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St. John's Episcopal Church
Welcome to the E-Notes!
February 21, 2018
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ST. JOHN'S CALLS NEW ORGANIST/CHOIR DIRECTOR
Mandy Hull has been called as our new organist/choir director. She played at the evening service on Ash Wednesday and at our Sunday service this past Sunday. Mandy has a long history of serving congregations as their organist/choir director in several different denominations. However, she is very familiar with the Episcopal liturgy and looks forward to working with our choir. Mandy also works as a teacher for children with special needs. Please welcome Mandy to St. John's this Sunday. Many thanks go to Bob Barnes for filling in at the organ during this interim period.
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Lenten service, supper and program begins tonight
Beginning tonight, we will have our regular service at 6:00 PM, followed by a light supper of soup and bread, and program for the 6 weeks of Lent. The program will be a discussion of the book
"Walking Home: From Eden to Emmaus" by Margaret Guenther. She says, "The book is a series of meditations on the "walking stories" of Holy Scripture, beginning with the expulsion from Eden. Jesus walked everywhere with his disciples. He was always arriving, on the way somewhere else, or departing. Adam and Eve walked out of the garden, Abraham and Isaac walked up to Mt. Moriah, the Israelites walked for 40 years in the desert, the Prodigal Son walked home barefoot, and the disciples encountered the risen Christ when they walked to Emmaus. If we take the walk of faith, our feet will get dirty, worn and blistered. But the walk demands that we stand on solid ground, that we feel the earth beneath our feet, when we go barefoot from the garden to begin our lifetime of walking." The books are $20 each and are for sale now.
Please read Chapters 1-3 for tonight, if possible.
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JANUARY VESTRY HIGHLIGHTS
- 2018 Budget Approval
- Bishop Lee challenge grant application
- "Church Watch" meeting by Fairfax County Police was attended to hear ideas for church safety and security
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At our Vestry meeting on Sunday, the Vestry unanimously elected David Weir as Senior Warden, and Monti Zimmerman as Junior Warden. Julie Weir was unanimously appointed as Register, and Tom McDermott was unanimously endorsed as Treasurer. Many thanks to those willing to serve in these roles.
We are meeting bi-monthly starting this
Saturday, Feb. 24th @ 7:45 to 9:00 a.m. Meetings will be held at St. John's, the last Saturday of every other month. We will have a breakfast, followed by a brief discussion/ topic of the day. For this week,
February 24th, we will discuss what projects we may want to attempt or in some cases, stay away from in Year 2018. We will intermittently have project(s) scheduled in between our regular scheduled meetings. Open to all men of the parish, whether you have participated in any men's group events or not. Please join us! Questions? Contact Andrew Wade.
Here is the 2018 Schedule with the breakfast host:
- Feb. 24 - Tucker
- April 28 - Wade
- June 30 - Elliott
- August 25 - Milunec
- October 27 - Faithful
- December 29 - TBD
- So what's so different about Lent?
When you come to church this Sunday (and all the Sundays in Lent), you will notice several things:
-there are no flowers on the altar; there are dried arrangements
-the color of the hangings is purple, a penitential color
-the flags and baptismal font have been taken away
-we will not use any "Alleluias" or "Halleluias" in the service
-we will be using Rite I, which has different responses than Rite II, which we normally use
-the tone of the service is more somber and penitential as we prepare for Holy Week
- What should I do or not do during Lent?
Lent is a time of prayer, fasting and self-denial. It is a time to do a spiritual housecleaning, to see what we need to get rid of in order to have a closer relationship with God. Spending extra time in prayer is important, perhaps adding in daily devotions at a particular time each day. For self-denial, we may give up something that we really enjoy, realizing that we rely on God alone. So every time we thing about this (chocolate, sweets, alcohol, etc.), we remember God provides us with what we need. Fasting can mean not eating for a certain period of time, or not eating meat for a time. For those who can't fast (for health reasons) or who choose not to go without food, we can fast from other things, such as:
-fast from resentment and bitterness
-fast from judging others
-fast from anger and hatred
-fast from discouragement
-fast from overspending
-fast from complaining
Perhaps we can give up some of our TV watching and spend the time saved doing something for someone else. Perhaps we can use the money we might spend at a coffee shop and give it to a charitable organization. Whatever draws us closer to God and gets rid of what gets in our way of loving God and others, is a good thing for Lent.
- Help for Holy Week services is needed
On Palm Sunday, March 25, we will need 6 extra readers to read the parts of the Passion Narrative. We will then have a service on Maundy Thursday, two services on Good Friday, the Easter Vigil on Saturday, and two services on Easter Day. If you are an LEM, crucifer, lector, usher or torch bearer, we need your help! These services will be posted on the online sign up sheet (thanks to Sandy Jones!) so please sign up. The extra readers for Palm Sunday do not have to be lectors.
