Grace and peace to you. The Outline of the Faith in The Book of Common Prayer says: "Grace is God's favor towards us, unearned and undeserved; by grace God forgives our sins, enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens our wills." (BCP 858) God shows favor towards us just because God wants to, because, God is good, because God loves us. I am more and more aware that many of us struggle to accept that about ourselves, and definitely struggle extending that acceptance to others.
I pray that we can show some grace as we tackle the hot issues of our day. May we see those who differ from us as people. We often can focus on the issues rather than the people touched by the choices we make as individuals and a society.
We can be a community that seeks to live that grace by extended unconditional acceptance. We name that in our sacraments. We receive the acceptance as we receive Christ and become that bread for the world.
Thank you for showing that grace. See more details in this email about the ways we are living out that grace. Thanks so much for helping us kick off the capital campaign. Join the fun at the picnic on July 9.
May you know God's grace. God looks on you with favor just because God chooses too.
Peace,
Fr. John Mark
OUR PAST . . .
100 YEARS OF MINISTRY - As part of our year long centennial celebration, a special video is being produced this summer to commemorate the occasion. "100 Years of Ministry at St. James" will feature the recorded voices of parishioners sharing some of the history and ongoing work performed by the various groups within the ministry at St. James. The final edited video will also feature a collection of images to help illustrate their groups.
Currently, we are seeking at least one individual from each ministry group to sit for a comfortable recorded 15-minute conversation, (audio only),with Kevin or Drew Jeske-Polyak. These conversations will take place in the Library by appointment at convenient times during the week, or on the weekend if necessary. Ideally, all of the conversations will be recorded prior to July 31st to allow time for editing. The great thing about audio recordings is the ability to select the best segments and edit them together in a seamless fashion. Please suggest some times that would work for you to talk about the ministry group(s) with which you are associated. Contact Kevin at kevin@stjamesknox.org. What a GIFT your spoken word will provide to our congregation for many years to come!
The Career Closet was set up to help people find the right clothes for interviews because so many of the young women didn’t have anything proper to wear. - Carroll Minor
I remember my mother telling us about the women baking pies to sell to help pay off the mortgage on the church building. The mortgage was then burned during the morning church service. - Jane Clift
Finding out about all the outreach ministries at St. James made this church our home because this is what God meant for a church to do. - Drew Jeske-Polyak
Soon, and very naturally, at St. James we came to understand the difference between passively “attending” church and more intentionally “tending” to the needs of our neighbors. - Kevin Jeske-Polyak
As a baby boomer raised in the South, St. James has shown me a different way to live, to accept people as they have accepted me, and to find the good in everyone. This church truly accepts you as you are. No judgment here. - Carol Yates
THE PRESENT . . .
CENTENNIAL RAIN - During the first 10 days of our effort to raise as much of our $2.0 M capital campaign goal as we can during the 100 days between June 19th and Sep 27th, we have received 24 pledges totaling $373,583 representing 18.7% of our goal. That is an awesome start, but we must remain focused on moving forward with our pledges to achieve the goal. While the size of individual pledges will vary according to means and circumstances, every gift will contribute to God's work through St. James. The combined urgency & engagement of all parishioners to prayerfully consider their centennial pledge and submit a pledge card at this time will help us to be poised to begin coordinating construction just as soon as possible. Then, as those plans are finalized, details will be shared with everyone to show how we will continue to have church in the midst of our construction. For now, our charge is simple. Please submit your centennial pledge just as soon as you can. Make sure your name is added to the list of names being collected in the Parish Hall for a permanent monument that will commemorate our effort at the completion of the project, and provide assistance to other parishioners who may be unsure about how the pledging process works. Let it rain - centennial rain, and watch things grow!
CAUGHT IN THE ACT - They are not always aware they are noticed, but some of us see them doing it nearly every day of the week between Sundays. It's called "ministry work" and it includes everything from maintaining the ceremonial objects used in our worship services and praying the Anglican Rosary to knitting prayer shawls and preparing sandwiches for the bagged lunches that are distributed to our neighbors. The next time you catch one or more of our parishioners performing such work, please use your cell phone to snap a candid photo and share it with kevin@stjamesknox.org so he can add it to our "Feeding & Tending" bulletin board. The bulletin board helps to remind us all how many opportunities there are for engagement at St. James.
