Announcements December 8, 2024
Parish event Calendar from 12/08/2024 to 01/04/2025 is located following these announcements.
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The St. James Mission Statement:
St. James exists to Gather as God’s people.
Know the love of God in Christ.
Grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Give to the world what God has given to us.
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Please turn off your cell phone before worship begins.
Welcome, Everyone! Two restrooms are located in the front of the church, through the double doors to the left of the altar area. There is also a baby changing table that accommodates a child up to 50 pounds. “Buddy bags” for children are available behind the pews containing crayons, coloring paper and other materials to help keep little ones occupied during the service.
Altar Flowers No Altar Flowers are given today.
Giving Altar Flowers Altar flowers are given in memory of or in thanksgiving for a loved one or for a milestone event. Flowers cost $35. 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.
It's Advent During Advent, the church and altar are dressed in what is called "Sarum Blue," a color that represents hope. The custom of using blue rather than purple (or, once upon a time, black) goes back to the medieval Sarum Rite for the ordering of liturgy, which took hold in England beginning in the 11th century. Advent was once known as “Little Lent” for its penitential nature, which has largely given way to today’s emphasis on Advent as a time of anticipating, and preparing our hearts for, the coming of the Christ Child.
The Advent Wreath Johann Wichern (1808–1881), a Protestant pastor in Germany and a pioneer in urban mission work among the poor, invented the modern Advent wreath in the 19th century. During Advent, children at the mission school he founded in Hamburg would ask daily when Christmas would arrive. So he decided to help them count. In 1839, he built a large wooden ring (made out of an old cartwheel) with 20 small red and four large white candles. A small candle was lit successively every weekday and Saturday during Advent. On Sundays, a large white candle was lit. The custom gained ground in Protestant churches in Germany and evolved into the custom of the Advent wreath which only came to North America in the 1930s!
Advent/ Christmas Letter Our Bishop, Rt. Rev. Daniel Gutiérrez, has asked that his Christmas letter be shared with our congregation and it is included in this bulletin
Farewell letter - the Rev. Cathy Kerr Rev. Cathy sent a beautiful letter to share with each of us and it is included here. Her last Sunday at St. James will be December 29th. After the service that day, we plan to have a celebration brunch in her honor. Please speak with any vestry member if you have suggestions and care to bring a goodie to share.
Choir Returns Many thanks to our music director, Sonya and to Betsy, Rose, Joe, Chris J., Linda J., Thalia, Jerry & Linda S., and Jo. We are blessed to have these special people sing the anthems in our services during Advent and Christmas!
Angel Tree Thanks to all who have taken tags from the tree to help a child and/or an elderly person have a merrier Christmas. Please bring gifts in gift bags to church by next Sunday, December 15th at the latest. Thank you to Dotti Hardy, Betsy Schmidt and Doris Fleetwood for all their hard work on this ministry.
Christmas Altar Flower Requests Please remember to bring your request form and payment for Poinsettia’s by next Sunday, December 15th. The cost is $30.00 this year. There are forms on the table behind the pews if you need one.
Greening of the Church We will “green” the church for Christmas after the service next Sunday, December 15th. There's a lot to do – hanging the large wreaths, setting up the creche, decorating the windows, putting up the torches. Please plan to stay. It's a lot of fun! Our December fellowship hour will be that morning. (Please feel free to bring any type of goodie)!
Fellowship/Coffee If you would like to host a fellowship/coffee hour one month, the sign-up sheet for 2025 is on the table behind the pews.
Thought to Ponder - These monthly fellowship/coffee hours would be perfect opportunities for us to think about bringing a friend to church.
Carols by Candlelight Our Bristol Ministerium has planned to have people from all walks of life in Bristol come together for a time of carol singing by candlelight on Sunday, December 22nd, @ 6:00 PM at the Bristol Wharf Gazebo. Lyrics and candles will be provided, just bring your voice!
Christmas Eve Our Christmas Eve service on December 24th at will be at 7:00 pm. Rev. Cathy Kerr will celebrate that evening and Sonya Genstein will be our musician for our candlelight service.
Christmas Day There will not be a service on Christmas Day.
S.O.M.E. to-go Meals Our SOME to-go meals on Wednesday, November 27th, for 50 neighbors in need consisted of ham, macaroni and cheese, vegetables, roll, fruit, dessert, and a drink.. Thank you to the FIVE volunteers who shopped, prepared and packed the meals.
We will not be hosting a S.O.M.E. meal on December 25th due to miscommunication with A.H.T.N. On January 29th we will return to sit-down meals for the S.O.M.E. dinners. Volunteers are needed on the last Wednesday of each month from 4:00 – 8:00 pm. Members of Redemption Church have volunteered to set-up, serve and clean-up. If you are able to help, please sign up on the sheet on the table behind the pews. Thank you!
Stewardship Packets Thank you to everyone who has made a pledge to St. James of treasure, talent and time for 2025. If you wish to pledge, please place it in the collection plate by mid-December to be counted in the 2025 budget. Remember, your pledge is confidential, and can be changed at any time during the year if your circumstances change. If you misplaced your packet, extras are on the table behind the pews.
Food Donations Thank you everyone who has contributed to this ministry over the past 13 years for a total of 10,566 pounds! Latest collection is 96 lbs. Thank you to Bill Keller for delivering our donations to the United Methodist Church Food Pantry each month. God bless everyone, and please continue to bring non-perishable items for those in need.
