December 30, 2007- January 6, 2008
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.
*End of Year Contributions: Contributions postmarked December 31st will be attributed to your contributions record for 2007. All other gifts should be received in the office by Monday, December 31st for inclusion in your 2007 contributions record. Dave Bowman, Business Manager, David@stmattsaustin.org
Feast of the Epiphany, January 6: At St. Matthew's we believe it is important to include children in the worship of the church. Young children, under the direction of Kathy Dugat, will help us follow the "star" of the magi at the 10:30AM service this day. Children's Chapel will be held downstairs in the Choir Room as usual and right after the Peace we will learn what the magi discovered!
Have you ever thought about running for Vestry?
Please prayerfully consider running for vestry. It is important that the vestry be made up of different age groups with varying experiences that represent the parishioners of St. Matthew's. New members will be elected on Sunday, January 6, 2008 at the Annual Meeting. The requirements to run for vestry and the application are on the St. Matthew's web site. If you have questions please feel free to contact Vickie Blumhagen, Tom Canby, or Merrill Wade.
Rector's Classes in Huffman Hall, January 6, 13 and 20
9:15AM Sunday mornings
Class Title - "Straight Talk from the Rector"
January 6 and 13 - "Our Culture of Busyness and Anxiety - Stress Addiction and the Marginalization of God" In these two presentations I will talk about how stress and constant busyness rob us of our spiritual awareness. God is moved off to the margins of our lives as we strive harder and harder to succeed, feel secure or just "get by". I encourage you to listen to my sermon preached on December 9 as a preparation for this class. The sermon can be accessed on the St. Matthew's website at http://www.stmattsaustin.org/audio2007/2007-12-09-sermon-mw-1427.mp3. Of special interest in this class is to explore the ways families are affected by this constant motion and activity. The ministry staff at St. Matthew's wants to learn how to better serve families and in this class many ideas will be exchanged.
January 20 - "What I Believe is Essential" - this will be a frank presentation on what I believe is important for families and individuals as we look to the future together. I will give my assessment of the Episcopal Church in this time of controversy, and will, as well, tell you exactly what I think we should be focused on at home and at church. I will tell you what moves me to have faith in Jesus Christ and why I am absolutely committed to teaching about what Jesus called the Kingdom of God.
*New Adult Sunday School Class, 8:30 a.m. Starting on Sunday, January 6th, a new Adult Sunday School class will be meeting in Room B-10 . The class is open to anyone who would like to attend a class from 8:30-9:15 am each Sunday. Coffee and social time will be from 8:15 - 8:30. The format will be discussion-oriented, with facilitators Jim and Linda Fryer. Choir members will find this a convenient time and 8:00 Worship Service participants will be welcomed also.
*Sacred Thirst, a book by M. Craig Barnes, will be the basis for study and discussion at both the Early Adult Sunday School class that meets in B-10 and the Sunday Morning Book Group class, which meets in Room 1 of the Day School/Education Building. Participants are buying their own books, opting for used or new. Books can be provided by request.
Linda & Jim Fryer, 372-9832
*Creative
Challenges and Crises" continues! On January 6,
the Sunday Adult Education history course continues in a new
location. We'll shift to
B-18 as we move into the modern era with our survey of the challenges and
crises that have molded the church throughout the centuries. The
three weeks in January we'll be looking at the challenge posed to the
Papacy by three leading figures: Calvin, Luther, and Henry VIII on
January 6, 13, and 20. Dr. Suzanne Hoeferkamp will speak to
us about Luther, while our own Chad McCall will teach about Calvin and
Henry VIII. On February 3, The Very Rev. Durstan McDonald, Dean
Emeritus of ETSS, will teach on the Elizabethan Settlement, which was the
foundation of the Anglican church: Join us for this lively
and informative class. Submitted by Susan Barnes
*New Study Group to Begin . Fr. Joe will begin a New Study Group primarily focusing on the Bible but also other miscellaneous topics. An organizational meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 10, from 10:00 a.m.- 11:30 a.m.in Room B-14.
