Headlines & Happenings | October 29, 2026

Dear Friends in Christ,

After the wonderful harvest celebration of committing our gifts to the glory of God and the support of one another in our vibrant intergenerational parish, what’s next? Well, it is the joy and hope we share in the life of the world to come! We celebrate on Sunday morning the feast of All Saints by welcoming new members through their deepened commitment to Christ and to Saint James and in the marvelous experience of more baptisms that speak of our growing connections with people of all ages seeking faith and community with us. Come and support these younger families and adults as they commit and we commit to the faith formation for their children and model an inspiring and sustaining framework for marriage and family life through all its joys and sorrows.

On Sunday evening at Vespers at 5:00 PM, clergy will remember and pray for those we have loved and lost this past year from our parish family, while we and others speak aloud or silently remember the names of our own loved ones. We will light candles and rejoice in their new life while also grieving the loss of opportunities and life we shared with them.

Other liturgies to honor and name, either silently or aloud, those loved ones we miss will continue Monday at 12:00 noon in the chapel at the Mass for All Souls, when clergy wear the beautiful and rare black and gold vestments and process through the churchyard with incense to pray for all those buried in its hallowed ground. Some grace care and cleaning will happen on Wednesday morning.

On Friday night at 9:00 PM, Compline will be beautifully sung; again, many candles will be lit, and thanksgivings and prayers for healing will be offered. I love that the prayer book, with radical candor, is unafraid to acknowledge the truth of the fact that those whom we remember with love and mercy also wounded us in and with their sins and shortcomings and we can entrust our wounds to God’s loving care as we also entrust their sins and our own to God’s just and merciful judgement.

On Election Night, Tuesday at 7:00 PM in church and online, we will have a centering time of prayer and thanksgiving for our country. We will find insight and strength to participate more fully in the risks, responsibilities, challenges and blessings that face us as we seek to be contemplative citizens and Christians in 2026, as others in this parish did in 1776.

With all the saints who from their labors rest,

David+ Stacey+ and Glenn+

Daylight Saving Time ends

November 1st.

This Saturday, we fall back! Remember to set your clocks back 1 hour before turning in on Saturday night. Enjoy your extra hour of sleep!

Sunday, November 1 | 9:30 AM

Forum Hour with Randall Zachman

In the Parish House Forum Room

The Psalm appointed for this Sunday is Psalm 34, which begins with the memorable line, "I will bless the Lord at all times."

The Psalm has two parts. The first part celebrates how God heard the psalmist's prayer, in light of the psalmist's realization that he had no hope other than God. "This poor soul cried and was heard by the Lord and was saved from every trouble." The psalmist then transitions to the second theme: the essential role the fear of God plays in being heard by God. "O fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want."

The Psalm then goes on to teach us the fear of the Lord. "Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit." Join us this Sunday as we explore the mystery of the way the Lord God of Israel hears the prayers of the poor and afflicted, and the nature of the fear of the Lord that allows those prayers to be heard.

Available in person and via Zoom. Click here for the Zoom link.

All Saints and All Souls Season

The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (All Souls) begins on November 1^st at 5 PM with Vespers

As Fr. David shared in his opening comments above, there will be three services in which we will remember the faithful departed.

On Sunday, November 1st, at our 5:00 PM Vespers service, on the Eve of All Souls, we begin our commemorations of the faithful departed.

On Monday, November 2^nd at noon, a Mass will be said in the chapel for the repose of the souls of all the faithful departed, especially those of this parish, and for any others whom those attending wish to pray for from among their own loved ones.

At First Friday Compline, on November 6th at 9:00 PM, once again the names of all the recently departed we have prayed for in the Prayers of the People, as well as the names of those who have died in the past year and were submitted to the church, will be read aloud. Available in person and via livestream. Click here to view the livestream.

These readings of names and the remembering of our dead of this past year in these special services allow us to create sacred and holy worship experiences that hold together the range of feelings that are part of that first year of losing a loved one. The sheer grief we feel with the loss of their presence in our daily lives, the grief of a relationship that may not have ended as we had hoped, and the myriad ways that grief ebbs and flows as we find a new way of being in the world. And, at the same time we are experiencing deep grief, we look for ways to hold fast to the promise of the resurrection, and that every tear will be wiped away, and nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even death. The church calendar wisely separates the focus of celebration of the heroic faith and sacrifices of the well-known saints and martyrs traditionally remembered on All Saints Day and those “more ordinary holy ones and loved ones” of our own lives, parish, family and friends. They too should be remembered with all the saints and all the faithful departed, even those of uncertain faith, because we believe nothing limits the mercy of God.

