1895 Laurel, Saint Paul MN 55104

Saint Mary's Episcopal Church

1895 Laurel Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55104

Saint Mary’s Weekly – January 7, 2022

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Weekly Worship Service
Sunday, January 9, 2022

  • First Message: Isaiah 60: 1-6
  • Gospel: Matthew 2: 1-12
10:00am – Eucharist Service In-person and via Zoom. Social time to follow – outside and in the entryway for those worshiping in person and a Zoom gathering for those worshiping virtually. The Reverend Tom Eklo will be the celebrant and preacher. See “What’s New” for more info regarding Epiphany.

For those joining virtually, please join via Zoom in the link below and the Zoom Host will share the Live Stream. This will allow all of those attending virtually to interact during the service.

To join the 10am worship on January 9, 2022 Click HERE
If asked for a passcode, enter 277625
If asked for a meeting ID, enter 818 4016 4967
 
To join by cell phone only (voice only, no video),
call: 312-626-6799
Enter Meeting ID 818 4016 4967
If asked for a passcode, use 277625
 
For the January 9th Service Bulletin – Click HERE
For the Epiphany Songbook – Click HERE

What’s in this Weekly?

Worship Team

Keeping our community safe and healthy

Vestry Update

Search Committee

Children and Youth

Outreach

Prayers in the Weekly

Upcoming Events at Saint Mary’s

Worship Team

Liturgy Matters at St. Mary’s by The Reverend Susan M. Moss

Dear Saint Marians:

January 6th, the 12th Day of Christmas, is the Feast of The Epiphany; the day Christians across the world proclaim with the prophet Isaiah: 
 
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
 
The Epiphany story teaches that Jesus is the Light that has come; the Light that shines in the darkness and will not be overcome.
 
During this season, listen for the ways in which the Gospel lessons point to the ways in which Jesus is the manifestation of God with us. Epiphany calls us to share the Light of God’s love. How might you answer this call to make real the love of God in your family, your neighborhood, your school, your place of work?
 
I will be on vacation from January 7 to January 24. Please welcome The Rev. Tom Eklo and The Rev. Debbie Brown, guest celebrants on January 9th and 23rd.  
 
Should a pastoral emergency arise at Saint Mary’s during my time away, please contact Brian Nerbonne, warden at  6I2 8Io 7898.
 
Lord Jesus Christ,
You are the Light of the World.
Fill our hearts with your love
And our minds with your peace. Amen
 
Susan
 
The Rev. Susan M. Moss
Transition Priest
 
 

What’s New?

  • To hear Bishop Loya’s Christmas sermon, Click HERE.
  • Heads up: On Sunday, January 16, in addition to the 10am Worship Service, an 8am adapted Morning Prayer will be led by Steve Andrews via Zoom. Gospel Based Discipleship (discussing the readings for the day) will take place instead of a homily.
  • The Epiphany Ring:
    Yes, on Sunday, January 9th, St. Mary’s will celebrate Epiphany in-person and virtually. It’s not yet possible to have a piñata for the kids or a cake to hide the 128 year old ring in, but we will have Epiphany cupcakes and the ring will be hidden in one of them! What’s this about a ring, you might ask? And why is a ring connected with Epiphany? Here’s some information passed from Margaret Neily (a longtime St. Mary’s member) to St. Marian LaVonne Mayer who was the keeper of the ring for many years. The ring was kept in the Mayer safety deposit box and brought out every year before the Epiphany celebration which is held the Sunday after Epiphany.
    ~
    In 1894 some St. Mary’s women donated gold jewelry and a ring was made. Exactly why this was connected with Epiphany isn’t really known, but this became a much loved tradition. In those days, there were only “Vestrymen”…no Vestrywomen…and only the spouse of a Vestryman could get the ring! To be sure that this would happen, a portion of the cake was designated for these spouses! The finder of the ring would be crowned Queen for the year, and apparently the only benefit (??) derived from being Queen was that the Queen made the cake the next year!! This tradition went on for many years but at some point it was discontinued.
    ~
    The ring was kept in a big heavy safe at St. Mary’s. In the 1980’s it was decided that this big safe was obsolete. Jim Jepson “took it off St. Mary’s hands”, and as he was removing everything from the safe, he discovered the ring. He and his wife Kathie decided to bring back the Epiphany ring tradition, but now anyone could find the ring and a Queen or King would be crowned. The Reverend Russ Johnson, St. Mary’s rector at the time, added the piñata for the kids. His daughters put candy in little bags before they were put in the piñata to keep candy clean and to be sure each child could get some candy. No longer was the spouse of a Vestry member responsible for making the cake. For many years the cake was purchased and Kathie would expertly cut into the decorated cake, insert the plastic wrapped ring in the cake and hide all evidence of where the ring was hidden!!
    ~
    St. Mary’s master-baker, Joe McManmon, has baked the cake in recent years (pre-Covid shut down) and this year will bake cupcakes!! Thank you, Joe!!
    (NOTE: The ring is given back so the tradition can continue for years to come!)

