Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
Serving on Sunday (Dec 13th):
* Greeter: Barb C * Host: Holly H * Readers: Kristin W, Amy B * Psalm & Prayers: Bev B
* Chalice: Leslie B * Announcements: Cindy D* Counters: Cindy P, Andrew P
Verger List has Sunday assignments through December
Announcements – December 13, 2015
December 14th is the 3rd Anniversary of the Sandy Hook Shooting. A candlelight Vigil is being held on the Norwich Green at 5 PM December 14.
A Service to Celebrate the Life of Suzie Harding is being planned for June 2016.
Annual Meeting Reports due January 13 - Please submit your reports for the Annual Reports to Paula Stevens in electronic format by January 13. Annual Meeting is Saturday, January 23. Thanks, Scott and the Vestry
Advent Evening Prayer Daily Mon-Fri 5:30 in the church – Please join us for a quiet, peaceful time of prayer during this busy holiday season and in this time of turmoil in our world.
Advent Discussion Series - Please join us Advent discussion series again this year to be held on the 4 Wednesday evenings in Advent (December 2, 9, 16, and 23) from 6:30 pm - 8 pm in the parish house. The format will be a loosely-structured discussion of the previous Sunday's Old Testament and Gospel readings---touching on topics as historical background, how the readings relate to one another, what we feel in the readings specifically speaks to us, what the readings might mean to us in our greater community, why these readings may have been chosen for inclusion in the common lectionary for Advent. We will be spending 35-40 minutes on each reading and ending with Compline. There would be no books or required reading as we will be only using the lectionary scripture readings. It will be facilitated by Pete Lapre.
The Warming Shelter at The Haven is open. If you are interested in being part of a Sunday Lunch ministry, simple hot meal of either soup or casserole with bread in our parish hall please contact Jon Chaffee or Diana Collins. Following the meal we would assist our guests to other warm locations in the area.
Christmas Caroling – Sunday, December 13 -- Join us for a St. Pauls' tradition in December - carol singing. I am looking for a few more wonderful places to sing. Maybe your home? I will be planning carol singing at Harvest Hill, Valley Terrace and Quail Hollow. I also need singers. Please know that you can join us for the whole afternoon or join us for one event along the way. I would appreciate it if you told me you were coming, so if we're a little late I can call you to assure you that we're on the way. Please respond for either hosting or if you'd like to join the singing ensemble to thegaryguy @gmail.com Thanks for considering!
It is not too late to return your Stewardship Pledge! – Help us plan better for next year by submitting your pledge as soon as possible. Thank you.
Solstice Knit and Purl Retreat – Sat Dec 19th, 10am - 7pm at Parish House --
Susan Pillsbury and Holly Hall are organizing Solstice Retreat. We will serve a soup for lunch and a vegetarian chili for early dinner. Please bring a potluck snack to share. There is Wi-Fi in the building for anyone wanting to bring lap tops or iPads to see craft videos. This is a peaceful time to fill yourself with relaxing comfortas you work on, finish, or start a new craft project. A table will be set up for quilters and sewers. Please spread the word to friends. More the merrier. If you have questions, contact Susan or Holly.
United Valley Interfaith Project
Would you like to be a Five Minute Friend? Do you wish to learn more about Car Title Lending and the negative impact this has on our economic structure and our community? Are you a senior and you wish to share your story with others?
There is more! However, if you are interested in learning more about the United Valley Interfaith Project (UVIP), there is now an internal UVIP Team at St. Paul's Church. The newly formed St. Paul's UVIP Team consists of Sally McFarlin, Eva Moss and Diane Root.
The United Valley Interfaith Project has grown immensely within the last few years. This includes new members, as well as several different campaign issues. Our present campaigns include: Five Minute Friends; Aging with Dignity and Senior Stories; Economic Justice, includes Predatory Lending and Fight for Fifteen.
These issue are important and do affect each individual's lives. The newly formed St. Paul's UVIP Team plans to work closely with our church community on these campaign issues. We plan to inform you of upcoming events and present, as well as disseminate, material relevant to these campaigns in a timely fashion.
Flyers, announcements and oral presentations are essential elements in reaching out to all of you.
We plan to begin these conversations with you, real soon. In January, we are planning an open discussion with our church community and hope you will join us, then.
In the meantime, continue to read the United Valley Interfaith Project Bulletin Board, located in the hallway. Sally, Eva and Diane are, also, available to chat with you at any time concerning these issues or any other issue that is important to you. Look forward to sharing, listening and above all caring Sally R McFarlin
Listen Community Center Dinners - In the New Year, St. Paul's Church will be serving six meals on the third Monday of each odd month. The dates are: Jan. 18; March 21; May 16; July 18; Sept. 19; and Nov. 21st. St. Paul's has one cook team and are looking for a second cook team. Each team organize and plan three meals. If you are interested in community outreach and would like to plan three Listen dinners, contact Holly.
Ongoing Reminders
Leadership Team Meeting – every Wednesday 9:30-11:30am
Worship Team Meets - second Tuesday of the month in the Church Library at 4pm. All are welcome to attend.
Vestry Meets - third Tuesday of the month in the Parish House at 6:30pm. All are welcome to attend.
Brookside Nursing Home Church Services – Please join us! - Second Sunday of each month (September through June) 2-2:30pm. Our next service will be December 13th, 2-2:30. We welcome anyone who would like to volunteer with Cindy and Holly.
Knit and Purl Fellowship – first and third Mondays of the month at the Parish House, 6:30pm. In January, we will meet January 4th and 18th.
Listen Community Dinners 2016 – every other month St. Paul's Church serves dinner at the Listen Community Center: January 17, March 21, May 16, July 18, September 19, November 21
Upcoming Events
Please send event and prayer updates to announcements.spc@gmail.com
Monday – Friday – 5:30pm Evening Prayer
Sunday, December 13 – Brookside Ministry
Sunday, December 13 - Christmas Caroling
Saturday, December 19 – Solstice Knit and Purl Retreat
Thursday, December 24 - 5:30pm - Holy Communion with Christmas pageant
Thursday, December 24 – 9:00pm - Festive Holy Communion with Carols
Friday, December 25 – 10:00am - Christmas day Holy Communion with Carols
Monday, January 4 – 6:30pm Knit and Purl Fellowship
Friday, December 25 – 10:00am - Christmas day Holy Communion with Carols
Sunday, January 17th – Caring Team Meeting
Monday, January 18 – Listen Community Dinner
Monday, January 18 – 6:30pm Knit and Purl Fellowship
Here's who's doing what - Sunday, December 20 – Advent IV
Greeter –Holly H; Host – Dick and Jane D; Old Testament – Barb C; Epistle – Andrew P; Psalm and Prayers – Kristin W; Chalice – Pam H and Joan L-S; Announcements – Rachel M; Counters: Rich K and Dave D
Scott’s Schedule:
Monday, December 14: Office Hours 9-12
Tuesday, December 15: Office Hours 9-12
Friday, December 18: Sabbath Day
Saturday, December 19: Diaconal Ordination of
Steve Rhymes in So. Burlington