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Picture
of the week
Angel Tree items on their way to The Root Cellar.
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9:30am -
Holy Eucharist
Rite II
Monday
5:00 pm -
Centering Prayer
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Meetings & Events
12/11 Health Chat
12/12 2nd Monday Lunch
12/12 Deadline for flower memorial donations
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Advent Reading has begun!
Are you using your advent reader?
NOW Available
in Bonoff Hall
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REMINDER
Please respect the disabled parking spaces at the church.
Thank you.
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2016 Christmas Pageant Schedule
Sunday: Right after 9:30am service
- Full cast music rehearsal
Dec. 11
Full Cast Rehearsals:
Tuesday Dec. 13, 4:30-5:45pm
Saturday Dec. 17, Dress Rehearsal,10am- noon. Followed by Pizza Party at noon!
Christmas Pageant December 18th at 9:30am service!
Cast should arrive between 8:45 and 9am.
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Children & Youth Liturgical Leadership During Advent!
The four Sundays of Advent are an opportunity for youth to shape the beauty of our worship services. Each week one Wreath Lighter lights a candle and read a prayer to open the service and then rejoins their Sunday School class (These should be 1st graders & up), and two Torchbearers carry the torches throughout the service (3rd grade & up).
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Children's & Youth
programs on Sunday during 9:30 worship.
Come check'em out!
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Health Chat with Paul Miller ... December 11
How to get through the holidays
with less stress and more Spirit
Our time together will include space for reflection on your own journey in the last year. With the reflections we will look at the way we can transform places of stress into places of growth. We will be doing this in the context of the spiritual journey of each participant. In our time together I am hoping we go from identifying stress to finding a peaceful center that becomes a place of hope to live out of.
After the 9:30 Service / meeting upstairs
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Breathe. Exhale. Repeat: The Benefits of Controlled Breathing..to read more
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ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS
at
St. Alban's
 You are invited to experience Sundays in Advent as we prepare for the coming of Christ in our lives.
Each Sunday will include rich and welcoming worship during morning Eucharist services and at Celtic Eventide at 5:30 pm.
For more information
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You are invited ...
CHRISTMAS AT THE RECTORY
December 11th at 6:30
Dear Friends - Please join James and me at the Rectory to celebrate the season, sing carols, and enjoy good food and fellowship. Please bring a small plate of sweets or savories.
All are invited, including children of all ages.
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Celebrations of Advent Giving!
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The Angel Tree is Bright!
Small
 red cards, each with a name and a few words, flowed away from the Angel Tree last week. And then, like the miracle of the loaves and fishes, a sea of bright and beautiful gifts flowed in! Now they are off to
The Root Cellar as the flow of blessings continues.
To see where all our gifts go and what they mean to local families,
check out this video from the Portland Press Herald.
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St. Elizabeth's Jubilee Center Overfloweth!
Jesus says in
John 15 that those connected to the true vine bear good fruit, and that their joy will complete. This note from Jubilee participant Marjorie Vaughn bears witness to some of our own great and joyful fruit!
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The Flower Guild will be
"Decking The Halls"
of St. Alban's
for Christmas
December 17th at 12 NOON
Please RSVP by 12/11 to Susan Betz
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DECEMBER 12TH
St. Alban's invites you to a special
Second Monday Lunch
An opportunity to gather with friends for fellowship and a bit of learning.
On the 2nd Mondays of the month, the clergy along with Liz Davy, will host a soup and bring-your-own-sandwich lunch followed by a fruitful discussion on varied topics.
We would love to have you join us for one of these gatherings to touch base with your St. Alban's friends.
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SOUP KITICHEN DECEMBER 10TH
Our next turn to serve lunc
 h at the Soup Kitchen will be on
December 10th.
At this, our last lunch of 2016, I want to thank everyone who volunteered their Saturdays to help this
year --- to those who came for every lunch and those who came a few times --- I appreciate the efforts of
each one of you. Sometimes, I didn't know how we would manage to do everything with a small group,
but .... almost magically ... people would unexpectedly arrive at the kitchen and everything would work out
and work very well.
Thank you to the middle school youth and their teachers who have joined us for the past two months. I hope
they have found it to be a satisfying experience and will continue to join us in 2017.
Come to the Preble Street Resource Center, 252 Oxford Street, Portland.
Cooks at 10 a.m.
Servers at 11:15 a.m.
Cleanup at 11:30 a.m.
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Submit your Christmas Flower Memorial Names
On Christmas Eve, the church is lovingly and beautifully adorned with seasonal greens and flowers. These flowers are given to the glory of God, and in memory of those we have lost but s
till hold dear. You are invited to honor friends and loved ones by making a donation for Christmas altar flowers in in their names. The names of your loved ones will be listed in the Christmas Eve bulletins. Flower memorial envelopes can be found at on table in Bonoff Hall. Place your donation and the names of those you wish to memorialize in an
envelope and place it in a collection plate or return it to the parish office by December 12th.
Flower Guild will be decorating church on Dec. 17th at noon all are invited.
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Have you made your pledge yet?
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We are off to a great start! 174 families have made pledges, with 20 brand new pledges and one third increasing from their 2016 levels.
If you have not made your confidential pledge for 2017, you can by clicking here
or by your bringing pledge card on Sunday
or mailing it to the parish office.
We are three-quarters of the way toward what we expect to need to fund next year's budget. Since our annual budget is built entirely on the pledges of our parish family, the remaining one quarter is critical to achieve. In addition to financial commitments, 44 families have pledged their time and talents to the many ministries which comprise the work of our parish.
These pledges clearly tell us that St. Alban's matters in your lives. see more
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In Advent, we Christians dream along with the ancient Hebrews. They dreamed of a savior (messiah) for 500 years before Jesus arrived. Is it possible that, in the largest sense, dreams foreshadow the development of human consciousness? The baby Jesus brought to the world a new consciousness, one where love conquers fear and suffering can be seen as redeeming.
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Here's a rich experience for those who would like a calm, candle-lit way to start their week. Celtic Eventide is held every Sunday at 5:30pm at St. Alban's Episcopal Church. Come for the quiet; come for the music. Come.
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