Greetings!
PARISH NEWS for Wednesday, April 3, 2019
  • Funeral for Terry Barnes
The funeral for Terry Barnes will be at St. John's this Saturday, April 6 at 2:30 PM. There will be an opportunity to speak with the family before the service from 1:30 - 2:30 PM in room 217/218. Please keep the Barnes family in your prayers. May the soul of Terry and of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

  • Lenten services and program
Tonight, Wednesday, April 3, and continuing for the rest of the Wednesdays in Lent, the Lenten Program will be what we learned and experienced during our trip to the Holy Land. Each Wednesday, two or three people will present their pictures and reflections . We will have a service of Holy Eucharist at 6:00 PM , a light supper at 6:30 PM and the program from 7:00 - 8:00 PM. It was an amazing trip - one that we would like to share with you! Tonight, the program will be presented by Bev and Gene Milunec. The service will be in the church and the supper and program will be in the library.
  TRAVEL NOTES & PHOTOS – ST. GEORGE’S COLLEGE JERUSALEM
Carol's sister using a new mode of transportation.
You may recognize some of our parishioners.
Reflections from our trip to the Holy Land: Carol Hancock

Even two months after our return from the Holy Land, I am still digesting all that we saw and experienced. To realize that we may be walking where Jesus walked, renewing our own baptismal vows in the river where Jesus was baptized, to share communion where Jesus may have delivered the Sermon on the Mount, to see the remains of the home where Jesus might have lived in his childhood - it was overwhelming and hard to take so much in, in such a short period of time. We did have a little bit of time for "touristy" things, like the picture on the left, where my sister Jan is riding a camel! The picture on the right is of many of the women in our group on the day that we went inside the Haram esh Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) in Jerusalem, where women had to have their hair completely covered and wear long skirts, and men had to wear long pants. We all took off our shoes before going inside. This mosque is not open to the public, but because our leader from St. George's College is so well respected, having been leading groups for over 30 years, she is able to get St. George's participants into places that most people would not be able to go. Seeing the terrain and understanding better the geography of the area helps us to hear the scriptures with new meaning.


Sunday School Class
The Sunday School class for ages 2-4 will meet this Sunday, April 7 from 10:50 - 11:30 AM in room 215 and will be led by Angela and Russ Hadfield. Invite your friends and neighbors to join you!

***Save the date for the Spring Clean-Up Day!***
Saturday, April 13 will be a busy day at St. John's and we will need lots of volunteers.
 
  • ATTN: Men’s Group
 
The Men’s Group is organizing a ‘campus’ cleanup day. We will have some simple breakfast food to get everyone started and some lunch for those that can also work the afternoon shift. We will also have beverages.
 
When:  Saturday, April 13 th , @ 8:00 a.m. OR whenever you can get there
What: Campus Clean up
Where: Meet on Gilead Green directly behind the lower level
Who: Men’s Group will lead the effort (Plus, volunteers from the parish and/or our Ministry Partners)
 
The grounds of St. Johns is really starting to look good. However, the grounds could use a much needed spruce up. We have much debris to clear out and take to West Ox. We will also be spreading fresh mulch to various trees and flower beds. We will be working around the historic church, the cemetery, as well as the Mt. Gilead green. 
 
If you can come out in the morning and/or the afternoon, please join us. If you are unable to attend, please look for future announcements for a ‘non-working’ Men’s Group event!
 
What to bring on April 13 th  (feel free to bring yourself, as we will have plenty of supplies):
·   Gloves
·   Rakes; for gravel and for the lawn
·   Wheel Barrows
·   Any extra ‘Spring Fertilizer’
·   Chainsaws (Monti!)
·   Outdoor brooms
·   Pick-up trucks
 
In order for us to have the right amount of materials and food/beverage for the day, please RSVP to andrewdwade@gmail.com
 
 
Starting at 9:00 AM, volunteers are needed to make palm crosses and to fill the plastic Easter eggs with candy that has been donated. Questions? Contact Marcia Evans. A light breakfast and lunch will be provided. Please let Val Tucker know if you are coming so we will know how many people to plan for.

Thanks!
Because of the generosity of so many parishioners, we already have plenty of candy for the Easter Egg Hunt. And we have plenty of the plastic Easter eggs to put the candy in. Many thanks to all who contributed!

