Holy Fire, Hymns and Honey! As we enter the month of May, we find ourselves in the middle of the joyous Easter season. As the month progresses, we will move toward the completion of Christ’s earthly ministry and the promised arrival of the Holy Spirit. We will celebrate Ascension Day on Thursday, May 14, commemorating Christ’s return to the Father, followed by our celebration of Pentecost on May 24. Pentecost marks the official end of the Easter season, and we look forward to

Easter Egg Hunt Easter morning, Sunday, April 5, 2026, shone bright with joy as Jesus was Risen. The skies on the other hand, had other ideas, as it began raining just in time for our annual egg hunt. The kids, however, were excited at the prospect of hunting throughout the office wing, Lower Hall, and the Biddle room for over 1,000 eggs. With bags in hand and joy in our hearts, we let the kids loose to look for all the eggs, and not one was left behind; they were all found.

Easter Meals Thank you to all who contributed to the Bridge of Hope/Good Samaritan Easter Dinner! 10 families in need received groceries to make a full Easter dinner. And a special thank you to Tiffany Zuch (pictured on left), who coordinated this meal and delivered the groceries to Bridge of Hope. Food Donations Needed Late Spring through Summer is often considered the highest need time for food banks because food drives slow down, but child hunger increases as school-based

It All Happens Behind the Scenes, with Our Thanks! When Nancy Moore and I started sharing the Vestry Fellowship responsibilities, we quickly learned that what you see for an hour or two in the Narthex or the Upper Hall requires at least twice that much time, energy, and effort before and after the event…and it’s not just our efforts, but a huge part of that is from volunteers who donate food items, help plan, set-up, prep, and clean-up afterwards. That’s why, this, the second

Winter is over, and the snow blower has been put away for the season! Looking ahead to summer, the church HVAC system has received its annual tune-up, and any questionable parts have been repaired. After the Easter services, the carpets throughout the church were cleaned, especially in the hallway between the Narthex and the Upper Hall. Thanks to Joe Carroll, the cemetery flagpole light has been repaired as well. Our largest property concern at this time is the church steps a

Hello St. Andrew’s! I am excited and honored to begin my term as Rector’s Warden on the Vestry. I want to extend a sincere and very heartfelt thank you to Tom Riley for his many years of service on the Vestry and as Rector’s Warden. Tom did a phenomenal job, and I have big shoes to fill! I attended my first Vestry meeting as Rector’s Warden in February, and I was incredibly impressed by this amazing and dedicated group of volunteers. The Vestry is comprised of a perfect blend

Lenten Service Project On March 1, 2026, with the help of nineteen of our dedicated youth here at St Andrew’s, 400 Easter goodie bags were filled with candy, toys, a salty snack, stickers, and an Easter greeting to be given to the Operation 143 Backpack Program. These Easter bags will be given to students in need in six different school districts in the local area during Easter break. Operation 143 strives to follow 1 Corinthians 16:14, Do Everything in Love. They work with o

Easter Meals Thank you to all who contributed to the Bridge of Hope/Good Samaritan Easter Dinner! 10 families in need will now receive groceries to make a full Easter dinner. And a special thank you to Tiffany Zuch, who has coordinated this meal, as well as Christmas and Thanksgiving meals in the past. With the Zuchs having moved out of the area, we would welcome a volunteer to coordinate one or more of these three meals going forward, beginning in November. If interested, pl

“Filling Big Shoes…and Starting a New Walk” Very BIG SHOES INDEED! Julia Sanders envisioned, created, and managed some of the most spectacular events in the history of St. Andrew’s Fellowship activities. Her unique vision and energy make her a one-of-a kind. So, while we are excited and honored to begin our term as members of the Vestry for Fellowship, we would be less than sincere if we didn’t convey our feeling of being somewhat daunted by the challenge of trying to fill he

We extend our sincere appreciation to Ken Mancini for his many years of dedicated service to St. Andrew’s. During a recent walk-through of the building to transition from the position from Ken to myself, the pride, care, and stewardship shown by Ken—as well as by generations of the St. Andrew’s community—were clearly evident. We are deeply grateful for Ken’s continued support and for the ongoing commitment of the entire Facilities Committee. This winter brought significantly

