Come with us to Thornwell- If you’ve ever wanted to visit Thornwell Home for Children, join the group making a day trip on Tuesday, January 26. Contact Mary Evans, 770-493-9489, tmevans@bellsouth.net for details.

To find out more about Thornwell, visit Thornwell’s website.

Presbyterians for a Better Georgia will host the 2016 LegislativeAdvocacy Kickoff on Tuesday, January 26 from 6:00 to 8:30 pm at Central Presbyterian Church,201 Washington Street SW, Atlanta GA. Jay Bookman, columnist for the Atlanta Journal and Constitution will offer the keynote address. Legislators will provide a road map for the upcoming legislative session. Priority topics for 2016 include gun violence, religious discrimination, ending homelessness and hunger and increasing access to healthcare. Soup and salad will be provided. Please register, www.pfbg.org. Free parking is available at the GA Dept. of Public Safety garage, 180 Central Avenue.

Grand Sweep Bible Study: Have you every wanted to read through the whole Bible? Starting Sunday, January 24, with discussion leaders Bret Moore and Mike Bearden and the Potpourri Sunday School class we are going to read our way through the Bible starting with Genesis (we will also be reading the Qur’an/Koran concurrently). Join us Sundays at 9:00 am in room 116 of the Education Building. The study books for the grand sweep portion of the Bible study will be your favorite Bible and The Grand Sweep, 365 Days From Genesis Through Revelation (A Bible Study for Individuals and Groups) by J. Ellsworth Kalas. For those that want to obtain a copy of the Qur’an/Koran (English translations with commentary) for our concurrent readings/discussions please see: The Qur’an – Text, Translation and Commentary (2012 ed.), by Abdullah Yusuf Ali; or, The Qur’an, A new translation by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem. Additional information regarding the class schedule of readings and purchasing the study book and/or copies of the Qur’an/Koran will be available on the SAPC Sunday School web page under the Potpourri Sunday School Class. Readings for the Jan. 24 class include Genesis 1-13, Psalm 1-10 and Qur’an suras/sections: Sura 1, early part of Sura 2. If you just want to come and participate in a discussion, without the year long commitment to reading the materials yourself, that’s fine too!

Grand Sweep Bible Study and Concurrent Study of the Qur’an (Koran) – Copy

In January we begin a new year with our church officers. Please thank those who have completed their terms and have rotated out of service. Elders: Laura Moore, Rachel Nelson, Paul Ellingson, and Teetum Komi. Deacons: Pat Zrolka and Susan Talgo. Welcome to those who have just begun their service. Elders: Bret Moore, Paige Kubik, Kimberly Rometo, Erin Johnston, Jill Jarvis, and Caroline Johnston. Deacons: Carolyn Krutoy, Laura Moore, Rose Horne, Sarah Slusher, and Penny Bellinger (returning for another term). Special thanks also to Marcia Noble for continuing her service as Clerk of Session for an additional year. We are blessed to have such faithful servants leading our congregation.

The  guest preacher at St. Andrews Presbyterian this Sunday will be the Rev. Mike Reinsel, Executive Director of Rivers of the World (ROW) which we have supported with our mission allocations for numerous years. His sermon is called What’s Your Divine Appointment?

To find out more about Rivers of the World, go to ROW

Don’t forget Lessons and Carols Sunday evening, Dec. 20, at 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary.  Childcare is provided for this special musical service provided by the St. Andrews Music Ministry.  Five choirs will be participating as the Christmas Story is taught with music and readings.

A Christmas Cookie reception in Heffner Hall follows the service.  Don’t forget to bring a dozen or so of your favorite cookies and some Christmas tins or tubs.  Our leftover cookies are boxed and distributed to homeless shelters.

Then plan to spend Christmas Eve with your church family.  At 5:00 p.m. St. Andrews will have a family Christmas Eve service that will include participation pageant for kids and grown-ups.  Find your inner sheep or shepherd and just listen for narration and watch for cues on the screen.  At the end of the service, the 2015 Chrismons will be distributed.  Make sure your family has one for your tree.

At 10:30 p.m. St. Andrews hosts its candlelight communion Christmas Eve service.  An organ prelude by Ed Weaver, our church organist, starts at 10:30 leading into the service at 11 p.m.  After communion and the lighting of candles, you’ll find yourself celebrating Christmas at midnight with your friends and family and feeling the true meaning of Christmas.

The St. Andrews chrismon collection. The Presbyterian Women make these chrismons, since 1991. If you come to our 5:00 family service in Christmas Eve, you’ll be given the 2015 chrismon. Plus all kids will be able to be in a Christmas pageant.

A chrismon is a Christian symbol representing Jesus Christ. Instead of ornaments decorating the tree at church, these symbols tell the story of Christ and early church history.

Photo credit:  Margaret Williams

Short History of Chrismons:

Chrismons are a type of Christmas Tree decoration used in many churches and often in the homes of Christians.  The symbols used represent a variety of biblical and theological concepts that are well known among most believers. Often, if the ornaments on a Christmas tree are comprised mostly of Christian symbols, the tree is known as a “Chrismon tree.”  Chrismons are white with gold (traditional Advent colors) decorations of beads, ribbon, glitter, etc.

So Chrismons are different from normal Christmas ornaments. They are symbols from Christian history and tell the story of the true meaning of Christmas.  The Chrismon Tree that graces our sanctuary during Advent symbolizes everlasting life through Jesus Christ.  the tiny, white lights speak of Him who is the Light of the World.  The white of the Chrismons stands for the purity and holiness of Jesus; the gold represents the glory and majesty of God.  Other colors may be added only when their use is necessary to the meaning of the symbol.

Chrismons are handmade and personal. They cannot be bought but must be made according to the talents and  willingness of people who use their own hands to express love for Christ.

For more than 20 years. the Presbyterian Women of St. Andrews have been making Chrismons to give to each child who attends our Christmas Eve family worship service.  The new design is revealed on Christmas Eve, and 200 Chrismons are given to families and children.  This tradition was started in 1991 by the late Zee Sellmansberger, who was inspired by the women of Eastminster Presbyterian Church.  We started a new tradition in 2012 by having the children themselves decorate the Chrismon Tree with the help of adults.

The first modern usage of Chrismons as decorations for Advent and Christmas trees goes back to 1957 during a Lutheran Christmas service in Danville, Virginia, but the origins come from early Christians and the Latin phrase, “Christi monogramma”, meaning “monogram of Christ.”  In early Christian history, Chrismons traditionally referred to any symbol or figure reminiscent of the name of Christ.