Welcome to our newsletter.

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

Thursday, October 1, 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.

In lieu of Sunday School this week, Miss Samira will be supervising the children on the playground because Miss Tammy is out of town. Drop off will still be in the Kangaroo Room. We will celebrate the Blessing of the Animals this Sunday so plan to bring your pet, a picture of your pet, or a favorite stuffed animal to church. If you have any questions about Sunday School, please email Tammy Smecker-Hane.

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.

This week in the youth group we are celebrating blessing of the animals. We are going to have a fun time playing games and chatting about our pets. Feel free to bring your own games from home if you'd like. 



As an additional reminder, we are meeting in the Kangaroo Room, which can be accessed through the Children's Center courtyard we were meeting in previously.

Outreach News

For the months of September and October, we will be collecting toiletries for the Orangewood Foundation. (We will be collecting for Friendship Shelter in December.)

These are the items that are needed: (only full size bottles, please) 

Orangewood Foundation’s services are designed for young people who are either currently or formerly involved in foster care, homelessness, students needing innovative support, survivors and at risk youth of human trafficking.

The Orangewood Foundation supports over 2000 young people yearly and is where lives change forever! 

Thank you for your continued support in the Outreach Ministry.

“We are truly God’s outreaching hands in the world.”

Bishop's Visit

Bishop Brookhart will be visiting St. Andrew’s on October 25. If you are interested in being baptized, received, confirmed or reaffirmed into the Episcopal Church please contact Peter for information about classes prior to the Bishop’s visit.

Volunteers needed

The Children’s Center needs help covering the phones and answering the door over lunch time. If you would be able to help with a couple of hours a week or would like more information, please contact Carolyn Ybarra.

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.

Sister Parish

We are establishing a sister parish relationship with St. John’s Paengseong of the Anglican Church of Korea. We will start including each church in our respective Prayers of the People as we work on other ways to learn about each other and strengthen the bond. As our relationship develops, we look forward to regularly sharing news, updates, and stories from our respective communities. This exchange will allow our congregations to pray more specifically for the daily lives, challenges, and ministries unique to Paengseong and Irvine.

Woodbridge Manor - October 5

Woodbridge Manor volunteers will meet on

October 5 at 10:30 a.m. We need empty 1 dozen cardboard egg cartons (not plastic) and small plastic fruit boxes (like the ones blueberries raspberries come in). These may be brought to church and left in the Narthex. For more information contact Catherine Sharbaugh.

Book Group - October 7

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.

Orange County Women's Chorus

2026 - 2027 Season

The Orange County Women’s Chorus is in its 29th year of singing music that matters. The chorus is pleased to introduce its 2026-2027 conducting intern, Hannah Black, along with nine new members.

PROGRAM DETAILS

Angels Among Us

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

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



You Can Tell the World

Saturday, March 20, 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 21, 3:00 p.m.

Maiden, Mother, Crone

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

Sunday, June 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.

Subscription packages for all three concerts ($90 for adults, $75 for seniors, $30 for students, plus $4.00, $3.50, and $2.25 ticketing fees, respectively) include ticket exchange privileges for the other performance of the same program at no cost.

Purchase a season subscription for the best pricing and other benefits! 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.........

OCTOBER

• 10/4 - St. Francis Day - Blessing of the Animals 
• 10/25 - Bishop's visit

NOVEMBER

• 11/1 - All Saints Day
• 11/1 - Daylight Savings Time Ends
• 11/15 - St. Andrew's Day

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.