November 19, 2015
The Shield | St. Andrew Presbyterian Church
Worship & Music Column
   I recently had the privilege of hearing Charles Bolden, Jr., speak in Houston. He is the current Administrator of NASA, a retired Marine Corp general and a four-time space shuttle astronaut who commanded two of those missions. He shared that time in space changes the way astronauts view our world.

   He said that during the first couple of days of a space flight, astronauts excitedly identify their countries and, when lights sparkle at night, may be able to pick out major cities in their own nations. By day 4, their focus shifts to continents. By day 6, they delightedly view the beautiful blue and white planet below them as "earth" -- one planet, one people. National boundaries, skin colors and political differences can't be seen from space and cease to be important. Our astronauts begin to focus on the entire human race and the single planet on which we live.

   In some small way, it seems that our Mission Study Committee was charged to use a similar global perspective to view St. Andrew Presbyterian Church. They tried to discern what is most important to us as a church family and where we're headed together. They focused on the importance of shared beliefs and experiences and the unity and warm fellowship in our congregation. They didn't look at the "early service" or the "late service"; they focused on the entire congregation of St. Andrew and our worship as a whole.

   With that perspective, the Mission Study Committee recommended that we combine our two Sunday morning services so we may get to know each other better and deepen our sense of unity as a people of faith. This recommendation was the subject of contemplation, prayer, debate and more prayer by the Worship & Music Committee. A subcommittee was formed to discuss the pros and cons and to envision what one combined service might look like for us. Ultimately, we adopted the Mission Study Committee's recommendation to combine our services and presented our own recommendation to the Session in November. The Session approved combining our services.   Starting with the first Sunday in Advent, November 29th, St. Andrew will have only one Sunday morning worship service, to be held at 10:30 a.m.  Sunday school will begin at 9:00 a.m. During Advent, our new service will be followed by the fellowship hours we all enjoyed so much over the summer months.

   Will combining services pose some challenges? Absolutely. Many of us will have to adjust our schedules. Sunday school teachers will have to prepare to teach a little earlier. Musicians will have to adjust their rehearsal schedules a little forward or back to fit the new framework. Early birds will stay a little later. Late risers will come a little earlier. All so we can be together. That's the key. We think these adjustments are worth it to strengthen and unite us as one in faith, love and mission.

   Please mark your calendars and join us as we begin the Advent journey together on November 29th.

DeLila Bergan, Moderator
Worship & Music Committee
 

New Church Worship Schedule
Beginning Sunday, November 29
9:00am Sunday School
10:30am Worship Service
Fellowship following the worship service 
2016 Pledge Cards  
   There is still time to turn in your pledge to St. Andrew Presbyterian Church. Pick up a pledge card in the Narthex on the small table behind the couch. Fill it out and place it in the offering plate or place it in the church office. Thank you for committing to the ministry of St. Andrew in 2016! 
FREE Adult Flu Vaccination Clinic 
Adults age 18 and older
Friday, November 20
10:00am-1:30pm
Room 100 (Bride's Room)
Sponsored by Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital
Advent Evening Prayer Services
Beginning Tuesday, December 1 
   St. Andrew will offer Evening Prayer services during Advent at 6:00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays in December. These are short, simple services that will be held in the chancel and the tradition is for the services to be led mainly by our laity of all ages. There will be readings, singing, prayers to lead, and other elements of worship during the short prayer services.

