St. Andrew's Weekly Newsletter, April 2, 2020

Building God's Kingdom through

Worship, Outreach and Fellowship

Dear friends,

The holiest days of our Church year are upon us, and this year we will walk through them in new and different ways because of the pandemic. This is a brief description of what you can expect when you join us online for worship on Palm Sunday.

The liturgy on this day begins with the blessing of the palms and typically includes the passion reading, with parishioners taking on roles in the narrative. The passion narrative actually belongs on Good Friday but is included on Palm Sunday for folks who might not attend other Holy Week services and thus would miss the story of the crucifixion. Our Palm Sunday worship this year will focus on the first part of the liturgy: the blessing of the palms and the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Our service will be live at 10:30 AM on Sunday, April 5. Look for the link in your email on Sunday morning, and remember to bring your palm (see below for how to get yours!!) -Anne

We will have a cross set up at our River Road entrance on Friday, April 3, beginning at 10:00 AM so that you can come and pick up palms for your family. *We are delivering palms to our home bound members.

The St. Andrew’s Easter Project

***Please submit your video by Wednesday, April 8***

Background

This Easter, we will hear the story of Jesus’ resurrection as told in John’s gospel. Easter is the high holy day of Christianity, the day that gives everything else and all of our lives meaning. Most years we celebrate Easter together in worship, with glorious music, exquisite flowers, a (hopefully!) rousing sermon, and shared Eucharist. This year, our lived Easter experience will actually be much closer to that of Mary Magdalene, who was alone when she met the resurrected Jesus. So let’s take this opportunity to engage deeply with the Easter story from our new vantage point of social distancing. What insights do we gain about the meaning of Easter when we encounter it in a more personal, individual way?

What is the St. Andrew’s Easter Project?

The St. Andrew’s Easter Project will be a collection of videos filmed by parishioners in which they share reflections about John’s Easter story. It will be a way for us to hear from one another about what Jesus’ resurrection means in our lives right now.

Who can participate?

Anyone and everyone. Your video can be of just you yourself; or of your family all together sharing their reflections. You can be 5 years old or 95 years old. If you have a smartphone or laptop with filming capacity but don’t know how to make a video, we have folks who can talk you through the process. If you don’t have access to video technology, we can find someone to interview you by phone and record your reflections that way. We can work together to ensure that everyone who wants to participate is included.

How do I prepare to make my video?

Click here to read John 20:1-18. Read it again. And probably again.
Think and pray about these questions: a. What part of the story resonates the most for you right now? Why? b. Where and how have you encountered the risen Lord?
Plan what you want to say to answer those two questions. Your video should be no more than 3-5 minutes long.
Don’t make your video yet, as we still have some technology details to work out.

How do I submit my video?

If you took your video on your computer:

Start an email to be sent to [email protected]. Then click on the paperclip to attach a video. (When you choose your video, it will probably tell you that it is too large and it's sending it as a google drive link. That is fine.) Once the file is attached, simply send the email.

If you took your video on your phone:

More than likely you'll need to save your video to Google drive and send it that way. Here’s how:

For Android devices: click on the video, then the share button, and then on the Google drive symbol. Once the video has been saved to google drive, start an email to be sent to [email protected]. Then click on the paperclip to attach and choose insert from drive. Once the file is attached, simply send the email.

For IPhones: (you must have a gmail account) Open Google drive (if you don’t have Google drive, download it from the app store). Tap the plus symbol + in the bottom right hand corner, click upload, click photos and videos, select the video to upload, click upload in the top right corner. From there click search drive for recent uploads. Select the video and attach it to the email.

If you have any questions or concerns, email our Easter Project technology person, Raven Cadena, at [email protected]

Announcing online giving at St. Andrew’s through Tithe.ly

During this time of social distancing we hope that you will continue to support St. Andrew’s as you are able. While many of us already give regularly through online banking or by mailing a check to the church, others are accustomed to dropping their contribution in the offering plate. We look forward to the time when we will all be together again!

After much research, we are excited that we can now offer a new way to give online using your credit or debit card or your bank’s routing/account numbers.

To get started:

click on the purple GIVE NOW button below
create your account and log in
enter your information into the simple form
choose whether to make a recurring contribution or a one-time gift. Don't worry, if you decide later to choose a different option, you can make changes at any time.
click on the cover fees box to cover the small processing fee if you are paying with a credit or debit card (there is no fee for having funds sent directly from your bank account) Although this is optional, we sincerely hope you will do that.

Other things to know:

St. Andrew's will be listed on your bank or credit card statement as the recipient
your contributions will be reported directly to our financial administrator, and will be listed on your regular church giving statements.