Treasurer Needed (Tom is retiring in January!)
Did you feel a slight calling and Googled what is the Treasurer’s Job Description?
 
Don’t worry, St. John’s stream-lined the duties to just 3 major tasks and signing of checks weekly.
 
The basic job description at St. John’s:
  1. Attend Finance and Vestry meetings – one each per month
 
  1. Inspire confidence from the congregation and church executive staff as to integrity and ability.
 
  1. The Treasurer is to communicate the situation of the church’s finances clearly. The details need the honest “big picture,” and the vestry needs to know enough to make wise decisions. That’s it.
 
If you’re interested in being a treasurer, lets chat.
 
Tom McDermott
 
Holy Week and Easter
Our Holy Week and Easter schedule is as follows:

Palm Sunday, April 14, 9:30 AM (procession starts outside)
Wednesday, April 17, 6:00 PM, 6:30 supper, 7:00 Final Lenten program
Maundy Thursday, April 18, 7:30 PM, Foot Washing and Holy Eucharist
Good Friday, April 19, 12:00 and 7:30 PM, Good Friday Liturgy
Easter Sunday, April 21, 8:00 and 10:30 AM, both with music, sermon and Holy
Eucharist. Easter Egg Hunt after 10:30 service

We will need extra help for these Holy Week and Easter services. If you are a Lay Eucharistic Minister, usher, lector, crucifer, or torch bearer, please sign up as soon as possible for the times you can help.

Envelopes are on the back table for those who would like to donate for the purchase of Easter flowers. If the flowers are given in memory of or thanksgiving for someone, please write that on the envelope. That will be included in the Easter bulletin.

Save the date for the Progressive Dinner!

This year the Progressive Dinner will be held Saturday, May 18th.  This is a favorite fellowship event every year so be sure to mark your calendar. Sign up and information sheets will be coming soon.

Make an Online Pledge Offering!
The new way to send your pledge offering! You can download the app to your phone, or you can click the link below, and use your credit card!
Lenten Meditation booklets available
Lenten Meditation booklets, put out by Episcopal Relief and Development, are available on the back of the table in the church and in the breezeway. A short meditation is provided for each day during Lent to help us deepen our relationship with God. Please help yourself!

Choir news – Faure’s Requiem
Several members of St. John’s choir are busy rehearsing Faure’s Requiem which will be presented with several church choirs and the Loudoun Symphony this Sunday, April 7 at 4 PM at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Ashburn, VA.  The requiem is a choral and orchestra piece written as a mass for the dead and focuses on eternal rest and consolation. Offering envelopes are on the back table in the church. If you would like to help support this concert and have loved ones remembered, please fill out the front of the offering envelope. The names of loved ones who have died will be printed in the concert bulletin. The admission fee at the door, which is in addition to any memorial you might want to make for a loved one, is $20 for adults, $10 for students, and ages 12 and under are free. You are encouraged to purchase tickets online ahead of time through Eventbrite http://tinyurl.com/y5tgbo8k . Tickets will also be available at the door. 
Please join us for this special presentation. Penny and Dave Parker, and Susie and Larry Pike, as well as our organist and choir director Mandy Hull, will be participating in this concert.
A LENTEN MESSAGE
from the Presiding Bishop

The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church

SUNDAY SERVICE
We can prepare our hearts & minds by reading ahead
for the Sunday Service lessons.   

The Fifth Sunday in Lent

April 7, 2019

9:30 AM

 The First Reading: Isaiah 43:16-21
God promises all kinds of strange and fantastic things through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah. If he makes a path through waters and wild animals bow to him, what might he have power to do in our lives today?

