December 4, 2016

A HOLY MOMENT OF THE WEEK

Send yours to goodnews@saintjamesgi.net

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This little Turkey heads for the finish line at our 3rd annual Thanks+Giving Fun Run!

Poinsettia and Music Gifts  are being accepted as memorial gifts or thanksgivings. Names and thanksgivings will be in all our Christmas bulletins through the season. To participate, fill out the GOLD form in your bulletin and return to the office. 

ECW Fun Night On Monday evening, December 5th we are holding a fun “Thank You Evening” for everyone who helped with the Greens Market, including all those who wished they could have! A simple meal will be served and we will be entertained by the rollicking & rolling piano playing of Jerry Blahut! You DO NOT have to bring a single thing!  Just come ready to relax and have a great time with all of your friends! We’ll gather from 6 to 9 pm in the  Fireplace Room. Any Questions?  Contact Amy Kohair at 734-693-0694

Don’t Miss the BLESSING OF THE GREENS  on Friday, December 2, at 7pm in Galloway Hall! A short blessing ceremony filled with Christmas Carols is followed by an open reception with Christmas Punch, Crackers and Cheeses from around the world, and the open sale so you can bring home decorated treasures. It’s a fun event for family, friends and kids!

The Greens Market Tear-Down  needs all hands on deck. Please swing by on Saturday, December 3, at 2pm to help us move the racks, take down tables, pull up the tarps, and reset Galloway Hall for the season!

Holiday Gift cards Are Ready For Ordering  The SCRIP program allows Saint James’ to order gift cards from hundreds of retailers and have a portion of the amount go directly to the church! You can use the gift cards to buy your Christmas presents or give the cards as presents. The list of retailers and order forms are located on the information table.  Orders must be prepaid and checks (preferred) made payable to “Saint James Scrip”. The last day to order is Sunday, Dec. 11.  Contact Lynn Blanks, 676-3967 for more information.

A Memorial Service for Don Hartwell  is planned for Sunday afternoon, Dec 4, at 3pm, in the chapel.

Christmas Services

A Blue Christmas Service (for those feeling blue during this season) will be held on Wednesday night, December 21, at 7pm in the chapel.

A Family Christmas Service will be held on Saturday, December 24, at 4pm in the main sanctuary. Come early if your children will be in the pageant.

A Festival Christmas Service will be held on Saturday, December 24, at 11pm, preceeded by 30 minutes of carol singing at 10:30pm.

A Note From The Treasurer  Please remember to bring up to date your plan of financial support for this year, 2016.  If possible, a little over that plan would make a big difference, for those who can. Please also consider the Special Music Fund and the Special Flower Fund for our Christmas services.

Check the Coat Racks and take home anything that belongs to your family!

A Children’s Choir  (K-5) meets on Sundays after the 10am service. Talk to Jill Robinson (robinsonjill25@yahoo.com) or Bobby to find out more.

ECW Annual Retreat Will Be January 19-21 in Clarkston.  Information and registration forms can be found on the table in the hallway.  This year’s theme is Stirring Up the Spirit.  The lead presenter is The Rev. Beth Taylor.

Nancy Clark Continues To Recover In Grand Rapids after a fall, she is in rehab after surgery for a broken knee. If you’d like to send her an encouraging note she can be reached at: Nancy Clark, c/o Susan Levine, 2860 Bonnell Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49606

Please Bring in Candy, TP rolls, Wrapping Paper, Tape and Ribbons.  Our Youth Groups will use these to make “candy poppers” on December 11th to be given as gifts to the people at Spirit of Hope.

Group Studies of many kinds are offered through Saint James. On Sunday mornings we gather at 9:05am in the Fireplace Room for an open Bible Study. On Thursday mornings we meet at 10:30am in the library to discuss short readings from luminaries like Ghandi. On Wednesday mornings we have a 10:15am service of Holy Communion in the chapel. On Wednesday evenings the WOW (Women on Wednesday) group meets in members’ homes for book studies. Contact the office for more information on any of these open studies.

Beginner’s Belly Dance is taking a break and will resume on January 4, 2017.

Fr. Phil’s Open Office Hours are every Tuesday from 4:30-6:30pm.

 

Features & Articles

Long-form stories about upcoming events, or events just passed are printed here. Submit a Feature or Article by sending to goodnews@saintjamesgi.net. Photos are always welcome.

 

 OUT THERE WITH OUTREACH  NOV,/DEC. 2016

Many Thanks to each and everyone of you who volunteered, roasted, sliced. and bagged such succulent turkeys for the Sat. Nov. 19, 2016 “Thanksgiving” meal at the Spirit of Hope Soup Kitchen!!!  Special Thanks to Patricia Saavedra and her mom, Janet for making enough pumpkin rolls for 225 desserts!  Extreme Thanks to all of our wonderful families and friends who prepared and served the meal with the sweetest, kindness, love and care!  Thoughtful Thanks to All of the Third Graders from Meridian Elementary School who made nifty colorful turkey decorations with up-lifting hand written thoughts for each place setting!  Gracious Thanks to Blanche Hutchison and Grand Daughter Daijah, for making lots of much appreciated care packages filled with toiletries for personal care, and for passing them out with a smile!  You cannot imagine how touched our guest were by each act of kindness and for a substantial, all-you-can-eat FEAST!!!  It was a VERY Good Day, Thanks to ALL OF YOU for Being God’s Hands!

