A Note from the Rev. Jimmy Grace, Rector

This coming Sunday, November 1, is the feast of All Saints'. It is a day where we will remember, by name, the faithfully departed. All Saints' Sunday is an appropriate day to reflect on our mortality, the limits of our lives, and our eventual rest with God in heaven.  

All Saints' Sunday is also an appropriate day to consider what plans we have already made (or perhaps should make) relative to our earthly demise. 

To that end, we will be offering a Funeral Planning Workshop this Sunday, at 9:30 AM in the Parish Hall. We have a lot of information planned for the workshop, including:

• Pre-planning your funeral at St. Andrew's
• How to reserve a niche in our Columbarium
• How to include St. Andrew's in your estate planning
• What to know about funeral homes, and how to work with them



Facilitators at the Funeral Planning Workshop will include myself (pre-planning your funeral & Columbarium), Doug Pecore (estate planning & St. Andrew's Endowment), and Bery Crispin and Lacey Fox (Funeral homes and how to work with them). Bery and Lacey will join us from A Sacred Choice Funeral Services. A Sacred Choice is one of a few independently-owned funeral and cremation service providers in Houston.

I know this is not the most uplifting topic for Sunday morning, but given that this Sunday is All Saints' Sunday, it sure does feel appropriate. To RSVP your attendance, please email Carrie Conti at cconti@saecheights.org.

Last Week at St. Andrew's

On Sunday, we held our first annual Trunk or Treat. Thank you to all who hosted a trunk and to Taylor Durr for putting it all together. It was a great event and the start of a new annual tradition at St. Andrew's!

Fall Back This Sunday

Don't forget to set your clocks back an hour on Saturday and enjoy that extra hour of sleep before church on Sunday morning!

Funeral Planning Workshop

On All Saints' Sunday, join Rev. Jimmy Grace on Sunday, November 1, at 9:30 in the Parish Hall for a workshop on planning your own funeral. We will also hear from Doug Pecore, our Treasurer, who will speak about St. Andrew's Endowment and Estate planning. Finally we will welcome Bery Crispin from A Sacred Choice Funeral Home, who will demystify working with funeral homes.  Ample time will be allowed for questions. If you plan to attend, please RSVP your attendance to Carrie Conti.

La Speranza Concert

The number 10 is the name of the game as La Speranza continues our tenth anniversary festivities. In A Perfect “Ten”, we feature either opus 10 or number 10 string quartets, written by beloved audience favorite composers Eybler, Wranitzky, and Mozart. Bonus: two works you will hear have never been recorded! In 2025 La Speranza made the first recording of Eybler's Op. 10 no. 1, and now you'll hear the second work in the set. Paul Wranitzky’s spritely, early C Major string quartet Op. 10 is another piece you will only hear in person at A Perfect “Ten”.

The concert is Saturday, November 7 at 5 PM in the church. Tickets may be purchased here or at the door.

Organ Recital

On Saturday, November 14 at 5pm, Director of Music & Organist John Kirk will present a recital on our new Kegg organ, installed in July of 2025. Music by Johann Sebastian Bach, César Franck, and William Walton (among others) will showcase the diverse sounds of our beautiful instrument. 

Parish Elections

In case you didn't know there is an important election coming up. It's our annual Parish Election on Sunday, November 8 at noon. Please vote! Click here for information on our nominees.

Veteran's Day

On Sunday, November 8, we will recognize veterans in our congregation during both morning liturgies. If you are a veteran and would like your name read, please email Carrie Conti with your name, service branch and rank.

St. Andrew's Day Celebration

Mark your calendars for our St. Andrew's Feast Day and 115th anniversary celebration on November 8 at noon. We will be doing a potluck and the sign up is coming soon. We will have a bounce house for the kids.

New Outreach Opportunity at St. Andrew’s

The Outreach Advisory Committee is pleased to announce a new outreach partner, The Oak Forest Foster Closet. The Foster Closet is an incredible organization and it’s mission is to uplift and empower foster, adoptive, and kinship families by supplying them with vital resources such as clothing, shoes, toys, bedding, books, and more throughout their journey. For more information, please click this Oak Forest Foster Closet – about us.



We are also partnering with them at a very exciting time – they are moving to a larger location and we are invited to their Grand Opening.  