- Confirmation classes scheduled
If anyone, age 14 or older, is interested in being confirmed when Bishop Jones is here on Sunday, April 22, please let Carol know as soon as possible. The Confirmation classes will meet on Sundays from 10:50 - 12:00 noon, starting this Sunday, February 25 for 5-6 weeks.
We advertised in last week's E-Notes that the baskets that we use each Sunday to bring forward our food donations for Western Fairfax Christian Ministries have seen better days. Many thanks go to Susan Davis who donated a basket to replace the broken one. At some point, we may need to replace the second basket but it should last us a while longer.
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A STATEMENT FROM BISHOP SHANNON JOHNSTON REGARDING GUN VIOLENCE
Dear Diocesan Family -
I am posting below the statement from the group Bishops United Against Gun Violence, which we issued this past
Friday regarding the horrific school shooting in Parkland, Florida. "Bishops United" is an association of approximately 70 bishops in The Episcopal Church and I am a charter member of that group.
It is clear that a statement along the lines of what we have released in the wake of past mass shootings is no longer satisfactory or sufficient. Such tragedies as these must never be permitted to lapse into what could easily be seen as routine. This is why we are calling for specific action steps.
Please give this statement your every consideration and your deepest prayers as our nation tries to come to terms with the awful reality of gun violence besetting our society during these times. Of course, we welcome your circulating this statement as widely as possible. With the very courageous - and most impressive - response from the students at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, we may be turning a corner with respect to the public's response to this particular shooting. We can certainly hope and pray, but it is my hope that we will do much more than that. Surely there are some concrete steps that can be debated and passed by the U.S. Congress. And perhaps these action steps will make something of a difference. The status quo with respect to guns in our society and culture must not be allowed to stand!
Faithfully yours,
The Rt. Rev. Shannon Johnston
Bishop of the Diocese of Virginia
Bishops United Urges Assault Weapons Ban, Prayers of Lamentation
The heart of our nation has been broken yet again by another mass shooting at an American school.
We offer our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who were murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. We mourn with particular sorrow Carmen Schentrup, a 16-year-old student at the school and leader in the youth group at St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church in Coral Springs, who died at the hands of the gunman. We pledge to work with the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida to lend whatever material and spiritual comfort we can to all those who have suffered such a devastating loss.
The phrase "thoughts and prayers" has been devalued by politicians whose prayers seem never to move them to act against their self-interests or the interests of the National Rifle Association. Yet, as Christians, we believe deeply in the power of prayer to console, to sustain and to heal, but also to make evident the work that God is calling us to do. We pray that all who have been touched by this violent act receive God's healing and solace.
In the wake of this massacre, we believe God is calling us to understand that we must not simply identify the social and political impediments to ending these lethal spasms of violence in our country. We must reflect on and acknowledge our own complicity in the unjust systems that facilitate so many deaths, and, in accordance with the keeping of a holy Lent, repent and make reparations.
Specifically, we ask you, members of our church and those who ally yourselves with us, to:
- Contact your elected representatives and ask them to support legislation banning assault weapons such as the AR-15, which is the gun used in most of the recent mass shootings in our country; high-capacity magazines; and bump stocks, the equipment used by the killer in the Las Vegas massacre that allows semiautomatic weapons to fire dozens of rounds in seconds. We understand that mass shootings account for a small percentage of the victims of gun violence; that far more people are killed by handguns than by any kind of rifle; that poverty, misogyny and racism contribute mightily to the violence in our society and that soaring rates of suicide remain a great unaddressed social challenge. And yet, the problem of gun violence is complex, and we must sometimes address it in small pieces if it is not to overwhelm us. So, please, call your members of Congress and insist that your voice be heard above those of the National Rifle Association's lobbyists.
- Participate in a service of a lamentation for the victims of the Parkland shooting and all victims of lethal gun violence. We will be announcing a schedule of such services at churches around the country in the near future. To keep up with these plans, please follow our Facebook page Episcopalians Against Gun Violence.
- Enter into a period of discernment with us about how, through prayer, advocacy and action, we can make clear to our elected representatives that they must vote in the interests of all Americans, including law-abiding gun owners, in passing life-saving, common sense gun policies. Visit our
website
to learn more about our work and how to reach us. And if you plan to attend this summer's General Convention in Austin, Texas, plan to join us each morning for prayer outside the convention hall and to attend the Bishops United Against Gun Violence public witness on Sunday, July 8 at 9 a.m.
Two years after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary that took the life of Ben Wheeler, an active young member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Newtown, Connecticut, his father, David,
asked parents to look at their children and then ask themselves, "Am I doing everything I can to keep them safe? Because the answer to that question, if we all answer honestly, clearly is no." In memory of Carmen and Ben and all of God's children lost to senseless gun violence, may God give us grace and fortitude in our witness so that we can, at last, answer yes.