Please consider joining us for one or more of these services, whether you have lost someone in the past year or not. Your presence will be a sign and witness to all who are present that through Christ the nature of death has been changed and death does not have the final word in life.

Tuesday, November 3 | All Day

Prayers & Practices for the Upcoming Election

This coming Tuesday, November 3rd, Saint James will provide two opportunities for those seeking a moment of rest and quiet reflection.

The church will be open throughout the day for anyone who wishes to light a candle, give thanks for democracy, reflect in prayer, and pray for peace around the world.

On election night, from 7 to 8:00 PM, Fr. David and Mother Stacey will lead a service focused on prayers for peace and better politics, highlighting the themes of gratitude, humility and commitment.

Available in person and via livestream. Click here for the livestream.

Wednesday, November 4 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 Noon

Churchyard Gravestone Care and Cleaning

Join Cordelia Moyse and Maryann Marotta for some hands-on care of our church and nation’s history in the season of remembrance for departed family members, friends and parishioners. Cleaning supplies and refreshments will be provided. We’ll begin our time together at the gazebo.

Please wear work clothes and enclosed shoes or boots, and bring some elbow grease! Refreshments will be provided.

Registration is required for planning purposes and to allow for last-minute cancellation due to churchyard conditions and the weather forecast. Click here to register.

Parking Update!!

As construction on the former library building progresses and the need for parking for construction vehicles grows, the general contractor has asked that we refrain from parking in the three spaces located near the back of the parish house (see photo), as these spaces are part of the

former library's property.

October is Clergy Appreciation Month!

Check out the ad below,

as seen in LNP

Saturday, November 14 | 10:00 - 11:30 AM

Women's Gathering

Women's Gathering continues its discussion of James Martin's confessional memoir, Work in Progress. Fr. Martin highlights, with humor and compassion, how his younger self learned about life through summer jobs. He describes formative influences, explains his difficult transition from corporate to Jesuit life, acknowledges his failings and asks for forgiveness.

If you are interested in a spiritual reflection on "work as grace," please join us. Click here to email Lorraine Rollo for the Zoom link.

Saturday, November 14 | 5:00 PM

Saturday Night Mass Every Body Sacred

Join us for our next Celebrate Abilities Series event with, Every Body Sacred, a joyful, all-ages celebration of music and community! This Saturday Night Mass will feature the Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development’s rock and roll legends, The UnSinkables, alongside the United Disabilities Choir.

Bring your family, invite a friend, and be part of an uplifting evening celebrating the gifts, talents, and joy each person brings to our community. Come sing, celebrate, and experience the power of music to bring us together.

Everyone is welcome. We hope you’ll join us!

In person and via livestream. Click here to view the livestream.

Wednesday, November 18 | 3:00 PM

Holy Eucharist at Willow Valley

Residents of Willow Valley are warmly invited to come together with clergy and staff from Saint James and Holy Trinity Lutheran churches to celebrate Holy Eucharist in Manor North Auditorium on the third floor of the main building in Manor North. All are welcome to partake in this meaningful occasion; feel free to bring a friend!

In a Greater Light

We pray for the soul of Michael H. Mumma, who died on October 21st. His remembrance service will be held in the Memorial Garden of Highland Church, with family only.

Eternal rest grant to him, O Lord; and let light perpetual shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Mark Your Calendar

November 3, All Day | Church open for prayer

November 3, 7:00 PM | Prayers & Practices for Election Night

November 4, 10:00 AM - 12:00 Noon | Churchyard and Gravestone Care and Cleaning

November 6, 9:00 PM | All Saints, All Souls Compline

November 10, 7:00 PM | Contemplative Citizenship concludes

November 14, 10 - 11:30 AM | Women's Gathering

November 14, 5:00 PM | Saturday Night Mass with

The Unsinkables

November 14, 6:00 PM | Younger Saint James Meetup after Unsinkables Mass

November 15, 9:30 AM | Newcomer Coffee in the Rectory

November 15, 5:00 PM | Youth Group