Announcements

Baptism Classes—Father Peter will be offering baptism classes in October for our next baptism which will take place within our Holy Eucharist celebration for the feast of All Saints on Sunday November 1, 2026. These classes are open for adults, teenagers and parents of young children who wish to be baptized. If interested please contact Fr.Peter after any of the Sunday services or contact him via email: peter@saintjameslc.org

Adult Spiritual Education Forum—August 31, 2026, Monday, Adult Spiritual Education Forum, 5:30 pm., St. James Episcopal Church, Library. Presenter: Padrecita Jean Lutz, “The Healing Power of Forgiveness.”. Please try to make a special effort to attend. ALL ARE WELCOME. Info.: Terry Meyer, 575-571-2964.

Ladies Luncheon—On Friday August 28 at 11:30a.m. the Ladies of Saint James’ will be having their monthly luncheon at Lorenzo’s. Please RSVP with Phala White (575-639-3553) by Wednesday August 26.

Men's Retreat—SAVE THE DATE. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17...to attend a Men's Day Retreat at Holy Cross Retreat and Conference Center. The theme of the retreat will be 'Falling Upward - Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life" from the acclaimed book by Franciscan Priest Father Richard Rohr. Details to follow!  

Evangelism, Mission and Outreach—We will be having an evangelism, mission and outreach meeting on Friday September 18 at 9:30 AM to discuss activities and events for the rest of the year. All are welcome to attend to provide input and to find out how to get involved in the upcoming events.

Quilts of Valor—The Mesilla Valley Quilts of Valor group was formed in 2018. Our quilting bee meets on Thursdays in the St. James Parish Hall form 10:00-3:00 weekly. We are affiliated with the national Quilts of Valor Foundation (qovf.org). We make quilts which are made of quality fabrics and include a label on the back of each quilt citing the honoree's name, presentation date, and the name of our group. We also include care instructions with the quilt. To date we have awarded approximately 100 quilts. Currently we are making informational presentations to local groups such as Knights of Columbus, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Optimists, and Rotary Groups. We will gladly present to any group. Please contact me if interested in an informational presentation for your group. 

         Each recipient is awarded a quilt, a certificate, and a copy of the presentation speech. We love nothing more than presenting quilts to our deserving veterans. Veterans do not have to have served in wartime to qualify. Any veteran who has served at any time and has been honorably discharged qualifies for a quilt.  Active duty also qualifies. Family and friends are encouraged to nominate veterans. Any veteran may also nominate him/herself.

         The nomination form is located on the Quilts of Valor Foundation website (qovf.org) and is easy to fill out. Once it is submitted by the veteran or family/friend who is nominating the veteran, it is then vetted and routed to the group closest to the honoree. For example, if you live in Las Cruces or southern New Mexico, it will be routed to the Mesilla Valley Quilts of Valor group. The Veteran will then be contacted by me and we will set up a time, location, and date for the formal presentation of his/her quilt.

         There are currently five groups in New Mexico: Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Silver City, Alamogordo and Las Cruces. There is not a group in Western Texas, so the Mesilla Valley Quilts of Valor group has been covering these veterans as well as all of Southern New Mexico. We work with the Alamogordo group to cover those veterans located in the southeastern part of the state. 

         If you have any questions or would like to set up a public informtional  presentation for a group, feel free to contact Jennifer Terrazas at 575-993-0498.

Flower Guild—We are excited to share that Saint James is forming a newly created Flower Guild! If you have a passion for flowers, love creating beautiful arrangements, or simply want to help beautify our sacred spaces, we would love for you to join us. No prior experience is necessary, just a willing heart and a desire to serve.

If you are interested in joining or learning more, please reach out to Flower Guild Chair Candace Fitch (210- 248-7374). She will be training all flower guild lovers at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, September 5.