November 26, 2015



Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you, Chris!!!

(Don’t miss the Quotes about Gratitude and the Pie Auction photo gallery at the end of this MEMO.)

Services for this coming Sunday, the First Sunday of Advent, will be at 8 and 10 am.

The readings for this Sunday: Jeremiah 33:14-16, Psalm 25:1-9, 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13, Luke 21:25-28, 35-36.
Mark your calendars for these St. Andrew’s events:
A liturgy in celebration of the life of Priscilla Browning will be held here on Friday afternoon, December 4th, at 4 pm. Of course, all are invited. Immediately following the service, the family has invited the congregation to a gathering at Priscilla's home overlooking Silver Lake, about a 15-minute drive from the church. Priscilla loved to entertain, and her family generously sees this as one more way to celebrate Priscilla’s spirit. (Driving directions will be provided at the service.)

Cookies, Carols, and Conversation: a Pre-Christmas Tea.  Gather in the Prince Room from 1 to 3 on Thursday, December 10th for: You are encouraged to brings some cookies for the table. Thanks go to Judy Grace for taking the initiative for this gathering.
Slow down. Quiet. It's Advent! An Advent Quiet Day on Saturday, December 12th from 1 to 5pm: What better way to still yourself than to join us for this time of Mindfulness Meditation, Gentle Yoga, and a Silent Tea Ceremony led by Beverly Hammond. See the post on the bulletin board for more details and to sign up. And remember...if you can breathe, you can do yoga!

As we enter the reflective Advent season, the Brothers at the society of Saint John  the Evangelist invite you to subscribe to AdventWord 2015. Click here to sign up: http://adventword.org/ 
Each morning at 5 AM in your email in-bin you will receive a word, a brief mediation, and an accompanying image. You are invited to “hold” that word as you move through your day, and (with your cell phone camera) to capture an image that reflects something of the day’s word. Directions at the #AdventWord web site will tell you how you can share your image with thousands of people around the world.

Here are the words for the first week: #WakeUp, #Proclaim, #Give, #Forgive, #Repent, #Worship, #Believe  … And if you take some pictures that you would like to share here, just email frantzdale@gmail.com.

Pie Auction Gratitude: Many thanks to the extraordinary team of Carol, Chris & Bob, Dale, Bev, Bernice, the Bunkers, Chris Boldt (our enthusiastic auctioneer), Bruce, Patti, Preston, all the pie bakers, and all the guests. We were all well fed, had a great time, took home delicious pies, and brought in about $1200 for the church and our outreach.

Food for thought – Quotes about Gratitude – for this Thanksgiving weekend…
From last Sunday's sermon - and in response to some requests:
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life...such that our hearts can sing in praise."

“…gratitude is more than just saying thank you. Gratitude – and being grateful – can, if we let it, permeate our live. Might we learn to breathe gratitude? …It is a call to paying attention. Tempting as it may be to complain about things that challenge us, or try our patience, or that we “just don’t like,” and painful as it may seem to be to contemplate an attitude of gratitude especially in those difficult places, gratitude to God can awaken us to astonishing moments of grace…”
From Dietrich Bonhoeffer, imprisoned by the Nazis during WWII:
We actually receive  great deal more than we give; it is only with gratitude that life becomes truly rich.


From Melody Beattie, contemporary writer of the recovery movement:
Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
From George Herbert, the great early 17th century Anglican poet:
Thou that has given so much to me,
Give one thing more – a grateful heart:
Not grateful when it pleases me,
As if thy blessings had spare days;
but such a heart, whose pulse may be 
    Thy praise.


On this Thanksgiving Day, I hope you will pause long enough between the baking, the table setting, the conversation, and dishwashing to bask in gratitude for the richness and wonder of this life!
And know that being with all of you is a great blessing to me.
See you in church as we begin a new season together and light the first candle of our Advent Wreath.

Heidi+


A new acolyte-in-training, Becket, Preston's cousin!

Recipe available on request !


Duane on the mend. Photo courtesy of Albert ...or was it Connor?

Pondering a bid???