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E-Newsletter
December 5 - December 11, 2025
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Advent Daily Devotional:
Living Well Through Advent: Practicing Generosity with All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind is a wonderful resource for daily Advent devotionals. It contains reflections on the theme of generosity for each day of Advent, through to Christmas Day, to help guide you in your Advent spiritual journey and to prepare for the Christmas season. You can pick up a copy from the Information Table in the Parish Hall, or download the PDF version HERE.
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An International Christmas Celebration 2.0:
On Sunday, December 21 at 4:00 PM, carols and stories from near and far will be sung by St. Gregory’s choir, soloists and instrumentalists. Join us for this musical celebration of traditions and cultures. You are invited to continue celebrating at the parish Christmas dinner following the concert. If you are planning on attending the Christmas, please RSVP on the sign-up sheet in the Parish Hall, or by contacting the Parish Office (call 532-420-1311 or email info@stgregoryschurch.com by Wednesday, December 17 so our hospitality team can prepare enough food.
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Holiday Gift Card Drive:
On behalf of the outreach team and the loving recipients of our gift card drive, thank you for your generosity of $4,035 in gift cards for nine families from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. Additional cards and groceries from our Food Bank were delivered on Tuesday, November 25.
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United Thank Offering (UTO) Ingathering:
November is a month of sharing our abundance with others such as family, friends and our community as we begin our UTO ingathering this month, please remember that UTO grants often focus on urgent human needs meaning your individual gratitude gift helps racial reconciliation efforts, to end poverty and so much more. The ingathering will continue till Sunday, December 7. Please give generously.
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Parish Christmas Dinner:
Our annual Parish Christmas Dinner will be held on Sunday, December 21 at about 5:00 PM (following the Music at Four concert). Please RSVP on the sign-up sheet in the Parish Hall. You can also notify the Parish Office by calling 562-420-1311 or by email. All are welcome, but it is very important to RSVP so Diane and her kitchen crew know how much food to prepare. Please RSVP by Wednesday, December 17.
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Stitches of Faith:
Are you looking for a space to share your creativity, enjoy fellowship, and be inspired? Stitches of Faith is a gathering for anyone who loves to craft—or wants to learn! Whether you knit, crochet, quilt, paint, or want to try your hand at another craft, this group is open to all skill levels, including beginners eager to discover something new. We meet on Sundays from 1:00–3:30 PM in the Conference Room. Each week, we will enjoy time for projects, encouragement, and conversation in a relaxed, faith-filled environment. Light refreshments will be provided. Bring your supplies, your curiosity, and your kind spirit. Come create, connect, and grow in community with us!
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Christmas Flower Donations:
Christmas is just around the corner! If you would like to make a donation to help offset the cost of the wreaths and poinsettias, you can do so by sending a check to the church with “Christmas Flowers” in the memo line. Or you can go through the parish website or the Vanco app and use the Other Designated Gift category (just be sure to put Christmas Flowers in the adjacent box). And if you would like to make your donation in Memory of, in Thanksgiving of, or in Honor of someone, you can call the parish office or send an email to info@stgregoryschurch.com with the appropriate information. We need dedications no later than Tuesday, December 16th to get information into the Christmas Eve bulletin. Poinsettias will be available for pick-up after Christmas. More on that down the road.
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Christmas Music Donations:
A lot of special music is planned for the upcoming weeks leading up to Christmas. If you would like to help offset the expenses for the wonderful musicians that will be joining us for the season, please send a check to St. Gregory’s with “Christmas Music” as the memo line. You can also donate on our website using the Vanco app. Click the “Other Designated Gift” category, putting “Christmas Music” in the adjacent box. We thank you for your support of our wonderful music ministry!
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Lend a Hand:
Like any older building, St. Gregory’s constantly needs maintenance and touching up. Fred Cornett has made up a list of things to do in the near future: Cleaning and arranging the janitor’s closet and the storage areas, cleaning the trash cans, etc. Many hands make light work, and most of the jobs won’t take much time if two or three people join in. There is a signup sheet in the narthex, and Fred is always available for consultation or questions: (562) 308-6955. Thanks, Fred, for getting the projects going!
