Holy Eucharist. The Third Sunday of Advent December 14, 2014 Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday

Transcription

1 The Episcopal Church Welcomes You St. Paul s at Midweek All are welcome Whoever you are, and wherever you find yourself on your journey of Faith, we welcome you to our inclusive faith community. stpauls@stpaulsepiscopalbakersfield.org th Street, Bakersfield CA Friday, December 12, :30am Congregational Meeting this Sunday with Bishop David in Grace Hall This Sunday we welcome to our worship as Celebrant & Preacher the Rt. Rev. David Rice, Bishop, Diocese of San Joaquin. It is a joy and privilege to have Bishop David at St. Paul s Church. The Bishop is known for his energy, enthusiasm, and as an engaging preacher. Saint Paul s Episcopal Church, a part of the Anglican Communion The Third Sunday of Advent December 14, 2014 Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday 10am Holy Eucharist Confirmation, Reception and Reaffirmation Sunday School & Childcare Advent Dinners, Discussion,& Compline This year our Advent Dinners (not soup suppers: we're celebrating the advent, coming, of Christ) continue on Wednesdays, with the final one on December 17, 6-8pm, in Grace Hall. Childcare is provided. Adult education & discussion from 7-8 will center around short videos by The Rev. Chris Yaw on "Jesus was an Episcopalian." St. Paul s celebrates Christmas Join your friends on Saturday, December 20, first at 5pm when Ministerio Latino and St. Paul s Children s Ministry presents Las Posadas celebrating Mary and Joseph s search for lodging in Bethlehem. At 6pm we will continue with our annual Christmas Party in Grace Hall. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice On Sunday eight persons will be confirmed by Bishop David - Kaye Lynn Spotz, Maria Montoya, Jonathan Montaño, Alison Rose Montgomery Fischer, Jason Eric Fischer, Kamala Meadows, Darren Blackwood, Jason Michael Roeder, Jr. Two will be received by Reception - Barbara Jean Dumont and Amador Castro Alcazar. One will reaffirm her faith - Elaine Berg What is Confirmation? Here is a quick tutorial. Confirmation is a pastoral rite in The Episcopal Church. A person is a full member of the Church through Baptism. Confirmation, as defined in The Book of Common Prayer is "a mature public affirmation of faith and commitment to the responsibilities of Baptism." At Confirmation, an individual receives the laying on of hands by the bishop, thereby affirming their own faith and visibly connecting to the broader Body of Christ.

2 What is the difference between Confirmation, Reception and Reaffirmation? Reception is common for people who have been active throughout their lives in and who have made a public profession of faith by Confirmation in a faith tradition which honors apostolic succession such as the Roman Catholic Church or the Eastern Orthodox Churches will choose to be Received into The Episcopal Church. Reaffirmation means that you choose to re-state your commitment to Christ in The Episcopal Church, honoring your growth in faith throughout your spiritual journey. For many people, their path has wandered in and out of various denominations. Reaffirmation is a way to honor their journey and their previous public commitment as an adult while also making this definitive sacramental gesture. This Sunday s Service Celebrant & Preacher: The Rt. Rev. David Rice, Bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin Presider: The Rev. Dr. Tim Vivian, Priest-in-Charge Eucharistic Ministers: Marilyn Metzgar & David Clark Lectors: Barb Fleming & Stef Donev Altar Guild: Sara Chan & Jerry Pettiford, and Barb Fleming Verger: Philip Holt Crucifer: Hunter Ross Torches: Matthew Alcazar, Jason Roeder, Gwen Mangum & Jadelyn Ross Pianist: Jason Sliger Choir Director: Christopher Borges Greeters: Susan Barle & Becky Rule Ushers: Kaye & Donavan Spotz Diocesan Prayer Cycle - We pray for the work and ministry of the Diocese of Haiti and, in our Diocese, the congregation of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Madera; The Rev d Paul Colbert, Priest-in-Charge In the Communion of Saints and all holy men and women, we remember the week of December 14th: Mon, Dec 15 - John Horden, Bishop and Missionary in Canada, 1893 and Robert McDonald, Priest, 1913 Tue, Dec 16 - Ralph Adams Cram, 1942, and Richard Upjohn, 1878, Architects, and John LaFarge, Artist, 1910 Wed, Dec 17 - William Lloyd Garrison, 1879, and Maria Stewart, 1879, Prophetic Witnesses Fri, Dec 19 - Lillian Trasher, Missionary in Egypt, 1961 Readings for Sunday Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Psalm Thessalonians 5:16-24 John 1:6-8 Christmas Eve Candlelight and Carols Holy Eucharist, 5pm, December 24th Help decorate the church for Christmas. A donation of $10 will help provide for the purchase of Poinsettias. Contributions may be given to Jen or Heather. Between the Wednesdays at St. Paul s Saturday, December 13 11am Christmas Baking; Grace Kitchen 3pm Aches, Pains & Gains; the Forum Sunday, December 14 8am Coffee & Conversation; Dagny's Coffee, 20th & Eye 10am Holy Eucharist, Sunday School & Childcare 11:30am State of St. Paul s Congregational Meeting with Bishop David; Grace Hall 11:30am Holy Currencies Bake Sale 1-3pm Food Pantry Co-op; Grace Hall Stage 6pm Youth Group (EYF); Youth Room, led by Jason and Alison. Monday, December 15 6:30pm Bishop s Committee; the Forum Tuesday, December 16 6pm Choir Rehearsal; the Choir Room 6pm Bridge Club; Fireside Room Wednesday, December 17

