The Gratitude of Our Hearts

In this month of November, not only do we think of Thanksgiving, but with All Saints Day at the beginning of the month, we also give thanks for the heroic witness of the saints through the ages.  The saints dedicated their lives to the service of God, proclaiming by word and example the good news of God in Christ (as we say in our Baptismal Covenant).   We tend to think of the saints as those whose lives were exemplary, but if you take even a cursory look at the lives of the saints you'll see that the reason they are examples is that, to a person, the saints had very human lives, yet were able to overcome their human foibles and witness to God's good news in Christ in unique ways.  In older versions of Lesser Feasts and Fasts, several guidelines are given for inclusion of saints on the church calendar for special commemoration.  These guidelines (with definitions) include: heroic faith, love, goodness of life, joyousness, service to others for Christ's sake, devotion, recognition by the faithful, and historical perspective.  Doesn't sound too difficult, does it?  The thing about the saints, given their very humanness, is that they really are great examples of how ordinary people can do something realistic with their lives, not only to talk about, but to actually live by our words to show with the example of our lives the gratitude of our hearts.   --Marc

2023 Pledge Campaign: We are the hands and feet of Christ

How does St. Andrew’s empower God’s transforming love in our lives, the church, and the world, and why it is important to give?

“Christ has no body now but yours.  No hands, no feet on Earth but yours.  Yours are the eyes through which he looks out his compassion on this world.  Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.  Yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now.  Christ has no body on Earth but yours.”  -- Saint Teresa of Avila
 
At St. Andrew’s we believe and have committed to “Building God’s kingdom through worship, outreach, and fellowship.”  We actively participate in over 19 internal and outreach ministries to fulfill that commitment to each other, our community, and throughout the world.  As Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has often reminded us, “If it's not about love, then it’s not about God.” 
 
Through our gifts of time and resources given through our love for each other, our neighbors, and those less fortunate, we become the hands and feet of Christ.  We are given the opportunity to show God’s love through both word and deed.  It is through faithful stewardship that we are able to continue worshiping in our church, reaching out to a hurting and needy world, and bonding together in love and fellowship.
 
Al Roby

Daily life in our parish

 

Since taking the job as music minister at St. Andrew’s I’ve been pondering the meaning of the word “parish.” Traditionally, a parish is a geographical space, and, within that space, there is a church that serves the people. More recently, though, “parish” is used to refer simply to a church and its members.

It has been a lofty dream of mine, since I started in music ministry twenty years ago, to eventually live, work, and worship in the same place. I wanted to put down deep roots in a specific place, make its people my people, and find a holistic sense of God’s call to my life and ministry.

Now that dream is a reality here in Newport News. With school, work, and church, James and I realized we travel on foot six, sometimes seven, days a week to the corner of River Road and Main Street. That gives me plenty of time to ponder, step by step (and, trust me, small children will stop and notice every detail on your walk, no matter how often you do it!) what God has called me to be in this slice of the world that is, in the old-fashioned sense, the “parish” that St. Andrew’s serves. As I plan music for each Sunday–a practice that is a lovely combination of prayer and artistry for me–I have in my mind the faces of friends here in the pews at St. Andrew’s, as well as the people we walk to school with, the anxious faces of parents dropping their children at school on weekday mornings, and the faces of older neighbors who stop for a rest on our benches outside. These swirling thoughts gently settled a few weeks ago when the choir sang Hymn 347, “Go forth for God; go,” by John Peacey. Each stanza speaks to ways we bring what we have received in worship to the outside world. Here is the last stanza and it is my prayer to you this week as you go about your own daily life in our “parish”-- our slice of Newport News. (The words alone do not do it justice without Erik Routley’s tune and harmonization. I encourage you to look it up on YouTube.)

Go forth for God; go to the world in joy;

To serve God’s people every day and hour,

And serving Christ, our every gift employ,

Rejoicing in the Holy Spirit’s power.

In gratitude and love,

Ginny

The hope of autumn

Autumn has always been a difficult time for me. In my childhood it usually meant starting over in a new place, as an unknown, filling me with anxiety as a faced uncertainty and a new school, with my nomadic military family.

As so much of the earth goes into hibernation, with leaves falling, and the colder days, the new beginnings seem like a paradox -- new school years, program years in churches kicking off, new budgets in response to stewardship drives. It's almost a death and resurrection scenario. The earth dies and we are called to rise up with so much newness.

A new liturgical year is also within view, as Year C comes to a close and Year A looms in our future, just as all signs of life in nature are muted by the season, and we go from autumn to winter.

The hope I find in this year's transition is a coming back together in corporate worship, the sounds of children's voices, and the patter of little feet as they join us in worship after Children's Chapel. Their excitement, often unbridled, and spontaneity, their hands stretched out with curiosity and joy at the altar rail as they receive a blessing or the sacrament.

Yes, it's another new beginning for St. Andrew's. Let us embrace all of it, the uncertainty, the losses, and fresh new life and new lives to live among us, as we strive to answer God's call to us, the call to be made new, to become more, and perhaps to be made whole.

Kathy

2023 Pledge Campaign: Transforming love

St. Andrew’s brought transforming love into my life at an important time, helping me and my family to navigate life's challenges while my daughters grew up.  I'm now in a position where I can give back to others through the Church.  Our outreach ministry work at St. Andrew’s empowers me to share this transforming love with others, work that is funded by the generous support of our parishioners and friends. 

Jesus promised His disciples that “Where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them.” Through outreach, we together have been able to bring Jesus’ love to disadvantaged school children in our city; the homeless of our community; our brothers and sisters in prison; and to those who are hungry, transforming for natural disasters, or fleeing from conflict, whether they are located here in Virginia or across the globe.  Help St. Andrew’s to continue to carry forward the mission of the Church in our world today with your pledge!
 
Thank you,
Matt Deller

2023 Pledge Campaign: How God uses St. Andrew's to empower transforming love in my life, and why making a pledge an important part of sharing this love

 Life is a journey. You must put “God” in your journey just as He put you in His plan. You were divinely appointed! This is an empowering tool to know you are not alone and you are loved. We are given many choices in life and God urges us to choose His way and His path for transforming love, true life, and inner peace. We are not spared or immune from suffering and grief in life’s journey.

During the chaos in this uncertain world, by knowing Jesus Christ and choosing God’s path, we will be transformed and empowered by His love to experience “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). We are in safe keeping with God’s love and promised a place in His home, Heaven.
 
St. Andrew’s is a vessel bringing us closer to God just like daily prayer and devotionals. The church is a way we can serve God by worshipping “together” like family where no one is a stranger. St. Andrew’s gives me an opportunity to help and serve our congregants as well as our local community as we would our own family with love.
 
No one should ever be a stranger to God’s Love because our journey with the Lord will lead us to heaven. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10). On October 9, my son, Chad, and other confirmands will be presented to the bishop, they will be committing to God to be free from our old paths to choose His path and His love. St. Andrew’s will empower and transform your life as you are walking with God every day. I invite you to pledge publicly or privately to love God deeper here at St. Andrew’s. God’s love is where the true journey in life begins!

In Christ's love,
Laura Abbitt