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Altar Flower Donations:
Need a wonderful way to honor or remember a loved one or friend? Make a flower donation. There is a flower donation chart located on the Narthex wall that you can use to sign up for special dates to donate altar flowers. Simply fill out a donation form attached to the bottom of the chart and return the form to the Parish Office. Payment for flowers can be made by check or online at this link. Make sure you specify your donation is for Altar Flowers. The Altar Guild thanks you.
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Episcopal News Updates:
The Diocese provides weekly email updates to help you keep informed about what’s happening all over our six-county diocese. If you want to receive the Episcopal News, visit https://diocesela.org/episcopal-news/contact/ and enter your email address in the box provided.
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Feed My Lambs & Food Bank Needs:
THANK YOU for your generosity and your donations
Here’s the latest news on our parish feeding programs.
- Feed My Lambs
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Homemade cookies can be dropped of any time. Please put your homemade cookies in Ziploc Bags and label them with the date and "FML" (this way we know they are for Feed My Lambs and not other purposes).
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Please do not bring hardboiled eggs. Due to issues with eggs, we now have a dedicated team responsible for providing hardboiled eggs.
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Volunteers – If you are interested in helping out Feed My Lambs, contact Tamera Benedict at (tlbenedict4@gmail.com, 562.301.6800).
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Food Bank The Food Bank relies on your financial support and appreciates all donations of
- funds or non-perishable food items. We also can use more volunteers at:
- bagging and distribution the THIRD WEDNESDAY of each month from 8:30 to 11:00 AM
- any other time you may have available and could assist with assembling our bags (e.g. on Sunday before or after service, or any time the office is open for access)
Please contact the Parish Office (info@stgregoryschurch.com, 562.420.1311) or Bill Eldon (billeldon@gmail.com, 562.234.9920) for more information about the Food Bank.
Your continued support of our feeding ministries, through product and monetary contributions, is greatly appreciated!
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Gratitude for Your Support of the Parish:
We continue to be humbled and so incredibly grateful for your generosity in supporting our parish and its ministries! While you may not be able to drop your donation in a real offering plate, there are still ways you can make sure your donation gets to the parish:
- You can mail your check to the Parish Office.
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Make donations through our online payment account, accessible through the parish website at http://stgregoryschurch.com/4721-2/.
- Scan the QR code found in the Sunday bulletin.
And again, THANK YOU for your continued support!
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Online Parish Directory:
Our online parish directory is at https://www.instantchurchdirectory.com/. This is a secure site and can be accessed using the email address you had published in the parish directory. You can also download the "Instant Church Directory" on your smart phone. Versions are available for Android, iPhone, iPad, and Kindle.
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One Body & One Spirit Annual Appeal:
The Diocese has established an ongoing campaign focused on raising funds to assist congregations, schools, affiliated institutions, and their communities who are faced with unprecedented challenges. We are invited to prayerfully consider making a donation to help others in our Diocese who may have unmet needs. More information is available at https://diocesela.org/annual-appeal/.
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Forward Day By Day:
For those who use the "Forward Day by Day" booklet for personal devotions and need the newest edition mailed, please contact the Parish Office: (562) 420-1311 or info@stgregoryschurch.com
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In Case of Emergency...Notify Your Priest!
In the event of a hospital stay, illness, death in the family, or other pastoral emergency, please call Father Michael on his cell phone (909-373-6478). And PLEASE, no excuses about not wanting to bother us. That’s why we are here – for YOU!
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St. Gregory's Food Bank:
Our monthly Food Bank distribution takes place the third Wednesday of every month. This ministry helps us help our neighbors by providing a supplemental source of groceries. We CANNOT do this without your generosity. CLICK HERE for more information.
This month we served 77 people!
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Pastoral Care Note
When you are ill and not able to attend services at church, Clergy would like to know. They will visit you at your home or in the hospital. They will bring Holy Communion and the love of the congregation as well as prayers to your bedside. Please contact the parish office, 562 420 1311.
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