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The Thanksgiving Holiday is a week away. I pray that all of
you, your loved ones, friends, and acquaintances, have a
blessed holiday.
The Woodbury-Southbury Interfaith Thanksgiving Service is
at the Woodbury United Methodist Church on Tuesday,
November 21, at 7:00 pm. For those who want to sing in the
choir, please phone Woodbury United Methodist Church for
information. I will be the preacher that evening.
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THIS WEEK AT ST. PAUL’S
Sat Nov 18 8:30 am Diocesan Convention, Greenwich 5:00 pm Evening Prayer Sun Nov 19 8:00 am Holy Eucharist 9:00 am Church School - Gingerbread House Making 10:00 am Holy Eucharist Mon Nov 20 6:15 pm Christian Yoga, Pearson Room 7:00 pm Transition Team Meeting, Seabury Room Tue Nov 21 10:00 am Ronald Parkhurst Burial Rite 7:00 pm Interfaith Thanksgiving Service,
Woodbury United Methodist Church Wed Nov 22 12:00 pm Men’s Lunch, Charcoal Chef Thu Nov 23 Sat Nov 25 5:00 pm Holy Eucharist Sun Nov 26 8:00 am Holy Eucharist 10:00 am Holy Eucharist
F ood Collection Sunday The third Sunday of each month we encourage everyone to bring in food
donations for the Woodbury Food Bank. For an up to date list of the priority needs of the
Woodbury Food Bank see the handout sheet in food collection basket in the narthex. The food bank is not able to accept items past their labeled expiration date.
Most of us have more than we need at any given time of the year. However, there
are those who do not, and while we ought to have them in mind all the year long, it
is at this time that the lack of resources is most keenly felt. As your clergyperson, I
am on the board of the Community Services Council of Woodbury. Please visit this
site http://cscofwoodburyct.org to read the latest news on the Community Services
Council of Woodbury, Inc.
In the meantime, this addresses how you can be part of making this season of
holidays a little brighter for the poor, the elderly, the disabled, and others in need.
Happy Holidays to you all, my dears.
Faithfully,
Rev Lois Keen
Community Services Council of Woodbury
2017 Holiday Program
The Community Services Council of Woodbury invites you to join us in continuing
the tradition of warming homes and hearts with the special gift of compassion
during the holiday season. Financial donations to the Community Services Council
during our annual Holiday Program will meet the special costs of supplying clients
of the Woodbury Food Bank with turkeys, hams, produce and other dinner
trimmings for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, as well as meeting critical needs
for heating, energy and crisis assistance. We gratefully accept donations of gift
cards for local retail and grocery stores as well to brighten the holidays for our
client families. In addition, we help our families with children to find special holiday
gifts by inviting donations of new toys, games and craft items suitable for children
from toddlers through teens that will be provided to these families at the Council’s
annual “Santa’s Shop” on Dec. 7. Financial donations and individual gift card
donations may be mailed to the Community Services Council, PO Box 585,
Woodbury CT 06798. Special dates for drop-off of toy, game and craft donations at
the Woodbury Food Bank will be from 10 am to 2 pm Nov. 22, from 9 to 11 am
Nov. 30, from 9 am to 2 pm Dec. 1, and from 9 to 11 am Dec. 2. For more
The 2018 Stewardship Campaign Is Off and Running To those of you who have already committed to a pledge, please know that the vestry and
stewardship committee are so very grateful. To those who have not yet made this
commitment, we request your support by this coming Sunday, November 19, Consecration
Sunday. All pledge forms will be carried to the altar at the 10:00 service to receive a
blessing. We know you will want to have your pledge form included in this offering to
God.
Following the 10:00 service, we invite everyone from all services to join us in the Pearson
Room to celebrate the end of the formal part of the campaign with a special coffee hour.
Meanwhile, forms may be mailed to the church, placed in the plate or put in Nancy
Twinem’s box at the foot of the stairs leading up to the offices. Remember, we rely on
every gift, large and small.
With grateful thanks and warmest wishes for a blessed Thanksgiving.
Lay Schedule - We are beginning work on our winter & Christmas lay schedule. Please
contact the parish office or your lay ministry coordinator as soon as possible about your
schedule availability for this period (December thru March 15).
Congratulations Shahrokh - Fr. Dezhbod is the new Missional Priest-in-Charge at Christ Church in Watertown. On Sunday, December 3rd at 10 am Christ Church Watertown is officially welcoming him and will be holding a reception for him following the service. All are welcome. Contact Betty Lou Bowles for more info.
We Remember - Parishioner
Ronald Parkhurst died this past
Tuesday. Leonard Welin, father of
Rev. Greg Welin, died this past
Wednesday. The Burial Rite service
for Ronald Parkhurst will be held here
at St. Paul’s. on Tuesday, November
21st at 10 am.
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Christmas is Coming . . .
along with St. Paul’s Christmas Bazaar!
