Welcome to our newsletter.

We hope this information keeps you connected to our church family. 

Friday, March 29th, 12:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.: Good Friday

• Join us for Holy Eucharist. The service bulletin may be accessed here or by clicking the image of the cover.

Saturday, March 30th, 7:00 p.m.: The Great Vigil of Easter

• Join us for Holy Eucharist. The service bulletin may be accessed here or by clicking the image of the cover.

Sunday, March 31st, 8:00 & 10:00 a.m.: Easter Sunday

• Join us for Holy Eucharist. The service will be available through Facebook Live at the St. Andrew's Facebook page at 10:00 a.m. The service bulletin may be accessed here or by clicking the image of the cover.
• Sunday School for children ages 5-12 meets during the 10:00 a.m. service. Infant and toddler care are also provided.

Pastoral Care

Weekly Sunday School

Expert day care for infants and children younger than 5 during the 10 a.m. church service is provided by Samira Sameni, a preschool teacher at our Saint Andrew’s Children’s Center. Drop-off is upstairs in the Children's Center's 2^nd floor Conference Room.

Sunday School for children ages 5 to12 during the 10 a.m. service will be happening indoors in the Children's Center's 2^nd floor Conference Room. This Sunday we will learn about Jesus’ rising from the dead on the first Easter Sunday, and we’ll be making Easter crosses to celebrate the good news. The Easter Egg Hunt for the children will begin as soon as Father Peter is finished greeting people after the 10 a.m. service. There is a special area just for the youngest children ages 3 years and below, while the majority of the lawn will be for the children aged 4 and above. After the service, come to the table, get your paper bag and write your name on it, and then you’ll be ready to join in when Father Peter announces the start. Note that next week we’ll take a break and not have Sunday School. We’ll begin again on the following Sunday, April 14, learning about what Jesus’s called the disciples to do after he rose from the dead.  If you have any questions or feedback about Sunday School, please contact our Sunday School teacher,  Tammy Smecker-Hane. 

Earth Day Activity – Stepping Stones

We have a special activity planned for families on Sunday, April 21, in celebration of Earth Day on the following Monday. The Sunday School children and families will be making mosaic stepping stones for the landscaping around the church! We will provide some sample designs that celebrate God’s creation and the diversity of plants, animals, people and landscapes found on Earth. The children will plan out their designs and arrange the tiles during Sunday School and, after the 10 a.m. service, parents and children will get together to mix and pour the concrete to finish the job. It will be a fun and lasting way to celebrate nature and leave your individual artistic stamp on our church’s landscape. We’ll also have some extra kits for folks who want to join in the fun even if they don’t have children in Sunday School. Families who cannot be with us on April 21 can make up the activity on the following week. Please let our Sunday School teacher, Tammy Smecker-Hane, know if you have any questions or plan to need the make-up event. (Due to the potential for messiness, please wear clothes that you wouldn’t mind getting a little dirty that week.) 

Camp Stevens

As you begin planning your children’s summer activities, please consider Camp Stevens, an amazing summer camp and retreat center run by the Episcopal Church in the mountains east of San Diego just outside the historic town of Julian. Many young people at Saint Andrew’s have gone to Camp Stevens repeatedly for summer camp, and some loved their experiences so much they could hardly wait to return as teens to work there as camp counselors. Feel free to ask, the Browning, Hane, Caprini and Trimpey families about their children’s recent experiences.

Camp Stevens is renowned for their inclusivity, celebration of diversity, fabulous outdoor experiences, and their farm-to-table kitchen. As Camp Stevens website explains, “We work to ensure each camper leaves with a greater sense of self-love, confidence, spirituality, and creativity from a week of being accepted as they are in a compassionate community. We believe that by exploring together in a group they develop a greater sense of empathy and responsibility to others and ready to face new challenges in the future. We hope that they feel inspired by their time in nature and have a deeper desire to become stewards of the earth.”  

