O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! – Psalm 95:1

Dear Friends in Christ, 

What is it that brings you to worship at St. Andrew’s? Do you think of the hymns? Do you think of Communion? Do you think of the familiar liturgy which resonates throughout the ages? We are drawn to the richness of worship. 

This week, we explore the many aspects of our worship. We have so many dedicated individuals and families who help to bring us together each and every Sunday. There are many components from the time we enter the building and are greeted to when we hear our charge to go out into the world and hear a beautiful postlude. The very bulletin from which we read includes prayer, thought, intentionality, and many hands. 

We thank all of you who provide your stewardship of time, talent, and treasure. That is, those who have a particular role in worship preparation and all of us. Our worship is the core of our stewardship message as we “Do all the good (we) can.” Our worship is at the heart of our call to stewardship as we respond to our promise to “continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers.” 

I encourage you this week, as you learn about the components of worship, as you consider your annual pledge, as you participate in worship, to take it all in and reflect upon the beauty of God’s presence at St. Andrew’s. It is truly incredible! It is something which I always look forward to doing each week and each and every day. Let us give thanks to God as we assemble, as we worship, and as we seek to carry out the mission of Christ together. 

Faithfully yours, 

Masks are still required for everyone two and older. We do ask that if you are feeling ill to please stay home and follow along with our online services, which can be found at the links below.

@ 6:00 p.m. – Taizé

@ 8:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist: Rite I

@ 10:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist: Rite II

@ 11:15 a.m. – Adult Forum (Mtg #: 868 0982 2167 | Pwd: 849321)

@ 9:00 p.m. – Compline with St. Phoebe's (via Zoom)

@ 9:30 a.m. – Holy Eucharist: Rite II (in-person only)

Note: When joining any of our Zoom meetings, please make sure your name is displayed.

2nd Note: If any of the service links above don't work, check our website for updated links.

Note the 3rd: All of our services are also available on our Facebook page.

Due to food and group restrictions at Burke Nursery Pumpkin Patch, we are changing our plans and will be meeting at the playground at Hidden Pond Nature Center tonight, Friday, October 15th. Pizza will arrive at 6:00 p.m. and we will have cookies and drinks to share. The park closes at dusk (7:00ish) so come early enough to get some playtime in before pizza. We hope you all can come out for some fellowship and fun.

Hidden Pond is located at 8511 Greeley Blvd, Springfield, VA 22152.

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)

We've had a couple of spots open up for Shrine Mont, so if you had wanted to go but didn't sign up in time, now's your chance to join in the fun and fellowship of our annual Parish Retreat.

Shrine Mont is from Friday afternoon, Oct. 29th to Sunday morning, Oct. 31st. Click here to register and pay. Remember, all kids 17 and under are free this year!

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)

The registration deadline is TODAY, Friday, October 15th. Register here: tiny.cc/fni-nocturnal

Because COVID has thrown a wrench into our Parents' Night Out activities, we have pivoted and come up with a fabulous new event - Family Night In! This time we will have a live virtual program from a Naturalist at Hidden Pond doing a program on Nocturnal Animals and Nature. This will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, October 22nd.

This is a free event, but registration is required so we have a head count. We will also have a bag for each family to pick up with related activities, a snack, and other goodies! Bags will be available from October 18th-22nd.

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)

As we navigate the future of singing worldwide and at St. Andrew’s, the choir is looking for interested singers! Anyone who can sing and wants to is invited to reach out to talk about joining. Beginning this season, the choir will rehearse only on Sundays after the 10:00 a.m. service, with no midweek rehearsals, augmented occasionally with a Saturday morning rehearsal. For the moment, all singing and activities in the building are done masked.

In addition, we are gauging the interest of children in taking part in singing on occasion this year. This involvement would be every once in a while, joining the adult choir in a service.

Anyone with interest in any of these opportunities is invited to contact Gabe Simerson, Interim Organist and Choirmaster.

Contact: Gabe Simerson (gabe@standrews.net)

All adults are welcome to attend the Adult Inquirer’s Class which begins this Sunday, October 17th, at 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall. Please email the Rev. Will Packard if you are interested and you are welcome to attend the first session to see what it is about.

This course will explore faith formation within the Episcopal tradition. While learning about the Episcopal Church, we will also explore faith formation in the context of Christian Covenant Community and it will provide an opportunity to explore our personal and corporate relationship with God.

Contact: The Rev. Will Packard (will@standrews.net)

Third Quarter (from January 1st to September 30th) statements have been emailed out. If you would rather have a hard copy mailed to you, please contact Michelle.

Contact: Michelle Ramsdell (michelle@standrews.net)

Sacraments classes have been scheduled! They will be held on Sunday, October 24th, from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. with the Rev. Colleen and Amy Dutton, and on Sunday, December 5th, (same time) with the Rev. Will and Amy. We may not need the full hour, depending on the number of participants.

The classes are different (one on Communion and one on Baptism) so please plan to attend both if possible. These work best with those 4 years old and above, but please decide for yourself if you think your child could get something from this! Please let Amy know if you plan on attending so we know how many to expect.

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)

We continue to see country-wide decreases in transmission and hospitalization and Fairfax County is far below the national transmission rates and high on vaccination rates. As of Friday, October 15, 2021, the average number of cases per 100k residents in Fairfax County is 11.8 over the past 7 days. This shows a slight decrease this past week, however, we are still seeing some community transmission. According to the CDC, Fairfax County had 981 total cases over the last 7 days which is 85.49 cases per 100k residents. We remain below the previous “high” transmission level (which the country is in overall) and in the substantial transmission zone. This is another slight decrease this week.

There were 45 new hospitalizations this past week and 5.3% of ICU beds used this past week for COVID according to the CDC. We also pray for the 10 deaths in Fairfax County over the past 7 days.

Vaccination status remains high in the county and according to the CDC, 80.4% of eligible Fairfax County residents are fully vaccinated. According to Fairfax County, 75.1% of adults 18 and older in Fairfax are considered fully vaccinated and 63.3% of all residents are fully vaccinated. Please do consider if you are eligible for a booster shot and keep an eye out for when authorization of the vaccine will take place for children ages 5-11.

At this time, we will not adjust our current COVID safety precautions and thank you for your patience as we do the best we can to navigate the pandemic safely.

Contact: The Rev. Will Packard (will@standrews.net)

We will not be collecting food for our Thanksgiving Baskets again this year, but we are asking for monetary donations in order to buy gift cards for families who are affiliated with ECHO. We hope to help more than the 12 families we normally support.

If you would like to donate, please mail in a check made out to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church with “Thanksgiving Baskets” on the memo line.

Contact: Michelle Ramsdell (michelle@standrews.net)

Please keep these members of our community in your prayers: 

Contact: Deborah England (prayer@standrews.net)