St. John's Episcopal Church - Centreville, VA
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Parish News - March 9, 2022
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Dear St. John's Parishioners and Friends:
Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, and it was the first time we gathered for in-person worship since the first of January, when COVID numbers were increasing rapidly. It was so good to be back in-person! We had 15 in attendance at the noon service, and 34 for the evening service, though 26 were from St. Anthony's and only 8 from St. John's.
It is good that we are streaming our services online for those who are out of town and those who cannot get to services, and we are grateful to David Weir and John Tucker for making this possible. But we are a community of faith and there is much to be gained by being with people face to face, for those who are able.
Last Sunday was our first in-person Sunday service and we had 23 in attendance. My hope is, that as more people get comfortable being around others, that more parishioners will return to worship in the church. Online worship is good, but not quite the same as being in church in person.
Please let your family and friends know that we have returned to in-person worship and invite them to come with you. During this holy season of Lent, we hope that more and more people return to church as we begin to prepare our hearts and minds for the events of Holy Week and Easter.
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The Rev. Carol Hancock
Rector
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JOIN US THIS SUNDAY AS WE RETURN TO IN-PERSON WORSHIP AT ST. JOHN'S! We will continue to wear masks and socially distance ourselves as much as possible. We will also continue our "safe" way of having communion by using the individual cups for the bread and the wine.
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The services will continue to be live streamed at 9:30 AM on Sunday morning, and they can be watched later as well. The link to the online service is found below and will be the same link every Sunday. On Saturday, we will resend the link, along with a link for the bulletin and the lectionary class.
SUNDAY LIVESTREAM LINK:
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PARISH NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Lenten program - STARTS TONIGHT - Our Lenten book study will use the book "Soul Stages: Surviving and Thriving in the Second Half of Life" by Christopher Chamberlin Moore (2021) We will be looking at times of transition and change in our lives, as we look ahead to transition and change at St. John's. Please order your own book, which can be found on Amazon. We will meet on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM on Zoom during Lent, starting tonight .Please read the first chapter of "Soul Stages" for tonight. The Zoom link is below. No need to register! Just read the book and join us on Zoom!
There are many online resources for Lent, including daily prayers and reflections. Here are a few:
If there are other online resources for Lent that you would like to share, please send the links to Carol and they will be included in the E Notes.
Retired Bishop Ted Gulick will be with us on Sunday, April 3 for the 9:30 AM service.
Our newly formed Garden Committee is up and running......and planning for the spring planting season! Committee members Gail Weirich, Bev Milunec, Mimi Spear, Susan Davis and Dick Griffith have met to plan a small garden to raise some "easy to grow" vegetables. They plan to have 3 raised beds on the patio and will begin planting in early May. If you would like to help with the garden, or want to learn more about it, please contact Mimi or Bev who are the co-chairs. Vegetables that are raised will be donated to Western Fairfax Christian Ministries.
A Celebration of the Life of Helen Rusnak has been scheduled for Saturday, April 9, at 1:00 PM in the historic church. Burial will be in the St. John's Cemetery after the service, followed by a reception at the church.
A Celebration of the Life of Mildred DeBell has been scheduled for Saturday, March 26 at 2:00 PM in the church. Burial will be in the St. John's Cemetery after the service.
Postcard Ministry - Each week, Carol sends out St. John's postcards to those having birthdays to wish them a happy birthday and to let them know that they will be prayed for by name on the Sunday before their birthday. We are looking for someone to take over that ministry. Postcards, address labels and stamps are supplied. Interested? Contact Carol at the church office - 703-803-7500.
Although Lent has just started, it's not too early to plan ahead for Holy Week and Easter. We need the following help:
-readers for the dramatic reading of the passion narrative on Palm Sunday, April 10
(Please let Carol know if you can help. Do NOT sign up on the sign up sheet.)
-lectors, ushers and crucifers for all services (sign up online)
-donations of wrapped candy for the Easter Egg hunt (NO plastic eggs are needed)
-several people to hide the plastic eggs before the 10:00 AM Easter service
-As we don't need funds to purchase Easter flowers, you can make a donation to
Outreach instead. You can use the Easter flowers envelop in your pledge
packets and write "Outreach" on it and on the memo line of your check. You can
let Carol or Catherine know who the donation is in memory of or in honor of.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine escalates, please continue to pray for all those involved in this conflict.
God of peace and justice, we pray for the people of Ukraine today. We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons. We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow, that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them. We pray for those with power over war or peace, for wisdom, discernment and compassion to guide their decisions. Above all, we pray for all your precious children, at risk and in fear, that you would hold and protect them. We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen
(written by Archbishop Justin Welby and Archbishop Stephen Cottrell)
The recording of the Wednesday Evening Prayer services is being discontinued. This is due in part to the amount of time it takes do put together, record and post the service, and the low number of people who watch it. The service can be done by a lay person. If anyone is interested in taking on this ministry, please let Carol know. It is possible that this service might be restored when a new permanent Interim/Priest-in-Charge/Rector is called and if there is more interest in having this service. The last two years of recorded services can be found on the St. John's YouTube channel.