Summer Camp is for children ages 8 to 17, and they are grouped by age into different Adventure Groups. Each group cooks out over a campfire and sleeps under the stars at least once a week. Older campers may challenge themselves on the high ropes course, and younger campers aim for new heights on the climbing wall. All campers have the option to try classic camp activities such as swimming, hiking, archery, and arts & crafts. For the more adventurous youth, Wilderness Camp is available for teens aged 13 to 17 and, depending on the particular week, involves backpacking either in the mountains and valleys around San Diego County or kayaking around Catalina Island. In addition, you can make pick-up/drop-off easy by signing up for the bus that departs/returns from Saint Michael’s Episcopal Church in Anaheim.

A great way to introduce young children to Camp Stevens and make them comfortable with sleep-away camp is to take your entire family to Camp Stevens for one of their weekend Family Camps. You’ll stay together in bunk beds in a room in one of the lodges and explore what’s growing in the gardens, visit the farm animals, and enjoy counselor-led activities like hiking or archery or maybe even go on a local winery tour. The next Family Camps happen over Mother’s Day weekend (May 10-12) and Memorial Day weekend (May 25-27). 

For more information about Camp Stevens programs or to register for camp, please visit them on the web by clicking here. Plan to register early because some sessions do fill up quickly.

Peace & Justice Forum

If you missed Jane Stoever’s talk about her work on domestic violence and abuse prevention on 3/17, we’ve made her slides available in the Justice section of the St. Andrew’s website. Click here to view.

Outreach News - Month of March

For the month of March, we are collecting toiletries in support of the young adults and trafficked youth at the Orangewood Foundation. Please bring full size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, soap, feminine products, toothpaste, toothbrushes, lotion and new towels. These supplies run out quickly and so, Orangewood is always very grateful for the donations.

“We are truly God’s outreaching hands in the world. “

Altar Flowers

Traditionally, there are no flowers at the altar during Lent and Holy Week. Any dedications received at this time will be printed in the Easter bulletins. To make a donation for Easter flowers, please fill out a flower donation envelope in the pews and place it in the offering plate. The Altar Guild thanks you for your donation. We will continue to accept Easter flower donations throughout the Easter Season.  

Easter Flowers For Wooden Cross

Please bring fresh flowers on Easter Sunday for the cross outside of church, as we transform it from a wooden cross of hopelessness to a beautiful cross of HOPE.



Woodbridge Manor: April 1st

Woodbridge Manor volunteers will meet on April 1st at 10:30 a.m. We need empty cardboard egg cartons and plastic fruit boxes (like the ones raspberries come in). These may be brought to church and left in the Narthex. For more information contact Catherine Sharbaugh.

Grief Support Group: April 8th

The Grief Support Group meets this Monday, April 8th at 4:00 p.m. Scroll down to Events & Activities on our home page for the latest information. Contact Susan Garrett, Kathy Cartelli, or Catherine Sharbaugh.

Book Group - On hiatus until April 10th

The Virtual Book Group meets weekly on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. followed by noonday prayer. We are on hiatus during Lent and through Easter. We will resume on April 10th. Scroll down to Events and Activities on our website homepage for the new reading. To be added to the Zoom invitation please contact the office.

Outreach Volunteer Opportunity

On Friday, April 12th, we will be serving dinner at the Friendship Shelter at 5:30 p.m. We will meet at St. Andrew’s at 4:00 p.m. for anyone that would like to share a ride or drop off food. It’s a wonderful experience to meet and serve those that are struggling. Please let Grace know if you are interested in joining us. 



A Look Ahead.........................

MARCH 2024

3/28 - Maundy Thursday - 7 p.m.

3/29 - Good Friday - Noon and 7 p.m.

3/30 - Holy Saturday, Easter Vigil - 7 p.m.

3/31 - Easter - 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Pray for Peace in the Holy Land

The Rt. Rev. John Harvey Taylor asks us to pray for peace and keep in our hearts the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and its archbishop, the Rt. Rev. Hosam Naoum. Bishop Taylor has written to him on our diocese’s behalf and invites us to make a gift to the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which supports the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. Archbishop Naoum calls on all to unite in prayer for reconciliation.

Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church | 949-559-4699

The Very Rev. Peter Browning, Vicar

office@standrewsirvine.org | www.standrewsirvine.org

 Office Administration Hours:

 In-office: Monday and Thursday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

 Remote: Tuesday and Wednesday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.