St. Mary's Evangelical Lutheran Church

August 12, 2022

Dear Friends in Christ,

The summer heat of July has continued into the dog days of summer. We are concerned about how that is affecting you all and the Silver Run community. I hope all of you are staying cool. If you need anything during this heat, please feel free to contact me or the church.

Because of the continued heat we are having service in the parish hall throughout August and maybe into the beginning of September

I also wanted to thank you all for your presence and good wishes in celebrating my 40th Ordination anniversary. The 40th anniversary cupcakes were a wonderful surprise,

I am writing this letter to let you know of a couple changes in our schedule. First, I am facing an unexpected emergency knee replacement on August 29. Pastor Peter Roy will be with us to do the service on September 4th at 9:30 am. I will be working from home and will tape some meditations on healing and posting to the church’s website. Please pray for me and for Rudy and Steve as they take care of me right after the surgery.

The council and I met to look at the calendar and decided to revise our schedule a bit to make it easier for all of us. We are still celebrating St. Mary’s anniversary. However, we are going to cancel the August 22 picnic, and instead concentrate on Bishop Gohl’s visit with us on September 25. We will celebrate our anniversary and my retirement then. More information will be following,

Thank you for your patience. And your prayers and support

In Christ,

Pastor Linda

Beginning February 16th, masks and face coverings will be optional inside St. Mary’s Parish Hall and Sanctuary in accordance with local, state, and CDC recommendations. Masks continue to be strongly recommended at St. Mary’s for those who are unvaccinated.

Please be respectful to those who are more comfortable with deciding to continue masking, regardless of positivity rates or their vaccination status.

The Maryland Department of Health has issued a public health advisory strongly recommending that all non-vaccinated individuals over the age of 2 years continue to wear face coverings in all indoor settings and in outdoor settings where physical distancing cannot be maintained.

COVID-19 positivity rate drops below 4%. The substantial declines in the Maryland’s key health metrics continue as the COVID-19 positivity rate has dropped to 3.77%—down 87% since peaking last month. COVID-19 hospitalizations have dropped to 751—down 78% since peaking last month. Maryland continues to report the lowest COVID-19 case rate of any state. Official data is available at coronavirus.maryland.gov.

If you are feeling unwell, please stay home.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact Pastor Linda.

We are the Silver Run/Union Mills Lions Club, and we need your help. Our Club was started in 1961 and we are coming up on our 60th Anniversary. We are looking for new members and need you.

Our community service includes work to help both the economic underprivileged and victims of disaster. We assist community residents in need by loaning hospital equipment, arranging eye tests and glasses, donating to our local food pantry in Silver Run, and providing financial support for various community projects and organizations through fundraising campaigns. Proceeds are donated to various Lions International Programs involving vision research, health care services, and other area organizations that lend their hands and expertise to community betterment and safety. Our two $1,000 scholarships are now in memory of John Hopkins and John Leister and are for high school or vocational students in the 21158-zip code area. Annual fund-raisers include Basket Bingo and a Corn Roast.

Meetings are held 6:30 pm the second and fourth Thursday of each month at our Lions Club Park on Old Hanover Road. The Lions' Motto is: We Serve.

For more information, please contact: Terrie Bath E-mail: tc@qis.net, Phone: 410-346-6311 or Thelma Stonesifer E-mail: tjstoney@comcast.net, Phone: 410-346-7721.

St. Mary's is an assembly of Christian believers who gather together in the community of Silver Run. We are a collection of people with different needs and concerns, yet we are called to a unity which grows from joining together in worship of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Each of us has different God-given talents which we are called to use to witness to our faith in God's love revealed through Jesus Christ. We are called and empowered by the Holy Spirit to invite others to share in our faith in Christ and to welcome them into the life of our congregation.