O Chrismon Tree! 

Many of you are discussing the Advent Conspiracy (seen on your Facebook entries as well).  

Thought you might like this web based Advent Calendar if you do not already have one. Just follow the link http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/news/features/2010-advent-calendar.  

Some signs and symptoms of The Advent Virus:

·  A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.

·  An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.

·  A loss of interest in judging other people.

·  A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.

·  A loss of interest in conflict.

·  A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)

·  Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

·  Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.

·  Frequent attacks of smiling.

·  An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.

·  An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

Please send this warning out to all your friends. This virus can and has affected many systems. Some systems have been completely cleaned out because of it.

• 4 Pumpkin Unloadings
• 37 days of pumpkin sales
• 185 - 2 hour shifts
• 1477 volunteer hours
• 3000 fliers handed out
• 450 people at Trick-or-Treat in the Patch
• Over 5600 pieces of candy and toys handed out at Trick-or-Treat in the Patch
• 100 Bales of Hay
• 250 Pallets
• Over 75 wheelbarrows full of stinky pumpkins hauled to the dumpster
• 20 School Groups
• 700 School Children
• 50+ Stories Read
• and one very happy community!

Debbie Allensworth

Monday, December 28 at 11am

FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN PUB MASS & BOXING DAY CELEBRATION

With the spirit of Christmas in the air, we remember the Feast of St. Stephen, deacon and martyr of the Church, who was charged with overseeing the distribution of goods to the community. It's also Boxing Day, a traditional British holiday where we remember those less fortunate in our city.

Please bring a donation of food, clothing or blankets that we will give to the Christian Community Service Center, in keeping with the Boxing Day tradition of sharing from our wealth to those most in need.

A holy and wholly good celebration!

Pub Mass at noon offered by Rev. Canon C. Andrew "Andy" Doyle to commemorate St. Stephen's feast. At 1pm, following the Mass, we will open for a festive and traditional lunch at the Mucky Duck in Houston.

The celebration of Boxing Day, which takes place on December 27 - the feast of St. Stephen, is a part of the holiday season unique to Great Britain. Traditionally, it is on this day that the alms box at every English church is opened and the contents are distributed to the poor. Also, this is the day that servants traditionally got the day off to celebrate with their families.

Ed Woodward and I attended this last year.   It was a lot of fun.  Nice lunch, $ 15- $ 25 Range, Nice beer collection, and lots of nice fellowship.

If anyone is interested in going, contact Jesse Bowman at jessebowman1@gmail.com.  

St. Andrew's Family,

Lord of the Streets (www.lordofthestreets.org) is an Episcopal Church and Ministry for the Homeless in Houston. They are very much in need of men's clothing as the cold arrives.  They need winter clothes, jackets, sweaters and outerwear for men.  They especially need jeans and pants for men.

You can bring your donations to church on a Sunday and I will get them to LOTS. Thank you for your generosity.

Peace,

Jim+

frjimbo@msn.com

Stewardship Campaign 

Resolutions/Approvals

• The vestry approved a revised 2011 Budget Pass 5 with the anticipation of approximately twelve additional pledges. Single revision was an increase in raises line item in Salaries of $6,000 offset by an increase in anticipated pledges by $ $6,000. Over $8,000 will now be available for raises.  A 2.5% raise will be given to select tenured program staff.  There are currently 92 pledges for a total of $328,498.

• The vestry gave Russell Meachen, Junior Warden, the authority to review and accept bids up to $1,300 to repair fixtures and install lights that we have previously purchased for the entryway and worship area.  This is a capital expense.

As part of our Advent Conspiracy project, our children water colored greeting cards yesterday in Sunday School for folks who need encouragement (ill, sad, lonely, grieving) this Advent.

If you would like us to send someone a card, please email me back with the name and address. The cards are signed with the child's first name, age and "St. Andrew's".

Blessings,

Jamie Martin Currie 

 Children's Minister

• Thanks to Kathryn Powers for agreeing to assist with the upkeep of our First Aid kits around the campus and Mike Sampson for cutting blocks for the children's nativity sets.

• Thanks to Bethany Donaldson, Christian Mortenson, Allison Curl and Jesse Bowman for an awesome  Christmas Pageant. Thanks too to the countless parents who assisted.

Want to access the church wireless network for the web when you are on campus?

Here's what you do.

Please pick out the "Guest" wireless account

The password is  IAmAGuestHere

The password is case sensitive

We now have a presence on the popular social networking website, Facebook. If you have a Facebook account, just click on the box to the left to become a fan of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church.
If you do not yet have your own profile on Facebook, you can get started in just minutes.

To go to the St. Andrew's page Click Here

To set up a Facebook account www.facebook.com 

We just added a new RSS feed (Really Simple Syndication - Click here) to the online Church calendar Click here.

Now you can use the power of RSS to keep up to date with a list of upcoming events when you subscribe (no fee) to the RSS feed using Outlook, a Web browser or a favorite feed reader, such as Google Reader.
To get started, simply click the RSS icon  on your preview calendar or on your Web browser's toolbar. It works like other RSS feeds.