PARISH NEWS - OCTOBER 25

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E-blast for October 22nd, 2026

SERVICES AND GATHERINGS THIS WEEK

SUNDAY, October 25^th – 10:00am – 22^nd Sunday after Pentecost

If you are unable to attend worship in person, the service is live streamed. For links to the service and the order of service please visit St. James at: stjamesdundas.ca or the St. James Facebook page.

Church Office Hours

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10am-2pm.

St. James Mission Statement

“To know Jesus and share Love through prayer, story, and service”

Monday Afternoon Games

First and third Monday of the month from 1:30-4pm, in the Parlour. Everyone is invited to participate, ladies or gentlemen. Any questions, please speak with Jill.

WEDNESDAY

COMPLINE – 9:15p.m. Compline is a short service of night prayer. The heart of Compline is the recitation of several psalms. There is a short reading from scripture, intercession, and time for reflection. It is a beautiful way to close out an active day. Compline is offered by St. James’ through Facebook to bring the community together. If you cannot join live, the service is available afterwards on St. James’ Facebook channel.

Mark your calendar and save the date to attend our Anniversary Dinner on Friday November 20^th, and make sure to bring your family and friends for our Anniversary Service on Sunday November 22^nd.

Keep checking the e-blast for more information on times and tickets. Also in November, the Dundas Museum will be hosting an exhibit of St. James history over the years, as well as commemorating 50 years of our Holiday House Tour.

A Note from our Music Director

Choir rehearsals are held every Tuesday evening from 7:30–9:00 p.m. and Sunday mornings at 9:15 a.m. Let’s work together to grow the music ministry at St. James and lift our voices to the Lord!

Please email Lina at lina.pianist@gmail.com if you are interested in joining the choir or have any questions.

Comedy Night and Spaghetti Dinner

We are sorry to announce that the Comedy Night and Spaghetti Dinner planned for Saturday, October 24th, has been cancelled due to low ticket sales. Many thanks to our Building Committee - Terese Herron, John Naismith, Sue Carson, and Craig Knapman for their time and energy spent on this event. Ticketholders will be refunded.

Gillian

Coat and Boot Drive Notice

This year, the coat and boot drive will have a shortened season, ending on November 1st. After prayerful thought, Corporation made the decision to pause this ministry. It was not taken lightly and several factors led to our decision. We are re-purposing the Dundas Room for possible longer-term tenants and there is no storage space for these items. Also, the volunteer base is dwindling, and it requires a significant amount of the parish administrator’s time to answer the door, and help to bring in donations and field phone calls.

We appreciate the support of our St. James family and the community of Dundas for their support of the coat and boot drive, especially Anne Washington and Betty Eagan.

We recognize that there are many in the community who need and benefit from this ministry and unfortunately this situation is not going to change in the foreseeable future. For those who are looking to donate coats, boots and sleeping bags after the end of October, a list of agencies will be available.

St. James 50th Holiday House Tour

Please put Saturday, December 5, on your calendar to help at the Holiday House Tour. It is an important fundraising and community-building event for the church. Last year, we raised more than $33,500 to support St. James' ministries.

On Sunday, November 1st, sign-up sheets will be available in the Narthex for volunteers.

Please consider how you can help ensure that the 50th Holiday House Tour is a major success.

Greeters who work at the homes on the tour. If you enjoy meeting people and can stand for five hours (with breaks), this job is for you. You may share the five-hour shift with a partner.
Tea rooms need helpers to pour tea for one-hour shifts in the parlour and cafe in the Sanctuary.
Kitchen help: setting up beforehand, during the event, or cleaning up afterward.
Apple pie bakers on November 18th
Baking Christmas cookies on November 12 and 25th.
Help putting up lawn signs around town on Sunday, November 29, and retrieving them on Sunday, December 6th.
Deliver House Tour Flyers to local businesses
Help with setting up the table and chairs on Thursday, December 3rd, and dismantling them on December 5th.

Any questions? House Tour Committee Members will be there on November 1st to answer all of your questions.

Do you know a young person looking to earn high school credits for volunteering? Please check with your family and friends to see if they or their friends may be interested in having fun while engaging with the public.

We are seeking donations for the Silent Auction Table. Please contact Barb Busing, if you have an item to donate that would generate interest and bidders at our silent auction.

Would you like to personally sponsor the House Tour? We are approaching local businesses forfinancial support, but we also welcome parishioner donations to help cover the costs of deliveringour top-notch event.

Feel free to contact Lynne Morrow and Frank Rinaldo, our Co-Chairs, or any member of the House Committee with your questions and suggestions.

Afterthoughts

This Sunday after church Afterthoughts will resume on a monthly basis. “Afterthoughts” is a gathering to share in conversation and reflect further on our experience of the Sunday’s liturgy.

This is a focused conversation sharing what impacted us during the service whether through music, readings, homily, prayers or eucharist.

The gathering will be held after church, in the Baptistry, and is open to those attending this Sunday’s service.

If you have questions, please connect with Ann Vander Berg at avanderberg@cogeco.ca.

On the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi (Oct 4th) St. James worshippers built a beaver dam of gratitude in front of the altar with the help of our youth. This graphic depicts all the things written down on our gratitude tags that were used to shore up the dam! Thanks be to God!

50th Anniversary of Ordination of Women to the Priesthood

There are many opportunities in the Niagara Diocese and beyond to celebrate this milestone year in the Anglican Church.

October 27^th @ 7PM - Panel discussion with Bishop Susan at Church of the Resurrection, Hamilton.

November 29^th @ 4pm - The 50th Anniversary Service at Christ's Church Cathedral.

St. James Anglican Church is celebrating its 100^th anniversary on Melville Street on November 20^th with an anniversary dinner. A display of materials from the past 100 years will be exhibited at the Church during this time and an additional exhibit will be at the Dundas Museum.

You are an important part of our parish history, and we hope that you will be able to join us as we celebrate this significant milestone in our parish’s history. The evening includes a pre-dinner reception with time to reminisce with old and new friends and enjoy the displays. A catered, three-course plated dinner will be served in the Dundas Room with your choice of roast beef, breaded chicken breasts or vegetarian stir-fry with tofu. Entertainment will round out the evening.

The cost is $75 per ticket and the deadline is Friday, November 13^th.

We look forward to seeing you on the 20^th of November.

The Garden Project

Work continued this week on the garden project with the installation of the new fence along our property line adjacent to the Co-op playground. The gardens around the Co-op playground have been outlined by the removal of the sod. Plans are to have the gardens in this area dug shortly and prepared for planting in the spring. The oak tree near the playground will also be trimmed and pruned in the coming week.