e-Pistle for Sunday, October 20, 2019
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Greetings!
This last Tuesday, the St Andrew's clergy team spent a day at the Bethany House of Prayer reflecting on our ministry at St Andrew's, the challenges and opportunities we face and above all, where we discern God is calling us as a parish.
I shared with the other clergy, my experience of a recent gathering of Episcopal parishes from all over the country which met in Wilmington North Carolina. At the heart of the gathering was a discussion about the importance of making spiritual growth and helping people to grow in their relationship with Christ, the main focus of the life of a parish. It might seem obvious that this should be the 'main thing' (to quote Stephen Covey) in the life of a church. But often if you ask people about the identity of their church, they will talk in terms of community, outreach or children's programs, rather than of spiritual growth. It may be that people simply assume spiritual growth is the main thing and that these other 'subsets' are the ways that spiritual growth can be achieved. But I feel it is important for a parish us to have a sense of intentionality and clarity that spiritual growth and growing in our relationship with Christ is the 'main thing'.
As we move into the next chapter of the life of the parish, following our wonderful 125 Anniversary celebrations this year, I am looking forward to discerning what a focus on helping people to grow in their faith might be in concrete terms at St. Andrew's. I am conscious that whatever this focus looks like, it needs to reflect the tone and character of our congregation and its context.
Yours in Christ, Adrian
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Keep in touch with St. Andrew's!
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Healing Prayer
Healing prayer is a widespread ancient tradition within the Episcopal Church and we are making it available at our Sunday services. During the time people are receiving communion at the front altar rail, one of the clergy will be on duty at the transept altar to offer healing prayers. Tell the clergy person what you wish to pray for: you can request a prayer for yourself or for someone else. For example, someone might say, “please pray for my husband facing a difficult time at work,” or “please pray for my mother facing an operation,” or “please pray for my son having a tough time at college.” In response, the clergy will quietly and discreetly offer a healing prayer for the situation.
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Parking lot construction
On
Wednesday morning, October 23
, the parking lot re-construction will begin. The lot will be closed
through Monday, October 28.
You can park on Denton Road or in the town lot.
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Day of Service: Meal Packing
On
Saturday, October 19, our Day of Service will be packaging 12,500 dried meals to distribute to our outreach partner, Pearl Street Cupboard & Café in Framingham. That’s 100 meals for each of the 125 years that St. Andrew’s has been in Wellesley! The best part is, we will do this in just one hour. We need 80+ volunteers at
9:30am that day (and a few before and after for set up and cleanup), and we welcome volunteers from age 5 up.
So, sign up today for your whole family to join this simple yet meaningful service opportunity.
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9am Christian Learning
Join us
Sunday, October 20
, in
room 2
. Mia will lead
Muslim Prayer: The Practice of Embodied Prayer
. Mia spent a year in Amman, Jordan in 2014 studying women’s rights in Islam. She worked for a Christian-Muslim Interfaith Relations non-profit.
Click here to see more offerings.
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Confirmation Class
Confirmation class will be meeting
tonight, October 20
for a
special Eucharist at 5pm
in the children’s chapel. As always, families are welcome to attend the Eucharist before class begins at 5:30pm
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Service Night @ Youth Group
Youth group will be preparing care packages for our college kids on
Sunday, October 20, at 6:45pm. Let our old youth group folks know we miss them! We’ll learn about what makes college harder for some students and how Wily Network packages can make a difference.
Signup here!
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No Church School on October 27
There will be no Kids’ Place, church school, or Rite-13 on
Sunday, October 27. Sleep in and come to the 5pm All Hallows’ Eve service instead!
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All Hallows’ Eve Service & Potluck
Celebrate All Hallows’ Eve with us on
Sunday, October 27, at 5pm
. Dive into some spooky liturgy and get your silly on. Halloween costumes are encouraged! A main dish will be provided; bring an appetizer or dessert to share. This service will emphasize children’s participation; all ages are welcome.
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Witches Wanted!
High school and Rite-13 actors are encouraged to get their spook on by leading the readings at the All Hallows’ Eve Vigil on
Sunday, October 27, at 5pm
. Show up
at 4:30pm
in the sanctuary for a run-through. We also need artists for face-painting!
Click here to sign-up!
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125th Anniversary Gala
Join us for a gala at Wellesley Country Club on
Saturday, November 2, from
6:30 to
10:30pm. We’ll begin the night with dinner and drinks then dance the night away. Replies are a must to this event ($50/adults, $30/seniors). Look for the link to register on the homepage of our website or send a check to St. Andrew’s with “Gala November 2” in the memo line. We look forward to kicking off 125 more years of worship, fellowship, and community with you! Contact
Jenny Sawyer or
Lynda Sperry for more information.
