Welcome to our newsletter.

We hope this information keeps you connected to our church family. 

Thursday, November 5, 2026, 6:00 p.m. Evening Prayer

• Join us for Evening Prayer. The service will be available through Facebook Live at the St. Andrew's Facebook page at 6:00 p.m. Daily Evening Prayer, Rite Two, may be accessed here. 
• The readings for this evening may be accessed here.



We will be printing fewer bulletins in an effort to reduce our carbon footprint. We realize that using a device to read the bulletin may be a daunting task, but we have several congregants who are ready to help if you need it. If we are able to purchase less paper over time, we will donate the savings to our outreach efforts. If you don’t have a device to use, but are willing to share a bulletin with your neighbor, that helps us reach our goal too.

Pastoral Care

Sunday School News

Day care for infants and children 4 yrs old and younger during the 10 am service will be provided by Samira Sameni, a preschool teacher at our Saint Andrew’s Children’s Center. Sunday School is designed for children in grades K-6 and is led by Tammy Smecker-Hane during the 10 am service. Drop off for both is in the Kangaroo Room of the Children’s Center (follow the sign). We will bring the children to you in church during the Announcements. If you have any questions about Sunday School, please email Tammy Smecker-Hane.

This week in Sunday School, we will be talking about things we are grateful for, in particular, food! Children will listed to the story of how Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 with just a few fish and loaves of bread that a boy brought him, and we’ll learn about last year’s UTO grant to Saint John’s Episcopal church in Lynchburg, Virginia, that is using greenhouses to grow fresh vegetables to feel hungry people in their community.

 

This month we are asking children as well as adults to consciously recognize the things they are grateful for each day and place a donation in their UTO box so that we can turn that gratefulness into blessings for others both in the USA and the wider world. In the Narthex, please pick up and bring home your UTO box, a list of last year’s UTO grant recipients, and a “5 Minute Gratitude Journal” that will help you and your family contemplate the things for which you are grateful. Remember to return you filled UTO box to church next Sunday (Nov 15) for our UTO Ingathering.

Youth Group Information

Youth Group is designed for youths ages 12 and up and is led by Hank Caprini during the 10 a.m. service. The children will be brought to church during the Announcements.

If youths who are acolyting or in the choir wish to join the Youth Group for the latter part of the meeting, they should leave the church after the Gospel reading.

Last week in the Youth Group we talked a bit more about the Book of Romans and also took a first look at the speeches that the children and youth will be giving as part of the Parade of Saints. This coming Sunday is the Parade of Saints and the Youth Group will be participating with Sunday School to put on costumes for each saint the youth selected in previous weeks and get ready to give their speeches during the sermon portion of the service. Speeches were given to participating youth last week, but for youth who were not present or have lost their speech during the week a fresh copy will be given to them.

As an additional reminder, the Youth Group is meeting in the Kangaroo room, which can be accessed through the Children's Center courtyard.

Media Release

We livestream our 10 a.m. services on our YouTube channel and have a social media presence. We also post photos on our website. If you have not completed a media release form, please do so by clicking here to download and complete the form. Save the completed and signed PDF, then email it as an attachment to office@standrewsirvine.org. We need to know if you agree to allowing us to include you or your family in these posts.



Stewardship 2026 – Plenty Good Room

This year’s Stewardship Campaign, Plenty Good Room, is rooted in Jesus’ promise: “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” It is a reminder of God’s abundance and welcome, and of the place each of us has in the life of St. Andrew’s.

As you consider your pledge for the coming year, we invite you to prayerfully reflect on how you can support the worship, ministries, fellowship, and outreach of St. Andrew’s. Each of us has been blessed in different ways, and each of us has something meaningful to offer. Stewardship is not only about financial giving. It is about how we respond to God’s generosity through our time, talents, prayers, presence, and resources.

What might God be calling you to share this year? Perhaps it is increasing your annual pledge, volunteering your talents, becoming involved in a ministry, or finding a new way to serve. Every gift matters. Together, our generosity makes room for children and youth to grow in faith, for people to find community, for neighbors to receive care, and for our worship and ministries to continue to flourish.

