Welcome

An early Church father, St. Irenaeus, once said that “The glory of God is a person fully alive.” I think this sentiment can be used to describe faith communities as well. When I think of St. Andrew’s, I think of a parish that is active and welcoming. We are continually trying to better our response to welcoming the stranger at our door as we care for one another. There is a vibrancy that you can feel as you sit in church from Sunday to Sunday. Visitors describe this “spirit” that is felt in the parish … it feels comfortable and right.

Our campaign to commemorate and celebrate 100 years as a parish community is focused on nurturing that spirit of hospitality and genuine warm fellowship. We have identified four main areas that would assist our people in that ministry of hospitality. The first is to increase our capacity with a second priest on staff. The second addresses the needs of our building and keeping up our good stewardship to maintain and upgrade aspects of our physical plant. The third item is to address our aging parking lot and enhance our outdoor areas. The fourth item is to create a more welcoming space in our nave with light and sound and more fully incorporate transepts as viable worship spaces that feel more a part of the rest of the nave.

After a couple of years of discernment involving conversations, surveys, group and individual meetings, we have a good sense of what our community would like to do as we approach our life at 100 years. As we orient our parish toward the next century of ministry together, we’ve taken those four priorities and laid out a plan. We believe that funding these four initiatives will allow us to move into the next century with a greater capacity for outreach, fellowship, and formation of our people and allow us to make a smaller impact on our planet’s resources. I ask your prayers and support for this effort.

I’m very excited about moving on this and enabling us to grow into our future as we celebrate our centennial and continue to be a parish that is the Glory of God!

The Reverend C. Clyde Elledge
Church of St. Andrew

Make a Pledge

Lord, as the Church of Saint Andrew approaches its centennial, embolden all of us in our beloved community to reach into our hearts and share the bounty you have given us. As we move forward, help us to worship and work in fellowship, learning from you and from each other. Kindle in us the will to renew and grow our parish so that we can shine the light of your mercy and your boundless compassion into the wider world. Inspire us to spread your word, to be your hands and feet, and to serve as the stewards not only of our parish, but of our beautiful, blessed, struggling world. May you create through us the Kingdom of Heaven right here, right now. AMEN.