All are invited to gather at the corner of Thirst & Theology for an informal and honest conversation about life and faith tonight -- we will be meeting at 6:00 with the discussion to begin at 6:30. We will be meeting this at Kalypso's Sports Tavern at the Lake Anne Plaza. Bring your thoughts and questions and friends! Fill up with a good chat.  Fill up with good people. Fill up with good news. To learn more, please contact Rev. Laura.

Bishop Shannon Johnston will be visiting St. Anne's on Sunday, Jan. 18. Please plan to join us for this special occasion.

Community Garden at St. Anne's! 

We're starting to think about having a Community Garden at St. Anne's. We will create the garden on our property and use the resulting produce for those in need in our local community. Betsy Carbo, a horticulturist with the Library of Congress, has volunteered to lead our effort. If this is an area that you would like volunteer to plan, dig, plant, nurture and/or harvest, we will be meeting on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 1:00 p.m. to see if we have enough interest to get this rolling. If you have any questions, please talk with Tim Barwick.

We are  accepting flower dedications for Christmas. There is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex or you may email the Church Office with the dedication. The suggested donation is $35, which may be placed in the offering plate with "Christmas flowers" in the memo line of your check. Next Monday is the deadline to send in your dedications. Thanks! 

In November we had 123 customers for our monthly Food Pantry distribution. In addition, during the month we had an additional 20 people come to the Church Office for a bag of groceries. As a result, last month was the largest distribution of food to date. Thanks to all of you we had enough food for everyone. However, it has left our shelves pretty bare. We are planning to distribute food to about 110 people in December. We are in need of everything right now, but we especially need cereal, jelly, macaroni and cheese, pasta and size 5 diapers. Also, the pantry is a great place for all of those calendars you are getting in the mail. Again, thank you for your support. Our pantry is making a huge difference to many of members of Fellowship House as well as the larger community around us. If you have any questions please contact Susanne Walsh (703-435-0191).

The Advent Conspiracy is an opportunity to return to the message of Jesus' birth. Rather than give a hat or another pair of socks, give a gift of you! For our Advent Conspiracy project this year, we're supporting the Hypothermia Shelter that Epiphany Episcopal Church in Franklin Farm is running Christmas week (see below for details.) In recognition of time worked at the shelter or items donated, St. Anne's will give you a special Christmas card that you can send to a friend. The card contains a message that lets the recipient know that rather than a gift this year you've given something even more important: your time to help others.

• There are two sisters in a group home who need assistance navigating the mall. We need a volunteer on Dec. 15 at 10:30 to assist one sister with her holiday shopping and a volunteer on Dec. 16 at 10:30 to assist the other sister. 
• We will help the SPARC community wrap their gifts on Dec. 18 at 10:45 at the Southgate Community Center. We had a wonderful time last year and enjoyed laughter, fun and fellowship together. You can attend just to meet and talk with our friends or to bring gift bags, wrapping, ribbons and whatever else is really fun to help wrap gifts. This is one of the few times that a SPARC participant may have enough privacy and help to wrap a Christmas gift for a loved one.

To sign up for either the mall visit or the gift wrapping, please contact George Bounacos or by calling at 703-597-9311.

Just Neighbors provides immigration legal services to low-income immigrants and refugees of all faiths and nationalities in Northern Virginia. They expect that 92,000 residents of Virginia are now eligible under President Obama's new order on immigration reform, a more than threefold increase from the 26,000 youth in Virginia previously eligible under DACA. Just Neighbors are committed to helping those in our community newly eligible for this temporary status. To meet the needs of this suddenly expanded population, they need your help!  To volunteer, no language or legal skills required, you can contact Just Neighbors at 703-979-1240. 

The Monday Book Group will be meeting again on Jan. 12 at 12:30 at Café Montmartre in Lake Anne Plaza. They will be discussing The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber.

Save-the-date for the St. Anne's Art Show & Silent Auction to benefit scholarships for participation in St. Anne's programs and events: April 17. The theme of the show is "creation" and we are calling for entries in a variety of media, including but not limited to painting, knitting, music, jewelry, poetry, ceramics, metal, drawing, embroidery, photography, printmaking, glass, wood, quilting, and sculpture. Attendees will be able to bid on the entries and thereby help St. Anne's to provide scholarships for persons to participate in various events and programs. Volunteers are needed; please contact Rev. Laura to serve on the art show & auction organization committee. Start working on your own "creation" today!

Coats for Newly Released Prisoners 

Help provide a warm, fresh start to those who are newly released from prison. OAR (Opportunities, Alternatives and Resources) of Fairfax needs gently used men and women's coats, size AS to AXXL This begins Sunday, Nov. 2 through the middle of March. We are also in need of monthly volunteers to help us pick up the coats once a week and deliver them to OAR in Fairfax. As space is limited, please only donate warm, winter coats. You can leave the coats in the bin under the coat hangers in the Narthex To learn more about OAR, see their website. For more information contact Jackie Wooldridge (703-819-2346).