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 Advent Greenery on the Altar is given to the Glory of God Vicki and Pete DeWeese in honor of Kelly DeWeese’s birthday, and by Barbara and Dabney Cauley in celebration of their 47^th wedding anniversary.

*All Children and Adults involved in the Children’s Pick Up Pageant on Christmas Eve, please mark your calendars for a rehearsal scheduled for Sunday, December 23 immediately after church in the Sanctuary. See you there! Tracey Nichols

*At the Thanksgiving Eve Service held here in collaboration with Triumphant Love Lutheran Church, the offering was designated for the Capital Area Food Bank. As a result, a check for $1665 has been given to this most worthy cause for the citizens of Austin. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks.

*This morning we are honored to welcome Chuck Huffman as our preacher. Please welcome Chuck, our distinguished Rector Emeritus.

*The Jewish-Christian Relations Group of AAIM meets at St. Matthew's, Tuesday, December 18, at 7:00 PM in B-14 (which is a temporary change). We are privileged to have Dr. Elizabeth Fernea as our guest speaker. She is Professor Emeritus at UT Austin and a specialist of Middle Eastern Studies. We will be learning more of the Islamic Faith as experienced by their women. All are invited. This is a program sponsored by the AUSTIN AREA INTERRELIGIOUS MINISTRIES (AAIM) of which St. Matthew's is one of the many sponsors.

*A Representative of St. David’s Book Store will be in the Commons this morning displaying a great selection of gifts. Great for last minute shopping!

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.

During Advent you will find envelopes for donations for Christmas Flowers in the pews. Please use these designated envelopes to make your contribution for the greens and flowers to be used by the St. Matthew’s Flower Guild during the Christmas season. If you wish to designate your offering as a memorial or thanksgiving, print this information clearly on the envelope and place it in the offering plate. Deadline for having your Memorials and Thanksgivings printed is Tuesday, December 18.

An invitation from the Flower Guild to "Green" (Decorate) the Church for Christmas: Immediately after the 10:30 a.m. service on Sunday,

December 23, we will decorate for our very special Christmas Eve Services and the Christmas season. Jobs for men and women. No experience necessary, all hands welcome!

Parish Christmas Party! TODAY! 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!

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.

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.

"Casting Call" for the Pick Up Pageant...Your child or grandchild is welcome to participate in the Pick Up Pageant at 4:00 PM on Christmas Eve. EVERY child is invited to participate as a shepherd or an angel.. Please call Kathy if you have questions or if your child would like to participate. 343-7989 (home) 345-8314, ext 228 (church)

*Last Call For Angels: 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 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