St. Andrews News

Around St. Andrews

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St. Andrew’s remains open for worship this winter. We continue to ask people to wear masks at all services and to maintain social distance. Our windows are open to allow for better air circulation. If you do join us for worship, please dress appropriately. We have temporarily suspended our coffee hour as well. However, we are monitoring Covid case numbers so please check our website, www.standrewspgh.org, our outgoing phone message or our Facebook page for the very latest information. We would love to see you here. 

Every Sunday we offer worship services at 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., and 5:00 p.m. Please  note that only the 10:00 a.m. service is broadcast live on Facebook and archived on our  YouTube channel.  

Thank you for all of your generous donations to the Hello, Neighbor drive this December  and January. Refugee families are already moving to Pittsburgh and being helped by  your donations.  

Look for more announcements soon about upcoming events at St. Andrew’s. We are  hoping to have an Easter Egg Hunt after the 10:00 a.m. service on April 17. So mark  your calendar now.  

As always we strive to be a good neighbor so please don’t hesitate to reach out. We are  here for you. God Bless. 

Around St. Andrews

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Excitement is in the air at St. Andrew’s as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas. Families can begin to discover Christmas on Sunday, December 5 at 4 p.m. when St. Nicholas comes. He will share his story and be available for photos. This is a free event and open to the public. The Syrian Highlanders bagpipers will be back to perform on the lawn. At this time we will also be collecting new white crew socks for children and teens. These socks will be given to our ministry partners in Uganda in January. A service of Evensong will follow at 5 p.m.

On Sunday, December 19 join our choir and guest readers for a service of Christmas lessons and carols. This service will begin at 4 p.m. More details will be coming soon about this favorite event.

We are currently planning for three services on Christmas Eve. At 4 p.m. we will offer the Children’s Pageant and a service of Holy Eucharist. New this year is an 8 p.m. choral service with choir and strings. A musical prelude will begin at 7:30 p.m. Finally, at 11 p.m. we will offer a service of Holy Eucharist with a harp.

We continue to offer three services on Sundays: 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. All are welcome to attend our services here at St. Andrew’s. The 10 a.m. service is live-streamed on our Facebook page and also later available on our YouTube channel if you can’t make it in person. If you do come in person we are asking everyone to please wear a mask and to practice social distancing. We have temporarily suspended our coffee hour after church and are following closely the Covid case numbers here in Allegheny County.

Please check our website http://www.standrewspgh.org, our Facebook page and our outgoing phone message for the very latest information.

We would love to see you at one of our church services. All are welcome. God Bless everyone during this wonderful time of the year.

Halloween Events in Highland Park

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In addition to enjoying the great decorations throughout the neighborhood, there are a couple events scheduled in the coming days that you can check out to celebrate Halloween.

First up is the Fulton Halloween parade, scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m. The route will start on Mellon, head along Bryant, down Highland Ave. and back to Fulton on Hampton. If you’re nearby, peak outside to see the kids in costume!

On Sunday, festivities begin at 10 a.m. mass at St. Andrews, where children are invited to attend in costume. Father Chris will bless the costumes and have a special homily for the children. From 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. families can return to St. Andrews for the Halloween Spooktacular Organ Concert and trick-or-treating. Anyone is invited to walk through the Church or sit and stay awhile to enjoy the fun, spooky music. The church requests that anyone coming inside the building please wear a mask.

Official trick-or-treating is from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday. The city has issued the following guidelines this year, with COVID safety in mind:

  • Avoid direct contact with others who do not live with you.
  • Make a cloth mask part of your costume, but do not substitute a costume mask for a cloth mask. 
  • Bring hand sanitizer to use throughout trick-or-treating and wash your hands before eating any treats.
  • Follow distancing on sidewalks and when approaching homes. Stay at least 6 feet away from others outside of your household.
  • Wear reflective clothing and bring flashlights for visibility while trick-or-treating.

Have fun and Happy Halloween!

