E-PISTLE
The Weekly Newsletter of
St. Christophers Episcopal Church
Springfield, VA
Sunday, May 22 - 

Server Schedule:
Sunday, May 22

Acolytes:
7:30 
TBD 
10:30  Crucifer - Grace Belisle
Server - Morgan Price
Torchbearer - Christian Price
Altar Guild  Pam Branstetter and Virginia Clark
Communion Bread  Pam Osborn
Flower Guild  Sandy Rowley and Marguerite Wagner
Greeters  Chriss Foster and Virginia Clark
Lay Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors  7:30
EM - Helen Spence
L - Helen Spence  
 
10:30 
PB - n/a
CB1 - Helen Spence
CB2 - Deb Kim
L1 - Jim Bradshaw
L2 - Helen Spence
Intercessor  Helen Spence
Chapel Prayer Team  Ruth Meagher and Sue Fitzgerald
P.A.T.  (Pastoral Assistant Team) Minister  TBA
Refreshments and Fellowship  Jeff Baldwin and Heather Baldwin switched with Marifran Bustion
Ushers Guild  Team Manning
Tellers Stan Spence and Carroll Hill
Vestry Person of the Week  John Quinn
Lectionary Readings 

**** If you are unable to serve as scheduled, please arrange a replacement and notify the office of the change.****   
 
This Week at St. Christopher's
May 23 - May 29

Monday  
Preschool Water Play & Picnic
7:00 pm Vestry Meeting

Tuesday  
Preschool Water Play & Picnic
7:00 pm Book Discussion Group/Lawson Home

Wednesday  
Preschool Water Play & Picnic
9:30 am - Holy Eucharisht
6:30 pm -  Rehoboth Church
7:30 pm - Adult Choir Rehearsal

Thursday   
10:00 am - Women's Bible Study

Friday   
Last Day of Preschool
5:00 pm - SA Meeting

Saturday    
8:00 am -Men's Group Meeting
5:00 pm - SA Meeting
8:30 pm - AA Meeting

Sunday, May 29 - The Second Sunday after Pentecost
7:30 am - Holy Eucharist/Rite I
9:15 am - Sunday for Everyone
10:30 am - Holy Eucharist/Rite II
11:45 am. Refreshment & Fellowship
12:15 pm - Bell Choir Rehearsal
12:30 pm - Rehoboth Church/Auditorium

News & Updates

From the Rector Desk:
Near the first of every month Fr. Peter offers a topical reflection for our readers, so look for his next correspondence in upcoming issue here.

Dear Parish Family,
Due to Website Upgrades to the software our Webhost, we needed to make changes to the email backbone. These changes was to go through a process that required us to deactivate and then reactivate the email service. Staff email at this moment needs time to retain and repopulate with accounts as they are re-established. The process may take a few hours or by COB today. Thank you for your cooperation. If you need to reach a member of the staff, please dial Nina Miller at 703-451-1088.

Did You Know?
Friday, May 27th i s the last day of St. Christopher's Preschool for the 2015-2016 school year and graduation of those who will go on to Kindergarten. We wish the fullness of God's blessing on the staff, teachers, children, and families as they begin their summer break, and we look forward to the return of many of them in the fall.
 
ECHO Outreach Garden Update
The ECHO Outreach Garden is ready for planting and is in its third year. Using results from a soil sample test we sent to Virginia Tech and working with the Virginia Extension Service, we applied lime to the garden and David Kirk tilled it (thanks, David!). We'll add fertilizer as suggested by the Extension Service throughout the season, so expect a bumper crop of fresh vegetables for ECHO's participants.   After all the rain we've had, the ECHO Garden is now ready to plant.   Come one, come all and join in the fun of planting tomato and pepper plants, onion sets, and seeds for zucchini, carrots, cucumbers, and radishes Saturday, May 21, at 10:00 am and watch them grow this summer! Marifran Bustion, Garden Coordinator

Thank You Breakfast
Everyone is invited to the annual Thank-You breakfast on Sunday, May 22nd. It will be in the auditorium starting at 9:15 AM. This is my way of thanking all of you that were involved with the Formation program here at St. Christopher's. There will be all sorts of goodies from french toast to hash-brown casserole to stradas to fruit and donut holes!! We will also be honoring our Sunday school teachers -- Megan Coffey, Meagan Pa, and Richard Sellers as well as those who led Adult Formation this year -- Christina Manning and Father Peter. Mark your calendars now for some wonderful food and fellowship.

