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Shining the LightWelcoming. Growing. Caring. All with Joyous Hearts.
Announcements for June 10, 2020
THIS SUNDAY ATST. ANDREW'S
June 14, 2020
Second Sunday afterPentecost
Click Here to Join Us
Virtually at 10:00am forSunday Worship
READINGS FORSUNDAY:
First Reading: Romans 5:1-8
Gospel:
Matthew 9:35-10:8(9-23)
READERS FOR THISSUNDAY:
Dave Smith
Claire Jones
FROM OUR RECTOR: THE REV. DOROTA WRIGHT-PRUSKI Dear ones,
In times of grief, distress, and heartache, we gather. In a pre-Covid world, we would gather to pray, to hug, to eat, and totalk. Now, our gatherings look different, but when processingpain and struggle, we can and must gather nonetheless.
Black and brown children of God are dying, and we mustgather. Some of us are gathering in person, in public, toprotest and march. Some of us are gathering on the phonewith family or friends to speak and listen. Some of us aregathering with church communities over Zoom to pray andseek God's help. All of this is important. There are many goodways to gather together right now.
One way we will gather at St. Andrew's is by offering ourprayers in a visible way. On June 25th, the one-monthanniversary of George Floyd's death, we will line our churchproperty with luminaries, that is, white paper bags lit withLED tea lights. The bags will be decorated with your prayersand drawings, and will be lit for as many nights as weatherpermits, beginning on the 25th. We are inviting neighboringchurches to do the same on their properties, and we will havea handout of prayers available for anyone who wishes to walkalong the lit path in the evening.
To make this prayerful public witness possible, we needyour help. Starting this Friday, white bags will be availableoutside the church office for you to take home and decorate.Each household is invited to take 2-3 bags. Write your prayerson the bags. Write the names of those you wish to rememberon the bags. Decorate the bags as you wish. Then, bring yourbags back to St. Andrew's no later than noon on Thursday,June 25 so that our team of volunteers can set them up beforesunset. If you are able to help with setting out and lighting theluminaries, please email me.
We will not formally gather at a specific time on the eveningof June 25 for safety reasons, but we do invite you toprayerfully walk through (wearing a mask, keeping distancefrom one another) after sunset on the 25th, or on any daythrough the end of June, unless weather forces us to removethe luminaries sooner. Prayer handouts will be made available
St. Andrew's EpiscopalChurch
The Rev. DorotaWright-Pruski, Rector
Quick Links:
St. Andrew's Website
::
for your walk.
I give thanks for you, St. Andrew's, for this opportunity togather with you in prayer, and for your companionship on thislong journey toward healing and hope.
With love,Rev. Dorota+
TONIGHT: TIME FOR REFLECTION, FOLLOWED BYCOMPLINE Tonight before we gather for Compline, all are invited to atime of reflection and conversation at 8:00 p.m. During thistime of conversation, those who wish to share theirexperiences, thoughts, prayers, hopes, and fears aboutracism, privilege, and protest are welcome to do so--not todebate ideas, but to share experiences and process feelings.Those who wish to join are asked to arrive on time so we canmake full use of the 30 minutes we have together. Anyonejoining after 8:05 p.m. will be kept in the waiting room untilCompline begins at 8:30 p.m.
We will be using Zoom's virtual waiting room feature topreserve the intimacy of the conversation at 8:00 p.m. Thismeans that those arriving early for Compline will not interruptthe conversation but rather will be put in a waiting room until8:30 p.m., at which point they will be admitted to the service.
