St Paul's Church
Third Sunday of Advent
Today at St. Paul’s       
Sun., December 16th 
9:30 am          Holy Eucharist Rite II
9:30 am          Church School/Nursery Care during service
11:00 am        Christmas Brunch 
1:30 pm          NLM Services in Church
7:00 pm          NIANA Meeting in Parish House
 
This Week at St. Paul’s
Daily
8:00 am-7:00 pm  The Church is open for prayer
 
Mon.-Fri.
8:30 am-12:30 pm Parish Office is open
 
Mon., December 17th
7:00 pm    NIANA Meeting in Parish House
 
Tues., December 18th
10:00 am   Sherburne Commons Worship
5:30 pm    Children’s Advent Series
6:30 pm    Handbell Practice
7:00 pm    NLM in Church
 
Wed., December 19th 
8:30 am    Holy Eucharist Service
9:30 am    Staff Meeting
7:00 pm    NLM Bible Study
7:00 pm    NIANA Meeting in Parish House
 
Thurs., December 20th
11:30 am  Lectionary Group
5:30 pm   Habitat for Humanity
7:00 pm   Mas-Mesmer Audio/Visual Experience
 
Fri., December 21st
4:00 pm     Hyline Caroling
7:00 pm     NIANA Meeting in Parish House
 
Sat., December 22nd
9:00 am     Centering Prayer   
10:00 am   Youth Choristers Rehearsal in Parish House
11:30 am   Happy Birthday Jesus
4:00 pm     Choir Rehearsal in Parish House
7:00 pm     NLM in Church and Gardner Hall
 
Sun., December 23rd 
9:30 am      Holy Eucharist Rite II
9:30 am      Church School/Nursery Care during service
1:30 pm      NLM Services in Church
7:00 pm      NIANA Meeting in Parish House
 
The Church office will be closed December 25th thru January 1st .
Happening Soon
Hospital or Home Visits
If you or a loved one are in the hospital or home bound, please let us know if you would like a visit. Please notify Father Max at 508-228-0916 ext. 11 or 302-542-5587.
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St. Paul’s Christmas Brunch
Sunday, December 16th
Immediately after the 9:30 service
Gourmet and Giving in Gardner Hall
 
 
Join your fellow parishioners for our annual (and fabulous) Christmas brunch prepared by your Fellowship Committee and celebrate the season with joy, togetherness and giving.
 
As has been our custom, we will again be supporting a local, community outreach effort and, this year, it is St. Paul’s own initiative, Laundry Love.
 
Laundry Love, a national organization providing free laundry service to those in need, was started at St. Paul’s in November, 2017 by the Outreach Committee.
Once a month, with the cooperation of Holgates Laundry, members of our parish gather at the laundromat and provide free laundry cards to some of our less fortunate Island brethren.
 
Please consider being a part of this important ministry by making a gift to Laundry Love and placing it in the donation jar at the brunch.
 
Sign up for the brunch on the sheet in the back of Church or call Christine in the Church office (508 228-0916).
Christmas Flowers
Some of you might wish to remember or give thanks for a loved one with a flower donation during the Christmas season.


If so, please submit your contribution marked “Christmas Flowers” and your list of names into the office by 12:00 pm on December 18 th .
Your Name:_________________________________________
Phone# ____________________________________________
Flowers Given in Memory of:    ( Please print names clearly)
____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Flowers Given in Celebration of:    ( Please print names clearly)

___________________________________________________
email:  [email protected] .
 
Paper sheets will be included in the Sunday insert.


Attention all Teens!
Thursday, December 20th at 7:00pm
Following up to our popular Halloween event, we have scheduled Sawyer Phillips and Andrew Chistester (known as “Mas-Mesmer”) to offer a unique Audio/Visual experience in the Church. $5 at the door. Pizza will be served.
Hyline Caroling~ Friday, December 21st
Join us as we gather at St. Paul’s and walk down to the Hyline to greet folks arriving and departing with Christmas Carols. Then we will meet at the Rectory after for refreshments.
3:45 pm-Meet at the Church parking lot
4:00 pm-Singing at Hyline
5:00 pm-Refreshments at St. Paul’s rectory
Christmas Eve 5:00pm Service – Monday, December 24
A feature of the 5:00pm Christmas Eve Service will be St. Paul’s Youth Chorister’s presentation of “Christmas Means Jesus to Me,” a fun, upbeat, “rockin’” telling of the birth of Jesus in song and narration. This first Christmas Eve Service and Eucharist will also include joyous and contemplative music played by Pam Goddard on flute, with Joe Hammer on organ and piano. The opportunity to sing favorite Christmas carols will abound!
 