You will be receiving physical pledge cards in the mail, but if you wish to pledge online, you may do so by clicking here. Whether you pledge physically or digitally, we ask that you complete your pledge by Sunday, November 15th and join us for our Stewardship Brunch following the 10:00 a.m. service, where we will gather in gratitude for all that we have been given.

Please consider the proportional giving chart below as you prayerfully determine what is right for you and your household.



There is Plenty Good Room at God’s table, and together we can continue making room for all.

Plenty Good Room: 5 Weeks of Stewardship Reflection

Week 4: Beloved Community-Plenty Good Room for All

The spiritual Plenty Good Room gives voice to faith, hope, and the promise that there is room for all in God’s kingdom. Scripture also reminds us that although we are many, we are one in Christ. Each person brings gifts that strengthen the life of the church. Some gifts are visible, while others are offered quietly behind the scenes, but all matter. Together, our varied gifts help St. Andrew’s become the welcoming and generous community God calls us to be.

Reflect: What gift do you bring to St. Andrew’s, and how can you use it to help make “plenty good room” for others?

Friendship Shelter Request

During the month of November, we will be collecting monies to purchase hygiene kits as Christmas gifts for the residents at the Friendship Shelter. 

Each kit consists of shampoo, conditioner, bar soap, toothpaste, deodorant, plus a few miscellaneous items. We need 35 kits which will cost approximately $300. Any funds collected above that amount will be donated to the shelter. 

In addition to the necessary hygiene items, the Prayer Shawl ministry is busy working on prayer cloths to add a touch of God’s spirit to each of their gifts. 

There are several ways to contribute…a check written out to St. Andrew’s and place Friendship Shelter in the memo; or you could Zelle the monies to the church indicating Friendship Shelter; or place cash in an envelope with Friendship Shelter on it and drop in the plate during the Offertory. 

Thank you for continuing to support the residents at the Friendship Shelter by giving them a little bit of joy this Christmas. 

If you have any questions, please contact Grace Marcotrigiano.

United Thank Offering

Bring in your filled UTO Boxes to church next Sunday (Nov 15; or as soon as possible) for our annual UTO Ingathering when we gather our donations and bless our offerings. Envelopes also will be provided in the pews if you forget your box or simply want to donate by check (make checks out to Saint Andrew’s Church with “UTO” on the memo line). Additionally, you can donate directly to UTO on-line by clicking here, and we’ll post some signs with QR codes that can take you directly to that website during coffee hour.

For more information about UTO, go their website or follow their Facebook page to get up-to-date news and highlights from UTO grant sites. Every penny you donate will go out to Episcopal and Anglican Communion groups who are doing innovative mission and ministry projects in their local community to become “the gifts of God for the people of God” both here in the USA and throughout the wider world.



2027 Member Directory

It is time to start working on our 2027 directory. We’d like to start getting photos of newer members and update any that were taken years ago. Nick Baldasari will take a photo, or if you have one you’d like to include, you can send it to the office and note that it is for the directory. If you’d like Nick to take the photo, let him know on a Sunday you attend church. Thank you for helping us keep the directory current.

Prayer Shawl - November 10

The Prayer Shawl Ministry meets this coming Tuesday, November 10 at 2:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Court. Contact Sharon Brooks for more information.

Book Group - November 11

The Virtual Book Group meets weekly on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. followed by noonday prayer. Scroll down to Events and Activities on our website homepage for the new reading. To be added to the Zoom invitation please contact the office.

Angels Among Us

Orange County Women's Chorus

December 5 and December 6

Mary Langsdorf and Kathy Baldasari invite you to Angels Among Us, on December 5 and 6 at St. Wilfrid of York Episcopal Church, Huntington Beach.

Celebratory tunes, good tidings, and startling truths: the voices of angels bring them all! Our holiday program is filled with the songs of heavenly messengers and earth angels alike. Enjoy the sounds of the season with an OCWC twist!

PROGRAM DETAILS

Angels Among Us

Saturday, December 5, 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, December 6, 3:00 p.m.

CONCERT VENUE AND TICKET INFORMATION

The concerts will take place at St. Wilfrid of York Episcopal Church, 18631 Chapel Lane, Huntington Beach.

Single tickets* are $35 for adults; $30 for seniors; $15 for students

*Ticketing fees of $2, $1.75, and $1.50, respectively, applied at purchase.

For more information, visit the OCWC website.