3 10am Pre-School Christmas Party 6pm Advent Supper; Grace Hall CHURCH OFFICE HOURS... Monday-Friday from 9am to 1pm. The office phone is Rev. Deb's hours are Mon. & Wed am, Thurs. 9-11am, and Tues. 3-5pm at Dagny's Coffee House, 20th & Eye. Tim s Office hours are 10-1 on Fridays. For further information on all things St. Paul s, go to our website: ersfield.org/index.html OR St. Paul's Planner Condor Kickoff Tickets for the January 3rd Bakersfield Condors game are on sale at St. Paul's each Sunday in December. It is a fundraiser for the St Paul's Holy Currencies Ministry, helping the ministries of our church to become self sustaining! Tickets are $20 each for Executive Lower Level Seating. Depending on the amount of tickets sold we can earn from 10% up to 40% per the total amount of ticket money! This game is Welcome Mat night...a great reminder that All Are Welcome here at St Paul's! Tickets will make great stocking stuffers for Christmas or a great gift for that person we all know but never know what to give as his or her gift! There will be a ticket table in the courtyard or through any Holy Currencies member, Greg Glenn, Elaine Berg, Michael Truett-Virga, Hank Webb, Lori Toia, Arcie Toia and Amador Alcazar. Contact Elaine at elaineberghwy1@gmail.com or for more information. We also want to thank Ryan Lively of the Condors, who has become a friend to St Paul's and so far has secured a generous donation of canned food for our Food Pantry Co-op and various other upcoming donation plans to some of our other ministries like the Clothing Co-op and the Caring Closet. He and the Condor mascot were in the courtyard after church! Jason Roeder and Maria Toia, Jadelyn Ross, Gwen Mangum & Taylor Drake with Lil Cal, the mascot thanks to Elaine for the pictures Baking and Potluck Lunch This Saturday, Dec. 13, from 11am 'til 3pm come and join us in a fun day of baking cookies, breads, candy and fudge for those homemade treat trays and tins we all love to get from neighbors and friends during the Christmas holiday. Bring your favorite recipes, ingredients and your containers. (Some basic ingredients will be provided. Call or Elaine at elaineberghwy1@gmail.com or to get that list). Flour, eggs, butter and sugar will be provided for a $5 donation. We can bake just for ourselves or we can share with each other to expand the variety of our trays and tins. We welcome a dish to share for a potluck lunch but that's not required. Child bakers (appropriate age with parent supervision are welcome) and if you will need Childcare, please let us least 24 hours in advance. Feel free to come for the day or just drop in long enough to bake for an hour anytime between The day is hosted by Holy Currencies but IS NOT A FUNDRAISER! It's a chance to get your holiday baking started, enjoy conversation with friends and have a relaxed informal lunch.

