Stewardship Sunday... Sunday Oct. 30: What joy! This is truly an exciting time as we see St. Martha's grow; with our new vicar, with new energy and in new directions. Your presence is truly a blessing, we're so pleased that you're part of our family...

Welcome to St. Martha's "Stewardship 2006." Your continuing support means more than ever to St. Martha's as we witness the growth and changes within our community and in our Diocese of Los Angeles.

You are the heart of St. Martha's and in conjunction with the Diocese, our parish depends on your gifts of time, talents and treasure to remain vital and grow in our mission, our ministries and our outreach programs.

Our historic parish celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2006. As we look back at that rich past, your pledge provides the life for St. Martha's future.

Help St. Martha's enter that future. Help St. Martha's to remain a vital part of your life. Join us on Stewardship Sunday.

Your "Stewardship 2006" pledge packet is available for download here("http://www.stmarthas.net/all_about/downloads/index.html").

Bats in the Belfry... Saturday Oct. 29 6:30 p.m: St. Martha's Halloween potluck and costume party. Good ol' fashioned harvest-time games and fun; including a pie auction, apple bobbing, costume contests and much, much more... Potluck & pie auction sign-ups are at the back of the church.

Deanery 6 Halloween Dance... Friday Oct. 28 7-10:00 p.m: St. John's in La Verne will be hosting the annual Deanery 6 Halloween Dance on Friday Oct. 28th. Starting at 7:00 p.m and ending sometime around 10:00 p.m., it's sure to be a wonderful time for all. Bring snacks and don't forget your costume. For more information contact St. John's Episcopal Church (909) 596-1321.

Pennies for Heaven... Another $25.00 deposit has been made to the ECW's "Mile of Pennies" account. The total now stands at 468� feet, or some $75.00. A big thanks to everyone who's given a few inches (or feet!). Let's keep filling that penny jar, which is usually awaiting your change on the coffee service table after the 10:00 a.m. service.

Dates to Save... Sunday Nov. 6 10:00 a.m: Acolyte Recognition Sunday and Family Service with our Youth Chorale. Sunday Nov. 12 8 and 10:00 a.m: Altar Guild Commissioning and Recognition Sunday.

Fall Back... Sunday Oct. 30 2:00 a.m: Daylight Savings Time ends next Sunday at Two a.m. Remember to set your clocks back one hour-'course, we'd love to have you here an
hour early (um, bring your own coffee)...

Prayer & Bible Study... Tuesday Oct. 18 7-8:30 p.m: We're having meeting to discuss new Bible study and prayer groups at St. Martha's. Join us; all are welcomed and encouraged. Meet in the parish hall.

Here Before You Know It... Sunday Oct. 16: St. Martha's Chorale is beginning to work on its Christmas season program, complete with a Christmas Service Nativity play! What a wonderful opportunity for our youth. We need your help. See Violet Mandeson for details.

Of Time, Talent & Treasure... Sunday Oct 9: It's St. Martha's "Stewardship 2006" time. Keep an eye out for your annual pledge form and respond to God's calling. Your gifts of time, talent and treasure are what allow St. Martha's to remain a vital part of your life and of the community. Our "Stewardship 2006" pledge packet is available for download here("http://www.stmarthas.net/all_about/downloads/index.html").

ECW's Annual Fall Rummage Sale... Saturday Oct. 8 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m: A grand time. The Episcopal Church Women of St. Martha's have the parish hall overflowing with wonderfully useless trinkets you simply can't live without (and a lot of really nice stuff too). You do really need more stuff.

A popular West Covina tradition. Be sure to arrive early for the very best selection. Oh, and there's still time to volunteer; see any ECW member for details.

St. Martha's Youth Chorale... Sunday Oct. 2: St. Martha's Youth Chorale will be singing the anthem and joining the choir at the 10:00 a.m. service today and the first Sunday of every month.

Blessing of the Animals... Oct. 2 about 9:00 a.m: Bring your dogs, hogs or husbands. In fine old English tradition, St. Martha's will conduct our annual blessing of the animals service in the courtyard.

Hurricane Relief Update... Saturday, Oct. 1: The national Episcopal Church has launched a new website, www.episcopalchurch.org/help("http://www.episcopalchurch.org/help") with updating news and information from, and links to, the major church agencies involved in relief efforts, including the Episcopal New Service, the office of the Bishop Suffragan for Chaplaincies, the Association of Episcopal Schools, Episcopal Relief Development, and Episcopal Migration Ministries, a lesser-known but active agency that was founded in 1988 to assist in resettlement programs.

October's online game... So, you think you know our website? Well, we have a challenge for you; an online scavenger hunt, if you will. And, of course, there's a prize awaiting.

All the answers to the questions below can be found on stmarthas.net. Whomever answers the greatest number of questions correctly and sends them in the soonest to Steve's email address (oh, there's the first part of the hunt; what's Steve's email address? I'm sure he'll be glad to tell you if you ask) will win this lovely print of Margaret, Sara, Georgia, and Melinda huddled behind the Sacristy.

Are you ready? On your mark... Get set... Go...

1. Ray and his mighty _______ .

2. They're trying to decide who's hawaiian shirt is loudest...

3. Worship with _______, _______ & _______ .

4. Jerry Garcia, Dorothy Tarozzi, Humphrey Bogart are what?

5. Torn asunder then edited by St. Martha's _______ .

6. Why is Jared just a bit embarrassed?

7. Enriching our services with the joy that only the _______ _______ _______ .

8. Raising his arm, he's declared the world's worst Clue player...

9. Chat about, well, _______ and _______ at all.

10. How many dragons do you see on stmarthas.net?

Bonus...

11. There are eight of them scattered across the country...

[end]