Heights Interfaith Ministries Thanksgiving Potluck

MAM Volunteers Needed

MAM (Memorial Assistance Ministries) can use more volunteer help in their Heights location at 1015 East 11th, on the Vineyard campus, across from Hogg Middle School.

If you are interested, curious, or have questions please join MAM for an orientation and Q&A session on Tuesday, November 10. It will be at their Heights location on 1015 E 11th from 1 PM to 2:30 PM.

Use this link or scan the QR code to register and come join the fun!

Seafarers Christmas Shoeboxes 

It’s time to start assembling our Seafarers Christmas Shoeboxes! The Seafarers ministry distributes between 7,000 and 10,000 shoeboxes filled with essential items, treats, and small gifts to the hardworking seafarers visiting the Port of Houston. Many of these men and women spend months at sea, far from home and family – especially during the holiday season. These special shoeboxes are hand-delivered directly to ships by the Seafarers Ministry Chaplains, ship visitors, and staff – sharing kindness, gratitude, and holiday spirit.

We will use an Amazon list to gather and order items for the Christmas Shoeboxes. Use the link here or the QR code to access to the wish list and order items. The items will be shipped to the church in care of Megan Gibbs.

We will gather to pack and wrap the boxes on Sunday, December 13^th. 

For more information, reach out to Megan or visit https://houstonseafarers.com/

Parish Retreat 2027

We will have or annual Parish Retreat at Camp Allen February 19-21, 2027. Registration is coming soon!

Dedicate Sanctuary Flowers

Celebrate a special occasion, honor or remember loved ones, or simply give to the glory of God by helping underwrite the cost of our sanctuary flowers. Donations for sanctuary flowers start at $25 and amounts greater than taht are appreciated. We have streamlined the process to make donating online easier. Dedications can be made on the Sanctuary Flowers tab on our website or by scaning the QR code. Please submit requests one week prior to be included in the Sunday bulletin.

Coffee Hour

The Welcome Committee has brought back hospitality after the 10:30 AM service to create an opportunity for community and fellowship. All are invited upstairs after the service for coffee, refreshments, and conversation, along with the donuts generously provided by the vestry. We invite the ministries and people of St. Andrew's to help serve our parish community by hosting a Sunday. Hosting can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish and the Welcome Committee will provide information and support to make hosting a joy. If you are interested in hosting hospitality on a Sunday please use the sign up sheet in the Parish Hall.

Now Accepting Reservations for Columbarium Niches

As part of the ongoing capital project, reservations are now being accepted for columbarium niches. A total of 96 niches will be installed in our completely updated Memorial Garden (between the church nave and the House). Each niche will hold 2 urns.  Reservations can be made by contacting the church office and making a payment of $5,200. If submitting a check, please put “columbarium reservation” in the memo line. If submitting payment through Realm, please select Columbarium from the fund drop down menu. In addition, at the time of interment, there is a small fee of approximately $250 for the final stone engravement and shipping.  

Click here for answers to some frequently asked questions.

We currently have 30 reservations. Once the 30 reservations are paid in full, our Memorial Garden and Columbarium will be fully finded.

Parish Finances

2026 Giving Update*

October:

Pledged : $72,851

Received: $58,228

Year to date:

Pledged : $874,212

Received: $653,570

Capital Campaign to date:

Pledged: $2,604,981

Received:$2,394,497

*All figures reflect the period ending October 28, 2026

Regular giving towards your pledge to our 2026 ministry budget empowers our mission and ministry.

Please remember to give via online giving, mailed checks, or checks deposited in the church office mailbox. We encourage all regular givers to consider setting up automated online giving through your bank or at https://saecheights.org/giving

If you have questions about online giving, contact Carrie Conti, Office Manager, at cconti@saecheights.org.

Thank you for your continued financial support of

St. Andrew’s!

Parish Prayer List

Our parish prayer list is published weekly in our service leaflets. If you would like to add someone to the published parish prayer list please email our Office Manager, Carrie Conti at cconti@saecheights.org. If you would like your prayer request to be confidential, Carrie will forward the name to the Daughters of the King.

Give Through Realm

Thank you for using OnRealm to make contact-less pledge payments to St. Andrew's. 

If you have already established a personal Realm account, you can login and click Giving, then select Manage Payments to choose how you wish to contribute and how often. Payments made this way are much safer to process than other payment methods. If you are not using OnRealm and would like to set up Realm account, need to reset your password, or have questions about access to the system, please email  cconti@saecheights.org for assistance.