Responding to Immigration Enforcement 

Dear friends, these are frightening times for those in our community who are vulnerable to immigration enforcement. Please report any suspected ICE/CBP/DHS sightings to the OC Rapid Response Network by calling or texting 714-881-1558. Document and report as much as you safely can of the following: Size/Strength of forces; Action/Activities; Location; Uniform/Clothes; Time/Date; and Equipment/Weapons. (SALUTE is a handy acronym for remembering this). If you can text a photo of suspicious vehicles and plates, that's especially helpful.

OCRRN is a trained network of volunteers that confirm ICE sightings and alert impacted communities. Upon receiving a report, they will send out trained volunteers to get eyes on the situation and provide support to impacted individuals. 

Red cards with the OCRRN phone number, the SALUTE items to watch for, and information about your legal rights and resources in the event of an encounter with ICE will be available in a basket in the narthex. Please take these and share them with businesses, co-workers, friends, and neighbors who may be at risk.

Let us remember the words of Jesus in Luke 10:25-37 who reminds us that we are called to serve our neighbors with mercy and that we need not share religion, ethnicity, or language with those we love as ourselves.

A Look Ahead.........

NOVEMBER

·        11/15 - St. Andrew's Day

·        11/29 - Advent begins

DECEMBER

·        12/ 6 – Alternative Gift Fair

·        12/13 – Alternative Gift Fair

·        12/16 – Women's Advent Gathering 5pm-7pm

·        12/19 – Blue Christmas 5 p.m.

·        12/20 – Advent 4, Greening of the Church

·        12/24 – Thursday-Christmas Eve–5 pm Holy Eucharist

                     w/Choir / Children’s Pageant

·        12/25 – Friday - Christmas Day (Service: 10 a.m. Said Holy Eucharist)

You Can Donate Using Zelle

If you wish to make regular payments on your pledge or even if you want to make a one-time donation to the Church, you can do so through your bank by using Zelle. The advantage of using Zelle is that there are no transaction charges for either you or for the Church and you do not need to write a check each time to mail or deliver to the Church. If you wish to set up a payment through Zelle from your bank account, the destination of your payment is office@standrewsirvine.org and the payee is St. Andrew’s. If you haven’t made a donation through Zelle before, you can use the QR code to get started. If you have questions please contact Kim at the office to assist you.

If you are 70 ½ years old or older, here’s a way to give and also reduce your income taxes at the same time:

There may be a way to reduce your income taxes while donating to St. Andrew’s – by using a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). QCDs allow individuals age 70½ and older to make tax-free donations directly from any tax-deferred IRA account to any qualified charity, such as St. Andrew’s, potentially satisfying all or part of your annual required minimum distributions (RMDs). The check just needs to go directly from your IRA account to the church address at 4400 Barranca Parkway, Irvine, CA 92604 and the broker will need the St. Andrew’s federal EIN which is 33-2031839. Please ask your broker to include your name on the distribution check so we know who is making the donation.

Be sure to consult with your financial, tax and/or legal advisors before taking any action to ensure you’re making the right decision for you.

If you have financial assets such as shares of stock that have appreciated, here’s another way to give and reduce your income taxes at the same time:

Rather than sell shares that have appreciated in value and pay capital gains taxes, you can transfer those shares directly to a brokerage account at St. Andrew’s. By doing so you avoid the capital gains taxes and receive the fair value of the shares as the value of your charitable donation which will show up on the contribution statement. Contact the church office for information on how to direct your shares into the St. Andrew’s brokerage account.

Be sure to consult with your financial, tax and/or legal advisors before taking any action to ensure you’re making the right decision for you.

Pray for Peace in the Holy Land

The Rt. Rev. John Harvey Taylor asks us to pray for peace and keep in our hearts the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and its archbishop, the Rt. Rev. Hosam Naoum. Bishop Taylor has written to him on our diocese’s behalf and invites us to make a gift to the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which supports the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. Archbishop Naoum calls on all to unite in prayer for reconciliation.

Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church | 949-559-4699

The Very Rev. Peter Browning, Rector

office@standrewsirvine.org | www.standrewsirvine.org

 Office Administration Hours:

 In-office: Monday and Thursday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

 Remote: Tuesday and Wednesday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.