Tonight's Zoom link for both the 8:00 p.m. reflection and 8:30p.m. Compline is our regular St. Andrew's worship link. All arewelcome to share in this sacred space.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR INTERN, CELAL
Dear St. Andrew's,
Before my start date, last Sunday's worship, Dorota asked if Iwould like to join a conversation on the protests and complineon Wednesday at St. Andrew's. I accepted because I wanted tohear from you all and share some of my feelings. It has beenhard to talk about these issues in a bigger group right now,especially if one does not want to get into a Facebook debatewith a distant relative or random acquaintance. Yet, we areall hurting from what is going on, shaken from the video ofGeorge Floyd's killing as well as the footage of protests andpolice response to them. The conversation Wednesday nightwas open and raw. Dorota started the conversation byreminding us to assume good intentions. The words to describewhat is going on with us through this time are not going to beperfect. The racial wound has not healed. We are witnessingit openly bleeding. But Dorota's reminder helped facilitate atime where we could share exactly where we are and wherewe are coming from. This is because we are all starting fromsomewhere, including myself. We all have grown from whatwe once learned, and are continually growing. This, I believe,is a big part of the issue. We have to learn and grow into our
understanding from where we are coming from. The skill weneed now is to listen to each other, especially listening to ourBlack siblings who are voicing their grief and anger. We had agood conversation, but as we listen and grow, we still have along way to go.
As Christians we are being called to listen and to facilitate theBeloved Community. The willingness to listen to this call iswhat I have witnessed so far and what I believe thecommunity at St. Andrew's is striving towards. This starts withthe warm welcome I have received in our virtual coffee hour,phone calls, vestry zoom session, and emails. Of course, itlooks different right now. Yet what is needed from the Churchin racial healing is the Beloved Community, which starts withlistening to each other's pain, sitting with hurt, and joiningothers in our struggles. We all have a long way to go, and Ihope we never stop.
VIRTUAL MEET-UPS OVER SHARED INTERESTS Based on a suggestion during coffee hour recently, we aretaking a survey to see who is interested in participating invirtual meet-ups. These would be times set aside to meet withothers virtually, likely over a video platform, to talk about orparticipate in a common interest. Potential shared interestscould include sports, knitting, cooking, languages, cultures,books, podcasts, social issues, etc. Please considercompleting this short survey, which takes about 4 minutes.Thank you for your participation!
MUSIC NOTES Calling all musicians!
Do you sing or play an instrument? Brandon would love todiscuss with you some ways that you might participate. Thiscould be anything from an audio recording to be included in ahymn/choral anthem to a vocal or instrumental soloperformed live during the Zoom service, or anything inbetween.
You may have seen our joint choir anthem as last Sunday'spostlude. ( You can watch it here.) We are also planning somesimple hymn recordings. There are many ways we can makeour music even more fulfilling. Let's get creative!
Check out this survey if your interest is sparked. Or contactBrandon at [email protected].
FAMILY MINISTRY
Dear ones,
Thank you for joining with me to make the Family Service ofthe Word! On Sunday we had a truly lovely service. Thankyou for what you all shared--your presence, your love, yourfeelings and your prayers. While I may 'lead' this, you make ita service! I look forward to our time together, all week long.
One of the things I've been thinking about since then is apassage from the fist chapter of Genesis. As you know, wedon't usually touch on all the readings from our Lectionary in asingle Sunday. It's such a familiar passage to all of us aboutthe reaction of the world, its rhythms and creatures and itshumans. We know this is a timeless myth that shapes our faithjust as much as the science behind how the world began andevolved. What I hadn't noticed before, though, is that the verybeginning--of this very beginning--of the Bible shows a Godwho defeats chaos in order to create. My family and I arereally inspired by the passage, going forward, to have faith ina God who defeats chaos while simultaneously working towarda world of justice, equality and love that we'd want God tosee.
This week, let's all commit to one thing we can do to addjustice, equality and/or love to the world. Let's start bymediating in order to clear our minds and focus our hearts. Mediation, as we know, is allowing our bodies and souls to bestill enough for the clear and quiet voice of God to enter. Arthur and I just made something we're calling the MeditationCube of Godliness, which he and I will use going forward.
