From the Senior Warden:

As many of you may know, Fr. John Roddy informed the vestry at its January meeting that he was resigning as rector of St. Andrew and St. Margret of Scotland after Low Sunday, 12 April 2026. I was also contacted by Bishop Johnson, that Fr. John had informed him of his resignation as rector of our parish as indicated above.

We will certainly miss Fr. John as rector! The parish owes him our thanks and gratitude for the many years of service that he has given to our parish and to the traditional Anglican worship. Please make time to thank him for his dedication to St. Andrew & St. Margret and wish him well in his future endeavors.

I will keep the parish informed as we move forward with Bishop Johnson in our search for a new rector.

Yours in Christ,
Claude H Crump, III
 
Pre-Lent, Part II: Learning Where We Place Our Trust
Reflections for Sexagesima Sunday

While Septuagesima invited us to step onto the track and ask whether we are truly running the race, Sexagesima Sunday asks a quieter and more unsettling question: What are you trusting to carry you through the race?

The Church, still merciful, still patient, continues to prepare us for Lent not yet with commands, but with clarity. Pre-Lent now presses a little deeper. It shifts our attention from effort to foundation, from activity to dependence.

The Collect for Sexagesima is striking in its simplicity:

“O Lord God, who seest that we put not our trust in any thing that we do; mercifully grant that by thy power we may be defended against all adversity.”

This prayer assumes something uncomfortable but true: left to ourselves, we will trust in what we do; our plans, our habits, our disciplines, even our religious efforts. Pre-Lent dismantles that illusion early. Before Lent tempts us to measure success by how well we keep a fast or maintain a routine, the Church teaches us to confess: my trust cannot be in my performance.

What we ask for instead is defense not by our vigilance, but by God’s power. The Christian life is not a self-improvement project. It is a life guarded, sustained, and carried by grace.

In the Epistle (2 Corinthians 11), St. Paul speaks with raw honesty about the cost of apostleship. Shipwrecks. Beatings. Hunger. Exposure. Betrayal. Weariness. And, beneath it all, “the care of all the churches.”

This is not suffering for suffering’s sake. Paul is not boasting of heroics. In fact, he insists that if he must boast at all, he will boast “of the things which concern mine infirmities.” His strength is not the point. Christ’s power made perfect in weakness is.

Sexagesima confronts us with a sobering truth: the Gospel does not merely inspire; it exposes and costs. If we have arranged our Christian lives so carefully that they require no vulnerability, no endurance, no risk of misunderstanding or loss, then we may be trusting in comfort more than in Christ.

The Gospel for Sexagesima (Luke 8) turns from the sower to the soil. The seed (the Word of God) is generous, abundant, and freely given. The difference lies not in the seed, but in the heart that receives it.

Some hearts are hardened by distraction.
Some are shallow, eager but unrooted.
Some are crowded—choked by cares, riches, and pleasures.
And some, by Grace, are made ready to bear fruit with patience.

Notice what Jesus does not say. He does not tell us to produce fruit immediately. He tells us to receive, keep, and endure. Fruit comes slowly, quietly, often invisibly, and only where the soil has been tended.

Pre-Lent is precisely that tending.

The Lessons from Sexagesima should not discourage us, but rather teach us that the race we run is sustained by Grace, that the seed we receive is powerful, and that the fruit God desires is grown through patience, not pressure.

We are not asked to prove ourselves worthy of Lent. We are invited to become ready for it by loosening our grip on self-reliance and deepening our trust in God’s power to defend, sustain, and transform us.

“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

May this week of Pre-Lent help us hear more clearly, trust more deeply, and prepare more faithfully—so that when the fast begins, the soil of our hearts is ready to receive the Word that gives life.

And that, quietly and surely, is how fruit begins to grow.

--  Fr. Chris Fish+
 

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SERVICES & EVENTS

Sunday, 9:00 AM & 11:15 AM Holy Communion, for online participation go to https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland (7:45 AM service has been suspended)

Discussion of the Saints this Monday 7:30 PM, undercroft, with Fr. Bragg, all are invited even if you have not been to prior discussions 

Wednesday, Noon – Holy Communion and anointing for healing

Saturday February 14, Women's St. Valentine's Day Potluck Luncheon: Join us for food and fellowship as we celebrate the feast of St. Valentine at 12:00 noon on Saturday, February 14th. Please contact Susan Fonte, jsfonte@comcast.net or Amy Bilyeau, abilyeau@gmail.com with questions and to RSVP 

Tuesday, February 17, 7:00 PM, Shrove Tuesday Evening Prayer Service followed by pancake supper, please invite family, friends, and neighbors

Wednesday, February 18, 12 noon & 7:00 PM, Holy Communion & Imposition of ashes 

Saturday, February 21, 9:00 AM, DMAS Women's Retreat, Church of the Ascension, 13941 Braddock Road, Centreville, VA has been postponed until Saturday, February 21 at 9:00 AM. extending registration until Ash Wednesday (February 18th), so there's still an opportunity to sign up. https://dmas-acc.org/upcoming

DMAS Lenten Retreat: "Blessed at the Cross", Saturday, March 7, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, St. Alban’s Anglican Church, Richmond, VA, for more information and to register go to www.dmas-acc.org
 
MaRiH Crisis Pregnancy Center: Critical Needs & More
Thank you for your help. Instead of presenting the whole list of needs, we are emphasizing the critical needs that MaRiH Center has and listing some other needs. The critical needs list below has been updated:
Diapers, sizes 5 and 6
Winter coats (Boys & Girls), size 2T 
Winter clothing, sizes 3- 6 months and 2T 
Wipes
Baby Blankets
Baby formula: Similac Advance Formula
Bibs: toddler
Lovies, rattles, teethers
Other needs:
Diapers, newborn, 1, 2, 3, 4
Fall/Winter Clothing, 6-9 month, 9-12 month, 12 month-18 month, 18-24month
Bibs, infant
Winter Coats, all baby sizes
There are two options for helping the Center with these needs! 
 
Option 1 
Amazon has all the specific items needed. You can order the specific item(s) and have them delivered directly to the Center.  

The MaRiH Center
3230B Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-4521
703-370-4774

Option 2 
Go to your local store, purchase the items requested and drop them off at church on Sunday. We will deliver them to the MaRIH Center.
 
Food Bank Needs
 
With the cold weather here the food bank has more folks who need food. Please help this month with a food donation if you are able. Those we help feed are very thankful for the food we provide to them each month. Please also buy low sugar cereals (and not the kid's types that have lots of sugar). Also lower sodium products are better and more healthy.

Current needs include the following:
canned meats (chicken, corned beef, spam)
peanut butter
jelly
tuna
canned vegetables (corn, green beans - (regular and low sodium)
individual fruit cups (low sugar)
canned fruit (low sugar)
canola or vegetable oil (48 oz)
boxed cereal (low sugar) and instant or old fashioned oatmeal (18 oz or 42 oz)
pasta (regular and gluten-free):
instant potatoes
single serving fruit juice
macaroni & cheese
soups: Chunky or Progresso,noodle soup; chicken broth, cream of mushroom
coffee, cooking oil, flour, sugar
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Our mailing address is:
St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland
1607 Dewitt Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22301-1625