The Weekly Net
December 11, 2020
From our Priest-in-Charge

Dear Friends in Christ,

Our two great Sacraments are Baptism and Holy Eucharist. During the pandemic, we have not been able to celebrate these Sacraments, except through significant measures and with caution. At our Holy Eucharist, the physical, assembled body of the Church offers our "sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving," with a communal prayer with consecration. While sacramental services of a priest are needed for these Sacraments, it is equally important to have the assembled church. With impediments to our ability to assemble safely, we have continued to fast from the Eucharist, except for a few pastoral considerations.

After continued prayer and logistical study, we would like to offer Holy Eucharist this Christmas. We are still developing the logistics, but we will celebrate the Eucharist on Christmas Eve at our 2:00 p.m. service. Over the course of the Christmas season, and beyond if necessary, we will provide communion under special circumstances outdoors and following our visitation protocols provided by the Diocese. The schedule and means for registration of these visitations will be provided in the week to come. We will be offering this communion using protocols provided by the Diocese found here.

With rising case numbers and our call to "respect the dignity of every human being," we will proceed cautiously. We also understand that not everyone will be able to participate and encourage each person to continue to make safe choices. I will work with you and listen to any particular concerns you may have. We continue to be fed by our celebrations of the Eucharist and receive our "daily bread," by which we are sustained beyond time as we understand it. Let us individually and corporately prepare this Advent season for our the coming of our Lord.

Faithfully yours,
The Reverend William L. Packard
(571) 449-7438
For pastoral emergencies, please call (571) 336-6509
Online Worship & Gatherings for the Week
Saturday, December 12th
@ 6:00 p.m. – Liturgy of the Word

Sunday, December 13th
@ 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: 847 0278 7729 | pwd: 437719)
@ 9:00 p.m. – Compline with St. Phoebe's (via Zoom)

Weekday Mornings
@ 8:00 a.m. – Morning Prayer with St. Phoebe's (via Zoom)

Wednesday, December 16th
@ 9:30 a.m. – Morning Prayer Service
@ 10:30 a.m. – Bible Study (Mtg ID: 884 0844 2173 | password: 313159)

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.
Weekend Onsite Events

Your one stop shop for everything happening at St. Andrew’s this weekend. Click here for a step-by-step guide if you need help signing up. Links for these events are also available on our website.

Sunday, December 13th

Also, please remember to register your children for Sunday School.

Guidelines you must follow to participate with onsite events:
  • Everyone two years and older must wear a mask
  • Keep 6ft apart from people not in your family group at all times
  • If you are feeling sick, or have any COVID-19 symptoms, stay home
  • If you are in an at risk group, strongly consider staying home
Covid-19

Fairfax County continues to see increasing numbers of Covid-19 cases and as a "red zone," we encourage you to be vigilant and make safe choices. Decisions and protocols change from day to day. You might wonder, what is the church doing or not doing?

In an effort to provide up-to-date information from the church's re-gathering status and response to the pandemic, we have added a tab on our website which provides the most recent and historical information. In addition to decisions and guidance provided by the church and our diocese, there are links for faith during the pandemic. We encourage you to check in on this section from time to time for the latest updates and prayer material.
Christmas Schedule

Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24th:

Christmas Day, Friday, December 25th:
  • Online Christmas worship @ 10:30 a.m.
FACETS Giving Tree

Thank you to everyone who signed up to get gifts for the kids sponsored by FACETS. All slots were spoken for less than 24 hours after we sent out the email.

If you weren't able to get a slot, we have ten extra spots you can sign up for to get gift cards that FACETS will use for gift this Christmas.

All gifts need to be wrapped and include a label with the child’s name and age. You can turn in your gift by:
  • Coming to our Drive-By Drop-Off on Sat. 19th from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
  • Having your packaged delivered to Jen’s house
  • Or contacting Jen and delivering it to her at some other time

All gifts must be turned in by Sunday, Dec. 20th.

Contact: Jen Koerner (facets@standrews.net)
Stewardship Ingathering Continues

Thanks to everyone who has already turned in their 2021 pledge. We are at 93% of our goal! For those who haven’t pledged yet, we invite you to do so via one of these options:

  1. Mail in your pledge using the pre-stamped envelope that was sent with your pledge packet
  2. Drop off your pledge in our mailbox, located at the driveway entrance
  3. Or pledge online by clicking on the “Giving” tab on our website, or by clicking here to go there directly.

We ask for your prayerful discernment with regard to your Annual Pledge, even in these stressful times, and for you to be there for us, others, and God in a time where it is needed most. We continue to serve the Lord, and our manifold missions…One Together.

Contact: Darren Williams & Karan Wright (stewardship@standrews.net)
#AdventWord
Dec. 5th - We give glory to God in all places and in all times and especially when we sing in worship!
Dec. 6th - "Lord, open our lips. And our mouth shall proclaim your praise." 
Dec. 7th - What brings you comfort during this Advent season?
Dec. 8th - In a world when our busyness can stack up, how is being patient a blessing?
Dec. 9th - What are the ways we see God's mercy in the world today? It takes different forms and is known in different ways, especially when we serve God together.
Dec. 10th - When we baptize we commit to our baptismal promises and are immersed in our discipleship! Thank you Father Sandy for participating in the Ice Bucket Challenge!
‌
Dec. 11th - After each reading from Holy Scripture, we say, "the Word of the Lord, Thanks be to God!" The spirit is alive in the word and we take that from our ears to our hearts and into the world.
‌
Meet Father Will!

Father Will would like to meet with each and every one of our parishioners. Now that the weather is colder, meetings will be via Zoom only.

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.

We hope you take advantage of this time to meet our new Priest-in-Charge.

Contact: Betsy Cotten and Rebecca Umberger (fellowship@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: 
Tina Boyd, John and Janet Carver, Carol Cobb, Chris Conrad, Gloria Covington, Theresa DelConte, Larry Dickerson, Dale Dickey, Katie Durso, Eddie Fortune, Lori Hardin, Bill Hartig, Susan Henderson, Donna and Kent Hoover, Linda and Ed Hunter, Jack & Janet Keyser, Nancy Knight, Chely Lopez, Elda Marmaduke, Ryan Martel, Gunnar and Heike Mayer, Regina McCombs, Mary J. Moses, David Nies, Pam, Andrew Parthum, Philippa Pearce, Terry Peel, Charles Petty, Kate Schneider, Lloyd Sterling, Douglas Taggart, Sarah Waite, and Susan White


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