St.

James St George Episcopal July/August 2020

Church From the Priest-in-charge We are Back . . .
Sunday service 10:00 am
As we enter summer, we have passed in
this time of pandemic into what is called
Phase III, the Green phase. Unfortunately,
that does not mean things return to
normal. Covid-19 is still here, still
widespread, still ready to infect. Our state
has made great success by the end of June
in bending the curve downward, slowing
rates of infection, through the tough
discipline of quarantine and isolation.
We must continue to be effective with these measures. That
means, especially, continuing to wear masks, keep social distance,
limit the size of gatherings, and wash hands.
I’ve often said we are the hands of Jesus in this world now,
since his physical presence has left us with the Ascension. But with
His spirit we can do great things, if not the miracles of healing.
Our modern science has made great strides in creating a . . . with a few changes – Face masks, social
healthier humanity. Medical successes are often called miracles, but distancing and blocked pews!!
they are nearly always the result of much experimentation and
observation and hard work and training put into personal care by
our medical professionals. The diocesan leadership relies on the
best advice and instruction of scientists and physicians in setting up
its policies, to which we must adhere.
So, we will not be able to gather as closely, as physically, as we did
before. Let us pray the time will come when we can do it again,
should our scientists have success.
In the meantime, we can and must find ways to care for
ourselves and others. Always rely on and rest in our faith in the
Christ.

The church is open for services every Sunday at 10 am, but please note the following:
• You will be greeted by an usher at the side entry door who is taking attendance. Also, double
check that we have your correct contact information.
• Please use the hand sanitizer as you enter.
• Keep your mask on (or ask from one from the usher), covering nose and mouth.
• Place any offerings in the small wooden church.
• Pick up your copy of the bulletin from those spread on the table.
• Enter the church by the stairs or lift, where the other usher will show you your place.
• Please keep social distance from those with whom you have not jointly sheltered.
• You may speak along with the service, but do not project your voice to sing.
• WE MUST LIMIT the number of worshippers in the church. If we cannot accommodate you on a particular Sunday,
• the service will also be available on zoom (contact below), either downstairs in Caines Hall or on whatever
communication device you may have.
 The Good News is “Eternal Life”.
Staying Connected
The St. James-St George website located at https://ssjandg.weebly.com. It is update regularly and contains an amazing
amount of information.
If you are on Facebook, consider joining, liking, offering ideas to post to “St. James-St. George Episcopal Church”.
Make sure that Father Brian has your e-mail address. He has been e-mailing weekly Sunday bulletins and has posted a
short mini-sermon on the readings to his website. He can be reached at:
cell phone: 570-814-9698 e-mail: therev@brianpavlac.org website: http://therev.brianpavlac.org/

Attend Services on Zoom Changes to Prayer List

Sunday service at 10:00 am (if you cannot attend in person) Please send any addition,
subtractions and changes to
Wednesday Bible Study/Evening Prayer at 7:00 pm Prayer list to 570-468-3022.
Both services use the Zoom app that can be downloaded HEvans13@outlook.com
for free. Invitations are sent to your e-mail address.
In person Bible Study at the church (along with Zoom) will Donations/Volunteers needed
begin on Wednesday July 8, 2020, at 7:00 pm. The Friends of the Poor and Weinberg
Food Bank could both use donations and
volunteers, as they provide food
Vestry News
giveaways at
The Vestry met on Monday, June 8, 2020, (via pantries and
Zoom) and on Sunday. June 14, 2020 (in person). temporary
Bids were accepted on the preplacement of one of drive-throughs.
the heating/air conditioning units. Work will
begin at the discretion of the contractor. https://givefood.org/

Contact Information
Address: 398 Washington Avenue, Jermyn, PA 18433 Telephone: 570-876-4896
e-mail: ssjandg@yahoo.com Website: ssjandg.weebly.com

St. James St. George Episcopal Church

398 Washington Avenue
Jermyn, PA 18433
Include here is a selection from “The Other America” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
https://www.crmvet.org/docs/otheram.htm. It was given in 1967, but you may note how so little has changed.

…[T]here are literally two Americas. One America is beautiful for situation. And, in a sense, this America is
overflowing with the milk of prosperity and the honey of opportunity. This America is the habitat of millions
of people who have food and material necessities for their bodies; and culture and education for their minds;
and freedom and human dignity for their spirits. In this America, millions of people experience every day the
opportunity of having life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in all of their dimensions. And in this America
millions of young people grow up in the sunlight of opportunity.

But tragically and unfortunately, there is another America. This other America has a daily ugliness about it
that constantly transforms the ebulliency of hope into the fatigue of despair. In this America millions of work-
starved men walk the streets daily in search for jobs that do not exist. In this America millions of people find
themselves living in rat-infested, vermin-filled slums. In this America people are poor by the millions. They
find themselves perishing on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.

In a sense, the greatest tragedy of this other America is what it does to little children. Little children in this
other America are forced to grow up with clouds of inferiority forming every day in their little mental skies.
As we look at this other America, we see it as an arena of blasted hopes and shattered dreams. Many people of
various backgrounds live in this other America. Some are Mexican Americans, some are Puerto Ricans, some
are Indians, some happen to be

from other groups. Millions of them are Appalachian whites. But probably the largest group in this other
America in proportion to its size in the Population is the American Negro.

The American Negro finds himself living in a triple ghetto. A ghetto of race, a ghetto of poverty, a ghetto of
human misery. So what we are seeking to do in the Civil Rights Movement is to deal with this problem. To
deal with this problem of the two Americas. We are seeking to make America one nation, Indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all.

Now the other thing that we've gotta come to see now … is that racism is still alive in American society. And
much more wide-spread than we realized. And we must see racism for what it is. It is a myth of the superior
and the inferior race. It is the false and tragic notion that one particular group, one particular race is
responsible for all of the progress, all of the insights in the total flow of history. And the theory that another
group or another race is totally depraved, innately impure, and innately inferior.

So these conditions, existence of widespread poverty, slums, and of tragic conniptions in schools and other
areas of life, all of these things have brought about a great deal of despair, and a great deal of desperation. A
great deal of disappointment and even bitterness in the Negro communities. And today all of our cities
confront huge problems. All of our cities are potentially powder kegs as a result of the continued existence of
these conditions. Many in moments of anger, many in moments of deep bitterness engage in riots.

Let me say as I've always said, and I will always continue to say, that riots are socially destructive and self-
defeating. I'm still convinced that nonviolence is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in
their struggle for freedom and justice. I feel that violence will only create more social problems than they will
solve. That in a real sense it is impracticable for the Negro to even think of mounting a violent revolution in
the United States. So I will continue to condemn riots, and continue to say to my brothers and sisters that this
is not the way. And continue to affirm that there is another way.