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From the Nov./Dec. Messenger

From the Senior Warden
Advent
The liturgy and music committee met to plan Advent services. For both 8 am and 10 am services, we will be using Eucharistic prayer B, an adaptation of Prayers of the People Form 6, and a seasonal blessing. At 10 am the advent wreath will be lighted as part of the entrance, and the hymn before the Gospel will be verses of hymn 56 ("O come, o come Emmanuel"). Our celebrant for Advent will be Fr. Mark Thompson, and music will be led by Jordan Sramek with singers from the Rose Ensemble. During the four weeks of Advent, both Saint Paul's and El Santo Niño will "green the church" for our Christmas celebration.

Christmas
Joint bilingual Christmas service with La Misión El Santo Niño Jesús will be December 24th Christmas Eve at 5 pm. More details to follow as that service is planned. December 26th and January 2nd will be low mass, and the 26th will have Christmas carols at 10 o'clock.

Finance
Now that our stewardship campaign has concluded, the detailed budget for 2005 can be prepared. It appears that pledge income will be somewhat below the "basic tier" used for budget forecasting, so we must consider which basic expenses might be further reduced. Thanks to the stewardship committee for their hard work.

Bylaws amendments
At its September meeting, the Bishop's committee voted to recommend amending the bylaws to require Bishop's Committee members to be active pledgers. The exact wording of this proposed amendment will be determined by the Bishop's committee at its December 13 meeting and will be available to you before the Annual Meeting in January. Changes to the canons of the Diocese which were passed at the October convention, and our change from parish to mission also require that we alter our bylaws. These additional changes do not require voting, but will also be available to you before the Annual Meeting.

College ministry
Some BC members met with Eily Marlow, associate chaplain at Macalester, and with Neil Elliott of the University Episcopal Center to explore possibilities for campus ministry with our local colleges. Thanks to Terri Fishel for arranging this meeting.

Prayers of the People
To maintain an accurate and current list of those who have asked for or need our prayers, names will remain listed for four Sundays, after which they will be removed, unless another request is received. To request prayers, please email, phone or leave a note for the office.

~ Cathy Carpenter

Our Lady of Guadalupe

The joyful celebration of the appearance of the Virgin Mary to a poor Mexican peasant in the early days of Christianity on this continent will begin at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 11 and continue well into the following morning of Sunday, December 12. A breather while the Anglos worship at their 8 and 10 services and then the Latinos continue their festivity. From one who participated last year, I can recommend service despite the lateness of the hour. A Mariachi band provides the music for the mass and accompanies the hymns; a dance troupe in Aztec costume participate with much gusto and the walls of our church resound with the sounds of trumpet and pounding feet.

Come and celebrate.

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SCHEDULE CHANGE

Realizing that the Christmas holidays send many of us out of town to rejoin family and friends elsewhere, the Worship Committee decided that the two Sundays of Christmastide, December 26 and January 2 will be celebrated at 9 a.m. thereby joining the 8 and 10 congregations in one at an hour between their regular ones. Carols will be sung but the masses will be low masses, probably with the music accompaniment on the piano rather than the organ. In this way the requirements of servers at the altar can be more easily met from the pool of laity and the whole congregation can be joined in one service of praise and thanksgiving.

Project Home is "in the Works"

Once again we at St. Paul's will house the homeless families who cannot get into the Ramsey County shelter during the month of March. Our first night will be on February 28 and our last on March 31.

Both Holy Week and Easter are in this time frame, but we will rise to the occasion. Our ecumenical partners at IHM, St. Luke's, Olivet, will be joined by El Santo Nino and students from neighboring colleges.

Mark your calendars and prepare to volunteer.

BPLeach

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Justice Committee

Do you know what the Health Care situation in Minnesota is? Do you know how many children lack coverage by insurance? Did you know that a bill will be introduced to "cover all kids" -- The Child Health Security Act -- in the upcoming legislative session? Did you know that your justice committee has been at work for almost 10 months honing skills in advocacy so that we can inform others about the importance of this legislation? Did you know that the model for church involvement that we have worked out can be shared with other congregations--and will be?

Did you know that YOU are a part of this witness of our concern for our neighbor?
Early in the New Year the committee will present a program outlining the work we are attempting to do and enlisting the prayers and energies of the entire congregation in the effort.

From the New Zealand Prayer Book:
God our healer, keep us aware of your presence, support us with your power, comfort us with your protection, give us strength and establish us in your peace.

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We are nearing the celebration of the Coming of the Prince of Peace and once again we as a nation are involved in a war. Whatever its motivation, we must all agree that the violence to bodies, spirits and minds that war entails is counter to what we know Christ wills for us. My brothers and sisters, work and pray for peace.

