Note: Parish Office will be closed on Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Saint Mary’s Weekly News
November 25, 2012 - The Last Sunday after Pentecost
Pizza Party for all high school kids to meet with the Ferrells and talk about service work locally and a possible summer week in New Jersey working with underprivileged kids!! Wednesday, November 28th, from 5 to 6:30 at the Parish House. Please RSVP by emailing Becky at beckypride@maine.rr.com or Doug at dougpride@maine.rr.com as soon as you know if you can come for pizza so we know how much to order… OR you can call us with questions or to leave a message at 781-4391.
This Sunday is Soup Kitchen Sunday – November 25th
The Fourth Sunday of each month, Saint Mary’s prepares and serves a hot meal to the clients at the Preble Street Soup Kitchen. We need people to (a) go around 10:30 to help with the cooking and set-up; (b) to arrive about 11:45 to assist with table service; and/or (c) to help with clean-up beginning at 1:00. Bless you. Questions? Please call Marian McCue at 761-1936 or mmccue@maine.rr.com
Souper Supper AT FORESIDE CHURCH in November
We have accepted the gracious offer from Foreside Community Church, 340 Foreside Rd (just 2.5 miles north of us) for the use of their kitchen to prepare our soup and their Fellowship Hall to host our crowds for our November Souper Suppers. The Supper on November 9th was a sell-out crowd, and we thank all those that put in the extra effort to make it work in our temporary November home. Thank you to our neighboring UCC church. See you there on Friday, the 23rd. You CAN get there from here!
Advent Giving Tree - Holiday Gift Drive for Local Families
Coming – Next week and in the AVE! S. Mary's will be sponsoring several local families again this Christmas. Maureen Hale is providing us with a "wish list" and all "wished for" items will be displayed as ornaments on a special "Giving Tree" in the Parish House.
With Thanks from the Legacy Cabinet
On this Thanksgiving week, as we continue to watch the wonderful transformation of our campus, the Legacy Cabinet wishes to take a moment to extend its profound thanks to all of you who have made this amazing project possible: Our 204 (so far!) donors, the scores of parish volunteers, our parish staff, our partners--Demont Associates, Ledgewood Construction, Scott Simons Architects, Norway Savings Bank, Pierce Atwood Attorneys, Jensen Baird Attorneys; our neighbors, the Town of Falmouth, our many sub-contractors. That so many have come together in common cause to achieve such results never ceases to amaze and inspire. May God Bless you all.
Pageant Practice Continues
All S. Mary's children (4 years and older) are welcome to be part of our Christmas Pageant. Directed by Heather Gale and Jen Means, the Pageant will be incorporated into our 10:00 am worship service on the 4th Sunday of Advent, December 23rd. Pageant practice will be held after church AND during Guiding RAY on Sunday mornings. ALL rehearsals will be held IN the church building immediately following the 10 o'clock service, except those during Guiding RAY time. Children will be asked to attend 4 (out of 5) after-church rehearsals and NO rehearsal will be held on Thanksgiving weekend. Remaining practice dates are as follows: December 2nd, 9th and 16th. A mandatory full dress rehearsal will be held on Saturday, December 22nd at 3:00 pm and is a great time to invite grandparents or neighbors to witness this special performance. If you have any questions please contact Julie Morrison, jmorrison500@yahoo.com.
SPARKLES NEWS
Sunday, December 2nd begins the Advent Season.
Ø Advent Wreath-making Workshop We kick off the Advent season with this wonderful tradition at 3pm. Plan on bringing the family and creating a tradition to bring home. We will supply all that is needed (a $10 contribution would help defray costs) but if you have greens (branches of 8 - 24” in length of juniper, hemlock, cedar or fir - but NOT pine) and garden clippers that would be helpful.
Together we will create an Advent Wreath to bring out to Father James’ grave and remember him on this two year anniversary of his death and celebrate his life during his favorite time of year.
Ø Advent Lessons & Carols We welcome the season with a service of Advent Lessons & Carols at 4:00 in the Sanctuary and then go outside and light the Memorial & Celebratory Tree that honors our loved ones. During the Tree Lighting, we will also be commemorating Father James’ life among us. Join us.
Ø Tree Lighting If you have a person you would like remembered or celebrated, please let the office know by e-mail admin@smary.org, dropping off a form in the plate or the office, or call to the office 781-3366. See inserted form or call office by Monday, Nov 26th.
Ø Sparkles Needs You!
We still need help with baking, cooking, arranging, selling, cashiering, cleaning up both before and after the Fair. Almost anything you would like to do---Sparkles has a job for you!! Sign-up sheets will be in the Guild Room all this week, so PLEASE stop in and volunteer for a position.
Ø Sparkles Boutique -- The last collection time for the boutique Dec. 1st ) between 9am and noon. Support the Sparkles Fair by donating your new and gently used treasures. A tax deduction form will be provided.
Ø New this year! SPARKLES BUCKS ----- Sparkles Bucks are being sold in $10.00 amounts at coffee hour after each service. You can use them yourself or give them as a gift certificate. A small discount will be offered for multiples of ten. They are a wonderful way to give a gift to encourage someone else to come if you cannot shop on December 8th yourself. Sparkles Bucks may be spent only on items from the boutique.
