ST. ANDREW'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Community meal:

St. Andrew's will be hosting a carry out Christmas meal at the church on Christmas Eve from 12-1pm.  More details can be found HERE.  To sign up for helping to supply food, click HERE.

 

Sandwich Board:  We will be meeting our commitment to provide food for Sandwich Board at Trinity Aurora regularly. However, we need your help to fund this important ministry. If you regularly sign up to provide food or would just like to join us, you can still help out. Please donate via the website (Emergency Fund / Discretionary), or via check to St. Andrew's with Sandwich Board in the memo line. Any questions, contact Donna Armstrong

Breeze is an application for your phone or computer which allows you to access the St. Andrew’s Directory and Calendar, to sign up for programs and events, to sign up to donate goods or funds to programs and to communicate with friends and other members involved in church functions.  Once you have a user profile (CLICK HERE TO ADD), you can maintain your own contact information and directory photo, let ministry coordinators know that you are unavailable to serve on certain event dates and see who is serving on various committees of the church for those times when you have questions or suggestions. 

 

Breeze is a powerful partner for church communication.  From within Breeze, you can map the directions to a church member’s address by the click of a button.  You can also click on the phone number (from your phone) and call a church member directly.  Lastly, you can send emails to one or a group of people from within Breeze. 

 

Breeze security allows us to shield personal information from others as appropriate, and restrict who can see the information about our members and their activities.  Additionally, certain fees (not pledges) can be securely paid through Breeze, simplifying the process of signing up for programs that have a related cost, such as a book for Adult Formation or fees for a church retreat – no separate payment activity required.

 

We will also use Breeze to sign up for donations to the many programs we support, both internal and external to St. Andrew’s:  post-service receptions, seasonal community meals, Revive! Baskets at Christmas time.

 

Most Breeze functions can be performed on your phone, tablet or computer, but of course some things are just easier to read on a larger screen.   Here’s hoping you are excited about the possibility of having the church directory, calendar and signups available to you at home and on the go.

 

If you have any questions about Breeze, please contact Dellana Mote, Wendee Greene or Mark Frankart.

Parents Day Out (PDO) registration is open for the 2024-2025 program year. Click HERE for more information.  Please be sure to tell your friends and neighbors about PDO!

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PDO provides playtime, crafts, story time, and snack/lunch for children ages 2 to 4. No potty training required. PDO is open from 9 AM to 1 PM Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Parents may enroll children for one or two days per week.

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For more information Call (630) 968-9188, email pdo@saintandrewschurch.net or click here. 

The St. Andrew's Garden Committee established a vegetable garden on the southeast corner of the church lawn in Spring 2021. Our garden is one of dozens nationwide created in response to Presiding Bishop Michael Curry's request that parishes begin agrarian ministries that feed body, mind and spirit . In this video, he explains the mission of the Good News Garden movement.

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Gardening as a church community has many benefits and offers opportunities to:
 

·    Participate in a healthy, fun, educational, spiritual, family-activity 

·    Partner with local institutions that serve the food insecure

·    Put our thoughts and beliefs into action

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The garden produced more than 500 pounds of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, chard and other vegetables during the 2024 season.  We donate all our produce to the Downers Grove Area FISH food panty and  Downers Grove Library cupboard for distribution to their clients.

 

We gear up for spring planting in late April and May and harvest from July through October.  If you in serving as a volunteer gardener,  please contact Malinda Hamann.

After the DuPage PADS congregate sites shut down due to COVID in March of 2020, PADS arranged for people in need of shelter to be housed at local hotels. One of the sites was the Red Roof Inn on Butterfield Frontage Road in Downers Grove, which was subsequently purchased and renovated by PADS and now functions as its Interim Housing Center.

 

The IHC accommodates families with children, providing a consistent, comfortable, secure space for them to live. The young residents are exhibiting improved mental health and positivity because now they have a place to call their own.

 

Along with a secure place to live, the residents are in need of regular meals. Many churches have joined forces to provide dinners every evening, 52 weeks a year. St. Andrew's partners with The Church of the Holy Nativity in Clarendon Hills to provide meals once a month. Our commitment is to provide desserts for the residents. Jean Pare' has more information.

Healing Circle Ending 

 

We have been privileged to offer Therapeutic Touch (TT) to our fellow parishioners, friends, and community members over the past few years.  It has been especially lovely to hold our healing circle in the beautiful Upstairs at St. Andrew's.  Regrettably, the pandemic has taken its toll on attendance and so, after our August 11 gathering, we will no longer be holding the healing circle. The three of us, however, will remain available for individual TT sessions. Just call or email any one of us (we are in the directory), and we will be happy to talk more about TT and arrange a time for a session.

 

We send you our healing thoughts, love, and gratitude.

Madonna Pence

Connie Butler

Sally Hedrick