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Windsock Visitation

By Brother Mickey McGrath, OFSS

An Enormous and heart-felt THANK YOU to everyone for your generosity. Our Special Easter Collection resulted in $7200 raised to support the work of the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza. We were very proud to be able to send this donation on behalf of Saint Mary's to the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Thank you for your generosity.

Images from Ahli Arab Hospital, Gaza City

More "Thank You's"

The Rectory Renovation Team has been very hard at work to get the Rectory all ship shape for our new Rector. The amount of people we need to individually thank and acknowledge for their dedication of time, talent and good old-fashioned elbow grease is over-whelming and so we will just say a very BIG Thank You to the painting crew, the design team, the demolition team of Habitat for Humanity Volunteers, the grounds keepers, the shingling team of Habitat volunteers, the construction crew led by Paul Anderson (photo below), and clerks of all these good works, Peter Scarafile and Peter Wagenblass (photo below).

Full details on the completed project will be featured in next month’s newsletter.

A Field Full of Thank Yous to everyone who helped create our Amazing Daffodil Tea. It took so many people to create this special day and we cannot even begin to express our gratitude and awe at the leadership and vision of the Queen of the Tea, Janis Umschlag. Thank you Janis! We raise our tea cups to you!

Photo Homage to the 60th Annual Daffodil Tea

Creation Care Column

Everywhere we look in our world find plastics. Plastic surrounds our food; it makes up our technology and it is a standard element in hundreds of everyday household items. Unfortunately, it is also overflowing from our landfills, floating in our waters and polluting our soil. More and more, we can even find it in our own bodies and those of other living creatures. Despite the fact that we have learned the harm of plastics, we are steadily increasing our production and integrating it into more and more items. Plastic is everywhere!

We say, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it;” And yet our world is increasingly polluted by plastics we have made and discarded. Our waterways bear the brunt of this pollution, interfering with navigation and recreational fishing. Ocean wildlife, including birds, whales, fish and turtles, can easily mistake plastic waste for prey, leading to starvation and death.

Microplastics pose a particular risk to human health. Increasingly we see these particles, defined as any plastics under 5 millimeters, end up not just in the ocean and other water sources, but even on farmland, raising concerns about our food supply and physical well-being. Some studies estimate the total mass of microplastic particles consumed by adults amounts to 50 plastic bags per year! The chemicals in these plastics have been linked to reproductive harm, obesity, organ problems, and developmental delays in children.

Justice for creation requires a rethinking of our relationship to plastics. Is it enough that we recycle or find ways to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills? How do we account for the fact that plastics are often produced in historically oppressed communities? Do we even have the means to remove the plastics from our rivers, lakes and oceans to protect the bio-regions contaminated by plastic waste? And how can the church begin to address these issues biblically and theologically? Find out more at https://www.creationjustice.org/plasticjesus.html

Image from NASA highlighting the seasonal change from Winter to Spring showing the emergence of chlorophyll-rich water off the coast of Cape Cod.

Another member of our Creation Care Ministry, Amy Crocker has shared these monthly creation justice action ideas or reflections that corresponds with the liturgical/seasonal calendar. Click here for the May ideas.

Pastoral Care Column

This month your Pastoral Care team is sharing an article on Fall Prevention from Bill O'Neil at Cape Cod Healthcare. Here is a link to the article online or click here for a PDF version.

Thank you.

Aging Gracefully By Pastor Russ

We’re Not Asking the Most Important Questions About Age.

According to author and historian James Chappel, the persistent debate about President Biden’s age represents a mass delusion that we are still a nation of the young. We have always liked to think of ourselves as the prototypical country of youth: a nation of plucky strivers, distinguished from the old country by our restless, creative spirit. Such a nation, we might think, ought to be led by someone young, or at least young at heart. Maybe this was even true, once.

But it’s not anymore.

