The Weekly Net
December 3, 2021
From our Priest-in-Charge

O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile, here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emanuel shall come to thee, o Israel!

Dear friends in Christ, 

We rejoice and call out for Jesus, Emmanuel, to reside with us each and every Advent in anticipation of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ and in anticipation that Christ will come again! For thousands of years, the faithful call out for God’s presence with us and we too call the name Emmanuel, during Advent and in all places and all times. 

Isaiah shares this faithful name with the King as he wrestles with impending defeat by armies and political turmoil. Isaiah points to a young pregnant woman who will name her child, “God is with us.” For years afterwards, even when Assyrian forces overthrew the king and Israel was in exile, they may call upon the faith of that young girl who dared to say, “Emmanuel!” 

Our prayers each week during Advent pray “O come, O Come Emmanuel; be our hope and our salvation.” We call out to God with our personal needs, the needs of others, in distress and in joy. I encourage you to call out in hope for Emmanuel as we gather and particularly when you find yourself alone and perhaps alone in the midst of many. We find in the ancient, faithful call for Emmanuel, that we call to the Christ celebrated in the person of Jesus at Christmas who will come again and who resides with us now. You do not need to see an approaching Assyrian army to call out Emmanuel. 

We sing the above hymn and we pray the above prayer in the knowledge that with Mary, our savior did come into the world. As you listen to, or avoid, the Christmas music stations, as you joyfully decorate for Christmas or tearfully unpack decorations once unpacked by another, call out for Emmanuel. 

I encourage us to call out this name together, each and every Sunday and, as we call it aloud or from our hearts in various places, to seek the knowledge of our Incarnate God. This is a God alive in the Church and palpable when we gather. Remember this faithful name first came from the lips of those sorely needing God in dangerous and uncertain times and that this name too was given in a manger through the hope of a young, courageous girl named Mary. When it comes from our lips, we join Isaiah, we join Mary, and all those who have called out for an Incarnate God of hope. 

I look forward to worshiping with you this week and joining you in our Outreach Ministry Fair after the services. 

O come, O come, Emmanuel; 
be our hope and our salvation. 

Faithfully yours, 
The Rev. William L. Packard
(571) 449-7438
Worship Services

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.

Saturday, December 4th
@ 6:00 p.m. – Holy Eucharist: Rite II

Sunday, December 5th
@ 8:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist: Rite I
@ 10:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist: Rite II
@ 9:00 p.m. – Compline with St. Phoebe's (via Zoom)

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.
Adult Forum: Outreach

The Outreach Ministry at St. Andrew's offers the opportunity for you to use your time and your talents to help those in need locally and across the globe. Please join us in the Parish Hall following the 10:00 a.m. service to see where needs exist that would provide your talents to be used to help those who can use a hand up. ESOL, Workcamp, Hypothermia Prevention, ECHO, FACETS Hot Meals, the Giving Tree, and more will be featured ministries and you can learn about opportunities to find the right fit between talents and needs.

Contact: Jewell Gould & Jonathan Withington (outreach@standrews.net)
Stewardship Ingathering Continues

Thanks to everyone who has already turned in their 2022 pledge. We are at 86% of our pledge goal and 70% of our participation goal! For those who haven’t pledged yet, we invite you to do so via one of these options:

  • Mail in your pledge using the pre-stamped envelope that was sent with your pledge packet

  • Drop off your pledge in the collection plate before one of our weekend services


Contact: Brian Jones & Karan Wright (stewardship@standrews.net)
Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who donated towards the Thanksgiving Baskets Gift Cards. We were able to help out 20 families with your generosity!
Volunteers Needed

We are still in need of volunteers in the Pre-K and Nursery classes. If you are vaccinated and 14 years or older, please sign up to volunteer. More support is needed for the Nursery to remain open.

There is also a need for teachers in our older classes, as well as another Godly Play leader, and Sunday School Superintendent. Please contact Christie and Stacey if you are interested in helping out.

