February 15, 2008 St. James’ Hits the Road

Dear E-pistle subscriber:

When you come to St. James’ to worship this Sunday, you may notice that there are far less senior high youth present than usual.

That’s because 32 of us are departing for New York City this afternoon. We’ll be staying at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, participating in their Nightwatch program, joining 75 other youth from around the country.

As part of Nightwatch, we’ll walk the Cathedral labyrinth, celebrate a midnight Eucharist, hear an organ concert, climb to the top of the Cathedral squire (which requires signing a lot of liability forms!), play games in the gym, and sleep for perhaps an hour or two! On Saturday morning, Nightwatch officially ends and we’ll head to Ground Zero for a visit to that site. Then we’ll see a performance of The Lion King on Broadway before walking around Times Square and Rockefeller Center, feasting on pizza for dinner! Then it’s back to the Cathedral for an evening of games and late night worship. We’ll return to Leesburg on Sunday afternoon.

Our trip to New York City rings in a season of youth trips around the country. Our Middle Schoolers will head to West Virginia to ski in March, and in April, we will head to the Jackson Feild home for girls in Jarret, Virginia, to build a serenity garden with and for the girls on campus. Senior High will head to Shrine Mont for a weekend with other high school youth in March, followed by summer mission trips to North Carolina, West Virginia, Liberia, and Mississippi.

I share these developments for two reasons. One is to ask for your prayers as we travel locally, nationally, and internationally. The second is to say that we always need adults to accompany us on our trips. If you read about an outing that is of interest to you, please contact me (Pastor Mary) for more information. Our programs are growing, and so is our need for helping hands!

Our youth are not the only ones engaged in hands-on outreach here at St. James’. Adults have mission trips to New Orleans, West Virginia, and Liberia scheduled in addition to hands-on outreach activities right here in Leesburg. On Sunday, February 24, at 12:15 p.m. we invite you to join us for the Adult Outreach Mini-Ministry Fair in the Parish Hall. Come meet the parishioners who are part of the “Hard Work and Heart Work” of adult outreach, transforming the lives of others while being transformed in the process. If you want to participate in the upcoming mission trip to New Orleans from April 2 to April 9, please contact me (Rev. Kate) by March 1.

Faithfully,

Rev. Kate and Pastor Mary