✥ The Call for December 18, 2025 ✥

Bob, Brian, Carol, Charlie, Chuck, Dick, Don, Esley, Jane, Jerry, Jim, Jodi, Joyce, Karen, Kristen, Lyra, Margaret Lee, Margaret, Marvin, Mary, Nancy, Patt, Robin, Shawn, Sylvia, Terry, Theresa, Tom, and Wade

To add someone to the Parish Prayer List, please contact the office. To add someone to the Daughters of the King prayer list, please e-mail dok@standrewsgreenville.org There is also wooden box in the Narthex where you can fill out prayer cards.

The Daughters will add your names to their prayers.

Forward Day by Day

The Daily Office

Birthdays

12/1 Cooper Banks

12/4 Wade Owens

12/5 Ellen Mays

12/5 Mary Lou Merkt

12/5 David Tolzmann

12/6 Tracey Welborn

12/7 Leona Muhleman

12/7 Shawn Simpkins-Arganbright

12/7 Tyler Proctor

12/7 Nicholas Seminoff

12/8 Eliza Brooks

12/9 Marla Thorburn

12/12 Kevin Connaughton

12/14 Caroline Brooks

12/14 Mike Fitzsimmons

12/15 Roger Davis

12/16 Liam Boswell

12/16 Roberta Putman

12/18 Lamar Lehman

12/19 Banks Gregory

12/19 Gary Shamlin

12/20 Ruben Sogomonian

12/23 Deirdre Young

12/26 Michael Comer

12/26 Richard Hall

12/27 Lendy Rhodes

12/28 Bennett Cochrane

12/28 Doug Montjoy

12/28 Ellie Hall

12/29 Ethan Cashwell

12/29 Dennis Crenshaw

12/30 Lillian Lever

12/31 Maggy Hinds

12/31 Liam Rhodes

Announcements

Christmas at Saint Andrew's

Wednesday, December 24

The Eve of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

- 4:00 PM Creche & Carols Family Service, Rite II

- 10:30 PM Sacred Music

- 11:00 PM Solemn High Mass, Rite I

Thursday, December 25

The Nativity of our Lord Jesus

- 12:00 Noon Low Mass, Rite I

Election of 2026 Parish Officers

We are pleased to announce that, at this past Sunday’s vestry meeting, Leigh Randall was re-elected Senior Warden, Annette Geraghty was elected Junior Warden, and Anne Culbreath was elected Clerk. Stephen Fairley was elected to a one-year term as Finance Committee Chair, and Jamie Hinds was elected to another one-year term as Treasurer. Rusty Infinger, Ellen Mays, and Lendy Rhodes began their service as new vestry members. We are so thankful for all of their willingness to serve. We also want to express our gratitude to our three outgoing members, Phil Buck, Lee Gray, and Jenny Peer!

Christmas and New Years Schedule Adjustments:

Changes in Weekly Parish Offerings:

No 5:30 PM Healing Mass on Christmas Eve (12/24)
No 8:30 AM Morning Prayer on Christmas Day or New Years Day (12/25 & 1/1)
No Catechesis of the Good Shepherd on December 28

Parish Office Christmas Season Schedule:

Closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
Regular Hours (9 AM to 2 PM) with Staff on 12/24 & 12/26
Limited Hours (9 AM to 1 PM) with Volunteers on 12/30 and 12/31
Regular Hours (9 AM to 2 PM, Tuesday-Friday) with Staff resume again on 1/2

QT Gift Card Collection for Feed Thy Neighbor | Ends Tomorrow

As Mission & Outreach continues to collect desperately needed food items for United Ministries, our Episcopal Church Women (ECW) are again supporting Feed Thy Neighbor by collecting QT gift cards, with a goal of 100 individual $5 QT gift cards, to be distributed to our FTN guests this Saturday, 12/20. Gift cards may be dropped off at the Parish Office. Monetary donations for the purchase of gift cards are also welcome.

Ordo Kalendars

The 2025 Ordo Kalendars are available in the Parish Office for $5 each. Reserve yours today by emailing office@standrewsgreenville.org or calling 864-235-5884.

Year End Giving to Saint Andrew’s

As you wrap up your charitable giving for the calendar year 2025, please consider a year-end gift to Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church. You may record a one-time online gift via the “Donate” link found on our website. You can also make a 2024 tax year donation by placing it in the offering plate today, by sending it by U.S. mail with a 2025 postmark, or by hand-delivering it to the parish office before the end of the year. (If the office is closed, you may place an envelope in the mailbox on Markley Street.)

