OUR HISTORY . . .
 At St. James, we follow the tradition of singing a hymn between the Epistle and Gospel readings during our Sunday morning worship services. The name “gradual” comes from the tradition of singing or chanting from the step or “grade” between the Hebrew Scripture and the Epistle. We walk the “grade” here as we carry the Gospel into the congregation to be read.
 SHARE YOUR STORIES - Please call 865-357-0703 to share a story about some of the wonderful ways you have seen St. James perform God's work and some of the many challenges we have faced through the years. A recorded greeting will invite you to share your sentiments over the phone. Each recorded story will be saved and added to a special collection at our website at THIS LINK. Selected stories will also be featured in upcoming editions of the St. James Sentinel Celebrating 100 years of feeding and tending God’s sheep in 2023.
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THE PRESENT . . .
 HOT DOGS FOR JUSTICE - Free hot dogs and cold beverages will be offered on Monday, May 2nd from 5 pm - 6 pm to the first 175 St. James Justice Knox network members and their guests who drive through the St. James parking lot on their way to the Nehemiah Action at World’s Fair Park. "Hot Dogs for Justice" will be cooked onsite at St. James by volunteers to assist in meeting our goal of bringing at least 175 people to the Nehemiah Action. Curbside delivery of the hot dogs will end promptly at 6 pm. Seating for the Nehemiah Action at World’s Fair park is at 6 pm so everyone will be  settled by 6:40 pm. The Nehemiah Action program will begin at 7 pm. The three prioritized issues to be addressed during the assembly include Public Transportation, Gun Violence, and Education. Click THIS LINK for more information about these three issues. Park at Church Street United Methodist Church, UMC, 900 Henley Street. If you have lost your yellow Registration Card, you can pick one up when you pick up your hot dog, get a replacement at the door, or click the image on the right to print one!
 BENEVOLENCE - Have you ever been approached by someone on the street or at St. James and been asked, "Can you help me?" Did the experience leave you unsettled, questioning, and/or wondering if you handled it well? Helping people is what benevolence work is all about, but it can be tough. It can cause stress, burnout, and turnover among the volunteers in our ministries. Benevolence work can also be the most rewarding thing we will ever do. The Compassion Coalition wants to help us alleviate this stress and make the most out of our benevolence work. That is why they will be providing in-depth training at St. James to share the tools we need to help us confidently respond to such requests for assistance. Join us on Thursday, May 12th from 9 am to 12 pm in the Parish Hall for this Frontline Training, "Responding to Requests for Assistance", facilitated by Compassion Coalition. Learn about verification, 10 best practices, when ‘no’ is appropriate, and how to help without hurting. RSVP for this training is REQUIRED. Contact kevin@stjamesknox.org today to reserve your seat.
 During January, February, and March, KARM Stores received 70 donations from those connected to St. James Episcopal Church. As a result, St. James has been rewarded with $170 worth of gift cards to KARM Thrift Stores in $10 & $20 denominations which we distribute to neighbors in desperate need. Find out how easily YOU make this program possible by watching the 60-second video at THIS LINK. Thank you so much for helping us help our neighbors in this very practical and meaningful way.
 YOUR MUG ON REALM - Matching names with faces can be very challenging, regardless of our youth or the amount we care for one another. That's why our online church directory in Realm is so helpful! If you have already activated your members-only Realm account, you can access a photo of every other member who has shared their "mug" in their profile. If you would like Kevin to add some St. James "shells" to your photo, (like the ones you can see if you CLICK the mug to the LEFT), send him a recent headshot at kevin@stjamesknox.org. He will upload your photo with the shells to your profile.
The St. James Doorstep Ministry has an opening for a volunteer on Monday afternoons (noon - 4 pm). This is an opportunity to hand out lunches to our less fortunate neighbors, answer the telephone, and perform other light office work at the church. If you are interested, please contact Pam Strickland at pamstrickland@mac.com or 865-386-0805.
 UTO IN-GATHERING - Thank you in advance for giving thanks for your blessings by dropping a coin in your little blue United Thank Offering (UTO) box. On Sunday, (May 8), you are asked to write a check for the amount in your box and put it in the UTO envelope provided in this week's service bulletin. Members of the St. James Episcopal Church Women will collect your envelopes and offer your gifts at the altar for blessing. If you are not able to be in church, please consider sending your contribution electronically or by mail. Please make checks payable to St. James and indicate UTO on the memo line. UTO is entrusted to receive and distribute 100% of what is collected to support ministry throughout The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.
