Dear friends,
I hope that you all are staying home and staying safe as much as you can. Our family received the Saltire newsletter on Monday, and Andie and I were struck once again by all that has been cancelled and the magnitude of what this means for our community. It felt especially strange not to be with you on Sunday, but of course this is right thing to do in these uncertain times. Another way to look at it (which I saw expressed in a Facebook post) is that by practicing this social distancing, we are doing our part to care for one another and to give the doctors and nurses a chance to serve those who need it most. So ironically, it's a beautiful expression of community and connection that we are keeping our distance at this time.
We will not be putting out a weekly Happenings this week since our regular happenings have been cancelled or gone online, but we will continue to put out these parish updates once or twice a week. Our first priority is to care for one another. The clergy and pastoral care team are keeping in touch with parishioners to make sure they are well and have the supplies they need. If you haven't heard from us and you need anything (e.g. a run to the grocery store or pharmacy if you are not able to get out), please contact
Andie
. We have parishioners standing by who are ready to help. Our staff members are also accessible by email and cell phone, and we will check the church voicemail at least once each day.
We have created a
YouTube page
for St. Andrew's, and Andie made a wonderful debut last Sunday. Many thanks also to our Communications Director, Allison Enedy, for getting us up and running so quickly. We will continue posting videos on Wednesdays and Sundays; click on the link above for
today's short daily prayer service
. There also is a special bonus episode geared toward children and families.
At the risk of highlighting our own comparable mediocrity, we also want to remind you of the wonderful resources that the national church is putting out featuring Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. He is offering a
weekly meditation
during this time. Our diocesan office has compiled a list of additional worship resources - everything from streamed services to audio recordings of morning or evening prayer.
You can find them here
, along with resources for talking with children about this viral outbreak.
Finally, a number of you generously have asked about ways to give - both to the church and to those in need in the broader community. At the church, we are continuing to receive mail, so it is fine to mail in a check toward your pledge or other gift. We also are investigating an online giving portal for our website to make it easier in the days and weeks ahead; stay tuned for that.
More importantly, know that we are keeping our eyes, ears, and hearts open to ways to support those in our broader community who are the most vulnerable in terms of health, food, income, etc. We have heard from several of you about a few different opportunities that we want to share. One is to consider supporting the Foodbank, an organization that is always on the front lines of making sure individuals and families get the food they need. The normal distributions from the Foodbank are cancelled temporarily while they develop plans for safer distribution methods, and the demand is sure to be high. We already were doing a funds drive at St. Andrew's for the Foodbank, so this is a way we can continue that effort directly.
Click here to access their website and ways to give
. Another suggestion we received was to support the United Way of South Hampton Roads, which is coordinating a coronavirus recovery fund to assist individuals and families in the most need.
More information and a donation portal can be found here
.
We pray that all of you stay safe and well during this uncertain time, and we pray that in the midst of it, we will feel God's healing and Holy Spirit surrounding us always.
Faithfully,
John
