We are a loving and inclusive community of believers
and seekers who know that God is love (1 John 4:16), mercy
triumphs over judgement (James 2:13), and being a Christian
means living and loving like Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke &
John). Come and see!
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SEPTEMBER 8TH IS OUR ANNUAL "WELCOME
BACK SUNDAY"
St. Mary's Welcome Committee' would like to
celebrate the 'newer' members of our church.
We wish for you to join us Sunday, Sept.
8 at the Welcome Back Sunday and receive
a special prayer and blessing. Welcome Back
Sunday will consist of a Pot Luck Brunch (please
bring a dish to share) in between the 8am and
10am services for all parishioners and their
families with a special cake recognizing our
'newer' parishioners. Please contact Mother
Victoria, Pam Baker or the Office to let us
know if you are new to St. Mary's within the
past few years. We want to celebrate YOU and
hope you would like to participate. Thank you
so much!
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POINT PLEASANT GARDEN CLUB
The garden club will not be meeting during
the summers months and will resume in September
on the 10th at 7PM.
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2ND QUARTER
GIVING STATEMENTS are
available at the back of the church. Please
pick yours up on the way out. Thanks
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WE COULD USE YOUR HELP
If you have any experience in fundraising or
special event planning we would love to pick
your brain! Please reach out to Mother Victoria,
Mike Mercuro, Suzanne Jorgensen, or phone the
parish office and speak to Cherisse.
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Eucharistic Ministers are available to
bring Communion to those who are not able to get
to church for extended periods of time due to
illness or mobility issues. We are grateful to
Robin Henry for stepping forward
to co-ordinate this vital parish ministry. If
you know of someone who needs home, hospital,
rehab, or nursing home visits, please let us know.
If you would like to be trained to participate
in this beautiful ministry, please contact
Robin or Mother Victoria. |
Welcome to the WeShare family!
Want a more convenient way to support St. Mary’s?
Want to support St. Mary’s consistently
throughout the year?
Want to make sure your pledge is there when
you can’t be?
Switch to electronic giving – simply
click on the heart below or go to
https://saintmarysbythesea.churchgiving.com
Please feel free to contact the WeShare
customer service team for assistance at WeShare@4lpi.com
or call 1 (800) 950-9952 and select Option 1.
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IHN AT ST. MARY'S
Our next host cycle begins Sunday,
August 11th and runs through Sunday,
August 18th. Volunteers are still needed
for hospitality between the hours of
6-8PM on Saturday, August 17th. If you
are available, please call Jessie
Mercuro (732-272-6828), Mike
Mercuro (732-267-5474) or Lynn
Schambach (732-403-9708). Thank
you so much for adding your support
to this ministry for families in need
in Ocean County.
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ANNUAL
PARISH PICNIC
Sunday, August 18th at
Riverfront Pavillion in Point Pleasant
from 9-1.
Hot dogs, burgers and
the fixings will be provided. Please bring
a salad
or dessert to share. Please also bring
your own reusable bottle for water. Canned
soft drinks will be provided. Suggested
voluntary donation ($5 per person or $20
per family payable at the picnic) Please
sign up in Farnsworth Hall with your donations
of salads or desserts and also to lend
a hand that day (shop, cook, set-up, clean-up,
coordinate games etc.) |
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SUNDAY SCHOOL FAMILIES We’re
nearing the start of another fun Sunday
School year and we look forward to
seeing the children of St. Mary’s. Copies
of the calendar and registration form are attached
here and can also be found at the rear of the
church. Please complete the registration form
and return to teachers on the first day of class
in September (the 15th).
Download
Registration Form here
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WHAT IS THE ST. MARY’S CHALLENGE?
Simply stated, for every dollar that is donated
above the regular pledged amount  and
identified as St. Mary’s Challenge, an
anonymous donor will match that donation dollar
for dollar, up to $5,000. Each month we will
give an update on the status of the challenge.
To donate just indicate on your check St. Mary’s
Challenge or if a cash donation, use any envelope
and write St. Mary’s Challenge on the
envelope.
To date $3530.00 has been donated
to St. Mary’s Challenge ($7060.00 with
the match!)
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Check out our 
Calendar of Events
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SUNDAY BOOK STUDIES 2019 – 2020
Sundays Between Services in the
Jones Room 9 to 9:45 am
Join Us Anytime!