Advent Adventure,
Wednesday, December 2
Fellowship Hall, 5:30-7:30pm
   All ages are invited to our annual, intergenerational Advent event. We will enjoy a delicious meal at Super Wednesday prices and then enjoy a night of crafting, board games, table conversation, and fun in preparation for the Christmas Season.Children will still have Noel and Covenant Choir rehearsal.  Questions? Ask Amy Ball, amykball@charter.net or Lisa Patterson, lisa@saint-andrew.com.
Denton Holiday Lighting Festival 
Friday, December 4 
   Exciting news!  St. Andrew is a sponsor of this year's Denton Holiday Lighting Festival, and will even have a designated festival stage on the corner of Oak and Bolivar.  Our sidewalks will be warmly lit from the glow of around 200 luminarias as we serve hot wassail to folks who stop by.  If possible, please plan to arrive early and park in the back lot, so that we can save our prime parking spaces for our guests.  This is a wonderful opportunity for our congregation to share the true spirit of the season.  We hope that you will plan to be a part of the festivities.
St. Andrew Presbyterian Church Stage (300 W. Oak Street)
5:30-6:00:  St. Andrew Children - Live Nativity
6:00-6:30:  St. Andrew Youth Caroling
6:30-7:00:  St. Andrew Adult Chancel Choir  
Market for Mission
Sunday, December 6, Fellowship Hall, 9am-Noon

   The annual Market for Mission, sponsored by the St. Andrew Mission Committee, will be held on Sunday morning, December 6. There will be SERRV crafts composed of gifts costing $25 and under including Christmas decorations and nativity sets. These crafts are made by artisans from around the globe. SERRV enables them to receive fair market prices for their handwork, helping to reduce poverty in developing countries. Sunday school classes, other church groups such as Presbyterian Women, and local organizations that St. Andrew helps support through our Mission Budget will also be represented. Each will be selling goods to raise funds for the mission project of their choice. A continental breakfast will be served starting at 9:00am and the after-worship coffee fellowship will take place in the Fellowship Hall to give you time to shop, eat, and fellowship. We hope you'll come and shop the Market instead of the mall for your Christmas gift giving this year. See you there.
Hearts for Homes Christmas Basket Donations 
   Canned food and financial donations may be dropped off at St. Andrew to help fill the Christmas baskets for low-income senior homeowners in Denton County. Hearts for Homes distributes baskets full of ham, canned goods, and other needed supplies. The deadline for collection of food and financial donations is December 10 for delivery on December 12. The collection boxes are located in the narthex and Fellowship Hall. Questions? Contact  www.HeartsForHomes.org
Angel Tree
    Please check out St. Andrew's annual Christmas Angel Tree for The Goodland Academy and The Treehouse. This year we are starting a little earlier to give folks a few more weeks to support both angel trees. Starting November 15 there will be a display for the angels, then the tree will be put up after Thanksgiving. The Goodland boys will be with us during the Children's pageant on Sunday, December 13 . All gifts are due Friday, December 11. Please remember to return the tag attached to the gift, so we know who the recipients are. THANK YOU! 
Advent Music and Flowers
   Advent flowers and music season is upon us! Forms are available in the church office. Please submit your form in the folder labeled "Advent Music and Flowers." Thank you!  
Meals on Wheels of Denton Needs Drivers
   We deliver a noon meal Mon-Fri within Denton City limits. We pick up hot noon meals on Mon - Friday (holidays included if they fall during the week)  from Denton Regional Hospital Kitchen between 10:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
   Our drivers come from all over the Denton area; provide their own transportation; and bring 2 insulated containers  - one container for the hot meal and one for the cold foods. Age for drivers makes no difference -  Just your willingness to be a regular driver once a week or every other week alternating with another driver.   There is no reimbursement for gasoline.  We all just give of ourselves.
   Over the years we have helped so many folks.  This service began in 1974 and Flow Hospital kitchen at that time furnished the meals for us to deliver.  Our clients are charged $3.00 per meal and this pays the DRH kitchen for their meals.  Denton Regional has wonderful chefs and staff, and our clients really like the meals.
   The hospital kitchen is able to serve Diabetic, Gluten Free, Low Sodium, & Renal diets- and if a client has an allergy to a particular food, or a doctor recommended discontinuance of a certain food, the staff will accommodate that need. 
   Our Meals on Wheels staff members are volunteers as well.  We all really love doing this and getting to know our many folks we serve.  
   Please consider volunteering to help deliver meals to our Meals On Wheels of Denton folks in need of us. Any other questions you might have, please call and leave a voicemail  at 940-387-5692 for Catherine Pennell, or email me at cpennell4gab@outlook.com. I will return your call or email as soon as I can. Thanks so much for considering being a MOW Driver.
Catherine Pennell, Director
Name Tags
   If you have accidentally worn home a Usher or Ambassador name tag, please return it to the church.