The time is speeding by and before you know it December will be
here. More specifically, planning, preparing and setting up our
Annual Christmas Bazaar to be held Saturday, December 2nd
will get under way very soon. Volunteers are needed to help
prepare for the Bazaar the entire week before, Nov 27 to Dec 1.
Additionally bakers are requested to fill our newly expanded
Heavenly Bake Shop. Donations up will be accepted until
Friday, Dec 1. We especially need paper, plastic bags and
newspaper for wrapping and sales. We’re hoping new
parishioners will share the fun and friendship as we
come together to make our 2017 Christmas
Bazaar a standout in the community!
House Church - Small Group Gathering - Now meeting each Thursday night at 7:00 pm a small group gathers at Fr. Fred’s for an evening of prayer and study, concluding with Compline. If you would like to join House Church please contact Father Fred at [email protected] or Betty Lou Bowles at [email protected].
T here’s a lesson for each of us in the parable Jesus tells us this Sunday. Whether we care to
recognize them or not, each of us has been given one or more gifts (abilities, skills, talents). It seems that
one of the points Jesus is trying to make here is that it’s what we do with of gifts that will determine how God deals with us. So, what are you doing with what you’ve been given?
Coming Next Summer!
Are you ready to travel to the Biblical land of the Pharaohs,
Jacob, Joseph, and Israel during the famine? Plans are
underway for another awesome Christian pilgrimage. This time
to Egypt with a Nile River cruise and
a climb up Mount Sinai. There will be options
for those who haven’t been to Jordan and Israel as
well. We depart for Egypt on June 28th and return on
July 19th. The Israel only trip leaves on July 10th.
Coffee Tins Needed - Metal coffee tins (empty) with lid are needed to transport altar flowers to those unable to get to church. You can leave them by the mailboxes near the office stairway or give them to an Altar Guild member.
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This Weekend’s Readings
Signs of Jesus’ Coming
Judges 4:1-7
I n this lesson from the Hebrew Bible the Israelites prove unfaithful to the Lord, going after foreign gods and doing what is evil in God’s sight. In consequence, they fall
under the oppression o the Canaanite King Jabin and the commander of his army, Sisera. The Lord raises up for the Hebrew people Deborah, a prophetess, to arbitrate for justice among them. Deborah, a gifted leader, is inspired to liberate the Israelites from their Canaanite overlords and summons the warrior Barak. Deborah commands Barak in the name of the Lord to gather warriors against the superior chariots and troops of Sisera, confident that God will grant the Israelites success.
Psalm 123 Those who are lowly and scorned place their trust in the merciful Lord. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 In this reading Paul counsels the new disciples to be alert as in the daylight, for the day of
the Lord will come swiftly and unexpectedly, although at a time unknown to mortals. Matthew 25:14-30 Our gospel is the parable of the servants who made different uses of the money entrusted
to them. The evangelist intends the story to be instructive to Christian disciples. The master Jesus is now away. When he returns, he will expect his followers to have made diligent use of the faith he has left in their charge. If it has not grown, then it has been without value and
will be taken away. One also recognizes how immense are the sums left with servants. The parable warns against the false security of only guarding the traditions and not investing them in life and in others.
Stewardship Minute
“Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you have been
faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities.”
- MATTHEW 25:21
G od expects us to nurture and develop the gifts He has given us
and then generously return a portion with increase. He doesn’t
want us to waste or hoard the gifts He has given us; He expects us to
grow our gifts, use them wisely and be generous with them.
Unfortunately, many of us are not generous in proportion to all that God has given us.
E ach Wednesday at noon the men’s group, a growing and
informal gathering of men, meets for lunch at the Charcoal Chef. Please join us next week!
T he Gospel story of the parable of the talents may seem harsh in terms of the master’s
treatment of the distrustful slave. But we need to remember that God will provide for all our genuine needs. How many us live in a mentality of scarcity like the timid servant, rather than rejoicing and using our own talents (money and otherwise) to show appreciation for our great abundance, and in
thanksgiving for God’s eternal beneficence?
SAVE THE DATE
Woodbury Boy Scout Troop 480 is expecting a visit from Santa on December 2, 2017!!
“Twas the day of the Woodbury Christmas Festival, when all through the town People were shopping and bustling around;
Wreaths were laid on the North Green with care, In hopes that the townspeople soon would be there;
The Scouts of Troop 480 were preparing to host, The kind of warm meal SANTA likes most;
Sauce on the stove, bread in the oven, Top it all off with a cupcake or muffin;
And while the Troop 480 Scouts serve you a wonderful treat, Look out for SANTA who has stopped by to eat;
Whether you have been naughty or you have been nice, Tell SANTA your wish list for Christmas Eve Night;
He’ll pose for a picture in between bites, That you can post to your Facebook page for relatives to like:
There will be raffles, meatballs, salad and beverages galore, Your heart will be filled with Holiday Cheer as you head to the door.
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Please remember to arrange for your own replacements and to keep the office informed of