Advent at St. Augustine

The weeks before Christmas are the season of Advent, as we await the coming of Christ into the world at Christmas. Here are some activities we'll have this Advent Season.

Sunday, 12/1: Greening of the Church. Our annual "Decking of the Halls" includes greenery throughout the sanctuary, Narthex (entryway), and Parish Hall, along with the building of our Canned Good Christmas Tree, which is made from food items that we make a sign of through the season, then donate to local pantries in the winter month of January.

Reverse Advent Calendar: our Daughters of the King chapter is challenging us to "put something in each day" to an Advent container — watch for their separate announcement!

Sunday, 12/15: Lessons and Carols — COMBINED 9:30 SERVICE. As we near Christmas, this service involves readings from scripture and seasonal carol music to help prepare us for the arrival of Christmas.

Sunday, 12/15: Blue Christmas, 3:00 pm. The holiday season can be a time of really remembering loved ones who have died; the Blue Christmas service involves readings from scripture and other sources, and a chance to gather in support of loved ones and one another. We light vigil candles in memory of them. This can be a meaningful service to invite a friend to attend as they remember a loved one.

Sunday, 12/22: Festival of Preaching — COMBINED 9:30 SERVICE. This is an opportunity to hear brief reflections from all of our parish clergy on the Magnificat, Mary's song about the coming of Jesus into the world and the promise of a changed and just world to come. Mother Lisa Aguilar, Father Ben Varnum, Deacon Rebecca Smith, Deacon Dave Holmquist, Mother Ruth Tomlinson, and Father Bob Kem will each offer brief reflections.

Christmas Eve, Tuesday, 12/24:

• 3:00 Eucharist. Our Praise Band will lead carols as we celebrate Christmas Eve at 3 pm. This service will be streamed online for those who wish to join or view it later. These services include Christmas music, a Christmas sermon by Mother Lisa, and a chance to sing the Candlelit Carol, Silent Night.
• 10:30 Hymn Sing. As we gather before the late service, there is a chance to gather and sing from even more of our carols.
• 11:00 Late Night Mass. A Christmas tradition in many churches, this service of worship starts at 11 pm and takes us to midnight and the arrival of Christmas itself, with music on the organ and the singing of carols beforehand.

Sunday, 12/29 — Sunday worship at 8:30 and 10:30 am

Faces of Saint A's

Vestry is working on a social media project to connect visitors on our Facebook page with testimonials from our parish. We're calling it "faces of Saint A's" and want to share a picture and a short reflection from as many people as are willing to participate. We think that increasing visibility of the stories of people who attend Saint A's might encourage potential guests to envision themselves at our church. If they connect with a story or a face, they might imagine, "hey, maybe I can see myself there too!" 

We're planning to begin posting these in November in the spirit of thankfulness for our parish. The hope for this timing is that we might catch the attention of folks who are searching for where they might attend holiday services. 

Would you be willing to respond to this call with a photo and a short blurb that we can share online?

You can answer one of the following questions

1. Why did you start going to St. A's?
2. What do you enjoy most about St. A's?
3. What are you most thankful for about our parish? 

You only need to answer one question, and it can be as short as a couple of sentences or a bit longer if you're wordy like me. We're thinking 300 words or less. 

Thank you for being willing to share your story and perhaps even encourage someone who is looking for belonging to come check us out!  Please use the link below to email your story and photo!

Thanks,

Hannah Early -- Saint Augustine Vestry 

Join Us for a Reverse Advent Calendar to Benefit COPE

This year, the Daughters of the King invite you to celebrate Advent in a special way by participating in a Reverse Advent Calendar. Instead of receiving a daily treat for yourself, we encourage you to give back by donating much-needed items to COPE (Christian Outreach Program of Elkhorn), which supports our neighbors in need.

Here’s how it works:

Collect and Donate Items

Starting November 27, gather items each day and place them in a box or bag. Each week, we’ll focus on a different category of items that COPE needs the most:

• Nov. 27 - Dec. 4: Protein beans (e.g., garbanzo, pinto, kidney), canned meats (chicken, tuna, spam, sardines), and soups
• Dec. 5 - 11: Breakfast and baking items (cereal, pancake mix, syrup, canned fruit, jelly, baking mixes, oil, flour, sugar, spices, salt, and pepper)
• Dec. 12 - 18: Side dishes (noodle dishes, Hamburger Helper, rice bowls, mac and cheese, tomato products like diced tomatoes, sauce, and spaghetti sauce)
• Dec. 19 - 24: Condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayo, salad dressing, BBQ sauce), as well as personal care and home items (shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent, spray cleaner, etc.)