Christmas Eve 8:30pm Musical Prelude and 9:00pm Service with Eucharist
Monday, December 24
The prelude for the 9:00pm service will be your opportunity to listen to the music gifts of Jessica Sanseverino, St. Paul’s Choral Scholar Jackie McGrath, St. Paul’s Adult and Handbell Choirs, and Joe Hammer on the organ. The congregation will also be called upon to join in singing favorite Christmas carols proclaiming the Birth of Jesus. Following this extended prelude, the 9:00pm Service and Eucharist will feature choral, vocal and handbell music and carols of this joyous and sacred of seasons.
Cuba, Revisited
 
It is warmth, love and "family" that bring us back to Cuba each time. I hope that many more of St. Paul's people will come to Cuba, because it is so hard to explain in words the sense of one heart, one soul, one body in Christ flowing through and connecting us, that is so very tangible. We ate, prayed and traveled together, sharing their homes and their lives for a short time. We came to know each other not only with words, but with actions.
 
It was wonderful to see the water system in use. There were people coming daily to fill six water jugs at a time, and we met one woman who told us of the great improvement to her chronic illness since pure water became available.
 
The parish of San Juan Evangelista has also begun work on an acre of land for a farm, now plowed and ready to plant with vegetables for the parish and community.
 
The new church building is one or two permits away from breaking ground. Seeming more complicated even than here, every department of town, county, state and federal government is involved. We are hoping to begin in early 2019.
 
In January there will be an after-service forum here, possibly even with slides to show... During the forum we can answer  questions and get into more details about    San Juan Evangelista, our companion church in Cuba.
 
Blessings,
Vicky and Lucy

           Save the Date!
             Jan. 20th
              Annual Meeting after the 9:30am service.             
             Brunch to follow
Happy Birthday Jesus!
Join us for a party to celebrate the real reason for the season. Sat., Dec. 22 at 11:30- 3:30 PM Gardner Hall 
Pizza, snacks, a craft activity and a showing of The Star, a tale of faith and friendship as Bo, a small but brave donkey teams up with a loveable sheep and a wisecracking dove to follow the star and become part of the greatest story ever told. Children will also decorate a gingerbread house to take home.Please signup on the form at the back of the church or contact Sr. Susanna at 508-332-9823 to ensure we have enough houses for everyone.
Children’s Advent Series
The Gift of the Nutcracker
Children are invited to participate in this four-week Advent series where we will hear two stories: The Story of Jesus’s birth and The Store of the Nutcracker. The sessions are designed for children in kindergarten through eight grade as we explore what the stories and themes of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet can teach us about Christmas and the coming of Christ into the world. We will meet in the Parish House from 5:30-7:30pm on Dec. 18. Dinner will be provided. Contact Sister Susanna at 508-332-9823 for further information.
Buildings and Grounds committee
We kindly ask if you see some aspect of the campus in disrepair or in need of attention please report via email to “St. Paul’s Office Manager”
[email protected] will attend to it as soon as we can. Thank you!



Christian Education Opportunities


 Holy Eucharist Service
Wednesday at 8:30 am in the Chapel.  
 
Thursday Bible Study
Based on or lectionary : readings from Scripture appointed to be read the following Sunday. St. Paul’s Bible Study Group meets on Thursdays, 11:30-12:30 in the Parish House. For more information, contact Father Max, or Lucy Bixby, [email protected]
ALL are welcome!
 
Centering Prayer Group
Saturdays, 9:00 am -10:00 am
St. Paul’s Parish House
Led by Sister Susanna Margaret 
This weekly group includes an opening prayer or meditation, a 20-minute practice of Centering Prayer (silent sitting), a scripture reading, and a time for discussion.
National Alliance on Mental Illness
For support, education, and advocacy for mental illness please contact Nantucket’s Program Coordinator Suzanne Fronzuto at
508-221-6202 or [email protected]
 
Thank you to the Fellowship Committee for providing the food for the Christmas Brunch on Sunday.
We pray for: Justin, Archbishop of Canterbury; Michael our Presiding Bishop; Alan, our Bishop; Gayle, our Suffragan Bishop; Max our Priest and Susan, our Deacon. 
 
We pray for : Sheila, Georgia Ann, Siobhan, Randy, Jerry, Dirk, Jim, Howard, Gil, Blair, Molly, Jeff, Judy, Pamela, Ray, Priscilla, Philip, Betsy, Beverly, Sandra, Jenn,  Marianne, Felix, Joan, June

The Anglican Cycle of Prayer : The Rt. Rev. Augustin Ahimana, Bishop of Kivu .  
The Diocesan Cycle of Prayer:
Christ Church, Cambridge;
St. Bartholomew’s Church, Cambridge; St. James’ Church, Cambridge; St. Peter’s Church, Cambridge; Diocesan Disciplinary Board.

We pray for: The men and women serving in our Armed Forces; easing of racial tensions in our country; those with mental illness and their families; healing and peace among peoples and nations throughout the world; the President of the United States, the United States Congress, the Supreme Court and all in authority; our brothers and sisters from other faiths; our Companion Church: San Juan Evangelista, in Vertientes, Cuba; our local Food Pantry, the Rental Assistance Program .
St. Paul's By-Laws
The Constitution and By-Laws that govern our church are posted on the St. Paul’s website in the About Us section. In addition, hard copies of it are available in the sanctuary

P.O. Box Discontinued
Effective March 31, 2018, St. Paul's will no longer be maintaining a U.S. mail box. Please address all mail to the church at 20 Fair Street, Nantucket, MA 02554