getting the band back together again · f you requested a vbs kit for your family, you’ll be...
TRANSCRIPT
Mission of St. Mary’s-on-the-HighlandsSt. Mary’s mission is to serve God by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ within the Parish and into the world by worshipping in the Anglican tradition,
by faithfully administering the sacraments, and by ministering to the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of our Parish family and our community.
Vision of St. Mary’s-on-the-HighlandsSt. Mary’s will offer a wide range of worship, education and outreach experiences that draw people closer to Christ.
MMessengeressengerST. MARY’S-ON-THE-HIGHLANDS EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE JULY 2020
Like many of you, I was delighted a couple of weeks ago to attend the grand farewell celebration for our dear friend, the Rev.
Danielle Thompson. Although Covid-related concerns necessitated certain measures of precaution—physical distancing, masks, and the like—our Walk-By, Drive-By celebration served to bring together friends and well-wishers from all quarters. I can tell you that, for me, the evening was among the best I’ve had in a long time. It was something of a shot-in-the-arm for my very soul. And here’s why:
Recently (and before that party) a friend asked me how things were going—what it was like doing ministry during a time where almost every interaction, pastoral and otherwise, was by telephone, video, or on the computer. I can remember answering that, “things were going fine, but I really missed my old job.” I missed the people. I missed Sunday mornings—the hymns, the handshakes, the happy greetings and hurried conversations. I missed meeting folks for lunch or for coffee. Small group meetings, Bible studies, weekend retreats, I missed all of it—even the paperwork. All in all, I missed you—and it was beginning to wear on me.
And then, on a beautiful Sunday evening, I saw you. Many in cars, many on foot. Laughing, waving, visiting together. Faces that I’d not seen and voices I’d not heard in far too long. And while the ice cream was good and the music was perfect, the best part of all was that I saw you. It was remarkable. I felt like I’d finally been to church. Being with everyone again fed
my soul and enthused my life of faith.
And, for us, the party’s not over. Indeed, the good news for us that we will all be together again soon—at church! We’ll worship together, sing together, learn together, and fellowship together. We’ll gather in a beautiful sanctuary; we’ll work, study, and serve in a skyline-changing piece of construction that is shaping up to be something really, really special.
For us, friends, the Covid is temporary and we’ll surely outlast it. But in the meantime, we will continue to gather. We’ll connect on Zoom and in daily and weekly video recordings. We’ll gather to pray in the nave every Wednesday from 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. We’ll continue to record our weekly Sunday services in the presence of a gathered number of folks who, with the clergy, lead others in worship. And this month, we will add something new. During the month of July, we will begin to gather outside, in varied settings in and around private homes, for in-person services of worship. Ap-propriately distanced and safe, we will again see one another’s faces as we look around circles of friends and neighbors and, together, praise God and make our song, “Alleluia, Alleluia.”
So, stay tuned, and I’ll see you in church.
The Rev. Jeremy Carlson
Getting the Band Back Together AgainThe Rev. Jeremy Carlson
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matt. 18:20 (KJV).
The Messenger
ST. MARY’S-ON-THE-HIGHLANDS EPISCOPAL CHURCH2
July 2020Ways to contribute gifts
to St. Mary’s1) ONLINE via St. Mary’s website:From your computer, the ChurchLife app, or Text giving. Make donations at your convenience in our safe and secure on-line format. Go to www.stmarysoth.org/give/waystogive/ and follow the prompts to give. Fee Notice: E-checks are free to the church. Credit and debit card transactions are assessed a 3% fee.
2) Another way to give electronically is to set up St. Mary’s in your own bank’s on line bill pay system. Several parishioners utilize this way of giving as they manage their other monthly financial obligations, and there are no fees to you or the church.
3) MAIL:If you would like to mail a donation, please send to:St. Mary’s on-the-Highlands, 1910 12th Avenue South, Birming-ham, AL 35205
Please indicate the type of gift in the memo line of all gifts. (such as, “pledge”, “capital campaign”, “altar flowers”, “memorial”, etc.)
4) STOCK GIFTS:Prior to making a stock gift to St. Mary’s, please contact Rhea Pelekis at [email protected].
Parents of young children (and beyond!)
Online gathering! Thursday, July 16 at We will have a Zoom happy hour and short theological discussion at
5:30 PM. Please join us for fellowship and discussion-no preparation required. Watch your email for the Zoom link. Questions? Contact Katie Dewees [email protected]
#SMOTHCREATE“Be still and know that I am God...” Psalm 46:10
Have you taken advantage of this unusual time to pur-sue a new hobby or re-engage in an old one? There is
great connection between art and the spirituality. St. Mary‘s would love to see your creations-paintings, sculptures, baked goods, drawings, needlework, photography, etc. For the entire month of July, we are encouraging parishioners of all ages to share their photos of their creations to social media and use the hashtag #SMOTHCREATE. For inspiration, please revisit these videos:https://vimeo.com/421937356https://vimeo.com/426284605 We would love it if you posted these photos to your own pages with the appropriate hashtags. Also, feel free to send any photos to [email protected] and they will get posted by her. Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Outreach Projects at Home!During the summer, you can do
outreach projects at home! Since we didn’t get a chance to do them over spring break, we now have another op-portunity to complete them.
