A Message from our Rector:
In the Bleak Midwinter
When a person is ordained, one of the vows she makes is to pray the Daily Office—Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer—every day. It is a part of a larger rhythm: clergy pray and worship with set patterns that cycle through a day, through the week, through the annual seasons of the church. Even as a most dedicated church lady I was not aware of this obligation and practice of clergy until we were on sabbatical in Cambridge, England. I was stunned to realize that the Dean and Vicar of King’s College Chapel were in the small ante-chapel to welcome me when I came to Morning Prayer, but weren’t waiting for me. They were there every morning regardless of who or whether anyone else at all showed up. Every day of our sabbatical year in England—and every day of every year for centuries and centuries, at college chapels and churches and minsters and cathedrals throughout Britain and through the world, Morning Prayer is offered in prayer.
Part of my praying Daily Office is to pray for others—for your priest to pray for you and for this community. This follows a long tradition in the Western church that goes back to when lay people weren’t trusted to pray by themselves at all. The Bible and the church services were in Latin and largely inaccessible. Now we are each to read and to learn to interpret scripture, and lay people are integral to our Sunday worship. But part of our Anglican heritage continues the obligation of the priest to pray with and for and on behalf of the congregation, continuing the duty of love and service through worship and prayer in the sacred spaces—all are invited, but the prayer continues whether others are there or not.
I have come to realize that Daily Office through the week and the celebrations observed on Sundays, prayed over and over, through time and space by countless nameless but dedicated people, burnishes and blesses the spaces of worship and the people who come to them, whether at King’s College Chapel or at Saint Andrew’s, Greencastle. Praying Daily Office is a most cherished obligation that connects me to this legacy—and it is an obligation that continues to change me, ever so slowly, but profoundly.
Which brings me to the bleak midwinter. When should we call off worship? When should the church be closed? How bad do things need to get before enough is enough? As far as weather goes, it depends on where you are. In my Ohio parishes, the decision was easy: if ODOT declared Levels 2 or 3 snow emergency, gathering for worship was cancelled. South Dakota took winter advisories to a new level. Unless there was an active blizzard or the temperature 30 below zero or colder, you had to assume that things were on: what might pass for “extreme weather” in other places was normal there. My northern Minnesota friend’s family church, Little Norway Lutheran, had many farmers in the congregation. No matter what the weather, they had their Christmas Eve service, tractors and other heavy machinery taking people up the hill if necessary.
Since there is no state mandate in Indiana, we have to come up with our own protocols. Every winter storm is different, and you should always do what is sensible for you and your well-being. But I relish my priestly responsibility to pray for you and for this community, offering regular worship and prayer with you and for you. Unless the city has asked that we stay home, or conditions so dire that my safety would be threatened, the doors are unlocked and Sunday worship held.
I thought of this obligation and privilege as Meghan, Kathy Smiley, and I prepared for the Longest Night service on December 21. This is always a small gathering, and I am alert to the possibility that no one else may come. If that had happened, we would not have called off the service: we would have lit candles, prayed the prayers, sung the hymns, and offered the service, with love and intentions dedicated to all who are struggling in body, mind, spirit, or memory this holiday season.
As for truly bleak midwinter: a story dear to my heart is from a memoir of an English priest who was sent to a rural parish in Korea. Korea can be bitterly cold in the winter, and in passing the priest noted that as he prepared for worship he had to break the ice that had formed in the chalice and vessels on the altar before he could proceed with Eucharist. May I never be put to that test!
In peace,
Jen+
Connect With Us
Rector’s Office Drop-In Time
Rev. Jen has set her office drop-in day as Wednesday of each week from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. for anyone who would like to stop in and visit. You are always invited to make an appointment for a time convenient for you. Mondays are her Sabbath day.
The First Sunday After the Epiphany
In-Person Sunday Morning Worship Service, January 11, led by the Rev. Dr. Jennifer Oldstone-Moore,10:15 a.m.
You can stream the service via St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Greencastle, Indiana Facebook Page. Click on this link to view the Live Stream. We will start the Live Stream 5 minutes prior to the start of the service.
Click here for the service booklet for January 11.
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The Latest Updates
A Message From Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows
Please use this link to view the recent message of prayer request from the Bishop for the people of Venezuela. Click here.
ST. ANDREW’S ANNUAL MEETING 2026
Please mark your calendars! St. Andrew’s annual meeting will take place in two parts; Sunday, February 15th and 22nd immediately following the church service. The first part of the annual meeting on February 15th will present the budget with opportunity for questions. Meeting on the 22nd will give an overview of the program year and new Vestry members will be elected.
NEW VESTRY MEMBERS NEEDED
Vestry members wanted! Serving on the Vestry is an opportunity to help with important decisions concerning the budget and overall workings of St. Andrew’s. Working closely with other Vestry members can lead to making new connections and meeting new people while learning more about the Episcopal Church. St. Andrew’s needs four new Vestry members – two for one year terms and two for three year terms. The terms will begin in February, 2026. Please let a Vestry member or Rev. Jen know if you are interested in serving on the Vestry. St. Andrew’s current Vestry includes: Karen Hirt Mannon, Jim Ensley, Pam Smith, Dennis Knuth, Page Cotton, and Skip Sutton.
