E-News for December 1, 2024

Dear St. Aidan’s,

This Sunday we mark the beginning of Advent. In the world around us, beyond the church, there’s a swirl of activity as people are excitedly putting up Christmas trees, setting out inflatable yard decorations, selecting thoughtful gifts, and making travel plans. All manner of preparations.

In the church, we too like to talk about this time of year in terms of making preparation. Ministers like to remind people that in Advent we are preparing our hearts to greet Jesus at Christmas. What do we mean? These four weeks leading up to Christmas can be very busy. Yet amidst the busyness we are called to find moments to be still. We are stilling ourselves so that we may be quiet and listen for the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. We are stilling ourselves to recall the stories of hope, love, joy, and peace that are what Christmas—and our whole Christian faith—are all about.

In her poem “Love Came Down at Christmas,” Christina Rossetti writes of “love incarnate, love divine.” Incarnate means ‘made flesh.’ Love made flesh. God’s love took human form—a baby born in a stable long ago in Bethlehem.

One of the names for the long-expected Messiah is Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God is with us.’ God loves us so much that they decided to be with us not just in spirit but in the flesh. This is the focus of our Advent reflection book and groups over these next four weeks: how God embraced humanity by being with us as Jesus, who experienced fully what it meant to be embodied and dependent, fragile and vulnerable, limited and mortal—but also what it meant to be loved.

As Isabelle Hamley writes in Embracing Humanity: A journey towards becoming flesh,

“God made flesh was risky business—for mother and baby alike. ‘Do not be afraid’ was quite clearly the right greeting. But God is with us. God embraced humanity and did not take any shortcuts, however much easier it would have been… God comes softy and quietly, and enters the common life of humanity, the ordinary and the routine. God embraces the reality that to be human is to be one of many, to live a life marked by what is ordinary, and makes it extraordinary” (12-13).

My hope for each of you this Advent is that you will find moments to be still enough to sense how God is moving in your life, and quiet enough to hear God’s still, small voice.

God has been with us all along, and God is with us still.

Grace and peace,

Becky+

Notices at a Glance
Scroll down for details on each of these items.
  

  1. Beginning on December 1, we will return to the early service beginning at 8:30 a.m.

  2. Live Streaming at 10:30 a.m., Order of Service

  3. Donations for Christmas music and flowers

  Opportunities to Gather & Grow 

  4. Advent wreath-making this Sun., Dec. 1

  5. This year’s Advent reflection book

  6. My Soul Magnifies the Lord—Advent Retreat Day

  Opportunities to Share & Serve

  7. We’re looking for new people to help host our Coffee Hour!

  8. Out of the Cold volunteers needed

  9. Euchre

10. Beach Interfaith Outreach

11. Busy Bees Play Group welcomes children ages 0-3

12. 2025 Walk in Love stewardship campaign update

  Other Announcements and How to Give

13. Nursery now available during Sunday worship
14. Announcements for the Notices
15. Offerings

Notices for the Week of November 29, 2024 – December 6, 2024

 1. Beginning on December 1, we will return to the early service beginning at 8:30 a.m.

 2. Live Streaming at 10:30 a.m., Order of Service - The service will be live-streamed at the following link: 

https://staidansinthebeach.com/live

Click here to view a PDF of the December 1st Service

 3. Donations for Christmas music and flowers: Now is the time of year when we collect donations and dedications for special music and flowers to help us celebrate the joy of Jesus’ birth at Christmas. Deadline for donations and dedications is Sun., Dec. 15. You may donate online via our CanadaHelps page (https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/137723748RR0001-st-aidans-church/), being sure to select Christmas flowers and music from the pulldown menu (third down on the list). You may also bring cash or cheque to the church office or place in the offering plate.

Whichever way you choose to give, please be sure to specify who you are honouring or remembering with your gift. Thank you in advance for helping us to make our Christmas services extra special with this gift above and beyond your normal giving to the parish.

Opportunities to Gather & Grow

 4. Advent wreath-making this Sun., Dec. 1: For those who signed up to make Advent wreaths after the 10:30 service, we will have the supplies and tables on which to create them set up in the downstairs hall. (For those who asked to make a wreath after 8:30 service, we will have your supplies in the Narthex.) If you did not sign up but would like to help make a few extra wreaths for people in our church who are experiencing challenges this holiday season, you are welcome to join us to make these wreaths to help us brighten the season for others.

 5. This year’s Advent reflection book: Advent is the season in our church year when we prepare our hearts in anticipation for the birth of Jesus at Christmas. This Advent, our parish-wide Advent reflection book is Embracing Humanity by Isabelle Hamley. (It’s available on Kindle if you haven’t yet ordered a printed copy.) You can read it on your own or with your family, or if you would like to be part of a conversation group, we will offer two:

❦ In-person small group will meet on Sundays from 3-4 p.m. (Dec. 1, 8, 15, and 22), at the Haven Cafe.

