St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 333 S. Drexel Ave., Columbus, Oh 43209 Phone 614-253-8549, Website http://www.stalbansbexley.org; email churchnew@stalbansbexley.org

Parish Office Hours Monday-Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Friday 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; Labyrinth Prayer Walk and Memorial Garden always open for prayer and meditation

The St. Alban’s Fridge Sheet

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Today at St. Alban’s

9:30 a.m. Adult Choir Rehearsal (Choir Room) 10:15 a.m. Advent IV-Holy Eucharist Rite II (No Sunday School) Christmas Eve 4:00 p.m. Festive Family friendly service with Holy Eucharist 10:40 p.m. Prelude of Christmas Music Festive Holy Eucharist Rite II

This Week at St. Alban’s Mon. Dec. 25 Christmas Day-Church Office closed 10:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite I (Spoken service) Tues. Dec. 26 Church Office closed Thurs. Dec. 28 7:30 p.m. Choir Rehearsal (Choir Room) Next Sunday, December 31, 2017 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite I 9:30 a.m. Choir Rehearsal (Choir Room) 10:00 a.m. Sunday School for Children (Ed. Bldg.) 10:15 a.m. Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist Rite II

Upcoming Events: Jan.1 Church Office closed Jan. 7 9:15 a.m. Episcopal Basics (EB) resumes Jan. 8 7:00 p.m. St. Alban’s Book Club (St. Alban’s Library) Jan. 10 1:00 p.m. Homeless Meals Ministry (Cooks) 5:30 p.m. Homeless Meals Ministry (Servers) 7:00 p.m. Building and Grounds Meeting Jan. 11 7:30 p.m. Social Concerns Committee Meeting Jan. 15 Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Make a Donation by Credit Card: You may pay your pledge or make a gift using your credit/debit card. Simply fill out the form on the table in the back of the church and turn in the office or in the offering plate.

St. Alban’s

Stewardship Report Our Every Member Canvass is getting much closer to having every member participating. We now have 82 donors and pledges totally $277, 967.40. The remaining challenge is that we have very few prospective donors left to cover the $72,033 to balance the budget at this last year’s levels. We have a 20% short-fall. Imagining St Alban’s with 20% less than this year is a very anemic program and staff. I urge all of us to think and pray about what we might do to remedy this critical situation. As we engage in the search process, our Vestry seeks to put our best foot forward to interest Rector candidates. A church which is unable to find the support to cover its operat-ing costs may be less likely to be the parish of choice. Our congregation seems to be willing to do everything except help with the mission of our church to cover its fundamental operating costs. We very much need the blessing of your increased support. From your Vestry and Stewardship Commit-tee

Parish Announcements

FOOD COLLECTION

There is a continual need for food in the Near East area of Columbus. We continue to collect food and take it to the St. Philip’s Episcopal Church Food Pan-try serving the Near East Side. There is a continual need for all food, especially canned vegetables. While food pantries are able to purchase some items from the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, they can use our help to supplement what they purchase. When you go grocery shopping please purchase a couple of cans of vegetables or other items. Staples such as rice, spaghetti, cereals, peanut butter, and canned fruit are also good. There is a real need for diapers, soap and other hygiene items that cannot be purchased with food stamps. There is a box in the Living Room for you to leave your contri-butions. PLASTIC GROCERY BAGS and COUPONS are al-so good to give.

For many families and sen-iors, it is a hardship or an impossibility to buy food. More than ever, hunger and food scarcity is a problem and is occurring at the same time as a cut in the food stamp program. Anything we contribute is really needed and helpful.

A THANK YOU FROM ST. PHILIP’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

The following is a thank-you from the staff of St. Philip’s Food Pantry for the contributions made by the people of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church to their Thanksgiving food baskets:

“It was an amazing amount of food items collected from St. Albans. This allowed our pantry to serve more than 448+ individuals during the Thanksgiving season. We are so grateful to St. Alban's Episcopal Church.”

