Monthly Newsletter and Events

St. Mark’s Food pantry – Donations of 1-gallon plastic containers. Future St. Mark’s dates: Saturdays of October 17, November 14, and December 5. Recipes are to be announced.

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Homecoming festival – Mark your calendar for our annual festival: Sunday, September 20, 2026, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm. Fun stuff for kids and lots of food. We gather in the Ed building. Marcie Venella and Lisa Pettit are organizing a host committee to coordinate refreshments, setup/cleanup, and other logistics. If you’re interested in helping, contact Lisa at lnp001@comcast.net or Marcie at Mbvcooks@gmail.com.

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James Gang: The next "James Gang" lunch will be on Tuesday, August 11, 12:00 pm at the at McLawson's Corner, 111 Trenton Road in Fairless Hills. These lunches are informal social gatherings without agendas or homework assignments. Everyone pays for their own meal. Contact Chris Parker at cprk210@aol.com to RSVP (helpful but not required) or if you have any questions.

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Question: What is worse than eating an apple and finding a worm in it? Answer later.

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As a non-profit organization, our business meetings are open to the public. Here is the schedule for the next round of business meetings:

Finance and Property

Monday, August 10, 10:00 am in the parish library

Monday, September 14, 6:30 pm in the parish library and via Zoom

Vestry (Vestry does not meet in July or August)

Wednesday, September 16, 6:30 pm in the church library and via Zoom

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Thanks for dining south of the border – Thanks to everyone who participated in our capital campaign fundraiser on August 4 with El Limon restaurant in Langhorne (108 S. Bellevue Ave.). We had strong participation by our parish and friends of the program. Special thanks goes to the owner of El Limon Langhorne for giving this a try. Kudos to Kathy Coon who spearheaded the idea, coordinated with the restaurant, and helped us spread the word. We’ll announce how much we made once we’ve gotten the check from El Limon.

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Confirmation class this fall – For anyone who is interested in confirmation, reception, and reaffirmation: Father Sean will be leading a class beginning in September. There will be one class for teens and one class for adults. Classes will take place during the week at times and dates to be determined. Most classes will be held online.

* Confirmation is for anyone age 13 or older who was baptized as a child and wants to take Baptismal vows as an adult.

* Reception into the Episcopal Church is for anyone who was confirmed as an adult in another Christian denomination and wants to join the Episcopal Church.

* Reaffirmation is for someone who was confirmed by, or received into, the Episcopal Church and wants to renew their vows.

Contact Father Sean at the church office with questions or to enroll.

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Holy Cross Retreat in 2027 – St. James has reserved rooms at the Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, New York on the following dates: Friday, April 16 through Sunday, April 18, 2027. We accept reservations on a first-come, first-serve basis. Contact Edith in the church office for pricing and registration information.

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NAMI Stride Walk on Sunday, October 4 – The Bucks County Chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Health will be hosting a festival and walking fundraiser at 1:00 pm on Sunday, October 4, 2026 at Warminster Community Park. You can volunteer to walk and/or you can donate to the St. James “team.” Check out the attached link: https://give.gofundme.com/stride2026. If you have questions, reach out to Kathy Coon at kcoonpa@gmail.com.

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Parish Prayer list

HEALING: the Cancila family, Charissa Zmuda, Craig and Staci Hitchen, Darryl, Dennis, Gerard Ehrlen, Gianna Corbo, Gerry Mayall, Gary Schlecter, Keith, Len Mizia, Mary Banecker, Sue Brown, Tom Berger

SPECIAL PRAYERS: Babe Sidman, Christopher, Doris Laino, Ginny Manning, Larry, the Redjal family, Ryan, Tim McCarthy, Zachary

EXPECTING NEW BIRTH: Erinn & Taylor Strobl, Kyle Cush & Jordan Hawkes

THANKSGIVING FOR NEW BIRTH: Finnley Rustin Frisch

FAITHFUL DEPARTED: Terri Lotierzo, Brent Godfrey, Abby Stocker, Mary Kate Golding

ANGLICAN CYCLE OF PRAYER:

August 2: The Anglican Church of South America The Most Reverend Brian Williams, Primate

August 9: Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, The Most Reverend Justin Badi Arama, Primate

August 16: Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, The Most Reverend Ezekiel Kumir Kondo, Primate

August 23: The Anglican Church of Tanzania, The Most Reverend Dr Maimbo Mndolwa, Primate

ALTAR FLOWERS (dates, names of donors, and the faithful departed):

Aug. 2 – Marcie & Les Venella “in thanksgiving for our wonderful grandchildren Jackson, Kyle, Brooklyn, and Noelle”

Aug. 9 – Dan & Marlene Davis: “Thanks for being our grandchildren, Lexi and Bea!”

Aug. 16 – Sue Acaster in memory of Robert Acaster.

Aug. 23 – Dan Ahern & Kathy Coon for the Ahern and Coon families.Aug. 30 – John & Alison Cervenik for the Braithwaite, Cervenik and Payton families.

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The answer: finding half a worm.

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Sign-Up Genius links

Sign-up Genius is our online platform for volunteering: readers, Eucharistic Ministers, and Coffee Hour hosts. Contact Edith in the church office with any questions.

Pentecost: August 2026 (August 1 – 30):

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050F48ACAF2DA2FD0-64415076-pentecost#/

Pentecost: September 2026 (September 3 – 28):

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050F48ACAF2DA2FD0-64871287-pentecost#/

Rector’s Reflection

Therefore the Israelites shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign forever between me and the Israelites that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’” Exodus 31:16-17

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later about another day. So then, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God, for those who enter God’s rest also rest from their labors as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs. Hebrews 4:8-11

Friends, I’ll be on vacation beginning Thursday, August 13, returning the weekend of August 29-30. While I am away, feel free to contact the office by phone or email. Edith checks messages frequently. There are other priests in the area that she can contact in the event of a pastoral emergency.

Vacation is an extended form of Sabbath. The very first story in our Bible tells us that God made all of creation in six days, and on the seventh day, God took a break. Later, in the book of Exodus, God gave the law to Moses. The law included a declaration that God’s people should dedicate a day for rest and prayer. Still later, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews affirmed the practice of Sabbath, positing that “God Time” keeps us out of trouble. In other words, when we summon the energy to be in conversation with God – when we dedicate time in our calendar to reflect on what is important to the Almighty – we are less prone to deviate from God’s ways.

(Hymn #686 in our Hymnal has an apt verse: “Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee: prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.)

Many of you are living busy and productive lives. That is good. May your labors produce good fruit of the Holy Spirit. At the same time, I encourage each of you to set aside time every week and every year for Sabbath: down time, a break from work and responsibilities.

And once we get to August 29, we’ll see if time off did, in fact, keep me out of trouble.

~ Father Sean