Dear Friends,

If you worshipped at St. Andrew's on the Sunday following the Episcopal Church's General Convention in 2003, you may recall that I said during the announcement time that because of the actions of that General Convention, our parish was entering a period of discernment.  It is grievous when any part of the Church acts in defiance of the rest of the Church and the Episcopal Church did just that in 2003 and again in the General Convention this past summer.  The wider church has been saying and I agree- the actions of the two successive General Conventions demand a response.

If you worshipped with us on Sunday, October 15, you heard that we are starting small groups to engage in a study called 40 Days of Discernment.  This small group program was put together by over thirty writers and editors in the Diocese of Virginia.  Under the auspices of The Falls Church and Truro church of the Diocese of Virginia, 40 Days of Discernment is now published in a 96 page booklet for use in other Episcopal Churches.

As our Senior Warden said to us via email and in a Sunday bulletin insert, every member of our parish is strongly encouraged to participate in a 40 Days small group and to be praying for the discernment necessary to make the big decisions that lay before our parish.  This is a critical time in the life of our parish and we need your prayers and thoughtful reflection on what future actions our parish might take.

Currently, we have five small groups that have agreed to participate in the 40 Days of Discernment including two on Sunday mornings, and we expect to add more groups in the coming weeks.  You'll find our 40 Days groups posted under the Better Together banner on the Narthex bulletin board.  I do hope that you'll join one of the groups posted and contribute to our parish-wide conversation and discernment process.

Yours in Christ,

The Rev. Tony Seel
Rector