Weekly eNews for

Jan 22, 2026

NEW THIS WEEK


MESSAGE FROM THE INTERIM RECTOR


I've been thinking lately about music -- about church music. Somehow, in the months since our organist left, music has continued at St. Monica's, in both weekly worship services. I want to give credit where credit is due to three batches of people.


First, to Helen, Susan, and Gordon: I am so grateful for your leadership in the liturgy, and for your faithfulness to St. Monica's. We couldn't have done this without you. Susan is there, every Saturday evening, playing the organ for the five o'clock service. She came out of retirement to play for us, but she is sharing with us her many years of experience as a church organist in the parish. Gordon has been there, every Sunday morning, faithfully playing the organ for the ten o'clock service, and giving us the leadership we have needed for congregational singing to continue uninterrupted. Gordon has stepped up to the proverbial plate for St. Monica's! Helen has served as our music planner and choir director and has, on occasion, stepped in to play a service or two. She's helped the choir keep going, and we've enjoyed the amazing sound produced by our small choir. The choir is small, but mighty! Thank you.


Second, to the Choir: thank you for your faithfulness, your commitment to the choir, and your faithfulness in this ministry of music! It has not been easy. There have been bumps in the road. Yet you have continued to sing, Sunday after Sunday, showing up when it counted, leading us in congregational singing and singing lovely anthems for us. For all this I am most grateful.


Finally, to the Search Committee tasked with finding a new organist and choir master for St. Monica's: thank you for finding Allen and bringing him to Naples. Allen Stock has years of experience as an organist and choir master, and we are so blessed that he is coming here next month. I think the Search Committee, chaired by Joanie Schumacher, found the right person for St. Monica's for this moment in its congregational life. As the Search for a New Rector gets underway in earnest, it will be a great help to have a new Organist-Choir Master in place. It marks the beginning of a new era in music at St. Monica's. I look forward to working with Allen. I am excited to see what Allen can do to enrich and enhance our worship life together.


There will be others to thank at the Annual Meeting, which is coming up. But I wanted to express my gratitude to the above individuals for the work they have done to sustain our music program. Many, many thanks!


DIOCESAN CONVENTION DELEGATES

The next Diocesan Convention will be held Oct 9-10 in Punta Gorda. We have slots for one more delegate and one alternate to represent St. Monica's at this important gathering. There is much to be learned about our Diocese and its direction. You also may find value in meeting people from other churches. Please contact Ed Strong (contact info in directory) if you are interested in attending. Thank you.



2025 PLEDGE STATEMENTS

Pledge statements for 2025 will be sent by email between the end of January & beginning of February.


Please take a moment to check the email address listed for you in the church directory and make sure it is current. This will ensure you receive your statement without delay.


If you have any questions, please contact the church office.



STEWARDSHIP

The stewardship committee is pleased to report that we are now at $327,453 from 66 pledges. We are extremely grateful to all who have pledged. We are still open to receive any more pledges. We will begin to formulate our budget for this year. We will keep you informed of progress on both fronts.




MENS BOOK GROUP

The Men's Book Group continues to meet Monday at 9:30AM in the church conference room. At our next meeting, January 26, we will discuss Chapter 2 of Elaine Pagels' The Gnostic Gospels. So far this has been one of our most compelling reads. We remain open to all men of St. Monica's. Please address any questions to Ed Strong.



IMPORTANT MESSAGE SENT OUT THIS MORNING - DEADLINE January 30th

Join the Rector Transition Search Committee

An important parish wide email was sent earlier today seeking volunteers to help with the process of finding our next Rector.


Please take a moment to check your inbox for this message. If you do not see it, be sure to look in your spam or junk folder, as automated filters may sometimes redirect parish emails.


If you are interested in responding, please note that the deadline to take action is January 30, 2026.


If you are unable to locate the email after checking all folders, please contact the church office for assistance.

THINGS TO COME


LADIES & GENTS LUNCHEON  – February 9th, 2026

We will be lunching at Goldies on February 9th. It is located at 5400 Taylor Rd. which is off of Pine Ridge Rd. It is near Naples Blvd. where Home Depot is. Thank you Linda 


For more information contact Linda Duffy (link is connected to the church directory, be sure to be logged in).


DO YOU FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK?

If not, you’re missing out on all the fun things happening around St. Monica’s. Be sure to follow our page so you can stay connected with photos, events, and moments from our parish family.

COME PRAY WITH US

Your faith and scripture will come alive as we pray together. We invite you to spend a special hour with us each week.


All are welcome to gather in the church sanctuary every Tuesday at 10 am. We will praise God with song, read and pray with Scripture, share faith experiences, share intercessory prayer for our needs and the needs of others and also healing prayer.


For more information  contact Theresa Miller


NAME BADGES HELP KEEP ATTENDANCE

Please take a moment to find and wear your name tags because it makes it easier for visitors and other parishioners to recognize you by name and allows the office to note your attendance (a requirement for the Diocese). As you leave the church, please leave them in the baskets near the doors and they will be placed back on the board for pick up the following weekend.

REGULAR CHURCH GATHERINGS


Zoom Only

  • Contemplative Prayer: Wednesdays, 11am – Zoom


In-Person and Zoom 

  • Bible Study: Fridays, 9am – Library
  • Men's Book Group: Mondays, 9:30am – Conference Room


In-Person Only   

  • Prayer and Faith Sharing: Tuesdays, 10am – Church   
  • Ladies & Gents Luncheon: 2nd Monday, 12:30pm – Different locations   

Please call the church office at 239.591.4550 or email for the link and password to the Zoom meetings.

OFFERING ENVELOPES - Just as a Reminder

We are so grateful for your ongoing generosity and faithful giving. Every offering you give helps us continue the mission and ministry of St. Monica’s, and we truly appreciate it.


That said, we have a small but important request: please do not tape the flaps of your offering envelopes


As shown in the image, the envelope flaps are designed to stay closed once you seal them with the glue inside the flap. When tape is added, it makes it much harder for our office staff to open them quickly and carefully. It slows down the processing, increases the risk of tearing checks or cash inside, and adds extra steps to what is already a detailed task


We know the intention behind taping is likely to keep the contents secure, but we assure you the envelopes are kept safe and handled with care from plate to processing


Thank you for helping us by leaving the flap untaped, it’s a small act that makes a big difference.

A ST. MONICA'S PRAYER

Dear Friends,

 

In our Tuesday staff meeting we ended with St. Monica's prayer. It was for her son to return to the church. When he finally returned he became the future Saint and Bishop Augustine of Hippo who became a prominent Christian theologian and philosopher.

 

We thought we might share it with you:


St. Monica, I need your prayers. You know exactly how I'm feeling because you once felt it yourself. I'm hurting, hopeless, and in despair. I desperately want my child to return to Christ in his Church but I can't do it alone. I need God's help. Please join me in begging the Lord's powerful grace to flow into my child's life. Ask the Lord Jesus to soften his heart, prepare a path for his conversion, and activate the Holy Spirit in his life. Amen.

JAN. ANNIVERSARIES

 1/1

James & Muriel Burkett   


1/30

David & Kathy Bronson 

JAN. BIRTHDAYS


1/12

Seb Cavallaro


1/14

Zannah Chalick


1/17

Bruce Allan


1/24

Morgan Plocharczyk


1/28

Bob Rossomando


1/31

Ruthann Turley


PRAYERS & VISITS

PASTORAL CARE
If you go to or are going into the hospital, or your spouse, partner, or family member is experiencing a pastoral or health care issue, please contact the church office during office hours after hours please reach out to:  Deacon Ken McCaslin at 610.608.0704.

PASTORAL CARE MESSAGE

Your clergy are here to walk with you. Pastoral care is an important part of the ministry of the clergy, so please don't be shy! At any time reach out to one of us and we would be happy to talk to you, anoint you, pray with you, or walk with you. If something is going on medically or otherwise in your life, let us know. If you are going into the hospital, let us know ahead of time so we can visit, and, more importantly, be praying with and for you.

ACCESSING THE PRAYER LIST:
For the safety and privacy of our members, the Prayer List will no longer be viewable in the on the website nor added back to the eNews due to the public accessibility of both.

 

We understand how important this list is to our Church family, and we want to ensure you can still access it in the following ways:

 

1.   Online Access: Log in to our  Members Directory. Once logged in, click on "Additional Pages" and select "Prayer List".


2.   Printed Copies: Printed versions are available at any of our services or can be picked up from the front office.

 

Thank you for your understanding and support as we prioritize the privacy and safety of our members.

SHARE THE eNEWS WITH OTHERS

If someone approaches you expressing interest in receiving our eNews, you can let them know that they don't need to wait for the office to handle it. The quickest and easiest way for them to sign up is by visiting our website at www.stmonicasnaples.org/ and registering themselves. By taking this simple step, they'll start receiving our updates promptly. If they've previously contacted the office to be added and haven't received the eNews the next week, advise them to reach out to confirm that their email address was correctly noted. We want to ensure everyone stays connected and informed about all the exciting happenings at St. Monica's. Thank you for helping others get connected to our eNews community!