Walking Together in Faith: Reflections on 2025

As we reflect on 2025 at St. Andrew’s On-the-Sound, we do so with deep gratitude for God’s faithfulness and for the many ways our parish has lived into its calling to worship, serve, and grow together. This year was shaped not by one defining moment, but by a steady and faithful rhythm of prayer, relationship, and shared ministry, rooted in Christ and sustained by the love of this community.

Worship at the Heart of Our Life

Worship remained the center of our common life in 2025. Week after week, we gathered around Word and Sacrament, shaped by the beauty of the Book of Common Prayer and the seasons of the Church year. From Advent’s quiet expectancy to the joy of Easter, from ordinary Sundays to holy days and pastoral liturgies, worship continued to anchor and form us.

Services such as The Longest Night (Blue Christmas) created sacred space for those carrying grief during the holidays, while All Saints’ Day offered a time to remember and give thanks for the saints who have gone before us. Christmas Eve once again drew families, longtime parishioners, and visitors alike, with multiple services including pageant, family Eucharist, and candlelight worship, reminding us that Christ comes to meet us exactly where we are.

Music deepened our prayer throughout the year. The arrival of a new grand piano for St. Andrew’s enhanced worship and rehearsal life, while the St. Andrew’s Choir, parish instrumentalists, and guest musicians from the Wilmington Symphony offered beauty and reverence to our liturgy. Members of St. Andrew’s also participated in a diocesan choir tour to the United Kingdom with Schola Cantorum, representing our parish beyond our walls through music, fellowship, and shared witness.

Clergy Leadership and Shared Stewardship

We give thanks for the clergy leadership that guided St. Andrew’s On-the-Sound through a significant season of transition in 2025. From June 2024 through mid-May 2025, we were blessed by the ministry of the Rev. Gary Jones, who served as our first Interim Rector. During his time with us, Father Gary helped shape the spiritual life of the parish through thoughtful preaching, teaching, and a deep commitment to contemplative prayer.

Father Gary initiated the Sunday Forums, often leading them himself and inviting engaging guest speakers to enrich parish conversation. He taught a Wednesday morning class titled Following Jesus early in the year and offered a Lenten rhythm that included a Wednesday noon Holy Eucharist preceded by guided centering prayer. In March, he also led a Poetry and Silence retreat with guest poet Annie Lighthart. His gentle presence, scholarly depth, and belief in the power of meditation and centering prayer left a lasting imprint on the parish.

From March through July 2025, we were grateful for the ministry of the Rev. Catherine Powell, who served faithfully during this transitional period. Catherine brought warmth, pastoral care, and steady support to the parish and was especially instrumental in working alongside Caroline in ministries with children and youth. Her involvement in Vacation Bible School and her collaborative spirit strengthened formation and fellowship for families during the summer months.

Following Catherine’s departure, we were supported by interim and supply priests who helped maintain continuity in worship and pastoral care through August. In late summer, we welcomed the Rev. Michael Singer as our Interim Rector. Through preaching, teaching, and pastoral leadership, Father Singer has continued to challenge and encourage the parish in new and meaningful ways, inviting deeper reflection, faithful courage, and renewed engagement with the life of the Church.

Alongside clergy leadership, we remain deeply grateful for the lay leaders who serve faithfully. In 2025, we welcomed vestry candidates for the Class of 2026—Stephen Clinard, Jane Mickelson, Melinda Rider, and Stephen Schillreff—whose willingness to serve reflects a shared commitment to discernment, stewardship, and the ongoing mission of St. Andrew’s.

We also offer heartfelt thanks to the vestry members who rotated off this year: Mark Arcuri, Frances Goodman, Jim Grice, and Dan Patterson. Their leadership, wisdom, and dedication during their terms have strengthened the parish and helped guide St. Andrew’s through a season of change. We are grateful for the time, prayer, and care they offered in service to this community.

Children, Youth, and Family Life

Children and youth played a vibrant role in parish life throughout 2025. Through Children’s Church and Children’s Sunday School, children engaged Scripture and the liturgical year through storytelling, music, hands-on materials, and creative response. Seasonal rhythms such as Advent and Christmas were marked with special care, inviting children into wonder, reflection, and joyful participation in the life of the Church.