The Psalm:126 ; page 782, BCP

The Second Lesson: Philippians 3:4b-14
With everything to lose, the apostle Paul admits that all the efforts and accomplishments he attained cannot set him one hair ahead of everyone else when it comes to receiving the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

The Gospel: John 12:1-8
Tensions rise as Jesus' path to the cross grows nearer, the sincere gesture of a true follower is scoffed at and questioned by a suspicious and duplicitous disciple.
  __________________________________
 
CHILD CARE IS PROVIDED IN THE NURSERY  
(Rm. 205) 
During the Service
____________

JOINT SUNDAY SCHOOL: 10:30 - 11:30 AM
 Each week, St. John's children join with our Ministry Partners: 
Wellspring UCC & Grace Baptist Church
Room 207/208
_________________________

St. John's Sunday School class for ages 2-4, Room 215
Meets the first Sunday of each month from 10:50 - 11:30 
_________________________

THE ADULT LECTIONARY FORUM

MEETS EACH SUNDAY IN THE LIBRARY, FOLLOWING THE SERVICE 
  FROM 10:50 - 11:50 AM

This week we highlight the life of:

Saint Tikhon, born Vasily Ivanovich Belavin, was the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia of the Russian Orthodox Church during the early years of the Soviet Union, 1917 through 1925. Early in his ministry, however, he was named Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska. In that capacity he became head of the Russian Orthodox Church in America, reorganized the diocese, changing its name to "Diocese of the Aleutians and North America," and was made a citizen of the United States. He returned to Russia in 1907 and was serving as the Metropolitan of Moscow when the Russian Civil War broke out. The Russian Orthodox Church was considered anti-Bolshevik and many of its clergy were jailed or executed. After the establishment of the USSR, the Stalinist government accused Tikhon of being a saboteur and imprisoned him from April 1922 until June 1923. In 1924, Patriarch Tikhon fell ill and was hospitalized. On 5 April 1925, he served his last Liturgy and died two days later. He was considered a martyr for the faith. The Russian Orthodox Church declared him a saint in 1989 and the canonization was also hailed as an example of the thaw in Church-Soviet relations during the Glasnost era. 


DIOCESE
  • United Thank Offering
The United Thank Offering, sponsored by the Episcopal Church Women, collects funds in the spring and fall to assist outreach programs in this diocese and beyond. The Spring Ingathering at St. John's will be held this Sunday, April 7, when the funds will be collected, blessed and sent on to the diocesan ECW. UTO boxes and envelopes are on the back table in the church. You can put a coin or a bill in the box every time you have something to be thankful for. Prior to April 7, you can count the money you have collected for your many blessings and write a check for that amount. Use the UTO envelope for your check and bring it on April 7.
VOLUNTEERING AT ST. JOHN'S
Sign Up Here to be an altar server *, or to donate flowers for a Sunday service, or to bring refreshments for Coffee Hour after the service. * (if you're not an altar server, and would like to be a Lay Eucharistic Minister (LEM), a Lector, or a Crucifer, please see Carol).
croissant2.jpg
COMMUNITY

  • The movie "NOAH" comes to the big screen!
Seen by more than 5 million people on stage, NOAH is headed to movie theaters across the country for a special nationwide event. Filmed in front of a live audience, NOAH takes you on board history’s best-known voyage—along with two of every kind of animal! Now you can experience it on the big screen, playing three days only: April 9, 11, and 13 at the Regal Theater at the Fairfax Town Centre 10. There are two shows on April 9, and one each on April 11 and 13. Get your ticket soon and reserve your seat! Tom and Marie McDermott saw the original play and said it is wonderful!!!
WESTERN FAIRFAX
CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES

"We know that food can be one of the most expensive items on a household budget list. Our hope is that in allowing our clients to visit once per month they will save enough money to pay for other expenses such as rent or utility bills."
I tems are collected weekly in the baskets at the front door of St. John's Church. For food list:
OPPORTUNITIES
Reminder
Every Wednesday evening, we have a service of Holy Eucharist and healing at 6:00 PM. The service is about 30 minutes. It is a perfect alternative for those who cannot come to church on Sunday mornings, as well as a good spiritual boost in the middle of the week. Come join us!

Breakthrough
How God will catch your attention is not because you are so handsome, so disciplined, so healthy, so secure; it’s not because of your glitter­ing image. I suspect that your quest for God’s love is because something is broken in your life. That break is God’s break, God’s breakthrough to you.
-Br. Curtis Almquist

My email address is stjohnscvpriest@gmail.com,
and the office number is 703-803-7500. 

May our ministry together spread God's love to all whom we encounter.
      - Carol

        The Rev. Carol Hancock, Rector
ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH | 5649 MT. GILEAD RD. , CENTREVILLE, VA | 703-803-7500
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