FROM THE RECTOR'S DESK Preparing for Christmas                                     November 30th  ~ Sunday - Advent 1        8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite II     10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite II                   Preparing the Chrismon Tree at 10 a.m. service. December 1st  ~ Mondays in Advent  (Also offered on Dec. 8, 15 & 22 )      7:00 p.m. Advent Program – “Paths to Prayer”                   The evening concludes with HE using one of the prayer types       December 7 ~ Sunday - Advent 2               8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite I                               10:00 a.m. Holy Baptism & Holy Eucharist Rite II followed by  pageant rehearsal                                      12:30 p.m. Tree Trimming at the Rectory.                      5:00 p.m. Farewell for Don Carlson [Canon for Youth Ministry] hosted at  St. Mark’s      December 14 ~ Sunday - Advent 3                  8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite I                      10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite I followed by Small Group Meeting & pageant rehearsal        December 21 ~ Sunday - Advent 4       8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite I              10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite I followed by final pageant rehearsal,                     Soup Lunch and greening of the church                 December 24 ~ Wednesday  - Christmas Eve               5:00 p.m.  Family Friendly Christmas Eve Rite II HE                                  with Christmas Pageant, “The Story of Christmas”                                        11:00 p.m. Eucharist Celebration of the Feast of Christmas with choir December 25 ~ Thursday - Christmas Day            10:00 a.m. Celebration of Holy Eucharist in the Chapel     December 28th  ~ Sunday - The First Sunday after Christmas              10:00 a.m. Service of Lessons and Carols with Holy Eucharist         No Church School  ~  Caroling to our shut ins to follow the service The Rector’s Christmas Letter and special offering envelope for Christmas  will be mailed to homes mid-December.

Finance Note Rebuilding All Saints’ — RAS envelopes for 2009 are available for those persons paying weekly and/or needing a new set of “Blue” RAS envelopes.  Please contact the office or call Marilyn Doersam or by email at GRANDMAD@ SPRYNET.COM, before December 10, 2008. Year 2009 Pledge Envelopes   —  for parishioners who have requested envelopes will be available for pick up in the narthex of the church on Sunday, December 21st .  If you would like envelopes and do not find them there, please contact the office and a set will be assigned to you.  Please do not use envelopes from a prior year for 2009 contributions, as new numbers are assigned each year and you may not receive credit for your contribution. Year 2008 Pledge Statement Reminder  —  Pledge and other special gifts received on or before December 31, 2008 will be posted on your Year 2008 statement.  Pledge offerings and other special offerings arriving after December 31 will be posted on your 2009 statements.  If you would like a statement of what you have paid to date, please contact the office.  Year 2008 final statements will be available for pickup in the narthex the week of January 25th .  If you wish your statement mailed to you, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the church office.  Thank you.

Farewell for Diocese Canon for Youth Ministry   On Sunday, December 7, from 5 to 7 p.m., St. Mark’s Chenango Bridge will host a Farewell Party for Don Carlson, our Canon for Youth as he concludes his ministry with the Diocese of Central New York.  Pizza, salad, drinks and dessert will be provided.  You are asked to RSVP by calling St. Mark’s at 648-4400 or emailing the Rev. Mark Giroux at mpgiroux@pronetisp.net, to help them with food planning.  Please attend and offer your good wishes to Don and Kathleen and be ready to share a memory or a story!

College Love Box  - Final Call for Donations Our final day to collect stationery items (highlighters, Post-it notes, etc.,) snacks, gum, and small toys to cheer up our college students preparing for finals will be on Sunday, November 30. Lonna plans to get the boxes out for delivery the first week in December. Please bake home-made cookies or brownies for November 30th , as these are their favorites! Whether or not you are able to donate at this time, kindly remember our young people in your prayers. They are away from home during a stressful time, and need to know we care about them and their future in our church family. Thanks for all you do!  Lonna

Life Goes On Christmas Party! The December Meeting will be on the first Wednesday of  December — December 3rd  —  at the Binghamton Regency.  You are asked to bring a small $4 value gift for exchange. Please contact Arlene Foley if you are planning on attending so that she can make adequate reservations.