Book Discussion by the Pool
The Book Discussion Group will meet at the home of Judy Lawson at 7 pm on Tuesday, May 24, to discuss Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. We have our meetings in the evenings during the summer months to accommodate interested individuals who work during the day. Everyone is welcome. For more information, contact Christine Meloni at cfmeloni@hotmail.com.

Men's Group Meeting
There will be meeting on Saturday May 28th at 8:00 am for a hearty breakfast and to discuss the next section of our "Uncommon Life" book series. Men of all ages are welcome. For questions or to be added to the Men's Group e-mail distribution, please contact Bob Hall (bobhall01@gmail.com) or Mike Snyder (mikesnyder2441@gmail.com)).

Women's Group Meeting
The Women's Group will meet at Janet Bush's house on Monday night, May 30th at 7 p.m.  Janet's address is 6110 Roxbury Avenue, Springfield, VA, off Rolling Road near West Springfield H.S.  All women of the parish are welcome, whether you have attended  before or not. Even if you've never come before, we warmly invite you to give it a try. It's a low key gather, and we spend a couple of hours sharing concerns, laughing, having a beverage and some nibbles, and praying for each other and our loved ones. No need to call ahead, but if you have questions, please call Janet Bush, 703-371-2465.
 
Save the Dates: June 18th for another 60th Anniversary Celebration and September 4th for the Parish Picnic-Labor Day-Style
Mark your calendars for two summer events-Saturday, June 18th, 60th Anniversary Party, "Rock and Roll to Peace and Love 60s Style," and the Annual Parish Picnic on the parish grounds, Sunday, September 4th (yes, that's Saturday of Labor Day weekend, as school will already have started). More information to follow. Richard Sellers, Parish Life Commissioner

Chapel Team
How many of you know what happens with the children when they leave for Children's Chapel? Is it a blessed 20 minutes of quiet and worship time for those in church or a quick trip off to childcare? Actually there's a lot that goes on over in the auditorium during this time - Gospel reflection, singing, prayers, and a formational activity based on Episcopal tradition. It's a time for the children to be introduced to Christian corporate worship at a developmentally appropriate pace. Each chapel time does require the presence of two adults/teens for supervision. We are looking at create leadership teams for this ministry to continue - to broaden the leadership away from the parents of the participating children. Rest assured that all curriculum and supplies are provided as well as training and support from the Christian Formation office. Kellee Wattenbarger & Danny Gorham

St. Christopher's Capital Campaign Committee Invites All Parishioners to Pray for the New Campaign
Campaign The prayer is here: "Most gracious and loving God, thank you for helping us to find Christ in this place through our ministries, our worship, our lives and for our reaching out to the world for the past 60 years. Help us now to move forward by remembering the past and those saints who have gone before us, and guiding us now towards carrying forward Christ in this place through our ministries, our worship and our lives. Through Jesus Christ, your Son, and our Savior."

Preschool Prattle
Our week was marked by celebrations!  It is only fitting that we end the year with music - it is such an important part of our  preschool experience. On Monday we enjoyed a Spring Music Program with our Two and Three Year Old Classes.  Our talented Music teacher, Mrs. Waddington, led the students as they showcased many of the musical elements they learned this year.  Friday will be our Graduation Ceremony for our Four Year Old classes that will be heading to Kindergarten next year.  This is certainly a time of year for the children and their families to celebrate but it is also a time for teachers to marvel at the learning and growth that has happened over the year and to give thanks to God for these little miracles.
  Peace,Polly Colwell, Director


The Rev. Peter K. Ackerman
Rector
703-451-1088 ext. 1
Email: rector@saintchristophers.net
STAY CONNECTED: