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The


Gregorian


Chant

Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Luke 21:29-33

 

Happy Advent, Beloveds!!


I have a confession to make.... This doesn’t happen to me often, because I generally love the church season of Advent….with it’s beginning of the church year, and it’s preparation in penitence for the mystery of the incarnation and the hope inherent in the second coming. But every now and then, I want to skip the waiting and the apocalyptic tones of the Advent season, this ‘little Lent.’ I want to move with the commercial world, straight from Halloween to Christmas. I want to rush past what author Jan Richardson calls ‘practicing the apocalypse.’ This year, maybe my task isn’t to ‘push through or try to change what I think or feel. Maybe ‘practicing the apocalypse’ is simply to be present, so I can know God’s presence in this Advent’s womb- time.’ Because the good news is that God IS PRESENT as I sit with my impatience, and my weariness of apocalyptic themes (we just had Mark’s ‘little apocalypse’ in the lectionary two Sundays ago). And in the meantime, I’ll listen to Jan’s words (see below).


So much love, 

Mo. Nikki+

 

“The season of Advent gives us the apocalypse each year not only so that we might recognize it, should it come, but also—and perhaps especially—that we might enter more mindfully into our present landscape and perceive the signs of how God is working out God’s longing in the world here and now. The root meaning of the word apocalypse, after all, is revelation. And God is, in every time and season, about the work of revealing God’s presence. The one who came to us two millennia ago as Emmanuel, God-with-us, and who spoke of a time when he would come again in fullness, reveals himself even now in our midst, calling us to see all the guises in which he goes about in this world.


Advent reminds us, year in and year out, that although we are to keep a weather eye out for cosmic signs, we must, like the fig tree that Jesus evokes in this passage, be rooted in the life of the earth. And in the rhythm of our daily lives here on earth, Christ bids us to practice the apocalypse. He calls us in each day and moment to do the things that will stir up our courage and keep us grounded in God, not only that we may perceive Christ when he comes, but also that we may recognize him even now. There is a sense, after all, in which we as Christians live the apocalypse on a daily basis. Amid the destruction and devastation that are ever taking place in the world, Christ beckons us to perceive and to participate in the ways that he is already seeking to bring redemption and healing for the whole of creation.


As we enter the season of Advent, and spiral yet again around the landscape that this first Sunday gives to us, how might Christ be inviting you to practice the apocalypse? What are the habits that keep you centered in God, that sharpen your vision, and that help you recognize the presence of Christ in this world? How do you participate in the redemption that God is ever working to bring about within creation? What is it that you long for in these Advent days?”


An excerpt from Jan Richardson’s 2009 blogpost, ‘Practicing Apocalypse’


http://adventdoor.com/2009/11/23/advent-1-practicing-the-apocalypse/


Parish offices will be closed from Weds., Nov. 27- Friday, Nov. 29.


Band of Believers!


Band of Believers! We will begin practicing for the Christmas pageant the first Sunday in Advent (December 1) from 9:45-10:30AM in the Children's Chapel. We accept all folks who have ever played an instrument. All means all! If you want to play with the Band of Believers let Vicky Taverner know!


Vicky and Mark Tavernier

AAEFB Help Needed (2 opportunities)


The Athens Area Emergency Food Bank needs help distributing Thanksgiving food bags on Wednesday, Nov. 27 from 9AM-1PM. Please contact Lane Norton (nortonlane@bellsouth.net /706-338-3071) if you’d like to help any one of those mornings. The food bank director would like to know who is coming.


Friday, December 6 is Canathon Day at the Athens Emergency Food Bank! They need helpers! It will take all day to collect and stock, so any time you have available, they will have work!


Family Promise


Family Promise is moving to their new Family Resource Center in December! There are multiple opportunities for us to sign up to help with the moving and cleaning and organizing process. See the sign-up genius link here. If there is a group that wants volunteer at a different time than those listed in the signup genius, contact Annette Bates.



Advent Adult Spiritual Formation

Nothing in all creation is so like God as stillness. - Meister Eckhart 


On Wednesday evenings in December, Gene Ruffin will lead a program on contemplation and Advent (December 4, 11, 18). The program will reflect on Advent as an opportunity to be present in the moment rather than simply waiting for something to occur. Through the practice of stillness we are arrayed more deeply to the arrival of the season.  


We will have a simple supper at 6pm and then have the program at 6:30pm.   


Greening of the Church


Lane Norton will be "Greening" the church on Saturday, November 30. Anyone wanting to help, be there at 10AM. If anyone has freshly pruned evergreen branches (no berries yet), please leave them at the backdoor to the sacristy before the 30th.

PASTORAL CARE COMMITTEE


The Pastoral Care committee will meet Sunday, December 1 in the library following the 10:30 service.


Pastoral Care is seeking a committee chair. For more information, contact Rhonda Packer

The Meridian Women's Chorus invites you their annual Holiday Tapestry Concert on Saturday, December 7th at 2:00 pm at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. The concert is free and will include performances by the Athens Recorder Ensemble, the Trinity Handbell Choir, and OC A CAPPELLA. The concert will be followed by a reception and Holiday Market. For more information, contact Director Stacie Court at stacie.court@gmail.com or 706-424-9516.