Contact: Christie Dasher & Stacey Peters (formation@standrews.net)
The Giving Tree

The FACETS Giving Tree is back for another year! We have a list of children of various ages hoping to get something special this year. We will have both an in-person Giving Tree in the church (7 names left), and an online option (6 names left) at our Giving Tree Sign-Up Genius page.

Not every child has specific gift requests (some just gave us their favorite color!), but there is a list of suggestions on the FACETS webpage, including a reminder to choose ethnically diverse dolls if that is your gift (suggested limit of $25).

Once you have your gift, please wrap and label it with the child's first name/last initial, case manager's name, and age. If you select your child from the in-person tree, you can use the ornament provided.

Please deliver all gifts to the church by Sunday, December 12th. A curbside drive-by drop-off will be offered at the church on Saturday, December 11th, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. Thank you all for your generosity and help in making sure these kids have a wonderful Christmas!

Contact: Jen Koerner (facets@standrews.net)
Children's Pageant

Our pageant is back! There will be a rehearsal & costume fitting for all participants at 9:15 a.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room on Sunday, December 19th. There will also be a rehearsal starting at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday, December 24th. We ask anyone not participating in the pageant wait until our rehearsal is over before grabbing your seats.

If your family is participating in the pageant, email Amy so she can send you the registration link for the service. Once the link goes live to the public, it’s first come first serve.

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)
Sacraments Class Postponed

The Sacraments Class that was scheduled for December 5th has been postponed. We will let you know when the new date is decided.

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)
Email Scams

During this time of the year, scams are prevalent. As a reminder, the clergy and church at large will not solicit gift cards or funds over text, email, or social media. If you receive a request from our clergy or the church, please let us know and do not respond. When in doubt, be sure to speak directly with those who are supposedly asking.

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

The Rt. Rev. Porter Taylor will be here for our 10:00 a.m. service on Sunday, December 12th to Confirm, Receive, or Reaffirm those who have worked on becoming full members of St. Andrew’s. We hope you can join us for this joyful occasion.

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

This year we return to our tradition of decorating the church for Christmas with your gifts of poinsettias. Each poinsettia is a visual symbol of your gift, given as a memorial for a loved one or a thanksgiving for a blessing in your life. Your thanksgivings and memorials will be printed in the Christmas service bulletins.

Envelopes for your donations are located on the bulletin board outside the office. Suggested donations: $25. Please return your envelope to the office by Wednesday, December 15th.
FoMA: A Benefit Concert of Celtic Music w/ Karan Ashbrook & Friends

Friends of Music and Arts at St. Andrew's is back! Please mark your calendar for the season opener on Sunday, December 19th, at 4:00 p.m. in the Nave.

Join us for a delightful Celtic concert of sacred and seasonal music for the Advent-Christmas season with KAREN ASHBROOK & PAUL OORTS on hammered dulcimer, harp guitar, accordion, and pennywhistle, along with Irish-American singer EILEEN ESTES.

All donations collected during the concert will go to FACETS and ECHO. Free Admission. Masks Required.

Contact: Gabe Simerson (foma@standrews.net)
Christmas Schedule

Friday, December 24th
@ 10:00 a.m. - Children's Pageant w/ Holy Eucharist (registration required)
@ 4:00 p.m. - Family-Oriented Service w/ Holy Eucharist
@ 8:30 p.m. - Carol Sing
@ 9:00 p.m. - Brass Ensemble w/ Holy Eucharist

Saturday, December 25th
@ 11:00 a.m. - Holy Eucharist

Masks required for everyone two years and older. Childcare is not available. All services will be streamed online.
We're on Instagram!

For those of you not on Facebook, you can now follow us on Instagram! Click below to follow us @st_andrews_burke and keep up to date on all the goings on at St. Andrew's.

