St. Mary’s Church, Hampton Bays, NY
About us:
St. Mary’s is a warm, inviting, and inclusive parish that values the tradition of the liturgy at all times of the year, but especially the holidays. Our parishioners are always excited to welcome new members.
St. Mary’s supports many missions such as Heifer Project, Maureen’s Haven Homeless Shelter, ABATE Toy and Food motorcycle run, supporting the community food pantry, and others.
Our parishioners have many opportunities to serve God within the ministries of the church such as Sunday School, LEM, Lectors, Altar Guild, Coffee Hour Hosts, Vestry and others.
We are “roll up our sleeves” kind of church. We are hands on with our ministry and mission work. Additionally, we all pitch in for the Spring and Fall cleanups (yard work and spring cleaning in the building) and the amazing annual Christmas Fair.
St. Mary has over five acres of land on which the church and rectory are located. We are blessed with ample parking and space for outdoor services and gatherings.
Pitfalls/Obstacles
As with many churches, our congregation is aging. There is a lot of wisdom and experience but there is not as much energy and vigor as before.
We need a musical director. The beloved longtime organist passed away and our replacement organist is the wife of our current rector.
There is a large Hispanic population in the Hampton Bays community, but our congregation does not reflect this. We believe it would be a mutual blessing to have more diversity.
As with many churches, we see a shrinking of our congregation. Families with young families have multiple obligations on Sunday Mornings. It is a challenge to attract students to Sunday School.
St. Mary’s is blessed to have a healthy endowment but the weekly donations need to be boosted.
Ministry Opportunities/Potentials
Leasing out use of the buildings and grounds appropriate for meetings, parties, classes, or similar usage.
Maximize use of online streaming services and updated websites. This will allow the shut ins, deployed military, seasonal parishioners, and college students to feel more involved. Additionally, it’s a non-threatening way to invite a friend to church,
Return of unique events such as Progressive Dinner, Covered Dish suppers, and the community favorite of the wine tasting fundraiser.
Welcome families in the community with young children through a preschool program or vacation bible school, revive Youth Group. Create a program where the local high school students can earn community service hours.
Use of outdoor chapel with an Eagle Scout project of an altar. Identify more Eagle Scout or Gold Award projects.
COVID
St. Mary’s moved to online services (ZOOM) during the shutdown phase of the pandemic. This allowed parishioners to connect to each other and liturgy. Sunday school also met online. Additionally, as the weather and the health guidance allowed, we had in-person outdoor services.
We set up “drive thru” food and non-food item collections. This was to benefit the local food pantry. We had a massive collection for winters items to support the homeless when we were not able to host Maureen’s Haven. We were resilient and resourceful.
The Sunshine Committee was in full swing reaching out by telephone to check on our most vulnerable parishioners. If needed, groceries were purchased and left on the front steps.
Unfortunately, some parishioners never returned. Either moved away or were too fearful to return to in person church. As a result, the congregation did shrink due to COVID.
Clergy
We are seeking a priest who will partner with us to spiritually strengthen and grow our congregation.
We are looking for clergy who will be present and visible in the greater Hampton Bays community as an “ambassador” for St. Mary’s. As well as maintaining office hours to be available to the parishioners of St. Mary’s.
We are looking for a priest with strong leadership and managerial skills. Someone willing to listen to the needs of the congregation through the vestry representatives and help to implement the plans.
We are looking for a spiritual leader with a sense of humor and a “teaching sensibility”. Someone approachable to all ages but maintains the traditions of the Episcopal Church, of tradition, scripture, and reason.
About us:
St. Mary’s is a warm, inviting, and inclusive parish that values the tradition of the liturgy at all times of the year, but especially the holidays. Our parishioners are always excited to welcome new members.
St. Mary’s supports many missions such as Heifer Project, Maureen’s Haven Homeless Shelter, ABATE Toy and Food motorcycle run, supporting the community food pantry, and others.
Our parishioners have many opportunities to serve God within the ministries of the church such as Sunday School, LEM, Lectors, Altar Guild, Coffee Hour Hosts, Vestry and others.
We are “roll up our sleeves” kind of church. We are hands on with our ministry and mission work. Additionally, we all pitch in for the Spring and Fall cleanups (yard work and spring cleaning in the building) and the amazing annual Christmas Fair.
St. Mary has over five acres of land on which the church and rectory are located. We are blessed with ample parking and space for outdoor services and gatherings.
Pitfalls/Obstacles
As with many churches, our congregation is aging. There is a lot of wisdom and experience but there is not as much energy and vigor as before.
We need a musical director. The beloved longtime organist passed away and our replacement organist is the wife of our current rector.
There is a large Hispanic population in the Hampton Bays community, but our congregation does not reflect this. We believe it would be a mutual blessing to have more diversity.
As with many churches, we see a shrinking of our congregation. Families with young families have multiple obligations on Sunday Mornings. It is a challenge to attract students to Sunday School.
St. Mary’s is blessed to have a healthy endowment but the weekly donations need to be boosted.
Ministry Opportunities/Potentials
Leasing out use of the buildings and grounds appropriate for meetings, parties, classes, or similar usage.
Maximize use of online streaming services and updated websites. This will allow the shut ins, deployed military, seasonal parishioners, and college students to feel more involved. Additionally, it’s a non-threatening way to invite a friend to church,
Return of unique events such as Progressive Dinner, Covered Dish suppers, and the community favorite of the wine tasting fundraiser.
Welcome families in the community with young children through a preschool program or vacation bible school, revive Youth Group. Create a program where the local high school students can earn community service hours.
Use of outdoor chapel with an Eagle Scout project of an altar. Identify more Eagle Scout or Gold Award projects.
COVID
St. Mary’s moved to online services (ZOOM) during the shutdown phase of the pandemic. This allowed parishioners to connect to each other and liturgy. Sunday school also met online. Additionally, as the weather and the health guidance allowed, we had in-person outdoor services.
We set up “drive thru” food and non-food item collections. This was to benefit the local food pantry. We had a massive collection for winters items to support the homeless when we were not able to host Maureen’s Haven. We were resilient and resourceful.
The Sunshine Committee was in full swing reaching out by telephone to check on our most vulnerable parishioners. If needed, groceries were purchased and left on the front steps.
Unfortunately, some parishioners never returned. Either moved away or were too fearful to return to in person church. As a result, the congregation did shrink due to COVID.
Clergy
We are seeking a priest who will partner with us to spiritually strengthen and grow our congregation.
We are looking for clergy who will be present and visible in the greater Hampton Bays community as an “ambassador” for St. Mary’s. As well as maintaining office hours to be available to the parishioners of St. Mary’s.
We are looking for a priest with strong leadership and managerial skills. Someone willing to listen to the needs of the congregation through the vestry representatives and help to implement the plans.
We are looking for a spiritual leader with a sense of humor and a “teaching sensibility”. Someone approachable to all ages but maintains the traditions of the Episcopal Church, of tradition, scripture, and reason.