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.

The Flowers on the Altar are given to the Glory of God Mary Nell Frucella in memory of Jack Frucella’s birthday; and by Marcia and Bob Bailey in celebration of their 10^th anniversary.

*Tuesday, December 4 is National Day of Reconciliation and we will have a Prayer Service with Meditation and quiet time at 12:00 noon. You are invited to join with us in this time of reflection.

*A Parish Advent Celebration Pot Luck Supper will be Wednesday, December 12 at 6:00 p.m. in Huffman Hall. This will be a festive feast for the parish family. Food Assignments: A-G Bring Dessert; H-P Bring Entree, Q-Z Bring Salad or Vegetables. A program of special entertainment is planned!

*Another Parish Party! Sunday, December 16, right after services. All gather in Huffman Hall for Christmas Tree, St. Nicholas. Fr. Joe’s Hearty Beef Vegetable Soup and Heavy Bread, many Christmas goodies, hot chocolate and wassail, carol singing and story telling for the children. Of course, you will be there! Thanks to the Associate Vestry for producing this family activity!

*Young At Heart (all church members age 50 and over - no dues, no duties, just bring a covered dish) meets Friday, December 7 in Huffman Hall. At 11:00 is our joint meeting with the Senior Activity Center. Speaker is The Reverend Susan J. Barnes! At 12 noon is the covered dish luncheon. Questions? Call Billie or R. C. Thompson, 795-0736.

*PhoneCare: A New Ministry Do you know someone who lives alone, is house bound and could benefit by having frequent calls from someone who cares, just to determine if they are okay? Two recently commissioned Community of Hope volunteers are in the process of setting up such a ministry. If you know about someone who needs this service, please call either Joanne Cage at 346-5203 or Louise Waddill at 343-7696.

*The Nursery is missing several pagers. Parents, please search your purses, houses, cars, diaper bags for any stray pager you may have gotten home with. It is extremely important that we recover these lost pagers! Please return to Nursery at your earliest convenience! Tracey Nichols, Nursery Coordinator.

*The Search Committee gives a BIG thank you to those parishioners who have helped so much. Jeri Muhich and Clive Smith created a wonderful video and J.B. Barnes and Jennifer Davis designed a beautiful brochure to tell our rector candidates who we are. Thanks in advance to Leslie Kjellstrand who is preparing a supplemental brochure for our candidates. And thanks to all of you for your prayers and encouragement.

*December 9, the Multigenerational Class will be guided by Bill Smith through activities to honor the Advent season with our families. We will continue the activities for the rest of Advent as we expand our appreciation of the season of new beginning. Come join us in Huffman Hall from 9am to 10am.

*The Xplorers (a fellowship/study group for young adults) meets after the service today in Huffman Hall. We don't have a topic study today because we are planning for 2002. If you want to have a say in the group's direction, be sure to attend. This would be a great time to join if you are interested! Potluck lunch provided, so feel free to join us, visitors. Next week we'll continue our study of Deep and Interesting Doctrines by talking about free will/predestination. Bring a side dish, salad, dessert or drink and join in. Also, mark your calendars for our Christmas party, December 15, 6:30 p.m. at Sommervilles' house. Call 339-4063 (Robisons) or 996-8913 (Sommervilles) for more info!

*Give Yourself a Present for Christmas! February 17, 2002, St. Matthew’s is getting together a mission trip to El Paso to build a house for a family across the border. For $560, you help provide their home and get housing, local transportation and meals for yourself for the week, Sunday through Friday. Men, women and children can all be useful, but twelve are needed to make the trip work. Steven Tighe, a St. Matthew’s missionary, is our contact there. If interested call Holly Decherd, 328-3944.

*Parents, please join us tonight from 6-7 for dinner, and 7-8:30 p.m. for your program time. We will discuss questions, concerns, and permission to teach a Biblical perspective of sexuality during the month of January. Following the dinner, there will be a separate program for the youth.

Youth Lock-in! December 7th 7pm until Dec 8th 11am. Come, brings friends, all of you please bring the orange permission slip and $5 for pizza. We need adult help! For more information, please contact Eric 2 345-8314 ext. 232.

For the Women of St. Matthew’s: The what’s and how-to’s of informal flower arranging just in time for Christmas! Harriet Houston will demonstrate for us on Wednesday Evening, December 5, from 5:45 - 6:30 p.m. Bring paper and pen for note-taking. Please sign up with Kay Whitney, 345-0574. *For those who want to eat together afterwards, we’ll adjourn to a nearby eatery!

Advent Coffee for the Women of St. Matthew’s and their Guests (age 12 and older, please) Saturday, December 8, 10:00 a.m. until noon at 4005 Enclave Mesa Circle (turn off of Mesa Drive between Far West Blvd. and Greystone)

*This is a great opportunity to introduce the fellowship of our parish to your friends!

"Casting Call" for the Pick Up Pageant...If your child or grandchild would like to play one of the "lead" roles in the Pick Up Pageant at 4:00 PM on Christmas Eve, please give Kathy Dugat a call. EVERY child is invited to participate in some way -- either in a formal role or as a shepherd or an angel. There will be one rehearsal, probably on Sunday, Dec. 23rd. There are no lines to memorize. Some costumes are provided. Narrators need to be fluent readers and have confidence speaking in front of a large group. Preschoolers traditionally serve as angels and shepherds and need not call. Roles are awarded on a "first come" basis. Please call Kathy if you have questions or if your child would like to participate. 343-7989 (home) 345-8314, ext 228 (church)

The next Baptism Sunday will be January 13, one week after Epiphany. If you or someone you know would be a candidate for Holy Baptism, please email betty@stmattsaustin.org or call me at 345-8314 x 215.

Help! We just lost a helper for Children’s Chapel. I am looking for a primary chapel helper on 4th Sundays and a youth chapel helper on 2nd Sundays. And we still need a Children’s Chapel presider on 3^rd Sundays. Thank you! If you have questions or are interested, please contact Heather (345-8314 ext. 221).

Angels Wanted. Thanks to the Angel Tree Project, a ministry of Prison Fellowship, we once again have the opportunity to assist in providing Christmas gifts to children who have a parent in prison. Won’t you consider "adopting" a child or two and providing a toy and item of clothing for them this year? For details, look for Millie Roden or other Outreach helpers in Commons by the Christmas tree.

The December Prayer Calendar is available for pick up in the Commons. Please take one home for your family to use during Advent and Christmas. And if you would like to help with the January issue, please call Carol Blaine at 502-0550.

The Search Committee needs your help and your frequent flyer miles. If you have enough frequent flyer miles for a round trip, and you will not be using them, we would love to talk with you. We will begin to travel in the not-too-distant future. Please call Woodie Jones at 327-8460 (h), 495-6300 (w) or email him at jwoodfinj@aol.com