November 25- December 2, 2007
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.
*Items marked with an asterisk (*) are run for the first time today.
Sunday, November 25th there will be no youth group event due to the Thanksgiving Holidays.
Have you ever thought about running for Vestry? Each year five new vestry members are elected as five "retire." It is a three year term. New members will be elected on Sunday, January 6, 2008 at the Annual Meeting. Requirements for vestry and the application are on the St. Matthew's web site www.StMattsAustin.Org . The application can also be picked up in the church office. If you have any question please feel free to contact Vickie Blumhagen, Tom Canby, or Merrill Wade.
*EAST IS EAST AND WEST IS WEST! If you want to know why the twain don't meet, join Lou Bedor's lively class in Huffman Hall, Sunday at 9:15, Dececember 2.
Youth Group News
Special Note: The previous planned Wednesday night High School Youth Group meeting November 28th has been cancelled. This is due to a scheduling conflict. The new event time has changed to better accommodate scheduling and member participation. The new date and time is December 5th from 7:00 to 8:30 pm.
Sunday December 2nd - Our youth meeting this day will be totally devoted to the Alternative Gift Market. After the 10:30 service on December 2nd, all youth are asked to be at the various ministry tables to answer questions and sell alternative gifts to the congregation. It is very important that we participate in this wonderful ministry to the community. After the market, we will have lunch together at the church. This event will conclude at 2:00 pm. There will be no youth group event in the evening. For more information regarding the Alternative Gift Market please see the insert in your bulletin.
For further information regarding the youth program at St. Matthew’s please contact The Rev. Kevin Schubert by phone at 512-345-8314 ext. 232 or through e-mail at kevin@stmattsaustin.org
*The 20’s & 30’s Group at St. Matthew’s For those of you who are in their twenties and thirties (or those who wish they still were) come and enjoy this initial night of a six month series called “Theology and You.” Beginning Wednesday November 28th at 7:30 pm we will meet once a month to discuss different theological questions and concerns pertaining to our age group. Each month a different theologian will give a presentation and then lead a discussion. The first person to present will be Dr. Tony Baker, the theology professor at The Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest. The event will be held at the North Lamar Central Market where you may enjoy many different choices of beverages or food. More information relating to this event will be sent through our group e-mail list. If you would like more information about this group or would like to be included on the group e-mail list, please contact The Rev. Kevin Schubert by phone (512-345-8314 ext. 232) or through e-mail (kevin@stmattsaustin.org).
Children’s Ministry
Time to Get Ready! Advent is Here! Advent is a time to get our hearts and homes ready for the Christ Child. We need to slow down...clean out...re-organize...dust off our homes, but more importantly, our hearts...and re-discover the joy and hope of this special season. It is a time to count our blessings...and to be a blessing to someone else. It's a time to know we are loved...and to share God's love. It's time to contemplate...and to celebrate! This Advent season, we hope you will make plans for your family to join us on Sunday mornings from 9:15 - 10:15 as we turn our backs on "getting busy" and devote our attention to "getting ready." Together we will explore the stories and symbols of this special season. Its time to get ready...somebody's coming! Questions about Children's Sunday School? Contact Kathy Dugat 343-7989 or kdugat@austin.rr.com.
Annual "Pick Up" Pageant News The Pick Up Pageant is one of the most special traditions of our St. Matthew's family. This hour long service combines the familiar words from the Gospels with a family friendly service of Holy Communion. We call this special service a "pick up" pageant since we literally "pick up" every child who wishes to participate in the pageant. Is is NOT your usual well-staged, well-rehearsed, well-costumed pageant. It is, instead, an invitation to one and all to celebrate as an active participant in the joy and wonder of the birth of the Christ Child. What a sight it is to behold a whole flock of shepherds and an entire host of angels gathered around the manger rejoicing in the birth of Jesus! The primary characters in the story (Narrators, Mary, Joseph, Inn Keeper, a handful of "lead shepherds and angels," the magi, and the star) are cast ahead of time. The primary characters are asked to be present at one brief rehearsal the week before the pageant. If your child is interested in representing one of the primary characters in the pageant, please contact Kathy Dugat as soon as possible. (343-7989 or kdugat@austin.rr.com).
*Blankets needed for the Homeless and Needy in Austin- Keep Austin Housed will be sponsoring a drive to collect new or gently used blankets for the homeless. The blankets will be collected until Sunday, December 2nd. Look for collection bins in Huffman Hall. These items will be distributed to The Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, SafePlace, Caritas, Trinity Center, Caritas and LifeWorks. Please contact Esther Garcia at 918-3359 or at emgarcia@austin.rr.com if you have questions. Thank you St. Matthew's for helping to share Christ's love.
*It’s Coming, and it will make you smile!!
*BOX TOPS: St. Matthew’s Day School is off to a great year. Let’s support their fundraising efforts by participating in their Box Top Project to raise money for library books. Just clip Box Tops from your favorite brands such as General Mills, Kleenex, Ziploc, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury and place them in the purple box in the narthex. If you have questions, please contact Lauren Rosprim at 342-8099 or at laurenrosprim@sbcglobal.net.
*November is UTO (United Thank Offering) Month! The Ingathering at St. Matthew’s was Sunday, November 11th, however you may turn in your UTO offerings at any time during the month of November. Please remember to note "UTO" on the memo line of your check as you give generously to this worthwhile cause. UTO money funds projects and programs which meet compelling human needs and/or expand the mission and ministry of the church.