Feedback is welcome!
Expect changes as we try things, see how they work and make improvements! Your feedback is more important than ever before to help us know what’s working well and what isn’t. Please send your thoughts, ideas, suggestions to the Worship Team.

Click HERE to give feedback. Thanks!

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“Love your neighbor” and COVID Protocols

“Love your neighbor” implies to me that we care about, and for, each other. We care about our neighbors near and far and, right now, part of that care involves having COVID protocols that work to keep us all as safe as we can be. Being vaccinated and boosted is expected…that’s the first step.

KN95 masks provide greater protection than cloth or 3-layer paper masks. If you can find them, buy one! If not, there are some at St. Mary’s you can take.

The Vestry again looked at our St. Mary’s protocols at its January 4th meeting and re-affirmed those already in place and added a few more.

  • Wear a mask (covering nose and mouth) when in the building.
  • Practice 6’ physical distancing (also referred to as “social distancing”).
  • Stay home if you’re not feeling well.
  • If you’re scheduled for a Sunday morning lay ministry but are feeling uncomfortable with the idea of being with people, know you have permission NOT to come to church. Please let the Verger or Brian Nerbonne or Paulette Briese know ahead of time if you can.
  • If you’ve had close contact with someone who has COVID, consider testing or not coming to church.
  • If you get a positive test result within 72 hours of being at church, let Brian Nerbonne know so others at St. Mary’s can be made aware of their potential exposure.

Yes, in the world we live in today, part of how we show our love for our neighbor is by doing our part to keep not only ourselves, but also those we come in contact with, as safe as we can. Thank you, St. Mary’s, for being concerned about the common good and for loving your neighbors.

Paulette Briese
Worship Team

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Summary of the January 4, 2022 Vestry Meeting

In the interest of more timely communication of happenings at vestry meetings, we are beginning to publish a brief summary in the Weekly email following the meeting, rather than waiting a month to publish the minutes once they are approved. If you have questions about the meeting, please contact warden Brian Nerbonne at michigander_guy@yahoo.com.
 
Finance: The St. Mary’s bylaws call for a finance meeting to be held in January of each year. In lieu of holding a meeting, given our current circumstances due to COVID, the vestry approved a plan to instead distribute the working budget via email.
 
Committee re-shuffle: All of our various teams that handle duties at St. Mary’s (e.g. worship planning, finance, stewardship) have been active for over a year, some for several years. With a new year arriving, we would like to offer the opportunity for current committee members to consider whether they need a break, or if they would like to try a role on a different team. This will also be a chance for people to try out serving on a team if they haven’t previously. Look for an item coming soon in the weekly to kick off this process.
 
Stewardship: Final numbers are 48 pledging households totaling over $153,000. Thanks to everyone who pledged, and much appreciation to Jim Wheeler and Cindy James for leading this year’s campaign. Jim and Cindy also made the proposal to look to adding members to this team, as both are ready rotate off of this duty to focus on other things. They also propose that we look at making stewardship a more year-round activity, broadening it to include other contributions to the congregation beyond just pledging.
 
Door codes and required Safe Church training: Episcopal Church of MN canons require all people with keys or door access codes to the church to complete Safe Church training once every three years. This is also required of vestry members or those working with youth. Jim Wheeler and Aimee Sutherland worked together to cross reference records on safe church training with those who are currently assigned door codes. Many people are currently in need of the training, or will be some time in 2022. Emails will soon be sent to people in need of the training. They will have the option to give up their code or take the training. If no action is taken by people to rectify this, we may need to deactivate codes after a reasonable time period (i.e. a few months). Please look for an email with information on how to complete the training if this might apply to you. We are also insuring that our building tenants fulfill this requirement.
 
Omicron considerations for in-person services: The vestry discussed whether to consider any shifts to services with the Omicron variant causing a significant spike in COVID cases. The vestry feels that we can continue to do in-person services safely, but also have virtual options for people who do not feel comfortable in-person. We will continue our current protocols, but also begin to encourage KN-95 mask wearing to further reduce the chance of viral spread. Look for an item in the weekly outlining COVID precautions we are asking people to follow.
 
