Meet St. Andrew's, Haw River

St. Andrew's is a small mission located in central Alamance County in the town of Haw River, approximately halfway between Mebane and Burlington. The church building was erected in 1945 on a large parcel of land on Hwy 70. This is a small but active congregation – the pre-COVID average Sunday attendance was 35-45 – with a deep heart for helping others.

For many years, the parish has offered the vacant land behind the church building as a community garden, primarily serving our Hispanic neighbors in the adjoining trailer park. And when schools were open, we provided tutoring twice a week for our neighboring children who attend Haw River Elementary School. We also support that school in many other ways – both financially and in providing extra support and encouragement for the teachers and staff. We also help support a large food pantry in Alamance County, as well as maintaining a small food supply for those in need who come to our doors for assistance. Once we are fully reopened, we will return to all those “hands-on” efforts and also hope to have another health clinic and future voter registration drives, all activities we have offered in past years. Every December we work with Alamance County’s Christmas Cheer program to provide Christmas gifts to 2-4 local families in need, and we annual provide financial support to St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh.

Currently St. Andrew’s Sunday services are pre-recorded and offered online via Facebook, You Tube and our website (www.standrewshawriver.org), but we hope to return to regular in-person worship on Pentecost (May 23 at 10:30 a.m.).

In terms of liturgical style, we use Holy Eucharist Rite II except during the penitential seasons of Advent and Lent, when we use Rite I. We provide a Morning Prayer service every Wednesday at 9:00 a.m., meeting in the Parish Hall.

Prior to the pandemic (and returning soon in person, at the church) we offered a Healing and Holy Eucharist service on the second Sunday of the month at 5:00 p.m. and a service of meditation and Celtic prayers at 5:00 p.m. on the fourth Sunday of the month.