A warm welcome to our visitors! Those of us who worship and minister in this church pray that your visit to St. Matthew’s will bring you closer to the Christ whom we love and serve, and that the Holy Spirit may fill your life with the love, joy and peace of Jesus Christ. Please fill out one of the visitor cards and visitor name tag available in the chairs in front of you so that we may identify you and welcome you. For newcomer information, call Dedee Norman at 345-8314 Ext. 229.

St. Matthew’s offers nursery care from 8:00 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. on Sundays. Nurseries for children 0-18 months are located in Huffman Hall on the parking lot side of the hallway. The nursery for children 18 months - 4 years is in the Education Building. There is also a cry room upstairs for parents with unhappy babies.

When life's challenges appear overwhelming, we encourage you to call on your St. Matthew's family for love, prayer, the support of a friend, or a meal in time of need. With loving respect and confidentiality, we offer these and many other pastoral care services to our church family. Contact the church office,

345-8314, with needs and requests. In case of emergency Fr. Joe Di Paola may be reached by calling 345-8314 x 214, 231-1206, or 771-0680.

Homebound? If you or someone you know are unable to come to church and would like Holy Communion brought to you on Sunday, please call Jim Sparks at 345-7757.

*Thursday Morning Women's Bible Study will not meet again until

January 5, 2002 in B-14 at 10:00 a.m.

*Needed. One person who wants to help at the 8 a.m. service by volunteering to usher. Contact Larry Richards at 345-4913.

Cursillo #192, November 8-11 at Camp Allen Camp Ground #3, our candidate is Judy Myers; November 12, 7:00 p.m. St. Matthew’s Huffman Hall, Ultreya. Welcome Judy to the community; November 18, 6:00 p.m. Convocation Ultreya at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd. When was the last time you attended a Convocational Ultreya? Submitted by Dyke Miller

*Sunday, November 11, 9:00 a.m., the Adult Education Classes will meet in Huffman Hall for an interesting presentation on the Islamic Religion. Two representatives of Islam will share timely information that may help us better understand the world situation. They will stay to answer your questions and visit during hospitality time.

*On Monday, November 19, the editor of Guideposts will be the special guest speaker at a gathering of the Episcopal Church Women of this parish. There will be a dinner and reservations will be taken on the two Sundays prior to that date. Men are also included in this program! Please mark that date on your calendar and plan to join in on the fellowship and to welcome Guidepost’s editor. For more information call Kay Whitney at 345-0574.

*The Xplorers (a fellowship/study group for young adults) meets after the service today in Huffman Hall. We are continuing our study of Deep and Interesting Doctrines with a dicussion of Can a Saved Person be Lost? Potluck lunch is provided. Next week our topic will be Communion. Bring a side dish, salad, dessert or drink and join in. Upcoming? We have a movie night planned November 17 to watch Pleasantville together. Our November service project is to prepare turkey baskets for families in need; Charlie Cole is coordinating. Call 339-4063 (Robisons) or 996-8913 (Sommervilles) for more info!

*Cookie Ministry: We have had a plea for more cookie deliverers for the past two months. In that time we have LOST two more deliverers. I implore you -- if you have had a good experience with the cookie ministry or if you think it is a worthwhile ministry for our church - please volunteer to deliver a bag of cookies to a visitor once a month. If we do not get more volunteers we may have to end this program. See Dedee Norman in the Commons or call her at 345-8314 to volunteer and please do it soon!

*Handicapped and Visitor Parking Spaces. Please be a good citizen and save these parking places for church visitors and for those with valid handicapped parking permits. We sincerely appreciate your efforts and thank you for your cooperation.

*Spruce-up St. Matt’s - the Sequel - same good food, but even more fun. Please join us beginning at 9:00 on Saturday, November 3rd. Bring your work gloves, your wheelbarrows, favorite shovel, and even your chainsaw. While there will still be a bit of weeding, this time we get to cut down trees, trim some bushes, add mulch to flower beds, and add river rock in various places. There will be inside jobs for those of you who prefer inside work. We also have an opportunity to make some major improvements to the playgrounds. There's definitely something for everyone! The Holy Smokers have graciously offered to prepare lunch again. The job board will be in the entrance to Huffman Hall as last time. Please contact David Harakal at 451-0893 or dharakal@us.ibm.com with questions or suggestions.

*Final Notice: Commemoration of the Faithful Departed Those wishing to have the names of departed family members printed on a special prayer list for All Saints’ Day, Sunday, November 4, simply fill out a card in the Commons. Please write legibly and include your name on the card so that we may call if we can’t read your writing. Completed cards may be dropped in the offering plate or left in the basket on the table in the Commons. If you prefer you may email your names to betty@stmattsaustin.org Names received through 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 31 will be printed.

*Thanksgiving Eve Service with Triumphant Love Lutheran Church, Wednesday, November 21, at 7:15 p.m. Plan now to attend this very special service with our Lutheran brethren. Bring a donation, cash or check preferred, to go to the Capital Area Food Bank.

*Thanksgiving Baskets alternative is a "Turkey Can" located in the Commons for your donations to the Capital Area Food Bank.

*Young At Heart (all church members age 55 and over – no dues, no duties, just bring a covered dish) meets Friday, November 2, in Huffman Hall. At 11:00 a.m. is our joint meeting with the Senior Activity Center with a speaker. At 12:00 noon is the covered dish luncheon. Questions? Call Billie or R. C. Thompson at 795-0736.

Joy in the Mourning: A newly-formed grief support group will meet weekly on Tuesdays, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. in B-6 Anyone who is grieving the loss of a loved one is cordially invited to attend. The group is open to people of all faiths, all denominations.

Who will replace Bishop Payne when he retires in 2004? An information session to answer all your questions has been set for Saturday, November 3, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Church of the Good Shepherd here in Austin. Please call (800) 318-4452 to make reservations for lunch ($5.00) two days prior to the meeting. For more information see the current issue of the Texas Episcopalian.

Welcome Visitors/Newcomers Class - For the next two Sundays, one of the priests will meet with Newcomers and Visitors in Room B-6 (in the Basement) at 9:30 a.m. Please join the group at that time and have your questions answered. We are SO glad you are here!

St. Matthew’s Boy Scout Troop 511 will conduct its annual fundraiser by taking orders for Fresh Christmas Greenery From The Mountains Of The Pacific Northwest following services on October 21 and 29 in the Courtyard. Beautiful wreaths, garlands, door swags and other festive holiday greens will be delivered fresh to you in early December. Money raised from this effort is used to support the outdoor program of the troop, as well as to purchase camping gear and equipment used during meetings. Thank you for your support of Troop 511!

this year we host the service in our sanctuary

and urge you to attend and participate.

An offering will be collected to benefit the

On Saturday, November 17, from 8:45 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., the nursery will provide, free of charge, babysitting to the parents of St. Matthew’s. This is a thank you from the nursery staff to the parents for allowing us to take care of your wonderful children throughout the year. We will have face painting and a scavenger hunt. You will need to bring a lunch for your child and you must leave a cell phone or pager number in case we need to reach you. Please contact Tracey Nichols at 331-0653 if you want to participate. Space is limited. You must call Tracey by November 11 to reserve a space for your child.

Bring your yard tools, work gloves, cheerful attitude and healthy appetite. Join your parish family to spruce up our grounds. Inside duties available.

Holy Smokers are doing lunch.

Call David Harakal for more into.

451-0893 or dharakal@us.ibm.com