CHILDREN'S CHAPEL JULY SCHEDULE
Sun, July 10th – Children’s Chapel - “Proper 10”
Older Youth: presented by Carol Yates and Rod Moore
Younger Kids: presented by Theresa Ann Russell and Lesley Starck
Sun, July 17th - Planning Meeting
All volunteers, directly after church – Conference Room A
Sun, July 24th – Children’s Chapel - “Proper 12”
Older Youth: presented by Audrey Nitz and Pam Barbera
Younger Kids: presented by Theresa Ann Russell and Lesley Starck
EVANGELISM IS STORYTELLING - Every Thursday from June 30 through the end of July, Drew Jeske-Polyak will be leading us in learning to share stories as a form of Episcopal Evangelism from 10 am - 11:30 am in Conference Room A. From time to time he will also be joined by Fr John Mark in leading our sessions. Having completed the necessary coursework, Drew is a licensed Diocesan Evangelical Facilitator. All the materials will be provided, just bring yourselves. Please join us as we travel the road of discovery and what it means to embrace evangelism in the Episcopal Church.
ALTAR GUILD - Looking to join a small group at St. James? The Altar Guild welcomes men, women, couples, parents & children. The group is divided into teams that meet on 2 weekends every 6 weeks for a total of about 4 hours to prepare the altar for Sunday and other special services. This is an opportunity to get to know some very caring people. If this is something you might be looking for, please contact Patty Chase 865-603-4008, Bea Emory 865-556-0661, or Susan Abell 214-412-7554. We would enjoy the opportunity to talk with you.
PARISH PICNIC - Celebrating 100 years of women's contributions to St. James, the Episcopal Church Women will host a St. James Parish Family Picnic on Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 11 am in the Parish Hall & Playground. The ECW will provide protein and beverages and you are invited to bring your favorite PICNIC dish! Please let us know you're coming and what you are planning to bring by calling the church office (865-523-5687) or signing up after church, June 26, or July 3. Download the picnic flier at THIS LINK. For more information, please contact Kitty McNamara (865-310-3065) or Nancy Pullen (415-722-0139).
FRAUD ALERT - Nowadays, there is so much activity related to targeting, misusing, and leveraging church member contact information, especially email addresses and phone numbers for fraudulent purposes. So St. James, like so many other churches, has become much more vigilant in protecting this kind of information. Last week, someone claiming to be Lee Creech, using an email address that does not belong to him, has sent messages requesting a printed copy of our "church directory". For reasons especially related to security, the practice of printing and distributing St. James member directories was discontinued some time ago. So, if you are contacted by anyone with a similar request, do not provide any information at all. Instead, please report it to Kevin kevin@stjamesknox.org. Utilizing the full capability of Realm, St. James parishioners are able to use their authorized login credentials to securely log in and regularly update their own contact information. They can also decide what information they choose to be accessible to staff and what information can be "seen" by the rest of the membership with authorized login credentials. If someone you "know" to be a member does not appear to be in the Realm database, or a specific "piece" of information you need does not appear to be there, please contact Linda Goins, myself, or John Mark. We will determine if the person is actually in the database, (just "hidden"), and determine if the necessary information can be accessed a different way and shared with you.
Visit sjNeighborday.com to browse this year's selection of auction items!
OUR FUTURE . . .
CENTENNIAL BULLETIN BOARD - In addition to the "Feeding & Tending" (sheep) bulletin board adjacent to the kitchen, highlighting the work of our ministry groups, a new bulletin board display highlighting our centennial capital campaign has been erected in the hallway just across from the copy room. This board features content joyfully celebrating the first 100 years of our history, information about the thoughtfully considered capital improvements coming to our facility, and shared sentiments related to our prayerful investment in securing the mission of our ministry. Look for our centennial "rain gauge" mounted near the center of the bulletin board showing our progress, (percentage), toward meeting our $2.0 M capital campaign goal. Please pledge what you can to help us reach our goal before September 27, 2022. Once you have decided how much you would like to invest, you may submit your pledge by downloading a PAPER PLEDGE FORM, or by accessing our ONLINE PLEDGE FORM.
OUR CENTENNIAL PRAYER
Lord Christ, the shepherd of the sheep,
we give thanks for those
who have built up the work
of St. James over the past 100 years.
Give us grace to continue in their faithfulness
by doing justice and mercy in this community.
Grant us generous hearts
to support and build the resources
that will strengthen and continue our work
of feeding and tending your sheep.