Here, therefore, is our project for the week! Find a box. Itcan be any size, from refrigerator to shoe to teeny tiny. Tapethe box closed on all sides if it isn't already. There are sixsides to your box. On each of three sides (your choice) writethe words OR (if you're not ready for writing letters) drawpictures to represent JUSTICE, EQUALITY and LOVE. On theremaining sides, draw what you feel when you hear the words''Father'' ''Son'' and ''Holy Spirit.'' This should give you a boxwith the three aspects of God (hooray for Trinity Sundayagain!) plus three concepts we're working for in God's worldtoday. Being still, with this cube to help our meditation,should help us this wee and beyond!
For cooking, ask your family if they have a recipe formeringues. The first thing I remember making with mygrandmother was meringue cookies. I just loved seeing herwhip up the egg whites until they were...well, something elseentirely. Some people make them by cooking the sugar andthen combing it with egg whites, some people use powderedsugar, cream of tartar or not...find out what your familymakes and do that together! These are not only free of glutenfor anyone who has an allergy, they're light as air andreally...well, heavenly.
Stay as healthy, safe and happy as you can. Join me for
Compline for Kiddos tonight at 5:30 if you can.
Zoom link is here:
https://wesleyseminary.zoom.us/j/96209904165
Meeting ID: 962 0990 4165
To dial in: +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
One tap mobile+13017158592,,96209904165# US (Germantown)+16465588656,,96209904165# US (New York) May God's love be with you all.
Carolyn+
ANNUAL MIDSUMMER POETRY FESTSUNDAY JULY 12, 2020 at 3:00PM VIA ZOOM
This is no time to do without poetry, so let's have our 11thannual poetry fest over Zoom. The theme (a suggestion, not arequirement) will be pandemic-related poems. You mightchoose a poem of solitude or reunion, loss or renewal,sickness or recovery. It does not have to be something youhave written yourself, but original works are always welcome. All ages may participate.
If you are interested and would like to take part, please letHelen know by email ( [email protected]) as soon as you can. No need to specify what you will read at this point. If youwould like to listen but not read, you are also welcome to joinus.
A link to the event will be provided in this space in the nextfew weeks.
AFAC FOOD DRIVE
A huge thank you to everyone who hasdonated to our food drive in support ofAFAC! We took a trunk-load-plus offood to them last week, and hope to beable to do it again soon so please keepthe donations coming! In addition,please remember that they are notaccepting anything in glass containersso please refrain from contributingany of those as we'll sadly have to
throw those items away. As a reminder, food donations should be limited to items fromAFAC's list (below) and can be dropped off inside the plasticbin outside the entrance to the church by the church office.
Items acceptable for donation:
*Low sodium preferred.*No glass please!* Canned Tuna & Chicken* Canned Soups* Canned Vegetables* Canned Tomatoes* Peanut Butter (in plastic jars)
If you prefer, monetarydonations can also be made via AFAC's website.
Finally, if you are interested in driving the donations to AFACfor a contactless drop off, please contact Marcela Scott at [email protected]. Thank you for your support!
GARDEN OF HOPE
On Saturday, 23 May, eight St. Andrew Parishioners (John,Jen, Bob, Marcella, Doris, Anne, Dave, and Ted), wearing facemasks and work gloves, maintained the appropriate socialdistance, worked and socialized in the garden. The weather was perfect. A fewmore tomato plants were planted,weeds were eliminated by hand orhoe, and most of the drip-irrigationsystem was installed. Theinstallation of the drip irrigationsystem will great reduce the waterusage, time, and effort of wateringthe garden.
We are still in need of Tuesday andThursday watering volunteers. OnSaturday, 30 May, we will haveanother garden workday starting at9a. We will pick and package thefirst produce of the season. If youare interested in volunteering,please sign-up through Sign-
up Genius. We still are practicing our procedures to ensure volunteersafety:
A maximum of 10 people may be in the garden at atimeVolunteers must sign up here or RSVP to Ted Edwards inorder to ensure that we are under our volunteer limitVolunteers must wear a face covering that covers themouth and noseVolunteers must maintain 6' of distance from othervolunteers while in the garden (exceptions made forvolunteers from the same household)Volunteers must bring their own gardening glovesOther general materials volunteers should bring asneeded: a water bottle, sunscreen, sun protection (e.g.hat, sunglasses, etc.)
