Weekly eNews for

Jan 8, 2026

NEW THIS WEEK


MESSAGE FROM THE INTERIM RECTOR


 A belated Happy New Year to everyone!  We welcome a new year, with new hopes and renewed excitement about finding the right person to be the new Rector of St. Monica's! As you can see from Ed's article, we are one step further along in the lengthy process of searching for and calling a new priest. I know it feels like it is taking forever! But I encourage you to trust the process, flawed as it may seem.  Somehow, in the process of searching for and calling a new priest, the Holy Spirit manages to work, helping lead us to the right person for this church at this time. I encourage you to pray intentionally for the search process in your daily prayers, and to keep the faith as the process unfolds.


The next steps in the search process will be important -- revising the Parish Profile and forming the search committee. All of these steps take time. We are moving forward! Before you know it, the Search Committee will be looking at potential candidates for the position of Rector of St. Monica's Episcopal Church! So, do not despair! Progress is being made, even as I write this!!


Things are also moving forward, as we look to have Allen Stock in place as our new Music Director!  Allen and Patti Stock have found a house they like in Naples, which is great news. They have put their house on the market, so we should have a start date for Allen soon. Maybe Ash Wednesday. Maybe the first Sunday in Lent. We don't quite know. But the wheels are turning, and it is exciting to contemplate Allen taking charge of our music program! I hope a few of you were able to meet him and his wife Patti when they came to Naples house-hunting. It is an exciting moment in the life of St. Monica's, and I hope you’ll join me in praying for a smooth transition and a wonderful new beginning for Allen, for our music program, and for our church!



TRANSITION UPDATE


On January 2 we submitted to the Diocese our final version of the church profile and the OTM (the document that goes out advertising our open position). History tells us we are likely to see revisions required by the Diocese but we are pleased to have moved this far.


We are now in a position to organize the search committee that will be responsible for our initial steps in the recruitment process. As we have mentioned many times the Diocese controls that process e.g. does the advertising, initial vetting and provides the search committee with their list of candidates. The committee takes the list provided and vets the candidates with the objective of providing Vestry with at least the top three for final consideration. You will shortly see the invitation to join the search committee along the process to apply. 


We have completed our initial tasks. After we get feedback for the Diocese, we will share the products with the congregation.



LADIES & GENTS LUNCHEON – January 12th, 2026

Happy New Year. Start 2026 with good food and great company. Everyone is welcome to join us at The Hangout by Two Guys, located at 2360 Pine Ridge Road, on Monday, January 12, 2026, at 12:30 pm. It is a relaxed and friendly way to reconnect and welcome the year ahead together.


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




STEWARDSHIP


The Stewardship Committee hopes you had a wonderful holiday season. As we move into 2026, we are hopeful that those of you who have not pledged as yet can prayerfully consider doing so very soon. We need your help to fund our 2026 budget but also to demonstrate that we can support a quality permanent rector. Formulating the near term 2026 budget plus the reach budget for a new rector is well underway but we hope your pledges can allow us to forecast our potential.


SATURDAY POTLUCK SOCIAL – January 10th, 2026

Celebrate the New Year with us at our January Potluck Social on Saturday, January 10, following the 5:00 pm service. This is always a fun and relaxed evening filled with good food, conversation, and community. We hope you will stay and join us as we kick off the new year together.


Food may be dropped off after 4:15 pm. All are welcome, whether you bring a dish or simply come to enjoy the fellowship.


We look forward to celebrating with you.




2025 PLEDGE STATEMENTS

Pledge statements for 2025 will be sent by email by the end of January.


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.




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


THINGS TO COME

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.

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!