The age of the American president has gone up and down over time, but the age of the American public has not: We get older as a nation every year. The 2020 census showed that, between 2010 and 2020, the number of people over 65 shot up from 40 million to 56 million; this population grew five times as fast as the overall population, in a decade when the size of the under-18 population actually shrunk.

Today, as we continue to have familiar discussions about old age and the so-called gerontocracy, older people are being buffeted by new challenges. Climate change, for instance: Older people are disproportionately affected by the storms, wildfires and electricity shortages that accompany our warming planet.

There is a serious conversation to be had about aging. It’s about how we can, as a country, prepare for a century of heat waves and hurricanes, and how we can provide humane care to millions of frail older Americans, including indigenous people, the poor and communities of color. We can do better. More than ever before, demographically speaking, we are a nation of grown-ups. It’s time to start acting like it.

Mr. Chappel is the author of the forthcoming book “Golden Years: How Americans

Invented and Reinvented Old Age.”

The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts is pleased to announce that, having added one additional nominee from the petition process, it has approved a final slate of nominees for election as the 17th Bishop Diocesan of the Diocese of Massachusetts. They are:

• The Rev. Dr. Brendan J. Barnicle,

Rector, St. Francis of Assisi Church, Wilsonville, OR

• The Rev. Edwin D. Johnson,

Director of Organizing, Episcopal City Mission, Boston, MA

• The Rev. Canon Jean Baptiste Ntagengwa, Th.D.,

Canon for Immigration and Multicultural Ministries, Diocese of Massachusetts

• The Very Rev. Gideon L. K. Pollach,

Rector, St. John's Church, Cold Spring Harbor, NY

• The Rev. Julia E. Whitworth,

Rector, Trinity Church, Indianapolis, IN

More information about each nominee can be found at:

 www.diomass.org/bishop-search/bishop-nominees.

Lutheran and Episcopalian Friends

We continue to build our collaboration and friendship with the First Lutheran Church in West Barnstable. You are invited to participate in the following regular meetings at First Lutheran Church:

• Tuesdays - Silent Meditation Group meets at 12pm 
• Wednesday Nights - Sacred Journey (Via Sacre) Worship Service. Potluck Supper at 6:00 PM and Worship at 7:00 PM
• Our next "Friends Meeting" is May 7 at First Lutheran Church, if you would like to join.

Learn more about everything that is happening at First Lutheran Church by visiting their website.

Coming Events

Meet and Greet Session - Candidates for Bishop

Our diocese is electing its next bishop diocesan in May. Saint Mary's is proud to be hosting one of these regional sessions on, Wednesday, May 8, 10 -11:30 AM in our Nave and Walden Hall. Come meet, greet, and learn more about the nominees. Please click here for a flier/invitation. All in our diocesan community are welcome!

We hope you will consider joining us for The Scarlet And The Black on May 19th. Please click here to read a summary of this wonderful film.

Support Local Theatre AND One of Our Own

Our parishioner Hub Mathewson has invited everyone to attend the upcoming play at the Barnstable Comedy Club. See the note from Hub below:

3 spoiler alerts:

1. This is a court drama about a prostitute defender who describes her kind of work in graphic terms, so it is for “mature audiences only”.

2. The Episcopal church is mentioned a couple of times, including the lines, "Your honor, they were married in a church ; an Episcopal church; the minister had green eyes, you never see an Episcopal minister with green eyes.”

3. I play the role of the psychiatrist trying to commit the defendant to a mental hospital. (A bit of type casting as well as a sharing my first name with the character.)

Cheers, Hub

NUTS

by Tom Topor

Directed by Linda M. Stevens​​

​A woman must defend her sanity in court. If she is proven to be of sound mind, she will have to stand trial for murder. NUTS is a suspenseful, psychological courtroom drama that explores abuse issues, family and social power dynamics, and aspects of the criminal court system.​

Opening Thurs., May 2 at 7:30 PM to May 19, 2024

Fri. & Sat. at 7:30 PM; Sun. at 2:30 PM

​Tickets: $25 / $23

Click HERE to purchase tickets

Outreach and Volunteering

In-reach Volunteer Opportunities

Hosts Needed for Coffee Hour and (very soon) Tea on the Terrace

After the 8:00 AM once a month

After the 10:00 AM every Sunday - contact Hub Mathewson

The Garden Committee is looking for new members!