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Bishop Johnston is pleased to announce his appointment of the Rt. Rev. Robert Ihloff as Bishop Associate in the Diocese of Virginia. Bishop Ihloff served as the Bishop of Maryland from 1995 until his retirement in 2007. He will provide key support to the Diocese during the transition between Bishop Ted Gulick's retirement at the end of 2017 and the election of a second Bishop Suffragan later this year. His office will be in Northern Virginia, at The Falls Church.
"In Search for the Second Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia". The Search/Nominating Committee for the second Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Virginia invites you to either of these two sessions for churches in the newly formed South Fairfax Region (which includes St. John's). They are: Saturday, February 24, 10 - 12 pm at The Falls Church in Falls Church Tuesday, February 27, 7 - 9 pm at St. Andrew's, Burke This will be an opportunity to hear about the search process and timeline, to ask questions and to share your ideas for the qualities you wish for in our third bishop. Other listening sessions will be held throughout the diocese.
- Lenten Quiet Day offered by the Episcopal Church Women
A Lenten Quiet Day will be offered on Thursday, February 22 by the Episcopal Church Women at Roselyn Conference Center in Richmond. The theme is "The Life of Faith in Four Songs" and will be led the Bishop Susan Goff beginning at 9:30 AM. The cost is $35 which includes lunch. For more information, contact Mary Holly Bigelow at
[email protected] or call 804-285-2598.
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Again this year, Virginia Theological Seminary has teamed up with the Society of St. John the Evangelist to provide a Lenten program. "Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of John" provides an online opportunity for you to watch a short daily video, ponder the verse for the day, and then write or draw something you want to remember in your journal. Journals can be downloaded from the website. To sign up to receive the daily videos and other resources, go to
www.meetingjesusinjohn.org (I have been watching the short (2-4 minute) videos each day and have pondered the questions they raise. They are quite good and I highly recommend them for your personal daily devotions during Lent. I also recommend the Lenten Meditations booklet from Episcopal Relief and Development that are available in the breezeway. They are faith-filled stories from a variety of authors. Carol)
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OPPORTUNITIES
If you are interested in the trip to Israel in January 2019, you need to contact Andrew Wade
[email protected] as soon as possible.The trip is filling up fast and there is a limit of 40 people. Each person planning to go must make a reservation with St. George's College in Jerusalem and make a $500 deposit. We will be traveling with parishioners from Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Delaplane.
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St. John's Recycling Fundraiser
***Have you gotten a new phone lately? Consider donating the old phone to St. John's!
Protect the environment and clean out those used electronic items that clutter closets & drawers!
Nothing to buy! Nothing to sell! Just bring in the used electronic items that you have replaced or that have broken. We will package the items and send them to Eco-Phones for recycling. Eco-Phones pays us for these items -
working or not. Here's what we're collecting:
cell phones - ipads & tablets - inkjet cartridges
Eco-Phones will
not accept desktop computers and is
no longer accepting laptops.
Bring your items to the church and place them in the
"Eco-Phones" box in the breezeway. If you have any questions contact Penny Parker at 703-791-3482 or
[email protected]
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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 2018.
click here:
You may sign up here to donate the flowers to be used on the altar for each of the Sundays in 2018. Click to read additional info before signing up.
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We can prepare our hearts and minds
by
reading ahead for the Sunday Service lessons.
THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT
February 25, 2018
9:30 AM
The First Reading:
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
Even in old age, God transforms people; it's never too late for God to make someone a completely new person.
The Second Lesson:
Romans 4:13-25
God's gracious blessing depends not on how closely we keep the rules, or how many works we achieve, but on his own goodness, and on the faith we receive as his gift to us.
Being a disciple of Christ demands regular laying down of our own desires and egos, and reorienting to God's call. Even esus's constant companions, like Peter, have to be reminded of God's mission.
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THE ADULT
LECTIONARY FORUM
MEETS EACH SUNDAY IN THE LIBRARY,
FROM 10:50 - 11:50 am
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CHILD CARE IS
PROVIDED IN THE NURSERY
Each week, St. John's children
join with three of our Ministry Partners:
Fairfax Chinese Christian Church,
Wellspring UCC
& Grace Baptist Church
for Sunday School
10:30 - 11:30 A
M
We offer 3 classes:
PreK: Rm. 205;
K - 6th grade: Rm. 207/208;
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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!
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Holy God, be in my mind, that I might let go of all that diminishes the movement of Your Spirit within me.
Discerning God, be in my eyes, that I might see You in the midst of all the business that fills my life.
Loving God, be in my heart, that I can be open to those I love, to those with whom I share ministry and to the whole human family.
Gracious God, be in that grace-filled silence that lies deep within me, that I might live in Christ as Christ lives in me. Amen
(This prayer is from CREDO, a clergy education/wellness program of the Episcopal Church.)
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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
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