Rector's Warden

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 remember to wear your name tags. If you don’t have one, you can request a printed version be made by contacting our church office.

• Online Giving Tokens: If you give online, pick up a token when you take a Sunday bulletin before the service, and place the token in our offertory plate during the service. This is a symbolic way to bless your generous giving to St. Andrew’s.

• 2026 Pledge: If you haven’t pledged, it’s not too late. Thank you to all who have pledged, and we welcome any outstanding pledges that can be communicated in January. Your pledge and regular offerings are crucial for sustaining our ongoing services and programs.

• Spread the Word: Don’t forget to share about St. Andrew’s with others. We have wonderful events, outreach, and worship opportunities that your neighbors may be looking for. Sometimes people just need a nudge to feel welcomed.

  
  

Below are our current Highlights, Opportunities, and Dependencies as a church. These are just high-level bullet points and further information can be found within the individual ministry reports or by contacting a ministry leader.

Highlights (December)

• Special December Services:

  • St. Andrew’s Day with bagpiper

  • Lessons and Carols Evening Service with historic tours, harpist, and special reception

  • Christmas Pageant and special reception

• Christmas Eve Services (3) and Christmas Day service

• Annual Christmas Tree Trimming with ornament making and cookies

• Outreach: Bridge of Hope - Christmas breakfast baskets for families in need

  
  

Opportunities (Jan/Feb)

• Joint congregational service to celebrate the Feast of Epiphany, hosted at St. James’ Episcopal Church in Downingtown on January 6th at 7pm.

• Open Mic Night for musicians at St. Andrew’s continues monthly. Come and perform or simply relax and listen to a variety of local musicians. Our next event will be January 19th from 7-9pm.

• Annual Meeting & Souper Bowl of Caring, January 25th after 10am service

• Vestry Member Terms – outgoing and incoming members transition in February

• Pizza Bingo, Feb 22nd 5pm to 7:30pm

  
  

Dependencies (items that impact our ability to accomplish opportunities/goals)

• Volunteers - We need you! Please consider upcoming events to lend a helping hand. If you need any guidance to align your gifts/passions to volunteer efforts at the church, just ask Ben or a Vestry member.