Option 1: make and decorate cards for children at Children’s hospital. (Use your own supplies)
Option 2: make a small child-sized cross out of sculpty clay for children at Chil-dren’s Hospital (we’ll give you supplies and decorations)
You can pick-up supplies Tues-day-Thursday 8:30-4:30 at the church offices until supplies run out. Contact [email protected] to reserve the supplies and set-up a pick-up time.
Contact Stephanie Spinks [email protected]
St. Mary’s Parish Shirts and VBS Kit Pick-up
The t-shirt and Backyard VBS kit pick-up will be June 30-July 2 and July 7-9 from 8:30 AM-3:30 PM.
St. Mary’s PuzzleIf you requested a VBS kit
for your family, you’ll be getting one of these snazzy puzzles. We have plenty left if you would just like a puz-zle for your family without the kit. Email [email protected] to reserve one.
St. Mary’s Hymn ProjectWe want to know which
hymns are most mean-ingful to you. What do you love to sing? Which hymns invite you into worship? What music has deepened your faith?
With the submissions we receive, we will create a database of the parish’s favorite hymns to reference as we plan our worship services throughout the year.
Go to stmarysoth.org homepage for the link to submit your favorite hymns/spiritual songs.
The Messenger
ST. MARY’S-ON-THE-HIGHLANDS EPISCOPAL CHURCH3
July 2020
Clergy On-Call & Preaching Schedule
July 5: The Rev. H. Huey GardnerJuly 12: The Rev. H. Huey GardnerJuly 19: The Rev. Jeremy L. CarlsonJuly 26: The Rev. H. Huey Gardner
On Call Clergy Number: 205-881-3278
Transitions
The Messenger 2020 DeadlinesThe Messenger is published on the first of each
month. The deadline for submissions is the 15th of the month preceding.
Please submit any articles or events to Miles Parsons at [email protected]
Contact InformationMoved recently? New Phone? New Email? Make sure you
notify the Parish Office. We want to stay in touch and we need your help to maintain our records. Please pass new contact
information along to Melodie Elam at [email protected] or call 205-881-1261.
NEW ARRIVALS!Finley Marie Heslop
Daughter of Kyle and Chesley HeslopGranddaughter of Benny and Lynn LaRussa
Born May 20, 2020
James Barnett Chenoweth, IVSon of Meghan and Barnett ChenowethGrandson of Benny and Lynn LaRussa
Born June 12, 2020
MARRIAGESTucker Martin and Alexa Ruttenberg
June 12, 2020
REST IN PEACEClive M. Mason
Brother of Sheard McCulleyJune 8, 2020
Worship Space Open for Prayer
St. Mary’s worship space will be open for quiet prayer on Wednesdays between 12:00 and 1:30 p.m. At high noon, we will ring the church bells and then open the doors of the nave to all those who seek solace there. Making this sacred, beautiful space avail-
able to the parish for personal devotion will do very much to keep us connected and, by consequence, enrich our common life.This time will not include an organized worship service. Only ten persons will be permitted in the nave at any one time;
those ten must appropriately physically social distance themselves from one another. Those in attendance must wear face coverings.
Please join in this ministry as you are able.
St. Mary’s at Home! Ways to stay connected.
• OFFICES ARE OPEN: Staff are working from home- responding to emails and answering telephone calls. Periodically during the week staff are in the offices. You can contact the Parish Staff at 205-933-1140 or [email protected] Mon-Fri, 8:30 AM-4:30 PM. Please contact them before any visit. Face coverings and social distancing are expected of all visitors.
• SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo and our website at https://www.stmarysoth.org/connect/covid19/.
• EMAIL: Our daily emails are sent out at 3:00 PM. To be added to our email list, please contact [email protected].
• WORSHIP: Visit our website (www.stmarysoth.org) for numerous resources for at-home worship during this time. During construction, access to the worship space is limited. Bathrooms are located in the temporary office space.
• OUTREACH & PASTORAL CARE: Check out the Outreach and Pastoral Care pages on our website for updates on how we care for each other and our community.
• MISSION OF ST. CLARE: Visit https://www.missionstclare.com/english/index.html. This website site allows people from across the nation to join in daily Morning Prayer.
The Rev. Jeremy CarlsonAssistant to the [email protected](205) 933-1140 x110
The Rev. Huey [email protected](205) 933-1140 x109
1910 12th Ave SouthBirmingham, AL 35205
The Messenger is a monthly newsletter of St. Mary’s-on-the-Highlands to inform readers about what is happening in and
around our parish community.
Visit us on-line at stmarysoth.org