Our 2021 Lenten Study Program kicks off on Tuesday, March 8, and continues on Tuesdays through April 5. Each evening will begin at 6:15 p.m. with a soup and salad supper, followed by a teaching by Fr. Ron and table discussion in small groups. We’ll end by 8 p.m., closing with Compline, a brief service of prayers for the end of the day. A children’s program will be offered simultaneously with the adult program.

You may click here to register online and/or to contribute food for our weeky meals, or sign up at the the Information Desk at church. As part of our preparation for the study we’re asking everyone, regardless of whether you plan to participate, to click here to complete a short online church health assessment. The survey, which takes about 10 minutes to complete, is designed to assess the missional health and vitality of our congregation, empower our church, and equip our leaders to fulfill God’s disciple-making mission.

Copies of “Revive: Bringing Health, Vitality, and Growth Back into Your Church”—the book we are using for our Lenten Study Program—are available at Amazon.com by clicking here. We want as many members of our parish as possible coming together this Lent to explore this topic, which is so important as we look forward to transitioning to new leadership when Fr. Ron Baird retires at the end of the year. If the cost is prohibitive, you’re welcome to borrow a copy from the church. Just let Fr. Ron, Tally Whitehead, or Judy Baird know!

“Revive,” by the Rev. Canon Mark Eldredge, director of church revitalization for the American Anglican Council (AAC), is a practical step-by-step guide that focuses on the building blocks needed to foster revitalization in the Church, the first and most important of which is spiritual renewal. 

The book is written in five sections, which we will be discussing in each of the five sessions of our Lenten Study Program. The first section focuses on five renewals that Canon Mark consider the cornerstone of revitalization: Personal Renewal, Relational Renewal, Missional Renewal, Structural Renewal, and Cultural Renewal.

Subsequent sections include “A Great Commitment to the Great Commission;” “Insisting on Church Heath;” “Vital Strategies for Revitalization,” and “Enacting the Vision.”

The book moves through current challenges in evangelism, preferences in worship styles, ways to foster transformation through discipleship, and strategies to build authentic worshipping communities, and it ends with how to explore the gifting and potential in our congregation to help us complete this journey together.

Hint: If you order from Amazon and log in at smile.amazon.com, you can select St. Andrew’s as your favorite charity and a portion of proceeds from your purchase will be donated to the church!