St. James United Church of Christ

Car Wash Saturday for St. James Mission Team

jillkauffman — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:41:36 +0000

A car wash will be hosted at Bruster’s Ice Cream from 10:00-1:00pm on this Saturday, May 19th to benefit a St. James mission team. Please spread the word and bring your family and friends! The proceeds of the car wash will benefit the Appalachian Service Project (ASP) and help pay for the ASP trip. ASP provides the opportunity for volunteers to repair homes for low income families, with the goal of providing “warmer, safer and drier” homes for these families. For more information about ASP, please visit http://asphome.org/.

Event details:

What: Car Wash to benefit ASP

Where: Bruster’s Ice Cream, 241 West Ridge Pike, Royersford, PA

When: 10am to 1pm

School’s Out Campout 2012

stjamesucc1 — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:34:38 +0000

Celebrate the joy of summer with St. James youth at an all-night camp-out with a cook-out, s’mores, team games and challenges, a midnight movie in the pavilion, a kickball tournament, sunrise devotional, and breakfast. Friends and youth from other local churches are invited! All you need to bring is a sleeping bag, pillow, comfortable clothes, and if possible a tent.

To register for this event, please complete this registration form and mail it to the church or email it to pastor@stjames-ucc.org no later than June 4, 2012. Note that each congregation, not each individual, should use one form.

All participants are also required to bring a completed medical and photo release form when they arrive on June 9. The form can be downloaded, or email pastor@stjames.org for a copy. Click here for the School’s Out Campout release form.

When: June 8-9, 2012 6:00pm-8:00am (final pick-up no later than 9:30am)
Where: St. James Pavilion and fields
Who: Middle School and High School Youth (ages 12-18)

Please leave ipods and all other portable electronic devices at home! Cell phones will be collected and locked in the office for security reasons but can be used to contact parents as appropriate.

Prayers Answered for Music Ministry

jillkauffman — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:00:04 +0000

With great joy we welcome Donna Pinto as our new Minister of Music! On Wednesday April 25, members of the Personnel and Worship committees and other representatives of the music ministry at St. James met to prepare for an evening of conversation and discernment. Led by Pastor Rachael, we began with 30 minutes of prayer and Bible study in order to address the question, “What is God’s intention for a music ministry at St. James?” In this context, we asked for God’s guidance in discerning whether Donna was being called to lead us in this phase of our congregation’s life. The unanimous consensus of the group was a true sense of God’s Spirit bringing Donna and St. James together. Other committee members unable to attend expressed similar sentiments by email and in conversations ahead of the interview. It was a moving experience of God’s presence and closeness in our ministry for the Church in this place.

Many of you know Donna as she has been our interim musician since January of this year. Over the past month, Donna has unexpectedly found herself in a position to commit to the full position and to be a partner for the future vision of a music ministry at St. James. Donna comes to us with over 20 years of church music experience, including 13 years at Mayfair United Presbyterian Church and 17 years teaching piano lessons and workshops for children and adults at the Settlement Music School. She also has a second career as a computer programmer, during which she served as a substitute organist for countless congregations. Donna lives right here in Limerick and is looking forward to joining with us in rebuilding our music program and in helping us preserve beloved traditions while also experiencing music that may be new for some us. We look forward to welcoming her to the church family!

Random Family Ministry

jillkauffman — Thu, 10 May 2012 02:10:42 +0000

What started last fall as a simple Bible study has now grown by God’s grace into a new opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It began with a class called “Lazarus at the Gate,” which dealt with issues of economic justice. More than anything else in the Gospels, Jesus talks about money and this class called us to examine what the Bible (especially the Gospels) can teach us about money and how it impacts our faith and our world. As the study went on for many months, the class compared two books about urban poverty in the United States along the way. One was Random Family by Adrien Nicole LeBlanc. It lent a name to this ministry and helped the group gain an understanding of the complexity of poverty today.

Random Family Ministry aims to put a face on local families and neighbors in need, and to help those families through donations of clothing, household items, and money. It started with a single person, a single connection at a nearby factory, and a family who needed extra help at Christmas. The St. James Community responded to this family and others with overwhelming generosity and the class members began to wonder how to create a sustainable ministry to meet future needs. The goals of Random Family Ministry include supporting emergency needs and special requests of people in need, partnering with New Journey United Methodist Church in Reading, PA to share resources and foster spiritual broadening and mentorship, and to help look for long term solutions for the people in need. We also hope to support spiritual care for low-income workers.

Please look for more information about this new ministry beginning in June! Our first meeting will be held on Monday, June 4 at 7:00pm, and all are welcome to attend and get involved.