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YOU ARE INVITED TO A GATHERING!
SUNDAY - April 3, 2022 - 5 PM
To Celebrate the Ministry of The Rev. Carol Hancock
As many of you know, Carol will be taking a long-awaited sabbatical following her last Sunday, Easter Sunday, as St. John's Rector, and then will enter into her next chapter of life, her retirement.
The celebration will be held in the Parish Hall (lower level), and will be a catered dinner, dessert and tribute for Carol.
Please make Reservations:
Send Susie Pike a note with number of attendees, and a check for the cost of $25 per adult (nothing for children if attending with an adult, just let Susie know they are coming) to cover the meal costs.
Susie Pike, 15334 Oakmere Place, Centreville 20120,
(or dropped off at the church office.)
Susie should receive payments by March 18.
We are excited for Carol that she will be able to take her long-planned sabbatical and wish to show her how much she is appreciated, loved, and will be missed, at the dinner event.
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SPECIAL REQUEST
A video tribute for Carol is being developed. If you have any pictures of Carol you would like to include please email them to me. If you wish, you can also email me a short video of your thoughts on her departure. Request your video be no more than a minute long. Please have any pictures and videos sent to me NLT March 18th. My email address is:
David Weir and Sandy Jones are assembling a video and photo tributes for Carol. If you have any videos / photos you would like included, please email them to David at [email protected] or photos to Sandy at [email protected]. Please have all videos and photos sent no later than March 18th.
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*Wood Bundles For Sale*
The price is still nominal at $5 per bundle and the bundles are located outside the breezeway. Donations can be put in the envelopes provided and put in the secure adjacent mailbox.
Andrew Wade
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OUTREACH and VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
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The Katharine K. Hanley Family Shelter is located nearby and currently house up to 12 families onsite, 12 families in hotel sites and serve over 40 families in their prevention and rapid rehousing programs. Seeking volunteers for:
- On-call movers: 3-4 volunteers with a pick-up truck or U-Haul Rental Truck, must be able to lift and move furniture and other household items.
- Volunteer Delivery Driver (VDD): Provides essential help in getting items to community members, residents, and Shelter House Program Participants. This position requires a working vehicle, license, and personal ability to navigate to new places.
- Volunteer On Call Moving Assistant (VOCMA): Requires the ability to lift, carry, and drive. They work directly with residents who are moving out of shelter or relocating This position does not include the transportation of people. (Ages 18+)
- Volunteer Shelter Assistant (VSA): A versatile position that participates in
onsite tasks such as cleaning, organizing, and various hands-on activities depending on the needs of the shelter determined by the Building Manager and/or Community Coordinator. (Ages 16+)
- If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact Rev. Deacon Steve at [email protected] who will coordinate with KKHFS Community Coordinator to get you started. Note: positions may require training from the KKHFS particularly those involving direct contact with clients.
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Western Fairfax Christian Ministries updated list of the foods that they need the most. You can bring your non-perishable items to the church on Sunday mornings, or drop them off in the box outside the door by the breezeway during the week and they will be delivered to WFCM.
Most needed items in the food pantry this month, March 2022:
- Canned Vegetables (low salt spinach, collard greens, corn)
- Juice (100% Fruit in plastic containers)
- Syrup
- Jelly/Jam
- Flavored Rice/Pasta
- Canned Pasta
- Pasta Sauce (low salt preferred)
- Canned Pineapple
- Brown Rice
- Spaghetti (whole wheat preferred)
- Jello/Pudding
- Maseca flour
- Sugar
- Granola Bars and Individual Snacks (chips, crackers)
- Condiments and Salad Dressing (family size not miniature packs)
- Baby Food (jar food, rice cereal)
- Similac Baby Formula (Blue Label/Advance)
- Toiletries: Toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, body wash, lotion
As a reminder, we accept food and toiletry donations Monday - Friday 8-10 am at 4511 Daly Drive Suite H (Back Door) and on the second Saturday monthly 9-11 am.
- (NOTE: we are not currently in need of diapers size 0-4 due to our partnership with Greater DC Diaper Bank. Please only donate larger size diapers, larger size pull ups, or wipes if you want to donate items for babies.)
The Western Fairfax Shepherd Center is still accepting volunteer drivers to support clients who need help getting to appointments, shopping trips (for food), and to deliver food from WFCM to clients. Please contact the Shepherd Center at 703-246-5920 or email [email protected] and copy Deacon Steve at [email protected].
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Sign Up: Sunday service reader or usher We welcome, need, and value your help! The lector will read the 2 lessons and the psalm. The usher will hand out bulletins and bring the elements and offering to the altar. If you would like to do either of these, CLICK HERE.
