January 13, First Sunday after the Epiphany, The Baptism of our Lord

The Holy Eucharist, 8 a.m., Rite I
The Holy Eucharist, 10 a.m., Rite II
Fr. Morsch officiating.

Child care, 9:45 a.m.
Worship notes

The Collect:
Father in heaven, who at the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. A men.

This week’s lessons: Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalm 29; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Acts of the Apostles
“Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The Peter and John laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.” Acts 8:14, 17
The Gospel | Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
Winter Storm - A Winter storm warning has been issued for today through the early hours of Sunday morning. Check your email for updates from St. Andrew's regarding services on Sunday as 7 or more inches of snow accumulation is possible. Also, check the closed listings on KMOV and KSDK.
This Week
January 15, Tuesday, 10 a.m., Julian of Norwich Prayer Group
January 16, Wednesday, 8 a.m., Holy Eucharist, Rite II
No parish events.
On Sunday, January 20, Sunday services at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. will not be held. Holy Eucharist will be at 9 a.m. only, followed by a potluck brunch, Annual Meeting, and elections.
Parish Website Draws Unexpected Attention to Book Fair!

Last week, Marian Smithson sent me the email address of David Watts who had contacted the church through the parish website because he had books to donate. I sent him an email with our phone number so he could arrange a time to donate the books.

I didn't hear from him until he sent an email saying he was having trouble getting through and wondered if the number was incorrect. Then Wednesday morning at 5 a.m. we were awakened from a deep sleep by someone who said they were David Watts and then hung up. Thursday we finally connected via email to arrange a drop off time on Friday morning, but Thursday evening I received the following email:

Dear Cindy,
A penny has just dropped - I am in Edinburgh, Scotland and suspect you are not?!?
St. Andrew's church here also runs a book sale...

I should have known better when your telephone number didn't work here straight
away! Please promise me that neither Mike nor you will be there tomorrow waiting
for me!!

Best regards,
David

Mike and I found this all just hilarious. I think we should go visit the Edinburgh
St. Andrew's Book Sale. We'll call it a research trip! - Cindy Reinhardt
Something for Nothing

We are all skeptical about anytime that we are told we can get something for nothing, but there are some exceptions. For example, if you purchase a $25 Starbucks card at the Scrip Table, you get $25 worth of coffee and St. Andrew’s receives $1.75 or 7% of the face value. You get just what you paid for, but the church gets “something for nothing.”

For those of us who aren’t familiar with how the Scrip Program works, here is a quick tutorial. We (the coordinators) order cards for a variety of retail establishments at a discounted rate. The discounts vary from the 12% – 15% offered by LL Bean and Lands’ End to the 2% with Dierbergs. We sell the cards after the Sunday services at their face value. The difference is our net. 

At the end of the year the “profit” goes into the General Fund. The amount we realize varies from year to year. Typically we stock cards for Dierbergs, Walgreens, Starbucks, Panera, Kohl’s, Target and two gas companies. We can special order from the list of companies which participate in the Great Lakes Scrip Company program. That list is available on the Scrip Table at coffee hour each Sunday. Usually orders are sent in every two or three weeks, depending on the inventory of cards in stock. 

Purchasing has fallen off for the past two years. We would like to encourage parishioners to consider using scrip cards to make local purchases or special order when travel or gifting is on the calendar. If you prefer, you can set up your own account with Great Lakes Scrip and do your business via the internet. If this appeals to you, see Marian Smithson for details. See you at coffee hour! -Fredna Scroggins

Note: A list of Great Lakes scrip vendors is available online. Just click here.
The Return of the Mystery Priest!

Remember our “mystery priest,” who called himself Henry M.M. Tudor, and who had a brief association with St. Andrew’s in 1897? You may recall that “Tudor” had been raised in England as Henry Myers Meakin, was trained as a lawyer and, following bankruptcy, had abandoned his wife and child and come to the United States, where he had changed his name, married an American woman, and become an Episcopal priest. Thanks to Pam Bell, the archivist of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma where he served before moving to Illinois, I’ve gotten some additional information, derived from a recently acquired unpublished biography of Tudor written by a descendant.

Tudor and St. Andrew’s came to the attention of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat in the summer of 1897. No, it was not because it had learned that Tudor was a bigamist and living under an assumed name, although that would have made a juicier story. Instead, the newspaper reported on what had transpired at a recent evening service:

  • “A most singular and somewhat amusing incident occurred last Sunday in the Episcopal Church of St. Andrew’s, at Edwardsville, Illinois. The electric lights went out, and the congregation was plunged in total darkness. Out of the darkness came the voice of the rector, the Rev. Henry Tudor, of Greenville, calmly announcing the second lesson. This chapter of Scripture he repeated from memory, just as if he were reading it, in the dark, without hesitation or difficulty. After this he conducted the services exactly as if nothing had happened…. All present agreed that a good memory and steady nerves are good qualities in such an emergency.”

The Globe-Democrat may have been impressed, but my wife Jane was not. “Oh, any priest could probably do that,” she said. Let’s put the question to Fathers Joel, Arnold, George, and David. How about it? -Jim Weingartner
Announcements

Book Club to Meet January 21
There is only a little over a week to go before the St. Andrew’s Book Club meeting Monday, January 21 st , enough time—if you are a fast reader and can get the book from the Edwardsville Library—to read the book selection for this month Not in God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. -Pat Rudloff

ECW to Host Game Night on January 25, 6 p.m.
ECW will be having a game night on January 25 at 6 p.m., weather permitting. Attendees should bring snacks and their favorite games. This is for everyone including children. Fun night! -Nancy Dickens

Sign up to Host a 2019 Coffee Hour
A sign-up sheet for 2019 Coffee Hour dates will be circulated at the Annual Meeting and potluck brunch on January 20th. Parishioners have already signed up as hosts for January 27th and April 28th. All other dates are available. Please check your calendars. If you have a date in mind for a future Sunday, email Pat Rudloff, silverlining6@charter.net , to lock down your date in advance of the Annual Meeting. -Pat Rudloff
 The St. Andrew's Week-End Updat e , a weekly emailed newsletter, is designed to keep parishioners up to date on church activities. Please send news items to Editors Marianne Cavanaugh and Jane Weingartner by 11 a.m. on Tuesday to have them appear in the following Friday's newsletter.