Church Office Notes
   The church office will be closed Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27 in observance of Thanksgiving. The Shield will not be published Thursday, November 26. The Shield will return Thursday, December 3. 
Study on Marriage Equality 
   
At their August meeting, the St. Andrew Session passed a motion bringing our church in concurrence with our denomination's recent decision on marriage, thus allowing for Christians of the same gender to be married in our sanctuary.   As with any wedding, whether to perform a ceremony or not, is left up to the discretion and judgment of our pastors.
   Understandably, this decision has been a cause for concern among some of our members. Seeking to be faithful together, our session through the Adult Faith Formation Committee is lining up a course of study on Marriage Equality to be held during the spring semester of our Super Wednesday programs.
   If you would like to review the study materials ahead of time in order to better understand the biblical and theological dimensions involved in our denomination's and our Session's position on marriage, the following books can be obtained at a reasonable price through Amazon.com. We will also have copies available for check- out in our church library: The Bible's Yes to Same Sex Marriage: An Evangelical's Change of Heart by Mark Achtemeier and Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality, Revised and Expanded Edition: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church by Jack Rogers.
From the Music Director
   I am very pleased to report that the Session has approved the Worship and Music Committee's recommendation that St. Andrew pursue the purchase of the Glory to God hymnal.
   This hymnal was finished just a few years ago, and is already being used widely throughout the PCUSA. I believe this will be an important part of our Sunday morning worship for years to come.
   Please read the 'A New Hymnal for our Church' flyer, and consider how you and your family can help with this project. If you have questions or concerns, please drop me a line at jeff@saint-andrew.com.
-Jeff Snider
Community Outreach
Holiday Donations for Our Daily Bread Clients
   The Community Outreach Committee is asking for donations of items for Our Daily Bread that will be used in holiday gift bags for its clients.   Items will be collected from October 11 through November 29. Needed items include: new knit hats and gloves, cotton socks, plastic ponchos, soap, lotion, deodorant, small bottles of shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste and brush, chap-stick, cough drops, razors, new underwear, body powder, and small Kleenex packets. Items may be placed in the designated Community Outreach bins outside of Fellowship Hall near the soda machines.
November Give-a-Meal
Small Canned Ham, Canned Peas, Canned Sweet Potatoes, Canned Fruit
Optional: Baby Food, Sugar, Flour
   Please return your non-perishable donations for the Denton Community Food Center to the collection bin by the Coke machine near Fellowship Hall. Thank You!
Calendar

Men's Book Study
Thursday, November 19
8:30am, Cartwright's Ranch House

Flu Shot Vaccination Clinic
Friday, November 20
10am-1:30pm, Bride's Room

Christmas Pageant Rehearsal
Sunday, November 22
12:30pm, Fellowship Hall

Women's Tuesday Afternoon Bible Study
Tuesday, November 24
1:30pm, Room 206

No Super Wednesday
Wednesday, November 25

Church Office Closed
November 26-27

One Worship Service Begins
Sunday, November 29
9am, Sunday School
10:30am, Worship Service

Advent Prayer Services
Beginning December 1
6pm, Sanctuary

Diaconate Meeting
Tuesday, December 1
7:30pm, Room 206/208

Advent Adventure
Wednesday, December 2
5:30pm, Fellowship Hall

Market for Mission
Sunday, December 6
9am-Noon, Fellowship Hall
St. Andrew Presbyterian Church
300 West Oak Street
Denton, TX  76201

phone: 940-387-3897
fax: 940-381-2404

Office Hours
Mon-Fri - 8:30am-5:00pm
email: lou@saint-andrew.com

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Sunday Worship Services 
8:30am & 10:50am