4 Looking for a great Christmas gift idea? This year, St. Paul's is once again taking donations for Heifer International, a non-profit which works to end hunger and poverty worldwide. You can help to buy an irrigation pump for a farmer in Africa, help a woman launch a small business in Central America, or help but a water buffalo for a farmer in Thailand. And for that hard to buy for person on your list, you can do all or any of the things above in their name and send them a card letting them know how they have helped. There will be a table outside the church with information and order sheets December 14, and cards will be available to send to the people you buy for. Go to to see all the great things that become possible through a gift from Heifer. St. Paul's Caring Closet Needs You! --Stephanie and Alyssa Antongiovanni up Grace Hall, to sitting down with our Thanksgiving guests, to making phone calls, delivering meals, and braving the long lines for volunteers at Costco on Thanksgiving. Our folks stepped up to go above and beyond, taking extra deliveries, making extra trips to make sure every last person got the meal they needed, pushing mops into the wee hours at church, saving the day with a timely brown sugar delivery, peeling and slicing until you never wanted to see a yam again. It was a tremendous effort from all involved, and humbling to see how small a part we were in the efforts of a whole city to get our people fed. Bless you all. Rev. Deb Around 64,000 were fed this year. St. Paul's hosted Thanksgiving dinner for about 30 parishioners and friends. Ali Fisher provided photos. As the holidays approach more and more families are under stress, financially and spiritually. This is unfortunately when more children end up in foster care. This also places a financial burden on our foster parents who are busy planning Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations for their families and find themselves with extra children to clothe and care for. The Caring Closet Kern County has been blessed with a number of wonderful donations in the past few weeks from the UU Church and the Condors Teddy Bear Toss but we are still in need of new socks, underwear and diapers for all ages. We serve children from newborn to age 18. If you can help, please make sure you mark your donation "Caring Closet"! P.S. We can also use new unwrapped toys! Thank You! If can help or have questions, please contact Stephanie: antongiovanni_s@yahoo.com Caring Closet Hotline (661) Hi All, LOVE for Thanksgiving I wanted to give a huge THANK YOU to all whose efforts contributed to a tremendous Love for Thanksgiving, in which so many were fed. Numbers aren't final yet, but it's definitely more than the 40,000 plus from last year. We had a good crew here at church as well, with a beautifully set table and about 30 guests. So many contributed to preparing yams at the Yam Party on Monday, to cooking yams at home, to helping set

5 Kami Meadows Dec. 25 Gwen Mangum Dec. 29 Tony Antongiovanni Dec. 30 Anne Giddings Dec. 18, 1965 Dee & Jim Whitley Dec. 19, 1954 Phyllis & David Oliver Dec. 28, 1962 Let's Celebrate! Happy Birthday! Mustard Seed Library and Bookstore is open Sundays after the 10:00am service, Tuesday 11:30am to 1:00pm and Thursday, 10:00am to 1:00pm. Stop by and see Will, our Librarian! Shaolin Robinson Dec. 4 Patricia Puskarich Dec. 5 Andy Troup Dec. 7 Brooke Drake Dec. 9 Amanda Gaona Dec. 9 Robin Paggi Dec. 9 Poppy Stewart Dec. 9 Cathy Bader Dec. 10 John Eviston Dec. 12 D. J. McGuire Dec. 15 Eric Barle Dec. 17 David Oliver Dec. 19 Ojenaya Bailey Dec. 21 Larry Bentley Dec. 21 Cindy Sosa Dec. 21 Coby Eviston Dec. 23 St. Paul s Winter Book Group In January and February, our book group will read and discuss Sabbath as Resistance: Saying NO to the CULTURE OF NOW by Walter Brueggemann, one of America s preeminent scholars of the Hebrew Bible. You may read more about it and/or order it on Amazon.com: Now/dp/ Childcare will be provided if requested. Please send announcements, corrections and pictures to Melinda Hill at ms48hill@hotmail.com for Midweek at Saint Paul's Fr. Vern at vwmshill@gmail.com for the weekly bulletin Lori Toia at ltoia867@yahoo.com for the website. thanks, Barb!