Vestry Report for December and January

When the Vestry met in mid-December, the Omicron variant had just appeared in the US. As it was still new, we were in that unfortunately familiar “watch and wait” situation. We began our meeting as usual with a reflection from Thomas Merton about how (at Christmas specifically) Christ comes uninvited into a world that has no room for him at all. Merton calls this world “a demented inn,” and we were struck by the intensity and seeming cynicism of that label. What Merton calls attention to though with his harsh language are

Read the full Vestry report for December and January by clicking “Read More".”

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Alternative Gifting

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Do you have a loved one who is tricky to shop for? Maybe someone who doesn’t need a physical gift taking up space? We have some suggestions on ways to celebrate the people you love AND give back to the community at the same time. Here are some organizations St. Mary’s is connected with who are doing good things locally.

Vestry Report for November

Just as Advent is a season of hopeful expectation, so we in the Vestry eagerly watch and wait for the completion of the many projects currently happening at St. Mary’s. In the midst of the growing darkness and the freezing nights, we find light and warmth in the promise of our eventual re-gathering together in our improved building space. In addition to the completion of the ventilation system upgrade and new lighting in the sanctuary, we are looking forward to the removal and relocation of bats that have been living within certain areas of our walls for many years. Their presence has mostly been peaceful, but the work on the ventilation system has revealed the extent to which they have made themselves a little too comfortable inside our walls. They will be gently but sternly pushed to take up residence elsewhere, and there will be some new alternative dwellings nearby so they won’t be forced to travel far to find shelter.

Read the full Vestry report for November by clicking “Read More.”

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is an Advent movie?

After setting all of the clocks, they have 37 seconds remaining. Mahoney says, “Great, well done. Now we wait.” Mr. Magorium responds, “No. We breathe. We pulse. We regenerate. Our hearts beat. Our minds create. Our souls ingest. Thirty-seven seconds, well used, is a lifetime.”

Click “Read More” to read Bingham’s entire Advent reflection.

How We Live: Armor of Light

Young people today are exposed to an entertainment world populated by a veritable pantheon of superheroes, about whom I must confess I know absolutely nothing. Truth be told, I grew up aware of only one such character: mild mannered newspaper reporter Clark Kent who would slip into a phone booth, (some of you may have to look up what those were,) whip off his suit, tie, and horn-rimmed glasses and emerge faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound… it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s SUPERMAN!

To read Sharon Rodgers’ complete reflection, click “Read More.”

Cherish and Sustain the New Life God is Bringing Forth

We have spoken often this year of the old that is passing. We know that some way we have lived in the world is no longer working. Our last Pentecost reading from Mark ends with Jesus’s words: “The end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation; there will be earthquakes and famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.”

Jesus is talking about the end times, which we all feel acutely these days, but the last image we are left with is pregnancy. The end of a pregnancy, and the beginning labor pains of delivery. The threshold of birth.

To read the Rev. Christine Marie’s full reflection, click “Read More.”

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Vestry Report for September

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Our September meeting started with a reflection from Thomas Merton about our need for relationships. Due to the myriad ways the pandemic has led us to acknowledge and treasure our interconnectedness, this reflection resonates with us deeply. Merton understands that we do not and cannot exist in isolation and that it is precisely our relationships that give our lives meaning. He writes: “we do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone—we find it with another.” This statement speaks to us of how fellowship with other people brings us closer to God and helps us to know God better.

The Vestry is St. Mary’s elected governing body. They meet monthly throughout the year. Please click “Read More” to read their entire update for September.

Update on Ventilation for the Church

We are thrilled to announce that construction for our new HVAC system for the church has begun! We are so close to having a safer and more comfortable worship space. Of course, as is often the case with construction, there will be some inconveniences as we move through this phase. As they demolish the old system and put in the new, the church and chapel might feel a little chilly this month.

To read the entire update, click “Read More.”

That's My Farmer Dinner to Support Their Low Income Fund

That’s My Farmer Dinner - Monday, October 18

Support That’s My Farmer Low Income Fund while eating a delicious dinner prepared by owner/chefs Mark Kosmicki and Tiffany Norton at Party Downtown. They have offered to cook up a fantastic menu with farm fresh meat and produce contributed by That’s My Farmer farm members. This is once again a takeout dinner to enjoy in your home.

To learn how to participate, click “Reach More.”

Zoom Services at St. Mary's: A New Kind of Listening

For me, one of the miracles of the past year has been Zoom services at St. Mary’s. Since the beginning of COVID, we have gathered nearly 200 times online, for Wednesday and Friday morning prayer, and evening prayer. (In addition, the Spanish Zoom service meets each week.)

At first, I was skeptical. Can people really feel the energy and presence of God and of other people on a computer screen?

Read Christine Marie’s full Listening Hearts reflection by clicking “Read More.”

