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December Calendar
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Notes & Notable
Mark Your Calendar!
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2 Sunday Services
8:00 & 10:30 a.m.
All are welcome!
Market Mass
8:30−9am every Wed
St. Nicholas Party:
Breakfast With Santa & Bake Sale
Sat, Dec 1, 2007,
9:00−11:00am
Admission is $5/family
(tickets available in the bookstore)
Or
$7/family at the door
Advent Program
Wednesdays – Dec. 5, 12, & 19
at 6:30 p.m.
in Pierson Hall
Christmas Caroling
in
Santa Monica nursing homes
Sun, December 16
after church
Luncheon for
Homeless Persons
Monday, December 24
in Pierson Hall
7:30-9am - Set up volunteers
11am - Meal is served
3-5:00pm - Clean up volunteers
Christmas Services
Monday, December 24
5:30pm - Children's Christmas
10:30pm - Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
No Christmas Day Service
OFFICE CLOSED: Dec. 25, 2007 – Jan. 2, 2008
Parish Annual Meeting
Sunday, January 27, 2008
After the 10:30 a.m. service
in Pierson Hall
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Published by and for The Members and Friends of
St. Augustine by-the-Sea Episcopal Church
Please Note! There is no January, 2008 Ebb & Flow.
Christmas Gifts for At-Risk Children
by The Rev. Hartshorn Murphy
Each year, we ask your support by committing to purchase a gift for the children of Neighborhood Youth Association (NYA). For a century now, NYA has been an outreach of the Episcopal Church to children from low-income families here on the Westside. The late Susan Amlotte especially encouraged us, as a congregation, to remember these kids during the holidays and so, in her honor and memory, we have the "Susan Tree," which will be in the entranceway of the church beginning Sunday, Nov. 25th.
On the tree will be the "gift hopes" and requests of these children. So stop by, visit with our gift coordinators: Bill Amlotte, Rose Kujawa, Anthony Jondreau and James O'Connell. They will be happy to assist you to select the perfect gift to make some needy child's Christmas special.
Gifts must be returned, wrapped with the provided name tag, no later than Sunday, Dec. 9th so that they can be distributed at the annual NYA holiday party that following week.
Each year, St. A's commits to give $5,000 to NYA's operating budget. That pledge comes from your free will birthday and anniversary gifts on the first Sunday of the month. The suggested donation is one dollar per year (e.g. Tenth wedding anniversary = $10 dollars). But any contribution is a blessing and no one is turned away from receiving a blessing that does not make a donation.
Through the annual pledge, birthday and anniversary donations and the Susan Tree presents at Christmas, NYA is surely a part of our larger ministry of service and care.
Westside Food Bank
by The Rev. Laura Queen
We have an ongoing ministry of outreach to the Westside Food Bank. They request that you place non-perishable food items in the barrel located in the Narthex (entranceway into the church). This is available every Sunday and we hope to increase our giving during the winter months. Please make the effort to bring in something each week to help care for the hungry individuals and families in our community.
Now Voyager
by Tom Rimer, New St. A's Parishioner
Over the years, I have retained in my consciousness only the title of his film, one of those triumphant melodramas starring Betty Davis from so many years back. But that phrase now comes to mind because my wife Laurence and I feel that, indeed, we are and always have been on a voyage. So we can respond enthusiastically… MORE
The "S" Word: (Stewardship…)
by The Rev. Hartshorn Murphy
I often use the word "entranceway" to describe the anteroom at the front of the church. By the way, narthex means literally "little cave" and described the space where those who had been excommunicated were allowed to sit and listen to worship but not be admitted until their penance for sins against God and the community was up. Maybe entranceway is, after all, a better image. These days, the only ones ex-communicated are screaming children and their parents… MORE
Watching and Listening - Winter Term Adult Ed.
by The Rev. Hartshorn Murphy
A while back, one of our members gifted me with a series of lectures on the Hebrew Scriptures on VHS tape, published by The Teaching Company. As there were 24 lectures, 30 minutes long each, and whereas my doctor again told me that I needed to get more (some?) exercise, I thought: "exercise bike (unused) + bible lectures (unwatched) = opportunity!" I discovered a rich resource for learning and the hope of health renewed
… MORE
A Steward's Reflection - Oct. 28, 2007
by Catherine York
I remember in the newcomer's class, when I asked, "so do I have to re-baptize my children as Episcopal, and do Brian and I have to renew our vows here - to be members? How do I become Episcopal?" To which came the answer - "No, you're done… MORE
Christmas Eve Luncheon
by The Rev. Pat Hendrickson
It's time to start getting into the Christmas spirit of giving. Monday, December 24th, St. Augustine's and Faith will once again host a luncheon for persons who are homeless and in need. The late Mimi Adams; sister to Paul Cummings, the last head master of St. Augustine's Parish Day School began this outreach 25 years ago… MORE
A Traditional Christmas?
by The Rev. Laura Queen
The glory of Christmas can fill our hearts and minds with thoughts of hope and love, but all too often it reminds us of our fear and painful memories that can depress even the healthiest person. It is easy for us in this day and age to be enveloped into the anxiety that permeates our culture. There is a war, the economy is sporadic at best and we are reminded daily about issues that seem much too large and way beyond our control. Despite all of this, the trees are up… MORE
Advent Wreath Ceremony for Use in the Home
Let us pray: O God, by whose word all things are sanctified, pour forth your blessing upon this wreath, and grant that we who use it may prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ and may receive from you abundant graces, through Christ our Lord… MORE
Blessing Prayer for the Christmas Tree
Lord of the Forest, Marker of Trees, we honor You as we dedicate this tree, that it be a sign of Christmas in our home. Green as life are its needled leaves; open and inviting are its outstretched branches; strong as love is its trunk… MORE
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Copyright © 2007 St. Augustine by-the-Sea
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