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WEEKLY BULLETIN
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the Episcopal church of st. andrew
second sunday of advent, 5 december 2021
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Sunday Worship - Our Eucharists this Sunday, the Second of Advent, are offered at 8 & 10 o'clock. The Rev'd Lucretia Jevne preaches and presides. You can worship with us online at 10am (or any time after) by clicking HERE. The Order of Worship for online worshipers is HERE. With COVID numbers continuing to rise in the state and our catchment area, we'll continue to mask, keep physical distance, and crack the windows for increased ventilation. Our worship is also relayed to the Parish Hall in case it gets crowded in the Sanctuary. The surge in cases can be dispiriting, but it helps to keep praying for those who are suffering the most. The rector, by the way, is recovering well from knee surgery and is grateful for your support and prayers. Greens - The greens above the altar are given by Leni Gillespie in loving memory of Randy. Dawn Rich & Susie Hansen, Rest in Peace - Our beloved Dawn Rich died Thursday morning in Woodcrest Village in New London, and Susie Hansen also passed from this world to the next Thursday morning at Woodlawn in Newport. Dawn's funeral will take place at St. Andrew's this Monday afternoon at 2:30 following calling hours at Chadwick Funeral Home from 12:00 - 2:00. You can read Dawn's obituary HERE. Please keep the Rich family in your prayers and pray, too, for Susie's husband Herb who will continue to reside at Woodlawn. Christmas Flowers - We look forward to decorating the church for Christmas. To contribute and honor or remember your loved ones, pick up a pink donation sheet on Sunday on the Narthex shelf , Vaccine & Booster Opportunity - The NH Division of Public Health Services is holding COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics at the Kearsarge Regional Middle School, 4 December 9am - 3pm. Also at the Newbury Town Office Meeting Room on Sunday, 5 December. Walk-Ins Welcome. All vaccines, including boosters, are available and anyone 5 and older can be vaccinated. Loa Winter's Paintings at Tatewell Gallery - After its opening last month, the artwork of Loa Winter will continue on exhibit at Tatewell Gallery through the holidays. Located next to Flash Photo in the New London Shopping Center, Tatewell Gallery has some great Christmas gifts (including sculptures by our own Annie Feeley-Kieffer). Best of all, you can greet our beloved Jack Tate and Don Boxwell. Supporting El Hogar in Honduras - Our Last Sunday outreach donation will go to El Hogar, the Home of Love and Hope in Honduras, including its new high school, the Technical Institute or ITSM, where lives are steadily being changed. Last November, the first class of 12th graders graduated from ITSM, four girls and four boys. The school year in Honduras runs from February into November, so another class is about to graduate. Eleven students have been busy meeting graduation requirements including learning their national anthem inside and out. Read all about it and see photos HERE. These young people recognize the opportunity they have been given, and we can be confident that our donations will be used wisely to help future classes achieve their goals. Please give generously whether in the plate on Sunday, via check mailed or dropped off at church, or online and know that it will be doubled by our generous contributors to our matching fund! Please make checks payable to St. Andrew’s with “outreach” on the memo line or give online HERE. Braver Angels - As part of my St. Andrew's sermon, I spoke about Braver Angels and its mission to find a way past the political polarization in our nation. The problem isn't the conflict of ideas but the tendency to treat each other with mutual contempt. Braver Angels facilitated the respectful exchange of views. You can find out more on its website HERE. St. Andrew's has been asked by Bishop Mark Beckwith ("retired" Bishop of Newark and son of our beloved Heidi who died in 2017) to be a charter congregation in a Braver Angels initiative called the Community Collaboration Network (CCN). Up to now, Braver Angels has engaged individuals. The Community Collaboration Network is looking for six congregations, six colleges, and six civic groups to participate in a pilot project. Information about CCN, including a tab at the bottom that invites you to find out more, is HERE. All Braver Angels initiatives have a balance of Red (voters who lean conservative and tend to vote for Republicans) and Blue (voters who lean liberal and tend to vote for Democrats). New Hampshire has a large number of Independents, but the vast majority say they lean one way or the other. Those who don't lean either way can participate in all Braver Angels events, either by assuming a Red or Blue "color for a day" or by becoming an organizer, moderator or observer. For Braver Angels to fly at St. Andrew's, we need two people who identify as Red and two people who identify as Blue to take the lead on this project, to attend a Braver Angels workshop, and to coordinate our efforts. Several people spoke to me of their interest after Sunday's services. If you are interested, whether you spoke to me or not, please explore both links above (to Braver Angels and the Community Collaboration Network), and then email me if you'd like to put yourself forward as one of the four leaders. Please email me HERE (as distinct from hitting Reply to this email which will go to Shelly) or address your email to jay@standrewsnl.org. Vestry members and I believe that Braver Angels fits with the core of our faith: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor 5.19). Its approach is also classically Anglican as we've always valued a diversity of views (sometimes wildly and violently so) within our worldwide Church from its inception. I personally am excited about what Braver Angels