The third candle symbolizes joy and is called the “Shepherd’s Candle". The angels announced to the shepherds in the field, “good news of great joy to all people.” This candle is pink because, in Christian history, the color rose signifies joy.

This week St A's will celebrate the Lessons & Carols service.

1. Advent begins December 3rd, 2023
2. Lessons & Carols service Sunday, December 17th @10am  expect lots of community-led music, seasonal reading, and a special kid's skit! Musicians, contact Megan C. if you want to help out.
3. Solstice Event/Blue Christmas Service with St Augustine's at Grace United Church, Thursday December 21st 
   A service for those who have difficulty in celebrating the “joy” of Christmas. Held on the winter solstice, this service invites us into the sacred space of the longest night of the year.Please come for as much or as little time as you need to nourish your spirit on the longest night of the year.

   5:30-6:00PM Candle Lighting and silent time in the sanctuary.
   6:00-7:00PM Reflective Music, contemplation and candle lighting (come and go as needed).
   7:00PM Blue Christmas Service
4. Advent Vigil - Sunday December 24th, 10am, in place of our usual 8am & 10am services we will be holding a simple prayer vigil for the world at 10am.  Expect a rythm of praying psalms, hymns, and times of intercession for different needs in the world.
5. Christmas Eve Early - 4pm, a simple, kid-approachable candlelight Communion service.  Want to help out?  Let Rev. Jonathan know as he will need 5-6 helpers for the sermon activity.
6. Christmas Eve Late, 9pm Carols Sing, 9:30pm Candlelight Holy Communion.  Post-service goodies not yet planned (hint, hint)
7. Christmas Day Service 8am simple communion service.  Also livestreamed.
8. Dec 31 Sunday service is at 10am only.
9. 12 Days of Christmas.  Jesus is born - let us celebrate and make these days special in our homes and families.
10. Twelfth Night Celebration. We close off our Christmas celebration with this ancient tradition.  Friday, January 5th, 5:30pm community potluck and Evening Prayer.  Yes, we will sing the song :)  Bring a main course or dessert or your leftover xmas treats.  Anyone want to make us a big pot of Wassail?
11. We celebrate the Epiphany in church that Sunday January 7th.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, ruler of the universe,
creator of light and darkness.
In this holy season,
when the sun’s light is swallowed up
by the growing darkness of the night,
you renew your promise to reveal among us
the splendour of your glory,
enfleshed and visible to us in Jesus Christ your Son.
Through the prophets
you teach us to hope for his reign of peace.
Through the outpouring of his Spirit,
you open our blindness to the glory of his presence.
Strengthen us in our weakness.
Support us in our stumbling efforts to do your will
and free our tongues to sing your praise.
For to you all honour and blessing are due,
now and for ever. Amen.

EDCC Encourages Church Support of No Room in the Inn

Thank you to all those partipating and to parents who have helped them practice this past week.

We all look forward to seeing the performance come together!!

A special thank you to Simone for organising this special Christmas event.

The Hanley Home Group welcomes you to join us weekly as we share lives,
fellowship, and discussion on scripture, church topics, and anything
else we find interesting! We are a friendly and relational bunch! If you
have kids, bring them along! Our daughter Isabel will love the
opportunity to play with them!

Just a reminder that the group will run Monday evenings 6:45-8:15pm at 10735 52 Street.

If you are interested in joining us, please contact John at
john@mjhanley.net or 780-239-1103.

Wishing you all the best this blessed season

Anne

Sharing in circle has a long history of transformation and community strength in both indigenous and addictions recovery traditions.

Sharing in circle allows us both opportunity to listen, and when our turn arrives, to speak.

A topic is raised each Wednesday in the realms of Faith, Justice, Spirituality, and Action in the Christian tradition that we are invited to reflect on and share if we wish.

Rev. Jonathan usually facilitates the circle.  Please contact him for the zoom access: rector@staugustinesedmonton.com

We have used books, video, or individual presentations as our 'prompts' for the evening.

"Doors" open at 7:45pm, process begins at 8pm-9pm.  The zoom stays on until 9:30pm latest for those who want to chat more.

Do you know St. A's was one of the founding members of GEA?

There were several times that St. A's members were involved in GEA campaigns, actions at city hall, and on the board.  St. A's was one of the founding members of the organization when it began in Edmonton.

One of our most active teams was the GEA team with membership by the Sparlings and the News and others.

One of the great accomplishments of that Senior's team was to work with the City to develop the Senior's Home Supports Program.  It continues to this day to help seniors thrive in place.  Please view the attached file for more info!

Advent is a time when we face the needs of the world and consider how we can help the kingdom of God to grow a little greater among us.

This coming new year we will have a chance to participate in the Greater Edmonton Alliance listening campaign - the first stage of the organizational cycle.

It is a focussed campaign of one on one, small group, or house meetings aimed at encouraging people to talk about how they experience life in their commnity, to identify issues they care about, and to suggest concerns they would like to help address in their organization.

During the last GEA organizing cycle, and based on the 2019 listening campaign, GEA members:

• worked with city officials to adopt an internationally recognized set of Mental Health standards and committments for City employees.
• Worked with Living Wage Alberta and EndPovery Edmonton to foster education about what a living wage is and why it is so important (see the video below).
• Built a reconciliation team to foster good relations with indigenous communities in all of GEA's work.
• Fostered relationships between faith, labor, and non-profit organizations for the greater good.

Do you know what a living wage is?

Please see the attached file: Stewardship Update

Please email the office with any changes or corrections with your address, phone numbers, or email addresses.  We do are best to keep this information updated but realize that sometimes we are missing updated information.

 office@staugustinesedmonton.com

Administration, address updates, etc: Cheryl at office@staugustinesedmonton.com, 780-466-5532