St. Andrew's Weekly Newsletter, Sept. 26

Haven’t I Heard This Before?

Have you ever been reading something or listening to something and think, I’ve heard that before? This happens to me on Sunday mornings when we read the Psalms: “I’ve heard that verse before.” or “Isn’t that somewhere in the Book of Common Prayer?”

Recently, the last verse of Psalm 19 was Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. This is one of the Opening Sentences for Morning Prayer and it is often used by ministers before they begin their sermons.

These verses from the Psalms are also Opening Sentences for Morning Prayer:

Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name; make known his deeds among the people. (Psalm 96:8)

On this day the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” (Psalm 122:1)

From Evening Prayer:

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him. (Psalm 96:9)

From Morning Prayer and also used as an Offertory Sentence:

Ascribe to the Lord the honor due his Name; bring offerings and come into his courts. (Psalm 96:8)

And, probably one of the most heard verses of a Psalm is Psalm 51:11 which we read on Ash Wednesday and hear quite frequently in music:

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Sometimes it is good to hear things we have heard before!

Bill Wilds

Adult Forum this Sunday: Love is the Way

Join us this Sunday morning at 9:15 a.m. in the Parish Hall for the Adult Forum. We are continuing our six-week series, Love is the Way, led by David Lilley, Anne Kirchmier, and Marc Vance. Click here to see the full schedule for this fall's Forum.

Service of Choral Evensong this Sunday

St. Andrew’s is hosting one of the country’s top church musicians, Robert McCormick, from St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Philadelphia at a service of Choral Evensong Sunday, September 26, at 4:00 PM. He will improvise the prelude and postlude as well as direct the choir. Five organists (three of whom have a connection to St. Andrew’s) will play the accompaniments to the anthems, as the culmination of a Saturday workshop in organ accompanying.

A service of Choral Evensong is just that, a mostly sung service of Evening Prayer. Mr. McCormick’s artistry is the best; a rich experience is promised! (The service will be live-streamed on St. Andrew's Facebook page.)

Blessing of the Animals Oct. 3

Our annual Blessing of the Animals will take place at 1:00 PM on Sunday, October 3 in front of the River Road entrance to the church. Invite your friends and neighbors and bring any of God's creatures, large or small, for a blessing.

Travis Greenman to participate in Q&A panel of Riverside series on Dementia on Oct. 6

Travis Greenman will be participating on the panel for a free interactive webinar to address questions and concerns related to dementia care from 9:30 to 11:00 AM on Wednesday, October 6. To register and submit questions for the panel, go to http://bit.ly/Reg10621.

Response to Racism Team to host Casemate Museum tour

The Response to Racism Team is planning to visit the Casemate Museum, Thursday, October 21, from 2:00 to 3:30 pm. The cost for this guided tour is $5.00 per person. We are extending an invitation to the congregation to join us on our tour. The museum chronicles over 400 years of history of Point Comfort and Fort Monroe. If you would like to attend, please contact Nora Ann Lambiotte at 757-886-0053, no later than October 15 to reserve your space.

Link to "The Social Dilemma" documentary

The Social Dilemma, the documentary Anne mentioned in her sermon on Sunday, can be viewed free on YouTube here.

How you can help with Afghan refugee settlement

Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) is one of the most direct and tangible ways that we – as Episcopalians and as neighbors - embrace the invitation to become a Church that looks and acts like Jesus, by reaching out our hands in love to the dispossessed, displaced, exiled, and marginalized. For over four decades, in times of war, genocide, political persecution, and upheaval, EMM has enabled The Episcopal Church at all levels to welcome and care for God's beloved children, supporting them on their journey as new Americans, our neighbors.

At this moment in history, we face an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, an emergency relocation of our Afghan allies. These are ways you can help EMM respond to this refugee crisis:

Financial support: Considerable funding is needed to support the housing, medical, legal, and other basic needs of the Afghan families we will welcome. Click here to donate.
Prayer: Click here for a prayer list concerning EMM's refugee resettlement ministry.
Pro-bono volunteer support: To address the severe staffing shortages in the face of this crisis, EMM needs short and longer-term pro bono volunteers. At present, one of the top identified needs is for individuals with volunteer coordination, project management, and community organizing experience. Interested and skilled individuals should email [email protected], attaching their CV and briefly explaining their relevant experience.
Community sponsorship: Community sponsors provide volunteer, material, and financial support to welcome their new neighbors. Click here to get more information.

Hungry students from Families in Transition

Apparently, school lunches are not what they used to be and the children from Families in Transition who participate in the after-school tutoring here at St. Andrew’s are usually very hungry when they arrive. In addition to our regular “bring something with you each Sunday” food drive, we would like to invite you to bring snack items once a month (individually wrapped items). There will be a large green rubber basket for these donations in St. Nicholas Chapel which will be emptied each Sunday after the 10:30 service. For those of you who like to bake, homemade cookies and brownies would be a big hit! They can be delivered to the parish office any day of the week except Friday. If you bring your baked goods in a container you would like back, please be sure your name is on the container. It would be helpful if you would package these individually. The students are loving being able to come to St. Andrew’s where they feel safe and protected.

Junior Warden's update

Thank you to those of you who have pointed out building issues that need attention. Your continued feedback is appreciated and helpful in maintaining our facilities.

The exterior of the church and outreach building on Main Street and River Road have been pressure washed. The belltower and overhang for the Main Street entrance have been painted. We are currently soliciting bids for trim repair and replacement of the plexiglass which covers the stained glass windows on the River Road entrance.

Fall landscape clean-up and pruning the tree over the music room are next on the list. Additionally, new blinds for the library and wall repair around all recently installed windows in the library and outreach facility classrooms facing Main Street are to be scheduled.

Enjoy this coming fall season,

Steve Howell

Coffee volunteers needed

Coffee volunteers are needed if you would like to have St. Andy's coffee following the services and at Christian formation. We currently do not have enough volunteers to provide this service. If you like coffee and wish to continue to have fellowship following the services, we need your help. Please contact Nora Ann Lambiotte at 757-886-0053 to sign up.

Receiving Communion while worshipping virtually

If you would like to partake of communion at home while participating in the service virtually, you can call Bill Wilds (880-5460) during the week from 9:00 AM to noon and make an appointment to come and pick up consecrated communion kits for your family to use during the following Sunday’s service.

Please remember to create/designate a “holy place” in your home to store the consecrated Body and Blood between the time you pick it up and Sunday morning.