might do not just for our congregation but for the wider community. But we need to be sure that we have the bandwidth to undertake another initiative, and to do it well. Funeral for Mary Shepard - Mary Shepard died peacefully on Tuesday morning, 16 November. Her funeral will take place at St. Andrew's on Saturday, 11 December (more details to follow). A short and simple funeral service for Andy Jamieson takes place Saturday, 20 November, at St. Andrew's at 11am. Please pray for the repose of their souls and for their families. Experiencing the Wonder of Advent & Christmas - The glorious cycle of the Christian Year begins anew on Advent Sunday, 28 November. Families are constantly exposed to the commercial side of the holiday season but less often to the spiritual riches of Christmas. We shall create a Christmas Story Walk on the grounds of Saint Andrew's based on the gorgeously illustrated Silent Night by Lara Hawthorne. If you can help create the thirteen laminated panels from the book, please contact Jay HERE. If you can help get the story boards and posts into the ground (sooner rather than later), please contact Chris Heyl HERE. Creative Kiddos Corner - If children get restless in worship, they can find respite in our new Creative Kiddos Corner. There will be soft toys, Noah's ark, playdough, lego, crayons and coloring pages from the Jesus Storybook Bible. Don't get any ideas -- the corner is for children! It will be staffed by Emmy Potter at 10am. At 8am parents can join their littles while keeping an eye and ear on the TV with our worship if they are so inclined. Thanks to Marni Eaton for creating a colorful and inviting bulletin board. This week we celebrate birthdays with Patrick Jenkyn, Betsy Horn, Elizabeth Kellett, Carolyn Lockhart, Marni Eaton, Leni Gillespie, JoAnn Hicks, Ben Greenbaum, Bethany Greenbaum, Nancy MacLeod, and Emory Sanders. Network Newsletter - The November/December newsletter is available to read or download HERE and is available on our website under Inform/Newsletters. There are also hard copies on the Narthex shelf in church. Please pray for: Corey Goodwin, Andy, Carol Paige,Becky Hutchins, Chris, Laura, Jessie, Susan & Doran, Marc Daly & Mary Day, Angela Behrens, Mike Holt, Natalia, Erik Johnson, Ray Provencal, John Chiarella, Bill Huntoon, Al & Gail, Barbara Schwemm, Steve Gordon, Leni, Bettine Thomas, Nicole Wakeman, Deb & David, Kate Marshall, Reilly, Dick, Jan Hunt, Janet Benzie, Nate, Ellen Robertson, Russell Jacobs, Annie Feeley Kieffer, Lin Potter, Dawn Woolley, Pam Morland, Christina, Deb, Robert Murphy, Sarah, Debbie Knowles, Christine Taylor, Michael Prosperi, Carol Ryder, Martha Andreo, Fran Kenney, John Fuller, Cody, Kevin Bland & family, Tuckerman, Don & Dana, Christopher Baron & family. Pray for the repose of the soul of Dawn Rich and Susie Hanson. We remember with thanksgiving Steven Freitas, Randle Gillespie, Dora Y. Lee, John Ohler, Pat Dickson, Sally A Randall, Edgar Stone Miller, and Andrew Beckwith. Upcoming Events
St. Andrew's Virtual Choir: Best of 2020-2021 - Jack Barben is backpacking in the mountains of eastern Washington before taking up his new post on San Juan Island. Just before departing, Jack created a video playlist on our YouTube channel with new videography accompanying some of our virtual choir's most compelling music offerings. You can have a look any time HERE. Weekday Worship Monday Meditation resumes from 6:00 - 6:30 pm. A bit of music settles us, and a short reading or two leads into silent contemplation. Please spread the word. Our Thursday Eucharist of Healing and Wholeness has returned to St. Andrew's at 12 noon with the same protocols as Sunday worship. Everyone is welcome, and there is an opportunity to come forward to receive the laying on of hands and to be anointed with oil of healing. Midday Prayer will be offered at 12 noon in church on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Centered on a Psalm, a Gospel passage and shared silent prayer, this 20-minute service provides a wonderful oasis of prayer in the midst of the day's busyness. One of the pandemic's silver linings has been the wonderful community that has gathered on Zoom for Midday Prayer. This will continue on weekdays -- apart from Thursdays when everyone is encouraged to gather together for the Healing Eucharist in church. If you would like to participate, please email our Verger Anne Hall HERE for the Zoom link. KLS Community Food Pantry - For the month of November, St Andrew's is asked to give cereal. Our collection bucket has been moved inside the church on the hall table. Contribute to the Outreach Matching Fund - Because folks were so generous with their outreach donations, our Matching Fund is almost depleted. If you'd like to contribute to the Matching Fund, Jay would love to hear from you! Beware of Email Scams - Scammers sometimes create an email address to impersonate clergy and solicit funds from church members. These are known as "phishing scams." St. Andrew's and its staff will never send an email asking you to buy gift cards or to give personal financial information. There is nothing we can do to keep someone from creating an email address that looks similar to that of our staff. Jay uses two email addresses: jay@standrewsnl.org and jaymacleod@mac.com. He will not communicate with you via any other email addresses. Phishing emails often smell fishy. Asking for emergency funds while traveling is a standard ploy. If you think it's a scam... Do not open the email. If you've already opened it, do not click on anything. Scammers are often professional con artists who can play on the goodwill of the holiday season. Let's keep our hearts open to those in desperate need and keep giving to our trusted mission partners. St. Andrew's members can now make financial offerings online via our website. Alternatively, you can send a check to St. Andrew’s Church, PO Box 294, New London, NH 03257. Your continue financial support is very much appreciated. |