Book Club Meeting on Wednesdays Due to a conflict with choir, the Book Club has been meeting on Wednesdays once a month.  The December meeting will be on Wednesday, December 17th at 6:30 PM at the rectory.  Having finished Julia Spencer-Fleming’s In the Deep Midwinter, the Book Club is avidly reading two more of her Rev. Claire Furgeson mysteries: number 2) A Fountain Full of Blood and number 4) Out of the Deep I Cry.  Marilyn Stasio of the New York Times wrote in her review: “Following her stunning debut, In the Bleak Midwinter, Julia Spencer-Fleming returns with another mystery set in the small town of Miller's Kill, NY, but this time around, murder strikes in the dead heat of summer. The plot is complicated, and the ethical issues are even thornier. Wisely, Spencer-Fleming treats them with the same delicacy that she extends to Clare's forbidden love.” Copies of the book ($6.29 each) will be available soon in the narthex!

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Advent Activities “Paths to Prayer” Advent Program— Begins Monday, December 1st “Paths to Prayer” is the name of the program for this Advent.  During the “Home Communion as a Small Group Experience” many asked questions about prayer and different ways of prayer.  (As much as we Anglicans love The Book of Common Prayer, there are many more ways to pray than are contained in the Prayer Book’s 1,001 pages!)  So, viola—an Advent Program about prayer.  Don’t be turned off by the rather “churchy” title.  Forms of prayer as varied and unique as each of us are—one or more is bound to be a good fit.  Each week a different type of prayer will be introduced and explained.  Discussion and questions will abound.  The program will end with a celebration of Holy Eucharist incorporating the prayer type.  The types of prayer to be explored include: praying with beads, praying with icons, and Taizé prayer. In an attempt to get four Advent programs meetings, we are trying a new time and schedule.  We’ll meet at 7 PM in the Library for the “discussion” part and then at 8 PM usually move to the chapel for the “practical” part and to celebrate Holy Eucharist using one of the prayer-types.  Please save these dates and times for “Paths to Prayer”: Mondays December 1, December 8, December 15 and December 22 at 7 PM.    The Chrismon Tree AKA Jesse Tree The name Chrismon Tree refers to the type of symbols on the tree:  Christ’s monograms.  The word is Medieval Latin for a symbol of Christ.  This is the type of tree placed  in our sanctuary each year at the beginning of Advent.  At All Saints’ the Chrismon Tree is a gift of the Episcopal Church Women (ECW) to the congregation and this year the congregation will have the opportunity to place the symbols on the tree on Sunday, Advent 1, November 30th.  There are dozens of different symbols for Jesus Christ all decorated in white and gold: simple crosses, crowns, flowers, the list is long.  How many of them can you identify?  Hint: there’s a book on the window sill which describes them. It’s a visual aid to our Advent and Christmas worship. The Chrismon or Jesse Tree, NOT a Christmas Tree!   The Jesse Tree is named from Isaiah 11:1: "A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots." It is a vehicle to tell the Story of God in the Old Testament, and to connect the Advent Season with the faithfulness of God across 4,000 years of history. The Branch is a biblical sign of newness out of discouragement, which became a way to talk about the expected messiah (e.g., Jer. 23:5). It is therefore an appropriate symbol of Jesus the Christ, who is the revelation of the grace and faithfulness of God. It has become customary to hang symbols of either the Old Testament or symbols of Christ on such a tree. Tree Decorating Party, December 7th  at 12:30 pm    Children of all ages and their families are invited to a Christmas Tree Trimming Party on Sunday, December 7th , 2008 at the rectory at 12:30 PM.  Come help deck the rector’s tree, sing Christmas Carols and eating a light soup lunch  The puppy bishops will be attendance and hope that everyone will come and have fun!  RSVP by December 5th (797-3354 or by e-mail AllSaintsJCNY@aol.com Church Decorating Party, December 21st  following the 10 AM service On Sunday, December 21st  , there will be two services [8 and 10 am] and our 10 a.m. service will be followed by the last Christmas Pageant rehearsal and decorating of the church.  A soup luncheon will be provided by the church. Altar Guild [and anyone willing to help– all volunteers are welcome to help decorate!] are asked to assist with the decorating of the church following the 10 a.m. service on the morning of December 21st   Altar Guild members will also meet at 10 a.m. on Saturday, December 20th  to unpack and prepare wreaths, creche and figures etc so that greening and preparing the church for Christmas services will not take a long time.

