Special Services

Please plan to attend one or all of our special Christmas services this week, 

beginning with the Longest Night Service on Wednesday, December 21 @ 7:30 pm.

 

 

Christmas Basket Night

Last week we had our annual Christmas Basket night for our Thursday Night Supper & Social guests.  Many people from our congregation donated items to make up these baskets.  The contents of the baskets included practical and fun items for the adults.  Many thanks to all who provided the items for the baskets, they were wonderful and very much appreciated.  Lots of fun was had by all!

December 4: Communion Sunday and More!

The first Sunday in December is always Communion Sunday at St. Andrew's. This year there are a number of other things happening on this Sunday that will make it even more special and meaningful.

• Everyone is invited to bring in their family Nativity Sets for the worship service. We are already beginning to see the incredible variety of sets and hear some of the meaningful stories that people tell about the origins or history of their set. We will be dedicating our family nativity sets and praying for the link between church and family at Christmastime. Make sure you bring your set and put it out in the sanctuary for the beginning of worship.

• There has been a wonderful and generous response to our "Angel Tree" initiative and the contributions are being piled up under the Christmas Tree in the sanctuary. One Sunday we will dedicate these gifts which will be distributed to families in the community through our Thursday Night Supper and Social. You won't believe all that is under that tree until you see it!
• We will have the opportunity, if we choose, to contribute a special gift towards our Benevolent Fund which is used to support families in the community who are facing unexpected or emergency situations.
• Special Musical treats! Anthem: Come My Light (with a special guest on the organ). Original music by local guitarist, Robert Dwyer.
• The minister will continue his Advent series of sermons based on Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol by looking at the meanings found in the description of the Ghost of Christmas Present.

We hope to see you here!

Christmas Wish Auction!

Hi everyone!

The Auction Committee has been working hard on our Christmas Wish Live & Silent Auction which will be on Saturday, November 27th. Desserts/coffee/tea and viewing will begin at 7:00 pm and the live auction will start at 7:30 pm.  Bring your friends!  Bring your Christmas List because you just might be able to do your Christmas shopping!  Children are welcome to come (wear your pajamas, bring a pillow, blanket or sleeping bag) to watch a movie and have popcorn in the foyer.

Here's an almost complete list of items being offered for auction:

A delicious array of holiday baking:

·         Key Lime Pies

·         Scones

·         Cookies

·         Cheesecakes

·         Large pots of soup

·         Shortbread cookies

·         Chocolate Cupcakes

·         Meatloafs

Wonderful gifts of service:

·         3 hours of housecleaning

·         Lawn aeration

·         Hosted Dinner for 4

·         Take load of garbage to dump

·         3 – 4 hours of baby sitting

·         Dog walking/sitting

·         2 hours of Christmas Gift Wrapping

·         Door to door drop off and pick up at Pearson Airport for up to 4 people

·         45 minute set of Old Time Country Music to be performed at your summer event

·         Port Elgin cottage rental for 1 week, including 1 hour rental of 4 water bikes

Beautiful gifts of arts and crafts:

·         Debbie Ellis water colour painting of Black Bridge

·         Bill Westbrook original Cardinal on canvas

·         Quilted Christmas Tree wall hanging

·         Knit mittens and small crocheted afghan

·         Hand knit men’s and women’s sweaters

·         2 knit items chosen from catalogue

·         Homemade Christmas and all occasion cards

·         Christmas Stockings

·         First edition hand-bound book

Sports &Entertainment:

·         Golf passes to Savannah and Golf North

·         KW Symphony Christmas Concert Tickets

One of a kind gifts:

·         Signed Looneyspoons cookbook

·         Child’s recliner

·         Sunlounger

·         Collectors quality ceramic tiles

·         Ukulele

·         Holiday Star

·         Sail duffle bags

Last, but not least, an outstanding selection of beautiful gift baskets and gift cards:

·         Session, Christian Education, Fellowship, Mission & Outreach, Operations gift baskets

·         Tim Hortons Gift basket

·         Gadsby’s Gift Basket and gift card

·         Wispers Gift basket including pedicure certificate

·         Blackshop, Melville Cafe, State & Main, East Side Marios, Edible Arrangements, Mothers, Fiftys, Fionn MacCool’s, The Keg gift cards

·         Pampered chef gift card

·         Overnight stay at the Cambridge Hotel

·         Wash, cut and style certificates

·         Manicure certificate

·         Zehrs and Food Basics gift cards

A wonderful Christmas Tea!