Around St. Andrews in October

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St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church continues to offer three Sunday services. At 8:00 a.m. we have a spoken word Eucharist service on the lawn (weather permitting) or in the chapel. A 10:00 a.m. service with choir and children’s chapel for children ages four through eight. This service is also always live-streamed on Facebook and available later that Sunday on YouTube. Finally, at 5:00 p.m. we have a forty-five minute service with a short mediation, a time for reflection and the Eucharist. The second Sunday the 5:00 p.m. service is one of Evensong. On November 14 this service will feature the voice talents of Sariah Seare. In addition to those services we also have a service of Eucharist on Wednesdays at noon. We do ask that anyone who is coming inside our building for any reason to please wear a mask regardless of vaccination status.

Looking ahead this fall and early winter we have a busy schedule. You may want to save the date for some of these exciting events. Sunday October 31, children are invited to wear their Halloween costumes to Church for the 10:00 a.m service and stay for a special children’s homily. Later that evening the Church will be open for an Organ Spooktacular from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Children are invited to trick or treat inside the Church while enjoying some scary organ music. We will celebrate the Feast of All Saints on Sunday, November 7 with a Choral Eucharist. The Syrian Highlanders Bagpipers will join us to celebrate St. Andrew’s Day on Sunday, November 21 at 9 a.m. between the services and at 11 a.m. They will return to welcome Saint Nicholas on Sunday, December 5 at 5:00 p.m. At that time we will be collecting packages of new white crew socks for children and teens that will be sent to our ministry partner in Uganda. And we will have our annual Christmas Lessons and Carols on Sunday, December 19 at 4:00 p.m. That will be followed by a high tea reception.

Also look for announcements on upcoming Outreach events as we close in on the holiday season. Those announcements are always shared on the HPCC listserv and our website. We hope to partner with Hello, Neighbor again this holiday season. These events are successful thanks to the generous support of our neighbors in Highland Park.

Check out our Facebook page, our website, http://www.standrewspgh.org or our outgoing phone message for the very latest information on what is going on at St. Andrew’s. As always it is our goal to be the best neighbor possible. To that end please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you are in need. May the light of the Lord shine upon you. God Bless.

Thank you, from St. Andrews

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By Becky Marinov

A word of thanks to everyone who donated supplies and money for our annual backpack drive for The Neighborhood Academy. The backpacks were filled and delivered to the school in mid-August. Seventy-five students in grades sixth through twelfth benefitted from the generosity of our Parish and this wonderful Highland Park Community.

Volunteers help out with the backpack drive

With the arrival of fall and cooler temperatures, services are changing at St. Andrew’s. We invite you, your friends and family to join us anytime either in person or online. Starting Sunday September 12 we will be offering an 8:00 a.m. service in our Chapel or on the lawn weather permitting. This will be a spoken Eucharist service. This service will not be streamed or available on YouTube.

However, our 10:00 a.m. service with our choir will be available live on Facebook or later that same day on YouTube. In an effort to continue to maintain social distancing we are limiting this service to 50 people. At this service we will be offering Children’s Chapel for children ages 4-9. We will also be offering a service at 5:00 p.m. on Sundays. The second Sunday of every month the 5:00 p.m. service will be an Evensong. All other Sundays this will be a forty-five minute contemplative Eucharist featuring a short mediation and time for reflection. At this time we will no longer be doing a first Thursday Evensong service. Finally starting on September 15 at noon we will be offering a service of Holy Eucharist.

Please keep in my mind at this time that only the 10:00 a.m. Sunday Service will be available on Facebook or YouTube. Also we are following the CDC guidelines and asking anyone who comes to our services to please wear a mask while inside our buildings even if you are fully vaccinated. Thank you in advance for cooperating so that we can keep our community safe. All are welcome here.

Our outreach activities will continue in the fall with The Crop Walk on Sunday October 10. We are still working on the details of this great event, which benefits hungry people in our community and the world. Check back at our website for more information as more details are finalized. Jazz on the Lawn featuring the Diamante Orchestra is back on Saturday October 16 from 4 to 7. There will be food and crafts. Look for more details soon. Also as you look ahead to October there will be an Organ Spooktacular on Sunday October 31 from 5:30 to 7:30 with scary music and trick-or-treating in the Church.

We strive to be a good neighbor. Please don’t hesitate to check out our website, http://www.standrewspgh.org, our Facebook page or our outgoing phone message for more information about our Parish. These are also the best resources for the
most up to date information about our Parish during these ever changing times.

God Bless you and keep you.