For Sunday December 11, 2022
Advent Lessons & Carols
Advent Lessons & CarolsSunday, December 18th – 4:00 PM
Our annual service of traditional Advent Lessons & Carols has been postponed to Sunday, December 18 at 4:00 PM. (The service was originally scheduled for December 4.) Join us for the sounds of the Season at St. Paul’s.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS for the following events!
- Wednesday, December 14 – 6:00 PM – Our Lady of Guadalupe (transferred)
- Saturday, December 17 – 6:00 PM – Movie Night
- Sunday, December 18 – 4:00 PM – Advent Lessons & Carols
- Wednesday, December 21 – 6:00 PM – Interfaith Blue Christmas Service at St. Paul’s
Wear your BRIGHTEST PINK and LOUDEST POLKA DOTS
this PINK SUNDAY, Dec. 11th!
Beyond the Pink Party – Advent III – Gaudete/Rose/”Pink” Sunday, December 11 – Join us after the 10:30 AM service for a special party to celebrate the ingathering of our annual appeal. Come dressed in pink and polka dots. You won’t want to miss this once-a-year celebration!
Christmas Services
- Christmas Eve – 6:00 PM – Family Service – Best for families with young children.
- Christmas Eve – 11:00 PM – Midnight Mass – Incense and Full Choir
- Christmas Day – 8:00 AM & 10:30 AM – Holy Eucharist
Special Events in January
- Sunday, January 8, 2023 – The annual visit from Bishop Susan Brown Snook at 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM services.
- Sunday, January 29, 2023 – The Feast of St. Paul the Hermit and, following our 10:30 service, our annual meeting: Strategic Plan revealed, Church Directories distributed, Lunch served. You won’t want to miss this!
Parish Offices Holiday Schedule
St. Paul’s Parish Offices will be closed to the public the week after Christmas. Except for some minor end-of-year wrapping up of administrative duties, regular office routines will be “on hold.”
This schedule gives all church staff and office volunteers time to rest and recharge after a busy Advent and Christmas season. An assisting priest will be on-call for pastoral care emergencies. The regular office schedule will be reinstated Tuesday, January 3, 2023.
Winter Coat Donations Needed
Now that cooler weather has arrived in the desert, the Social Justice Ministry is seeking donations of new or gently used winter coats and jackets to distribute to our needy neighbors. Winter hats, scarves and gloves are also appreciated. Remember, donated used clothing should first be dry cleaned. Please place your donated items in the collection “barrels” located in the narthex.
Christmas Flower Offerings
‘Tis the Season! If you would like to contribute toward the cost of poinsettias, please use the special offering envelopes found in the pew pockets. Your donated flowers may be collected after Christmas to distribute to those who couldn’t attend services in person, or for your own enjoyment at home.
Mid-week Services
Mid-week ServicesYou are invited to the church on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 PM each week for contemplative Eucharist/Evening Prayer. The church will be open the hour prior (5:00-6:00 PM) for silent, personal prayer. Come and rest.
The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The Feast of Our Lady of GuadalupeWednesday, December 14, 6:00 PM (transferred) – Experience the richness of Hispanic spirituality in a special Eucharist to commemorate the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary is the Patron Saint of Mexico and Patroness of the Americas. The Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe is celebrated on December 12 every year. The day has been declared a national holiday in Mexico. Devotees honor the day when the Virgin Mary appeared three times to a humble Chichimeca Aztec baptized as Juan Diego on this day in 1531.
Movie night in the Parish Hall
Movie night in the Parish HallSaturday, December 17, 6:00 PM
Bring your chairs, blankets, snacks and friends, and join us in the Parish Hall (to stay warm!) to watch ”Respect” on our new blow-up big screen.
Book Club
Book ClubThe next Book Club meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, at 1:00 PM in the Library at St. Paul’s. For January, Book Club has selected Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It’s a story about the power—and limitations—of art to create change; the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children, and how any of us can survive with our hearts intact.
New members are always welcome at Book Club. For more information, please contact Alan Zimmerman at
Blue Christmas: The Longest Night
Blue Christmas: The Longest NightSt. Paul in the Desert will host this interfaith prayer liturgy on Wednesday, December 21, 2022, at 6:00 PM. The date is the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.
It’s a time when some people, amid all the Christmas festivities, find themselves unable to shake feelings of grief, loss, or loneliness. The Blue Christmas service is a way to honor those feelings, even when the season suggests otherwise. It is a gentle, contemplative service of light and hope, to be a comfort in this season of waiting for the Light in the darkness.
