When can we regather for in-person worship?

 Dear friends,

I know that this question is very much on everyone’s mind. We are so tired of the pandemic and of all the ways that it is affecting our lives, especially in terms of limiting our ability to be together in person for worship. I don’t have a specific answer to the question of when we can regather, but I can share with you one of the major considerations affecting the decision. 

 

We know that those of us who are vaccinated and boosted are still capable of getting and spreading Covid, and that the recent upsurge of the virus is taxing the health care system. A recent communication from our Diocesan Health Advisory Panel asked church leaders to monitor the capacity of local healthcare facilities to receive and treat patients. As of January 26, Riverside hospital has 7 times as many hospitalized Covid patients as it had a month ago, the emergency department is packed, and there is a severe blood shortage that is adversely impacting the hospital’s ability to provide patients with the usual level of treatment. 

 

In short, our local healthcare facility is struggling right now, and one way we can help the situation is to refrain from putting ourselves into situations that might further spread Covid. The good news—and there is good news—is that the numbers are actually getting better; Riverside has 40 fewer Covid patients right now than it did at its worst point a few weeks ago.

 

So I keep praying, as I’m sure you do, too. I pray for the Covid numbers to decrease so that our lives can return to normal; and I pray for all those affected in every way by this pandemic, especially the staff and patients at Riverside and all of our local medical facilities.

 

Blessings. - Anne

Worship moves to online only

Bishop Haynes, in consultation with the Diocesan Health Advisory Panel, has notified all churches in the Diocese of Southern Virginia that effective immediately, public worship is suspended. (Click here to read the Bishop's message.)

• There will be no Wednesday service on January 5. This service is suspended until further notice.
• All group meetings and gatherings are suspended until further notice.
• Fellowship Groups should postpone any gatherings until at least February.
• Beginning this Sunday, January 9, there will be one virtual service at 10:30 AM on Sunday mornings. You can watch the service live and the recording will be available to watch later. A link to the Sunday service will be emailed to you on Sunday mornings. 
• There will be two ways to receive communion. You can call or text Bill Wilds, 757-880-5460 weekdays between 9 AM and noon, to pick up communion kits to use while watching the service. Alternatively, a member of the clergy will be outside the River Road entrance to the church from 11:30 to 12:00 to give communion.
• Offerings can be mailed in, or placed in the mailbox outside the Main Street entrance.

As the pace of coronavirus transmission accelerates, driven by the omicron and delta variants, safeguarding public health and mitigating the risk of COVID transmission becomes a Christian imperative. Our baptismal covenant to seek and serve Christ in all persons and respect the dignity of every human being is central to our commitment as Christians and lies at the heart of our response to the threat the pandemic poses.

COVID Reflections

Dear friends,

Blessings to each of you as 2022 begins!  I pray that you feel God’s presence with you in this and every moment, and I continue to pray for God’s help and guidance as we navigate the pandemic.

As you probably know, Covid infection rates are expected to rise through most of January.  At the moment, it appears that the omicron variant is more contagious than the delta variant but less likely to lead to serious illness.  Meanwhile, both variants are still spreading.  Marc, the wardens, Joel Duregger (our Health and Safety Officer), and I meet weekly to monitor the situation.  We pay close attention to CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/) and diocesan guidelines (http://www.diosova.org/congregation_res/article467662.htm). 

For all of us—as individuals, as family members, as church leaders—decisions about Covid are very difficult, and we are mindful that our parishioners, like everyone else in the world, have a wide variety of opinions about how best to deal with the pandemic.  We are grateful for your patience and understanding.  As long as CDC and diocesan guidance doesn’t dictate otherwise, we plan to continue to offer in-person worship.  Meanwhile, we will continue to provide online worship, and we encourage everyone to choose the kind of service that best suits their needs and situation.  We also recommend that everyone eligible get both the vaccine and the booster. 

Given the current situation, we have made some changes to our protocols at St. Andrew’s.  As of January 1, 2022: 

• Everyone should be masked inside the building at all times except when alone in a closed room.
• Individuals and families should practice social distancing inside the building, including during worship (pews will be marked).

