for pizza, 
stories, 
crafts, 
more crafts, 
decorating cookies, 
decorating the church, 
and ending with hymns and prayers.
Get ready for The Great ADVENTure. This coming Friday, Nov 27 at 5pm. Pizza followed by activities for the children and church decorating for Advent. All are welcome!
Middle/High School Event – Date change: Our next Jr/Sr high school event is being moved from its current date (November 29th) to a yet to be decided date in early December so that more people can attend. Please see Jordan after church or email him if you would like to attend
Church School Youth will be participating in worship on December 6. This special service will be followed by our Annual Pot Luck Lunch. All are invited! Please bring your favourite hot/cold casserole, vegetables, fruit, bread, etc. This is also “Birthday Sunday” so cake and ice cream will be provided, therefore, no need to bring dessert.
Thank you to all for your contributions from last Sunday’s Soup for Refugees. A total of $515 was donated. Also, thank you to the many hands that helped in the preparation and clean up.
The Mission Tree at the back of the sanctuary is decorated with envelopes. Some are marked with the term “Benevolent Fund”. Any donations received are used throughout the year to assist with those who need help on an occasional and short term basis. There are also “trees” with the names, sizes, and ages of a local family in need of assistance. This provides an opportunity for choosing and purchasing an appropriate gift. Also on the tree is information on the “Buy a Night” campaign in support of the local community shelters. The Missions Committee thought it best to provide choices for giving, and appreciate your concern and support. In addition to the foregoing we continue our weekly support for the Fredericton Food Bank with donation boxes located at all three entrances.
Volunteers Needed – We are greatly blessed with volunteers here at Saint Andrew’s. Please consider joining this dedicated group by adding your name to the volunteer roster for 2016. Opportunities include: Offering Counter, Offering Receiver, Greeter, Scripture Reader, Coffee Hour Host, Nursery Helper, Church School Teacher or Helper. If you are interested in helping in any of these areas please contact the office.
Mission Development & Social Action Committee – will have cookie dough available for purchase in the Hall for $10/tub (Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, Ginger, Shortbread).
Lintuhtine Music Academy – Presents its annual “The Christmas Story” With special guests Catherine Harrop (narrator), David Berry (organ), Becky Banks-MacLean (soloist), Sidney Murgatroyd (violin, viola). Sat, Nov 28 at 7:00 pm at Oromocto United Church and Sun, Nov 29 at 7:00 pm here at Saint Andrews. Monetary donation at door proceeds to go to Food Banks
Annual Advent Carol Festival – St. Paul’s United Church, Wed, Dec 2 at 7:30pm. Free will offering in support of the Fredericton Food Bank.
PresbyCan Daily Devotional features wonderful Advent and Christmas devotionals all through the month of December. Enjoy devotionals each day, delivered by e-mail. Subscribe at www.presbycan.ca/subscriptions
On November 22, 2015 we gathered for an emotion-charged Sunday morning. It was Reign of Christ Sunday on the church calendar, with its familiar hymns and readings and a special anthem by our Children’s Choir. 
We welcomed the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew for their annual visit and the Rev. Charles DeoGratias brought us an inspiring message of his arrival in Canada as a refugee. 
Our Tuesday Morning Ladies Group prepared a delicious luncheon as a fundraiser for our Refugee Fund. Homemade soup, homemade rolls, homemade cookies—what could be better!
And for those still hungry, or looking to get a head start on Christmas baking, an amazing selection of jams, pickles, breads, cookies, pies and other sweets were available on the bake table. 
For those wanting to linger, the fellowship lasted well into the afternoon.
Soup and Bake Table for Refugees – This Sunday, Nov 22 the Tuesday Morning Ladies Group invites you to stay after worship and enjoy a bowl of soup, rolls and sweets. Proceeds go to our Refugee Sponsorship Fund. We will also be having a Bake Table during lunch to support our other community and church mission projects.
Get ready for The Great ADVENTure. Friday, Nov 27 at 5pm. Pizza followed by activities for the children and church decorating for Advent. All are welcome!
Church School Youth will be participating in worship on December 6. This special service will be followed by our Annual Pot Luck Lunch. All are invited! Please bring your favourite hot/cold casserole, vegetables, fruit, bread, etc. This is also “Birthday Sunday” so cake and ice cream will be provided, therefore, no need to bring dessert.
Volunteers Needed – We are greatly blessed with volunteers here at Saint Andrew’s. Please consider joining this dedicated group by adding your name to the volunteer roster for 2016. Opportunities include: Offering Counter, Offering Receiver, Greeter, Scripture Reader, Coffee Hour Host, Nursery Helper, Church School Teacher or Helper. If you are interested in helping in any of these areas please contact the office.
Mission Development & Social Action Committee – will have cookie dough available for purchase in the Hall for $10/tub (Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, Ginger, Shortbread).
College & Career Turkey Dinner – Sunday, Nov 22 from 6:30 to 9:00.
Middle/High School – Christmas photo scavenger hunt, Nov 29, 2:00 to 5:00. Please let Jordan know if you are interested by Wed, Nov 25.
Breakfast of Hope/Bake Sale – Nov 21, 8 – 10:30 am at Brunswick Street Baptist Church. Proceeds support mission trip to Kenya to lead at Camp Hope and sponsoring orphaned and vulnerable children attending camp.
Feast of Saint Andrew Annual Gala – Nov. 21 at the Fredericton Inn Ballroom. Tickets available at Read’s Newsstand or by calling 472-1343.
Alzheimer’s & Dementia Support Group – Movie Screening of Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me”. Wed, November 25, 7:00 pm at Shannex Parkland.
Annual Advent Carol Festival – St. Paul’s United Church, Wed, Dec 2 at 7:30pm. Free will offering in support of the Fredericton Food Bank.
Dear members and friends:
“Maybe, the Grinch thought, Christmas doesn’t come from a store”
When we think of beginnings and fresh starts we often think of New Years Day. Or perhaps we may think about early September and the new school year. The Church also has its seasons and special days. The Advent season marks the beginning of a church year. This is when we hear, in a focused way, the birth narratives from the Gospels – stories of John the Baptist, heavenly announcements, and the nativity. Looking back we cannot separate the beginning from the end. The cradle and cross are bound together as they proclaim the Good News of the Messiah.
Stories and symbols of the Advent season remind us that wonder and mystery surround us. We are reminded about our understanding of God, and us how we are to relate to others. The Apostle John, in his prologue to the Gospel, tells us that God literally “pitched his tent among us.”
During this season the church proclaims the Good News through the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love. Over the next several weeks we will have opportunity to worship and reflect, to gather for concerts or for a meal. And we will celebrate even in the midst of hardship and uncertainty. For if anything is central to the Christmas story it is that Jesus was born into a troubled world.
From the Christmas story comes a tradition of giving. And it is here we are reminded of the poverty that surrounds us. It is at this time of the year that we are again reminded of mission and outreach.
The Mission Development/Social Action Committee meets through the year to consider mission projects and respond to requests. This year a decision was made to sponsor a refugee family from Syria. They made a recommendation to Session. The Session attempted to gauge the support found within our congregation. A pledge form was distributed and a decision made to proceed with the application. We are waiting. Waiting is part of the message of Advent. It is not a passive waiting but an active waiting. Preparations are being made.
Our prayer is the same as one expressed in a 13th century Latin text:
Oh come, desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heart, one mind;
Bid envy, strife, and discord cease, and be thyself our source of peace.
More information will appear in the weekly Sunday bulletin. Thank you for your ongoing support of the work of our congregation.
Sincerely,
The Reverend Douglas E. Blaikie