About St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
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From the days of the Revolutionary War when battles were fought near the church to the present, Saint Andrew's continues to build on its rich traditions: proclaiming the Gospel; teaching, baptizing and nurturing new believers; loving service; striving for justice and peace; and being good stewards of creation in Mount Holly. The strength of Saint Andrew's lies in its various ministries, organizations, and community outreach efforts. Our Lay Eucharistic Visitors take the sacrament to local members who are home-bound. Our Welcoming Committee plans activities to invite local members of the community into our church, assists in helping new members become acclimated to our programs, and introduces them to our more established members. An active Men's Group and the Episcopal Church Women support various service projects. Our entire membership works to keep the local St. Vincent de Paul Society pantry well-stocked. A dedicated group of quilters meets regularly to sew prayer quilts which are distributed to parishioners who have lost a member of their immediate family. Our Jubilee Center is the platform for our Vacation Music Academy, which is a summer program for the community's children. Our Jubilee Center was awarded a Jubilee Ministry grant from The Episcopal Church in 2014, the only Jubilee Center to do so in our diocese. We have had many small group study ministries, both at the church and in other community locations, featuring discussion on the Bible and current books. Two particularly successful programs were Theology on Tap at a local restaurant and "Jazz and Joe", a jazz music themed fellowship opportunity which offered alternative methods for attracting members for fellowship. Our Altar Guild and Choirs work faithfully to support our worship. Our gardeners work to glorify God through nature. Connecting the Pieces, a program supporting autistic children and their families, provides respite for parents and siblings as well as building relationships with the non-autistic community. AlAnon and other groups regularly use our facilities for programs.
Beginning in the fall of 2009, the congregation embarked on a multi-year facilitated Mission and Planning process based on Ephesians 4:11-16. Our theme was to "Grow in every way into Christ". The key priorities were identified through focus groups, and the Mission and Planning Team and Vestry created six teams to focus on growth in:
ï‚· Numbers and Diversity
ï‚· Worship
ï‚· Life Long Formation
ï‚· Outreach and Service
ï‚· Discipleship
ï‚· Organizational Effectiveness
At Saint Andrew's we are blessed with a rich history of proclaiming the Gospel, an enduring foundation to nurture believers, a well-situated location to lovingly serve our neighbors, a prominent voice in advocating for justice and peace, and a beautiful place to celebrate God's creation. We envision ourselves building upon these gifts to be disciples of Jesus and sharing the Word with members of our communities. We look to our Diocese and the greater Church to provide direction and leadership that enables us to secure a foundation which will allow St. Andrew's to continue its growth into the future. We are actively joining in the diocesan initiative to be missioncentered and to make disciples through sound lifelong formation.
At Saint Andrew's, worship is at the heart of all aspects of our parish life. Our liturgical style is broad church. Saint Andrew's has three regularly scheduled Eucharistic services on weekends, year-round. Our primary service is on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. This Rite II service features hymns and service music from Hymnal 1982 and LEVAS. Our adult choir presents an anthem and leads the congregational singing. Quarterly, the 10 a.m. service is a Youth Service, with children from our church school taking a prominent role in our worship. On Sunday mornings at 8 a.m., a traditional Rite I Eucharist is celebrated without music. Saturdays at 5 p.m. is a Rite II service. The congregation sings hymns and service music, led by a Cantor. Principal holidays feature Festival Eucharist with special instrumental and vocal music. Several services are held each year honoring local community members, including firefighters, police, and military personnel from nearby Joint Base McGuire/Dix/Lakehurst.