2025 Advent Resources

We wanted to provide you with a few meaningful resources for the Advent season and beyond! Here is a brief description of some resources -- with links below

Advent Toolkit: Episcopal Relief provides this resources for families and communities with which you can create, learn and pray through DIY projects. This toolkit will take you from Advent to Christmas and through Epiphany. You will find: DIY wreath ideas with prayers and reflections, DIY creche ideas and information about St. Nicholas.

Episcopal Advent and Christmas Resources: The Episcopal Church wants to help congregations share the good news with each other and your neighborhoods, especially this Advent and Christmas. Find the Episcopal Church's free resources based on invitation, the Way of Love, racial reconciliation, faith formation, and more below.

Advent World: In addition to providing an Advent calendar, Advent World, which is a resource provided by Forward Movement, also shares daily prompt words, images, and meditations during this season.

Advent Toolkit

Episcopal Advent and Christmas Resources

Advent World

Second Sunday of Christmas | January 4 | Guest Preacher, Andrew Raines

We are delighted that Andrew Raines, who is our Candidate for Ordination, will be back with us on January 4 as our guest preacher. Andrew is currently doing doctoral studies at Oxford but will be briefly back in South Carolina later this month to celebrate the season with family.

Saint Andrew’s Book Club | Sunday, January 4 | 1 PM | Parish Hall

We will discuss On Beauty by Zadie Smith. Readers are asked to bring a book for future meeting consideration. All are welcome. Please RSVP to Kay Friddle.

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The Feast of the Epiphany | Sung High Mass with Blessing of the Chalk | Tuesday, January 6 | 6:30 PM

The Feast of Epiphany, one of the Principal Feasts of the Church Year, is when we remember the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child. At our evening mass, we will include the Blessing of the Chalk, an Epiphany tradition.

The Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord (Baptismal Opportunity) | Sunday, January 11

On January 11, we will celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, where we remember Our Lord’s baptism by John in the River Jordan. Anyone desiring to be baptized or to have a child baptized, please speak with or e-mail Fr. Gary.

An Invitation to Join the Just Faith Study Group - A New Parish Offering Introductory Session on Sunday, January 11 | 12:30 PM | Parish Hall Library

As conversations continue in our congregation regarding weighty matters that rightly feel too large for any of us individually to handle — wars and disasters, polarization, increase in Greenville’s homelessness, lack of food for our neighbors and more, many of us are drawn to the heartfelt question: “As Christians, what do we do? Can we do anything that really matters?”

So, with Father Gary’s encouragement, we have committed to launch and lead a study group beginning to address these questions using the Just Faith Ministries curriculum: "Through the Wilderness: Healing for a Weary World.” According to its mission statement Just Faith seeks to create "transformative programs that inspire action to address the root causes of injustice while serving with love.” Moreover, at Saint Andrew’s, in our Statement of Core Values, we have recognized that, "as a parish in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, our commitment to social justice should be as central to our identity as our commitment to ancient practices of worship.”

The purpose of the group will be to share concerns, information, and to learn more around the larger picture of social justice in and around Greenville. Our first gathering will be on Sunday, January 11 at 12:30 in the Parish Hall library. (If anyone who wants to attend has difficulty with the stairs, please let us know, and we will evaluate other options for meeting.) This first meeting will provide a simple overview of the curriculum and a warm welcome to further get to know one another.

The course lasts four sessions and the cadence of the schedule (weekly, bi-weekly etc. ) will be decided during our first conversation. And from there, who knows where our learnings and our prayers will lead us? Regardless, we believe we must start somewhere.

If you are the least bit interested in learning more, please join us on Sunday, January 11 at 12:30 and RSVP online or by e-mailing Jenny Peer or myself (Anne Kaiser) — so that we can have enough goodies for all. You are also welcome to email either of us with questions.

Blessings to all,

Anne Kaiser, Team Leader for GOAL Justice

Jenny Peer, Co-Chair of the Mission & Outreach Committee

RSVP for "Just Faith"

Clergy-Led Bible Study of Matthew’s Gospel | Starting January 13 | Tuesdays | 4 PM

For the past year, our Bible study worked our way through Genesis, the first book of Old Testament, and, next year, we will turn to the first book of the New Testament, Matthew’s Gospel. This focus is especially appropriate given that, over the course of this church year, our Sunday Gospel readings will be primarily from Matthew’s Gospel, which has been described by scholars as “a training manual for disciples.” Fr. Gary will be leading this study once again, and we will start on Tuesday, January 13. If you have not previously signed up for the weekly Bible study, please do so in order to receive the weekly reminders and handouts via e-mail. We look forward to reflecting together on the essential training that Matthew provides!