Souper Bowl After a date change and weather delays, the Annual Meeting & Souper Bowl took place on Sunday, February 8, 2026. We were treated to ten delicious soups provided by our generous congregation. We collected a total of 173 cans of food and $114 towards the Coventry Food Pantry to Tackle Hunger. Thank you to everyone who donated, whether it was a soup to enjoy in the moment or a donation to the Food Pantry, your generosity is appreciated at the meeting and throughout t

Hello St. Andrew’s! This is my last report as your Rector’s Warden. It’s been a pleasure serving the church in this way and I’m delighted to pass the torch to Jen Ewing, your new Rector’s Warden, whom I’m confident will be an excellent successor. In addition, I’m excited about all our new and returning vestry members that continue the work of our church, and I’m thankful for their commitment to making St. Andrew’s a special place in the community. Below are our current Highli

Souper Bowl, Super Gift! The Outreach Committee teamed with St. Andrew’s Youth to put on a fantastic Souper Bowl Day of Caring. Due to the snowstorm two weeks earlier, this year it was held on the actual Super Sunday. Thank you to those who provided soups for the event, held with the annual meeting, and all who donated cans of soup and financial support to the cause. As a result, 173 cans of food and $114 cash were donated to the Coventry Food Pantry!

Dear Friends, The Hogwarts Express has officially returned to King’s Cross Station, marking the end of another magical Pizza Bingo night! Despite the snow and high winds, the evening was a spectacular success as our Upper Hall was transformed into the Great Hall of Hogwarts, complete with a starry blue sky and floating candles. Professor McGonagall (Pam Bennett) and Severus Snape (Geoff McConnell) assisted with the sorting hat and checking in students and professors for entry

“The Snow and Me…Both Moving On” Well…let’s hope the snow is moving on! We were hit hard enough that we had remote service…now that’s snow! Fortunately, with thanks to members of the Property Committee, the sidewalks were soon cleared and service got back to normal by the next week. As you probably know, this is my last Piper Article because I am “moving on.” I am leaving my position as the Vestry member responsible for buildings and property. It has been my honor to have ser

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, St. Andrew’s! As we leave 2025 behind, I can’t help but reflect on so many blessings that we enjoyed from a wonderful year at St. Andrew’s. I want to give a special thanks to all our volunteers, ministry leaders, vestry, and staff for their commitment of time, energy, passion, and grace in all they do to make St. Andrew’s such an inviting and special place of worship. As we head into the new year, I have a few reminders: Please try to remem

Tree Trimming Coffee Hour Fortified with cookies and hot chocolate, the Narthex Christmas tree was decorated on December 7, 2025. The scent of fresh-baked cookies filled the hallways as the youth group baked chocolate chunk cookies to share in addition to the many cookies brought in by our generous congregation. In addition to the festive fare, we also made accordion-folded Mary and baby Jesus ornaments alongside mini-yarn hats and large paper snowflakes. During the coffee ho

Dear St. Andrew’s Congregation, My heart is heavy as the reality of leaving St. Andrew’s draws near. So many, too many wonderful memories flash before my eyes that I’ll reminisce about forever. No words will ever be able to express how much I love St. Andrew’s, and I’m short for words as I write… But I do know that I will treasure my time here forever. I learned so much, had so much fun, and grew to love all of you here– you are a truly rare, truly loving congregation. Thank

Happy New Year 2026! I’m savoring the reflection of many joyous occasions we had in December to come together in Fellowship. Leading up to Christmas we celebrated with hot cocoa and cookies at the children’s tree-trimming coffee hour on December 7th. Who knew how popular the special Gingerbread hanging cookies would be, not to mention the traditional favorites of marshmallows and whipped cream?! We gathered around a bountiful reception after the Lessons and Carols service on

Happy New Year Thank you to all our congregants for demonstrating St. Andrew’s generosity throughout 2025. Whether it was organizing, cooking or driving one or more of the many donated meals given through Atkinson’s Men’s Shelter or the Good Samaritan Bridge of Hope; contributing school supplies to children in need; donating food and personal items to our partner organizations; or by helping St. Andrew’s provide monetary assistance through your offerings – you have helped imp