Weekly Worship Service
Sunday, October 31, 2021
- First Message: Deuteronomy 6:1-9
- Gospel: Mark 12: 28-34
10:00am – ZOOM ONLY Gospel Based Discipleship Service with social time to follow.
This Sunday will be a ZOOM ONLY worship service. We’ll be doing an adapted version of Gospel Based Discipleship. There’s no sermon today. We’ll be breaking into 3 groups to discuss the First Message and Gospel and create our own sermon! These will be the discussion questions…they’re a little different than usual:
o What is the Holy Spirit doing/saying in the First Message & Gospel?
o Where do you see yourself?
o What do these readings say about this journey you’re on?
What’s in this Weekly?
Worship Team
Update on the October 21st Letter from Bishop Loya
A Message from our Warden
St. Mary’s Stewardship 2022
2021 Pledge Update
Finance Committee
Update from the Search Committee
Safe Church Training
Children and Youth
Notice of Death
Prayers in the Weekly
Upcoming Events at Saint Mary’s
Worship Team
Marigolds and the Day of the Dead
(from St. Mary’s member Todd Maitland, our lay preacher on All Saints Sunday)
On Sunday, November 7, St. Mary’s will celebrate All Saints’ Day. We will learn about the Days of the Dead as it is practiced in Mexico, where the Dias de los Muertos, October 31 to November 2, are a time to welcome the souls of departed loved ones. Families create a home altar, an ofrenda, or offering for the dead, with candles, flowers, fruit, and favorite foods of the deceased. Marigolds, which grow wild in Mexico, are gathered by the truck load, sold in markets and arranged on the ofrenda, where the pungent scent of the flowers will guide the spirits home.
Every culture must deal with the mystery of death. Many have rituals that mark the life/death/life cycle of the seasons, with autumn as a time to honor the dead. For Celtic cultures, the days around November 1 were a “thin time,” when the veil between the living and the dead becomes permeable. While the Spaniards brought Catholicism and its feast days to Mexico, the Aztecs had their own ancient ceremonies honoring the dead around this time. The Days of the Dead are a synthesis of traditions growing out of the emotional and spiritual needs of all humans.
So please bring flowers for our altar, marigolds if you have them, in jars or cans or vases, to brighten our worship. We will learn the simple and beautiful tradition of making an ofrenda in our homes, to expand the joy of this season of remembrance.
- To listen to the homily given by The Rev. Susan Moss on October 24th, Click HERE.
- This Sunday is Halloween. Kids & Adults: Wear your costumes!
- And, next Sunday, November 7th, All Saints Day and much MORE…
- There will be a special prayer naming and remembering those who have died in the last year. Please put names in the chat or send an email to susan@saintmarysepiscopal.org by Tuesday, November 2nd.
- Remember tying ribbons on our trellis in memory of those who have died? We’ll be doing that again on Sunday. If you worship virtually, you’ll be invited to put names in the chat during the prelude and someone will tie a ribbon to the trellis in memory of those persons; if you worship in person, you’ll be invited to tie ribbons to the trellis.
- And, this will be our first Eucharist with both bread and wine being available since March 2020! You may bring your own little cup/shot glass/Grama’s antique sherry glass with you when you go for communion and a little wine will be poured in it. There will also be small paper cups available if you forget yours or don’t have one.
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!
Update on the October 21st Letter from Bishop Loya
In his October 21st pastoral letter to St. Marians Bishop Loya wrote:
… I recognize that given the nature of LeeAnne’s departure, some of you may want to have a conversation with her in order to bring closure to your pastoral relationship with her. If so, please be in touch with my office, and I will work with you and LeeAnne to arrange for you to meet.
Karen Olson is looking into scheduling tools like Calendly for those who would like to have a conversation with LeeAnne. It looks like these conversations can be at St. John the Evangelist, 60 Kent Street, St. Paul.
We will post more information as it becomes available.
The names of those who want to schedule time with LeeAnne are confidential and will not be shared. Conversations are private.
Please contact us if you have any questions, comments or concerns.
Brian Nerbonne, Warden michigander_guy@yahoo.com
Susan Moss, Transition Priest susan@saintmarysepiscopal.org
A Message from our Warden
Faithful Belonging: Now and in the Future – Stewardship 2022
Pledge Goal: $190,000 – please have all pledges completed by November 14th.
- 6 pledges received totaling $8160
Stewardship thought from Crisis & Care: Meditations on Faith and Philanthropy edited by Dustin D. Benac and Erin Weber-Johnson. “When exploring faith and philanthropy, we remember we belong to one another.”
