Sunday, December 9, Second Sunday of Advent

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

Church School and Pageant rehearsal, 10 a.m.
Childcare begins 9:45 a.m.
Worship Notes

The Collect:
Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. A men.

This week’s lessons: Baruch 5:1-9 or Malachi 3:1-4; Canticle 16; Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6

Epistle
“And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight, to help you determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11
The Gospel | Luke 3:1-6

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
The Week of December 9

Sunday, 8 a.m., The Holy Eucharist, Rite I
Sunday, 9 a.m., Choir rehearsal
Sunday, 10 a.m., The Holy Eucharist, Rite II
Sunday, 10 a.m., Church School and Pageant rehearsal
Childcare available 9:45 a.m.

Tuesday, 10 a.m., Julian of Norwich Prayer Group
Tuesday, 11:30 a.m., Charlie’s Lunch Bunch, Sugo’s
Wednesday, 8 a.m., The Holy Eucharist, Rite II
Wednesday, 7 p.m., Mission Leadership Team
Christmas offerings: Parishioners are invited to make their Christmas offerings early so that they can be acknowledged in the Christmas Eve service bulletin. A form for designating your offering is attached to this newsletter and should be returned on Sunday, December 16.
Parishioners Warm to New Furnaces
As temperatures dropped into the twenties, parishioners could especially appreciate the new furnaces heating the parish hall addition. A dual furnace and two single furnaces are Rheems, manufactured by Ruud, one of the three top furnace manufacturers as rated by Consumer Reports. Langhauser Sheet Metal, the contractor that installed the original equipment was awarded the contract in November to replace the entire HVAC system. Their work on the office air conditioner has been interrupted by icy conditions.

Thanks have been expressed verbally and in the form of contributions to help cover the cost of the capital improvement. To date, more than half of the $15,597 cost has been met by gifts to St. Andrew’s and designated “HVAC.”

If you are in the office area, open the door near the mailboxes to see the smallest furnace. It replaces a unit that for two years had warmed an entire house—Pearson House—before being modified to serve a much smaller space. Click here for pictures.
A Deacon Remembers

Members of this parish who are of a certain age may remember Paul Gaston, Professor of English and administrator at SIUE, who was a member of our congregation for nearly two decades and, while here, was ordained a deacon, frequently sharing the pulpit with Father Stephen Weissman. Before departing St. Andrew’s and SIUE in August 1988 to take a position at another university, he delivered a final sermon. Instead of preaching on the scriptural lessons as he usually did, he chose as his theme the significance of St. Andrew’s and its people to him and his family. Some of those he cited are still with us. Others may live on in our memories, as they probably do in Paul’s.

“St. Andrew’s,” he noted, “means placing the liturgy first.” It persuaded him “of the virtues of ‘bells and smells,’ and you persuaded my wife [Eileen] that the true spirit of the Catholic Church lives in the Anglican Communion as well as the Roman one.” Paul had “never known a better preacher than Father Weissman.” He praised the lay reading of Charles Schweizer, Joe Sim, Matt Kumler, Jim Woodard, Toby Griffen, Denise Pace, George Soule, Ron Blair, Keith Dudding, Paul Davis, Jeff Gower, Darlyne and Jack Alldredge, John Bettman, and Rod Langston. St. Andrew’s meant “splendid music,” provided by Estelle and Harry Hilberry, Sarah Turner, Gary Mahon, Jim Woodard, and Dick Norrish.

Parishioners gave selflessly of themselves, he recalled. “John Bettman, teaching adult Sunday School; Rudy Wilson, leading teenagers in group discussions; Irene Mindrup, setting high standards for the work of the Altar Guild; Brian Donnelly, organizing our capital improvements campaign; George Soule, painting, repairing, improving; Keith Dudding, giving up his Sunday nights for discussions with the youth of our church.”

We were a tough lot back then, too. Paul remembered a Sunday morning in January of 1981 when the temperature outside had dropped to 12 below zero, and in the church to less than 50 degrees. In spite of arctic conditions, “we had an organist, we had a choir, and we had a congregation of more than forty.”

St. Andrew’s parishioners had been for him the source of “good advice.” This included Charles Schweizer’s repeated urgings that the Gastons have children (they had two) and Louise Mudge’s chiding him for having shaved off his moustache (he grew a new one). And St. Andrew’s meant good friends, including Rudy and LaVernn, with whom the Gastons double-dated before the Wilsons’ marriage.

Paul concluded that St. Andrew’s was “a remarkable family” and a “rich church.” We still are, right? -Jim Weingartner
ECW Takes Time Out for Holiday Fun December 4!
Clean Up Crews Hard at Work

Kay Werner, Mary Bohn and Pat Rudloff did some serious cleaning in St. Andrew’s kitchen on December 3 rd. There now is a shine instead of a lime buildup around the faucets and sinks. The microwaves and refrigerator are clean, inside and out. The counters are shiny.

Much was accomplished, but much remains to be done in the parish hall kitchen. The next round will include cleaning the oven and reorganizing the kitchen storage and the pantry. Look for future announcements on how you can help.

A tip of the hat also goes to Sue Buckley. Thanks to her all the windows in the parish hall addition and the church were washed by a professional crew this past Tuesday. You will notice the difference. Thanks go to Kay, Mary, Pat and Sue for helping to keep our church looking its best!
Announcement: This week's newsletter was delayed by the intensive time demands for the last work on the new website, which is anticipated to go live this Monday, December 10. Watch for the notice in your inbox with a link to the new site!
 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.

His name shall be called...Prince of Peace
Isaiah 9:6