Advent at St. Paul’s
Advent is a season in the church year leading to the celebration of the Feast of the Nativity, or Christmas. We celebrate from December 3 to December 24. This four week season is marked by themes of waiting, expectation and preparation. It is signified by the color purple being used in church.
Join in the many ways that the St. Paul’s Community marks this important season together!
Saturday 6PM Service Returns to the St. Paul’s Sanctuary
Slow Down. Quiet. It’s Advent.
Advent Wreathmaking
November 26th at 9:45am in the Undercroft
Join us for a favorite Advent tradition. We will be making Advent wreaths using fresh greens, ribbons, and purple and pink candles. Come and learn all about how and why we mark each Sunday in Advent with a candle, and what those candles mean! Wreath form and candles $10, candles only $5. Feel free to bring your old wreath forms to reuse.
St. Paul’s Advent Devotional
This Advent we will prepare our hearts and minds for the birth of Jesus by reading the St Paul’s Advent Devotional together. Each week of this booklet is written by a member of our St Paul’s community and serves as a companion in this season of holy anticipation. Hard copies of the Devotional are available at the church or you can download a digital copy of the Advent Devotional here.
Advent Small Groups
St. Paul’s Small Groups will meet through Advent. We will be discussing the reflections in our parish Advent Devotional, created by members of the St. Paul’s community.
St. Paul’s Small Groups meet at various times throughout the week to read and discuss a common text or prayer. Small groups provide mutual support. Each has its own leader and meeting location. You are welcome to join a small group at any time. Many people stay with their same group throughout the year, and some join just because they are interested in a book or topic being discussed at a certain time. For more information, or if you would like to start or help lead a small group, please contact the Rev. Laura Di Panfilo [email protected].
- Tuesdays at 7:00AM on Zoom, facilitated by Noah Evans
- Tuesdays at 6:00PM at St. Paul’s facilitated by Laura Di Panfilo
- Wednesdays at 7:00PM on Zoom, facilitated by Eileen Sharbaugh
- Thursdays at 11:30AM on Zoom, facilitated by Erin Morey
Angel Tree
Our Angel Tree is Back! Help us collect gifts for local partner agencies this holiday season by purchasing items for members of our community in need. Take a tag from our Angel Tree in the Undercroft beginning on Sunday, November 19, and record your name and contact information on the sheet beside the tree. Then, return the gift to the church before the due date on the sheet. (Note that gifts will have different due dates for different organizations, and the sheet beside the tree will say whether the gift should be returned wrapped or unwrapped). When returning gifts, label with the recipient’s name, and the organization, and the tag number.
If you have questions, or would like to take a tag but are unsure about how to purchase the gift listed, please reach out to the Rev. Erin Morey at 412-531-7153 ext. 13 or [email protected].
We also have a DIGITAL Angel Tree – no tag needed, just click one of the lists below to purchase the item and have it shipped right to the SHIM Family Center!
2023 Reverse Advent Calendar
Join us in our yearly tradition in support of the South Hills Food Pantry. Each day of Advent, we invite you to donate the item indicated on the calendar by placing it in your own Reverse Advent Calendar box or bag, and then bring it to St. Paul’s when complete. All items will be donated to the South Hills Food Pantry. The calendar can be downloaded here, or you can pick up a copy in the Undercroft.
Advent Healing Prayer
Sunday December 3, 10, and 17 at 8:45 and 10:45 services
St. Paul’s will be offering Healing Prayer during each of the first three weeks of Advent. Members of the Healing Prayer Team will be located on either side of the room. Before or after receiving Communion, you are invited to go to one of the two prayer stations on either side of the altar for laying on of hands and prayers for healing. You may ask for a prayer for yourself, someone you care for, or a general prayer. Our clergy or trained lay healing prayer ministers will keep all prayer requests in private confidence. Please contact the Rev. Erin Morey [email protected] with any questions.
Beer + Pop + Carols (+ Pizza!)
Wednesday, December 13 6:30 to 8:30
at Caliente (329 Castle Shannon Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15234)
Beer + Pop + Carols (+ Pizza!) returns to Caliente in Mt. Lebanon on Wednesday, December 6! Join your St. Paul’s family from 6:30-8:30pm for all of the food, fellowship, and festivities. $15 gets you unlimited one-topping pizza and pop, so make sure to bring your appetite along with your singing voice!
Leave your stress at the door and relax at this year’s Advent Retreat. For a limited time only, bring your sense of humor and child-like wonder to reflect creatively about the holiday with nativity-themed stories from around the world and humorous holy reflections.
CLASP Cookie Exchange
Saturday December 16, 2-4 pm.
On Saturday, December 16 from 2 pm – 4 pm, CLASP (Church Ladies at St. Paul’s) will be having our second annual Christmas Cookie Exchange. This is a delicious opportunity to taste a wonderful variety of cookies (and probably take some home!) and enjoy relaxing conversations with old and new friends.
