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Welcome to the E-Notes!
March 29, 2017
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ARE YOU COMING THIS SATURDAY: APRIL 1, 9 AM - 12 NOON?
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For the upcoming
Easter Egg Hunt at 12 Noon on Easter Sunday -
We have received a lot of plastic Easter eggs already - so no more are needed!
BUT, but now we need candy - INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED PIECES, please.
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Continuing TONIGHT! Lenten service, simple dinner and program
Tonight, Wednesday, March 29, we will start with the service at 6:00 PM, a simple dinner of soup and bread at 6:30, and the program at 7:00 PM. This year's program will be
"The 5 Marks of Love: Living Life Marked as Christ's Own", put out by the Society of St. John the Evangelist and Virginia Theological Seminary. "In this six week series, we will be examining and reflecting on the ways in which God's Life and God's Mission express themselves in and through us. We will look for signs of God's presence and activity in our lives, in our communities, and in the world around us."
If you cannot attend on Wednesday evenings, you can
subscribe for free to the daily videos from the
Society of St. John the Evangelist. The videos are available now at
http://www.ssje.org/5marksofloveresources
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Holy Week Services
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Sunday, April 9 - 9:30 AM Palm Sunday
Wednesday, April 12 - 6:00 PM Service of Holy Eucharist and Healing
Thursday, April 13 - 7:30 PM Maundy Thursday service of Holy Eucharist, foot washing, and stripping
the altar
Friday, April 14 - 12:00 noon and 7:30 PM - Good Friday services
Saturday, April 15 - 8:00 PM Easter Vigil service of readings, music, renewal of baptismal vows, and
first Holy Eucharist of Easter
Sunday, April 16 - 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM -Easter Day services
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We cannot get to Easter without going through the events of Holy Week. I invite you to join us for these special Holy Week services as we remember the Last Supper, the betrayal of Jesus, his arrest and trail, and his crucifixion. Only when we have journeyed with Jesus through these events can we celebrate Jesus' resurrection on Easter Day.
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We can prepare our hearts and minds by
reading ahead
for the Sunday Service lessons
The Fifth Sunday in Lent
The Old Testament:
God instructs the prophet Ezekiel to preach to the most unlikely of audiences, with the most miraculous of results.
The Epistle:
Paul explains that the spirit of God animates and emboldens us to the delight of God and for his service, just as we were made to be.
5 My soul waits for the Lord,
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
The Gospel:
John 11:1-45
Jesus' good friend Lazarus is ill and dies; Jesus joins fellow loved ones in mourning, and then brings hope and resurrection.
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(photo above: The Raising of Lazarus; Giotto di Bondone; Vanderbilt)
CHILD CARE
IS PROVIDED IN THE NURSERY
(Rm. 205)
During the Service
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Lectionary Forum
for adults meets in the
Library at 10:50 AM
Each week, St. John's children join with three of our Ministry Partners:
Fairfax Chinese Christian Church, Wellspring United Church
of Christ
& Grace Baptist Church
for Sunday School from
10:50 - 11:45 AM.
We now offer 3 classes:
PreK- 2nd grade
Rm. 205;
3rd - 8th grade
Rm. 215;
9th - 12th grade
Rm. 206
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St. John's Men's Group
The newly formed St. John's Men's Group met for the first time last Saturday and had a good turnout. Their next event will be Saturday, April 29, starting with breakfast at the church at 7:30 AM. The group will then work to put up two new Episcopal Church signs and install a new mailbox. For more information about the Men's Group, please contact Andrew Wade.
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And why do we need a new mailbox?
The answer is because it will save the church money! For the past many years, we have rented a box at the post office, while at the same time, the post office delivers mail to the church. As the Vestry is always working on your behalf and looks for ways to reduce our expenses, it seemed wise to have the post office deliver all our mail, thus saving us the rent we pay on the post office box, as well as numerous trips to the post office to pick up the mail. The new mailbox is locked and includes a feature that does not allow anyone to put their hand in the mail slot and pull out the mail. It is very secure. The new mailbox will be installed on April 29.
Please start sending your mail, including your pledges, to our street address: 5649 Mt. Gilead Road, Centreville, VA 20120. Note that the address on your pledge envelopes is the PO Box, so you will need to change that if you mail in your pledge. We will have some address labels available shortly that you can use for your pledge envelopes. We will continue to have our post office box for the next few months while we make this transition.