Letter from St. Mary’s to Title IV complainants: As another step toward moving forward from our former rector’s Title IV process, we will be discussing with the bishop the idea of sending a brief letter to the complainants, expressing wishes for healing from any harm that occurred. Based on the bishop’s feedback, we will discern next steps.
 
Member transitions: So that people can have a way to stay informed of births and deaths in our community, new St. Mary’s members, and St. Mary’s members who have moved away or left our congregation, we will begin publishing an item once a month in the Weekly email covering these transitions.

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Search Committee

New Candidates
We are excited to share that we have received a number of applications after re-opening our job posting for a permanent priest. We are reviewing them with great joy, and we will meet with the candidates in early January. As before, we will share our progress as often as possible. You can reach us with questions or comments any time at transitionteam@saintmarysepiscopal.org. 
 
God is good, all the time! 
 
Prayers for the Search Committee and Candidates
Dear Saint Marians:
 
As the Rector’s Search begins anew, let us remain constant in prayer for members of the Search Committee and the candidates who have come forward.
 
Faithfully, 
 
Susan
The Rev. Susan M. Moss
 
 Let us pray:
 

Lord Jesus Christ you are the Light of the World!

May your Holy Spirit continue to  guide and illumine the discerning hearts and minds of the Saint Mary’s Search Committee and rector candidates, in the search for a faithful pastor who will care for your people and equip us for ministries in your name.  Amen.
 

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St. Mary’s Children’s and Youth for Winter

Youth Group:
Join Kat for youth group on Wednesday evenings at 6:30pm-8:00pm We are excited that the youth will be back in person again this year! Just a reminder that Youth Group is for young people who are 7th through 12th grade.
 
Tweeners:
Join Mia and Emily for Tweeners on Thursdays from 7-7:45pm. Please note that Tweens will be on THURSDAY and not on WEDNESDAY due to the availability of the tweens that expressed interest! The meeting will be virtual. Please contact Mia for the link!
 

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Outreach

MICAH (Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing) Legislative Breakfast on January 26, 2022

Hello!
 
I am writing to invite members of your congregation to the MICAH (Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing) Annual [Virtual] Legislative Breakfast taking place on Wednesday, January 26th from 8-9:30am via Zoom.   At the breakfast, we will join with elected officials, city staff, faith leaders, community members, and people who have experienced or are experiencing homelessness and housing crises as we work towards a St. Paul/MN where everyone, without exception, has safe, decent, accessible, and affordable housing!  Let’s work together to make it happen.
 
We hope you will be able to share some version of the invitation with your congregation through your newsletter and/or other communications.  (Click HERE)
  

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at this email (micahbrkfst@comcast.net).  We hope to see members from your community at this important event. 

Looking forward to seeing you in the New Year!
 
Jean Giebenhain
 
MICAH, St. Paul Chapter
 

Prayer Requests

Please pray for those on Saint Mary’s prayer list: Don; Anne; Kirby; Amara; Steven, Bishop Craig Loya as he leads the ECMN; all frontline workers; teachers and those who support children and youth in education, all who are thinking about getting or waiting to get a COVID vaccine or booster; all who are homeless, unemployed, or struggling financially; doctors, nurses, caregivers, and all who care for the sick or dying; all who work for new systems of justice and equity; all who are in need of prayer.

If you would like a name to be added to Saint Mary’s public prayer list, please email claire1412@gmail.com. The prayer list will be updated weekly, and all prayers will remain on the list for one month unless otherwise requested.

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Upcoming Events at Saint Mary’s
Opportunities for Worship, Education, Choir, & Meet Ups
for the week of 1/7 – 1/13

Sunday, January 9, 2022
Hybrid Worship Service
10:00am Service
Link

Tuesday, January 11, 2022
Men’s Group Gathering
7:00pm
For more information Click HERE

Tuesday, January 11, 2022
Compline
7:30pm
Link

Wednesday, January 12, 2022
Youth Group
6:30pm
Contact Mia for more information. Click HERE

Thursday, January 13, 2022
Tweeners
7:00pm
Contact Mia for more information. Click HERE

Thursday, January 13, 2022
Saint Mary’s Dinner Group
Contact Julie Thomas for more information. Click HERE.

Thursday, January 13, 2022
Thursday Evening Contemplative Service
Led by Erika Scheurer and Anna Clark
7:00pm
Link (please note that the link has been updated for 2022)

Visit the Saint Mary’s Calendars page for more information on what is happening.

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