Welcome to our newsletter.

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

In Q3, we reduced our paper usage by 2,837 sheets—almost six reams saved compared to Q2. Great job, St. Andrew’s! 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 3 yrs old and younger during the 10 a.m. service will be provided by Samira Sameni, a preschool teacher at our Saint Andrew’s Children’s Center. Sunday School for children 4 yrs and up will be taught by Tammy Smecker-Hane. Both will happen together in the Kangaroo Room, the largest classroom in the Children’s Center, whose entrance is located in the far left-hand corner of the courtyard (just follow the sign). Please drop your children off there before church begins.

If you didn’t bring your UTO boxes in last week, please bring them in this Sunday. This week in Sunday School children will be learning more about the Nativity story and making a craft to help them remember the sequence of events in the Nativity. Children also are being fitted for costumes for the Christmas Pageant, which takes place on Christmas Eve (Tues, Dec 24, arrive by 4:15 p.m. for the 5 p.m. service). If you cannot be at church in the next few weeks and your children want to be in the Pageant, please email Tammy and let her know. As usual, visiting grandchildren, nieces and nephews are welcome to join in the Pageant, too, just email Tammy their names and ages as soon as possible so she can have costumes ready for them. Please email Tammy if you have any general questions about Sunday School.

United Thank Offering

This Sunday is the final day to turn in your filled UTO Boxes to have your donation included in this year’s giving cycle. You can still turn them in later, but it will go toward our UTO offering for next year. Envelopes will be provided in the pews on Sunday, too, in case 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 on-line or by text:

·       Online by clicking here

·       By texting INGATHERING to 41444

For more information about UTO, please visit their website by clicking here.

Women's Advent Gathering - December 12

This year, we will again be celebrating at St. Andrew’s on Thursday, December 12 at 5:00 p.m. We will be gathering in the church for a program led by Susan Garrett and then we will share a potluck together. If possible, please bring your favorite dish or dessert to share! Please click here to R.S.V.P.

Please contact Melissa Browning or 760-953-9096 if you have any questions. Hope you can make it.

Adopt A Family Outreach - December 15

As part of our Annual Adopt A Family Outreach, we will be providing gifts for 4 families associated with our Children's Center. Click here to see the list of items we are requesting. There are clothing items, toys, books, and gift cards for groceries or department stores to select from. Once you have selected the gift you would like to donate, please enter your name and address on the form. All gifts need to be returned to St. Andrew's by December 15 so that we can ensure that the gifts are distributed to the families before Christmas. Please wrap the gifts and provide a tag on the gift that designates the family number & boy/girl and age. You may give gift cards to Carolyn Ybarra or put them in the offertory plate. If you have any questions, please contact Carolyn Ybarra.

Alternative Gift Fair - December 15

We’ll have one final day for the Alternative Gift Fair this Sunday after the 8 am service and before & after the 10 am service, where you can purchase gifts that give to those less fortunate. We’ll have beautiful craft items from Concern America that are made by craftsmen in Guatemala, Mexico and Colombia and provide health care, clean water, education and income generation to impoverished communities. You can also shop their products on-line at ConcernAmerica.org. Also, we will have soaps from Shima made in Navajoland and scented with native plants, which provides jobs and income to teens and elderly community members. We also will give you the opportunity to donate to Episcopal Relief and Development in the name of a friend or relative, and you’ll receive a Christmas card to give to them to acknowledge the gift. For example, you can purchase chickens or a mosquito nets for a family in need from the ERD catalog at support.episcopalrelief.org/gifts. Checks, credit cards or cash can be used for most purchases. If you have questions, please email Tammy Smecker-Hane.

Woodbridge Manor - December 16

Woodbridge Manor volunteers will meet on December 16 at 10:30 a.m. We need empty cardboard egg cartons and plastic fruit boxes (like the ones raspberries come in). These may be brought to church and left in the Narthex. For more information contact Catherine Sharbaugh.

Book Group - December 18

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.

Greening the Church - December 22

We will be getting the Church ready for Christmas services after the 10 a.m. service on December 22. We hope everyone will stay and help decorate the church for Christmas.



Stewardship 2024 - Walk in Love

This year our stewardship campaign - Walk in Love - has reached the point where we ask you to prayerfully consider how you can support the ministries, worship, and outreach of St. Andrew's. Each of us hears this call differently, just as each of us has been blessed by God differently. How will you feel God’s call to walk in love this year? How will you determine how you will share your gifts with God’s people in the world? Before you fill out the pledge card included in this letter, we invite you to pray, discuss, and discern how God is calling you to share your gifts. Whether it is increasing your annual pledge, volunteering your talents, or getting involved in a new ministry, all of us have an integral role to play in the life of St. Andrew’s, especially this year as we transition from mission to parish.

You will be receiving physical pledge cards in the mail, but if you wish to pledge online, you can do so by clicking here.

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

The Philadelphia Eleven - January 12

On Sunday, January 12 at 5:00 p.m.

St. Andrews will be screening

The Philadelphia 11

For Free



This documentary tells the true story of the eleven women who were the first women ordained as priests in the Episcopal church.

All are welcome, bring your friends and neighbors! Many of the surrounding Episcopal churches will also be invited to attend.

Please sign up to bring movie-type snacks by clicking here.

For questions about the movie, please contact Tammy Smecker Hane.

For questions about the snack sign-up, please contact JoJo Carpini.



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

DECEMBER

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

·        12/15 - Alternative Gift Fair – Day 2 – 10am service

·        12/21 - Blue Christmas - 5pm

·        12/22 - Advent 4, Greening of the Church

·        12/24 - Tuesday-Christmas Eve 5pm Holy Eucharist with Choir

·        12/25 - Wednesday-Christmas Day (Service: 10am Said Holy Eucharist)

JANUARY 2025

·        1/5 - De-Green the Church

·        1/12 - The Philadelphia Eleven Screening - 5pm

·        1/26 - Annual Meeting

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.