Our entire Athens faith community is invited to the 30th Annual Holiday Benevolence Market on Sunday, December 8, from noon to 3:00 p.m. at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1065 Gaines School Road, Athens. The Market is a popular place to purchase teacher gifts, appreciation gifts for everyone and stocking stuffers. Gifts range in price from $5 to $150 - in the form of donations - and are tax-deductible. Refreshments will be served. Everyone is invited. Come support the missions of local nonprofits serving those most in need, and get your Christmas shopping done!

Poinsettias


If you wish to give a poinsettia this Christmas in honor or memory of a loved one, the deadline for ordering will be Friday, Dec. 20. The suggested donation this year is $15 per dedication. Please place your completed form (see blue forms in the narthex) and your check in the offering plate on Sundays, Kendall’s office door, or mail it to the parish office. You may also contact the office by email.


We are continuing to accept stewardship giving pledges for 2025. If you have not yet pledged, please do so as soon as possible. The parish finance committee needs to formulate our church operating budget before our annual meeting in November.  

CIC Co-Chairs: Stacie Court  stacie.court@gmail.com and Mark Richardson mrichsn@gmail.com

Vicky Tavernier and Jenifer Borg currently have an exhibit of new artwork and poems at the Winterville Library that will run until 12/27. The exhibit is entitled "Tide Pools, Rainforests, Deserts, and Fields" and includes work from their book, "What Hides in the Tides" and "Stay a While with a Reptile". They will have a "make and take" at the library on 12/14 from 10:00 - 12:00 where anyone can drop in and make a creation of their own. 

Library hours: Tuesday/Thursday: 3:00 - 7:00PM, Wednesday/Friday/Saturday: 10:00AM-2:00PM.


Adult Sunday School


Adult Discussion Group: (Parish Hall) The Adult Spiritual Formation Sunday morning Bible Study meets at 9:15AM and is currently studying the Gospel of Matthew. Wayne Coppins is leading this discussion. All are welcome.


Lectionary Class: (Library) The lectionary class meets in the Library at 9:15AM. We study the assigned readings for each Sunday. Please contact Les House at 478-733-2939 or via email if you have any questions. 

The Athens Area Emergency Food Bank needs pork 'n beans! Please help us fill the Little Red Wagon!

starting late


accustomed to

temperate days

a change to cold

can cause delays


reluctance to

rise from my bed

may tempt me to

cover my head


and burrow deep

to remain warm

much longer than

my routine norm


so that my list

of things to do

will only show

what i eschew



alice mohor

Instructions for Live Streaming



  • Near the time for service, underneath our channel logo, you will see our video for that day, with the word ‘live’ on it. The page will look like this:


  • If you don’t immediately see the video that says ‘live’, (for instance, if you opened YouTube before the service begins) keep refreshing it.  


  • When you see the video square that says ‘live’, click on it. 


Welcome to worship!

Ongoing Services/Meeting Opportunities

Parish community offerings via Zoom or in person:


Holy Eucharist and Healing Service Please join us on Wednesday evenings at 6PM in the sanctuary for eucharist and prayers for healing.


Room at the Table Welcome to Room at the Table. Single, married, partnered, employed, free-wheeling, joy-loving...all are invited! If you want to take time and get to know more about me and other siblings from our church, over a good meal, if you want to share stories and laughter, join us for lunch! Lunch will be Weds., Dec 11 next month at 12 noon. The group will decide on the restaurant for the following month, at each lunch fellowship.



Ceilidh Folk Service St Gregory's offers a monthly Ceilidh service (pronounced kay-lee) on the 3rd Friday of the month (December 20). Based on a Gaelic tradition of celebrating community and hospitality, a folk liturgy complete with live folk music and a meal will be offered in the Christian Education building at 6:30PM. Foot washing and hand anointing will also be available before or after (not during) these services for anyone who wants to take part, starting at 6PM. Food will be provided, but we always accept more dishes to add to the table if anyone wishes to bring something! Any musicians that are interested in helping to provide the music for these services, as well as anyone with questions about the service, are encouraged to reach out to Wade McGlamery.


Blindspot Group Our 20s and 30s group meets on the last Thursday of each month at 6:30PM and the 2nd Sunday of each month at 6PM for dinner and a small group study (usually off-site of the church). We also meet at least once a month for game nights, dinner and drinks, movie nights, and more. Newcomers are always welcome! Contact Wade McGlamery, 770-624-4837 for more information.


*Hebrew Reading meets via Zoom on Wednesdays from 1-3PM. If you're interested, email Joel Hunt for more info!


St. Gregory's Book Club meets the first Friday of the month in the library @ 7PM ongoing for the foreseeable future.  Email Lois Alworth if you are interested in participating.


Threads of Prayer meets on the 1st Tuesdays of the month @1PM! We meet outside if the weather is good and inside the Christian Ed building if the weather is bad. Email Annette Bates if you are interested in participating. All knitters and crocheters welcome!


Men's Group: 9AM on Saturdays. 1st & 3rd Saturdays at St. Gregory's library and 2nd & 4th & 5th Saturdays at the Somerville's house ! Email Peter Rice


* group(s) meeting on Zoom


Acolyte Sign-Up

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St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church | office@stgregoryathens.org
706.546.7553 | www.stregoryathens.org