Fourth Sunday of Advent

The Reverend Eugene Stormer, Celebrant

December 18

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A

+The Holy Eucharist+

Rite I 8 a.m. | Rite II 10 a.m.

Masks are optional.

8:30 - 11:30 a.m. - child care in the nursery.

8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite One

9:00 a.m. - Choir Rehearsal | Confirmation/Reception Class

9:15 - Adults - Morning Prayer & conversation in Pearson Hall

10:00 a.m. - Church School for Children, Lower Level

10 a.m. service in person & streamed via Facebook Live

Coffee hour following the 10 o'clock service.

Hanging of the greens in the nave following the 10 o'clock service.

Vestry meeting at 11:15 a.m.

Sunday and Christmas Offerings



• Online: standrews-edwardsville.com/stewardship/

• Mail: Send your offering/check to St. Andrew's Treasurer, 406 Hillsboro Avenue, Edwardsville 62025.

Christmas Offering Form



Return this form before or on Christmas Eve. Contributor names will appear in an early January newsletter. Gifts may be designated for Altar Guild, Flower Guild, Music/Choir, Outreach, or to Saint Andrew's. An Altar or Flower Guild gift may be given as a remembrance. Christmas gifts may also be made online via the link above for the parish stewardship page.

The Week of December 18

• Sunday, December 18, Vestry meeting following the ten o'clock service.
• Monday through Friday - Daily 8 a.m. morning prayer and 5:30 p.m. evening prayer in the chapel.
• Friday, December 23 - 7 a.m., AA Meeting in Pearson Hall.

Looking Ahead

• Monday, January 2, monthly book drop-off, 1 to 3 p.m.
• Wednesday, January 11, Ministry Leaders' deadline for annual reports.
• Wednesday, January 18, early date for nominating vestry candidates.
• Sunday, January 22, Parish Annual Meeting

Many thanks to Liz McKenney and the young people of the congregation for their outstanding Christmas program last week. We are privileged to have such talented and dedicated people in our faith community.

Christmas Eve services will be held at 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., with hymn singing at 9:30 p.m., Father Boase officiating and preaching. Father Ashmore will conduct the (single) Christmas Day service at 10:00 a.m.

The Annual Meeting will be held on January 22, with a weather make-up day on January 29. Please submit ministry reports by January 11 for inclusion in the Annual Report. Please give any nominations for Vestry (three positions), Synod delegate (2 positions), and Deanery delegate (2 positions) to me or any other Vestry member.

Kevin Babb, Senior Warden

Thank you to our children and youth

for a beautiful Christmas program last Sunday!

Parishioners, laughing with tears in their eyes, clapped loudly for the final number: Twelve Days of Christmas.

Link to video of the performance on Facebook.

A Christmas Story (Sort of)

by Jim Weingartner

A Christmas tradition for many, including Jane and me, is watching the movie Miracle on 34th Street. It’s the story, as most of you will remember, of Kris Kringle, a white-bearded old guy who believes that he’s Santa Claus. Kris is threatened with institutionalization for mental illness but is saved by the New York City Post Office, which seizes the opportunity to dispose of the thousands of kids’ letters addressed to Santa Claus by delivering them to the courtroom where the sanity hearing is being held.

The judge, terrified by the likely political consequences of institutionalizing the charismatic Kris, declares the Post Office’s delivery of the avalanche of mail conclusive evidence that Kris is indeed Santa Claus. The movie concludes with a hint that maybe he really is!

As a feel-good holiday treat, Miracle on 34th Street is a winner, but it’s fiction. The story of Joseph Darrow is not.

As most parishioners know, St. Andrew’s first priest was Joseph L. Darrow, after whom our deanery is named. In addition to bringing Episcopal worship to our area, Darrow used his training as a medical doctor to care for the bodies as well as the souls of local residents. While battling a cholera epidemic in 1855, he died of the disease. Bishop Philander Chase mourned the loss by the Church of a man “adorning her doctrine and discipline by a life of faith and love and work.” Our rose window has been dedicated to his memory.

Earlier this week, there appeared in St. Andrew’s mailbox an envelope containing literature from the Lake Williamson Christian Retreat Center of Carlinville, Illinois. It describes the Center’s mission as “to joyfully honor God by offering hospitality and facilities that exceed expectations where guests can be restored and renewed….” It is addressed to Joseph Darrow.

Darrow is in no need of Lake Williamson’s alleged ability to renew and restore. That presumably was accomplished by a greater power and on an infinitely higher plane 167 years ago. But how did the Retreat Center (or its computer) conclude that Joseph Darrow resides at St. Andrew’s? Who knows? Maybe in a spiritual sense he does.

Should we speak of a “Miracle on Hillsboro Avenue?” Probably not, but I can’t resist. Merry Christmas and God bless us, every one!



 -Tiny Jim

Annual Meeting Timelines

Annual Meeting date: Sunday, January 22.

Ministry annual reports due January 11.

By January 18, submit early nominations for three vestry positions and two Synod and Deanery delegates. Early vestry nominees will have their photos and bios featured in the Weekend Update issue prior to the Annual Meeting; however, nominations can still be made on the day of the Annual Meeting.

Contact Kevin Babb, Senior Warden, or any vestry member if you are interested in serving or wish to nominate a fellow parishioner. Alternatively, send a message via the church website or a note to info@standrews-edwardsville.com.

Parish Notes

• Congratulations to Elizabeth Donald, who received her MS in Media Studies/Mass Communications from SIUE on Friday! Elizabeth has been teaching as an adjunct instructor while working on her MS degree and will continue studying and teaching for another semester, planning to receive an MFA degree by end of spring term.

• Gifts to the Glen Ed Pantry - Funding to provide food for needy families is an ongoing challenge. Please consider sending a check payable to the Pantry at 125 5th Avenue, Edwardsville, IL 62025, or donate online at this link to help our area families during this very cold weather!

• Signups for coffee hour now go into 2023 so think about committing to a date that is good for you now at this link. And, a new signup for 2023 Flowers and Candles is also posted on this site.

Angel Tree Gifts - Ready for pickup by this year's families!