May we do all these things to your glory,
you who reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
MAKING YOUR CENTENNIAL PLEDGE - Investing in the future of our ministry at St. James begins by making a pledge to our centennial capital campaign. You may pledge to make a gift in a single payment or several smaller payments over a period of time. Pledge totals are routinely tallied to track progress in raising the necessary funds to support our capital improvement plan. Once you have decided how much you would like to invest, you may submit your pledge by downloading a PAPER PLEDGE FORM, or by accessing our ONLINE PLEDGE FORM.
Thursday Study Group (Parish Hall and Zoom) 10 am - 11:30 pm
Discussing modern Evangelistic Storytelling in the Episcopal Church. Contact: nepullen@gmail.com or call 415-722-0139 for the link.
Praying the Anglican Rosary (Zoom) 7 pm - 8 pm
Cynthia Thornburg hosts 1 hour of praying the Anglican rosary. All are welcome!
Meeting ID: 836 8961 2206 | rosary
Contact: Cynthia Thornburg or Margaret Bickley
SUNDAYS
Sunday Morning Adult Formation(will resume July 10th) 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. Zoom Link Meeting ID: 882 1887 6476
Gospel Surprises(will resume via Zoom August 7th) 5 pm - 6 pm
Studying the Gospel.
Contact: mariewcantrell@gmail.com for the link.
MONDAYS
Centering Prayer(Zoom or Library, on 2nd & 4th Monday) 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: mbick7@gmail.com, or call 865-384-7422 for link.
The Soul of the Indian (Zoom) 6 pm - 7 pm "Black Elk Speaks" by John G. Neihardt - the story of Black Elk,
an Oglala Lakota medicine man.
Contact: rondmorton@gmail.com for link.
We apologize for any errors or omissions that may have occurred in this publication at press time.
For questions related to any content, please contact referenced ministry leaders or email: kevin@stjamesknox.org.
St. James Episcopal Church 1101 N. Broadway St. Knoxville, TN 37917
CENTENNIAL RAIN - During the first 10 days of our effort to raise as much of our $2.0 M capital campaign goal as we can during the 100 days between June 19th and Sep 27th, we have received 24 pledges totaling $373,583 representing 18.7% of our goal. That is an awesome start, but we must remain focused on moving forward with our pledges to achieve the goal. While the size of individual pledges will vary according to means and circumstances, every gift will contribute to God's work through St. James. The combined urgency & engagement of all parishioners to prayerfully consider their centennial pledge and 
CAUGHT IN THE ACT - They are not always aware they are noticed, but some of us see them doing it nearly every day of the week between Sundays. It's called "ministry work" and it includes everything from maintaining the ceremonial objects used in our worship services and praying the Anglican Rosary to knitting prayer shawls and preparing sandwiches for the bagged lunches that are distributed to our neighbors. The next time you catch one or more of our parishioners performing such work, please use your cell phone to snap a candid photo and share it with 
CHILDREN'S CHAPEL JULY SCHEDULE 
EVANGELISM IS STORYTELLING - Every Thursday from June 30 through the end of July, Drew Jeske-Polyak will be leading us in learning to share stories as a form of Episcopal Evangelism from 10 am - 11:30 am in Conference Room A. From time to time he will also be joined by Fr John Mark in leading our sessions. Having completed the necessary coursework, Drew is a licensed Diocesan Evangelical Facilitator. All the materials will be provided, just bring yourselves. Please join us as we travel the road of discovery and what it means to embrace evangelism in the Episcopal Church.
PARISH PICNIC - Celebrating 100 years of women's contributions to St. James, the Episcopal Church Women will host a St. James Parish Family Picnic on Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 11 am in the Parish Hall & Playground. The ECW will provide protein and beverages and you are invited to bring your favorite PICNIC dish! Please let us know you're coming and what you are planning to bring by calling the church office (865-523-5687) or signing up after church, June 26, or July 3. Download the picnic flier at 
CENTENNIAL BULLETIN BOARD - In addition to the "Feeding & Tending" (sheep) bulletin board adjacent to the kitchen, highlighting the work of our ministry groups, a new bulletin board display highlighting our centennial capital campaign has been erected in the hallway just across from the copy room. This board features content joyfully celebrating the first 100 years of our history, information about the thoughtfully considered capital improvements coming to our facility, and shared sentiments related to our prayerful investment in securing the mission of our ministry. Look for our centennial "rain gauge" mounted near the center of the bulletin board showing our progress, (percentage), toward meeting our $2.0 M capital campaign goal. Please pledge what you can to help us reach our goal before September 27, 2022. Once you have decided how much you would like to invest, you may submit your pledge by downloading a 
Lord Christ, the shepherd of the sheep,
