Dear Friends in Christ,

We celebrate Independence Day this weekend which is a Feast Day within the life of the Episcopal Church. It is also a day when we are able to gather with friends and family and celebrate. We give thanks this week and always for the ability to freely worship God at St. Andrew’s. We will come to the church and be sent out into the world again. What will you be doing this weekend to celebrate and mark the occasion?

The fireworks, cookouts, travels, and more will mark celebrations from an event that occurred in 1776. We come to our sanctuary every week remembering and celebrating with an event that occurred 2,000 years ago and recognize God’s divine presence in and throughout all of creation’s history. It is indeed a celebration when we come to the sanctuary and in particular when we come to the Table. We are then sent out into the world, not just in memory of what occurred, but with the particular presence of Christ’s saving love and eternal hope. 

We are so happy to be able to lift most of our restrictions this week (see below) and include so many more people in our celebration in worship, both in-person and online. As we come together in these various ways, remember that we too are sent out, together. This weekend, in whatever way we celebrate our Nation’s birthday, let us be mindful of God’s never-ending grace and mercy and share it in our interactions. 

Faithfully yours,

We are happy to announce our in-person services no longer require pre-registration. Masks are still required for everyone two and older, but all other restrictions have been lifted. 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. – Holy Eucharist: Rite II

@ 8:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist: Rite I

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

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

@ 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.

This week, we lift most restrictions for worship, all of them, in fact, except the wearing of masks. You will no longer need to register nor will you be required to remain socially distant! We recognize that not all of us will be of the exact same level of comfort as we come back. We thank you for your patience as your vestry and regathering team work to make the best decisions on behalf of our whole community.

While we have welcomed our AA groups during the pandemic, we are beginning to welcome some other groups back into the building. Our Vestry and Priest-in-Charge supports the return of some groups we have hosted in the past including welcoming back the Peace Islamic Center into the parish hall on Friday afternoons. This is also a reminder that as we re-gather our ministries, we will need to coordinate with the church office to ensure we do not double-book space. Thank you for your help!

We look forward to seeing you and please email worship@standrews.net or will@standrews.net with questions or concerns.

Childcare is now available during our 10:00 a.m. Sunday services. The two classes that are open are the Nursery (ages 1-3) and the Pre-K class (ages 3-5). Pre-registration is not required, but children will need to be signed in when dropped off at their classroom.

All children over the age of two must wear a mask while inside. When the weather is good, the Pre-K class and older Nursery children may go outside to play on the playground. Children do not need to wear their masks outside, but send them with anything they may need to wear while outside.

In order to provide this to all of our young families, we will need help staffing the classrooms. We need at least one volunteer to help each of our teachers every week. Volunteers must be 16 years or older, fully vaccinated, and wear a mask. 

Thank you all, and we hope to see a lot of you in the coming weeks.

Contact: Emily Nein (emily@standrews.net)

Since 1999, the St. Andrew’s parish has sponsored a week long community service trip for the teens of our parish. Workcamp provides the opportunity for teens to learn about serving God by serving families in need through home repair projects in various communities located in the eastern United States. Seven teens and two adults are heading to Wilmington, DE from July 11th through July 17th for this year’s Workcamp trip.

You can show your support for this youth outreach program by making Care Cards for all the Workcampers! Care Cards are little notes/treats the Workcampers receive each night. They can be notes of encouragement, appreciation, and/or jokes. These notes mean a lot to the teens (and adults), and sometimes they can help turn a hard, stressful week into a wonderful memory.

Contact: Stacey Peters & Carl Jones (workcamp@standrews.net)

We’ve now been able to clear our Wait List and we are still working on getting more housing! If you would like to join us, be sure to sign up on our Wait List so we know how much more space we still need. Please contact Amy if you have any questions.

For those of you who have been to Shrine Mont, no words are necessary, you know how wonderful it is. For anyone who hasn’t been, you simply must experience it! This fun-filled weekend retreat is an all-inclusive stay in the picturesque Shenandoah Mountains. Shrine Mont is home to the cathedral of The Diocese of Virginia, unique in that it is an outdoor cathedral.

This is not a camping trip to the woods (sorry, scouts). We stay in cottages with heating and bathrooms, meals are provided in their cafeterias (Friday dinner through Sunday lunch), and there is an unlimited supply of beautiful nature, fun fellowship, and good old-fashioned family time. This year we will have some Halloween activities as well as our yearly favorites: hikes, S’mores around a campfire, and plenty of time for relaxing and visiting with each other.

We will be there from October 29th - 31st, and this year we want to encourage families to attend, so everyone 17 and under will be free!

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)

Contact: Michelle Ramsdell (michelle@standrews.net)