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Sign Up: Altar Flowers
Please indicate how you wish your flower donation to appear in the Sunday bulletin. (Wedding anniversary, in memory of someone - something special you want to remember by providing flowers.) CLICK HERE
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The Adult Lectionary Forum - IN PERSON & ON ZOOM
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SUNDAY WORSHIP & EDUCATION
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THE ADULT LECTIONARY FORUM - HELD EACH SUNDAY
All are invited to join in, following the Sunday service, in the library. Or use the link to the Lectionary Forum via Zoom, in case you cannot attend in person, found above.
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We can prepare our hearts & minds by reading ahead
for the Sunday Service lesson
The Second Sunday after the Epiphany
March 13, 2022
The First Reading: Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
God makes a covenant with Abram and takes on himself all the consequences for the covenant’s failure. In choosing a man who has been infertile to be the father of his people, God has made a bold and seemingly unwise choice.
The Psalm: 27, p. 617, BCP
The Second Reading: Philippians 3:17–4:1
The apostle Paul urges the Christians in Philippi to remember their identity as children of God and to behave as such. They should deny themselves the constantly changing desires of the world and its emotions, and, instead, focus on the truth which God has placed in their hearts.
The Gospel: Luke 13:31-35
Seeing that Jesus is a messenger of God, even Pharisees warn him against the evil governmental plot. Jesus will not hide from conflict, even if it leads to death, because God will not abandon his sheep to slaughter without defense.
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Online Contributions
to St. John's
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St. John's now offers three buttons for online donations via Tithe.ly. You may use the buttons below to go directly to Tithe.ly, or you may download the Tithe.ly app on your phone or tablet.
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The Pledge payment button may be used only to make your pledge payment (after signing up to be a pledger, which may be done at any time in the year. See Carol or Vestry)
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The Facility Campaign button may be used only for any contribution for the facility's buildings and grounds, or special facility campaigns.
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The Donation button may be used for any other type of donation to St. John's. To designate a special purpose (i.e. Organ Fund, Ministry Partner payments, etc.) please send a note to [email protected].
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Why Not Be Turned Into Fire?
“The church exists so that God has a community in which to save people from meaninglessness, by reminding them who they are and what they are for.” Alan Jones
Lent. Sometimes I wonder if we know what it’s about. We are tempted to turn it into a season of Spiritual Olympics. We think to ourselves, "Let me see how to put on the mantle of holiness by giving up some part of my life that will make me seem and appear to be more holy." Maybe we forget that we are made in God’s image and in our Baptism are "Christ’s own forever." When that happens, Lent can become our payment to deserve Easter.
No. Lent is the season for an internal and external personal garage sale. What is it that we carry that increases our forgetfulness about who we are and why we are here? What are the habitual actions that push us further away from our true self? What are our habits that keep us from living the life we long to live and God longs for us to live?
Yes, we need to take a moral inventory, but if we do not catch a glimpse of God’s love for us, then we cannot get to transformation. We may clean up our house, but let us remember that what we seek is resurrection. We don’t want to improve; we want to be made new.
There’s a story of a young monk who came to the Abbot of the monastery. The young monk said: "Abba, as much as I am able I practice a small rule, a little fasting, some prayer and meditation, and remain quiet, and as much as possible I keep my thoughts clean. What else should I do?" Then the old man stood up and stretched out his hands toward heaven, and his fingers became like ten torches of flame. And he said: "Why not be turned into fire?"
Why not indeed? This is a time for us to remember who we are and why we are here. We are made in the image of God and created to be agents of God in Christ’s work of transformation. Therefore, let us ask ourselves, "What are the habits that simply fill up the day but are not and cannot be agents of transformation?" More importantly, "What is our true self calling for us to do and to be? What’s the vision we have for ourselves and our world that our inner critic has dismissed because of its impracticability? Can we embrace it? Can we rededicate ourselves to it? Can we be set on fire?" Lent is the season of preparation for Holy Week; the period where we ask God to kill off our old self and old patterns and resurrect us. To go from our routines to being made new.
How do we do that? Well, poets point the way. Here’s a portion of Wendell Berry’s poem, "The Mad Farmer’s Manifesto:"
"So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it….
Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest….
…Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.”
What keeps you from being the person God is beckoning for you to be? What’s the vision of yourself you long to incarnate? What’s a step you can take towards that? How can you be set on holy fire?
Let’s not settle for giving up chocolate. Lent is too important, and our lives are too short. Let’s be about an inner garage sale by letting go of the acts and habits that weigh us down. More importantly, let’s remember who we are in Christ and why we are here. Then let us live the lives God calls us to live because life is too short to do otherwise.
Let’s practice resurrection.
Bishop Porter Taylor
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Remember
Remember the Lord your God. Remember the marvels he has done. Remember that you are but dust and to dust you shall return. Don’t just call these things to mind, but call on their power, that you may experience now God’s marvels, God’s holiness, God’s power to raise you up from the dust and ashes of death.
-Br. Geoffrey Tristram, SSJE
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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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