*Coffee & Conversation: If you
are visiting or new to St. Matthew’s, we invite you to join members of the
Newcomers Council for "Coffee & Conversation" on Sunday, December
2nd, at Noon, in Room B6 (directly below the Sanctuary). This will
be a time for you to gather in a casual setting, ask questions and express your
needs. If you or someone you know would like to attend this coffee, please call
Barbara Haynes at the church 345-8314.
Advent, 2007, will feature the premiere of the Advent Noon Concert Series. The concerts will be Thursdays, December 6, 13 and 20 at 12:05 in our lovely sanctuary. Our concert artists will be choirs and vocalists from our Anderson High School, Vista Ridge High School, Leander and our baritone in residence, David Small, with a company of other great musicians. Don't miss these wonderful choral offerings during the Advent season!
*Advent Coffee—Women of the church and their daughters, mothers, neighbors and friends are invited to celebrate advent at a coffee and brunch at 10 a.m. on December 8 in Huffman Hall. Feast on a sumptuous spread of homemade casseroles, breads, cookies, and more. Babysitting will be provided. There is no charge, but you may bring a love offering for the El Buen Samaritano Baby Gift Project; each baby packet costs about $25. For more information or to bring food, contact Bridgette Beinecke at bbeinecke@austin.rr.com.
ST MATTS WORK DAY
*Come one! Come All to the 2007 St. Matthews Grounds Clean-Up-A-Thon on Saturday, December 15, starting at 8:30 am with coffee and breakfast tacos. Bring your team or join one when you arrive. Tools that will be useful: gloves, hats, limb cutters, rakes, leaf vacuums and blowers, gas pole saw, chain saws, hedge trimmers, extension cords. A chipper and a dumpster will be provided. If you would like some freshly shredded mulch, bring your truck or trailer or other convenient carrier. Contact Jim Fryer, 258.2571, fryer602@281.com.
*Updating of Parish Directory: Please notify the Office if you have any changes to your family name, address, email address or phone number for the church Parish Directory,.Office@StMattsAustin.Org. The new directory is being prepared and will be available at the Annual Meeting, January 6, 2008. We are corresponding more by email, if you would like your email address included in your contact information, please submit it also. Changes submitted after December 31, will not appear in the Parish Directory.
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 Cammie Simons Springer by
Kay and Leon Whitney.
To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of John Harvey, Henno Keskkula, Charles Barnes, Gordon Hughes and Charles Canby by
Cornelia and Tom LeMond
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.
*Guests are Coming -- Opening Our Doors. The Interfaith Hospitality Network families will arrive December 30 and stay with us until January 6, Epiphany, the time the Kings were traveling to see the baby Jesus. Let's give these families the best gift, Hospitality. Sign ups will begin next week, December 2, at the Alternative Gift Market and continue each week in Advent. Also, we will have 2008 calendars for sale featuring the cherubs of the Networks, the children that are so resilient as they cope with their family's housing search. Any questions contact Amy Novak (795-8089, amy_m_novak@earthlink.net) or Sharon Lowe (775-4774, sharonylowe@hotmail.com).
Spring Break Mission Trip to the Makarye Orphanage in Kirov, Russia
St.
Matthew’s parishioners have the opportunity to visit the children living in the
Makarye Orphanage in Kirov, Russia during Spring
Break 2008 (March 8-16, 2008)! While in Makarye, we will get to know
the children through organized group activities and one-on-one visits.
Children’s Hope Chest will coordinate all logistics for the trip. Anyone
interested in traveling to Russia to share God’s love with these wonderful
children is invited to join a mission team to Makarye. For more
information on travel details, reservation deadlines, and trip costs, please
contact Janie McMahan at jmcduncan2@austin.rr.com
or 512.496.8494
Don't forget to buy your canvas grocery tote bags after church today. Suggested love offering of $5.00 per bag or $20.00 for 5 bags. Ways to use your bags - 1) groceries, 2) stocking stuffers, 3) wrapping for Christmas presents, 4) tote books to and from the library, 5) holder for plastic newspaper bags, 6) use your imagination.
Brought to you by the Environmental Stewardship Council.
Recycle your Paper at St. Matthew’s Paper Bin
Recycling your daily newspaper for one year provides the pulp equivalent of 2/3 an acre of commercial forest. Manufacturing products from recycled paper produces 55% less air and water pollution than manufacturing from virgin wood. The St. Matthew’s paper recycling bin located in the northwest corner of the parking lot accepts newspaper, magazines, catalogs, and mail. Using this bin or the city curbside service also helps minimize Austin’s landfill needs as well as saving electricity, water, and oil. Proceeds from the St. Matthew’s paper bin help the St. Matthew’s day school. See the ESC Programs under Parish Community > Environmental Stewardship Council at www.StMattsAustin.org for a full list of items accepted for reuse and recycling in Huffman Hall.
ECW 2008 Annual Women’s Spiritual Retreat Registration Deadline is Dec. 21, 2007. All registration forms and fees must be submitted by the deadline. Please obtain a registration form from the registration table in the Commons after the Sunday worship services, from Barbara Haynes in the church office, or from the www.stmattsaustin.org website. The retreat will be held at Camp Allen on Feb 15-17, 2008. Our guest speaker, Kathleen Whitten has touched many as she has shared God’s Word. Her topic is DEEP DOWN CHANGE. This is a great time after the holidays to rejuvenate body and soul and to prepare for the Lenten season. For additional information please contact Debbie Marshall (ph: 926-5424) or Kathy Morris (ph: 918-9373).