Outreach Ministries One outreach ministry will be designated each month. As has always been the case, please know that donations to any ministry are your own choice.
Month Outreach Ministry/Chairperson Ask/Donation/ Rec'd
June S.O.M.E. – food for others $191.00 rec’d
July St. James Episcopal Church 312th Anniversary Picnic - Christopher Porter
Aug Stuff the Bus - Linda Jones $378.00 + 541 items value = $1,000.00 rec’d
Sept Purse Raffle - Women of St. James Fallsington Day $ 1,455.00 rec’d Bristol Day $ 1,005.00 rec’d
Oct S.O.M.E.–Jackie’s Daily Calendar - Pam Bergey $ 1,146.57 rec’d
Boscov's Friend's Helping Friends Passes - Joanne Pizzullo $ 490.00 rec’d
Nov Bristol Borough Parade - Cat Amos Schaumberg Cash
Dec Angel Tree -Doris Fleetwood, Dotti Hardy, Betsy Schmidt Gifts/Gift Cards, Cash
Designer Purse, Lottery Ticket, Gift Card Raffles Thank you for all donations. We received $2,950 from these fundraisers.
Jackie’s Daily Calendar Thank you for all donations to S.O.M.E. in Jackie Keller’s memory! We received $1,146.57 from this fundraiser. These funds will go a long way to helping others in need! God bless each and every one of you.
Thank you to all who donated cash or candy for the Bristol Borough Christmas parade! We received $144 for this event!
The Borough parade committee is grateful for our donation.
Bible Study Our study, “Ten Women of the Bible: One by One They Changed the World” by Max Lucado will meet on 1/6 & 1/20/2025, at 12:30 pm in the Parish House.
Altar Guild Gathering Thank you to our Altar Guild members who came out to prepare the Altar for Advent and Christmas!
Churchyard Clean-Up “Thank You’s” to Jerry Smith for bringing his riding mower and chopping up millions of leaves with Joe Ciambrello’s help raking the leaves away from the headstones! The Churchyard looks amazing!
Bristol Borough Parade Thank you to everyone who donated candy and $144 cash. It was very nice to have a car decorated & playing Christmas music as St. James info was handed out! Thank you to Cat Schaumburg and the other volunteers!
Pew Plaques Pew plaques 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.
Crochet Hats for Preemies and We have received over 330 hats for this ministry so let’s “pause” until these have been given to hospitals with NIC units who request them. All have been washed, bagged and blessed! Thank you to Ginny Capriotti for organizing, laundering, packing and distributing the hats and to those who have made hats. Prayer shawls are needed if you knit or crochet and want to make one or more. Instructions are on the table behind the pews.
Prayer List The prayer list in the Sunday bulletins is for people with immediate needs and conditions. If you want someone to be on the Sunday list, please contact the office (215-788-2228); or ([email protected]). Names remain on this list for up to a month then, if still needed, they are moved to the Intercessory Prayer list. See below.
Intercessory Prayer Please speak with Pam Bergey regarding people on the list. Please pray for: Sharon L., Craig G., Chris Cooper, Bette B., Carol K., Melissa, Roxanne, Kevin, Doug, Janel, Catherine, Paul G., Amanda R., Mark P., Patti P., Carrie C., Margaret P., Will, Vivian, Jocelyn, Nellie, Blair, Julie, Steve H., Amanda W., and their families.
Holiday House – Girls Friendly Society, Episcopal Church Diocese of Pennsylvania which has been a place for retreats for Girls Friendly for 100 years is struggling to survive. In jeopardy of having to be sold, the beautiful Inn in the heart of Cape May Court House, NJ has rooms to rent at very reasonable costs. There are brochures on the table behind the pews if you are interested.
With the blessing of the Diocese, wine is served 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. The Eucharistic ministers will sanitize their hands after each communicant. We are using high alcohol content wine. Per direction from our Diocese, intinction (dipping) 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.
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 church. 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."
ST. JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH - EVENT CALENDAR -11/24/2024 - 12/21/2024
Location/Event Date Time
Church - Holy Eucharist - 2nd Advent 12/08/2024 9:00 - 10:00 am
Parish Hall Usage: Mon A.A. Meeting 12/09/2024 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Parish Hall Usage: Tues A.A. Meeting 12/10/2024 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Parish Hall Rental: Zumba 12/11/2024 7:00 - 8:00 pm
Church - Morning Prayer - 3rd Advent 12/15/2024 9:00 - 10:00 am
Parish Hall Usage: Mon A.A. Meeting 12/16/2024 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Parish Hall Usage: Tues A.A. Meeting 12/17/2024 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Parish Hall Rental: Zumba 12/18/2024 7:00 - 8:00 pm
Parish Hall Rental: H. Truelove 12/19/2024 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Parish Hall Rental: B. Boyd 12/21/2024 1:00 - 5:00 pm
Church - Morning Prayer 12/22/2024 9:00 - 10:00 am
Parish Hall Usage: Mon A.A. Meeting 12/23/2024 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Parish Hall Usage: Tues A.A. Meeting 12/24/2024 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Church - Holy Eucharist - CHRISTMAS EVE 12/24/2024 7:00 - 8:00 pm
CHRISTMAS DAY -Peace, Blessings & Love 12/25/2025 NO SERVICE
Parish Hall Rental: Zumba 12/25/2024 7:00 - 8:00 pm
Parish Hall Rental: Branches of Truth Ministry 12/27/2024 6:30 - 9:00 pm