In gratitude for our vestry, past and present

Dear friends,

One of the many delights of being your rector is the opportunity to work with the vestry.  In the seven years that I have served at St. Andrew’s I have had the privilege of working with many faithful parishioners, each one offering their gifts for the common good.  We are so blessed by their leadership.
 
As this new vestry begins its service—and especially as we gather for our vestry retreat on February 2 and 3—please keep us in your prayers. I have included below three collects that the 2023 vestry wrote during our retreat last year. They may help to shape your prayers.
 
Vestry service is hard.  There are many decisions to be made, often about complicated or contentious topics.  Vestry members are called to listen carefully, discern prayerfully, and act faithfully.  (Then again, aren’t we all?)
 
Vestry service can also be a source of deep satisfaction and rich growth as members open themselves to God and one another and learn to trust in the Holy Spirit’s presence and guidance. I pray that the vestry and I will indeed open ourselves to God and one another in order serve St. Andrew’s faithfully and well in the coming year.  In fact, I pray that all of us will serve God faithfully and well—clergy, vestry, and parishioners alike. 
 
I am grateful to be part of that endeavor with each of you. 
 
Blessings.  -Anne

2023 vestry collects 

Holy and eternal God, we ask that you help us remain available to your presence so that we may manifest your goodness as we work to build your kingdom in our own hearts, in our church family, in our communities, and in our world. We pray this through Jesus Christ, the living son, Amen.
 
O God who IS, who led Moses out of Egypt, you call us and equip us with a variety of gifts.  May we use them for the common good to serve St. Andrew’s, our communities, the world, and you.  Through your empowering Spirit, we pray.  Amen. 
 
Father Almighty, we ask for your nurture and guidance so that we may lift the burden of others and further love, peace and respect for all people.  Through Jesus’s teachings, we pray.  Amen.

The Art of Being Still

I've devoted a fair amount of attention over the years (at least trying) to cultivating some semblance of spiritual quiet and stillness.  Besides annual retreat, most often in a monastic setting, and an on-again-off-again practice of tai chi, I've read Introduction to Emptiness by Guy Newland, Quiet Mind by David Kundtz, The Little Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo, Doing Nothing by Steven Harrison, The Art of Doing Nothing by Veronique Nienne, George Prochnik's In Pursuit of Silence and Erling Kagge's Silence in the Age of Noise, and just recently received a copy of The Lost Art of Silence by Sarah Anderson, as well as a whole host of other such readings, including even How to Sit, by Thich Nhat Hanh.

In all of these, it might seem that I'm searching for ways to get away with doing as little possible, but it actually is just the opposite.  As Pico Iyer put it in The Art of Stillness, "Stillness has nothing to do with settledness or statis," but "the point of gathering stillness is...to bring that calm into the motion, the commotion of life."  It's like going on retreat: the point is not to withdraw for withdrawal's sake, but like Jesus (e.g. Matthew 14:23, Luke 5:16), to withdraw for a time in order to renew one's self and so be able to serve more effectively.  A daily practice of stillness makes it all the more possible to have the energy and focus to do what needs to be done and not diffuse energy and focus on distractions.
 
It is a new year, full of peril, full of possibility.  I think time and energy is best served by focusing on possibility!  As Hanh notes, in order to bring a little stillness into the commotion of the day/life, "The first thing to do is to stop whatever else you are doing," then focus on your breathing, then become aware of ("mindful" is the word most often used) and grateful for the incredible gift of being alive.  As this new year continues to unfold, I intend to further nurture the deeper understanding of stillness/silence in order to be able to continue to serve St. Andrew's as well as I can, keeping in mind the wisdom with which Iyer closed his short treatise: In an age of speed, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow.  In an age of distraction, nothing can feel more luxurious than paying attention.  And in an age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still.

— Marc Vance, Associate Rector

Be the light

The season of Epiphany has always been one of my favorites, the twelve days of Christmas behind us, and a new year ahead. The stories of Jesus being revealed---and recognized---- in his divinity. From the visit of the Magi to the Transfiguration, Jesus  is being recognized for who He is.  As He teaches to large crowds, He proclaims to the people assembled to let their lights shine, so that others will see their good works which will glorify  their Father in heaven. These are the words that summon us to be generous as the offertory is announced. These are the words that invite us to go beyond a tithe, or a generous check.

