Dear Friends in Christ,

We continue to see glimpses of light in this Lenten season. We see sporadic days of 60 degrees and sun after periods of rain. Many people in Fairfax are now vaccinated and we have seen plummeting numbers of the negative effects of COVID-19. Some are making plans or are now able to see those they have not seen in months or even a whole year. Yes, there is light coming. 

Our Lenten observance continues as we see glimpses of light throughout this season. Some of our Lenten practices may bear fruit and moments of God’s consolation, pointing to the inevitable gift of Easter. If only momentary, when have you experienced this light breaking through? 

Still, the heaviness of this season and time continues. Lent carries with it a connotation of discipline which may lead to feelings of guilt or those times you say, “I should…” We are reminded that we are still in the pandemic and of our mortality. So often, we avoid or try to avoid these feelings and responses in our lives. When these times come, let us be gentle when we say the “I should” and remember in pain of a promise a covenant. 

God breaks through and perhaps you have named a time when this happened when you read the above paragraphs. God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah endures and with Christ, it is extended to all peoples of all generations. This is a promise that will endure and our call as followers of Jesus is to turn towards the promise. Turn toward the promise when we are in need. Turn toward the promise when we experience joy. Turn toward the promise whenever those words “I should,” come out of our mouth. In turning, you are changed. When we as a community turn together, we are changed. 

In this Lenten journey and journey during a pandemic, let us continually see those time in our lives, those opportunities to turn toward an ancient promise. This is a promise made and continually kept by a God who knows and loves us. This is a promise extended in a Christ who redeems us. This is a promise in which we continually live and seek its completion. 

I look forward to seeing everyone as we worship this Saturday and Sunday and in our forum hour. Until then, 

Faithfully yours, 

@ 6:00 p.m. – Liturgy of the Word (also on Facebook)

@ 8:00 a.m. – Liturgy of the Word (also on Facebook)

@ 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/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 Service (also on Facebook)

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

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.

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: formation@standrews.net

Health metrics in our area continue to improve and vaccinations in our area are distributing quickly. Our Vestry will discuss the regathering process this coming Monday evening during our Vestry meeting. Please keep an eye out for continued communications as to when we might be able to gather safely in person. We encourage everyone to continue to follow guidance from our health department on best practices for reducing the spread of COVID-19. In addition to email updates, we will update our COVID-19 section on the website. 

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)

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 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 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)

We will examine this question during our forum hour this week. We will gather on Zoom at 11:00 a.m. for fellowship and engage in presentations and discussions at 11:15 a.m. The presentation will be broken up into smaller segments with time to meet in a small Zoom group to discuss. You are welcome to make this week’s soup for the discussion or save it for later that day.

Now that Lent is here, our minds naturally turn to Soup Suppers! Unfortunately, we can’t gather for our typical soup suppers this year, but, during our Sundays in Lent Adult Formation series, we hope you can enjoy a new soup a week with us. Each week, starting today, 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)

St. Andrew's Audiovisual is looking for interested individuals to assist with online & future in-person services. Interested individuals must simply have a desire to learn about simple computer-based editing & working with St. Andrew's television switcher/audio mixer in the Nave. If you have a background in theater, computers, and/or television, this would be ideal for you, and you will be scheduled only for when you are available. Training will be provided.

Contact: Darren Williams (jrwarden@standrews.net)

Even with everyone slowly working their way to getting vaccinated, there is still a need to wear masks when in public. Now you can 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.

Contact: Betsy Cotten (fellowship@standrews.net)

The 2020 Contribution Statements were sent via email on January 28, 2021. The email should show the sender name as St. Andrew's Episcopal Church and the sender address as notification@onrealmmail.org. It contains a link to your 2020 statement. If you did not receive a statement and believe you should have, first check your junk mail folder, and if you still can’t find it, please contact Michelle.

Contact: Michelle Ramsdell (michelle@standrews.net)

Our Hypothermia Prevention Week may be over for the year, but that doesn’t mean our outreach to our community must end. If you are interested in being put on a Sign-up Genius list for donations for the homeless (i.e. clothing, furniture, move in kits, etc.), contact Steve Koss and he’ll get you added. This list is shared with people from all hypothermia churches, so stuff often gets signed up for very fast. Our website also has a PDF of information on local homeless related services in our region if you are interested.

Contact: Steve Koss (hypothermia@standrews.net)

Shrine Mont Camps is excited to offer both in-person and online camp experiences this Summer. Camp leaders have been hard at work for many months, consulting with medical professionals and other camps professionals across the country to design camps that will be fun and safe for all. And, building on the success of last summer, Shrine Mont Camps will again offer Light in the Valley, an online camp where campers can make friends, play and worship together from home.

Registration will open March 23rd but you can check out camp dates today. SMC is also asking camper families to provide feedback via this survey, which will help inform ongoing plans and preparations for the 2021 summer camps.

Shrine Mont Camps is eager to fill counselor and staff positions for both in person camp and virtual camp. Some virtual camp staff will be able to work from home. If you know someone whom you think would make a great camp counselor or staff member, please forward this email and encourage them to apply today!

Contact: Michelle Ramsdell (michelle@standrews.net)

Please keep these members of our community in your prayers: 

Contact: Deborah England (prayer@standrews.net)