HEALING PRAYER
Most Sundays our intern Meghan will be offering anointing and healing prayer at Sunday services during communion. Meghan will set up a station in the narthex; meet there for general or specific prayers for healing.
TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY
We have begun our exploration of Chinese Religion. Our text is Daniel Overmyer, Religions of China: The World as a Living System; Jen+ will also give out readings. Come with your curiosity and questions!
Evening Prayer
Join us for Evening Prayer in the sanctuary on Tuesdays at 4.00. Evening Prayer is a wonderful service to wind down the day and move into the evening hours.
Contemplative Prayer
On Wednesdays at 1.00, we gather for about a half hour in quiet contemplative prayer. A leader introduces the prayer and a bell is chimed; we sit in prayer for twenty minutes until another chime sounds and then close with a spoken prayer. Feel free to come in any time between 1.00 and 1.20 to pray in silence in a lovely sacred space.
ALTAR FLOWER CALENDAR
An altar flower calendar is posted in Hamilton Hall. Sign up to sponsor the altar flowers to commemorate a birthday or anniversary, remember a loved one, or in thanksgiving for an important event. We ask a donation to help offset the cost of the altar flowers and other worship expenses. Be sure to tell the office your dedication so that it can be printed in the bulletin. Please make checks payable to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church and in the memo field please put this information: Altar Flowers, person’s name, occasion, Sunday date you’d like for the flowers to be on the altar.
VESTRY MEETING MINUTES
If any of you are interested in what your Vestry is doing, there are two copies of each month’s minutes on the music stand in Hamilton Hall. Feel free to read and return!
SHOPPING LIST FOR NON-FOOD PANTRY
Please add razors, shaving cream, laundry detergent, spray cleaner, and toilet bowl cleaner to your shopping list for the NFP for the month of January. Meals and conversation in Hamilton Hall are going well. Patrons are now able to pick out items they most need. Your contributions help our budget go farther in helping meet the needs of those in Putnam County. The next Non-Food Pantry will be Saturday, January 31 from noon – 2:00 p.m. If you can help with this ministry in any way, please contact Harriet Moore or Carl Huffman.
KROGER COUPONS
If you have any unwanted Kroger coupons, please bring them to Hamilton Hall and place in the window ledge near the “Little Library”. We would like to make them available to our Non-Food Pantry recipients so that they might be able to take advantage of them to help extend their food budget. Thanks in advance!
FREE DAILY DEVOTIONAL
We have some large print Day by Day daily devotionals in the sanctuary that you are free to take home for your personal devotions–and if we know that people would like copies, we can order the right amount. Many of you may also appreciate the on-line version of Day to Day. Click here.
Prayers and Reflections for This Week
We have heard that the daily reflections and scripture readings provided during Lent were appreciated. The meditations are written by persons from Gobin UMC and Beech Grove UMC. They will be in the newsletter each week. Whether you enjoy these every day or as the Spirit moves you, may this resource continue to bring you spiritual food for the journey. Blessings!
Click here to view the readings and accompanying links.
Non-Food Pantry Latest
Saturday, January 31
• Noon to 2:00 p.m.
There will be a distribution in Hamilton Hall and light lunches will be served inside. We are grateful for all those who have worked so hard to obtain supplies for the Non-Food Pantry. Items are having to be purchased from a variety of sources making it much more expensive. Donations to help offset this extra cost will be gratefully accepted!
Top 3 Needed Items
Your prayers are asked for:
Haile Bane, grandson of Joanne Haymaker
Beth Benedix, friend to many at St. Andrew’s
Jennifer Clarke, friend of Patti Harmless
Diane
Angela Evans
Katie Gleichman, relative of Jim & Cathryn Ensley
Tom Kaiser, friend of Jen+ & Chris
Larry
Lynda, friend of Sarah Finlay-Black
Hansford Mann, friend of Joanne Haymaker
Teresa Masten, friend of Karen & Jim Mannon
Sally Motsch, friend to many at St. Andrew’s
Mary Mountz
The family of Martha Ovall, sister of Ralph Earle
Elizabeth & Natalie Sheffler, daughter & granddaughter of Page & Narda Cotton
Deloris Smith, friend of Emily Knuth
Luke Smith, son of Mark Smith
Skip Sutton
Larry Taylor, former member of St. Andrew’s
Donald Voermans, father of Nick Voermans
Dwight Ziegler, uncle of Stephanie Gurnon
Diocesan Cycle of Prayer: St. Peter’s Church, Lebanon: The Rev. Christopher Beasley, Rector.
Our companion dioceses: The Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil: The Most Rev. Mauricio Jose Araujo De Andrade, Primate of Brazil and Bishop of Brasilia. The people and Diocese of Haiti and Saint Andre’s Parish and school in Mithon.
Anglican Cycle of Prayer: The Anglican Church of the Region of Central America.
Birthdays: Henry Cox, January 13; Caroline Good, January 13; Suzanne Hassler, January 14.
Anniversaries: None.
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