Essentially, we ask you to bring a dozen cookies to share, and stay to enjoy a delicious variety of sweet goodies. Even if you can’t bring cookies, we encourage you to stop by! We look forward to seeing you at the Cookie Exchange!
Adult Forums
Adult Forums take place Sunday mornings at 9:45 in the Undercroft at St Paul’s. These sessions offer opportunities to grow in our faith by learning from and with members of our community. The list of the upcoming forums can be found below.
- Keeping Advent
Sunday, December 3 at 9:45am
Learn about the history and traditions of Advent and why we celebrate this season (and hear about some devotional practices you can use in your own life) with the Rev. Erin Morey.
- The Book of Mark
Sunday, December 10 at 9:45am
This Advent our Sunday readings in church will draw from the book of Mark. Join the Rev. Laura Di Panfilo for a discussion of this Gospel and how it compares to our other Gospel texts.
- The (different) Jesus Birth Narratives in Scripture
Christmas Pageant signups!
This year’s St. Paul’s Christmas Pageant will be
Sunday, December 17th at 4pm, with potluck dinner following
The pageant will be in-person and also live-streamed.
Saturday, December 16th at 10:00-11:00AM
Please sign-up for possible roles and parent volunteer help here. For questions, please reach out to the Reverend Laura Di Panfilo [email protected] or 412-531-7153 x12.
Facebook event to invite friends and family
Christmas Pageant with Eucharist and Potluck dinner to follow
Sunday, December 17th at 4pm
Join us for the Christmas Pageant with Eucharist, accompanied by the Worship Band. We will hold a potluck dinner in the Undercroft following the pageant.
Facebook event to invite friends and family
Pot Luck Supper (following the pageant)
Please bring something to share! See you there!
If your name begins with A-G, please bring a salad or side dish
If your name begins with H-P, please bring a main dish.
If your name begins with Q-Z, please bring a dessert
Volunteers needed! If you are able to help set up and tear down the potluck, that would be wonderful. Please sign up here if you are available to help!
Help Deliver Christmas Flowers
We will be delivering poinsettias after Christmas services this year. If you and your family are looking to make someone’s holiday a little brighter, this is a nice opportunity to do so! Volunteers can plan to stop by the Church on Wednesday, December 27, and pick up a plant or two from the church sanctuary. Then, come downstairs and pick up cards with the names, addresses, and phone numbers of recipients for each plant. The cards will be on tables arranged by zip code. If you are interested in helping, email the Rev. Erin Morey [email protected].
Blue Christmas
Wednesday, December 20, 2022, 7:00 PM
In addition to being a time of joy, the Christmas season for some can also be a time of feeling sadness and loss. It can be hard to celebrate the holiday when you are facing the death of a loved one, or the loss of a job, among many other challenges life brings.
The Blue Christmas service is a time to mark these complicated feelings and bring them before God. This service is a service of lament, healing, light and hope. This service will be led by our Stephen’s Ministers and our Associate Rector. We hope you will join us and invite your friends and family on December 20th at 7pm in the sanctuary or on Facebook.
Join us for Worship this Christmas Season!
- Christmas Pageant with a Potluck Dinner to follow, Sunday, December 17 at 4pm
- Blue Christmas Service of Lament, Healing and Hope, Wednesday, December 20 at 7pm
- Advent IV, Saturday, December 23 at 6PM (Chapel) and Sunday December 24 at 9:45AM (Chapel)
- Christmas Eve in the Sanctuary, services
- 2:00pm – Holy Eucharist with hymns with “pull out” Children’s Chapel
- 4:30pm – Family Service with Worship Band with “pull out” Children’s Chapel
- 7:30pm – Candlelight Holy Eucharist with full choir (7:00pm Music & Hymns)
- 9:30pm – Candlelight Holy Eucharist with hymns and incense
- Christmas Day Service, Monday, December 25 at 10am at Old Saint Luke’s (Old Washington Pike, Carnegie, PA 15106). This service is in partnership with St. John Lutheran Church in Carnegie.
- First Sunday of Christmas – Saturday, December 30 at 6pm (Church) and Sunday, December 31 at 8:00am (Chapel), Christmas Lessons and Music Sunday at 9:45am with all parish brunch following.
Christmas Lessons and Music
Sunday, December 31 at 9:45am with Children’s Chapel
The Book of Occasional Services offers Christmas Lessons and Music. On Sunday, December 31, we will offer Christmas Lessons and Music. Comprising the Service of the Word followed by Holy Eucharist, the service is a series of seasonal readings followed by hymns, carols, choral works, solos and other instrumental music. The service is based loosely on Lessons and Music first celebrated at King’s College, Cambridge in 1918.
Join us for an all parish brunch after Lessons and Music! Following the 9:45am service on December 31st we will have a brunch potluck in the Undercroft. Please bring a breakfast dish to share. Contact the Rev. Erin Morey [email protected] with any questions.
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