Friends, as much as we might have hoped otherwise, we know that Covid will be with us as we move into this new year.  Blessedly, and even more importantly, Jesus is also going to continue to be with us.  During the Christmas season we celebrate the coming of God into our very midst, into the brokenness and suffering of the world.  May the knowledge that Jesus is with you, even in the middle of the pandemic, bring your comfort, strength, and hope. 

Blessings. 

- Anne

Turtles and Christmas

Dear friends,

I saw an article in the paper the other day about turtle hatchlings in Nags Head, NC. It turns out that baby turtles instinctively head toward light when they first come above ground. They follow the downward slope of the beach and the light of moon and stars to reach the sea. 

 

But when turtle hatchlings crawl out of their nests near brightly-lit buildings, they get confused and can head in the wrong direction and miss out on the ocean altogether. So Dominion Energy and the Town of Nags Head are currently collaborating, installing amber LED lighting at beach accesses to guide those little turtles safely to their ocean home. 

 

What does that have to do with Christmas? you may be wondering. Well... Like those little turtles, we human beings were created to follow a certain light, but we too can easily get turned around, tempted by other blazes and beams that we mistake for the light we actually were created to seek: Jesus Christ, the light of the world. 

 

The gospel of John tells us that Jesus is the true light, the light which enlightens everyone. And at Christmas we celebrate the coming of that light into our world. I look forward to celebrating Christ’s birth with you, and I very much hope that you will take part in one or more of our upcoming Christmas services:

 

Christmas Eve – December 24:

As we gather as the family of God this year at 4:30 PM, we will hear of the birth of Jesus Christ as it is written in the Gospel according to Luke and as it is told in the children’s homily; sing our favorite Christmas carols, led by our Adult Choir; and light candles representing the baby Jesus as the Light of the World.

 

Christmas Day – December 25:

There will be a traditional Christmas Day service at 10:30 AM. As part of our ongoing Peninsula Ministry Partnership collaboration, we have invited the Rev Phillip Shearin and the parishioners of St. Augustine’s and St. George’s to join us.

 

The First Sunday after Christmas – December 26:

There will be one service, Lessons and Carols with Holy Eucharist, at 10:30 AM. This year’s lessons will focus on the Incarnation, from Old Testament prophecies to New Testament reflections, interspersed with Christmas music.

As is customary here at St. Andrew’s, Christmas offering envelopes will be available in the church narthex. You can also make your Christmas offering online here.

Wherever you are in your faith journey this Christmas: just beginning and wondering where the light is; attracted to Jesus’ light but wearied by the journey; steadfastly and joyously marching toward the light; or anywhere in between---wherever you are, I pray that God’s gift to us of his own Son, come to earth in the fragile form of the baby Jesus, will fill your heart with light and guide you in God’s good path. And I pray also that we as a faith community will continue our work together to help our parishioners and those beyond our doors to seek, know, and follow Christ, the one true light.

Light and blessings.  

- Anne

We are stewards

Dear friends,

I once had a parishioner whose husband’s family had lived in the same big house for generations. He and his father had both grown up there, and perhaps his grandfather had, too. My parishioner moved in as a young bride and was in her 60s when I knew her. Every time she and her husband had to make a decision about household improvements or repairs, they did so with an eye to the future the home would have as the abode of loved ones when they themselves were no longer alive. My parishioner saw herself and her husband as stewards, caretakers of something precious that did not in the end belong to them.

I think about that parishioner every autumn during pledge season. She understood stewardship at a gut level because she and her husband lived it every day. The treasure they had received was not ultimately theirs; just as the husband’s family had done for generations, they cheerfully worked as caretakers for the benefit of those who would come after them.

You and I are stewards, too. All that we have comes to us as a gift from our loving God; and ultimately we will not be taking any of it with us. Our pledges to St. Andrew’s for the coming year are a way for us to invest in the future not only of our beloved building and grounds but also—and more importantly—in the future of the people who will worship here in years to come, and of the people beyond our doors whom we and they will serve in Christ’s name. 

I am grateful to be stewarding St. Andrew’s alongside each of you. Mindful of the many blessings in our lives and of the call to be good stewards, John and I will be increasing our pledge for the coming year. I hope you’ll consider doing the same.

Blessings.

Anne