The Church Offers Nurturing, Experienced, Child Care: For the 8:00 a.m. services, the nursery for infants and children up to 4 years old is available in Room 5 of the Education Building Nursery.  At 9 a.m. children below 2 years old are taken to the Nursery located down the hallway on the parking lot side of Huffman Hall.  The 2 to 4 year olds remain in Room 5 of the Education Building Nursery.  Both Nurseries close at 12:15 p.m. There is also a comfortable, sound proof room in the Sanctuary balcony for adults who wish to keep their babies with them during the services.

3 and 4 year old children have two options on Sunday mornings.  ALL children, through age 4, are welcome in the nursery on Sunday morning. Those children who are reliably potty trained and developmentally ready for a more structured environment are invited to attend Sunday School from 9:15 - 10:15 in B16 and Chapel in the Choir Room from 10:30 - 11:00.  

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

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

The Weekly Word deadline is Noon on Wednesdays.  If you have an article for the Weekly Word please email them to Office@StMattsAustin.Org and JeriM@austin.rr.com

Be in the know!  Subscribe to the St. Matthew's Email Notification Service.  On average, you will receive only one email per week.  The parish email keeps you informed about all the important events happening at St. Matthew's.  Subscribe yourself by sending a blank email to:  StMattsEmail-subscribe@yahoogroups.com   You can unsubscribe yourself at any time.

YOUTH NEWS

*TODAY is the day to buy your canvas grocery bags.  Help out the earth and take your own bags to the store.  A love offering of $5.00 per bag is suggested.  If paying buy check, please put Green Offering in the memo line.  We will make them available as long as our supply lasts.

Tonight at 6:30 pm the youth group will meet at All Saint’s Episcopal Church (209 W. 27th St. Austin, 78705) to worship in a U2 Eucharist put on by the University of Texas Episcopal Campus Ministry Program. After the service we will enjoy dinner together with a letter writing campaign. The organization “Bread for the World” will facilitate the group in writing letters to our Congress men and women asking for their help in making the Millennium Development Goals a priority in the government. Bread for the World is a lobbying organization that promotes socially responsible decisions by our politicians. For more information about the organization please go to www.bread.org Pick up after the event will be at All Saint’s Episcopal Church at 8:30 pm. 

Monday, November 12th for those youth that are in AISD and have a day off from school, we will take part in our outreach activity for the month. We are participating in the El Buen Samaritano Turkey Drive. We will meet at the church at 9:30 am to prepare turkey baskets for people in the Austin community who can not provide a good Thanksgiving dinner for themselves. After the turkey baskets are prepared, we will deliver them to the El Buen Samaritano Center in South Austin. After delivery, we will travel back to the church for a picnic - hamburgers and hotdogs. We will conclude our time together at 3:00 pm. We will be joined in this activity by Anderson High School and The Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest.  Parents that can attend are more than welcome to join us as well!

This Little Light of Mine: Raising Up Children in the Light of God’s Love

Raising children who love God and know that God loves them is no simple task.  Almost from the day they are born, our children are bombarded with confusing messages from this world that we live in.  Are there things we can do to help our children handle the pressures, stresses and confusing messages they hear?  Are there things we can do to equip our children to make good choices?  ABSOLUTELY!!!  Parents, grandparents and god parents are invited to join us on Monday, November 12^th at 6:30 in the sanctuary as Kathy Dugat shares simple things you can incorporate into your everyday lives to prepare our children to face the world with confidence, knowing that we love them, and more importantly, that God loves them. Child care provided by reservation…contact Marilyn Wright… mjwright@austin.rr.com or 401-8382.  For more information, contact Kathy Dugat (343-7989 or kdugat@austin.rr.com).

Children’s Ministry

Bring a NEW toothbrush and toothpaste to Sunday School! All children are asked to bring a NEW toothbrush and/or a tube of toothpaste to Sunday School on the 18th.  These items will go to SafePlace as part of our Hand in Hand, Doing What We Can Sunday School outreach program. 

Hand in Hand…Doing What We Can!  Children's Sunday School  for the month of November will focus on  thanking God for the blessings in our lives.  We will also discover that as we work Hand in Hand, with each person offering whatever they can, WE can make a difference in the world!  We will be working throughout the month to find real, meaningful ways to share our gifts with others. Children four years old through this year’s fifth graders are invited to join us in the basement each Sunday morning at 9:15 to learn about ways we can reach out to share God’s love and help our neighbors near and far away...no matter how old we are!  Questions?  Contact Kathy Dugat (343-7989, kdugat@austin.rr.com). 

There is just NOTHING like a good book...especially when you share it with a friend.  The children of our St. Matthew's family will be collecting "gently read" hardback books to donate to Libraries of Love.  Libraries of Love builds libraries for schools in Africa.  We need all kinds of books...fiction, non-fiction, picture books, novels, reference books and funny books!  Look for collection boxes in the Commons, Huffman Hall and in the basement of the sanctuary.  PLEASE help us as we reach out our hand and do what we can to share God's love and make a difference in the world! Questions?  Contact Kathy Dugat (343-7989, kdugat@austin.rr.com)

Have you noticed the BEAUTIFUL new rack for our children's Sunday Worship Bags?  Heartfelt thanks go to Danny Henshaw and Sherm Strance for their handiwork and loving care!

St. Matthew’s Gratefully Acknowledges Commemorative Gifts to St. Matthew’s Permanent Endowment Fund in the past 7 days:

To the Glory of God and In Loving Memory of

Charles Canby by Margaret and Jim Myers

If you desire to honor or commemorate a loved one, the envelopes styled “Permanent Endowment Fund” are provided in the seat back in front of you.

Registration began Oct. 7^th for the ECW 2008

Annual Women’s Spiritual Retreat

This year’s retreat will be held again at Camp Allen on Feb 15-17, 2008.  Our guest speaker, Kathleen Whitten lives in San Antonio and has been sharing God’s Word and presenting His Son, Jesus Christ for 15 years.  Her topic is DEEP DOWN CHANGE.  Registration deadline is December 21, 2007.   Look for the registration table in the Commons after the Sunday worship services or contact Debbie Marshall
(ph: 926-5424) or Kathy Morris (ph: 918-9373).   

Reuse or Donate Old Prescription Containers

Keep old prescription containers out of our landfills by putting them back to work. Reuse them to categorize and store your collections of small items like buttons, beads, craft items, screws, nuts and bolts. You can also donate the amber colored containers for reuse at St. Matthew’s Environmental Stewardship Council cabinet in Huffman Hall. See www.tinyurl.com/27wukf for guidance on how to dispose of unused pharmaceuticals. See the ESC Programs page under Parish Community > Environmental Stewardship Council at www.StMattsAustin.org for a list of items accepted for reuse and recycling.