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Come make palm crosses
On Saturday, April 8, you are invited to come and make palm crosses out of the palm fronds for Palm Sunday. We will meet at 9:00 AM in 207/208.
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Easter Egg Hunt
As we have done in the past, we will have an Easter Egg Hunt at 12:00 noon on Easter Day, April 16, and we will be joined by some of our Ministry Partners. At this time we would like to ask for
donations of individually wrapped candy only (
we have enough plastic eggs). If you can help, please drop them by the church office.
Parents of children who will be participating in the Easter Egg Hunt should bring one basket or bag for each child to collect their eggs.
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Prayers, please....
Please keep Arirang Senior Center in your prayers as they continue to try to recruit more clients.
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Education for Ministry
"EfM is a distance-learning program for adult Christian formation through theological education and reflection offered by the School of Theology at the University of the South, Sewanee, TN." We need 6-12 people to start a group. The entire program is 4 years, but each participant signs up for a year at a time. Interested? There are brochures in the breezeway explaining the program or you can speak with Carol. If we have enough interest, we would like to start a group here in September. Please let Carol know
by May 1 if you are interested.
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Save the Children
For the past many years, St. John's has supported two children through "Save the Children". For the past 8 years, one of the children we have supported was Johaire from the Philippines. Because of the good work that Save the Children has done for Johaire and the entire community, they are now in a position to be self-sufficient. Johaire is now 12 years old. Save the Children is now leaving that village in order to take on another village with children in need. We will now sponsor 4 year old Rosa Mae from another village in the Philippines. You can see her picture posted in the breezeway, along with our other sponsored child Gift from Malawi. Your support for these children is greatly appreciated.
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Sunday Servers
We will be having several extra services during Holy Week and we will need EM's, ushers, crucifers, lectors, acolytes, etc. Please check the online sign-up sheet and fill in where you can help.
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SIGN UP HERE TO
SERVE
as LEM, Crucifer, Lector, Usher, Verger, Torch Bearer at a Sunday Service.
You will receive an automatic reminder a few days in advance. (
If you would like to become an altar server, please see the Rev. Carol Hancock.)
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SIGN UP HERE TO
BRING SNACKS
for coffee hour after the Sunday Service in the Breezeway.
click here:
You will receive an automatic reminder a few days in advance. Coffee hour is an important part of fellowship - staying connected with each other and welcoming newcomers.
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SIGN UP HERE TO
SUPPLY FLOWERS
for a Sunday service throughout 2017.
click here:
You may sign up here to donate the flowers to be used on the altar for each of the Sundays in 2017. Click to read additional info before signing up.
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Sunday morning Lenten class
Join us on Sunday mornings during Lent at 10:50 AM in Carol's office to discuss the book "24 Hours that Changed the World" by Adam Hamilton. The book looks at the final day of Jesus' life and the people he encountered. Books are available for $3.00. Each book comes with a short DVD filmed in the Holy Land and highlighting places where the final events in Jesus' life happened.
Another Lenten resource
Episcopal Relief and Development puts out daily devotions during Lent. You can sign up online to receive them each day in your in-box. Go to www.episcopalrelief.org click on "church in action", then "church campaigns", then "Lent". This will bring you to the page to sign up to receive the daily devotions for free.
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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!
Thought for the day:.
Out of compassion and kindness, we said "yes" and formed a Table. The Holy Spirit is doing the rest. We are an unlikely diverse group of nine including Clara (not her real name), our sister in Christ. On a Sunday afternoon in Lent 2016, we began a yearlong commitment with a potluck that involved sharing our stories. The next week, we heard Clara's story and her life plan. This is the Open Table: a weekly one-hour commitment to work with an individual or family who is ready to transform their life.
Clara, a middle-aged woman, was unemployed and living in transitional housing. Her life plan is filled with practical goals and wild dreams. As I am writing this, we are halfway through the year, working together as the Body of Christ. Clara now sports new glasses, follows a budget, is completing orientation for employment, and is days away from moving into her own apartment. We have found that patience and humility are key; together, we are making a difference. You can too.
- Angela F. Shepherd
Canon for Mission in the Diocese of Maryland.
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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
Priest-in-Charge
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