Ø Sparkles Concert 4 pm December 16 - “Magnificat”
The month of December ushers in the Advent season, and one of its most celebrated texts is Mary's gentle hymn, the Magnificat. Interspersed throughout the evening will be readings from the King James Bible, and poetry from masters of all ages read by Saint Mary's new rector, the Reverend Nathan Ferrell. If you want to experience the mystery of medieval song, the glory of baroque music, and hear some of Maine's best singers and players celebrate this season, please join us at 4:00pm on Dec. 16th in the Sanctuary. After the concert you are invited to an elegant reception to end the Advent Sparkle Season. Tickets are $15.00 for adults, $12 for seniors and students and a family cap of $40.00 and are available on line at stmaryschola.org, the parish office or coffee hours or at the door.
Having a hard time looking for a gift for the person that has everything??
Honor them by supporting the Episcopal Relief and Development projects or a child in Child Fund International in their name. Check out the catalogs in the guild room, on the bulletin board and Beth’s office to see the many ways you can help and honor your loved one in helpful ways.
Godspeed – Saturday morning prayer & running group with Fr. Nathan. Gather at the Parish House at 8 AM any Saturday morning for a time of spiritual encouragement and physical exertion! The runs will be tailored to the abilities of those who gather, but be prepared to be pushed a bit – with mutual love and support, of course.
Fr. Nathan Ferrell: Feel free to contact Fr. Nathan at any time if you wish to speak with him. You can e-mail him directly at nathanferrell@smary.org, or call him on his cell at 609-410-7573. Follow him on Twitter @FatherNate or visit his blog at www.fatherferrell.blogspot.com .
Open Door – open conversation time with Fr. Nathan (@FatherNate) on Twitter. Every Tuesday morning from 8 to 9 AM, Fr. Nathan will be live on Twitter and ready to answer any questions that you may have. Grab a cup of coffee (or tea), log in to Twitter, and join the group conversation.
Wanted: Warm winter coats, boots & glasses for Learning Works
We thank everyone who has donated warm clothing for our refugees. However, we still need more winter coats/jackets, warm sweat shirts and winter boots. These refugees arrive with no warm winter clothes and have never seen snow or experienced icy walkways. We also need reading glasses. Please put your donations in a marked box in the church vestibule. FMI call Jean Wandel 781-4940.
Guiding RAY (Religious Adventures for Youth)
Our Sunday morning children's program has classes for Preschool through 6th Grade and Nursery Care for children under 3. The theme for 2012-13 is God’s Covenants. We hope that parents will drop children off to the Guiding RAY spaces in plenty of time us to get started at 10am and for them to be able to get over to the church and not interrupt the 10am liturgy. The children join their parents in church for Communion. Watch for our intergenerational services when we all come to church together and worship as a community - great lessons for our young parishioners as well as our seasoned parishioners.
Guiding RAY Gazette
What do Jars of Clay, Bill Cosby, and Sting all have in common? Find out during November's rotation. Hint: Your children are actually measuring out the size of Noah's ark!
Sunday Morning Schedule
9:30am: Door open for registration and childcare drop-off. We respectfully ask that parents say goodbye at registration to allow the children to take ownership of their space. If your child has a difficult time saying goodbye, we can help! We have a procedure especially for this. Just ask! We will have both active and quiet activities set up in the great room with constant supervision and all children will be personally directed to their classrooms at the appropriate times. We are working hard to create a safe, welcoming, and peaceful space for the children. If you are curious about the new space, we will be offering tours after the service.
10:00am: Classes start promptly
10:40am: Approximate time children come over for communion. We try to coordinate this so they enter at the peace.
*Godly Play does not go over to the church. After church, parents should line up outside the door and wait for the door person to individually excuse each child in the order the parents are lined up. This allows each teacher to personally say goodbye and still maintains the integrity of the children's worship space.
RAY Reminders
*To access the new Guiding RAY space, please walk to the left of the auditorium building and follow the path down the hill. You will see a large plywood door. Bear with us as we are still putting the finishing touches on this area. The RAY Registration table will be a short way inside on the left.
*S. Mary's Youth Choir: Under the direction of Betsy Stoddard and the accompaniment of Bruce Fithian, the children (ages 5-13) meet every Sunday immediately following church. Children should meet up front in the pews. We are currently practicing for our Christmas services. If your child doesn't read, we utilize the Suzuki method of listening, listening, listening. CD's are available upon request for families to listen and learn.
Like us on Facebook for the most up to date information:
http://www.facebook.com/GuidingRayAtSaintMarys
Eucharistic Visitors take Holy Communion to those unable to worship with us on Sunday morning. The Eucharistic Visitor this week is Lee Snow.
This Week’s Calendar at Saint Mary’s
November/December 2012
Sunday 25 8:00am Last Sunday after Pentecost: Traditional Eucharist
10:00am Last Sunday after Pentecost: Contemporary Eucharist
10:00am Guiding RAY workshops in the Guiding RAY spaces
SOUP KITCHEN
Monday 26
Tuesday 27 10:00am Order of St Luke in church
4:00pm Prayer Chain
6:00pm Schola rehearses
7/7:30pm AA in church/Al-Anon in Guild Room
Wednesday 28 7:00pm High School Pizza gathering with the Ferrells
Thursday 29 6:30pm Sparkles meeting
7:30pm Men’s AA in the Guild Room
Friday 30 5:30pm Al-Anon in the Guild room
Saturday Dec. 1 8:00am Godspeed
9a - 12n Final Sparkles drop-off
Sunday 2 8:00am The First Sunday of Advent: Traditional Eucharist
10:00am The First Sunday of Advent: Contemporary Eucharist
10:00am Guiding RAY workshops in the Guiding RAY spaces
3:00pm Advent Wreath Making Workshop
4:00pm Advent Lessons & Carols followed by
Memorial & Celebratory Tree Lighting
