Friday, November 29, 12:00 pm: Holy Eucharist for St. Andrew's Day
Join us to commemorate this feast day with a simple Holy Eucharist in the church at 12:00 p.m. All are welcome. Since St. Andrew's Day (November 30) falls on a Saturday this year, we will celebrate the feast one day early, on Friday, November 29.
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All four gospels report that Andrew was a fisherman in Galilee when Jesus called him to be a disciple. John's gospel gives more detail, reporting that Andrew was first a disciple of John the Baptist. When Andrew heard John call Jesus the Lamb of God who had been prophesied, Andrew began to follow Jesus that same day. He then went and found his brother Peter, bringing him to Jesus as well. Peter would go on to become the central leader of the first-generation church, while Andrew remained an important but less prominent disciple.
Andrew is a model of evangelism--that often-scary, but important, word that simply means sharing good news with others, and in particular, the good news of Jesus. He is also a model of faithfulness and humility. There is no sign that he was envious of Peter. Rather, Andrew's joy in Jesus led him to share freely what he had found.
Andrew is a patron saint of Ukraine, Russia, and Romania, as well as Scotland, where his festival is a major holiday. Tradition has it that he became a missionary to Asia Minor and Greece, and that he was martyred by being crucified on a cross shaped like an X, giving rise to the St. Andrew's Cross that forms the flag of Scotland.Image: The Good Samaritan ministers to the wounded traveler (from a stained glass window in Chartres Cathedral)
Image: St. Andrew the First-Called, icon in the Orthodox Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Washington, DC
Tags: News & Notes / Worship Services