Peace,

Fred D. Johnson, Food Pantry Director Ralph Holland, Assistant Director Cynthia E. Sands, Volunteer Coordinator

2018 St. Alban’s Film Series

Mark your calendars!

The Faith Formation Committee is pleased to announce that the film for this

year’s film series is “Doubt”. Starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, and Phillip Seymour

Hoffman, it tells the story of a Catholic school principal who questions a priest's ambiguous relationship with a troubled

young student. Rated PG –13.

January 21, 2018 – The film will be viewed in the Ed Building after the 10:15 service. A

light lunch will be provided. Following the showing, Rev. Jim Miner will spend some

time with us offering a preview of our sec-ond session so we can spend some time thinking about the film in relation to our

faith journey.

January 28, 2018 – A Priest Sheds Some

Light on…Doubt. Rev. Jim Miner will offer

a theological reflection of the film.

February 4, 2018 – Rikki Santer will help us see How the Director Makes Meaning

in a film. An expert who has taught film studies, Rikki is an annual volunteer who helps bring a professional perspective to the

experience of film.

St. Alban’s Book Club Date: Monday, January 8, 2018 Time: 7:00 p.m. Location: St. Alban’s Library Host: Rachel Barnes Book: Reader's Choice So many books! Only one meeting a month! All year, each discussion has included references to other books and members have shared some of the books on their person-al reading lists. To start 2018, everyone is invited to bring their own personal favorite book to share with the group. It can be a favorite from the past or something new you just discovered. January will be to share a book that was/is important to each of us and the impact that particular book made on us. We will also be choosing our selections for the coming months. So look for the email with the list of suggestions to preview. If you are not on the book club mailing list, please contact Rachel Barnes at rmbarnes@juno.com to be added.

STOP - POP - DROP

For more than three decades, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio (RMHC) has been serving families with seriously ill children by providing a home-away-from-home at the Columbus Ronald McDonald House. For years the tabs of beverage cans have been collected as a fund-raiser for Ronald McDonald House. They are able to gener-ate thousands of dollars from their pop tab collection (a compact, easily collectable source of aluminum) program every year. So, STOP (before you recycle the can) POP (the tab) and DROP (the tab in a receptacle). Please save these tabs, a former project of Sue Altmaier. There is a collection receptacle in the Living Room. We will periodically deliver the tabs to the Ronald McDonald House.

January Caring and Sharing: CRIS

In January, 2018, our Caring and Sharing focus will be Community Refugee and Immigration Services, or CRIS. Tyler Reeve, their community outreach person, will be with us at both services on January 14. He hopes to bring with him a member of their Speaker’s Bureau, who will talk with us between the services.

In the last year, the number of refugees coming into the US has dropped, but they’re still coming – CRIS worked with 76 new refugees in September 2017. Although refugees receive government assistance for only 90 days, CRIS offers a wide variety of services to refugees, immigrants, and asylees. From the day of arrival to years afterwards.

Since this article is being written in November 2017, things may look different when January 2018 rolls around. Be sure to be in church on the 14th to learn from Tyler and to add your contribution to St. Alban’s offering for the support of vulnerable immigrants and refugees in our community.

Altar Flowers

The altar flowers are a meaningful and beautiful way to remember loved ones or to celebrate special fami-ly occasions with the church family. A new sign up sheet has been placed in the Living Room on the bul-letin board. Please see if there is a date you would like to donate. Sign up in a blank spot and/or call/text Ann Lowder at 614-893-1315 or email annklowder@gmail.com

THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING TO DELIVER POINSETTIAS

Thank you to those who volunteered to deliver the poinsettias to our parishioners who are unable to come to church or have another need. Cards with each person’s name and address will be with a poin-settia. Please do not take the plant until after the Christmas Day service so that our nave remains love-ly. We hope that you will take the plant in the first few days of Christmas. If there are any questions or concerns, contact Eileen Becknell at (614) 512-6335.

