"May her soul and the souls of all the departed through the mercy of God rest in peace."
Fran Griffith, wife of Dick Griffith, died peacefully on Tuesday, December 17. A graveside service will be held in Madison, VA, this Friday, December 20 at 11:00 AM at the Hebron Lutheran Church Cemetery. Please keep Dick and their daughters Theresa and Jennifer in your prayers.
Donations needed for Christmas "baskets"
- Each Thanksgiving and Christmas, we collect funds to provide "baskets", now food gift cards, to 10 families whose names have been given to us by Western Fairfax Christian Ministries. Our donations are low this year and we will not be able to provide each family with what we usually give. If you would like to donate, please turn in your donation this Sunday, or deliver it to the church office
no later than today, Wednesday, December 18.
Envelopes are on the back table in the church. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!
Coffee Hour -
As this Sunday is the fourth Sunday of the month, the members with last names starting with M - Z will provide the Coffee Hour snacks.
Interested in becoming a Lay Eucharistic Minister?
We are in need of several more LEM's to serve at the altar on Sunday mornings. LEM's lead the psalm and the Prayers of the People, help prepare the altar for communion, and administer the chalice. Training will be provided. Please contact Walt Cooner or Carol Hancock if you are interested.
We need your help!
And we need your help soon!
So far, no one has signed up for any of the positions (LEM, lector, usher) needed for the 9:00 PM service on Christmas Eve, the 9:30 AM service on Christmas Day, and for Sunday, December 29. Please scroll down this page and click on "Altar Servers" and sign up today! Thanks!
Wednesdays in Advent -
Following the 6:00 PM service, we will gather in the library to talk about "The Way of Love - Practices for a Jesus-Centered Life." Our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry began this curriculum and often preaches about the way of love.There are seven intentional areas for leading a Jesus-centered life - turn, learn, pray, worship, bless, go, and rest. Not all of these have to be done every day, but these areas give us a pattern for our lives, somewhat like a rule of life.
Join us for the last discussion Wednesday in Advent -
tonight December 18
from 6:45 PM - 7:45 PM.
Bring a sandwich or light dinner. On December 24, we will gather at our Christmas Eve services to welcome the Christ child.
Meditation from Episcopal Relief and Development
- As we move into Advent, we're reminded of the song from the movie
Urban Cowboy
— "Looking for love in all the wrong places." We are bombarded at every turn with everything the retail world insists that we need — the right decorations, wrapping paper, Christmas cards, party invitations, recipes, music, gifts — everything we need for the perfect Christmas holiday.
If we look to the retail world, we are looking for love in all the wrong places. As Presiding Bishop Curry reminds us with the Way of Love, one of the important steps is to
turn
— to pause, listen, and choose to turn back to God from anything that has turned us away. Advent calls us to "go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways." In this broken world, we turn to God to find the path of true peace, the path of God's reconciling love.
May we all find the path of God this Advent season.
Donations for Christmas wreaths and flowers -
If you would like to donate funds for Christmas wreaths and flowers, please use the envelopes that are on the back table in the church. Be sure to include who they are in memory of or thanksgiving for. We need to receive the donations no later than Friday, December 20 (though the sooner the better) so the names can be printed in the Christmas bulletins.
Christmas services
- Our Christmas Eve services will be at 4:00 PM and 9:00 PM. At 8:45 PM, the choir will lead us in singing Christmas carols.The 4:00 PM service will include a children's sermon and nursery care will be available. The service on Christmas Day will be at 9:30 AM. All services will include the Holy Eucharist, sermon and music. The choir will sing at both Christmas Eve services. Please invite your family and friends to join us for this wonderful celebration of the birth of the Christ child!
Wednesday 6:00 PM services -
We will not have the 6:00 PM service on Wednesday, December 25 and Wednesday, January 1. These services will resume on January 8.
Church Office -
The church office will be closed on Wednesday, December 25 and Thursday, December 26.
I
ntern in the Deacon's School to assist at St. John's -
Steven Busch, a second year student in the Deacon's School will serve as an intern at St. John's in 2020. His first Sunday will be January 5, though he will sit in the congregation that day. He will be a Vocational Deacon when he is ordained in 2021. That means his ministry will be that of a deacon, whose focus is on those in need in the community, and he will not be ordained as a priest. Steven spent his career in the military and he is now retired. His focus at St. John's will be outreach. After learning more about the community and its needs, he will help us either enhance an outreach program we already have or help us start a new one. Steven will assist on Sunday mornings in a rotation of positions (but he will not displace our lay people who currently serve as LEM's, lectors, crucifers, etc.) and will work here 3 hours per week on outreach. I am pleased to welcome Steven to St. John's and look forward to his ministry with us.