An important note! We are not changing anything else about the way we accept contributions. If you are happy with the way you give, we are too! If you have any questions, please contact Rachel Roby.

GIVE NOW

Lectionary for Palm Sunday

click here to read the scriptures

Virtual Easter Vigil from Camp Chanco

The Rev. Eileen Walsh will be officiating a special virtual Easter Vigil on the bluff on April 11. The Easter Vigil is one of the oldest liturgies in the church. Historically it would last throughout the night and new converts to the faith would be baptized during the vigil. In the contemporary church the vigil begins with the new fire followed by entering the darkened church. The Pascal candle is lit from the new fire. Readings that tell the history of salvation are read and then all of the candles are lit, bells are rung, and the joyous celebration of the resurrection begins! Join the Rev. Eileen Walsh for a special virtual Easter Vigil on the bluff at Chanco on Saturday, April 11th at 8 PM on Chanco’s Facebook page.

Donating our Coronavirus Relief Checks

As I mentioned in my April 1 video, a parishioner suggested to me that many of us at St. Andrew's who will be receiving Coronavirus Relief Checks are not experiencing the same dire financial consequences as our friends and neighbors who live close to the edge and have now lost jobs or work hours. The parishioner who emailed me intends to donate all of the relief check--some to St. Andrew's but most to provide financial assistance (anonymously) to someone in desperate need. Inspired by the generosity of this parishioner, John and I have also decided to donate our relief checks when they arrive.

I contacted Angela York, executive director of THRIVE Peninsula, to see if she could help ensure that such donations would go to struggling individuals or families who have lost work or hours because of the coronavirus. Angela assured me that THRIVE is indeed able to do just that. So, if you would like to contribute all or part of your coronavirus relief check to help our neighbors who are struggling to make ends meet, you can write a check to St. Andrew's with "THRIVE financial relief" in the memo line, and we will pass along your gifts to THRIVE.

Blessings and thanks. -Anne

From Westminster Canterbury: app for communication and entertainment for seniors available free

During these times of social distancing and social isolation, Westminster-Canterbury wants to help virtually close that gap for you, your family, and friends. We have developed a web version of our Birdsong Tablet (a simple-to-use, touch-screen tablet created for older adults) for all to use -- free of charge -- as a limited-time public service initiative.

It can be found at www.birdsongtablet.com and is pre-loaded with a wide range of music, videos, games, travel and therapeutic content geared to the senior community. It also provides a user-friendly family app that makes it easy for seniors and their loved ones to connect through video chat and messaging.

Our goal is to foster joy and well-being and encourage engagement to avoid social isolation EVERYWHERE. Our Foundation paid for the cloud capacity to make this complimentary service wide-spread.

You, your family and your friends are invited to use it! All you need is a web browser, such as Explorer, Google, or Safari. After you open the browser, just visit www.birdsongtablet.com and open your free account. No credit card information is taken, and no charges will ever be made, even after we stop this free offer. After the pandemic, those who want to continue can enter a credit card then.

Whether it is having some face-to-face time with loved ones, playing a few games and/or traveling to a foreign country from the comfort of your living room chair, we hope you will enjoy the Birdsong Web App. Most of all, we hope you will SHARE the www.birdsongtablet.com link with others, so they can benefit from this easy-to-use technology, too!

And by the way, there are some old episodes of Jack Benny on the website that will make you laugh, which is the best medicine of all during these challenging times!

Sincerely,

Ben Unkle

President & CEO

Westminster Canterbury of Hampton Roads

Give thanks for the life of Mary Montague Stephens

We are so sorry to report that Mary Montague Stephens died on March 26 in Richmond after a long illness. Her family was able to be with her. Funeral plans will be made at a later date. Let us give thanks for the life and ministry of Mary Montague and for the new life she has now entered. Please hold her family, especially her children Molly, Ford, and Peter in your prayers.

Read Mary Montague's obituary

Should you wish to send a card to the family:

Molly Anderson

8910 Rearden Rd

Richmond, VA 23229

Menchville House Update

Menchville House is experiencing a whole different set of issues right now. All the children are home, and many of the residents, two nurses, are still working. There are now 30 to 40 for three meals a day. Expenses are of course increasing also. Praise! They have plenty of toilet paper - it is the most often donated item and now is the payoff. If, as you consider all the needs you might support, you feel you can help this homeless shelter out, please donate by mailing your checks to P.O. Box 22687 Newport News, VA 23609.

Dropping off your pledge

Even if a staff person is not at church, you can drop off your pledge checks in the mail box just outside the Main Street entrance to the church. Be sure to open the drop door all the way and ensure that whatever you deposit drops down into the bottom collection box. Please do not put anything on the top shelf! You may also do the same with your mite box. Just be sure to tape it well so your coins don’t fall out.