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Tea at 

St. Luke's Place this Sunday afternoon.

Many thanks to our young servers, to everyone who baked the scrumptious Christmas goodies, to the ladies who made and supplied to Christmas aprons for our servers, to our Deacons, to our Youth Band and to everyone else who helped in any way and to those who came out today.

Some of our servers arranging plates of Christmas goodies.

Our Youth Band played three Christmas pieces.  Everyone enjoyed the music.

Enjoying those Christmas goodies, a coffee and some time to visit.

Eyeing up some more goodies!

And finally, cleaning up!

Youth Ministry

 

For families with youth grade 7+.

Please mark your calendars!  

Wednesday, December 14th; 5:30 - 7:30 pm.

We will share a potluck dinner together, have some fun, talk about our ideas and make some plans for our Youth Ministry. 

R.S.V.P. to Joni (jsmith@standrewshespeler.ca) by December 7th.

Christmas on Queen Street

Any donations of new toys, clothing or gift cards for this event would be appreciated.  We would also like some Christmas baking for our Christmas Café, if you are able to bake something we would also appreciate that!  

For any questions or if you can help in any way please contact Joni  jsmith@standrewshespeler.ca

A Very Special Remembrance Sunday

On Sunday, November 6, St. Andrew's Hespeler will be celebrating Remembrance Sunday. This service will include prayers for peace among the nations and a celebration of the commitment, service and personal sacrifice of those who have served our country in times of great need. We will observe two minutes of silence, highlight those members of the congregation who have served in the military and celebrate our nation with the singing of the national anthem.

There are number of other things that will make this service meaningful and memorable:

• The Youth Band will be performing a medley of Peace Like a River and Kum Ba Yah
• The  choir and music director have prepared music based on the themes of peace and of rivers.
• The minister will present the first of a two-part sermon on the River Gihon in the Bible. Here is a short introduction to the series.

Oh, and one more thing. We are certainly eager for you to join us Sunday and to bring your friends too, but you don't necessarily need to show up a whole hour early so....

161st Anniversary Service

This Sunday, October 30, the congregation of St. Andrew's Hespeler will gather to celebrate our 161st Anniversary. There will be many things to make this gathering special:

• Our very special anniversary preacher will be the Rev. Linda Ashfield. Linda is minister at Knox Waterloo Presbyterian Church where she is in a team ministry together with her husband, Brooke. In fact, Brooke and Linda have the distinction of being the first couple in the Presbyterian Church in Canada to be ordained together. 

  
  

  Linda has  a ministry that inspires and instructs many.  Over the years, Linda served the church on the Board of Ministry, Board of Congregational Life and the Board of World Mission. She helped create Youth in Mission and worked as YIM’s National Co-ordinator. Linda was the Canadian National Co-ordinator for the Presbyterian Church in Canada for Youth Triennium (86), working on the Design Team and organizing the Canadian delegation as well as Internationals from 12 countries. In 1992 she was the Canadian preacher at Triennium. She gave leadership at four Youth Trienniums held at Purdue University as well as four Canada Youth events, preaching the closing service at Canada Youth 2012. We look forward to what Linda has to share with us as she preaches about "What's essential?"
• Our special Musical Guest will be Dan Amorim, a talented and gifted organist. His presence with us will enhance our worship in too many ways to count!
• Our own musical groups will be putting out their very best for us. That includes our Senior Choir, Youth Choir, Youth Band and Joyful Sound (Men's Chorus).
• Following worship our fellowship time will include a tasting of meat pies from our fundraiser.
• Fellowship time will also include the dramatic conclusion of our exciting pie in the face contest! Would anyone like to know what it takes to get the honour of throwing a pie in the minister's face?
  

