The Weekly Word

Welcome to Our Guests! We pray that your visit to St. Matthew’s will richly bless you and that you will come back again soon. Please fill out the Welcome Card located in the chair slot in front of you. Place the information portion in the offertory plate and affix the name tag so that we may identify and welcome you. And we have a special gift for you so please stop by the Welcome Table in the foyer after the service. For information about St. Matthew’s, call Barbara at 345-8314 and visit our web site at www.StMattsAustin.org

The Church Offers Nurturing, Experienced, Child Care for children who are infants to four years of age. Because of the small number of children who attend the 8:00 a.m. nursery, all children ages infant to years of age four are in the Education Building nursery beginning at 7:45 a.m. At 9:00 a.m., children below two years old are taken to the Huffman Hall Nursery (located on the parking lot side of the hallway) and children from two to four years are cared for in the Education Building nursery. Both the Huffman Hall and the Education Building nurseries close at 12:15 p.m. There is also a comfortable, soundproof room in the church balcony (sanctuary) for adults who wish to keep their babies with them during the service.

10:30 AM Children’s Chapel " It IS a beautiful day -- and we invite you to join us to celebrate the day, and the fact that God loves us and we love God in Chapel each and every Sunday in Choir Room (B-7) at 10:30. Children age 3 and older, parents, and anyone who is looking for a little change of pace in their worship style are welcome to join us. We will all come upstairs at the Peace to share communion together. Questions? Contact Kathy Dugat -- 343-7989 or kdugat@austin.rr.com

Thanks for Wearing Your Nametag! If you need a new nametag please visit Welcome Table in the Commons right after church. Thanks for faithfully wearing your nametag each and every Sunday.

Personal Prayer Teams are available during Communion at Prayer Stations on either side of the sanctuary. One station is located on the east side, by the windows, and the other station is on the west side in the gallery. Prayers will also be offered immediately after church by the team stationed near the windows. Prayer requests and discussion are completely confidential.

Home Delivery of Holy Communion If you are unable to come to church and would like Holy Communion brought to you on Sunday, please call the church office at 345-8314.

If you attend church but are unable to walk to the altar for Holy Communion, please notify an usher and the communion elements will be brought to you where you are seated.

If you have articles for the Weekly Word please email your articles to Office@StMattsAustin.Org and to JeriM@austin.rr.com The Weekly Word deadline is noon on Wednesday.

Receive weekly info and breaking parish news by subscribing to St Matt’s Email Notices. From the address you want to receive the email, send a blank email to: StMattsEmail-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

*HELP! The Bishop is coming and we only have one punch bowl!!! Please, if you borrowed one of the large cut-glass punch bowls from the church kitchen, return it quickly. And just as a reminder, when you "borrow" things from the kitchen, sign out for them on the sign-out sheet near the bulletin board. Thank you, Louise

*The Mommy Meet-up Group will meet Wednesday, December 6 from 9:30
until 11:30 in the Huffman Hall nursery to assemble baby bundles for the El Buen Samiritano clinic while the kids play. Our group now has a yahoo group! Please join if you are interested in our group, even if you can't attend on Wednesdays --http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stmattsmomsgroup/
Contact Amanda at ajfowle@yahoo.com or 246-7285 with questions.

Outreach Opportunities

*Alternative Gifts Market, 2006 TODAY: For the second year in a row, St. Matthew’s will host an Alternative Gifts Market during Advent. The purpose is to give us all the chance to “shop” for gifts that will help to change the world. Chaired by Suzanne McCurley and put on by the Daughters of the King and the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, the Alternative Gifts Market will have its kick-off today. Come to Huffman Hall after the 10:30 service for a light lunch and see how your holiday gift-giving can support God’s ministry to the neediest in the USA and abroad. This "kick-off" event fully supports the Millennium Goals for Episcopal Relief and Development through Alternative Gifts International (AGI). Missions are chosen from careful analysis of the world's needs, and you will have the opportunity to choose the missions that touch your heart. See you there!