You can bring your collected items to church during the 12 Days of Christmas, leading up to our Epiphany celebration on January 5. If you can’t be here on January 5, feel free to bring your donations early!

Why Participate?

As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, this is a chance to show Christ’s love to others in our community. By participating in this Reverse Advent Calendar, we give thanks for our own blessings and help meet the essential needs of our neighbors.

Let’s fill our boxes and bags with love, hope, and generosity this Advent season. We look forward to celebrating Epiphany together as we deliver our donations to COPE in early January.

Special Collection for Dcember is the Canned Food Tree

Our Special Collection in December our Canned Food Drive. The canned goods tree provides for many of those in our community experiencing food insecurity. Be sure to stay today after the 10:30 service if you’d like to help put the tree together! The large cans are delivered to DEO (Downtown Episcopal Outreach) to serve with Wednesday lunches to the homeless, and small cans head to COPE (Christian Outreach Program of Elkhorn) to be chosen during pantry pick ups. Donations collected through December will go to purchase our cans next year, you may also mail in donations to the parish office with the Monthly Offering in the memo line through the 24th of December.

Our special collection in November brought in $509.00 for the Fricke Episcopal Community Ministry (formerly the Fricke Episcopal Food Ministry). A big Thank You to everyone!

Church Family Dinner

Wednesday, December 4 will include a Visit from St. Nicholas and a Christmas Feast!!

 For the Visit from St. Nicholas, we will provide turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy and rolls. Please bring a holiday side or dessert to share, or consider a good will offering. Please use the link below to add your name, and what you plan to bring so we don't have too many duplicates. We will also be having a special visit and short presentation from St. Nick, so be sure to bring family and friends to join in the fun!

Thanks to everyone who has pitched-in to help make the Church Family Dinners a success.  We have updated the sign-ups to include meals through the end of the calendar year. Please use  THIS LINK or the paper sheets in the Parish Hall to sign up to help during Wednesday Dinners. There are a variety of ways to volunteer. We love having new people join us to lend a hand! Please let us know if you have any questions about dinner or programming heading into the new year.

Church Family Dinner and programming will be on Christmas Break on December 25 & January 1. We will resume Wednesday night dinner and all programming January 8.

Christmas Wreaths & Flowers

Wreath Sales Success! The small profits generated by our holiday wreath sales this year generated a total donation of proceeds of $417 to Beyond Celiac for research and support. We're grateful that this annual tradition continues to both create cheerful welcomes to our homes and community, and supports ongoing care efforts in our world. Thanks to all who participated or helped organize this event!

Each year prior to Christmas, we ask for donations towards our Altar Flower Fund. This fund purchases the lovely greenery and flowers for the Christmas season as well as the flowers that adorn the altar throughout the year. Special envelopes are on the table in the narthex near the bulletins for you to use to remember loved ones or give thanks for your blessings. Please return these to the church office by December 18 so we have time to add the names of remembered loved ones or thanksgivings being celebrated to our Christmas Eve Bulletin.

Epiphany Pageant

Sunday, January 7 at 10:30 AM

We are thrilled to announce a heartwarming opportunity for families at St. Augustine of Canterbury to come together in joyful celebration during our no rehearsal pageant on Sunday, January 7, at the 10:30 service. This inclusive event warmly invites all children to embrace their creativity and imagination by stepping into the beloved roles of Mary, the Magi, shepherds, animals, angels, and more, while older youth will have the special opportunity to read. With only the readers speaking, all other participants will process to the front of the church, bringing to life the story. We encourage parents to confirm their child’s participation as soon as possible, to ensure they have a proper costume available that day. We look forward to celebrating this beautiful moment of worship together during the Christmas Season. For more information, or to sign your child up for a part, contact Mother Lisa.

Noon Bible Study December

Tuesdays at Noon

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Tuesday Bible Study! Many who attended voiced gratitude that it connected to our Sunday morning lectionary (the schedule of weekly readings).

December: In December Fr. Ben and Mthr. Lisa will lead a study of some of the songs of the Bible that are used in Advent. On December 3rd we’ll focus on the Old Testament songs and on the 10th we’ll focus on the New Testament songs.