Christmas Wish Auction!

Please mark your calendars!

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Viewing, coffee/tea/desserts at 7:00 pm

Live Auction to begin at 7:30 pm.

If you have any items you would like to donate to the auction please contact  Joni Smith, jsmith@standrewshespeler.ca

Suggested items, but not limited to, might be:  a painting (we know there are a few very talented artists in our midst), a service that you could provide (we have a donation of 3 separate lawn aerations with a $40 value for each one), any item that you have handcrafted (we have a beautiful quilted wall hanging and warm winter sweaters donated).  Be creative, have fun!

Wednesday Night and the Tastiness of Pies!

Wednesday night is always a fun night at St. Andrew's Hespeler as families and people of all ages come together to enjoy the fellowship of a tasty pot luck supper.

 This past Wednesday night especially special - and not just because we had the opportunity to console ourselves over the impending loss of the Blue Jays:

Rob had brought us all a special treat - some samples of the meat pies that are now on sale as a part of a fund-raiser for the church. He brought turkey, beef, ground beef and shepherds' pie pies.

So what was the verdict? What did people think of the pies?

Yummy!

Where do I order?

Lots of thumbs up!

Order forms for the pies are now available at the church. They will be available for pickup on November 26 to 28, 2016.

October 23, a very special day at St. Andrews Hespeler

Sundays are always special at St. Andrew's, but we've got a lot of people looking forward to this coming Sunday with anticipation. Here is what you'll get to be part of when you come:

• We get to be part of the celebration of the new life and the baptism of Isaac - a very special boy who we can surround with our love and care.
• The Youth Choir will be singing a traditional spiritual called, "Chariot's Coming'"
• The Youth Band will be playing with us as we sing.
• The Senior choir will also sing a spiritual called, "Who Will Be a Witness?"
• Our sermon will look at the stories about the naming of Isaac in the Old Testament:

Looking forward to seeing you and your friends on Sunday!

October 2, World Communion Sunday at St. Andrew's Hespeler

As usual, there are lots of good reasons to be at St. Andrew's Hespeler on a Sunday morning. October 2 will be no exception. Here are some highlights: 

• We will be celebrating World Communion Sunday with a very special celebration of the Sacrament based on one of the most ancient written Christian liturgies ever found -- from a book called The Didache or The Teaching of the Twelve. We will learn a few things about what the very first Christians believed happened when they celebrated the Lord's Supper together.
• The Youth Band will be playing for the first time this fall: Remembrance (The Communion Song) (Matt Maher and Matt Redman)
   Special music of the day will include: Menuet en Rondeau & Air pour Zéphire (Jean-Phillipe Rameau), Thy Table I Approach (Jan Bender), Let Us Break Bread Together (Arr. Carol Tornquist) and Christ is Made the Sure Foundation (Henry Purcell, Arr. Cindy Berry) 
• We will have a chance to speed our runners and walkers who are preparing for the "Jeff-a-thon" on their way.
• We'll update the standings on the "Pie in the Face" race for Anniversary Sunday.
• Our sermon will explore some alternative and additional meanings hiding in our celebration of Communion.
• Sermon Title:

Pop Can Challenge

We Need Your Help!

This Sunday, October 2nd, the Sunday School children and                      Christian Education Committee are challenging you to bring us all of your empty pop cans.  There will be a trailer parked outside of the church where you can place your bagged pop cans (please only pop cans).                                      Help us fill the trailer on Sunday.

All proceeds from the pop cans will be given to the Jeff-a-thon, a fundraising event in memory of our friend, the Rev. Jeff Veenstra.  The Jeff-a-thon will support Presbyterian World Service & Development's Child & Maternal Health in Malawi and Afghanistan initiative.  

( click here for more info: Child & Maternal Health in Malawi and Afghanistan)

A couple of years ago the Christian Education Committee produced this video and today we are once again reminded of it!