*Angel Tree Ministry: Again this year, St Matthew’s will be supporting the nation-wide Angel Tree Prison Ministry reach out to the nearly half million children of incarcerated parents in the U.S. with hope and the promise of the love of Christ. Beginning today there will be a table in the foyer after the 10:30 Sunday Services and at the Alternative Gifts Market where you can sign-up to purchase, and deliver Christmas gifts to the child of an incarcerated parent. If you would like to help but don’t feel that you can shop for\deliver gifts. Your donation of a Wal-Mart gift card or check/cash will be given to Angel Tree volunteers to purchase gifts for the children of felons in some the very poor areas of South East Texas. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help coordinate the Angel Tree Ministry, call Susan LaValley at 345-3942.

*Unpack the Airbeds: Families from the Interfaith Hospitality Network will come to live a St. Matthew's beginning on New Year's Eve and staying for one week. This Sunday (Dec 3) we will begin volunteer signups to help host these families and support them in there search for housing. Look for the table at the Alternative Gifts Market -- give a gift of yourself.

Coats needed for the Homeless and Needy in Austin. Keep Austin Housed will be sponsoring a drive to collect new or gently used blankets, coats, hats, mittens, scarves, and socks from Friday, December 1st through Friday, December 15th. These items will be distributed to The Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, Safe Place, Caritas, Foundation Communities, St. Louise House, and Life Works. St. Matthew's will be one of the collection sites along with other local schools and churches. Look for a box in Huffman Hall. Thank you St. Matthew's and the Day School for helping to share Christ's love.

*Advent is the season of preparation, of waiting, of expectation, of silence. For the Advent season there are opportunities offered for prayer and silence: (1) the group sitting for Centering Prayer at 5:30 pm on Thursdays in Room B-14, and (2) the 5:15 pm Contemplative Holy Eucharist on most Sundays. Consider how these may be of assistance to you in our mutual Advent journey.

Bishop’s Visit, December 10 – 10:30AM

Bishop Dena Harrison, the newly consecrated Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Texas, will make her first visit to St. Matthew’s on Sunday, December 10. The schedule for the day is as follows. She will meet with those being confirmed and received before the service and will be the Celebrant and Preacher for the 10:30AM service. After the 10:30AM service, we will have a reception in Huffman Hall honoring the newly confirmed and received, and Bishop Harrison. The visit of a bishop to a parish is one of those “command performance” events in the life of the church and I urge you to make every effort to be present to greet Bishop Harrison on her first visit to St. Matthew’s.

*The Hospitality Committee is planning the reception to be held right after church on Sunday, December 10 to honor the new confirmands and Bishop Dena Harrison. You can help by bringing finger sandwiches or cookies. Please contact Lucy Boyea at 345-8314 ext. 226 (voice mail) or Lboyea@stmattsaustin.org and let her know what you can bring. We request that your cookies or sandwiches be brought to the kitchen by 9 a.m. on Sunday the 10th if possible. Thank you, Louise Waddill

YOUTH EVENTS

Come support the Youth and the Alternative Gifts Market today after the service! The youth will be selling gifts such as glasses in Guatemala, and goats in Ethiopia. Your friends and family will appreciate this unique gift for Christmas this year. Come see what else there will be to offer!

Thanks to all who have been donating to the Libraries of Love ministry! We are still collecting books, as well as canned goods for El Buen. These are the specifics on what we need for LOL:

Elementary and Middle School level books that are in good condition. Bible stories and fiction books are recommended. Please bring these books to the Youth Building on Sunday mornings any time between 9:00 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. Also, books can be dropped off at the Youth Office on weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Care for the Caregiver

In this season of giving, we are often at our limits because of our responsibilities and expectations. Care for the Caregiver would like to extend to you an invitation to join us on December 14, 2006 at 9:00am in Room B-19 for a small respite from your busy schedule. Sister Hannah O’Donoghue, from Seton Cove, will be our guest speaker. She is a nurse, spiritual director and a former health care executive who focuses her ministry on holistic approaches to healing. She works with patients, families and healthcare teams in addressing the spiritual and emotional dynamics that arise in caring for our loved ones. She will lead a sharing on the hope born of relationships...”Some Gifts Are Ours Forever”. Whether you are a caregiver or not(and really, who isn’t?), we could all benefit from this sharing. As always, there will be refreshments and free chair massage….this month there will be a extra surprise to help eliminate a little stress. Should you need respite care, please contact Gidget Fisher @ gid92get@yahoo.com or 328-2088 Have a wonderful Advent and May God Bless You.