October 6 to December 15
“God of Love: A Guide to the
Heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam”
by Mirabai Starr
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FROM THE ALTAR GUILD
This year, in light of all the
recent fires, storms and natural disasters that
have caused suffering for so many people around
the country, we would like to make a Christmas
donation to Episcopal Relief and Development.
Our plan is to keep our Christmas flower display
beautiful but simple and donate the remaining
funds to ERD. Your Christmas flower donations
will help beautify our sanctuary AND help those
in need. Please give as generously as you are
able. Thank you!
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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
For the Soup Kitchen in Asbury
Park. We need a few more volunteers for 1 or
2 Saturday mornings a year. Please contact Laura
Grodewald (ldunn06@gmail.com
/ 732-948-3186) for more information.
 
SINGERS NEEDED The
choir is in need of a few singers, especially
females (altos and sopranos). If interested,
please speak to JoAnn Roy, our choir director/organist.
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CENTERING PRAYER
Please help yourself to Centering Prayer pamphlet,
located at the back of the church. Centering
Prayer is a beautiful form of Christian meditation
that has, for centuries, drawn people into deeper
intimacy with God. If you have any questions,
or would like to discuss your prayer life and
the possibility of trying Christian meditation,
please speak to Mother Victoria
any time.
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MARY’S TABLEMARY’S
TABLE is in desperate need
of baked items for Thursday evenings.
If you have any questions, please contact
Kathy at 732-600-3916 Thank you so much
for all you do for this wonderful ministry.
Read more...
Mary's Table is the
recipient of a grant to
support our feeding ministry from the
Hurricane
Sandy New Jersey Relief Foundation
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SEAMEN’S CHURCH INSTITUTE
Traveling for business or pleasure? Please
consider bringing home the hotel’s
or ship’s toiletries to share with
the seafarer’s at SCI. SCI is eager
to receive travel-sized toothpaste, shampoo,
conditioner, lotion (hand or body), and
soap. Unscented items are preferred. Please
leave your donations in the kitchen marked
for Elaine Long.
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9th
Sunday after Pentecost:
Proper 14
August 11, 2019
Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit
to think and do always those things that are right,
that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you
be enabled to live according to your will; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision,
"Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield;
your reward shall be very great." But Abram
said, "O Lord God, what will you give me, for
I continue childless, and the heir of my house is
Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You
have given me no offspring, and so a slave born
in my house is to be my heir." But the word
of the Lord came to him, "This man shall not
be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall
be your heir." He brought him outside and said,
"Look toward heaven and count the stars, if
you are able to count them." Then he said to
him, "So shall your descendants be." And
he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to
him as righteousness.
Genesis
15:1-6
Now faith is the assurance of things
hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed,
by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith
we understand that the worlds were prepared by the
word of God, so that what is seen was made from things
that are not visible.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was
called to set out for a place that he was to receive
as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where
he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the
land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living
in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with
him of the same promise. For he looked forward to
the city that has foundations, whose architect and
builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation,
even though he was too old-- and Sarah herself was
barren-- because he considered him faithful who had
promised. Therefore from one person, and this one
as good as dead, descendants were born, "as many
as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains
of sand by the seashore."
All of these died in faith without
having received the promises, but from a distance
they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they
were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people
who speak in this way make it clear that they are
seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the
land that they had left behind, they would have had
opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a
better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore
God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed,
he has prepared a city for them.
Hebrews
11:1-3, 8-16
Jesus said to his disciples, "Do
not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's
good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions,
and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do
not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where
no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
"Be dressed for action and have
your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for
their master to return from the wedding banquet, so
that they may open the door for him as soon as he
comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the
master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you,
he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to
eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes
during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and
finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
"But know this: if the owner
of the house had known at what hour the thief was
coming, he would not have let his house be broken
into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is
coming at an unexpected hour."
Luke
11:1-13
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St.
Mary's by the Sea is a Christian community
that
strives to create a sanctuary for ALL
seekers
and believers alike
to
come and experience the Love of God through Jesus Christ,
to
share that love with those around us
and
in the wider world,
and
to grow in faith
as
part of a caring Christian family.