More Craft Sale items are coming in!

Our craft sale is this Saturday, September 24th, 8:00 am - noon

at 58 Hammet St., Cambridge

All proceeds will help support Hope Clothing.

Lisa's Cookies: fresh baked Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hand crafted scarves

Hand Knit dishcloths

Homegrown (by a little boy) and waxed mini pumpkins.

Have you earned your Golden Ticket?

This Sunday during our Sunday School Kick-off Celebration we will get to see who earned their Golden Ticket!  One of the requirements was to come to church at least once in the summer (if you didn't manage this, talk with Joni, she just might count Sunday as your day in church because it still is summer!)  Don't forget to get your mom or dad to fill out your registration form, too.  There will be extras at church for those who forget. Make sure you talk to Joni before or after worship about getting your Golden Ticket.

We will have lots of fun with some guessing games and prizes.  And we can enjoy cake while we play!

Here's a picture of the two prizes that anyone holding a Golden Ticket can try to win.

Craft Sale!

Here's a sneak peak of some of the items that will be for sale at our craft sale!

Saturday, 

September 24th

8:00 am—noon

58 Hammet St.  

Cambridge

Proceeds will help Hope Clothing assist those in our     community who need some extra help clothing          themselves and their family.

September Series: If you build it...

Here is an introduction to our September series of sermons talking about important questions concerning church growth:



Why not invite other people but following this link. Then click "share"

A second prayer circle for Cameron

This Thursday evening (August 25) at 7 pm, we will join together once again in the sanctuary at St. Andrew's Hespeler to form a circle and pray for Cameron Krueger and his family. We will ask God's assistance as Cameron continues to recover and build up his strength and health following his accident which caused a brain injury. Please join us if you are able to do so.

Prayer circle

This Thursday evening (August 18) at 7 pm, we will join together in the sanctuary at St. Andrew's Hespeler to form a circle and pray for Cameron Krueger and his family. We will ask God's assistance as Cameron learns to breathe again on his own without assistance following his accident which caused a brain injury. Please join us if you are able to do so.

Some of our upcoming events

Here's a little taste of what will be coming up.

There's more planned.  Please stay tuned for more details!

Our annual Sunday School Kick-Off will be on Sunday, September 18th.  I wonder if any or our children will earn their Golden Ticket?

Remembering all of our Public Educators (even those who have retired) and lifting them up in prayer on Sunday, September 18

Harvest Sunday on September 25th, with a collection for Thursday Night Supper & Social and the Grand Gardener Contest for the child who grows the biggest (by weight) potato!

September 24th, at 58 Hammett St.  All proceeds will help Hope Clothing.  All donations of hand crafted items are also very much appreciated.

Do you have batteries to recycle?

We have a member of our congregation who is a scout and is fundraising to go to Nova Scotia in 2017 for the Canadian Jamboree.  One way he is raising funds is to collect alkaline batteries.  We have a recycle bucket in the foyer of the church if anyone can help out.

(our local Scout group is not doing this exercise so we are not in conflict with them)

St. Andrew's Hockey Team?

Who knew we had a hockey team?

Thanks Cam Klager for sharing this photo.

Summer Fun!

Several Summer Fun bags were delivered to our Sunday School children today!  Be sure to check in between your front doors, your front door knob or mailbox.  If you didn't get one, please ask me for one, I will be happy to get one to you.  These bags contain instructions for earning the Golden Ticket and the Golden Ticket checklist, as well as a little something else.

 

We are a Poké Stop for Pokemon Go!

Yes, we are a Poké Stop for Pokémon Go!

Next week the office will be open Monday, Wednesday & Friday morning from 9:00 am - noon. 

 If you are out and about trying to catch these Pokémon, feel free to drop in to fill up your water bottle!

Attention Sunday School Students!

Who wants a Golden Ticket?

Sunday School Students stay tuned to find out how you can earn your own Golden Ticket and to find out how it works.  Sunday School students will soon get a letter detailing all the necessary information needed to earn one of these Golden Tickets.