*Come and Volunteer at This Year's Trail of Lights Festival!!! The Family Life Fellowship Group is hosting a volunteer event this holiday season by serving as volunteers for the Trail of Lights Festival in Zilker Park. What better way to give back to the community while having fun in a marvelous Christmas setting. We will serve on December 17 from 5:15PM until 10:15PM. Duties will include walking the trail and assisting visitors. This event is not limited to participants of Family Life and is open to all members of the parish. To sign up, please contact Scott Murphy in the Narthex or call 336-9879.

*You are all cordially invited to the St. Matthew’s School Annual Christmas Pageant on Wednesday, December 20^th11:00 am in the Church Sanctuary. Our “Angels” will be looking forward to seeing you.

Friends, Please consider running for the Vestry. Don't wait for us to ask as we do not know those of you who would like to serve their God and their church. The experience allows you to become acquainted with every facet of church life; and remember you will be a part of the governing body where important decisions are made and where you will have a say in our growth and improvements.. Applications may be picked up from Barbara Haynes at the Office, or downloaded from the St. Matthew's website www.StMattsAustin.Org, Blessings, Babs, Jr. Warden

Endowment Committee Elections on January 7 . . . Three of the nine elected positions on the Endowment Committee will be filled by election at the annual Parish Meeting on Sunday, January 7, 2007. The term is three years, and the office is open to adult communicants of St. Matthew's. Vestry members are not eligible to serve on the Committee except for the Senior Warden who serves ex officio. The Endowment Committee oversees the management and investment of the Church's endowment funds and fosters legacy giving. For additional information, contact any of the following members of the Committee: Larry Simons, Steve Ryder, Kathleen Niendorff, Mark Monroe, Kevin McGillicuddy, Hink Johnson, Jack Eccles, Kate Canby, Mike Affleck, or Bert Hooper.

In Chapel today: Through today's Psalm, we ask God to “show us your path.” We know “the path” is there, but during most of the year, we get so busy with our every day lives that we forget to keep watch to be sure that we are truly on “the path." Sometimes it seems so much easier follow the "super highway" the world offers than to meander along "the path!" If we don’t keep watch, we eventually stray off the path and discover that we are wandering in the wilderness. Advent is a time for us to focus on “staying on the path.” It is a time for us to keep our eyes and hearts tuned into the signs that tell us we are on God’s path. It is a time for us to find our way along "the path" to the Christ Child, just as the shepherds and wise men did so long ago. What can you do to make sure that YOU are making progress along "the path" this week? Thanks to our First Sunday Chapel Team: Vicki DeWeese, Vada Dillawn, Christine Darby, Marilyn and Ken Wright and Mia Johns!

It's Pick-Up Pageant time! St. Matthew's annual "Pick-Up Pageant" will be held during the 10:30 AM worship service on Sunday, Dec. 24th. We call our Pageant a "pick up pageant" because we truly "pick up" any child who wants to participate and include them in this special service. ALL children are invited to help us bring the story of that first Christmas Eve to life. If your child is interested in participating in the pageant as one of the "leading characters" (Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus, Lead Shepherds, Kings, Lead Angels, or Gabriel), please contact Kathy Dugat ASAP and let her know. The "leading characters," plus the narrators, will have a one hour rehearsal the week before the pageant. If your child would like to be one of the "flock" of shepherds or one of the "heavenly host," all you need to do is make plans to arrive at St. Matthew's by 10:15 AM on the 24th to get your child dressed. We'll even provide the costumes! Questions? Interested in helping with the pageant? Want to reserve a "leading character" roll for your child? Contact Kathy Dugat (343-7989 or kdugat@austin.rr.com).

The St. Matthew's ECW 2007 Annual Women's Retreat will be held March 2-4,2007 at Camp Allen. Registration began Oct 1st and will run through Jan 15th. Payment of 50% of the registration fee is due at registration. The balance is due by Jan 15th. Registration forms are available in the Commons or Church Office. You may also download the form from the www.StMattsAustin.org website. Please contact Debbie Marshall at 926-5424 or Janie McMahan at 341-7432 if you have questions.