Advent Church School is in session! Following communions during the 9 AM Mass, classes are offered for children of all ages. Please contact Emily Litman 617-852-2661 to register or schedule a tour of our classrooms.

Beulah Land begins this Sunday! Calling all infants, toddlers, and their caregivers! At 10:30, after a bit of refreshment and fellowship, join this community that seeks to give our youngest parishioners a visual vocabulary of our faith. Beulah land will meet the room next to the office for an interactive story and songs.

Children's Sermons: After the Gospel reading, willing children may process out of the sanctuary to hear a sermon put into their own words. Following the message, they process back into the service to join their families for the liturgy of the Eucharist. Children's bulletins may be found in the back of the church as an alternative.

The Church School Needs You! The Church School is growing and in search of a few good volunteers to help our Sunday Mornings run smoothly. Come and join us to help give our children a firm foundation! Email Emily Litman to find out ways you can pitch in. The reward is great!

This Sunday Afternoon - Evening Prayer and Ice Cream Social at Cambridge Rehab: Advent parishioners are heading to Cambridge Rehabilitation & Nursing Center to participate in an Evening Prayer service as usual, but we're shaking things up a bit this month: afterward, we're planning to stick around a while, scoop up some ice cream, and get to know the folks who faithfully show worship and minister alongside us there. Volunteers are needed.

Our neighbors at the J. P. Licks on Charles Street have generously offered to donate ice cream, utensils, and paper goods, but if you're interested in joining us, or supplying sundae toppings or baked goods such as cookies or brownies, contact Drew Reese or Father Wood.

We'll depart from the Advent's Brimmer Street entrance at 2:30 PM. The center is a 10-minute walk from the Central Square T stop, or if you prefer, you can take your own transportation to 8 Dana Street, Cambridge. The service begins at 3:00 PM.

Monday, September 29 - The Feast of St Michael & All Angels (Michaelmas) - Procession & Solemn Mass at 6:30 PM; The guest preacher will be the Rev'd Kevin O. Olds, Rector of St John's Church, Saugus. A reception follows.

Small Groups at the Advent: God didn't make us to be alone; he made us for community. The Advent urges every one of her members to be part of a small group where we form deep friendships, do in-depth study, worship and pray, encourage each other, and serve together. Look for a sign-up sheet for Advent Small Groups at Coffee Hour following the masses this Sunday. Whether you've been in small groups for decades or you're not even sure you'd like to be in one at all, you're invited to Cocktails & Community, an evening where we gather for a drink and hors d'oeuvres and a conversation about small groups. Join us at the Woods' home on Wednesday. October 1, from 8:00-9:30 PM. For information and directions, contact Fr Wood (617.697-8528 or by email). Please RSVP by noon on Tuesday, September 30.

Come to connect. Come to learn. Come to be encouraged, to stretch, to serve. Draw close to God by drawing close to each other.

Blessing of the Animals - Feast of St Francis // Donations for Animal Rescue League // Next Sunday, October 5 at 3:00 pm! (Note new time) "Not to hurt our humble brethren (the animals) is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission-to be of service to them whenever they require it . . . If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men." - Saint Francis of Assisi

In honor of St Francis, and in conjunction with our annual Blessing of the Animals on October 5, we are collecting items for MSPCA Angell, established in 1868 to promote "kindness and care for animals." Among the items needed for dogs, cats, and rabbits: towels, blankets, peanut butter, cat litter, dog or cat mattresses, cleaning supplies (bleach, hand sanitizer, dishwashing soap). A full list is available on their website: http://www.mspca.org/adoption/boston/donate/boston-adoption-wishlist.html. Contributions from pet owners and non-pet owners are welcome! Contact Deacon Daphne with questions.

Theology on Tap returns for its eleventh season on Tuesday October 14 at 7 PM! Join us for a special kickoff event, "Theology on Tap Presents: Ockham's Kegger," a night of T. S. Eliot with our very own Adam Rutledge (he of the phenomenal Flannery O'Connor series from last season). Theology on Tap is a ministry for young adults in their 20s and 30s in the Boston area-but all ages are welcome! Ockham's Kegger is a recurring event where Theology on Tap takes a more philosophical turn for an evening. Join us at 7 for drinks or dinner in the upstairs bar at the Rattlesnake (334 Boylston Street), and the presentation begins at 7:30 PM. For more information, contact Zach Brooks, visit bostontheologyontap.com, and follow @AdventBoston.

Eat good food. Drink great beer. Meet excellent people. Think deep thoughts.

The Advent supports a number of people involved in mission in Boston and around the world, and we've committed to supporting them not only financially, but in our prayers. One missionary family we support is Ryan and Erin Bennett, who have now been in France for a full calendar year preparing to help plant a church in Paris. This month the Bennetts have asked us to pray for their developing relationships with their neighbors, and for their internships with a French church that begin in September. For more information and prayer requests, visit http://www.bennettsofparis.blogspot.fr. 

Get involved and stay informed about Advent mission projects:

* Follow @AdventInMission on Twitter
* Contact Fr Wood to be added to an Advent In Mission email list
* Remember our missionaries in your prayers!

O God, who declarest thy almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Mercifully grant unto us such a measure of thy grace, that we, running to obtain thy promises, may be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.