All are welcome.
Prayers of the Church
For the Anglican Communion, and for the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Justin Welby; for The Anglican Church of Kenya, The Most Reverend Jackson Ole Sapit, Archbishop of Kenya and Primate.
For the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, The Right Reverend Gregory O. Brewer, Bishop.
For the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, The Right Reverend Dr. Susan Brown Snook, Bishop; for the clergy and people of St. Barnabas, Borrego Springs.
For those commended to our prayers: Louis Thibault, John Ketcham, Gary Koch, Jim Panos, Ventura Fuentes, Susan Pelowski, Paula Davis, Marna & Rick Hill, Ivory Murrell, Jr., James Hodge, Terri & Judi Miller-Steele, Joe Christopher, Greg Gowdy, Barry Hagenbuch, Roy Cody, Howard Cecil, George Barros, Philip Smith, Dirk Beach-Barrow, John Lasher, Marie Ratnam, Robert Menifee, Maria Medina, AJ Miller, Tom Ranier, Nuan Pan & Burt, Adair, Genie Bell, Maria, Cat Conner, Frank Riviers, Tom Lutgen, Brian Nealy; pray for all those for whom no prayers have been said.
For those who have died: Mary “Cookie” Zingg, De Andre Rouse, Gale Enger, Kenneth Roy, Ronald Roy, Abdulio Medina, Frederick Swann, Joe Callanan, David De St. Cyr, Covert E. “Pete” Parnell, III, Gene Cipriano, Emanuel Manning, Christopher Manning. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
For those with birthdays: December 11: Nancy Antonius, Martin Prew; December 14: John Hampton; December 15: Blanche Mickelson, John Granet, David Gregory; December 16: Rosa Zingg, Charles Brockway; December 17: Gregory Schroeder.
For those celebrating their anniversary: December 17: John & David.
For those for whom flowers have been donated: Today’s Altar Flowers are sponsored by John & Lena Granet, in loving memory of John’s father, Nicholas Granet. Today’s Narthex flowers are sponsored by Nancy Antonius, in thanksgiving for good friends who have become “family.”
For our Confirmands as they prepare to take this important step in their spiritual journeys.
Send us your Prayer Requests via email — You may request prayers, “For those commended to our prayers” or “For those who have died,” by sending requests to Weekly print deadline is Wednesday noon.
For next Sunday’s Lectionary readings, go to www.lectionarypage.net, and select December 18, the Fourth Sunday of Advent.
Parishioner Deaths
Mary Syphroena “Cookie” Zingg died December 6, 2022. There is no service planned at St. Paul’s, but the family is arranging for her to be interred with her husband at Arlington Cemetary in spring 2023.
Gale Enger died November 23, 2022. There will be a funeral service at St. Paul’s on January 7, 2023, at 1:00 PM
Betty Jane Muhleck died September 8, 2020. A Celebration of Life was held at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Cathedral City, September 26, 2020. A memorial service is planned for December 17, 2022, 12:00 Noon, in the Memorial Garden at St. Paul’s.
Sunday Service LiveStreaming
We are livestreaming our 10:30 AM Sunday Eucharist every week. The livestream project was made possible through a generous gift from a “snowbird” member from Philadelphia who wintered in Palm Springs for many years and worshiped at St. Paul’s every Sunday. You can view the livestream on our Home Page, YouTube Channel, and Facebook Page.
Missed a service? Or want to rewatch a liturgy? All our past services are available to watch either on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/StPaulintheDesert or on our Facebook timeline: https://www.facebook.com/stpaulinthedesert
Episcopal Relief & Development
Episcopal Relief & Development is mobilizing with Anglican agencies and other partners to provide humanitarian assistance to people fleeing the violence in Ukraine. Working through the Action by Churches Together Alliance (ACT Alliance), Episcopal Relief & Development will provide cash, blankets, hygiene supplies and other needed assistance. Please pray for all those affected. To donate directly to Episcopal Relief & Development’s Ukraine Crisis Response Fund, visit (https://support.episcopalrelief.org/). If you prefer, you can donate through St. Paul’s Parish. Be sure to designate “ERD Ukraine” on your check or cash envelope.
Episcopal News Services
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego – The EDSD News is full of event announcements, church news, death notices, clergy changes, bishop-related notes, and current opportunities for service. Go to https://edsd.org/communications/ and scroll to the bottom of the page where you’ll find space to add your name and email address. Then click on SIGN UP TODAY. You’ll receive the EDSD News on Wednesday, every week.
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