Our Guests Have Arrived - The basement rooms have been made over into bedrooms. The meals are lined up. Everyone is ready to spread love and hospitality all over the familes who will be living with us until Jan 6. Your gifts are truly appreciated and we know this time of year requires flexibility with all the other actitivities that are going full speed. Thank you to one and all. PS. We still need someone to take the trailer to St Thomas More on Jan 6. Amy Novak (amy_m_novak@earthlink.net, 795-8089) and Sharon Lowe (sharonylowe@hotmail.com, 775-4774)
*The 2008 ECW Annual Spiritual Retreat Extended Registration - The deadline has been extended through January 4. The retreat will be held at Camp Allen the weekend of Feb. 15-17, 2008. We still have rooms reserved for our group that have not been filled. This is a chance for you to invite a neighbor or family member to join in this very special time. If you are able and willing, we are accepting scholarships for ladies needing a little assistance with the registration fees. Contact Debbie at 926-5424 or email dmarshall@sacheminc.com
*Baptisms on January 13, 2008 If you or one near you (adult or child) desires to receive the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, the next opportunity will be Sunday, January 13. Please notify Betty Mitchell in the Church Office, and she will contact you to gather the needed information. 345-8314 x 215 betty@stmattsaustin.org
Multigenerational Game Night at St. Matthew’s
January 18, 2008 at 6:30PM:
Friday, January 18, at 6:30p.m., in Room B-18
downstairs below the Sanctuary, St. Matthew’s will be holding a pizza and game
night for all interested players of checkers, chess, dominos, cribbage (or your
favorite game!) This is an opportunity for children to have some exposure to
some of these all-time favorite games. Everyone is welcome. In particular, it
would be a great chance for some of our members to take on the role of
surrogate grandparents to some youngsters who may not have grandparents in
Austin and for kids and parents who are interested in gathering as families to
come, eat and have some fun. A nursery will be provided for infants and
children under age 4. Please RSVP to Paul Huggins at 736-7541 or email him at paul.a.huggins@gmail.com in order
that he might know how much pizza to purchase and if you need nursery care.
Huffman Hall Closing / A New Chapeau: The weather has enabled excellent progress in replacing the steel roofs of the Bell Tower and the Office Building. That means the roofing contractor expects to begin work on the Huffman Hall roof on Wednesday, January 2nd. With few exceptions, we will close Huffman Hall during the daylight hours, Monday through Saturday, each week until the work is complete. If progress and circumstances allow, we may, at a later date, open portions of Huffman Hall before the entire roof is replaced. Our goal is to balance safety, work progress and critical programs in bringing this key Capital Campaign project to conclusion as soon as possible. If you have any questions please contact…Dave Bowman, Business Manager, David@stmattsaustin.org
You Don’t Want to Miss…
St. Matthew’s Annual Meeting
January 6, 2008
“Greatest Show on Earth”, the 50th Anniversary Annual Meeting of St. Matthew’s, to be held on Sunday evening, January 6. This will be a celebration of life at St. Matthew’s, an evening of food and fun for the family! It is also the Annual meeting of our church. As a member of St. Matthew’s, you are expected to gather with the entire parish once a year, to elect the leaders that will represent you in the next years. All members of the church age 16 or older are eligible to vote.
5:15PM - Be in your seats in Huffman Hall (with popcorn) as we await the beginning of the show, which will begin at exactly 5:30PM. It will be 30-40 minutes of wonderful fun for your family and children of all ages.
6:00-6:10PM - I will call the Annual Meeting to order and we will immediately have an election of new Vestry, Endowment Committee and Diocesan Council representatives. Once the ballot is taken, dinner for the parish will be served.
6:30-7:00PM – dinner (hamburgers and hotdogs w/dessert) prepared by the Holy Smokers.
7:00PM - annual meeting reports and election results.
Approximately 7:45-8:00PM - Annual meeting adjourned.
We will have the nurseries open and will have special projects for elementary age children during the Annual Meeting from 7:00 - 8:00PM. They are certainly encouraged to stay with the families through dinner. All of the youth are invited to attend the entire Annual Meeting and will hear from Kevin Schubert about their plans for the evening.
*Remember, 2008 means a new Pictorial Directory. We need your activity pictures or an idea of what you may want so we can inform the photographer. This also applies to group pictures, staff pictures and clergy pictures. The photographer arrives February 17 so please give me some ideas to present to him. Please contact Babs Clendenin at ba69claus@aol.com or 795-8854.