Please pray for the Kairos Team

The Kairos Team from St. Andrew's (Matt Deller, Joe DuRant, Brad Norris) wish to thank all who helped in the preparations for this coming weekend (Nov. 14-17) at Nottoway Correctional Center. Lives are definitely changed for the better.

I remember one young guy, may 20 years old - he told me he had attended Warwick High School - looked at the cookies on the table and wanted to know where they came from. I told him that the people from different churches made them for the people attending the weekend. "They made them for us?" he said. "Yes," I replied. We let that sink in for a moment.

Later in the weekend, the same young man said, "I ain't never done nothin' to make my mama proud." Whereupon he wept. Later, he said that his mother had told him she was proud of him for participating in the weekend. Kairos makes an impact.

Please pray for the residents and the team!

Brad Norris
Minister of Music

Second round of Outreach Grants awarded

At its October 27 quarterly meeting, the Outreach Team voted to disburse the remainder of the funds ($5,025) allocated to it by the vestry for this calendar year in the following ways.

$40 to Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church - This donation helps defray costs of coffee and other supplies for the host church where we will be serving in December.

$485 to GraceInside - In Virginia, prison chaplains are not state employees and must depend on private donations and fundraising to pay their salaries.  This donation fits hand-in-hand with our KAIROS mission.  https://graceinside.org/

$500 to LINK/PORT - LINK is a non-profit, volunteer organization founded in 1990 and committed ever since to ending the cycle of poverty through a variety of different programs.  This donation will make an immediate impact as LINK prepares for the challenges of helping the underprivileged and homeless, particularly as we approach the colder months of the year, and the PORT program begins its 27th year of serving the peninsula.  http://www.linkhr.org/

$1000 to THRIVE Peninsula - a non-profit organization committed to assisting Virginia Peninsula families and individuals through difficult times.  Much of this money may be spent to fill the food pantry which functions more like a grocery store where those needing assistance can "shop" for food items.  http://thrivepeninsula.org/

$1000 to the Bishop of South Sudan - Our own Rev. Anne Kirchmier and her husband, Rev. Dr. John Herbst, remain close friends with one of Anne's seminary classmates who is now the Bishop of South Sudan.  The Rt. Rev. Joseph Garang Atem has started a microfinance project in his Renk Diocese, and this money will support that mission. For more information about Bishop Joseph and his diocese (formed in 2017), go to https://www.episcopalchicago.org/at-work-in-the-world/global-mission/diocese-of-renk) 

$1000 to the Bishop of the Bahamas - Hurricane Dorian hit the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama on Saturday, 31 August and Sunday, 1 September as a category 5 monster storm, unprecedented and extensive.  The actual damage is incomprehensible: tens of miles of infrastructure, thousands of buildings decimated and hundreds of acres of cropland destroyed.  It will take years to rebuild both islands. The most heartbreaking thing is the humanitarian crisis with more than 65,000 people in upheaval or displaced, suffering and anguished. This reality will cause mass evacuation as the wounded economy terrain cannot sustain the current population. As a response to The Rt. Rev. Laish Boyd's (Bishop of the Bahamas) appeal, we disburse these funds and hope they can assist in providing desperately needed relief in such a devastated area.  http://bahamaspress.com/2019/09/08/bishop-boyd-calls-on-the-church-to-keep-prayerful-in-the-aftermath-of-hurricane-dorian-as-parishes-organize-one-of-the-greatest-moves-to-the-recovery-of-people-on-grand-bahama-and-abaco/

$1000 to remain in place to help cover shipping/handling costs for items to be shipped to schools or other organizations as determined by the Building Implementation Team. Many school-related items remain in the building awaiting final decisions regarding where they will be sent.  If we learn, for example, that Holy Cross Anglican School in Belize can use some of these items, we want to have the funding available to ensure that these donations can reach their recipients without any additional requirements for covering shipping and handling costs. Specific information will be shared as decisions are made regarding how and where to donate remaining school items.

If you'd like more information about any of the above organizations (or would like to make an individual donation), please contact a member of the Outreach Team.

In Honor of Veterans Day

Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad.

Before landing, we circled rock islands which protruded the calm South China Sea.  How could this peaceful beauty be a war zone?  Yes, there was a beauty to the rough rocks that sat scattered in a sea which sparkled in the bright sunlight.  And so too, was there beauty to the mountains, rice paddies, gleaming beaches, and bright-eyed children.

Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace;

We landed at an open airfield, two miles in length, surrounded by hangars, planes, and miles of barbed wire.  It would be several months before hamlet and camp names would be learned and before we would see the jet still embedded on the side of Monkey Mountain.

strengthen them in their trials and temptations;

For those going to the U. S. Naval Support Activity, our first sights of welcome would be jeeps, tar paper houses with tin roofs held down by old tires, motorbikes, water buffalo, black silk pajamas, straw hats, green and camouflaged fatigues, staring children’s faces, trash, sandbags, more barbed wire, and a brilliant clear sky.  DaNang, once a city of 35,000, that day knew close to a quarter of a million, including a plane load of 160 new arrivals.

give them courage to face the perils which beset them;

That first ride, in what can only be described as cattle cars, ended in front of a white-washed building, erected by the French many years before, with a fence of painted white chains and mortar-shells.  We would not get specific assignments until the next day; but that night we would know the meaning of “red alert” and hear the distant sounds of firing artillery.  And while not that night, there would be nights when the ground shook.

and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

May 2, 1969 is but a memory.  During the period from May 1971 through September 1972, I was stationed at the Bureau of Naval Personnel in Washington, D.C., where I would write orders for other Naval personnel to go to the Republic of Vietnam, some at the direction of the United States Navy and others at their own request. 

When I first wrote my thoughts, on the 20^th anniversary of having been to Vietnam, I closed with, “May such a time never be experienced again.”  If this were only true.  Amen.

Bill Wilds

Photo: Bill Wilds, Christmas 1969, US Naval Support Activity, DaNang, Vietnam

What's next?

Now that Lorna has followed God's call to Philadelphia, what happens next here at St. Andrew's? That is a very important question, one that the Vestry is prayerfully addressing. As you no doubt have noticed, the lay of the land here at St. Andrew's has changed since we called Lorna: the school has closed, and we have begun using our building as a multipurpose outreach facility. With the Engaging the Climb Team, we have started exploring new ways of being church. Meanwhile, many things have not changed: our commitment to serving God; our ongoing Sunday morning worship; our provision of pastoral care to those in need; our ministries to children and youth; our outreach in our community and beyond.

Over the next few months, the Vestry's task is to discern and clarify the nature and shape of the position(s) we hope to fill: part-time or full-time? Clergy or lay? Responsible for children and youth; pastoral care; and /or outreach facility leadership and management? Or some other combination?

While the Vestry is engaged in the holy task of discernment, we as a congregation are blessed with gifted, faithful parishioners who are stepping forward to fill in gaps created by Lorna's departure. Raven Cadena and Nick Clark are running the EYC. Liz Rous, Allie Wittkamp, and Karen Waddill are taking the lead with Children's Chapel. Our talented staff are graciously taking on additional responsibilities, such as overseeing the Safe Church Training implementation. The Rev. Carol Chamberlain, Travis Greenman, John Herbst, and Jason Knudeson have volunteered to help with worship services. In addition to our hardworking Pastoral Care Team, the Rev. Bruce Cheney is helping Anne with hospital and homebound visits. Please take time to thank these folks. We are very blessed.

This in-between time is challenging, but it is also a gift: an opportunity for us to pause and take a clear-eyed view at our current circumstances, vision, and needs - and then to act accordingly. Faithful discernment takes prayer and time. I as for your prayers for the Vestry in our work of discernment; for our parish in this time of transition and listening; and for all who so generously lead and serve in this place. may God bless and guide us.

Faithfully,
Anne+

Why we "do" Halloween

In recent years, St. Andrew's parishioners have had a great time on Halloween night in Hilton Village. According to the online publication, Our Community Now:

"Hilton Village is by far the most widely acclaimed top contender for 757 trick-or-treating. Every year, this historic neighborhood with closely-nestled houses swaps its suburban complacency for festive decorations, gorgeous light shows, smiling families, and huge cauldrons full of candy at every house (and church!) from Main Street to River Road -- just follow the throngs of families and the squeals of 'trick or treat!'"

Let's face it, Halloween has become a big deal in our society. For St. Andrew's parishioners, participating in Halloween is about having fun, but because we are located in a safe neighborhood, children from other areas come in cars, vans, and even buses to trick or treat here - 1000 of them at least! We try to do things a little differently. Yes, we give out small bags of candy with a note that says,

"From our family to yours... We hope you have a safe and joyful time trick or treating!"

But we also hand out children's books and other trinkets, we allow the use of our restrooms (a VERY appreciated gesture!), have coffee in the lobby for parents, and, most importantly, try to briefly engage with parents and their children by greeting them with a smile, complimenting their costumes, and wishing them a safe and fun-filled night.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed candy so far! It has allowed us to get a head start on preparing all those treat bags. If you want to have a memorable Halloween experience, join us on Main Street beginning at 5:30 p.m. to hand out treats and extend a hand of friendship to our community.

Rachel Roby