Recordings

On this page you’ll find our recently recorded services and sermons, along with occasional special productions featuring the many talents of our St. Andrew’s congregation.

Easter Sunday: A Joy Worth Slowing Down For

April 4, 2021

The Easter morning story from Mark’s Gospel is different from the other versions of this story. Rev. Dorota Wright-Pruski notes that the women who discovered the empty tomb “said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” Like us, they needed time to allow a slow kind of joy to transform their grief. God’s work continues to unfurl in our world, and we will joyfully witness it, but we need to patiently tend to it, like a seedling.

See Mark 16:1-8.

Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem

— C.V. Stanford

Sung by the combined choirs of:

The Falls Church, Episcopal
St. Andrew’s, Arlington
St. Andrew’s, Burke
St. Mary’s, Arlington, and
The Church of the Epiphany, Oak Park, CA

Jay Wilcox, conductor

Aaron Goen, organist

Maundy Thursday: “They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love”

April 1, 2021

Today’s Bible readings focus on instructions that can be hard to follow. Seminarian Annie Jung notes the loving, inclusive example Jesus sets by washing the feet of his disciples. We are called to show physical, visible signs that we are God’s children, and that we know how to show love for all. Borrowing a lyric from a 1960s hymn: “By walking hand-in-hand, by working side-by-side.”

See Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14 and John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Palm Sunday: broken bread, broken promise, broken hope

March 28, 2021

Rev. Dorota Wright-Pruski invites us to feel the brokenness that was felt by Jesus’s followers during the events of Holy Week. Then, members of St. Andrew’s read the passion of Jesus from the Gospel of Mark, and Music Director Brandon Heishman concludes with a singing of “Were You There?”

Images: Stations of the Cross by artist Mary Horn

See Mark 11:1-11 and Mark 15:1-39, [40-47]

Take What Is Inside, and Turn It Over

March 21, 2021

Springtime brings new life bursting out around us, with long-dormant layers of nutrients now brought to the surface to spur growth. We all have inner nutrients in the form of God’s love for us, the new covenant written on our hearts. Our part of the covenant is to take that love and manifest it outwardly in real, tangible ways.

See Jeremiah 31:31-34.

Look Up Toward Salvation

March 14, 2021

Seminarian Annie Jung notes that in both of today’s Bible readings, we hear how we can get so focused on what we think is best for us, we don’t realize how far we’ve strayed off the path God has set before us. How to find our way back? Look up.

See Numbers 21:4-9 and John 3:14-21.

It’s Time to Lay Claim to What We Believe

March 7, 2021

This week The Rev. Sean Cavanaugh of St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School in Alexandria suggests we take a cue from Jesus in today’s gospel. Jesus decided it was time to tackle the moneychangers in the temple of Jerusalem, and risked his life in doing so. Today the rise of white nationalism in the Christian church challenges us to get off the sidelines and lay claim to what we believe.

See John 2:13-22.

To Follow Jesus, Let Go of Everything But This

Feb. 28 2021

What does it mean to lose our lives for Jesus’s sake, and in so doing, save them? Rev. Dorota Wright-Pruski explores the ideas of St. Ignatius, who urged us to get rid of anything that gets in the way of praising, revering, and serving God. We need keep only one thing: our knowledge that God loves us unconditionally, which empowers us to do the same for others.

See Mark 8:31-38.

Your Name Is Not “Sinner”; It Is “Beloved”

Feb. 21, 2021

In today’s sermon, Rt. Rev. Eugene Sutton, Bishop of Maryland, looks at how sin and repentance are addressed in the Bible. While the world might withhold acceptance of a person until they have repented of their sins, God accepts and loves us first, unconditionally. This love and acceptance transformed Jacob, Peter, Paul, and countless others.

Lent in a Pandemic: Find Your Own “Thin Places”

Feb. 17, 2021

The pandemic prevents us from visiting our favorite “thin places” where we feel renewed and closest to God. But as we learn from Mallory Nonnemaker, Family Ministries Director, Lent can be a season when we challenge ourselves to find those places and times, even in our everyday schedule.

To Be An Expert on God, Just Love

Feb. 14, 2021

Rev. Dorota Wright-Pruski shares a short story in which a priest is confronted with a car accident scene that tests his faith. What’s most important in a life of faith isn’t understanding, nor knowledge, nor even acceptance of the sacred mysteries. It’s to love others as God has loved us.

See Mark 9:2-9

The Place Where We Needed God Most

Feb. 7, 2021

Seminarian Annie Jung explains that we, as recipients of God’s healing grace, are called to do what Simon’s mother-in-law did in today’s gospel reading: pay it forward by helping share the good news to others. God’s healing, grace, and mercy are gifts that never expire, and are not offered only to those who can arrive the fastest to collect them. They’re for everyone, and forever.

See Mark 1:29-39

A Year in the Life of St. Andrew’s: 2020

Jan. 31, 2021

Presented at the St. Andrew’s Parish Annual Meeting, this video looks back on the challenges and celebrations of our parish during a difficult year. Permission to reprint, podcast, and / or stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license # M-400520. All rights reserved.

Christmas Greetings from St. Andrew’s

Dec. 25, 2020

Families from St. Andrew’s share their holiday greetings virtually in a heartwarming montage of photos and videos.

Christmas Day Service

Dec. 25, 2020

Rev. Dorota Wright-Pruski leads the St. Andrew’s community in “prayers in pajamas” — a short service of prayers, carols, and readings as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Christmas Eve Service

Dec. 24, 2020

Rev. Dorota Wright-Pruski leads the St. Andrew’s community in worship. This service features the telling of the Christmas story with the help of our younger members, and it is accompanied by special music and a sermon.

Silent Night

Dec. 24, 2020

Families from St. Andrew’s lend their voices to a virtual ensemble performance of “Silent Night.”

Speaking in Tongues: The Pentecost

May 31, 2020

In this reading of Acts 2: 1-21, members of St. Andrew’s contribute their talents in terms of foreign languages and artwork.

“Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether”

May 31, 2020

A combined choral presentation featuring the choirs of Holy Cross in Dunn Loring, VA; St. Andrew’s in Arlington, VA; and St. Andrew’s in Burke, VA.