Click HERE for a Stewardship moment from parishioners Maura and Fran Roby
We have a couple of ways that you can make your pledge:
- Paper pledge cards are available again this year. If you would like a paper pledge card, please contact Cindy James at james.c.a@comcast.net or at 651-261-4884.
- Online pledge by accessing our stewardship page by clicking this link. Click HERE
We have several ways you can pay your pledge:
- By check made out to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
- Electronic Funds transfer from your bank. Contact our treasurer, Rex Holzemer (rexaholzemer@gmail.com) for details on how this works.
- Click the CONTRIBUTE tab at the top of our website (Click HERE) and select “Give Now Online” from the menu to set up a Vanco account to put your pledge on a credit card or have it withdrawn from your bank account. Note: If you choose this option, please check the processing fee box (2.75% for credit cards and 1% for bank accounts) to help cover the processing fee. This fee will be included in your pledge statement at the end of the year, so you get the tax credit and St. Mary’s won’t have to pay the processing fee.
Not sure how much you are currently pledging? No problem: simply contact our pledge clerk (Enzo DeLuca) at pledgeclerk@saintmarysepiscopal.org and he will give you the information regarding your current pledge.
Thank you for your contribution and your support.
Cindy James and Jim Wheeler
2021 Pledge Update
Are you wondering how much you have left to fulfill your pledge for calendar year 2021? Contribution statements for pledge contributions thru October 31, 2021, will be sent via e-mail the first week of November, no later than November 7, 2021. Look for a contribution statement in your inbasket, and if you don’t receive it by November 7th, please contact Rex Holzemer, Treasurer, at 651-308-4895 or rexaholzemer@gmail.com.
Finance Committee
Contributions were $4,000 over budget in September and are approximately $25,300 over budget for the year. Total income, which includes both pledge and non-pledge income, is $24,200 over budget for the year.
Expenses were $10,300 under budget for September and are $27,500 under budget for the year. As of the end of September, we are running $51,700 better than budget overall. However, that does not mean we have a surplus of $51,700, because our budget is a deficit budget with a projected year-end deficit of ($23,200). It does mean that we are covering our deficit totally and have a $28,400 surplus as of the end of September. As a result, the prospects for at least ending the year with a balanced budget have improved over the last several months.
A major contributing factor to contributions being over budget is that a number of parishioners have paid off their annual pledges in the last 2-3 months. It’s possible we could see lower than expected contributions in the last 2-3 months of the year, as a result. The main contributing factor to lower expenses is our budget projected that a ¾ time priest with benefits would be in place effective July 1, 2021. However, at this point we continue to employ only an interim priest at 15 hours/week, which has reduced our monthly staff salary expenses significantly.
If you have questions or concerns regarding the St. Mary’s budget, please feel free to contact Rex Holzemer, Treasurer, at 651-308-4895, or at rexaholzemer@gmail.com.
Update from the Search Committee
On October 28th, we re-published our call for a new permanent priest. Your Search Committee members have genuine, deep confidence in the successful outcome of this process, even if we wish it would move faster. 🙂 Priest searches often take longer than anyone would like, and that’s without considering the impact of the pandemic. Please ask any questions via transitionteam@
Safe Church Training
ECMN has now started Zoom Trainings for Safe Church – https://schoolforformation.
Aimee Sutherland
612-709-1579
St. Mary’s Children’s and Youth for Fall
Notice of Death
Sylvia Clark, mother of St. Mary’s parishioner, Anna Clark, died at the Episcopal Church Home on Sunday October 24th. A memorial service will be held in the St. Mary’s Chapel on November 5th, led by The Rev. Aaron Twait, pastoral care deacon at the Church Home. Time TBD.
Prayer Requests
Please pray for those on Saint Mary’s prayer list: Don; Anne; Kirby; Bishop Craig Loya as he leads the ECMN; all who are sick, anxious, struggling financially; all frontline workers; all who care for the sick and 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.
Upcoming Events at Saint Mary’s
Opportunities for Worship, Education, Choir, & Meet Ups
for the week of 10/29 – 11/4
Sunday, October 31, 2021
ZOOM ONLY Gospel Based Discipleship Service
10:00am
Link
Monday, November 1, 2021
Worship Team Meeting
7:00pm
For more information. Click HERE
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Men’s Group
7:00pm
For more information. Click HERE
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Compline
7:30pm
Link
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Youth Group
6:30pm
Contact Mia for more information. Click HERE
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Tweeners
7:00pm
Contact Mia for more information. Click HERE
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Saint Mary’s Dinner Group
Contact Julie Thomas for more information. Click HERE.
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Thursday Evening Contemplative Service
Led by Erika Scheurer and Anna Clark
7:00pm
Link
Visit the Saint Mary’s Calendars page for more information on what is happening.