 GET TO THE POINT for Summer 2022! Spend a week of your summer kayaking on Watts Bar, tie-dyeing in the Art Barn, getting muddy at the mud pit, and so much more! Grace Point Summer Camp registration is open! Scholarships are available, including those from the St. James Episcopal Church Women! Contact Stacy Hall for information about ECW scholarships, srhall54@outlook.com, (865) 236-4473.
May 27-30 Family Camp (kids and families of all ages!) $160 for a family of two, $80 per additional camper; Jun 2-7 Junior Camp (rising 4th-6th) $425; Jun 9-14 Intermediate Camp (rising 7th - 9th) $425; Jun 17-19 Adult Camp (ages 21+) $235; Jun 26-Jul 1 Junior Summer Session (rising 4th-6th) $425; Jul 9-14 Youth Camp (rising 10th-just graduated) $425; Jul 17-22 Intermediate Summer Session (rising 7th-9th) $425. Find out more about the Grace Point Summer Camp and register at THIS LINK.
 MOVING TO NASHVILLE - Two lovely members of our St. James family will soon be moving to Nashville. We will miss the personal engagement we have enjoyed with them over the years, but we are excited they plan to stay in touch through every virtual means available. Since they are moving into a smaller home, they have decided to donate several beautiful pieces of furniture to the St. James Neighbor Day Auction. So, we are looking for a place to store them from mid-May until the end of September. If you can welcome one or more of these pieces into your home or storage unit, please contact Kevin kevin@stjamesknox.org this week.
UKRAINE RELIEF - St. James is joining other congregations in collecting medical supplies for the people of Ukraine, which will be flown to Poland and then brought into Ukraine. Below is a list of supplies that are needed, most of which can be found at any local pharmacy or grocery. Please consider getting a few of these items and placing them in the large plastic bin in Conference Room A. If you would be willing to make a financial contribution to this effort, please write a check out to St. James with the words "Ukraine Relief" in the memo field. Thank you for whatever you can do! Please DONATE: ace bandages, large bandages, gauze, wound dressing supplies, batteries, splints, medical tape (meant to adhere to skin), diabetic test strips + glucometer, antiseptic such as rubbing alcohol, emergency thermal blankets, alcohol swabs/wipes, oxygen nasal cannulas, and tourniquets.
 COVID UPDATE - As long as Knox Co. remains in the low risk range, wearing masks shall be optional when attending worship services or other events at St James. Please respect the decisions of others who may choose to continue wearing masks. St. James has resumed serving wine at communion. You may drink from the cup or light dip the wafer in the wine. Should the level of COVID increase, we will make appropriate adjustments. For the latest information on COVID in Knox Co., visit THIS LINK.
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OUR FUTURE . . .
 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - Do you enjoy working with children? The Nursery and Children's Chapel are looking for anyone interested in helping with the kids of St. James. If you can spare a Sunday, we have many age groups that could use your help. Our Children's Nursery is provided every week for kids ages 0-5 that just love to play. Our Children's Chapel meets every other week providing spiritual growth opportunities for kids ages 5-12. We do crafts along with the lessons in the younger kids class. With the older kids ages 9-12, we talk about what the parents are hearing in church service that day, how they can relate to the scripture and how they can apply it in their everyday life? If you are interested please email Theresa at tde444@yahoo.com and type "Volunteer" in the subject line. No experience is needed and all materials are provided.
 GRADUATION - Do you know someone affiliated with St. James who is graduating from school, (at any level), this summer? Please let Linda lgoins@stjamesknox.org know so she can provide recognition in an upcoming newsletter. Please tell us about their achievement and what immediate or long-term plans they may have. If possible, please also provide a photo!
 CHECK THE STATS - Not everything we do in life or in our ministries can be monitored or measured. Still, there are many things that can. When we take the time to collect and examine the data, it can cause us to think about what we are doing and inspire us to consider doing some things differently. In this and future Sentinel articles, statistical information and trends related to population growth, age groups, cultures, economic indicators, education levels, family structure, and housing types, within a 3 mile radius of St. James will be presented for consideration by the entire congregation. Click the graphs to enlarge.