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Small  Groups  Announced                        Some fifty members of All Saints’, between the ages of 14 and 89, have indicated that they would like to be part of a small group experience.  Only six who attended the Home Communion Small Group Experience did not wish to participate.  Strong interest was expressed in the following themes for a small group experience: Theater, Popcorn Theology, Crafts, Soup & Sandwich Saturday Teams, African Bible Study, Day Trips, Book Discussions, Sunday Football, B-Mets, and Food in Crisis. As you can tell by the above topics, only one or two are very “churchy”—but because each will be an intentional gathering of Christians who will meet regularly, share, listen and pray for each other in the group—they will function as a Christian small group.  Each group will decide its own format, frequency, place, day and time.  Each group will designate its own convener.  Behold All Saints’ Small Groups, as grouped within an individual’s preference!  More exciting names are probably needed for many of the groups—but again that will be decided by the group. To get the groups started, there will be a mass meeting of all the groups on Sunday December 14, 2008, Advent 3, after the 10 AM service in the Library and Great Hall.  If you did note indicate a small group preference, it’s not too late.  Just come on December 14th and join the group.  Please RSVP your desire to participate in the small group and your attendance to the office (allsaintsjcny@aol.com or 607-797-3354) as soon as possible.

African Bible Study Brad Bennett Art Elwood Nancy Elwood Barbara Freed Sue Mahon Debbie Thorpe

Day Trips Allan Anderson Cindy Anderson Paul Donnelly Patti Donnelly Nancy Kiley Larry Kiley Louise Pierce Dan Knight – summers Bette Knight – summers

Food in Crisis Team Linda Barkman Barbara Barton Lucy Grabowski Nancy Grabowski Juanita Harrison Ida Taft

Life Goes On Jeannie Allers Doris Brink Arlene Foley Ruth Furman Arlene Huyck Ardis Rogers Florence Sands

Popcorn Theology :  Twenty, Thirty Somethings Dallas Elwood Stacy Davie (Jim Davie?) Christy Finta (Rob Finta?) Lauren Kiley Chris Pesko Karrie Pesko Corrine Rea Phil Rea

Soup & Sandwich Lee Grabowski Don Thorpe Eileen Patch Sally Cole Kim Trowbridge

Theater Goers Christine Day+ David Pierce Sandy Johnson Tom Johnson Sara-Jo Sites Jeremy Sites

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Annual Meeting News January 7, 2009 Annual Meeting Reports Are Due! Are you the chair of a committee? Stewardship? Growth? Are you a leader of an activity? CHOW? Love Boxes? ECW? Christian Ed Director? Music Director? Treasurer? Youth Group Leader? Etc.? Then please send in your written report of your ministry during 2008. The Annual Meeting is Sunday, January 18, 2009 and reports are due January 7th!    Save the Date!  Annual Meeting January 18, 2009 at 9 AM The Annual Meeting of All Saints’ Episcopal Church will be held on Sunday, January 18, 2009 beginning at the SINGLE 9 AM celebration of Holy Eucharist and will continue with a Pot Luck Brunch in the Great Hall. Warden Larry Kiley and Vestry Members Scott Cramer, Sandy Johnson and Rick Hrebin terms will end at this meeting.  A new Warden and three Vestry members will be elected.  Come and have your opinion heard.  Please mark your calendars and plan to attend. At All Saints’ all are welcome!

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