ADVENT: Preparing for the Coming
Coming Together to Prepare

Call it what we will, this Advent season will see a melding of the two (or more) traditions that northern Europeans and Latino Americans observe in preparing themselves and their house of worship for Christmastide. Greening of the church or "hanging of the greens" has been one way that reflects the nature of midwinter and the vegetation of the countries that adopted it (to say nothing of the pagan festivals that it superseded.) In the other Americas ,however, reenacting the Holy Family's seeking of a place for the birthing gave rise to the Posada with its welcoming of guests and accompanying prayers preceding a meal in the homes of church members. Another tradition involves a novena prior to Christmas. (Posadas sometimes take place over 9 days, combining the two ideas.)

We will "green" the church--decorate it, install the Christmas and Advent symbols-over the four Sundays of Advent culminating in final touches on Sunday, December 19 when both congregations will complete preparations¸ take part in a posada, have refreshments together and break a pinata with the children.

On the first Sunday, November 28, we will ask for donations for flowers and greenery, and install the background of the creche. On subsequent Sundays we will add figures to the creche and begin to "green" the church.

The extent to which we can decorate the church will depend to a great extent on the donations we receive for that purpose, so it is very important that commitments be made on the 1st or 2nd Advent Sundays. Envelopes will be inserted in the pew bulletins starting on the Feast of Christ the King, November 21.

El Santo Nino will provide the food for the 19th; St. Paul's will provide the beverages. Mulled wine and mulled cider are the suggested beverages but if someone has a different idea, please let BPLeach or Ana Castrellon know.

As we add decorations to the church we will make room for the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Masses of flowers are brought in at that time and while the Anglican tradition does not include flowers on the altars during either Advent or Lent, the bouquets and potted flowers from the Hispanic celebration will be moved to the Lady Chapel following the feastday and will remain there until they can be incorporated into the decorations elsewhere in the church later.

If you would like to join with others in selection of the decorations, please tell either Ana Julia or Betty Pat. We need all the help we can get.

Dire needs close to home

There's a real crisis and real need right on our doorstep, and I am praying that some of you will find the time and resources to help out. In 6-8 months time, 5000 Hmong will be coming to Minnesota from camps in Asia that are being disbanded – many of them are already here.

In theory, several organizations are helping, and the plan was to have the established Hmong families in the Twin Cities serve as "anchor families" for the newcomers, helping them navigate the welfare system, find housing, etc. In truth, the anchor families are usually overwhelmed, affordable housing is largely unavailable, and many families are living 15-18 in small apartments with inadequate clothing, bedding, and other basic necessities. Many of these people turn to Ly Vang, the director of the Association for the Advancement of Hmong Women, and her organization for help, and to say that she is overwhelmed is an understatement! And more refugees are coming soon.

Much work is being done through Campus Ministries, but please consider helping in whatever way you can.

The Association for the Advancement of Hmong Women in Minnesota is located at 4403 East Lake Street (across from the Dairy Queen). Phone number: 612-724-3066. You can call or email Ly Vang at lyvang@aahwm.org for an update on the needs. They also need money to buy shoes, socks, and underwear, and to help out with emergency housing. Any cash donation you can make is fully tax deductible and can be mailed directly to Ly at the above address.

HELP NEEDED
The Altar Guild is in need of workers to add to our small number of folks who are responsible for the weekly preparations for services and for the care of our Eucharistic vessels, vestments, other liturgical items, and our altars. Anyone interested in being on one of our weekly teams please let me know. Nancy Carrillo from ESNJ is currently working with us on a team and is searching for others from the Hispanic Mision to help.

Since Jim Defiel is not able to continue his dedicated care of the brass, we are in need in this area also. We are no longer able to plan a workday where items are carried over to the Great Hall for teams to do the polishing before special feast day times, such as Christmas and Easter. There is a lot of carrying back and forth which is difficult. I am suggesting that we try to divide up the work and find individuals to take responsibility for certain items, something we started a couple of years ago when Charles Taliaferro assumed responsibility for the Paschal Candle and the candelabra trees, for which we thank him very much. He has agreed to continue with this responsibility.
There are other small parts of the job that could be assumed separately by someone and taken care of at their own convenience. Some examples would be:
the pulpit,
offering plates,
processional crosses,
missal stands,
various pairs of candlesticks
and many other items.

I will make sure anyone interested has all the information about what, where, and how to take care of the task. Anyone interested in a brass polishing assignment or being included on one of our weekly teams or both please see me between services on Sunday or after the 10 o'clock or call me.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our currently small group of guild members who continue to do the weekly work faithfully and conscientiously, a very devoted group.

- Peg Varney for St. Mary's Altar Guild