Contact: Emily Nein (emily@standrews.net)
Regathering Update

This week, we see a slight increase in the health metrics for Fairfax County which is not surprising. With new variants that will likely continue to rise, we will listen to advice from national and local health officials and do the best we can to navigate the pandemic. Here are this week’s latest health metrics for Fairfax County: 

Transmission rate: 
According to the Brown School of Public Health, Fairfax County is in the Orange Zone with an average of 12.7 cases per 100k over the past 7 days. As a reminder the four zones are green (under 5 cases on average), yellow, (under 10 cases on average), orange (under 25 cases on average), and red (over 25 cases on average). According to the CDC, we remain in the Orange Zone with a total of 82.44 per 100k over the past 7 days. As a reminder, the color zones for the CDC are blue, yellow, orange, and red. Orange is under 100 and above 50 total cases. The death rate due to COVID in Fairfax over the past 7 days was labelled as “suppressed” meaning there were definitively under 10 deaths if any. While the transmission rates indicate a slight increase from the previous week, we are still at a lower rate of transmission than the national average. 

Health Facilities: 
Over the past 7 days, there were 31 new hospital admissions due to COVID with 2.13% of beds used for COVID reasons. This is a large increase in hospitalizations and a slight increase in the percentage of beds used. In our ICU’s, 2.55% of beds are being used for COVID-related reasons which also indicates a slight increase. 

Vaccination Rates: 
According to the CDC, 84.1% of residents of all residents have received at least 1 dose and 71.1% are fully vaccinated. 95.8% of residents 12 and older have received at least 1 dose and 83.3% of residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated. For those over 18, 96.1% have received at least one dose and 83.4% are fully-vaccinated. 99.9 percent of residents 65 and older have received at least 1 dose and 84.3% of residents over 65 are fully vaccinated. Beginning in about two weeks, children between 5 and 11 will start becoming fully-vaccinated. All adults 18 and older are now eligible for a booster shot if it has been more than 6 months since your second shot. If you have questions about the vaccination for you or others, we encourage you to speak to your doctor. 

At this time, we will continue with our current COVID protocols which require masks indoors and refraining from our receptions and eating/drinking which may cause longer periods of time without a mask. This will also apply to our bishop’s visitation Sunday on December 12. 

We know that all of us have different viewpoints and understandings of how to best navigate the pandemic. As you discuss your holiday dinners and plans, we encourage you to be honest with family and friends and to come from a standpoint that we are all doing the best we can. Please do not hesitate to reach out to clergy or friends at church if you would like to discuss. 

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

During these unprecedented times, we are called into community in unprecedented ways. Your financial gifts to St. Andrew’s are of vital importance to support our ongoing ministries and our outreach to the most vulnerable among us. Please continue to offer your faithful gifts by:

  • Mailing your check to our church office (6509 Sydenstricker Rd, Burke VA 22015)
  • Hand delivering cash or checks to the church mailbox (cash or check should be sealed in an envelope marked with your name)
  • Using your bank’s online bill-pay feature
  • Using St. Andrew’s online giving feature. You will be asked to provide your email address, an amount, date of gift, whether it is one-time or recurring, and a fund. In the fund box, you can click the arrow at the right-hand side to see the drop-down menu (the current options are Pledge and Plate Offering). The next page will give you the option of paying via your bank or debit/credit card. Please note that St. Andrew’s will pay fees on these transactions and you will be asked if you would like to increase your donation to offset these fees.

Contact: Michelle Ramsdell (michelle@standrews.net)
Prayer List

Please keep these members of our community in your prayers: 
Pam, Larry Dickerson, Linda & Ed Hunter, John & Janet Carver, Bill Hartig, Lloyd Sterling, Nancy Knight, Janet Keyser, Charles Petty, Gloria Covington, Jack Keyser, Hugh Brian Henderson, Theo Pickeral, Olivia Kertesz, Carol Matovick, Rachel Gordon, Phil Purdom, Karan Wright, Kim Reisig, Christy Bering, Beth Matovick, Dorothy Polk, Rebecca Miyares, Natasha Browning, Robert C., Eric & Melissa Christianson, Christina Kelly, JoVanna Tawney, Joan & Bud Hahn, Joe & Karen Steele, Mary Lu Powell, Joani Dasher, Kim D. Howard, Becky Myhre, Donna Schrock, Jeff


Contact: Deborah England (prayer@standrews.net)
emily@standrews.net | www.standrews.net
(703) 455-2500