Wednesday, December 2, 2009

1)  Christmas Pageant & White Gift Sunday
 

The St. Andrew's Christmas Pageant will take place during the worship service on Sunday, December 6th.  This is a very special event in the season, and a wonderful chance for our children to shine.  All children in the congregation are welcome to participate!  The last rehearsal will take place on Saturday, December 5th, beginning at 9 a.m.  If you have not already confirmed your child's participation or if you would like to volunteer to help out, please contact Elizabeth Forster at elizabeth.forster@cbc.ca.  Please note that the nursery will not be open during the pageant.

Sunday, December 6 (the same Sunday as the Christmas Pageant) will be our annual White Gift Sunday.  Traditionally, members give items for Christmas gifts for our Out of the Cold guests:  gloves, warm socks, men's underwear, toiletries, etc. 

Thank you for your ongoing support for this important ministry at St. Andrew's.

2)  Out of the Cold - weekly update

Joe Anne Roberts, who writes a weekly summary about each Monday night's dinner, said in this week's email that: 

Well the cheques were out, received by one and all on Nov. 27, and as expected, our numbers were affected.  We had 190 guests last night.

One guest told us he had come all the way from Oakville to have dinner at St. Andrew’s.  When asked how he got here he responded, in my Bentley of course.

The reviews were again "magnifique", "superb" etc. with one guest saying "the meal was superlative even by your standards, which are consistently high".  And Joy gave us 9 stars.  And then, of course, there is Liz who raved about the soup and said the dinner was almost too rich (she had a little of everything) and the cheesecake to die for.

News from the boutique:   A guest came in looking for a jacked that would

cover her backside and when she found one she threw her arms around one of

our volunteers and gave her a big hug.  She then turned to a second and

proceeded to tell her about the realities of living on the street.  (A lesson that our young volunteer said she hoped she never had to learn first hand.)

Seriously, though, following is a letter we received from one of our guests. I am sorry I cannot make out the signature at the bottom to give proper accreditation.

"For the Staff @ St. Andrews Out of the Cold & Volunteers:   I was here last night and very much enjoyed the dinner.  The line up is getting longer and longer it seems (Jesus fed the 5,000....St. Andrews over the winter will feed another 5,000!!!); anyway the line-ups aren't getting shorter.  But the staff is just as wonderful and the service is appreciated by all.  You can sense the bitterness when people are cold & hungry...but after some hospitality & food they go out into the city with some hope & appreciation.  Thank you."

Financial donations to support the program are always welcome, and can be sent to the church office.  Please make cheques payable to "St. Andrew's Church" and show "Out of the Cold" in the notation line.   St. Andrew’s covers all administration costs and all financial donations go directly toward the purchase of food and supplies for the program.  

For information about corporate participation please speak to the "Out of the Cold" Coordinator Lorraine Irvine.    Please feel free to share information about the "Out of the Cold" programme in your workplaces if there are requests for suggestions about corporate charity donations.

If you would like to donate new or used warm winter clothing, books (not romance novels, please) or magazines, please bring the items to the church or contact Judy Neal in the church office.

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3) St. Andrew's Book Club - Thursday December 3, 2009 - "Through Black Spruce" by Joseph Boyden

The next meeting of the St. Andrew's Book Club will take place on Thursday December 3, 2009 at 7:00 pm.  The book for discussion will be Joseph Boyden's recent novel "Through Black Spruce", which won the 2008 Giller Prize.  The book is set in Northern Ontario, the streets of Toronto and the streets of Montreal. 

This will be the fifth meeting of the Book Club, which first met in the early part of 2009.  Since then, we have enjoyed a number of thoughtful, engaged and wonderful conversations.  All are welcome!

4)  "A Moveable Feast" Silent Auction to benefit our Out of the Cold program - Tuesday, December 8th

For the past three years, a wonderful group of young women has undertaken a major fundraising project for the St. Andrew's "Out of the Cold" programme.  This fundraiser -- called "A Moveable Feast" -- offers a lovely evening gathering and a 'silent auction' with all proceeds going towards the food for our "Out of the Cold".  This year, the event is being held at The Richmond at 477 Richmond St. W. Suite 104.

Congregational support is encouraging, needed and appreciated.  This year, there is an opportunity to support this initiative online, even if you are not able to attend the event.  For more information, tickets and details, please visit www.standrewstoronto.org/auction2009

See you there!

5) Advent and Christmas Events at St. Andrew's

    December 2        - First Advent Noon Meditation

    December 6        - Christmas Pageant & White Gift Sunday - 10:30 Worship

    December 9        - Second Advent Noon Meditation

    December 13      - Special Choral Service at morning worship

    December 13      - St. Andrew's leads worship at Belmont House at 7 pm

    December 16      - Third Advent Noon Meditation

    December 18      - The 36th Annual Rugby & St. Andrew's Carol Service - 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. in the sanctuary

    December 20      - Special Christmas Remembrance Service - 7:00 p.m. in the Chancel

    December 24      - Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship Services with Holy Communion (7:00 and 11:00 p.m.)

6) The Annual Rugby Carol Service at St. Andrew's - December 18, 2009

On Friday December 18 2009 from 7:30 – 9:00 pm, the 36^th Annual Rugby Carol Service will be taking place at the church.  For years, members of one of the local Rugby leagues, and their families have been having the caroling evening at St. Andrew’s and have “passed a hat” for the Out of the Cold programme.  It is great evening – all the old great Christmas carols sung with gusto in a relaxed and fun atmosphere.

This year, it is our intention to begin a new tradition of having a great participation from the people of St. Andrew's as well.   Arrangements are being made for childcare for kids up to age 4 – and kids of all ages are welcome to join in the caroling.   Every year, there are a few kids from the Rugby community and they are invited to join in the caroling with everyone else.

One of the reasons why this would be such a great evening for the kids is because it will give them a chance to hear, learn and sing many of the old Christmas carols that we do not have a chance to gather to sing in many other contexts.  Please plan to be here -- and bring your friends and family members.

7)  Presbyterians Sharing...  in Nigeria

Our gifts to Presbyterians Sharing have supported the Rev. Arlene Onuoha’s work in Nigeria with the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN) for more than 20 years. Arlene has left a legacy of people continuing to do mission and ministry in Nigeria. She taught and inspired church workers – evangelists, diaconal workers, and ministers – and worked with women, children and youth in various capacities. She also equipped the church through her work in Christian education and administration at the General Assembly level. Arlene has now returned to Canada and is doing deputation as she seeks a call. Let us thank God for Arlene and her many years of dedicated service, and pray for her as she moves into ministry in Canada.

8) Group Discount Rates for the ROM Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit

We are organizing a group to take a self-guided tour of the Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit on Sunday, December 12th.  The group will qualify for the group discount ticket prices.  If you are interested in attending, please contact Kristen Stout at kwmathewson@rogers.com.

This very special exhibit runs until January 3, 2010.  If you can't join our group but would like to go at a different time, you may obtain the discount price for 1-10 tickets by purchasing online with your credit card.     For details click here, please see the following:

1) Go to: http://www.rom.on.ca/visit/group/index.php

2) Click on the button for "Buy your tickets online"

3) In the "Corporate Clients" box, click "Buy Now"

4) Select "Dead Sea Scrolls + General Admission"

5) Choose your date and time

6) For the "promo code", enter STANDREWS and click submit

7) At the next screen (which should display the discount prices), select your tickets

8) Submit your credit card information, and print your tickets

Enjoy the show!

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!