Evangelism takes place among people of all cultural backgrounds, though different strategies are often important. If the cultural composition of this area includes recent immigrants to the nation or people who have not blended well with the dominant society, compassionate ministries may be indicated.
The total population within a 3 mile radius of St. James is 105,702.
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Asian (non-Hispanic): |
1,715 |
(1.6%) |
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Black (non-Hispanic): |
24,440 |
(23.1%) |
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Hispanic: |
5,338 |
(5.1%) |
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Native American (non-Hispanic): |
309 |
(0.3%) |
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Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic): |
59 |
(0.1%) |
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White (non-Hispanic): |
69,882 |
(66.1%) |
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Other: |
3,959 |
(3.7%) |
Languages spoken in the home:
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Arabic: |
447 |
(0.4%) |
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Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese): |
318 |
(0.3%) |
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English only: |
92,563 |
(92.4%) |
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French, Haitian, or Cajun: |
291 |
(0.3%) |
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German or other West Germanic languages: |
167 |
(0.2%) |
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Korean: |
322 |
(0.3%) |
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Russian, Polish, or other Slavic languages: |
298 |
(0.3%) |
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Spanish: |
4,133 |
(4.1%) |
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Tagalog (incl. Filipino): |
82 |
(0.1%) |
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Vietnamese: |
94 |
(0.1%) |
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Other: |
1,506 |
(1.5% |
 FIVE GENERATIONS AT ST. JAMES . . . Did you know the St. James family now consists of five (5) different generations? Recognizing that, we are committed to exploring new strategies to promote the relevance of our mission and continue to be fully inclusive. We know we must focus on how we engage people of all ages, how we raise up volunteers, how we talk about funding our ministries, and how we are changing the world. Our youngest generations give us the gift of their optimism and idealism. We must respect the trust they place is us and remember our Gospel call to change the world as we seek, serve, and follow Jesus. With that in mind, we are conducting a 10-second survey will that provide powerful information to help us in our exploration. If you are receiving this publication, we want to hear from you! Please take a moment to submit our 10-second survey at THIS LINK.
 REAL MINISTRY - Realm is our cloud-based "members only" church networking platform that helps us perform real ministry by working as a catalyst for engagement - 24/7. Realm helps our ministry leaders organize their communications, share content, and distribute task assignments within their groups. It also helps new members by providing the resources they need to be put on pathways to achieve spiritual fulfillment. If you have only heard about Realm, but you have not activated your free Realm account, reach out to the Realm Orientation Crew at realm@stjamesknox.org
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REGULAR HAPPENINGS . . .
Fr. John Mark's Blog https://stjamesknox.org/rector/
featuring insights and comment on various topics.
THURSDAYS
Thursday Study Group (Parish Hall and Zoom) 10 am - 11:30 pm
Studying the weekly lectionary readings at lectionarypage.net each week through May 29th.
Contact: nepullen@gmail.com or call 415-722-0139 for the link.
Praying the Rosary (Zoom) 7 pm - 8 pm
Cynthia Thornburg hosts 1 hour of praying the rosary on Thursday evenings. All are welcome!
Meeting ID: 836 8961 2206 | rosary
Contact: Cynthia Thornburg or Margaret Bickley
SUNDAYS
Sunday Morning Adult Formation (Conference Room A or Zoom) 9:15 am - 10:15 am
Discussions about resurrection appearances in scripture, the witnesses to them,
and what those stories have to do with us. Each week through May 8th.
Zoom Link Meeting ID: 882 1887 6476
MONDAYS
Centering Prayer (Zoom) 6 pm - 7 pm
Studying Radical Wisdom: A Feminist Mystical Theology by Beverly J. Lanzetta.
Zoom Link Meeting ID: 813 3584 8679 | Pray
TUESDAYS
Tuesday Morning Book Discussion Group (Zoom) 11 am - 12 pm
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
About a conversation between Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama
Contact: mbick@gmail.com, or call 865-384-7422 for link.
Tuesday Evening Prayer (Zoom) 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Zoom Link Meeting ID: 884 2912 1929 Password: Pray
The Soul of the Indian (Zoom) 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
"Soul of the Indian" by Dr. Charles Eastman - understanding of the Native American culture
and how it has been affected over the last 400 hundred years.
Contact: rondmorton@gmail.com for link.
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