Thursday November 27, 2008

1) SAGA Meeting - Friday November 28, 2008

The next meeting of SAGA will take place on Friday November 28, 2008 at 6:30 pm (potluck dinner).  All are welcome.

WINTER IS COMING!

Not only winter is coming, the coming winter is going to be a very cold one. It is time for a bunch of friends sitting around dining table, with plenty of food and drinks and share stories. We will talk about things we enjoy doing in winter or things we do to make the winter more tolerable. Of course, coming to SAGA meetings and having FUN is a must.
 

Please remember that the SAGA Christmas Party will be on Saturday, 20th Dec., 2008. This year we will gather at 5 p.m. for appetizers and drinks. Dinner will start at 6 p.m. 

See you all at the meeting. Bring friends.

2) Youth Forum - Sunday November 30 - "Being Christian in a Multifaith World"

One of the great questions that we all have to confront is how to understand the place of Christianity in a world of many religions and faiths. We all have friends and relatives who are members of other faiths, or of no faith at all.  Are we right and they are wrong? Does the Christian faith claim that God’s love is reserved just for us?

Following the service on Sunday November 30, youth and young people aged 13 - 20 are welcome to join in a discussion about the relationship and understanding between the Christian faith and other faith traditions.  Questions – and debate – are welcome!

Please RSVP Judy Neal at the church office 416-593-5600 or jneal@standrewstoronto.org

3) Junior Choir Rehearsal this Sunday

This Sunday following the worship service, the members of the junior choir will be having a rehearsal in preparation for the Christmas pageant.  The junior choir is open to all children from kindergarten to grade six.

4) "Celebrating Christmas in a Secular Society" - The 2008 Advent Midweek Meditation Series

Please join us on Wednesday at noon, during the season of Advent, for a series of meditations on the topic "Celebrating Christmas in a Secular Society".  Our guest speakers this year will be the Rev. Cheol Soon Park, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada; the Rev. Fred Hiltz, Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Canada; and the Rev. Dr. Victor Shepherd, Professor at Tyndale Seminary. 

A short organ recital will take place at 12:00 pm; the meditations will begin at 12:15 pm; and everyone is invited to gather together at 12:45 pm for a light lunch of sandwiches.

5) "A Moveable Feast" -- Out of the Cold Fundraiser - Thursday December 4

For the second year, a special silent auction / fundraising evening is being organized in support of the St. Andrew's "Out of the Cold" programme.  For more information -- and to purchase a ticket online -- please visit www.standrewstoronto.org/feast.htm

6) Volunteers Needed for the "Moveable Feast"

Are you looking for a “different” way to help our Out of the Cold program? 

We need volunteers to help at the second annual silent auction to benefit "Out of the Cold" on the evening of Thursday, December 4^th between 6:00 and 11:00 p.m.  Last year, this event raised over $15,000.  Volunteers are need to help with checking coats, serving hors d’oeuvres & wine, attending to the prosecco table, greeting guests at the door, taking payments for tickets and auction purchases, and being the official photographer.  Volunteers get in free!  (But, of course, you’re still welcome to buy a ticket to help the cause.)  To volunteer, please contact Judy Neal in the church office by noon on Friday, November 28^th - jneal@standrewstoronto.org or 416-593-5600.  Thank you!

7) Plans for Christmas...

Perhaps some families would like to share their Christmas meal with a guest; perhaps some members of our church family anticipate being alone on Christmas Day.  Olive Anstice will try to link the two groups together.  Soon a simple form will be available, but in the meantime, please feel free to contact Olive at 416-923-0779.

8) Fair Trade Chocolate and Coffee Sale after Church

The Church School children will be selling Fair Trade goods during Bide-A-Wee for the next few weeks. The profits will be used to pay for charitable gifts to children overseas through World Vision. Items for sale include chocolate Advent calendars and Christmas gift baskets of chocolate, tea and coffee. Orders taken each Sunday can be picked up and paid for at Bide-A-Wee the following week. The final day to order your gift baskets is Sunday, December 14.

9) Online Donations

We are pleased to announce that donations to the Church, and to ministries such as the 'Out of the Cold' programme, can be made online.  To learn more, please click on the button below!

10) Faces of Faith - Elizabeth Forster

Many of you know Elizabeth Forster as one of our congregation's dedicated choir members.  Please click here to read her contribution to this week's "Faces of Faith".