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30 January 2025 ~ St. Mary's Church, Cathedral Road Newsletter
Newsletter, January 30, 2025
The Feast of Candlemas at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
This coming Sunday, February 2nd, has long been known as Candlemas. In the
church, this day is also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, and
the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is a Christian feast day
commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple by Joseph and Mary. It is
based upon the account of the presentation of Jesus in Luke 2:22–40. You will see
that this Sunday’s liturgy will be a bit different than our usual liturgy, and will
include a procession and the blessing of candles.
Candlemas day by Marianne Stokes, 1901
The feast falls on the 2nd of February. On Candlemas, over the course of many
centuries, Christians brought their candles to their local church, where they were
blessed and then used for the rest of the year. These blessed candles serve as a
symbol of Jesus Christ, who is referred to as the Light of the World. This Sunday,
we will have candles for you, as well as LED “candles” which we will bless and have
for you.
Interestingly, for us, we probably think of February 2nd as Groundhog Day,
and not many folks may realize that Groundhog Day has its roots in the
observance of Candlemas. The Roman church's custom of blessing candles
by the clergy found its way to Germany. The Germans developed a tradition
that if the sun appeared on Candlemas, a hedgehog would cast a shadow,
making a "second winter." German immigrants to Pennsylvania brought
this tradition to the United States, and the hedgehog was somehow morphed
into the groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil.
So, join us this Sunday, bring your candles, and pray that we will be emboldened by
the Light of Christ throughout the year!
In God’s blessed Light and Peace,
The Very Reverend Peter Carey, Rector
☩ Parish Prayer List ☩
Adele, Alan, Bob, C’ia, Cindy, Dan, Donald, Frank, Jerrie, Kay, Marietta, Mark, Mary, Pat, Susan, Virginia, Xander
☩Outreach and Mission ☩
For decades St. Mary’s has given generously to local, national, and global
organizations that do a plethora of wonderful outreach and mission. It has long
been an emphasis here to “keep us ever mindful of the needs of others” and help
alleviate suffering in our world. On the next page, you will find a list of some of the
places where your gifts make a difference nearby and far away.
As a part of our outreach efforts, we will (once again) be collecting non-perishable
food and donations which will be taken to local organizations that have food banks,
and outreach to the needy in and around the Philadelphia Area. Please make it a
habit to bring a can or box of food with you to church and put them into the basket
we have in the back of church. We will offer up these gifts in our liturgy of
thanksgiving at the offering.
Four places we are planning to donate these items are:
North Light Community Center, Roxborough, Philadelphia
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Germantown Food Pantry
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Norristown Food Ministry
The Clare Project, serving the needy in Kensington, Philadelphia
☩ Pledge Cards and Envelopes ☩
Please turn in your pledge cards for the estimation of your yearly gifts to St.
Mary’s. These pledges help the Vestry to budget and plan for the finances for
2025. We have pledge cards for your use, as well as a Google form which you can
use to estimate your giving for the year. Please consider pledging. Thank you.
We have envelopes for you as well.
Check with Valerie, Earl or Father Peter
Blessings and Thanksgiving!
☩ Online Giving ☩
You now have the ability to set up online giving. If you go to our website
stmaryscathedralroad.blogspot.com you will find a green “Give” button on each
page. By clicking that button, you will be sent to the Tithe.ly account for our
church. This service, Tithe.ly, is highly recommended, and carefully vetted by our
Diocese. You can set up a one-time gift, weekly giving, biweekly giving or monthly
giving.
☩ Bishop White Lodge Tuesday Eucharists ☩
Every other Tuesday, our rector, the Very Rev. Peter Carey leads a Eucharist in
the “Rose Room” of Bishop White Lodge (in Cathedral Village), which is open to
anyone. The service is about 30 minutes and is a wonderful outreach to Cathedral
Village. Please join us!
Upcoming Schedule
February 11th, 10am
February 18th, 10am
March 11th, 10am
March 18th, 10am
March 25th, 10am
March 26th, 11am ~ Prayers for Ash Wednesday and Distribution of Ashes
☩2025 Vestry Meetings ☩
February 16, March 16, April 27*, May 11*, June 15, August 17,
September 21, October 19, November 16, December 21
Our Vestry meets after our 10am Sunday Service in our Rector’s office
☩ Outreach Giving ☩
For decades St. Mary’s has given generously to local, national, and global
organizations that do a plethora of wonderful outreach and mission. It has long
been an emphasis here to “keep us ever mindful of the needs of others” and help
alleviate suffering in our world.
Below are some of the many organizations that St. Mary’s supports financially
from our operating budget.
Bethesda Project ~ Philadelphia
Cathedral Village ~ Upper Roxborough
The Clare Project ~ Philadelphia
Diocese of Pennsylvania ~ local, nationwide and global
Episcopal Community Services ~ Philadelphia and Pennsylvania
Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem ~ The Holy Land
Friends of the Wissahickon ~ Philadelphia
The Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre - Jerusalem ~ The Holy Land
al-Ahli Arab Hospital (AAH) ~ Gaza, Palestinian Territory ~ The Holy Land
Episcopal Relief and Development ~ nationwide and global
Girl Scouts of America ~ nationwide and global
Journey’s Way ~ Philadelphia
The Living Church Foundation ~ nationwide and global
North Light Community Center ~ Philadelphia
Chestnut Hill Meals on Wheels ~ Philadelphia Area
Project H.O.M.E. ~ Philadelphia Area
Seamen’s Church Institute ~ Philadelphia and nationwide
St. James Episcopal School ~ Philadelphia
Virginia Theological Seminary ~ global
The WaterBoys Foundation ~ global
You might have heard a bit about a recent sermon given by the Rt. Rev. Mariann
Budde, the Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of Washington. Here's a link to her
sermon if you'd like to watch and listen to it in its entirety. And here's a story from
Episcopal News Service with a bit of context.
☩ Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church ☩
630 East Cathedral Road, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19128
Church 215.482.6300 stmarycathrd@gmail.com
Rector 215.392.0906 revpetermcarey@gmail.com
The Very Reverend Peter Carey, Rector
Mr. Jonathan Stark, Organist
Mr. Richard Cassel, Jr, Sexton