St. Andrew: An Ordinary, Hard Working Man, Who Left Everything to Follow Jesus

Today the Church celebrates the life and ministry of St. Andrew, an apostle.  Matthew writes:

As Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. (Mt. 4: 18-22).

When Jesus called Andrew, he left all that he knew and followed Jesus.  Andrew would follow Jesus until he gave up his life for the one who called him.  Andrew was an ordinary man, a hard working man.  Yet when he encountered Jesus, he knew in his heart who Jesus was.  Andrew knew that Jesus was the one who was sent into the world to call the lost sheep.

Tradition has it that Andrew was crucified on a cross shaped like an “X”, and it is known as the cross of St. Andrew.  Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland.  Several centuries after the death of Andrew, some of his relics were brought by a missionary to Scotland, to a place then known as Fife, but now known as St. Andrew’s, and best known as the site of a world-famous golf course and club.

Let us pray:  Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give unto us, who are called by your Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

St. Augustine will be hosting World Aids Day in Galveston on Saturday, 1 December 2012 starting at 1 p.m. and ending at 5 p.m. This event will not only provide important information about HIV/AIDS, but we will also have HIV/AIDS testing, food give-aways, a hot dog lunch, music and much more. Please join us.

RBC Kids: Jillian and Jo want to thank our St. Aug's family for adopting the Rainbow Connection as your Christmas outreach this year. The Rainbow Connection is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to serving children living with cancer or blood disorders, and their families. Activities include: The Rainbow Connection Camp, community education, holiday parties, parent support activities, quarterly newsletters, and outings. We have a Christmas party for them each year, with a Santa shop where the children may choose a few gifts. As mentioned in Church, we are most in need of gift cards and gifts for teenagers. If you'd prefer, you can give a cash donation to Jillian. We will be shopping for gifts on December 12, and would appreciate having all donations in hand by then.

Advent begins on Sunday, 2 December, as well as our new Adult Christian Education series from Kerygma on Handel’s Messiah where we will explore:

         Comfort, Comfort My People

         Who shall Abide the Day of His Coming?

         For Unto Us a Child is Born

         Glory to God in the Highest

The Seaside Seniors will have their lunch at St. Augustine’s on Thursday, 20 December.  This will be the Christmas luncheon for the group.  The children’s choir from St. Vincent’s House will provide their joyous tones for the event.  There will be deserts of every kind and door prizes for the season.  If you know any seniors, please invite them.  A big “thank you!” to Michelle Walker for heading up this ministry.

PRAYER LIST: Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially Caleb Boyer who is recovering from surgery, all of those who are unemployed, all of those serving in the Armed Forces, Izzola Collins, Gladys, Patricia and Betty.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550