Rector’s Blog

Welcome to St. Mary’s! Wherever you are on your journey with or towards God, everyone is welcome. Truly, everyone. St. Mary’s began worshipping in the mid-1800s on the upper floor of the carriage house just to the west of the current church. In 1870 we built our chapel and opened our iconic red doors. In […]

We have three outreach projects: collecting gifts for the youth at Lad Lake; selling ornaments to support the Hospitality Center; and our annual Christmas Offering. I hope you will continue to support these many opportunities for Outreach. If you would like to volunteer your time, please sign up to help serve a meal at the

Happy Advent! As we enter into this preparatory season, we are pushed from within ourselves and from the outside world to do more and more and more. Have we decorated? Shopped? Baked? Strung lights? Wrapped? Planned? Achieved world peace? I will tell you a secret, Christmas will come even if you do none of those

Happy Christ the King Sunday! Lectionary Year C draws to a close, meaning that we will soon be reading predominantly from Matthew’s Gospel and say goodbye to Luke’s Gospel. Living in a democracy that said goodbye to a monarchy 250 years ago, it is worth considering what it means to claim Christ as our King.

Sunday is the first day after Daylight Saving Time. Did you remember to set your clock back an hour? Or are you reading this as you wait an hour for church to start? I hope you enjoy the extra hour of sleep. All Saints’ Evensong is this Sunday at 5 p.m. in the Chapel. Join

Join us for outdoor fellowship as we hike on November 5! Please sign up if you’d like to join us so we can let you know where to meet at 1 p.m. Our hikes tend to be fairly level on well-maintained trails. All are welcome (family and friends too!). On Sunday, November 6 we fall

I was at the Commission on Ministry’s Discernment Weekend on Friday and Saturday and am particularly grateful to Matt Phillips, our seminarian, for preaching this Sunday. At Diocesan Convention we approved the 2023 Budget. One of the things I found most helpful was Caroline Senn’s charts which compare our income and spending to other dioceses

The Diocese met for their 175th Convention last Friday and Saturday. We started with introductory business, including the bishop’s appointments to various committees, an orientation to our online voting and approval of the 2021 minutes. We then moved into Evening Prayer, led by Deacon Chuck. Evening Prayer included the Diocesan Necrology, or the list of

There is such an excitement and energy around Stewardship Sunday. After careful consideration, discernment and prayer, we are committing ourselves to the ministry of St. Mary’s in an incredibly tangible way. Perhaps it is my own bias, much of my work is intangible, but I find Stewardship Sunday gives me a solid sense of how

We have kicked off our Life Events Planning classes. Last Sunday Sherry from Pro-Health Hospice came to talk about options to have hospice care at home, in assisted living, in the hospital or in a residential program like Angel’s Grace. We learned a lot about what is possible, and some questions to ask as you