St. Andrew's welcomes our new rector!

On Sunday, February 5, St. Andrew's welcomed our new rector, the Rev. Anne Kirchmier, and her husband, John Herbst. Naturally, there was a party to celebrate!

St. Andrew's honors first responders

If you were at St. Andrews on Sunday, January 31, you were exploding with pride and love. Our First Responder's Community Event was a resounding success thanks to you! Our staff, our volunteers, our cooks and our first responders joined for a special worship service featuring Kathy Gray's magnificent message of appreciation and gratitude and the presentation of St. Michael medals to our guests. Every word in every hymn sounded hand selected for the occasion. Our Brunswick stew luncheon followed and over 100 parishioners joined with our first responder guests for a delicious welcoming meal. During the luncheon members of our parish delivered lunches to police and fire fighters on duty that day. This was truly a community event and the members of St. Andrews formed a dynamic team to make it happen. 

Shine bright!

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works 

and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 5:16

Our parish light is shining so brightly that we going to need to give The Rev. Anne Kirchmier a pair of sunglasses when she arrives for her first day at St. Andrew’s.  Everyone, congregation, staff, and our school, has been working very hard to have everything ready and in the best possible shape when she begins her leadership of our church.  There is a feeling of excitement and joyful anticipation right now.  Sometimes I wonder if I’m in a Disney movie and I’ll come in to work one morning to find squirrels, mice, and birds singing and cleaning. 

It’s not just the physical environment that is shining; it is also every aspect of parish life.  Anne is going to find St. Andrew’s at its very best and ready for her leadership.  She will be able to spend her first few months getting to know us rather than dealing with big problems.  If you want to capture some of your light, you can contribute stories about your experience at St. Andrew’s to a notebook that Jen is compiling for Anne. 

She will find a faithful parish of energetic Christians, a loving community living out the Gospel.  We will let our light shine before her so that she will see our good works.  And, we will all give glory to our Father in heaven.

Elizabeth Koerner

Interim Minister of Youth & Children

Letter of Thanks for our Turkey Sandwich Day project

Dear Parishioners of St. Andrew's,

This year we were fortunate to provide Christmas gifts, toiletry bags, new book bags with school supplies, and new coats, hats and mittens for over 400 men, women and children. The guest then went to Youth Challenge and were given homemade lunches at the reception. Even Santa came to bring a special cheer for so many children who cannot afford to visit him at the mall. All of this was possible in part due to your generous contribution. Your generosity was a special blessing for so man people.

We cannot thank you all enough for your hard work to prepare the bag lunches for our guests. They loved them!! Your contribution helped make this special event happen.

We hope to see you again next year and may this New Year be filled with many blessings of peace, hope and love.

In gratitude,
Ellen Williams
Downtown Christmas Coordinator
St. Vincent DePaul Church

Downtown Christmas at St. Vincent DePaul

Welcome celebration for our new rector

Sunday, February 5

The day we have all been waiting for is almost here! Our new rector, the Rev. Anne Kirchmier, will be here for her first Sunday with us on February 5. We hope everyone will join us at a welcome reception for Anne and her husband, John Herbst, immediately following the 10:30 service. Be sure to wear your nametag!

Photo: Anne and John in Lisbon