You are the light of the world!  Jesus tells the people on the hillside who have gathered to see this man who it is hoped is the long awaited Messiah,

You are the light of the world !  the Gospel proclaims even to us in this day and time, in the dark days of our calendar year, soon to be lengthened by longer days of light during Lent. So many people in need, evidenced by the swelling numbers , visible to us as we make room for the people served by PORT.

So many disenfranchised people on the margins of our city, homeless, hungry, in need of mental health and medical care, and a warm bed, but so few resources available.

We answer that call as we can, and are privileged to do so, but even more so if we take the time to hear their stories and break bread with our guests at breakfast each day, before they go back out into the world. Bread keeps our bodies going, but friendships, relationships carry the bonus for each of us to give hope, validation and change  lives.

Be the light.

When the song of the Angels is stilled.

When the star in the sky is gone.

When the kings and princes are home.

When the shepherds are back with their flock.

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost.

To heal the broken.

To feed the hungry.

To release the prisoner.

To rebuild the nations

To bring peace among others.

To make music in the heart. 

---Howard Thurman

 

Kathy Gray, Deacon

Longing for the light

Every January, when January 6th finally marks the end of the Christmas season, I immediately miss the YouTube playlists that had been on loop for the past two weeks (James’s is characterized by Vince Guaraldi and Gene Autry, mine by King’s College and *NSYNC). I lament that December is the only month of the year where a large portion of the population gathers around the shared love of a specific group of songs. Even Americans who don’t celebrate Christmas know the first verse of “Joy to the World,” or other secular Christmas classics like “Frosty the Snowman.” When my first child was about one year old I decided to make an Epiphany playlist for our long rides back and forth together to Norfolk. I was determined I could create a collection of songs that would become standard for our family, year after year, just like Christmas.

It didn’t pan out as successfully as I hoped. Turns out  “We Three Kings” is the only Epiphany hymn that has any decent recordings of it. No good recordings of “Brightest and Best” or… can you name any other “standard” Epiphany hymns off the top of your head? (Choir, you are not allowed to answer!)

Maybe it’s time to think outside the We-Three-Kings box if we want to have more Epiphany standards. We often think of Epiphany as just being about kings and stars, but the lectionary of the whole season encourages us to look for light in the dark. Where is God shining a light right now, and how can we be that light for others?
 
And so, I offer the best of my 2017 Epiphany Playlist for your reflection (or amusement?). You’ll be able to find all of these on YouTube or Apple Music. Who knows, maybe we’ll start a movement!
 
Shine, Jesus, Shine, recorded by The Faith Crew
This is already a well-known hymn and this recording will have you on your feet, ready to dance (and spread the light of Christ) in a flash.
 
Midnight Special
Refrain: Let the midnight special shine a light on me.
“Midnight Special” has its roots in the African American community in the post Civil War South. It became a national sensation in the 1960s by artists like Creedence Clearwater Revival. The Midnight Special is the name of a passenger train, and the song is about people (originally, African American men) facing injustice and wishing the train would pick them up and carry them to a better place.
 
Christ, Be Our Light, by Bernadette Farrell
“Christ, Be Our Light,” has been in several major denominational hymnals since it was published in 1993. I hope we’re next!
Verse one: Longing for light, we wait in darkness. Longing for truth, we turn to you. Make us your own, your holy people, light for the world to see.
 
This Little Light of Mine, recorded by Sam Cooke
Another hymn standard that should be an Epiphany staple. Sam Cooke was a Gospel singer-turned-pop-sensation, with billboard hits in the 50’s and 60’s you know. This recording will inspire us adults to think of this song as more than just a song from our Vacation Bible School days.
 
What have I missed? What songs about light made it onto your Epiphany playlist? Wherever you are–longing for light or ready to shine it–I wish you a blessed and holy Epiphany.
 
Ginny Chilton, Minister of Music