 Dear saints of James and Andrew, This past Sunday you received a letter from our Missioner, Rev. Jimmy Pickett, sharing the bittersweet news that his time shared between our parish and St. John’s in Athol will be coming to an end this November. He has accepted a call to serve Grace, Great Barrington. We hired Rev. Jimmy to focus on formation and community building:
During the time that remains, Rev. Jimmy will continue with the Wednesday Chapel community. He will also be with us in worship on September 21 to preside and November 23 to preach on his final Sunday with us. At the request of the Rector and Vestry, he is also preparing a special one time event focused on end of life planning that we anticipate featuring an estate attorney, nurse, funeral home director, and church leaders. The hope is for the event to be live-streamed and recorded as a resource that could be available on our website, and a supplemental booklet with other helpful information. The event is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, October 28 in the evening. During these last nearly two years, we as a parish have also had the honor and privilege of supporting a newly ordained clergy person as they begin their ministry - a gift to the wider Church. As a priest that served in a similar arrangement when I was newly ordained in Maine, I can attest to my continuing gratitude for the lessons the communities of Grace Church, Bath and St. Phillip’s, Wiscasset taught me. They loved me through each learning moment, and helped me to grow as a clergy person. You have done the same with Rev. Jimmy, and what a gift it is. Thank you. Some folks have inquired whether we’ll be hiring another assisting minister. We have been incredibly blessed by the part time clergy who have served our community since our community was born following the 2017 merger of James and Andrew. We knew back then we would not be able to financially sustain two paid clergy persons for the long term but felt it was essential in those early years following our merger. After the Rev. Dr. Molly Scherm’s departure as our Associate Rector, we knew we needed a dedicated staff person to explore projects that were essential to our community’s efforts to grow in faith, and the Spirit led us into a holy experiment with Rev. Jimmy. Even as our community breathes new life through the joyful noise of children, the playful banter of our youth, and of marginalized community members taking comfort in our meals and worship services, we are not able to financially support two clergy persons. The Vestry is always holding in tension the places where we need to fan the flames of the Holy Spirit to keep growing the Jesus Movement here in Franklin County, and the challenging demand on our resources of maintaining our campus. We tolerate the ambiguity and trust in God, making the best next steps we can faithfully make, and see what unfolds. What we have seen again and again and again is that God always provides in abundance. As the calendar year shifts into 2026, we will need to remain nimble and creative with how we use the time, talent, and treasure of our community; continue to discern what responsibilities live with our paid staff, and what is handled by our volunteers; and remain ever faithful in our prayer and praise of God. Because all that truly matters is that God is with us, we have one another, and a wider community that needs the radical love of God we have to offer. Especially at this hour in our common life. In this and upcoming editions of our Newsletter, I would encourage you to consider some of the exciting programming we will be offering to help us continue to grow in faith, such as: Episcopal 101 & Newcomers Group; Children’s Chapel; Youth Group & Youth Confirmation Class; Wednesday Chapel community; St. Andrew’s Guild Skill-Share; Choir; Bell Choir, Coffee & Conversation, and much more. Ever yours in the peace, love, joy, and hope of Christ. Rev. Heather J. Blais, Rector Dear Friends of Saints James and Andrew,
This past spring, we hired Deb Parker as our Facilities staff to address our cleaning, event, security, on call, and other facility needs. She has done great work for us, including making several efficiencies. This fall Deb’s schedule changed, and we came to the mutual decision that her time with us would conclude on November 23, following the Mistletoe Mart & Craft Faire. Please join me in thanking Deb for a job well done. We’ve spent the last two years experimenting, analyzing and learning about our staffing needs. As the Vestry looked to the future, we decided to go in a new direction. We have hired our current Office Administrator, Aaron McMurray, as our new Parish Administrator, effective November 1. Aaron has a background in supporting churches administratively, as well as, in a facilities management role. Aaron will continue to be responsible for all of their current tasks around parish administration and communication, property use, plus event set up/take down, property on call, security, minor repairs, liaising with the Property Committee around meeting contractors and keeping up certifications. Moving forward, Aaron will have the overall responsibility, being the point person, for the day to day operation of our spaces. We believe this change:
We are also entertaining the notion and weighing the pros and cons of hiring a staff person v. hiring a cleaning service. We have learned from other churches with large, active facilities how helpful it was to make such a shift. We are currently collecting the information from cleaning services, but we believe it is worth the Vestry’s serious consideration. We hope to make a decision within the next couple of weeks. Another staffing change relates to our Missioner, the Rev. Jimmy Pickett. We hired Rev. Jimmy to serve as our Missioner for Formation, Community, and Mission as part of a two year holy experiment with our diocese and St. John’s, Athol. The position was ⅔ time, with ⅓ time in each parish, and Rev. Jimmy supplemented this work with agricultural work. He has done excellent work building a community on Wednesday mornings with those who gather for Holy Eucharist, as well as his work with our young families ministry. As we looked back on the first year together, we realized his work was heavily under the umbrella of formation. We’ve changed his title to Missioner for Formation and his work for the second year will be focused primarily on continuing the great work he has already begun. This is a time specific job, and Rev. Jimmy will conclude his time with us in late 2025. Meanwhile, St. John’s, Athol, have increased his time to ½ time, allowing him to focus more fully on parish ministry and take a step back from agricultural work. As the young families ministry has experimented and grown this last year, we made the decision to shift to some Sunday morning programming a couple of times a month starting in Advent. This ministry will be run by parents, caregivers, and other parishioners excited with engaging our young parishioners. Rev. Jimmy is currently overseeing the hiring process so we might pay for a second adult to help manage childcare (kids who need to be brought to the restrooms or require a bit of support in listening or engaging with the programming). If you know anyone who would be a good fit for this role who is over 18, please contact Rev. Jimmy at [email protected]. Likewise, if you are excited to potentially work with our young kids on a rota of other volunteers, please speak to Rev. Jimmy or myself. Thank you for your ongoing love, care, and support for the James and Andrew community, and your faithfulness to the mission and ministry God has called our parish into during this chapter. May God continue to bless the work happening here, and may all we do be to the glory of God. Peace, Rev. Heather J. Blais, on behalf of Clergy & Vestry  Dear Friends of Saints James and Andrew,
The Vestry recently met to discuss our remaining local Covid-19 era protocols; all diocesan protocols having previously been rescinded. It was concluded that we will rescind such protocols, but we want to invite the community to reflect on the practice of communion. We will no longer require windows and doors to be open for worship. When the weather allows, we will open them for fresh air to circulate. Ushers will collaborate with the Rector on Sunday mornings, or the Wardens, in her absence. We will continue to use a Flexible Masking Policy as a way to reduce respiratory virus transmission. While the policy was created as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic, we’ve learned it's a healthy practice in general. With regard to masks, the Celebrant and Lay Eucharistic Ministers will no longer be required to mask for distribution of communion and healing prayers. Moving forward it will be a personal decision for each person. With regard to communion: The Church has long held that if you take only one form of Communion (either the bread or the wine) you are fully communed; thus no one should ever feel pressured to receive the wine. For those who would like to receive the wine, there have historically been two ways: drinking from the common cup and intinction (the dipping of the bread into the common cup). When we resumed communion in 2022, drinking from the common cup was permitted, but intinction was not. Effective immediately, we will permit intinction, though the practice is discouraged for two reasons. First, intinction has a complex social and theological history. Here is a brief history of intinction, largely gathered from Daniel Sack’s Whitebread Protestants: Food and Religion in American Culture:
Second, science has much to tell us about the common cup and the practice of intinction. The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts summarized this science well in a letter from Bishop Gates, found here:
We would like to invite each of us to reflect on our own practice of receiving communion. Why do we abstain, intinct, or drink from the common cup? Is it because a caregiver or priest once told us ‘this is the way’? What practice draws us closer to God and the community we worship alongside? What helps us to grow in faith? There is no ‘wrong’ answer, particularly if we are making our decision with intention and care. We welcome your reflections and thoughts. Please do not hesitate to be in touch with our clergy and vestry leaders. Peace, Rev. Heather J. Blais, Rector On behalf of Saints James and Andrew Vestry |
Categories
All
Archives
October 2025
|
RSS Feed
Mission
We believe God is calling us to cultivate a community of love, joy, hope, and healing. Jesus is our model for a life of faith, compassion, hospitality, and service. We strive to be affirming and accessible, welcoming and inclusive; we seek to promote reconciliation, exercise responsible stewardship, and embrace ancient traditions for modern lives.
Office HoursTuesday 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Closed holidays Our gardens and grounds are open from dawn to dusk for the community to pray, rest, be. Please help us take care of this sacred space by following the outdoor ethic & principle of “leave no trace.” |
Contact Information
|
Worship Times10 a.m. In-Person Worship & Livestreamed
View worship services. We would love to have you join us soon! |