December 22, 2023

Dear St. Aidan’s,

Christmas is almost here! But first—one more Sunday in Advent. We’ll finish our season of preparing our hearts for Christmas with one Advent morning worship service at 9:30 a.m. this Sunday. Then, by that same afternoon, we will be ready to begin celebrating Christmas Eve with two services—our Nativity Pageant Service at 4:30 p.m., and our Christmas Candlelight Service at 9:00 p.m.

Monday morning, we’ll wake up to the wonder of Christmas, when we’ll have Christmas Day worship at 10 a.m. Later that day, we’ll host the Community Christmas Lunch at 1 p.m. (doors open at 12 noon).

All of these services will be livestreamed on Zoom—just click the link above and you will be able to connect with any of the three services on December 24 or the one morning service on December 25. In a season in which many in our community are struggling with viruses, including flu and covid, or are traveling, we hope that livestreaming these services will help everyone in our St. Aidan’s community to feel included as we celebrate God’s abundant love for us this Christmas.

Please note that we will follow a holiday worship schedule on December 31 as well, with just one worship service at 9:30 a.m. So that our church staff may fully celebrate with loved ones and take time of rest and renewal, the church office will remain closed from Christmas Day through New Year’s Day, reopening on Tuesday, January 2. Whether you are worshipping here in person this Christmas, connecting with our services on Zoom, or worshipping with family and friends elsewhere, I pray God’s blessings on each one of you this Christmas and in the New Year.

Becky+

Week of December 24 -  NOTICES AT A GLANCE – more details below
 

  1.  Live Streaming at 10:30 a.m., Order of Service
  2.  Wednesday Eucharist service is on hiatus
  3.  Sun., Dec. 31, worship at 9:30 a.m.
  4.  The church office will be closed
  5.  2023 Financial Donations 
  6.  No coffee hour after Christmas Day service
  7.  Home-baked desserts for the Christmas Day Lunch
  8.  Christmas Day Community Lunch
  9.  Beach Interfaith Outreach
  10.  Euchre
  11.  Archive of sermon manuscripts
  12.  Announcements for the Notices
  13.  Offerings

  

AND NOW THE DETAILS:

 1.  Live Streaming at 10:30 a.m., Order of Service - The service will be livestreamed at the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/91628466455
Meeting ID: 916 2846 6455
Passcode: 548507
Phone: 647-374-4685

To access the Order of Service click here:

https://mcusercontent.com/9602008078ea1b1ac17a38d52/files/a9343d9d-8d6f-fdb4-8ff3-ddcb91e02373/2023_Dec_24_Advent_4_Worship_Booklet_003_.pdf

2.  Wednesday Eucharist service is on hiatus for the holiday season. The service will resume on Wednesday, January 10.

3.  On Sun., Dec. 31, we will gather for one worship service at 9:30 a.m. Our regular Sunday schedule will resume on Sun., Jan. 7.

4.  The church office will be closed from Mon., Dec. 25 through Mon., Jan. 1. Normal office hours resume Tues., Jan. 2.

5.  2023 Financial Donations: Just a reminder that donations must be received by the church by midnight on December 31, 2023 in order to qualify for a tax receipt for 2023.

6.  No coffee hour after the Christmas Day service as we will be getting ready for the Christmas Day Community Lunch downstairs. 

7.  Home-baked desserts for the Community Christmas Lunch - Are you busy with your holiday baking? Would you like to add in another batch of cookies, cupcakes, tarts, squares, or other delectables for our Christmas guests to enjoy? We are expecting 80-100 guests and would be grateful for donations of any home-baked desserts you would like to share. No refrigerated storage space is available, so please keep this in mind as you plan what to make.

You can drop off your baked items to the church at any of these times: Dec. 22, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.; Dec. 23, 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon; or Dec. 24, 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Contact Joanne McBay with any questions. Thank you for your generosity.

8.  If you’re going to be on your own this Christmas, please to come to our Community Christmas Day Lunch, Dec. 25, 1 p.m.

9.  Beach Interfaith Outreach: Locations and dates are listed in the Beach Metro News. Tues., Jan. 2, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. is the next lunch here. As part of St. Aidan’s involvement in the Beach Interfaith Outreach Committee over the last 25 years, we support the Grace Pascoe Care Centre at Calvary Baptist Church. Our weekly donations to the basket in the Narthex are gratefully received there.

10.  Euchre - Join us on Tuesday nights from 7-9 p.m. for a fun and friendly evening of progressive Euchre downstairs in the main hall. Beginners welcome. $5.00 to play. All proceeds go to our community outreach. Final meeting of 2023 was Dec. 19; we will restart Jan. 16.

11.  An archive of sermon manuscripts by Rev. Becky, along with sermons and weekly reflections by Deacon Michael, can be found on our website: https://staidansinthebeach.com/services/pages/sermons-and-reflections

12.  Announcements for the Notices – Please submit any announcements for the weekly notices by Wednesdays at 4 p.m. Note that due to our church office being closed for the holidays, announcements that are received from now through Jan. 7 will not appear until Jan. 12 (weekly e-news) and Jan. 14 (printed Sunday notices).

13. 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 at the north-east corner of the building.