Vestry Report for Fall 2021

Our reflection from Thomas Merton that began our August meeting focused on uncertainty. Merton states bluntly: “I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.” His words feel uncannily appropriate to our current moment as we transition from the end of summer to the beginning of fall. We have no idea what is going to happen with the pandemic. We are fatigued and frustrated, and we cannot see the road ahead. Merton continues, writing that he wants to follow God’s will even as he doubts his ability to discern what that is. He concludes by saying that he believes the desire to please God does in fact please God, and so he strives to cultivate that desire. This is the glimmer of hope that Merton offers us—even when we can’t see the way forward, we must still seek to find and follow God’s will. It is the desire that matters. We don’t know what God will ask of us in this coming season, but if we continue to desire to desire to follow him, he will lead us in the right direction, as he has always done. We can cling to that confidence as we forge ahead.

The Vestry is St. Mary’s elected governing body. They meet monthly throughout the year. Please click “Read More” to read their entire update that was included in the Fall 2021 Bellringer.

Coming Home to Presence: A Pilgrimage Through the Christian Year

Presence is the way that human beings experience God directly. When we are fully present in our minds, bodies, and hearts, the Divine shows up. It’s that simple, and it’s that difficult.

Christine Marie and Dan Martin warmly invite you to join us for this new series, beginning October 17, 2021.

For more information, please click “Read More.”

Outreach Allocation: An Exciting New Proposal

In July, Bingham+ read an Episcopal News Service story* about St. Bede’s Church in New Mexico that was able to leverage a $15,000 donation to buy $1.4 million worth of medical debt and then, in turn, forgive the holders of that debt.

To read the rest of this article and see how you can give your input, please click “Read More.”

A COVID Update - A Change in our Masking Policy

COVID cases are spiking locally. On Friday, July 30th, Lane County moved into the Center for Disease Control’s highest risk category for COVID spread. Models from the State of Oregon show that cases will continue to increase through the middle of August. The Oregon Health Authority is asking that all Oregonians, regardless of vaccine status, wear masks indoors in all public settings to help slow down the rate of COVID’s spread.

Therefore, following the new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Oregon Health Authority, and the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon, masks are again required indoors in all spaces at St. Mary’s, regardless of vaccination status.

Click “Read More” to read the entire statement.

A Successful World Refugee Day Event

“Our work with and for refugees began when we began to follow Jesus, to follow His way and His teachings. It is because we are followers of Jesus, because we follow the way of love, because we follow the way of compassion, because we follow the way of human decency and kindness that we must be passionately committed to helping the refugees and displaced persons of this day,”

The Most Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, from his 2018 message for World Refugee Day

Click “Read More” to read how St. Mary’s honored World Refugee Day 2021 and helped create refugee camp kits.

An Update on Reopening

Dear Friends in Christ,

This week, the Governor rescinded nearly all legal requirements for capacity limits, physical distancing, and masking. In light of the Governor’s new order, I want to share with you the changes we will be making for our ministry groups, community groups, and for our worship services.

We are in what may be the trickiest part of COVID to navigate. Although we all long for COVID to be fully over, there is great difference of opinion on how close we are to that point. Some of you have expressed to me joy that the state has removed nearly all legal safety requirements and you are ready for St. Mary’s to remove all restrictions. Some of you have expressed concern that it is still too soon. Navigating that difference as a community will not be easy. I ask you to have grace with you fellow parishioners who think about these matters differently and to trust that they are acting in good faith.

Click “Read More” to read all about our most recent adjustments as we reopen more fully.

Vestry Report for June 2021

It finally feels like summer has arrived! The school year is done and the solstice has passed, so bring on the long days and vaccinated in-person gatherings that were once only the stuff of dreams. At our June Vestry meeting on the threshold of this summer season, we tempered our excitement with a reflection on “rest” from Thomas Merton. The passage we read was from a work aptly titled “No Man is an Island,” which certainly strikes a chord after this pandemic year.

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Final full day of the pilgrimage! Travel day today! We traveled from Paris to London on the Eurostar. Had pizza for lunch (you can take the Americans out of the US, but you can’t take the US out of the Americans!), got settled into our hostel
Sunday in Paris! We woke up to a rainy city, and took the metro to the American Cathedral in Paris, an Episcopal cathedral! We recieved a lovely and warm welcome from them, worshipping with their congregation, and met the Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Mark Ed
Another Youth Pilgrimage Update: Had a very full day today! Pilgrims woke up early to be at the Notre Dame at 8 am for Catholic Mass. We toured the Notre Dame and recieved a pilgrim’s blessing from a priest. Then we went to the Musée Rod
Big travel day! Took the Eurostar through the Chunnel from London to Paris. Settled into our hostel, had crepes for dinner AND dessert, and walked past the Notre Dame — whetting out palettes for our visit tomorrow :) Pilgrims reflected on the

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