September 24, 2015




There will be services at 8 and 10 this coming Sunday, September 27th and the 18th Sunday after Pentecost, with coffee hour following both services. We hope you will join us for worship and fellowship.
 Readings: Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22, Psalm 124, James 5:13-20, Mark 9:38-50.
It is with sadness that we share the news of the death on Tuesday of Lee Custer (husband of the Rev. Peg Custer who was rector here in the 1990s and early 2000s). Lee died peacefully after a number of years of difficult health. Peg and Lee were active members here, until their move to Maryland last winter to be near their family. Peg’s address: 7500 Mill Run Drive, Derwood MD 20855
 Our Annual Blessing of the Animals will be next Sunday, October 4th. There will be ONE service only at 9:00 that morning. Dogs should come on leash, cats and rabbits in carriers, birds in cages. Invite your friends to bring their pets as well, and if your animal doesn’t feel up to coming in person, feel free to bring a proxy. This year, our service falls on the actual Feast Day of St. Francis!
HELP! Dinner Bell needs cooks for October 4th! If you think you would like to help with this outreach program and have never done this before, it’s easier than you think.  Please contact Carol Tubman with questions or contact the office with your confirmation to help.
Calling all bakers and jam makers!!! We’re down to the wire on Sandwich Fair prep time! Apple and/or pumpkin whoopee pies have become one of our now signature offerings!  Small loaves of seasonally appropriate sweet breads such as pumpkin, apple, apple spice, and zucchini are also top sellers! If you’re willing to help with some baking, please call Chris Mills at 603-452-4049 or email at alba4me@yahoo.com. She has a standard recipes to share for the whoopee pies and will provide more details to anyone who calls or emails. Make some now and freeze them, or commit now to baking later and have us count on you! Thanks.
Sign up to tend our booth at the Fair! It’s fun. It’s easy. Be an emissary of Saint Andrew’s! (And it gets you into the Sandwich Fair!) The fair runs for three days: October 10 – 12. The shifts are 3 hours. Carol has the list!

How do I give flowers for the altar at St. Andrew’s? Here’s the procedure. It’s really very simple:

·         There’s a Flower Sign-up Chart to the left of the Parish Bulletin Board in the Parish Hall. It provides a listing of all the Sundays in the current year, with a space next to each date.    

·         Altar flowers may be given in thanksgiving for or in memory of a person or an event.    

·         Write your name next to the date on the chart.    

·         Complete the information requested on the envelopes that are in a pouch attached to the chart.    

·         Please indicate whether the altar guild should procure the flowers, or whether you will personally provide the flowers, and whether you will arrange them yourself.

·         We ask a contribution of $25 if you want the altar guild to procure the flowers.

·         Put the money or a check in the envelope and put the envelope on Deb’s desk in the office.

PLEASE remember: We need all the information on the envelope, so that mention can be made in the bulletin and in the prayers.

How many of these field workers can you identify?
 Abundant thanks to the team of willing workers who gathered last Saturday to harvest hundreds of gourds and squashes for sale at our Sandwich Fair booth, and special thanks to Gretchen for planting and tending and to her family for providing the field and hoop house for storage. Harvesters: Sammie, Chris, Tim, Dylan, Tom, Beverly, Dale, Joan W., Duane, Sally Grete, Kevin, Heidi, and Gretchen.
 
PLEDGE SEASON FOR 2016
When you arrive at church, take notice of the empty cornucopia on the altar. This Sunday marks the beginning of our annual fall pledge season. If you attend regularly, you will find a pledge packet with your name on it on the piano in the transept. Please pick it up, take it home, and over the coming weeks pray and ponder seriously what the parish means to you personally and what it means to the community as a whole, then allow your thoughts and prayers to guide your giving plans for the coming year (2016). You will find a pledge card in your packet. When you have made your decision, fill out the card bring or mail it to the church. Then, as a symbol of your offered pledge, select an item from our gourd & squash basket and place it in the cornucopia. As an additional act of generosity, you are encouraged to contribute a container of vegetable or olive oil and to place that on the altar as well. The oil will be distributed through the Community Food Pantry. Our pledge season will extend through October, and on November 1st we will celebrate our generosity and love.
A few FAQs about Pledging…
How does pledging work?
By making a pledge to the church for the amount you plan to give over the coming year, your amount is combined with everyone else’s amount into a total so that the finance committee has a realistic amount to work with for establishing plans and the budget for the year ahead.
Who pledges? What if I’m only here for part of the year?
Everyone who participates in the life of the parish on a regular basis is encouraged to make a pledge. With the exception of Vestry members, no one is required to pledge. All are welcome in this place.
Why should I pledge? How much should I pledge?
That is a decision for you (and your family) to make thoughtfully and prayerfully. Pledging is a way of recognizing the priority of God and the importance of this church in your life. It is a way of fully owning your membership – of recognizing that you no longer see yourself as a visitor, but fully part of this parish family. No pledge is too small. In some circumstances, a pledge of $50 for the year ($1 a week) that you know you can fulfill may be the right pledge. You can always give more if you want. For others, $50 a week might be unreasonably low. What is your income? What are your necessary expenses? How do you weigh your priorities? Perhaps what is most important is to give with gratitude and joy – to give in a way that is truly a giving of yourself.
Planning ahead…
Session two of the Green Burial presentation is scheduled for Wednesday, September 30 at 7 pm at the Cook Library in Tamworth. Gretchen was one of the presenters for session one last night which was superb.
Food for thought…
The road to tolerance begins within. If our prayers are principally aimed at getting what we want from God we will be jealous of those who seem to have got more than us. But if we can pray with open hearts—without words or images, just be present in thankful trust—we can become open people and can rejoice in the good done by others and to others.  —Gerry Pierse, C.Ss.R. 

See you in church,
Blessings, Heidi+