter MacNutt, Kevin Gerbe, Leota Tucker, Edwina Johnson, Cynthia King, Paul D'Agostino, Tiras Jaske, Uli Mackert and family, Charlie & Bridget Farrell, Alyce, Pam, Stephen Lett, Vanetta Lloyd, Marietta D'Albero, Marietta Coppola, Alexandra Sanseverino, Dr Milton Coke, Pam Yesner, the Rev. Carl Scovel, Karl Mini, Margaret Perry, Ryan Welch, Kyle Park, Fr. Tom, George Moore, A.J. Crosby, Joan Farrell, Sharyn Kessler, Michael Montenegro, Meryl Tate Triplett, Dawn Magliulo, the Gilder Family, Carolyn Wigley, Wendy McLeod, Cotton Burlingame, Deacon Felix Rivera, Marie Blake, Hossna, Peter Loden, Roni Holcomb & family, Mary Ellen Price, Judy Hopkins, the Forni family, Trish Farrell, Jay Lechausse, Nancy Hill, Stephen Livingstone Price

VIDEO: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon

Last week was the 12th Sunday after Pentecost. David Tate preached and Rev. Nathan celebrated the Eucharist.

If you either missed or want to revisit last Sunday or other recent Sundays at St. PJ's, you can find the recorded livestream on our Facebook and/or YouTube pages.

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

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

• Priest-in-Charge: The Rev. Nathan Empsall, revnathan@stpaulstjames.org, (203) 278-9199
• Administrative Director: Monifa Atkinson, office@stpaulstjames.org
• Sexton: Sammy Rodriguez
• Children's Sunday School: Sarah Hill
• Interim Director of Music: Dylan Rowland
• Vestry: Bill Evans (co-warden), Juhani Jaske (co-warden), David Hill (treasurer), Maggie King (clerk), Maurice Harris, Pam Sayre, Vanetta Lloyd, Lynne Severance, David Boyer, Roni Holcomb