Dear Friends in Christ, 

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. – 1 Corinthians 12:12

Our Vestry discussed this larger passage during our last two Vestry meetings, recognizing the importance of each person who comes to St. Andrew’s. We are a church with many ministries and so much faithful stewardship of time, talent, and treasure. The pandemic highlighted new ministry, new talents, and new needs within the body of Christ. We also evaluate our individual and collective ministry as we begin to regather. 

Many ministries shifted quickly to an online format and were able to cultivate new ways of engaging. Our Bible study groups on Sunday and Wednesday engage in fruitful and beautiful conversations each week! However, in other ministries, it has not been possible and now, we begin the regathering process, which is also a re-planting process. 

On top of the practical, safety, and logistical components of resuming ministry are the emotional, psychological, and spiritual components. What if we do not want to continue in “x” ministry? We may say, “we do not have as many members.” Some ministries will look completely different for a time, such as our ushers and greeters who will guide us outside and inside to follow our safety procedures and assist us in worship. Other ministries, such as our altar guild and acolytes, will seek to adapt traditions we have followed for decades to the current conditions. This is an opportunity not to resume ministry as we knew it, but to re-plant, re-imagine, and listen to new areas where God may be calling each of us as members of the body. 

Please be patient with yourselves, especially if you are a ministry lead. I also encourage each of us to think about how we may try a new ministry or area. I will say this in almost every single area, that there is no experience required! You already have all the experience you need. We have a new perspective and opportunity with the pandemic. Pray and think about where God may be nudging you here at St. Andrew’s.

Please reach out to our different Vestry areas and see what opportunities might be calling to you. I will make a brief encouragement for worship volunteers, especially ushers and greeters as we have more outdoor and begin indoor worship. 

Fellowship | fellowship@standrews.net

Formation | formation@standrews.net

Outreach | outreach@standrews.net

Stewardship | stewardship@standrews.net

Welcome & Worship | welcome@standrews.net & worship@standrews.net

@ 6:00 p.m. – Taizé Service

@ 8:00 a.m. – Liturgy of the Word Service

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

@ 10:00 a.m. – Liturgy of the Word Service

@ 11:00 a.m. – Coffee Hour (mtg: 863 4884 3653 | pwd: 163336)

@ 9:30 a.m. – Morning Prayer Service

@ 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.

Note the 3rd: All of our services are also available on our Facebook page.

Please click below to register for our 10:00 a.m. outdoor service. If you don't receive a confirmation email after you register, you are not registered. If you have to cancel, please email Emily.

Contact: Emily Nein (emily@standrews.net)

Fairfax County is averaging 16.1 cases per 100,000 and our surrounding counties and Fairfax City have similar or fewer cases. The Diocese of Virginia has revised when we may consider indoor worship to when we have 25 or fewer cases and we have met that threshold. 

Many people, beginning during the time period when our bridge interim rector, Ed Miller, was in place, have pulled together a diocesan approved plan for indoor worship. We will take one step at a time to intentionally carry out the plan which begins this weekend. The proposed timeline for regathering is below, but it also depends upon everything going as planned and having sufficient ministry volunteers. Please email worship@standrews.net if you are able to help with indoor or outdoor ushering/greeting. Here is a sketch of our timeline for regathering indoors at this point: 

During this transition, please note that the 8:00 a.m. service will be in the format of our 10:00 a.m. worship. We will also begin a process of livestreaming some of our Saturday evening services as well. Due to our current approvals and our camera systems, worship will take place in the Nave. 

We will continue online worship and we encourage you to join in-person when you feel ready. Worship participants will still be able to participate from home, even with livestream worship.

We ask for patience and prayers as we continue the regathering process and please do consider volunteering even if only for the time of regathering.

We are excited to explore the possibility of having an in person (likely outdoor) VBS this summer from July 26th - 30th! In addition to monitoring the health markers and following Diocesan guidance—something we will need to make this possible—we will also need a sufficient amount of volunteers. Class sizes will be smaller and kept in separate areas, rotating through the different spots each day so that they can be cleaned overnight. We will explore with the Diocese the option of having 2 groups per day inside. Please let Amy know if you are able to be a VBS volunteer!

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)

Our cyclical Spring Parish Clean Up Day is planned for April 24th beginning at 9:00 a.m. We will be preparing (with divine guidance, luck, and positive health numbers) for Regathering, per Diocesan guidance, and when appropriate. We will focus on both inside and outside general cleanup. A larger group will spend the time preparing our church exterior. We will also deploy 2 small groups of motivated, fully-inoculated, socially-distant individuals inside to prepare the Nave/Narthex, and Parish Hall, for the eventual Regathering. In case of rain, our backup date is May 1st.

Contact: Darren Williams (jrwarden@standrews.net)

Please join us for our next outdoor Messy Church on Sunday, April 25th, at 3:30 p.m. in the church parking lot. Each family gets their own table! We will be marked and socially distant. Registration is now open.

If you don’t receive a confirmation email after you register, you are not registered. If you have to cancel, please email Emily (emily@standrews.net).

Contact: Amy Dutton (amy@standrews.net)

Contact: Michelle Ramsdell (michelle@standrews.net)

Please keep these members of our community in your prayers: 

Contact: Deborah England (prayer@standrews.net)