St. Mary's Sermons & News
2026 10 11 Pentecost 20, Proper 23, Reserved Communion, Rite II, led by Dcn. Rick. Thank you, Deacon Rick, for being willing to officiate Communion from the Reserved Sacrament twice each month during the time we have no Rector. Your service to God and St. Mary’s is vitally important to our ability to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and keep our mission statement clearly in front of us.
2026 10 04 Pentecost 19, Proper 22, Track II, Holy Communion, Rite II officiated by Fr. John Cairns. Thank you, Fr. John and Nancy (Chalice Bearer) for your supply service to St. Mary’s today. Today was the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. We prayed together the special prayer attributed to St. Francis. It is a well-known and much-loved prayer. Today Barbara and Jackie updated the congregation on the parish financial position. Overall, there is much to be thankful and we praised God. 2027 looks like being a tough year with significant increases in fuel oil, diocesan assessment and meeting the salary and associated cost of calling a of a new Rector. We will continue to trust God to supply the needs of St. Mary’s abundantly.
2026 09 27 Pentecost 18, Proper 21, Communion from Reserved Sacrament led by Dcn Rick Littlejohn.
2026 09 20 Pentecost 17, Proper 20, Holy Communion, Rite II, officiated by Fr. Robert Armidon. Excellent sermon` by Fr. Robert on his first visit to St. Mary’s. We warmly welcome you and thank you for leading our service today.
2026-9-12 Pentecost 16, Proper 19, Communion from the Reserved Sacrament, Rite II led by Dcn Rick. Dcn. Rick preached a good sermon this morning. Thank you Rick! In announcements (starting at 1h28m24s) towards the end of the service, Juanita gave an interesting and encouraging report on the Episcopal Diocese of Albany (EDOA) annual convention held from Thursday to Saturday, September 10, 11 and 12. This was the 158th annual convention, which is one year less than the number of annual meetings St. Mary’s has had. Before Juanita spoke, Barbara B mentioned a workshop called Practicing the Way, on spiritual practices that help grow a deeper relationship with Christ. It will be held at Church of the Messiah this coming Friday evening (starting at 5:30 p.m.) and Saturday (ending about 5 p.m.), September 25 and 26., at a nominal cost of $25. Register at www.messiahgf.org Barbara also highlighted that the annual Parish Picnic taking place after next Sunday’s service. All are welcome and side dishes are welcome. A reminder was also given about every parishioner completing and returning to the church the Parish Survey by not later than Sunday, September 26.
2026 09 06 Pentecost 15, Track II, Year A, Holy Communion, Rite II led by Fr. John Cairns. We welcomed Fr. John and Nancy Cairns today, for the first time in a couple of years. Fr. John officiated and Nancy acted as Chalice Bearer. The service started with the congregation reading together the special collect for Labor Day. Fr. John preached an excellent word and gave a compellingly different analysis of the Gospel (Matthew 18: 15-20). The passage is often used by some as an advisory on church discipline. Rather it can be seen as a call to reconciliation, love and care of a person’s soul. He also gave an interesting comment on the meaning of binding in heaven and releasing on earth in verse 18.
2026 08 30 Pentecost 14, Proper 17, Rite II, Reserved Sacrament Mass led by Deacon Barb Mitchell. It was lovely to have Dcn. Barb lead our Communion from the Reserved Sacrament again today. We loved her very much when she was assigned to St. Mary’s when Fr. Louie Mildura was Rector in 2022-2025. She preached a most encouraging sermon based on Jeremiah 15: 15-21, who had many of the problems of today in his own life. If it feels as if your pain is unceasing, that some wounds and illnesses are so long lasting they seem incurable and cannot be healed, that you are being gaslighted, betrayed, unappreciated, or want the ground to open up and swallow you, or everything is overwhelming, then take heart. Jeremiah felt like this. See verse 18. God’s words, in the words of Romans 12: 9-21, help us to abide as we call out, shout out, even in a whisper or simply utter, “God, help me”, as Jeremiah did. There is hope of comfort, strength and perseverance from God as we try to live like true Christians. Our help comes from the LORD (Psalm 121:2) and Jesus is clear that He alone, ultimately, brings His glory when He comes with His angels, bringing His Kingdom, totally and completely (Matthew 16: 21-28).
2026 08 23 Pentecost 13, Proper 16, Communion from the Reserved Sacrament led by Dcn. Rick. Reflection given by Barbara Breen. Well done, Barbara! That was an extremely helpful, encouraging and hope-filled Reflection. Particularly well expressed was God’s vision for His ecclesia – His Church on earth built on Peter, the Rock, with Jesus as the cornerstone and capstone. If the sound cannot be heard during Notices, towards the end, it is due to the hand microphone not being used. We apologize. We were delighted to welcome 5 visitors this morning, all unknown to each other except for one couple.
2026 08 16 The Feast of St. Mary the Virgin (Observed), Rite II, officiated by Dcn. Rick Littlejohn. St. Mary is our patronal saint, so we always give the Sunday nearest to the date of her feast priority. This year it was yesterday. Thank you, Dcn. Rick for leading and preaching an inspiring sermon. Each of us should regularly pray and ask God to let us know the purpose He has for our lives – as He did when the Angel Gabriel announced it to Mary. Yesterday was also the ECW’s Summer Bazaar. It was well attended and a great success. All the proceeds from the Garage, Bake and Lunch (about $1500) are donated to local charities the church, through ECW, supports, other than about $100 admin costs. Lunches served about 80 people and sold out!!
