July 24th, 2022

We'd love for you to join us!

We would be pleased if you joined us in person or online from the comfort of your home for church services via Facebook Live at 9:30am.

https://www.facebook.com/StJamesEpiscopalChurchMillCreek/

Visiting with Us This Week

This Sunday the Rev. Henry “Hank” Galganowicz will be visiting with us. Fr. Hank was raised Roman Catholic in Chicago, becoming an Episcopalian after serving in Viet-Nam, and before entering Seminary. Ordained to the Diaconate in 1975, he has served in full-time parish ministry until retirement from the Diocese of Pennsylvania in 2014. He moved to Middletown, Delaware, in 2016 and has been supplying in this diocese. Married sixteen years, he and Sandy each have two adult children, multiple grandchildren, and are avid dog lovers. Fr. Hank has a progressive Christian and interfaith outlook with an emphasis on contemplative practice and experience. He has post-graduate training in Family Systems Theory and MBSR. 

Opportunities to Serve on Sunday Mornings

Our rich Anglican tradition has many opportunities for service within the life of our parish. One of those ways is serving within the context of worship as an usher, an acolyte, a lay reader, or as a chalice bearer. Throughout this COVID-tide we have had limited Sunday morning participation in these liturgical roles, but as we move toward fall we invite you to prayerfully consider participation in one of these aspects of worship. If you have questions, please contact Fr. Ben in the Parish Office.

Confirmation Classes - Coming Soon!

Bishop Brown will have his scheduled visitation with us on October 2. With this is in mind, our confirmation classes will be beginning soon. The scheduled dates and times will be determined based upon our participants. Confirmation classes can be a great time for a refresher on life in the Church; a chance to re-connect with fellow parishioners; and ask those questions that have been bothering you since your own confirmation. There’s no obligation to be confirmed if you go through these classes, but if confirmation or re-affirmation has been on your mind and your heart, please contact the Parish Office to sign up and let Fr. Ben know if you have any questions.

Bible Study and Wednesday Worship - Returning in August!

After a brief hiatus, Monday Morning Bible Study will resume on August 1 at 10:30 AM in the Lounge and Wednesday services of Holy Eucharist will resume on August 3 at 10 AM. Bible study is different each week as we continue to look at the appointed lectionary readings for the upcoming Sunday, and you don’t need to have been there to be there. Wednesday morning is a spoken service of Holy Eucharist commemorating the appointed saint for the day. We hope you can join us, and contact the Parish Office if you have any questions.

Uptick in COVID Cases - Please Be Careful!

As we move deeper into summer, COVID cases continue to increase, especially with this new and more easily transmissible variant. Early indications are that prior infection does not prevent re-infection, and vaccination, while still proven to drastically reduce severe infection and death, offers little protection from contracting and spreading this new variant.

With all of this in mind, we continue to encourage and recommend masking indoors because of our intimate worship space. I also encourage you to re-assess your own risk level and that of our church community. If you are eligible for your second booster, please discuss with your healthcare provider whether it would be appropriate for you to receive that second booster at this time.

Finally, many people are presenting with no symptoms while still spreading this virus; so if you have recently been exposed but are not showing symptoms, please stay home. If you are feeling poorly and still test negative, please stay home. We will certainly miss you, and we will look forward to seeing you when you are feeling better.

St. James’ Night at the Ballpark!

Are you a baseball fan? Would you like to spend the night at the ballpark with members of our St. James’ family? Or would you just like to see fun fireworks show one Friday evening?

If you’d like to join us for a night at the Blue Rocks on July 29th, please contact the office at 302-994-1584 or Jerry Clark at 302-354-4839. Tickets will be around $14/person, and transportation will be dependent upon the number of people who sign up.

Please let us know by July 6 if you’d like to join us, and we hope to see you there!

Summer Prayer Team UPDATE

During the summer months, the prayer team will continue to lift up prayer requests shared by parishioners through emails to the church office at 302-994-1584 or to individual members of the prayer team. We collect the prayer requests and other concerns of the parish, community, and world. Then these requests are lifted up in the daily prayers of the team members. All are welcome to share their prayer requests and we hope you will consider joining us when our monthly prayer services resume in the fall on Sunday, September 11th. More information to follow.

For those who have an immediate prayer need, we invite you to email your prayer needs/requests to Carolyn Mack at cdmack37@gmail.com or call 302-565-8675

Serving those in need with dignity and respect…

We are grateful for your support that enables us to

serve lunch at the Emmanuel Dining Room

and provide clothing, food, and other items

needed by those being served at the Hope Center.

St. James' Mission and Outreach updates

Sharing God’s gifts with others.

Thank you all for your generosity and caring that made and make these offerings possible. 

Emmanuel Dining Room

In the past, we have served from 140-200 lunches to our friends at Emmanuel Dining Room on the 31st of the month (7 times per year). Covid brought new challenges and we were able to provide the lunch “fixings”, but not help in the kitchen OR serve the meals. From March 2020 until April 2022, guests were provided a “take away” lunch that they picked up outside the dining room and had to eat elsewhere.

We are happy to say, WE ARE BACK in the kitchen and serving guests in the dining room.

On our next lunch date—Sunday, July 31st, our guests will enjoy tuna subs, chips, bananas, and homemade cookies and have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to take away for later. 

• Please join us in the Parish Hall kitchen on Saturday, July 30th at 9 a.m. to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as an extra snack or meal for later for our guests being served the next day. (Masks and gloves, please.)
• If you'd like to provide some homemade cookies (or store-bought cookies), please bring them to the Parish Hall kitchen marked EDR by Sunday, July 31st. You are welcome to put homemade cookies into the freezer to keep them fresh.
• Questions: please text or call Pat Minor 302-983-6299 or Cindy Fauerbach 302-584-8053.
• 
  

Hope Center and Friendship House

We continue to provide clothing items, snacks, food, toiletries and hygiene items, children's books and toys, diapers, laundry detergent, etc. for those being served at the Hope Center and Friendship House. Collection boxes are inside the front door of the church and Monday-Thursday a box is outside the Parish Hall.

Meals on Wheels

Meals on Wheels volunteers deliver lunch and some evening meals to our neighbors in Murray Manor. Our next week to deliver meals is June 27-July 1.

Family Promise

Our next week offering meals and caring to families participating in Family Promise is August 7-14. At this point, guests continue to live in the cottages at the Jesus House off Milltown Road. We’ll let you know if that changes and we are able to return to providing our families with lodging, snacks, and dinners in our parish hall.

St. James' Pastoral Care Team

St. James' Pastoral Care Team continues to support our parish family and our community.

If you or someone you know is in need, we: 

·        send cards, make phone calls, and pray with you and/or for you.

·        For now, in an abundance of caution, our home, hospital, and Eucharistic visits are on hold.

Please call the office (302-994-1584) and leave a message. Someone will get back to you. Messages are retrieved daily, seven days a week.

Please let us know if you need us or someone you know needs us. We will not know if you do not tell us.

“Blessful” Meditations

We all know that life can be a little stressful and hectic sometimes. We hope that by reading this short bible passage and watching a relaxing video will help you take a moment and reflect on God’s gifts.  

PROVERBS 16:32

"Better to be patient than a warrior, and better to have self-control than to capture a city."

Prayer for Wednesday from A New Zealand Prayer Book

O God,

the author of peace and lover of concord;

to know you is eternal life,

to serve you is perfect freedom.

Defend us your servants in every stress and danger,

that we may trust in your defence

and not fear the power of any adversaries;

through Jesus Christ our Redeemer.

Amen.

Find more Morning Psalm and prayers please visit

https://delaware.church/psalms-and-prayers/