St. Andrew's is a friendly, welcoming, generous, affirming, stable, and supportive community of dedicated parishioners. We are one of the largest congregations in the Diocese of Vermont and serve in a variety of ministries, including pastoral care, healing ministries, stewardship, and commitment to outreach and children's ministries. Liturgy is flexible, but reverent, supplemented with music ranging from the Middle Ages to the 1970s, with real participation from the congregation. Our church building is modest and relatively free of upkeep issues. St. Andrew's greatest strength is its people - hopeful and desirous to learn from the teachings of Jesus.

St. Andrew's is facing the challenges common to many parishes: a limited pool of volunteers threatens burnout; complacency has set in around issues of evangelism, community engagement, and outreach; and the congregation is aging and shrinking, there are fewer young families and children than in recent memory. These challenges are compounded by our ability to find relevance in a digital world, lack of clear administrative policies, and changing demographics in Vermont, which ranks among the most secular states in the union. St. Andrew's is financially supportive of outreach efforts, but not engaged in these ministries as a parish family. There is limited diversity among the congregation and a steep learning curve for newcomers. The church building is on a side street and limited in what can be done because of septic and Town of Colchester concerns. St. Andrew's is not well known in the community, compounded by dated technology and lack of innovation in our evangelistic endeavors and community partnerships. Some in the congregation feel the need to swell St. Andrew's numbers in order to continue ministry as usual.

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Canon Lynn Bates,

Canon to the Ordinary and Transition Minister

lbates@diovermont.org