The Beacon The Newsletter of St. Andrew s Episcopal Church, Florence, Oregon December 2016 Inspirational Christmas Story: The Gold Wrapping Paper also was concerned about where she had gotten money to buy what was in the shoebox. Nevertheless, the next morning the little girl, filled with excitement, brought the gift box to her father and said, "This is for you, Daddy!" As he opened the box, the father was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, now regretting how he had punished her. But when he opened the shoebox, he found it was empty and again his anger flared. "Don't you know, young lady," he said harshly, "when you give someone a present, there's supposed to be something inside the package!" The little girl looked up at him with sad tears rolling from her eyes and whispered: "Daddy, it's not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was all full." Dear friends, Whether or not the following inspirational short Christmas story is true, it's a wonderfully inspiring story for people of any faith. In this season of love, may we all remember the beautiful love of a small child. Have a meaningful and love-filled Christmas season and new year ahead. May your days be filled with love, joy, growth, and inspiration. The Gold Wrapping Paper Once upon a time, there was a man who worked very hard just to keep food on the table for his family. This particular year a few days before Christmas, he punished his little five-year-old daughter after learning that she had used up the family's only roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. The father was crushed. He fell on his knees and put his arms around his precious little girl. He begged her to forgive him for his unnecessary anger. An accident took the life of the child only a short time later. It is told that the father kept this little gold box by his bed for all the years of his life. Whenever he was discouraged or faced difficult problems, he would open the box, take out an imaginary kiss, and remember the love of this beautiful child who had put it there. In a very real sense, each of us has been given an invisible golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends and God. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold. As money was tight, he became even more upset when on Christmas Eve he saw that the child had used all of the expensive gold paper to decorate one shoebox she had put under the Christmas tree. He
The Beacon The Newsletter of St. Andrew s Episcopal Church, Florence, Oregon December, 2016 page 4 From Deacon Steve... An Anglican Moment Aspects of Advent Advent is the first season of the church year, beginning with the fourth Sunday before Christmas and continuing through the day before Christmas. The name is derived from a Latin word for "coming." This season is a time of preparation and expectation for the coming celebration of our Lord's nativity, and for the final coming of Christ "in power and glory." The Advent Festival of Lessons and Music is a service held during the pre-christmas Advent season in which the reading of the scriptural history of salvation from the creation to the coming of Christ is interspersed with the singing of the great music of the season, including but not limited to carols. The most popular forms of service are those based loosely on that used on Christmas Eve at King's College, Cambridge. A traditional form of service is included in the Book of Occasional Services (BOS). The Advent Wreath is a circle of greenery, marked by four candles that represent the four Sundays of the season of Advent. An additional candle is lit as each new Sunday is celebrated in Advent. Advent wreaths are used both in churches and in homes for devotional purposes. The candles may be blue, purple, or lavender, depending on local custom. Some Advent wreaths include a white candle in the center known as the "Christ Candle," which is lit on Christmas Eve. Source: An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, Don. S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, Eds....Deacon Steve+ PRAYER REQUESTS From the Letter of James The Message translation Chapter 5 Prayer to Be Reckoned With Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you ve sinned, you ll be forgiven healed inside and out. Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. +++ The women in Lighthouse Chapter of the Order of the Daughters of the King have taken a vow of prayer, and commit to carrying this out in the congregation of St. Andrew s in a variety of ways: Prayer request cards are in each pew. They may be filled out and placed in the offertory plates or handed to a chapter member (see below). These requests will be placed on the Altar Prayer List and remain for a month, unless notified otherwise. These are included in all worship services. Deacon Steve is in charge of the Prayer Chain, and accepts requests via phone, in person, via email. These lists are updated continually, and are confidential. Healing Services are held on the first Wednesday of each month, at the 11:00 service. You are invited to receive anointing - for yourself or on behalf of others. Prayer Teams will meet you near the Altar Rail at the close of worship services for specific requests at the time. +++ +++ +++ Lighthouse Chapter Members: Lucene Pike - 541-997-2393 - lucenemp@charter.net (President) Betty Leach - 541-946-8420 - willieleach1@gmail.com (Secretary/Treasurer) Marilyn Fennell - 541-991-7047 - marilynkf@charter.net Lynn Woodworth -541-997-1022 - lwoodwor33@gmail.com Deb Nichols - 541-707-0131 - deb.nichols@frontier.com Jody Manchester - 541-662-0616 - jody.manchester@gmail.com
The Beacon The Newsletter of St. Andrew s Episcopal Church, Florence, Oregon December, 2016 Page 3 "PIES PLUS SALE Our Second Annual Pie Sale was a most successful event. We sold all the pies, John Evanow's beautiful Christmas swags, as well as many items made for the sale by members of the Craft Guild and Church congregation; also, John E's lovely woven wall hanging was a raffle item. Our Guild met on Friday, November 18, to discuss dispersal of funds, which is as follows: Good Samaritan Fund - $500 Table Fund - $150 ECW - $100 Flower Fund - $100 Free Lunch Program - $100 Outreach Committee - $100 Advertising (for 2017 Annual Sale) - $100 Thanks to everyone for their support. The Craft Guild will start up again in January 2017, 9 am to 12 noon. Come join us - see you then. Betty Leach and Elenor Sullivan OUTREACH COMMITTEE If you have questions or suggestions please let us know. Jan and Paul Hirsch 541-590-3146 Judy Cook 541-902-0217 Kathy Lenox 541-997-0375 Pat and Bill McArdle 541-590-3457 Members of the Health Ministry Team: Joan Hayes 541-997-4862 Maggie Doud 541-997-1990 Mary Elles 541-997-8346 Terri Pennington 541-999-2400 Lucene Pike-Etzold 541-997-2393 Sarah Hawkins 541-997-9265 COMMUNITY CHORUS OF FLORENCE CHRISTMAS MEMORIES Saturday, Dec. 10th at 7:00 pm Sunday, Dec. 11th at 2:00 pm FREE ADMISSION/ DONATIONS ACCEPTED Handbell Choir, Siuslaw Middle School Choir Florence Nightingales Good News Helping Hands Coalition has a new home. They will start serving lunch on December 2nd in the old Florence hospital on 12th Street. THE BEACON is the monthly newsletter of St. Andrew s Episcopal Church P.O. Box 15 2135 19th St. Florence, OR 97439 541-997-6600 Bishop s Advisory Committee Ted Hawkins, Senior Warden 541-999-9258 Robin Sullivan, Junior Warden 541-902-7831 Ann Evanow, 541-997 -6051 Terri Pennington, 541-999-2400 Pat McArdle, 541-590-3457 Mary Elles, 541-997-8346 Steve Skidmore, Treasurer, 541-902-0627 Lynn Woodworth, Clerk,541-997-1022 E-Mail: standrewsflo@gmail.com Web Site: www.standrewsflorence.org
The Beacon The Newsletter of St. Andrew s Episcopal Church, Florence, Oregon December, 2016 page 4 Minutes of St. Andrew s Outreach Committee November 15 th, 2016 Attendance: Pat and Bill McArdle, Kathy Lenox, Judy Cook and Paul and Jan Hirsch The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as written. Financial Report: Balance in outreach account is $2030.68. December distributions will include $300 to Helping Hands, $100 to SOS and $300 to Mapleton Shalom for first quarter, 2017 distributions. Also pending is money needed to complete the Christmas Gift Bags. Pennies to Prosperity, ERD: Kathy reported that a total of $8,854 from 16 churches out of 71 was received at the 2016 convention in Eugene. St. Andrew s gave $662.04. Food Share Report: 90 loaves of bread were given in November and 404 pounds of food in October. FECWS: Since the departure of Bob DuBose, Pastor Greg Wood, Presbyterian Church of the Siuslaw, and Rev. Carol Thompson, United Methodist Church, will serve as president and vice president respectively. Community Dinners: Dinners will be served at the United Methodist Church on Wednesday nights, November 30 th, December 7 th and 14 th from 5:30 to 6:30. All are welcome. Christmas Gift Bags: Pat and Jan will meet at 1:30 on Friday, Dec. 2 nd to start filling gift bags. Outreach Budget Request for 2017: (action): Paul made a motion that the outreach committee request $3200 from the St. Andrew s 2017 Budget to continue the quarterly donations: $100 to SOS, $300 to Helping Hands, $300 to Mapleton Shalom and a reinstatement of $100 to FECWS. Motion passed 6-0. Certification of Kitchen: Bill has made several inquiries regarding certification of the church kitchen. He has a form to submit to Lane County. Liaison to ERD: Since Bob DuBose, our past r epr esentative to the diocese, has moved away, it is important that this position be filled. Kathy Lenox will submit an item to the Beacon regarding this. Episcopal Assets Map: Kathy Lenox explained this map and suggests that BAC members consider learning about this helpful tool. National Homeless Person s Memorial Day: This is on December 21 st, the shortest day of the year. More discussion is needed to have an effective response. Christmas Tree: Paul will ask Willie to help put up the tree. Quarterly Donations: Paul and Bill will go to Shalom (they need a hug), Jan to Helping Hands and Kathy to SOS. Since our focus is to package the Christmas gifts, no meeting is planned at this time. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned with prayer. Respectively Submitted, Jan Hirsch To my St. Andrew s Family: Let me just say that I had an incredible and memorable time on my bucket list trip to Graceland, Nashville and Tupelo Mississippi with my niece, daughter and granddaughter-in law. This had been a trip I had wanted to do for over thirty years. It far exceeded my expectations! We had many adventures both planned and unplanned. AND we ate our way through two states. They really know how to eat in the south. When I told my family that I only had one item on my bucket list and now it was filled they sort of panicked! So now I have to think of something else! Maybe another trip to Graceland! Or the French Riviera! Hmmmm! Any suggestions? I want to thank you for the time off and the unexpected gift I received when I came back to work! And thank you Judy Cook for covering for me. This truly is a warm and generous church and I have enjoyed working here these last 15 years and hope to continue for another 15. As Elvis would say Thank you, thank you very much! With much affection and appreciation. Claudia Beginning January, 2017, the new office hours will be Tuesday thru Thursday 9:00 12:00.
The Beacon The Newsletter of St. Andrew s Episcopal Church, Florence, Oregon Outreach Committee Christmas Gift Bags Socks, Socks, Socks for adults and kids Candy Warm Things Flashlites Toiletries Christmas Cards ETC. December, 2016 Page 3 Poinsettias This is the time of year to plan for placing poinsettias on the altar. Making a donation to the flower fund can be done by writing 'flower fund' on the item line on your check and placing it in the offering plate. All donations are gratefully received and will be specifically used for the altar flowers. Thank you. National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day December 21, 2016 This day, the shortest day of the year, serves as a memorial to those who perished while homeless. WANTED: REPRESENTATION TO EPISCOPAL RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT On December 21, 2016, please join others in remembering those who lost a life because they didn't have a home. Are you interested in keeping your congregation informed about what is happening around the world? The Diocese of Oregon needs a representative who is willing to be the go to person for ERD for our church. Please notify the Outreach Committee of your interest. (This past year we were part of the Pennies to Prosperity outreach program which will help create economic stability in various parts of the world. ERD also stepped in to help communities after Hurricane Matthew in 2016.) The Egan Warming Centers in Eugene are named in honor of Major Thomas Egan, a Eugene resident who froze to death during a cold spell in Eugene.
The Beacon The Newsletter of St. Andrew s Episcopal Church, Florence, Oregon December, 2016 Page 6 MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!! December 4 Bread Sunday December 11 Green Bag Day December 13 1:30 Liturgy Working Group December 19 2:30 - BAC Meeting December 24 8:00 Christmas Eve Service December 25 10:00 Christmas Day Service (one service) Wed. December 7th and 14th 5:30-6:30 Community Dinner at Methodist Church Mondays 11:00 Trialogue Tuesdays 8:20 Morning Prayer Musicians meet every Friday 1:30-4 St. Andrew s Episcopal Church P.O. Box 15 Florence, OR 97439