Your Garden Committee has been hard at work prepping the gardens to look their best this season. We are always in need of more help and warmly welcome any interested new members. We have our next planning meeting on May 7th in the Saint James Room. All are welcome! Our next Garden Work Day is May 11 at 9:00 AM.

Take a stroll through the gardens when you have a moment. The spring bulbs all around campus are showing off. It is wonderful to see the bulbs we re-purposed from last Easter looking so happy in our gardens. We are gradually re-building the soil in areas where the renovation work compacted and stripped our beds of happy soil and we are beginning to see the effects of the extra compost and mulching. Always more work to do but, inch by inch row by row ... we are getting there.

Seeking Angels for Angels Treasures

Angels' Treasures is seeking volunteers for support in our wonderful little shop. It does not need to be a time consuming commitment . Even a 2 hour shift 2 times a month could be very helpful. There are many ways you can help. We need sorting, pricing, arranging displays, assisting customers, and checkout. Training will be provided. Please contact our Shop Manager, Janis jumschlag1@gmail.com, 508-362-9519 or stop by the shop anytime between Wednesday and Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM if you are interested in becoming an AT Angel.

Thank you!

Outreach

Out-reach Volunteer Opportunities

Have some extra space? J1 students hoping to live and work on the Cape this Summer are in need of safe housing. Click the flier for more information. This is a great way to help young people and expand your own horizons.

Dennis & Wellfleet Homeownership

Applications Are Now Available

Application Submission Deadline: Monday, May 13, 2024

Applications are available at:

• Online at the Habitat Cape Cod’s website, click here.
• Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod’s office: 411 Main Street (Route 6A), Suite 6, Yarmouth Port, MA 02675
• Dennis Public Library, 5 Hall St. Dennis Port
• Wellfleet Public Library, 55 West Main St. Wellfleet
• Or call to have a paper application mailed to you: 508-362-3559 (Habitat Cape Cod office)

 Applicants are strongly urged to attend one of the in-person or virtual Zoom Habitat Cape Cod Application/Information Workshops for prospective buyers. More information is available here.

If you have any questions, please contact Family Programs Manager Mary Ann Mills-Lassiter at maryann@habitatcapecod.org, applications@habitatcapecod.org, or call 508-362-3559 x21.

Angels Treasures is on Facebook!

If you are on facebook please take a peak at our Angels' Treasures Facebook page. We will try to keep the feed fresh with photos and information highlighting the constantly changing inventory. Please check out our Facebook Page Here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553985862261

LIKE It, FOLLOW us and SHARE it with friends near and far. We will not be selling items online yet but we will be marketing them to help spread our reach. Thank you for helping us with this mission.

Supporting Our Church

Legacy Giving

1891 Society members help grow our endowment which in turn, supports Saint Mary’s community outreach, contributes to key programs and protect the church from unanticipated adverse financial circumstances. Most importantly, the commitment from members of the 1891 Society, empowers future generations of Saint Mary's parishioners to make visible the extraordinary light that comes from God.

In each monthly newsletter, we plan to hear from current members of the 1891 Society about what becoming a legacy donor to Saint Mary's has meant to them personally.

Recognizing Our 1891 Society Members

A Note from Bonnie and Jud Phelps, members of the 1891 Society:

Why Bequeath?

1. Expressses the depth of our love for Saint Mary's after 26 years with this community.
2. Establishes our legacy that will live on long after we have departed.

Bonnie & Jud



Please click here to read the Vestry minutes from the April 2024 meeting. Please note that minutes are not published until approved at the subsequent Vestry meeting.