Dear Friends in Christ,

We need Holy Week. Yes, it is exciting to see the schedule with some opportunities for in-person worship! We also need Holy Week as we process the world around us. Beginning on Palm Sunday (March 28) and going through Easter Sunday (April 4), we will follow the events that occurred in Jerusalem. In our own lives, we need not look beyond our flags this morning and, seeing them at half mast, are reminded that the pain did not end in Jerusalem. However, hope and God’s reconciling love came as a response and is made manifest in the Church.

This Holy Week, we will walk with Christ (beginning with a donkey, weather permitting!). Palm Sunday provides us the opportunity to hear the whole passion narrative from the abandonment by the disciples to his death on the cross with the temple curtain torn. We might walk this path as disciples 2,000 years later in a world which needs the inbreaking promise of God’s love.

As we read and hear about violence committed against people of Asian descent, including murder, we look towards our Savior walking the painful walk to the cross. We feel the deafening silence at the moment at his death and hear the call to share what was revealed on that Friday. The events of 2,000 years ago no longer seem far away, however, we know the ending, an empty tomb. We may lament as we walk Holy Week and look at how we might respond in the world around us, first acknowledging our own beloved nature and proclaiming all of humanity as beloved.

Holy Week is sacred, reverent, and raw. We are reminded of pain in this life and the sometimes overwhelming need to respond. As we move closer, beginning with this fifth Sunday in Lent, we recognize that the journey has begun and we are on it. We lay out for Christ our individual and collective pains and pray for the revealing love that came through that torn temple curtain on Good Friday. From the experience of Holy Week, both in our liturgy and in our lives, we find the strength to feel and proclaim the love given for and alive in us.

Please do take a look at the Holy Week schedule and know that, while we have in-person worship, our high-quality online worship will continue and, wherever we are, we worship together.

Faithfully yours,

@ 6:00 p.m. – Taizé

@ 8:00 a.m. – Liturgy of the Word [bulletin]

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

@ 10:00 a.m. – Liturgy of the Word [bulletin]

@ 11:00 a.m. – Coffee Hour/Adult Forum (mtg: 863 4884 3653 | pwd: 163336)

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

@ 9:30 a.m. – Morning Prayer (also on Facebook)

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

@ 7:30 p.m. – Vigil for Lament and Healing (mtg: 990 9093 3850 | pwd: Lament)

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.

Starting Sunday, April 11th, Sunday School classes will start meeting outside again (weather permitting) every other week. On the days that the weather is not cooperating, classes will meet online.

Godly Play will be at 4:00 p.m. this week. All other 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: Stacey Peters (formation@standrews.net)

Join us at 7:00 p.m. for a Zoom worship service of Lament and Healing on Wednesday, March 24th. This service includes Litanies, forms of prayer and songs (both sung and instrumental). We will, together, be able to name griefs in our own lives and seek the joy of healing. While everyone will be on mute, we will be able to offer live prayers through the chat to be named aloud. As the officiant, the Rev. Colleen Schiefelbein will guide us in this prayerful service. This past year has been a journey and, wherever you are in your life, this service will enable us to collectively offer our prayers to God as we approach Holy Week. The Zoom link is available above.

Online @ 8:00 & 10:00 a.m.

Outdoor @ 10:00 a.m. (with a Special Guest) (click link to register)

Online @ 5:00 (Family Friendly) & 7:30 p.m. (Traditional)

Online @ 12:00 (Stations of the Cross - Family Friendly) & 7:30 p.m. (Traditional)

Online @ 7:35 p.m.

Online @ 8:00 & 10:00 a.m.

Outdoor @ 10:00 a.m. (click link to register)

LAST CHANCE TO ORDER! Wear your very own St. Andrew’s mask! These polyester masks come in either blue or red, and in the following sizes: Youth S/M, Youth L/XL, Adult S/M, Adult L/XL. All masks are $10, and you can pre-order and pay online here. Pre-ordering will end on March 22nd. We hope to have the masks in by Easter. Distribution plan TBD.

(Photo shows Youth L/XL, Adult S/M, Adult L/XL sizes)

Contact: Betsy Cotten (fellowship@standrews.net)

This Palm Sunday, March 28, 2021, we will begin our outdoor worship services again. These services will follow the same procedures as they did this past fall with each group remaining in their designated parking spot and following all safe procedures such as remaining six feet apart and wearing masks. Of course, much of our outdoor worship will be dependent on the weather and we will provide advance notice to all registrants on the service status.

We continue to prepare for an eventual re-gathering indoors following a careful plan approved by the diocese. We will be able to consider returning indoors once Fairfax County is consistently under a 7 day average of 10 cases (or fewer) per 100,000. As of today, Friday, March 19, we are slightly up from last week to 12.1 cases per 100,000. When we return, we will continue to offer online worship opportunities.

With the help of Darren Williams and others, we are also finalizing equipment for live services from the Nave. All of our online worship will continue to be accessible and high quality. Please stay tuned for more information about our regathering and know that we will prioritize safety.

In order to share with each other the joy of Holy Week and Easter, we are asking everyone to create a couple of videos we can show during our online services.

First, download these palm pictures [1] [2], then cut out, color, and record waving them around. Happen to have real palms around the house? Feel free to use those as well. These videos are due to Amy by Monday, March 22nd.

Then we need videos of you unburying your alleluias and joyfully saying Alleluia on camera. We hope to mesh all of these together in our own Alleluia Chorus! Videos are due to Amy by Thursday, March 25th.

The more participants we can get, the better the whole thing will look. Please get your videos in as soon as possible so Darren has time to put this together, along with the 11 services we will have online this Holy Week. (Thank you, Darren!)

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)

Easter Memorials and Thanksgivings are a wonderful way to remember loved ones or say thank you for the many blessings in your life this year. This year your donations will support the Easter flowers and our beautiful Easter music. Please make your gift online here, or you can mail in a check to the church.

To submit names: email Emily with the subject line of “Easter Flower Names,” the name of the person/people you who like remembered, and if we can print full names or just first names, as this information will be published online in the Easter bulletins. Deadline: April 1st.

Contact: Emily Nein (emily@standrews.net)

The Preschool is seeking candidates for the Administrative Assistant position beginning with the 2021-2022 school year. This position is responsible for providing a variety of administrative duties that support the Preschool. Interested applicants should contact Tami Phillips, Director by phone or email. Deadline for submitting a resume is COB Monday, March 22nd.

Contact: Tami Phillips (preschool@standrews.net) | 703-455-8458

During our Sundays in Lent Adult Formation series, we hope you can enjoy a new soup a week with us. Each week we will send out a soup recipe from a fellow parishioner. Feel free to make this soup to eat during the Sunday formation hour or for dinner that night. Either way, we can feel connected to each other by knowing we are eating the same soup and reflecting on this Lent season together.

Recipe of the Week:

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)

Announcing Holy Week in a Bag! Everything you need to celebrate Holy Week and follow along with our services that week (bag NOT necessary to join us for our worship services). We will have the bags available for pick up on Wednesday morning, March 24th in a bin in front of the church doors (Parish Hall side). Each child should get their own bag, but adults may choose to share with each other if they would like.

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)

If you are frustrated trying to navigate the vaccine system and need help getting an appointment -OR- if you are willing to help someone work through this system, please contact Amy Dutton. Hopefully all who wish to be vaccinated will be able to accomplish it by summer!

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)

At the moment, the 2021 Workcamp trip to Wilmington, DE from July 11th-17th is still a go. If you didn't sign up for the trip last year and are interested in going this year, please let us know! This includes teens (14+) and adults!

Workcamp mission trips are mid-sized gatherings with up to 400 teenage participants that focus specifically on residential home repair. The types of home repair projects range from painting, to building decks and wheelchair ramps, and other general home repairs, but the service projects often are secondary to the spiritual growth that happens when teenagers step out of their own worlds and serve those in need. Beyond the physical transformation that happens in communities, teenagers bring the hope and light of Jesus to the residents they serve.

During a home repair mission trip, participants generally stay at a local school that is full of fun and energy throughout the week as they engage in indoor and outdoor games, share meals together, and participate in worship and teaching in morning and evening programs. Click here for more information.

Contact: Carl Jones (workcamp@standrews.net)

Contact: Michelle Ramsdell (michelle@standrews.net)

Please keep these members of our community in your prayers: 

Contact: Deborah England (prayer@standrews.net)