Dear Friends in Christ, 

We watched the transfer of power take place in our Executive Branch this past week with the newest President sworn into office. Many look toward a different time of hope and a new consistency. However, differing political ideologies remain as is always the case in human history and many relationships find themselves in the same strained position. Calls for unity and peace in the national, political world will take considerable effort. Likewise, our prayers for unity and peace require a continued demand on our faith. 

The pandemic, the political atmosphere, and our personal griefs and struggles reveal wounds and strains already existing in our society and individual lives. Many of us have come to know them much more personally and we can admit they will not go away if ignored. Seeking common ground is a place to begin, however, as followers of Jesus, this common ground must be fertile enough to cultivate deep roots as may be found in the “good soil (which may bring) forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold” (Mark 4:8). This fertile ground cultivates the necessary love that is the bedrock to beloved community. 

The world always changes and the church will continue to change as it has over the past 2,000 years. However, the foundation and call to place love as made manifest in the person of Jesus remains constant. This is not merely a “sentimental love” as our Presiding Bishop has made clear, but a love rooted in God and carried out in discipleship. 

St. Andrew’s, we are called to continue to feel the joy experienced in community and to seek a beloved community in which all who come through our doors or visit us online may know about Christ’s love. I look forward to worshiping with you this Sunday online as we seek to know and make Christ known. 

Faithfully yours,

@ 6:00 p.m. – Liturgy of the Word

@ 8:00 a.m. – Liturgy of the Word

@ 9:00 a.m. – Bible Study (Mtg: 142 074 0872 | pwd: CMrCxTkf488)

@ 10:00 a.m. – Liturgy of the Word (also on Facebook)

@ 11:00 a.m. – Coffee Hour (Mtg: 863 4884 3653 | pwd: 163336)

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

@ 9:30 a.m. – Morning Prayer Service

@ 10:30 a.m. – Bible Study (Mtg: 856 9253 7645 | password: 856550)

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.

All Sunday School classes will start at 11:15 a.m. via Zoom at the links below:

If your child hasn't registered for Sunday School yet, they can do so here.

Contact: Jane Girondo & Stacey Peters (formation@standrews.net)

Save the date: Our Annual Meeting will be held at 11:15 a.m. on Sunday, February 7th via Zoom. The list of Vestry nominees will go out in an email on Wednesday, January 27th, and more information about how the meeting and voting will work, along with the Annual Report, will be sent out on Friday, February 5th.

Contact: Emily Nein (emily@standrews.net)

Year-End contribution statements will be available by the end of January and will be sent out via email. If you would rather receive yours by mail, please contact Michelle ASAP.

Contact: Michelle Ramsdell (michelle@standrews.net)

St. Andrew’s Parish Retreat to Shrine Mont is scheduled for October 29-31, 2021. Shrine Mont is the camp and conference center for the Diocese of Virginia located in the Shenandoah mountains near Mt. Jackson, VA.

Know that in planning this event we will follow all health guidelines required in October for a safe retreat to take place. It is wonderful to recall all the crazy fun, as well as the spiritual mountaintop experiences, we had in the past as we look forward to our return in October. If this event makes your heart sing consider being part of the planning team.

Contact: Martha Turner (shrinemont@standrews.net)

A new batch of Forward Day by Day booklets are now at the church and will be mailed to anyone who requests a copy. Forward Day by Day is published in printed form three months at a time and includes a Bible passage from the sequence of lessons for daily use plus a brief meditation.

Contact: Michelle Ramsdell (michelle@standrews.net)

Thank you so much to the youth and children from St. Andrew’s, Church of Latter Day Saints, and Peace Islamic Center who helped to decorate 260 bags for the lunches that will be prepared during our Hypothermia Prevention week at the end of the month. What an act of love! Our guests look forward to the fun messages and pictures on the bags. Anyone who still needs to drop off bags may do so at church this Sunday from 3:00-4:00 p.m. or contact Christie to make other arrangements.

Contact: Christie Dasher (srwarden@standrews.net)

This year we will not be able to host guests at St. Andrew's but we will be providing meals and other essentials to the Hypothermia Shelter in Tyson's Corner.

We will collect a specific set of donated items for the breakfast and lunch meals which can be found on the signup genius. Please note that the requested items are on the signup genius and differ from the items that we have collected in the past (for instance they do not need jackets at the moment). We will have teams to safely assemble and deliver the meals to the shelter. We have contracted with a local professional caterer, whose business has also been impacted by Covid, who will be providing dinners to the guests and staff at the shelter during our week.

Our next donation drop off, as listed on the signup genius, will be on January 30th from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Our week begins Sunday evening, January 31st and ends Wednesday evening, February 3rd (Floris UMC will take over on the 4th and finish out the week).

Please take special notice of the drop off dates and times on the sign up genius; due to COVID we can only offer limited opportunities to drop off items. There will be volunteers at the church to gather dropped off items so you will be able to drop items off at the front door during the main dropoff times.

Thank you for all you do to help this vulnerable population in our community!

Contact: Steve Koss & Elaine Runkel (hypothermia@standrews.net)

A Sign-Up Genius has been created, so pick a time that works best for you/your family and sign up here to schedule a meeting.

Contact: Betsy Cotten and Rebecca Umberger (fellowship@standrews.net)

Contact: Michelle Ramsdell (michelle@standrews.net)

Please keep these members of our community in your prayers: 

Contact: Deborah England (prayer@standrews.net)