Sacred Heart will prepare & serve the “Christmas” meal on the Third Saturday in December.  Saint James will have that day off!  Frank & I will deliver the Christmas candy poppers, made by the Saint James Youth Groups, to the Soup Kitchen.  Wrapped individual candy and cardboard T.P. tubes & wrapping paper are still welcomed for the project!

Thank You,One & All!  Without YOU this ministry would not be possible!!  Enjoy a Blessed Thanksgiving!!  With Love,   Amy & Frank Kohair

 

SERVING THIS WEEK

THESE ROLES ARE ALWAYS OPEN to new participants.

To join a team contact the office at goodnews@saintjamesgi.net

December 4  
Altar Guild Carole V, Jennifer D, Marilou A
8am 1st lesson reader Margaret Horvath
8am Eucharistic Minister Tom Coleman
10 am 1st lesson reader Ken Bearden
10am 2nd lesson & chalice Todd Rankine
10am prayers & chalice Jane Colwell
Ushers Carl Colwell, Jack Hartley, Robin Knudson, Chuck Kurth
Greeters Chuck & Linda Kurth
10 am Crucifer Mitch Lewis
10am Acolytes Max Bearden and Zoie Christie
Prayer Team Sue Anderson and Madeleine Jones

SAINT JAMES WISH LIST

Below are some things that St. James would love to have, but the budget does not allow them at this time. If one of these items speaks to your heart, please make a donation toward the purchase. All partial gifts will be gratefully accepted and put toward the total cost. Also, if you see or think of something that should be on this list, please let us know.

 Piano Cover for the Fireplace Room piano: $350

 Thank you, thank you, and thank you!

  

🎵 🎶 🎶🎵  MUSIC NOTES  🎵🎶🎶 🎵

Choir season is up and running, and it’s never too late to join! We are doing some very exciting music this year, including some great standards by composers Ralph Vaughan Williams and John Rutter, exciting new pieces by composers Libby Larsen and Benjamin Wegner, and even a Bach Cantata in December, “Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland” BWV 61, complete with soloists and orchestra! This is not a year you want to miss! Bell choir will also be doing some exciting work this year as well! Please let me know if you plan to attend! The St. James Bell Choir rehearses Thursdays at 6:30PM, and the St. James Adult Choir rehearses Thursdays at 7:30PM. The children’s choir meets after the 10AM service. All are welcome! Please consider joining in the music at St. James, we have lots of excellent programming this year. If you have reservations about joining that I can smooth over, or even just want to chat and learn some more about music, I’m always happy to talk! I’m easily reached at music@saintjamesgi.net.

This morning’s musical point of interest: Chorale settings have always been a personal favorite; it is always very interesting to see how a composer takes a simple chorale melody or hymn tune and creates an interesting soundscape around a simple melody. Today we have several chorale preludes by Bach and Zachow, as well as a chorale setting as the choir anthem by Lance Massey. In particular, notice how the last prelude piece and the postlude piece this morning have the same tune, but the composers had radically different ideas about how to approach the melody!

Stay tuned for upcoming music events in the area:

Dec. 18: Bach Cantata Sunday, right here at St. James during the 10AM service, complete with choir, soloists, and orchestra performing “Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland” BWV 61. It’s a morning you don’t want to miss! Bring a friend!

 

CELEBRATIONS & PRAYERS

We Celebrate Birthdays This Week

Katherine Lashley (12/4) Henry Benson (12/6) Dan Kiblawi (12/7)
Robert Sexton (12/9) Pam Keller (12/14)

 

We Celebrate Anniversaries This Week

Maria & Jim Turner (12/10)

Please Pray This Week For Healing         

Lee Jerry Zavadil Maureen Kohn
Jerry John Kurth Nancy Clark
Pete Fernandes Jean Fernandes Andrew Brunell
Philip Metz, Sr. Misty Peake Mary
Allison Bell Charles Michael Stoddart
Joan Klose Marge Stahlman Jackson Bruce Beidler
Deborah Stoddart Tamara Howes Annie Krueger

Pray for those serving in The Church   For leaders of the worldwide church, for Philip our priest, members of our vestry, heads of our guilds & committees, and the staff and lay leaders of this congregation; for those engaged in mission work, for Jamie Treadwell in England, Todd and Patsy McGregor & family in Kenya, El Hogar in Honduras, and the Spirit of Hope Soup Kitchen in Detroit.

Pray for those serving in the military  AJ Allen, J.B. Faistenhammer, Buckley Neal, Brett Ready, Dr. Bettina Sauter, and Alexander Turin.

To ensure our Lists are current petitions for healing are listed for 4 weeks per submission. Names may be re-submitted any number of times to office@saintjamesgi.net.