The church office will maintain its normal operating hours through December 24. The office will reopen to normal business hours beginning Monday, January 5, 2026. Edith will be checking voice and email messages during that time and will respond to any time-sensitive issues that may arise.
Our next newsletter will be published on Thursday, January 8.
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St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Soup Kitchen: THANK YOU to everyone who made soup, donated gloves or hats, and joined our December 6 caravan to St. Mark’s. You made a difference in the lives of many people who are in need. We will take a break during the winter months; tentatively, our next visit will be Saturday, March 21.
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Sunday School meets this Sunday, December 21 in the Education Building during the 10:15 A.M. service. Sunday school will use this time to rehearse with youth group for the Christmas Pageant (to be held later that day at 5:00 pm). Sunday school will take a break in January and resumes in February.
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James Gang: A new year, a time to try something new. The next “James gang” gathering is for breakfast on Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 9:00 AM. We’ll be at the Garden of Eating, 964 Woodbourne Rd. in Levittown. This gathering is “dutch,” meaning that we all pay for our own meal. Join us for fun, fellowship, & good food!
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Bible Study will be taking a break in January and will resume in February during Lent, dates to be announced. (Ash Wednesday is February 18, 2026.)
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Sign-up Genius is our online platform for volunteering. Contact Edith in the church office with any questions.
(Advent & Christmas: December 4, 2025 through January 4, 2026):
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050F48ACAF2DA2FD0-59665343-december#/
(Epiphany: January 8 through February 15, 2026):
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050F48ACAF2DA2FD0-60763989-epiphany#/
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Prepping the church for Christmas – To prepare for Christmas, the altar guild will gather from 9AM-noon on Saturday, December 20th to polish brass and silver and spruce up the sanctuary. Many hands make the work go faster and allow more to be done – it’s a time to talk and laugh together.
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Patient: Doctor, I think I’m a dog.
Psychologist: Have a seat on the couch and we’ll talk about it.
Patient: I can’t, I’m not allowed on the furniture!
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Stewardship 2026 – If you have not yet done so, please complete the 2026 St. James pledge form. This is very helpful to church leadership to know how you plan to share of your time, talent, and treasury. The link is as follows: https://forms.gle/bFzaQHo3FEbNSKxBA. Hard copies are available in the narthex.
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Speaking of serving one another, St. James is hosting “Community Service Time” on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: Monday, January 19, 2026 from 8:00 AM until 12:00 PM. This will be a “clean-up day” on church grounds, and there will be additional service opportunities. Mark your calendar and stay tuned for details!
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For those who are interested in financial oversight: Saint James is committed to transparency and rigorous oversight of our finances. To keep you informed about our financial health, our Vestry will report to the congregation on our 2025 financial statements on Sunday, January 25, 2026 from 11:30 am until 12:30 pm. The gathering will take place in the great hall of the Education Building. Refreshments will be served; this will take the place of our usual coffee hour. The congregation will also hear a brief update from the Capital Campaign committee. In respect for everyone’s time, Vestry is committed to keeping this meeting to one hour or less.
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, January 19, 2026, 6:30 pm, hybrid (in the library or online via Zoom)
Monday, February 23, 2026, 6:30 pm, hybrid (in the library or online via Zoom)
Vestry –
Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 6:30 pm, hybrid (in the library or online via Zoom)
Sunday, January 25, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm, in person in the Education Building great hall
Wednesday, February 25, 2026, 6:30 pm, hybrid (in the library or online via Zoom)
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Christmas flowers – As has been our annual custom, the altar guild will be purchasing poinsettias for the Christmas services. We welcome your donations to offset the expense. Special envelopes for flowers can be found in the Narthex. You may make your offering in memory of a loved one. Please submit your donation by Sunday, December 21.
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Advent Offerings – When you come to church during Advent season (which ends Dec. 23), you will notice two offering baskets in the narthex. The brass bin is for pledge payments and loose offerings which support the operations of the church. The other basket, labeled “Advent offerings,” will support ministries run by other organizations such as the Red Cross homeless shelter in Levittown, the Emergency Relief Association (ERA) food pantry in Langhorne, or the Saint James Episcopal high school in Philadelphia. We appreciate your generosity.
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You are invited to the screening and reflection of the award-winning documentary “Sugarcane” hosted by Bucks Deanery. The screening takes place at the Episcopal Church of the Redemption, 1101 Second Street Pike, Southampton, PA 18966 on Saturday, January 10, 2026 from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm.
The documentary is set amidst a ground-breaking investigation into abuse and death at an Indian residential school, the film empowers participants to break cycles of intergenerational trauma by bearing witness to painful, long-ignored truths – and the love that endures within their families despite the revelation of genocide.
Indigenous boarding schools are not only a historical part of the United States, but also for the Christian (including the Episcopal) Church. A discussion will follow the screening. We invite you to an afternoon of truth telling and a reflection centering on understanding our place in the story and how we might have the courage to try and repair the fabric of human community.
Please RSVP to Rev. Canon Toneh Smyth at tsmyth@diopa.org by January 5.
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Parish Prayer list
HEALING: Angela Oliver, C.J. Platt, Rev. Ellen M., Marcia Bower, Robin Rudy, Sandy K, Spenser Mullen, Terri Lotierzo, Zachary
SPECIAL PRAYERS: Babe Sidman, Christopher, Doris Laino, Frances Mayall, Ginny Manning, Joan Eiker, Ryan
PREPARING FOR THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM: Eddie Speller
EXPECTING NEW BIRTH: Kim & Lindsey Mizia, Stephanie & Megan
FAITHFUL DEPARTED: Judy & William Witter, Diane Knowles
ALTAR FLOWERS: The altar flowers for December 20 and 21 are donated by Bunny Kreuger in memory of John and Helen McIlvaine.
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