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Turkey Trot
The Wellesley Turkey Trot is filling up and we want you on our team! Last year over 70 of us, ages 7-70 signed up to run this 5K on the early morning of Thanksgiving Day.
Click here to register
then “Click to Register.” Scroll down to the blue “Join a Team” banner, click the radio button “Register for a Team” accept the waiver and then scroll down to find “Team St. Andrew’s.” Ask me for help if you need more details on the sign-up. I can’t wait to run with you.
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Outreach Grant Opportunity
St. Andrew's outreach ministry has funds available for one-time grants to charitable organizations that meet certain criteria. The deadline for application submission is
Thursday,
October 31.
For more information click here or speak with
Adrian or
Heidi Harper.
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Game Night @ Youth Group!
Youth Group’s first night of pure chaos will be
Sunday, November 3, at 6:45pm
! Come ready to run, seek, hide, and totally goof off.
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Buy your copy of
Essentialism
The New York Times, Forbes, and Adrian all agree that
Essentialism
is essential reading. Less is Better. On
Sunday, November 10,
Adrian will lead a 9am Christian Learning class on this book. Come discover how to live a simplified life rich in “real life.” Books can be bought for $21 each from Margaret Schwarzer.
The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, check it out!
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2020 Summer Mission Trip
St. Andrew's is partnering with St. Michael's, Holliston to send a team of youth
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Online Church Directory
Did you know that we have a directory for church members that you can access
from our website
? Your email address will need to be in our database for you to get a username and password. Click on “Directory” in the upper right hand corner. There is also a mobile app called “Church Life” you can use once you have a username and password. Check it out!
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Nametags
Get to know folks and help everyone feel welcome and get a nametag. The membership committee offers reusable magnetic nametags for all members. If you would like a new or replacement nametag,
contact Becky Hamlin.
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Illness and Off-Hour Emergencies
The clergy are always available to assist you. Please
email Adrian
or call him at 603-831-4938 if you or a member of your family expects to be in the hospital and wishes to be visited. Also, please let us know of names that should be added to our prayer list. Our prayers are with all those in need.
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Serving St. Andrew's This week
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Please join us for fellowship after the 10am service
hosted today by the Schaefer family and Sarah & Greg Harris
.
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Serving St. Andrew’s this week
Altar
Guild Bonnie Akins, Barbara Bergstrom, Laura Brown MacKinnon, Zebby Dubé, Nancy Eclov, Erica Gelser, Becky Hamlin, and Margarethe Kulke
Flower Guild D.D. Alexander and Anne Manners
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Serving at 8am
Lay Reader/Chalice Bearer
Debbie Lorenz
Ushers
Mark Benjamin and Ken Graves
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Serving at 10am
Acolytes Crucifer: Kelly Rawson; Torch: Christiaan Eikeboom; Torch: Clara Eikeboom; Gospel: Ella McAdams; Banner: Laura Hoffman
Chalice Bearers Margaret Blackwell, Elspeth Grant Pruett, Ann Johnson, and Mary Scanlon
Lay Readers Karen Pekowitz, Michael Vanin, and Eliot Heher
Ushers David Boghosian, Adams Carroll, Alan Joachim, David Osborn, Ryan Osborn, and Terri Rawson
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St. Andrew's prayer list
Asher Griffin, John Reed, Kim McGovern, Sue Wright, Melissa Stampf, Lee Goodnow, Qing Ni, Ben Vestin, Vickie Alexander, Stephen, Theresa Given, Cam Czubek, Meredith, Bobby, Penny Allen, Betsy, Ben Giess, Andy Catarau, Rob Rodormer, Jack, Caroline Grape, Charlie Gryska, Bill, Roxanne Manners, Beverly, Lisa Dutile, Martha, Jim Tilmon, Bill, Charlotte, Ashley, Laura Stettner, Lauren, Courtney Priester, Michael, John Hart, Jean, Chetham Phaduis, David McFarlane, Gordon, Mary Lou Marth, and Hank Szretter
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Flowers are given to the Glory of God
and in celebration of the life of
Tom Alexander and Toby Tuytschaevers
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Intercessions from the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer
Parishes of the South Shore Deanery
Parish of St. John the Evangelist, Hingham
St. John’s Church, Holbrook
Trinity Church, Marshfield
Church of Our Saviour, Milton
Order of St. Luke
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Prayers for Outreach Partners
We pray each week for one of St. Andrew's outreach partners in the Prayers of the People. These partners are charities that the parish supports. The goal of this practice is to familiarize everybody with the charities we support as we put our faith into action doing the work, as well as praying for the people involved.
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Deadlines for Weekly Bulletin and e-Pistle Announcements
Announcements and gratitudes (and anything else) for inclusion in the weekly bulletin or e-Pistle are due on Tuesdays at noon. Please limit your announcement to 50-100 words.
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Keep in touch with St. Andrew's!
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