Christian Formation 

We remain committed at St Andrew’s to offer appropriate, useful, and relevant opportunities for those interested to learn more about their faith, and to grow. When we take the first step and commit to learning, our faith deepens, and our lives take on a brighter, more joyful light.

 

Back in the early summer of 2022 we’d begun a new Bible Study which continued to mid-2023.  We used an award-winning resource called The Path:  A Journey Through the Bible, basically a set of well-chosen, short passages from the Bible (NRSV version), with some editorial notes connecting the passages, published by Forward Movement, a ministry of The Episcopal Church.

Considering the success of that endeavor, a number of us decided to continue with a new Bible Study, this time using NT Wright’s popular Bible Study series, to study the gospel of Luke, which we began in June, 2023, and completed in September, 2024.  I strongly encourage parishioners to challenge themselves to engage in Bible Study often—and would love it if one or two lay ministers might take it upon themselves to get a new one going—and for all to make Bible Study a personal priority.  A good Bible Study brings so much light, joy and hope to our lives—as we share ourselves with each other!

 

During Lent, we offered individual reflection through the Lenten Meditation booklet from Living Compass called Living Well Through Lent:  Practicing Forgiveness with All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind, and then again in Advent, we offered daily meditations through Living Well Through Advent:  Practicing Peace with All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind.  The purpose of Living Compass is to provide a dynamic resource that will assist us in our search for balance and wellness, as our call is to live an undivided life, where heart, soul, strength, and mind are integrated into both our being and our doing.  We really encourage you to try it—and, if you dare, to offer to lead a small group, doing it together! 

 

In June 2024 a number of us got together to read and discuss a delightful, “Spiritual Road Trip” type book by Anne Gardner titled, “And So I Walked:  Reflections on Chance, Choice, and the Camino de Santiago,” which recounted the author’s journey of traversing the 500-mile pilgrimage known as the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. Much to our delight, we were able to contact the author, an Episcopal priest, who gladly met with us remotely to give us her own thoughts, and field all sorts of questions following our reading of the book.  Wonderful! 

 

Finally, at the tail end of 2024 a small number of us met to discuss The Rev Ian Markham’s book, “Episcopal Questions, Episcopal Answers.”  Ian, a personal acquaintance and Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary, has written a very readable, cut-to-the-chase primer in Q&A format, that answers questions such as, “Why does God allow evil and suffering?” and, “What is God like?”  I commend this small volume to anyone seeking such answers, expressed and styled in our unique Episcopal/Anglican tradition way.   

 

In Christ, Father Chip+