The True Vine Atrium continued to be a central, sacred space for children, offering a Montessori-inspired environment where they encountered Scripture, prayer, and liturgy at their own pace. Through the quiet work of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, shared song, and thoughtful conversation, children deepened their sense of belonging and their relationship with God.

Intergenerational and seasonal gatherings—including the Fall Festival, Advent and Christmas celebrations, and a participatory Christmas pageant—brought families together in fellowship and joy, strengthening connections across the parish.

Youth ministry through EYC (Episcopal Youth Community) provided older students with a space to grow in faith, friendship, and leadership. Regular gatherings combined community-building, reflection, service, and fun, creating a welcoming environment where youth explore questions, deepen relationships, and take ownership of their faith.

As the year progressed, youth began discernment and preparation for Confirmation using Confirm Not Conform, beginning a meaningful journey toward affirming their faith in the spring of 2026.

In 2025, Wilmington Area Youth (WAY) was launched as a new opportunity for youth from neighboring churches to gather in shared worship, fellowship, and service, expanding connection beyond the parish and fostering a wider sense of Christian community.

Pastoral Care and Outreach

Throughout 2025, St. Andrew’s lived its calling to love God and neighbor through compassionate pastoral care and tangible outreach. Parishioners were accompanied through seasons of grief, especially during the holidays, through offerings such as Supporting Those Who Are Grieving During the Holidays. On All Saints’ Day, worship held sorrow and hope together as we remembered our loved ones.

Outreach ministries addressed real needs with humility and generosity. Parishioners supported neighbors through Nourish NC food drives, water and towel collections, and seasonal outreach including Christmas gift bags for the Good Shepherd Center. Fall outreach efforts supported A Safe Place, a domestic violence shelter, extending care and solidarity to survivors. These ministries reflected a shared commitment to dignity, relationship, and faithful action.

In the fall, Sermons on the Sound was launched as a new ministry, extending preaching and reflection beyond Sunday mornings and into the wider community, offering another way to share the Gospel through word and witness.

Formation, Prayer, and Community Life

Opportunities for spiritual growth and connection continued throughout the year. Members of Grace Chapter, Daughters of the King, renewed their commitment to prayer and service through a retreat at Holy Cross. The parish also celebrated milestones along the contemplative path, honoring the quiet and faithful work of prayer that sustains the Church.

Community life flourished in both familiar and new ways. Parish gatherings such as the annual BBQ and seasonal festivals strengthened relationships across generations. In 2025, we also celebrated the formation of a Hospitality Committee, whose thoughtful planning and care have significantly enriched parish gatherings. Their leadership has brought warmth, organization, and welcome to special events, including the all-parish breakfast taking place this Sunday morning. This ministry has helped ensure that fellowship is not only joyful, but intentionally welcoming to all.

Inspired by longtime parishioner Scott Dodd, members were also encouraged to gather beyond the pews through shared experiences such as concerts, plays, outdoor events, and museum visits, affirming that Christian community is formed wherever we walk together in joy, curiosity, and friendship.

Looking Ahead with Gratitude and Hope

As we close the chapter on 2025, we do so with deep gratitude—for worship offered faithfully, for love shown generously, and for the many ways God has met us in community, service, and prayer. This year has reminded us that the life of the Church is sustained not by any one moment or person, but by the steady faithfulness of God and the shared commitment of God’s people.

As we look toward 2026, St. Andrew’s On-the-Sound continues in a season of discernment as we seek God’s guidance in calling our next full-time Rector. This ongoing search is held in prayer, patience, and hope, trusting that God is already at work preparing both our parish and the priest who will one day walk with us into the next chapter of our life together.

Grounded in worship, strengthened by relationships, and sustained by the Spirit, we move forward with confidence—open to where God is leading and attentive to the work entrusted to us now.

With gratitude for all that has been and hope for all that is yet to come, we continue to extend the invitation at the heart of our shared life:

Come and see.