❦ Online small group will meet on Mondays at 7 p.m. (Dec. 2, 9, 16, and 23). Email Rev. Becky at priest@staidansinthebeach.com for the Zoom link.

6. My Soul Magnifies the Lord—Advent Retreat Day: Please save the date for our Advent Retreat Day, which will happen on Sat., Dec. 14, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Nave (worship space) at St. Aidan’s. Our theme is ‘My soul magnifies the Lord.’ Throughout the day our focus will be on Mary’s song (Luke 1: 46-55, the Magnificat), which we will engage through silent reflection, guided prayer, sacred music, visio divina, small group conversation, and worship. A simple lunch will be served, and tea and coffee will be available throughout the day. Then, at 4 p.m., we will cap the day with our Advent Lessons and Carols service. (For those who would like to come early, the Altar Guild welcomes any who would like to share in the work of preparing for Christmas by polishing the brass beginning at 9 a.m.). The Advent Retreat Day is free, but we do need to know how many to expect (for lunch and supplies). Sign up by Wed., Dec. 11. either on the form on the table in the church entryway or email Rev. Becky at priest@staidansinthebeach.com

Opportunities to Share & Serve

7. We’re looking for new people to help host our Coffee Hour! Don’t worry, we’ll show you what to do! You can sign up with your family or friends to serve coffee, tea, and snacks. You can pick a Sunday that works for you, and you can help out once a month or just a few times a year. To sign up, you may find a sign-up sheet for hosting Coffee Hour in the church entryway (Narthex), or you may email Ella at ekeemmanuella0@gmail.com. Currently, we only have hosts scheduled through December 22. We’d love to have you help out by signing up to host any Sunday through the end of February.

8. Out of the Cold volunteers needed: If you would be interested in volunteering one Monday evening a month to prepare and serve food for Out of the Cold guests, socialize with them, or help with clean up please speak with Bruce Mori or Deacon Michael Van Dusen (mjpvandusen@gmail.com). We will provide basic training for this important outreach ministry. 

9. Euchre: Join us on Tuesday nights from 7-9 p.m. for a fun and friendly evening of progressive Euchre downstairs in the parish hall. Beginners welcome. Cost is $5.00 to play with all proceeds going to support St. Aidan’s community outreach to neighbours in need.

10. Beach Interfaith Outreach: Locations and dates for all lunches are listed in the Beach Metro News. The next lunch held here at St. Aidan’s is Tues., Nov. 12, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. As part of St. Aidan’s involvement in the Beach Interfaith Outreach Committee, we support the Grace Pascoe Care Centre. Your weekly donations (to the basket by the church office) are gratefully received.

11. Busy Bees Play Group welcomes children ages 0-3 and their caregivers on Thursdays from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. in our Parish Hall. We offer stories, music, and activities. We are looking for lightly used toys for babies and toddlers for our Busy Bees Play Group. Do you like to bake? We are looking for people to bake peanut-free goodies for the Busy Bees Play Group. If you can support us in either of these ways, please speak with Elizabeth.

12. 2025 Walk in Love stewardship campaign update: Thank you to all who responded so far!

• 8 gatherings with 47 total attendees

• 115 packages distributed

• 32 responses returned resulting in:

• 16 increased gifts

• 3 new donors

• 1 new PAG donor

• 34 existing PAG donors

• 66 total pledges which is a 57% pledge rate

There’s still time to send in your pledge for 2025! It’s most helpful for our budget planning if we can know of your pledges by mid December. If you have a printed pledge card, please drop it by the church during the week, or place it in the offering plate on Sunday. To fill out the pledge card online, scan the above QR code (scroll down the page to the online pledge form) or visit: https://staidansinthebeach.com/stewardship

Other Announcements and How to Give

13. Nursery now available during Sunday worship: We will be offering nursery care for children ages 0-3 during the 10:30 a.m. service. The nursery is located in the Beech Room, adjacent to the main basement hall. For more information, please speak with Erika or Elizabeth.
 
14. Please submit new announcements for the weekly notices to Mary at office@staidansinthebeach.com by Wednesdays at 4 p.m. All notices are subject to incumbent’s approval, and will be edited for clarity and conciseness.

15. Offerings - Thank you for your support. There are a variety of ways to make your donation: 

·         PAG – set up monthly pre-authorized debits from your bank account directly to St. Aidan’s by completing the authorization form found on the Giving page of our website https://www.staidansinthebeach.com/giving 

·         PAG Changes – to change the amount of an existing donation, send an email with the details to donations@staidansinthebeach.com 

·         E-transfer – send to donations@staidansinthebeach.com 

·         Envelopes – to obtain a set of weekly offering envelopes, send a request to donations@staidansinthebeach.com 

·         Cheques should be payable to and can be mailed to: The Church of St. Aidan, 2423 Queen St E, Toronto, ON, M4E 1H6, or dropped in our secure mailbox beside the front door.

·         Credit card – click on the link  Canada Helps: St. Aidan's Church or scan the QR code below.