Circle 4 will return in February

The ladies of Circle 4 and their guests, along with some new faces, enjoyed a Christmas luncheon featuring delicious food at Schooner's and fellowship and laughter aplenty. As Circle 4 looks forward to 2017, its members hope to welcome new ladies into the fold beginning at its next meeting on Tuesday, February 7 at 10 a.m. Learn more about Circle 4 here and watch St. Andrew's weekly eNews and Sunday bulletins for details on the Feb. 7 meeting as the date draws closer.

Honoring veterans at Christmas

We placed over 6000 wreaths on the graves of veterans Dec. 17 in Hampton National Cemetery as part of Wreaths Across America. Thanks to all the volunteers who made this extraordinary effort possible. Thanks to Bill Miles for this wonderful video of that day.

New Vestry members and officers elected

A special thank you to Jay Lambiotte, Sabrina Miles, Ann Turner, Mary Gibson Waddill, and John Whitley for accepting their nominations for the Vestry Class of 2019. Jay, Ann, Mary Gibson and John were elected at our Annual Congregational Meeting on December 11. Should a Vestry seat come open during the year, Sabrina will fill that seat. 

We extend sincere appreciation to Michael Daniels and Mary Neale for their three years of service to the Vestry and St. Andrew's Church, and to John Whitley who was appointed by the Vestry to complete a two-year term.

At their December 12 meeting, the Vestry elected the following officers:
John Whitley, Senior Warden
Doug Vaughan, Junior Warden
Danny Switzer, Assistant Junior Warden
Jim Shamblen, Treasurer
Jim Neff, Assistant Treasurer
Bill Clock, Register

From the Rev. Anne Kirchmier, our new rector

Dear People of St. Andrew’s, 

Blessings and peace to you.  I am honored and humbled by the call to come to St. Andrew’s, and I am very much looking forward to serving in your midst as together we discern and carry out the ministry to which God is calling us.

Already you have given me much to be grateful for.  Thank you for your prayers and kind expressions of condolence to me and my family after my father’s death.  I’m doing okay.  Although I’m sad, of course, mostly I am relieved that Dad is free of his suffering and has entered a new and better life.  I thank God for the sure and certain hope of resurrection. 

I am also grateful to you for your life-giving, soul-renewing gift of a February 1 start date for my ministry at St. Andrew’s.  My focus over the past six weeks has been caring well for the people of St. George’s so that there will be a healthy closure for the parishioners there and for me – allowing them to be open to the ministry of their next priest; and allowing me to be fully available to you when I arrive.  Having December and January as “down” time, with no parish responsibilities, is a tremendous blessing for me.  Not only will I be able to carry out some household and family tasks that I have been pushing onto a very over-filled (!!) back burner for far too long, but also, and more importantly, those two months will provide me with opportunities for prayer and reflection and retreat time.  My February arrival at St. Andrew’s gives me a precious two-month pause in which to catch my breath, get my bearings, and prepare myself for my life and ministry in your midst.  On February 1, you will receive a much better priest than you would if I arrived earlier.  Thank you for that gift.

I have been holding St. Andrew’s in my prayers for many months, ever since you first started your search, and long before I decided to submit my name. (God does indeed work in mysterious ways!)  Know that I continue to hold you in my prayers, asking for God’s blessings for you in this in-between time, and for God’s blessings on our shared ministry in the years to come.  Please hold me in your prayers, too. 

See you in February! 

Faithfully,

Anne +

Together we made a difference at Nottoway Correctional Center

The four-day weekend for Kairos #37 at Nottoway Correctional Center at Burkeville was a blessed event, thanks in large part to the efforts of the St. Andrew's family. the mission of Kairos Prison Ministry is to bring Christ's love and forgiveness to all incarcerated individuals and their families. Visible signs and expression of God's love were brought to the weekend participants in the form of cookies, prayer chains, and posters.

With help from tireless St. Andrew's bakers, the team had over 20,000 cookies with them when they headed to Nottoway on November 10. The prayer chain, bolstered with prayers from our parishioners, was long enough to go halfway around the prison's gymnasium, showing the prisoners that they are not alone. Posters with messages of love and support from the youth helped to cover an entire wall, truly inspiring the participants.

Twenty-seven of the 30 men who signed up for the weekend completed the program. Additionally, we were able to give cookies to the entire prison population of over 1600 inmates. chaplain Ball of Nottoway had this to say: "I want you all to know just how much the cookies meant to the main population and the work center men also. Please thank all the wonderful people who baked the cookies for the walk... This is a great thing that is being done for the men here at Nottoway." The Kairos Nottoway inside team adds their own thank you to all the greater support team here at St. Andrew's - know that together we made a difference at Nottoway Correctional Center.

Matt Deller