Flower Sale

jillkauffman — Tue, 08 May 2012 23:53:15 +0000

This year for Mother’s Day, the Appalachian Service Project team will be selling flowers as a fundraiser, in partnership with Meng Road Greenhouse. A wide variety of flowers (in pots) will be available for purchase on Sunday morning, May 13, after church. We will also have cards available indicating that the purchase of the flowers supports the ministry of ASP. This is a great way to give the gift of flowers to the woman you wish to honor while also supporting the outreach and service ministry of our congregation!

The available flowers are as follows:

8″ Hanging Baskets $12.00
10″ Hanging Baskets $19.00
Flats of Annuals $15.00
6 Pack of Annuals $5.00
4 Pack of Annuals $3.00
Geraniums $4.00
Gerber Daisy $6.00
6″ Martha Washington Geraniums $6.00

May Friendship Day

jillkauffman — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:42:04 +0000

All are welcome to attend the annual May Friendship Day celebration and meeting of Church Women United. This year’s event will be held at St. Eleanor’s Roman Catholic Church, located at 647 Locust Street, Collegeville on May 4th at 1 p.m.

From St. James, we are grateful for the opportunity to honor the ministries and service of Marion Hentz. Marion is one of those people who is always there with a helping hand in any situation, and is known for supplying homemade, from the heart meals to bereaved families or families with illnesses. Her generosity has been a comfort to many people, which is just one reason why she was chosen to
be honored.

Marion is a creative person who quilts and knits. She frequently shares her creations with the rest of the church family. She also has been dubbed “mathematical Marion” at a church family retreat because of her legendary math talents. She’s used these skills to help Women’s Fellowship and Great
Strides with their finances. In addition, Marion shares her gifts with the music ministry of St. James, playing handbells and occasionally singing in the choir.

Please join us for a time of worship, celebration, and fellowship with refreshments. All church family and friends are invited to attend!

May Newsletter

jillkauffman — Tue, 01 May 2012 02:18:35 +0000

The May newsletter is now available! Click May newsletter to view it.

Note: You may need Adobe Acrobat to view the newsletter, get it here.

Sundays at St. James UCC

jillkauffman — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:48:48 +0000

St. James Church is proudly affiliated with the United Church of Christ (UCC), an inclusive and ecumenical denomination where persons of all backgrounds are warmly received. St. James is not a place for “people with all the answers” but rather a community of seekers, sharing together the fascinating journey of life.

If you are interested, come visit us! Our current Sunday schedule is as follows:

9:00am Adult Bible Study
10:15am Worship

Nursery Care and K-5 Sunday School are held every week concurrent with the 10:15 am Worship Service.

Additionally, “The Labyrinth Group,” our confirmation program, meets every other Sunday during Worship. High School youth meet 2nd & 4th Sundays from 6-8pm. There is also an optional “study hall” time from 4-6pm.

More information about St. James UCC can be found on our Facebook page.

Again, please come join us for a Sunday service and learn more. You’ll be glad that you did!

Spring Rummage Sale

jillkauffman — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 01:18:36 +0000

It’s time for the annual Spring Rummage Sale, sponsored by Women’s Fellowship! Set up will be the afternoon and evening of Friday, April 20th. The sale will be held from 8am to 1pm on Saturday, April 21 in the Fellowship Hall. Beverages and snacks will also be available for purchase. Donations of clothing and home goods will be accepted starting Sunday, April 15. If you need to bring in your donations sooner, please contact Cindy V. to arrange a drop off date. Come on out and support our rummage sale, and tell all your friends! Proceeds will benefit local charities and the ministries of St. James UCC.

Revitalization Ministry

jillkauffman — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 12:00:33 +0000

In April our Revitalization Ministry will finally get underway! The congregation will be asked to participate in a survey on a random Sunday in the month of April; this survey will take approximately 15 minutes during worship; other elements of worship will be shortened to make time for the survey.

The survey is administered by U.S. Congregations (http://www.uscongregations.org/) and the cost is being covered by the Conference as part of our participation in the revitalization program. Over 2,000 congregations across the U.S. have already participated in this survey, so our results can be compared and contrasted with other similar congregations. The responses will help us gain a better picture of what people value in worship at St. James; what new missions or programs might be successful (or which current programs might grow); and how to address the rapidly-changing demographics in our church community and in our surrounding neighborhood so that we can continue to be a church home serving people with a wide variety of spiritual needs.

Also in April, the revitalization team will participate in the first of 12 workshops (over 3 years) with other UCC congregations of the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference, led by the Rev. Dr. Geneva Butz. The chairperson of our ministry at St. James is Jay Smith and the team members are Patti Dalina, Art Gelwicks, Mae Mogel, and Diane Raspen. These five representatives, along with Pastor
Rachael, will participate in the workshops, preparing “homework” and following up with studies, conversations, and activities to include our entire congregation in the revitalization process. If you have ideas, questions, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact Pastor Rachael or any member of the revitalization team. Communication is critical for all of us in this process, and we hope everyone will feel welcome to speak up, ask questions, and make your input part of our congregational life!