Announcements May 21, 2023
Hallaluah! Jesus Christ our Lord is Risen!
Please turn off your cell phone before worship begins.
Please wear a mask while receiving communion at the altar rail and at your discretion at all other times.
Dear St. James family and friends,
We are very saddened to share with you the news of the sudden passing of the Reverend Marlee Norton in her home in Arlington, Virginia on April 30th. Reverend Marlee served here at St. James for 13 years with devotion and love. There will be a Service of Holy Eucharist, her burial in our churchyard followed by a reception at St. James on Saturday, June 10, 2023 at 10:00 am. Please keep Marlee and her loved ones in your prayers.
Altar Flowers No Altar flowers are given today.
How to Give Altar Flowers Altar flowers are given in memory of or in thanksgiving for a loved one or for a milestone event. Flowers cost $25. Please note “altar flowers” on your check. A sign-up sheet is on the table as you enter church and there are envelopes to complete and place payment inside. Place your envelope in the collection plates on Sundays. Altar flowers and prayer shawls are available to take to someone who may be ill, hospitalized – or who simply needs cheer.
Meeting for Parish Service Ministers
Ushers Today, Sunday, May 21, 10:00 am, Church
This meeting should be 30-60 minutes at most.
Thank you to ALL who have volunteered to assist with parish ministries! We are looking for additional people for altar guild (need two) and usher (need two). Please speak with Denise Ciambrello if interested.
Memorial Day Ceremony Our Memorial Day graveyard ceremony to honor the 100 veterans buried at St. James is on Monday, May 29 at 10:00 am. The VFW will conduct the ceremony this year - Taps, a rifle volley, prayers and more. Usually, 50 - 60 people attend. It's a short service - maybe 20 minutes. We gather behind the church, along Cedar Street. Hope to see you there!
Country Buffet @ Grace Episcopal Church, 313 Main Street, Hulmeville, Saturday, May 20, 4:30 thru 7:00 pm. Menu, Baked Ham, Roast Chicken, Sausage w/peppers & onions, salad bar, side choices, drink and dessert. Adults: $13.00, Children 10 to 6: $6.00; Children under 6: Free.
Bristol Borough Sunday Stroll Sunday Strolls on Mill Street will be on 6/11, 7/16, 8/13, & 9/24, from 12 to 4 pm. There will be over 25 different food vendors, live music , over 100 Crafters and Artists, Entertainment for the whole family.
You want it, you got it!
Food Donations Our latest food donation to United Methodist Church for neighbors in need was 63 pounds for a total of 9,787 pounds since we began this ministry 12 years ago under the vision and leadership of Rev. Marlee Norton. Thank you to everyone for being so generous.
Bible Study The “Seamless” ‘Understand the Bible as One Complete Story.’ bible study sessions will be in the Parish House at 12:30 pm on Mondays, May 22, June 5, 19, July 3, 17, 31. Please bring a brown bag lunch.
S.O.M.E. to-go Meals Volunteers are needed the last Wednesday of each month from 4:00 – 5:30 pm. May 31st is our next to-go meal. If you are interested, a sign up sheet is on the table behind the pews.
Good Friday Offering Thank you for generously donating to support the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East through the Good Friday Offering. Our total donation is $202.00.
Mite Boxes The total of our donations is $187.00 which we are sending to Episcopal Relief & Development for mosquito nets in Africa. Through these donations via ERD, many thousands of lives have been saved.
Covid 19 - Updated CDC Guidance as of 5/11/2023
CDC recommends up to date vaccines to prevent Long COVID; for everyone ages 6 months and up; for moderately to severly immunocompromised people; for all people who are pregnant, might become pregnant in the future, are trying to get pregnant now, or are breastfeeding. CDC recommends that vaccinated and unvaccinated people wear masks in public indoor settings when the COVID risk to your community is high. If you have COVID-19, you can spread the virus to others. There are precautions you can take to prevent spreading it to others: isolation, masking, and avoiding contact with people who are at high risk of getting very sick. Isolation is used to separate people with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 from those without COVID-19. Sheets are on the table behind the pews.
Rev. Cathy Kerr is still wearing a mask in church except when she is speaking during the service. She appreciates it when the people who are near her on the altar and during communion keep their masks on. Please mask for communion and at your discretion at all other times.
Pew Plaques Pew plaques can be seen on the ends of pews on the aisles and are given in memory of or thanksgiving for a loved one as a forever remembrance. The cost is $250. A payment plan is available to purchase pew plaques. If interested, please speak with Jim Lombardo.
Bingo’s Foundation is a non-profit all-volunteer cat adoption and rescue organization. They are a NO-KILL shelter and the cats roam free. They can use all the can tabs they can get to aid in the cost of their electric bill! Cathleen will mail the tabs. Contact, email:bingosfoundation@gmail.com;phone:215-781-0378; mail: PO BOX 7130, Penndel, PA 19047, Bingo’s Foundation on the web: www.bingosfoundation.org,
With the blessing of the Diocese, we are serving wine at communion. Eucharistic doctrine affirms the simultaneous presence of Christ's body and blood in each of the eucharistic elements. The doctrine of concomitance upholds the truth that the fullness of communion is available by receiving either the consecrated bread or wine. Please come to the communion rail and kneel or stand as you are able. The Eucharistic ministers will sanitize their hands and do a quarter-turn wipe after each communicant. We are using high alcohol content wine. At Bishop Gutiérrez direction, intinction of the bread into the wine is strongly discouraged. Anyone who doesn't feel safe drinking from the communal cup can leave the rail after receiving the bread. Please wear a mask before and after receiving.
Pastoral Need? Please contact the parish office with your or others’ pastoral care needs, such as being placed on the prayer list, requesting a home Communion, reporting a death, alerting us to a hospital stay and so on. We regret finding out after the fact that someone was sick or in the hospital. The Reverends Cathy Kerr, Michael Ruk, Sean Slack, and John Conner have volunteered for pastoral care here at St. James.
Prayer List The Sunday prayer list is for people with immediate needs and conditions. If you want someone to be on the Sunday bulletin list, please contact the office. Names usually remain on this list for a few weeks then, if still needed, they are moved to the Intercessory Prayer list. See below!
Would You Like to Pray for Others? Names of people with long-term, chronic illnesses and issues can be found on slips in a basket on the table behind the pews. If you would like to pray for someone from our Sunday list, please take a paper and include that person in your daily prayers for a week (or as long as the name remains on the Sunday list.) After one week, you can return that paper to the basket. If you would like to take another name each week, please do so. We hope this prayer system will spread prayers beyond Sundays.
St. James on Facebook and Wikipedia St. James has its own page on Facebook, the world's leading social network: http://www.facebook.com/stjamesbristol. Also, St. James has its own entry on Widipedia, the Web's leading encyclopedia.
You're Invited The Diocese of Pennsylvania now has its own closed Facebook page just for the people and clergy of the diocese. Bishop Gutiérrez says that it "...will better allow us to share our great ideas, be in prayer for one another, nurture our mutual love for ministry, promote programs and activities in our parishes, and build deeper community with one another." To join, go on Facebook and search for Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. Click on "like."