Lucinda Sweeney Dec. 26

Ethan Thompson Dec. 27

Rector Search Update: Work of the Narra-

tive Committee

After the all-parish gatherings, which took place in the fall, the next step in the search process is forming a narrative committee (called the parish profile commit-tee during previous rector searches). This committee was established in November. Its purpose is to create the documents and web content that will inform and attract the next rector to lead St. Alban’s. Using parishioners’ input from the discussions at the all-parish gatherings, the committee constructs the parish narrative. This narrative focuses on the core values of St. Alban’s and the characteristics we seek in a rector. The committee also completes a question-naire on the National Church website that will be available to rector candidates. Since the questions used in the all-parish gatherings mirror those on this questionnaire, the narrative com-mittee is able to use the input from fellow parishioners to write these responses. When the final version of the narrative is ready, committee members will work with the parish’s communications team to post this and other appropriate materials on the St. Alban’s website. The committee has met four times since ear-ly November and will have at least two more meetings before completing their responsibilities and transition-ing the work to the parish’s search committee. The search committee will then begin to review appli-cations they receive in response to the narrative and questionnaire. Facilitated by the transitional rector, Nicolette Papanek, the committee includes Anne Krabacher, Marikate Leavens, Charlene O’Donnell, Sal Piazza, Russ Rosler, Roy Smoot, and Kelly Tomkies, and Elaine Warnett. Please feel free to talk with any of them if you have any questions.

We ask your prayers for...

St. Alban’s in this time of transition as we move for-ward to a promising future.

Thanksgiving for all the blessings of our lives.

Our members worshipping at home, especially: Bob

Benefiel, David, Jodie and Bill Ferguson, Erma Grey,

Pat Johnston, Martha Parsons, Michael, Leah Sterling,

and Joan Taylor.

Those recovering from surgery or injury, especially:

Bill Dixon and Ginny Giggi.

Those in any need or trouble, including: Virginia

Adams, Roy Aldridge, Alice, Alex Anklan, Mary Jo

Baker, Ana Berios, Connie Bommer, Tim Boyer,

Mary Cull, Dan, Arnold Dick, Dorothy, Robert Ed-

wards, Kathy Fanning, Jenny Floch, Donna Gardner,

Hanna Giggi, Nick Gilbert, Erma Grey, Lelia Hamil-

ton, Joseph, Kalah, Peter, Elaine Knutty, Peter Knut-

ty, David Kondracke, Larry Larrison, Rev. Luke

Mims, Robert Larson, Ellen Lebson, Dennis Leukhart,

Anne Lodge, Dick Lodge, Mark, Matthew, Nancy

Maturo, Eileen Meier, Anne Meshanko, Louis Mitch-

ell, Betsey Noethlich, Pat Norwood, Erica Partridge,

Felix Pedon, Charlie Powell, Patricia Ratcliff, Ray

Rosler, Sam, Michael Sarrey, David Sarrey, Steve,

Grant Schroeder, Mildred Stigger, Esther Sweeney,

John Thatcher, Dorothy Thomas, David Tucker, Eg-

buike O. Ujah, Timothy-Scott, Tom Wagenbrenner,

Sharon Washington, Jonah Whisler, Ramona Whisler,

Laura Winchester, Addie Wisniewski, Taylor

Wisniewski.

Those serving in the military, including: Brendan,

Carl, Christian, Christopher, David, Greg, Jake, Josh-

ua, Mallory, Patrick, Peter, Ryan, Shaun, Taylor, and

Tyler.

Those serving in places of danger, including: Steven,

Anne, Sam, Ben, and Maria Becknell.

For all our guests-in-need.

We commend to God’s loving mercy all who have

died, including: Jim Pryde.

For those on our prayer list, for the mission and min-

istries of St. Alban’s Church, and for all those whose

need is known to God alone.

...amen.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Your Pastoral Care Team welcomes all prayer re-quests. Please include:

1. Whether you wish both the first and last name of the person, or only the first name on the prayer list.

2. Name of hospital, when appropriate.

3. Whether the person would like a visit and/or Com-munion from a member of the Pastoral Care team.

4. Your name, and how to reach you, in case we need contact information for the person.