Wednesday Night Schedule - Chrismon Service!

As we approach Advent, our Wednesday Night schedule will come to a conclusion for the year. We will have one more regularly scheduled Wednesday evening prior to Thanksgiving week (Nov. 20). We will take Thanksgiving week off (Nov. 27) and then will return for one final Wednesday night on Dec. 4 for our annual Christmas Eve dinner and Chrismon Service. (Our kids ministry will be leading us that evening in worship!)



So in short:

Nov. 20 – Regularly scheduled Wednesday Night programming

Nov. 27 - No programming for Thanksgiving

Dec. 4 – Christmas Eve Dinner & Chrismon Service in Patterson

For the next two weeks we will be having our annual Thanksgiving Offering that contributes to the expansion fund for MissionRVA (our local missions initiative). For those unfamiliar with this offering, it essentially enables MissionRVA to fund and participate in other initiatives outside of their annual budget.  

This Sunday during our “Minute for Mission,” we will be sharing about the amazing opportunity we have sensed the Lord inviting us into this year. We want to continue stepping into the legacy of St. Giles as a missional presence in the city of Richmond to bring other parachurch and church leaders together to strengthen the legacy of the body of Jesus Christ here in Richmond. The Lord is already moving in this and we are excited to share more during both worship services on Sunday morning!

Richmond Brass & Percussion Consort Christmas Concert – FREE

On Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 7:00pm we are excited to welcome back to St. Giles the Richmond Brass and Percussion Consort for their annual Christmas Concert. This is an incredible group of musicians from the region that always put together a wonderful evening of Christmas tunes.

This concert is free of charge, however, they will be taking up food donations for the central Virginia Food Bank, Feed More. Make sure to invite a friend to this family friendly concert!

Why Do We...2.0 - A Call for Responses

St. Giles, we need your help! Last year we did a fun sermon series titled, “Why Do We…,” with the goal of asking challenging and clarifying questions of our faith. The questions primarily came from responses given by the congregation, and we definitely had more responses than we could have dealt with in that single series.

Well to start the 2025 year, we are going to do a second version of this, and I am asking you once again: what are some questions you have of our faith? These can be anything from “Why do we do a certain practice?” to “What do we believe about a certain idea?” They can be tough theological questions to cultural engagement questions.

My conviction for this series is that I believe, now more than ever, we need to be able to ask tough questions of our faith. Asking tough questions not only strengthens our faith, but it also encourages us, and the generations coming behind us, in how to approach them. That said, this is open to questions from children and youth as well.

How to respond

To respond, simply CLICK HERE to submit your question or suggestion. (Feel free to give more than one.) The final date to submit questions is Wednesday, Nov. 27. If you have any clarifying questions in the meantime, you can email Josh at josh@stgiles.org.

(Note: Thanks to those of you who gave such great responses the first week!)

This Advent we will be having our Christmas Cantata as part of our Advent worship on Sunday morning. Our own Angelo Galarza has hand-picked specific arrangements and assembled a cantata for our Community Choir to sing this year. In order to get a grasp of all the music, we are going to be having a few simple weekly rehearsals on Sundays, right after worship. We encourage everyone who would like to participate to stick around for the next few Sundays and rehearse with the Community Choir. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Josh at josh@stgiles.org.

This year we are excited to once again be partnering with a local ministry in Richmond called STEP (Strategies to Elevate People) in their “Christmas Store Event.” STEP ministers specifically to the families in Gilpin court, and during Christmas they collect new toys that are then sold at a very affordable price. This allows families to provide a beautiful Christmas to their children while also caring for the dignity of the parents. We will have bins set out this year and all donations are DUE BY: Wednesday, Dec. 4.

SUGGESTED ITEMS: (Please include the original purchase price)

Skateboards, Scooters, Arts & Crafts, Sports Equipment (Basketballs, Jump Ropes, etc), Headphones, Electronics, Board Games, Toy Cars/ Trucks, Bikes, African-American Dolls, Educational Toys, Gift Cards to fast food restaurants (McDonald's, Burger King, Chick-Fil-A).

To learn more visit steprichmond.org/christmas or call (804) 648-7552 .

Bloom/PRC Immediate Needs

St. Giles is collecting baby items for Bloom by PRC Richmond! There is a bin by the church office for donations. Here is the list of needed items:

Diapers and wipes - all sizes especially 4

Onesies - all sizes - boy, girl, neutral

Baby girl clothes 18 months - 3T

Baby boys 0-3 months

Food Pantry Still Collecting Donations!

Dear church family,

Everyone associated with the food pantry gives our church a huge thank you for all we have given for the families needing food. The church has families that have given the turkeys or ham needed for the holiday meals! What a huge blessing!

The pantry needs are:

Any nonperishable vegetables

Canned chicken

Peanut butter

Jelly

Cake mixes/icing

Oatmeal

Canned fruit

Cereal

Mac & cheese

Soups for cooking & hearty soup

Saltines or any crackers

Pasta sauce

Pasta

Remember we are helping to provide for other meals than just Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Again thank you for each item you have provided for the pantry.

Judy Clough