RSVP Online

New Saint Andrew’s Parish Directory Available

The 125th Anniversary Edition of Saint Andrew’s Parish Directory now available. You can pick up one per household from the Parish Office.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for 3-to-9-Year- Olds | Continues This Sunday | 9:30 AM | The Atrium (upstairs in the Parish Hall)

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd — an approach to Christian formation that builds upon Montessori methods of learning — continues each week. Please note that we will not meet Sunday, December 28.

Coffee Hour

Volunteers Needed!

Please consider volunteering to assist with refreshments and set up for our coffee hour fellowship following the 10:30 AM Mass. A sign up sheet can be found on the “Welcome” bulletin board in the Parish Hall or online at the link below.

Link to Coffee Hour Sign Up Page

UPDATED: Parking at Saint Andrew's

For detailed parking instructions, click here.

***PLEASE NOTE - West End Baptist Church, which owns the parking lot around Saint Andrew's, has reduced the parking lot area available on Sundays to the area closer to South Main Street--with the back part of the parking lot (against Rhett Street) no longer available. As a result, please enter the parking lot via South Main Street. The map linked below has been updated to reflect that change.***

Note: You need a parking decal to park in the designated lots. They can be found on the shelf to the left of the doors as you exit the church.

Sunday Altar Flower and Presence Candle Dedications

On Sundays, we have the opportunity to offer a special dedication of the altar flowers or presence candle in honor, memory, or celebration of loved ones. The cost to the church for altar flowers is now $100 per Sunday, so we are suggesting that donations for dedicating altar flowers be in the range of $50 to $100 to help us cover those costs. The suggested donation for a presence candle dedication is $10.

If you would like to sign up for a Sunday, please see the sign up sheet on the bulletin in the Parish Hall or click on the button below. You may place a check in the offering plate with "Altar Flowers" or "Presence Candle" noted in the memo.

We will continue to only have Altar Flowers if someone has signed up and paid for the arrangements. As a result, we will need to know by the Tuesday prior to the upcoming Sunday if you would like to sign up.

Also note that, during the upcoming penitential Season of Advent, we will only have flowers on the altar on the Third Sunday ("Gaudete Sunday").

Altar Flowers & Presence Candle Dedications

Parishioner Postings

Complete the Survey Here

Invitation to Submit Future Parishioner Postings ...

If you have news of important milestones or work that you would like to share with the parish, please let us know!

News from the Wider Church

and from Our Ministry Partners

Urgent Need From Project Host...

December 2025 Newsletter

LETTER FROM THE CEO Dear Project Host Friends and Supporters, As we step into the holiday season, and celebrate Giving Tuesday, we want to express our deepest gratitude for everything you've helped make possible this year.

From Our Diocese...

Notes Along the Way | Advent Is A Quiet New Beginning

We hold that God loves the world and gives us time to become who we were meant to be. puts it this way: "For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay."

Living the Reign | Your Diocesan Newsletter

Episcopal Cursillo Ministry Committee (ECMC) at the national conference in St. Louis recently. Scotty+ was appointed as National Spiritual Director for ECMC and will consult with the Episcopal Cursillo Leaders Workshop Committee. Janet was elected as Secretary, and is part of the Leadership and Communications Teams.

Service Opportunities

Altar Guild Volunteers Needed

The Altar Guild is currently looking for people who may be interested in serving with them. If you are interested, or have questions, please reach out to Doug Barrett.

Choir | Rehearsal on Sundays at 9:30 AM

We are always seeking additional volunteers for the Saint Andrew’s choir, which currently gathers on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM (and not on Wednesday evenings) to prepare the music for the 10:30 mass. This more limited time commitment provides an excellent opportunity for prospective new members to “try us out.” If you have questions, contact the Parish Office—or just show up on Sunday morning!

Volunteers Needed

Feed Thy Neighbor

Founded in 2010, Feed Thy Neighbor is a cooperative effort of the Episcopal community in Greenville. Parish volunteers from Saint Andrew’s, St. Peter’s, St. James, and Christ Church feed the hungry each Saturday from 7:30 to 8:30 AM. We are seeking volunteers to help serve and clean up. Please contact the office if you would like to volunteer: office@standrewsgreenville.org.