STAY-AT-HOME BOOK CLUB During this stay-at-home period, the Welcome and FellowshipCommittee is coordinating a virtual book club.
On Saturday, July 11 at 10:00AM, we will meet virtually viaZoom to discuss the memoir Educated by Tara Westover. If youplan to attend the book club meeting or if you have anyrelated questions, please contact Corttney Roan [email protected].
Please also check out the book club webpage on the St.Andrew's website for information and discussion topics thatwill be posted closer to the meeting date.
CALLING ALL COOKS AND BAKERS The Welcome and Fellowship Committee has created awebpage for the cooks and bakers of St. Andrew's to post theirlatest culinary creations and share their great recipes. Pleaseshare your favorite comfort food, baked good, limitedingredient, or other recipe that you are enjoying during this"stay-at-home" period or that you plan to enjoy later. Wewould also love to see pictures of your creations.
Parishioners can comment and "like" recipe posts on the pageas well. Instructions for how to post recipes and comments areavailable on the webpage. The webpage link is: St. Andrew'sStay At Home Recipes. Some great recipes are already posted.If you have any related questions, pleasecontact Corttney Roan at [email protected].
GIVING TO ST. ANDREW'S
Your financial gifts to St. Andrew's are of vital importance tosupport our ongoing ministries and our outreach to the mostvulnerable among us. Please continue to offer your faithfulgifts by mailing your check to our church office (4000 LorcomLane, Arlington VA 22207), or by dropping off your check atthe church. You may also use a special online portal established throughour diocesan office for electronic giving to St. Andrew's. Usethe link and put "St. Andrew's Arlington" in the memo line ofthe online form. This online portal is being made available bythe Diocese through the summer. If you use the diocesanportal, please also email our Treasurer, Doris Smith, to alerther of your contribution so she can track it. Please note thattransactions have a 3% fee associated with them. If you are making a very large donation, it may be morepractical to send it by check to the church directly.
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN PROGRESS
The elevator installation and undercroft and kitchenrenovations will be completed in early June, and our final billto our contractor will be due around the same time. For thosewho have not yet fulfilled their pledge to the Growing SeasonsCapital Campaign, we invite you to consider fulfilling yourpledge by the end of June. This will help us minimize theamount we will need to borrow as a bridge loan until thecapital campaign concludes in the fall. Thank you to all those who have contributed to this project.We could not do any of this without your generosity andsupport! If you have not yet contributed to the capital campaign, it isnot too late to join this effort! Checks can be made out to St.Andrew's with "Capital Campaign" in the memo line.
WORSHIP SCHEDULE
Compline: Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. A brief contemplative service of nighttime prayers
Morning Prayer: Sundays at 10:00 a.m. Our principal weekly worship service with readings, hymns,a sermon, and a breakout session for families with youngchildren; followed by a virtual coffee hour
All services can be accessed via this link for a videoconnection or, for an audio-only connection you can join byphone! Simply call (253) 215 8782 and enter 592 431 032 whenasked for the meeting ID number.
CONTACTING ST. ANDREW'S
Here is the best way to reach the staff of St. Andrew's at thistime:
Rev. Dorota - [email protected] or call 414-704-9694Emily Blecksmith - [email protected] Heishman - [email protected]. Carolyn Rosen - [email protected] or call 406-696-4113
To view St. Andrew's online member directory, go to members.InstantChurchDirectory.com and follow the promptsunder "Sign In" to "Create a login now." There is also a freemobile app available in most app stores. Simple search for"Instant Church Directory" to get the download. You will needto use your email address as listed in the directory to create alog-in the first time you use the directory online and via themobile app.
For those who would rather receive a printed copy pleasecontact Emily [email protected].
To our readers: Have a social activity or event you want published in Shining the Light?
The deadline for submissions is Tuesday evening. As always, we welcome your comments, ideasor suggestions.
Email the church office at [email protected] or call (703) 522-1600. Your input is very much appreciated.
