Dear St. John's parishioners and friends:
This past week, I watched a webinar entitled "Psychological First Aid" sponsored by the Church Pension Group of the Episcopal Church. It was led by a clinical psychologist from Indiana, Jody Horstman. Her main point was that all of us are affected by COVID-19, whether we get the virus or know someone who has the virus or not. The psychological impact of the crisis may turn out to be much greater than the medical impact, now and in the years to come.
We have all suffered loss during this time - loss of the freedom to go where we want, when we want, not being able to gather with family or friends, missing birthdays, graduations, saying goodbye to a loved one who is dying, births and deaths, being able to worship together.
Ms. Horstman stresses that we need to take care of ourselves. She says, "Self-care is not a selfish act." We need to schedule breaks and make time for ourselves, find a trusted friend to talk to when anxiety or depression are taking over, to keep a regular schedule, and not try to live up to others expectations.
It was helpful for me to hear her say we need to acknowledge the stress we are living with and to find ways to cope with it that work for us. It's okay not to be okay, she says. It's okay to ask for help. It's okay to take care of yourself.
In times of crisis, sometimes we might question our religious beliefs. The anger and isolation we feel may be a cause for that. But God knows our struggles and confusion, our fears and anxiety. We can offer all of those feelings to God and ask for help in dealing with them. Or we can ask God just to hold onto us in God's hands, surrounding us with God's loving arms and giving us God's peace in this stressful time.
I invite you to watch this hour long webinar. See the box "Psychological First Aid" below for directions on how to access it. May God hold each one of you in God's almighty arms of love.
The Rev. Carol Hancock
Rector
St. John's is here to help you!
If you or someone you know has a need that the church can help with during this pandemic (going to the grocery store, picking up prescriptions, etc), please do not hesitate to call the church (703-803-7500). Many of us are ready and willing to help, should the need arise. The church is here to help in any way we can.
What else can St. John's be doing to fill your spiritual needs during this difficult time? If you have ideas or suggestions, please let Carol know.
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Every Wednesday, St. John's has a
Service of Evening Prayer
at 6 PM. It is a peaceful way to end the day, and it's now being held virtually. Here is the link to this evening's service:
https://youtu.be/XFgCAygsBcM
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Sermons from the Bishop's Online Chapel
Each week, one of our bishops or a member of the diocesan staff prepares and posts a sermon based on the Sunday's readings that can be used for online services. Here is the sermon posed for this past Sunday. Bishop Brooke-Davidson preaches on the reading from Acts.
Seventh Sunday of Easter | The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Brooke-Davidson
Use this
Dropbox link
to view the video. Once you get to Dropbox, you do not need to "get the app", you can just click on "continue to website", then click on the date you wish to view.
This coming Sunday, May 31,
which is Pentecost, we will be broadcasting a sermon prepared and recorded by
The Rev. Sarah Brockenbrough,
Transition Minister for the Diocese of Virginia. (Carol will be in Mechanicsville, VA for most of the week getting to know her new grandson.)
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Psychological First Aid
Psychological distress often follows a crisis. You may need support for yourself, your family, and your community....
Here is the link for the webinar:
Scroll part way down, until you see the title "Psychological First Aid", then click.
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ChurchNext Offers a Free Online Class
This course is designed to give you a boost.
We don’t know when this pandemic is going to end, but we can tap into resources to help us deal with it in healthy ways. As we are increasingly tempted to fall into our phones and ask people to wake us when Covid-19 is over, it becomes increasingly important that we maintain healthy habits.
This course can help us ponder ways we can tap into our faith as a resource for us and others.
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OUTREACH TO OUR COMMUNITY
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HELP FROM THE HEART Community Drive
You can drop off items 24/7 at Sully Station (4900 Stonecroft Blvd, Chantilly) or at any local police station
https://bit.ly/fcpdgis
Please place only NEW items in plastic grocery bags in the collection bin.
Items needed (New ONLY)*
- Toothpaste & Brushes
- Deodorant & Lotions
- Diapers & Baby Wipes
- Soap, Shampoo, & Conditioner
- Feminine Hygiene Products
- Adult Incontinence Underwear
- Laundry and dish detergent
- Household cleaners
- Paper towels and toilet paper
End date TBD.
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Western Fairfax Christian Ministries
With schools being closed
items
are being included for
breakfast and lunch food for kids
(primarily single servings that do not require a stove). The bags will also include bread, fresh fruit and items already in our pantry that come daily from grocery stores.
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HOW TO HELP WFCM FAMILIES DURING COVID-19
WFCM is pre-bagging food
to continue to provide all clients with food.
They are
not accepting individual small donations from homes.
If you would like to donate food items,
please order food and toiletry items online and ship them directly to WFCM's office in Chantilly or
donate online
.
Here is the link that takes you directly to WFCM's 'wish list' on Amazon:
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Fairfax County Health Department Neighbor to Neighbor Program
In response to COVID 19, the Health Department has set up a Neighbor to Neighbor Program for residents 60 and over who need to have someone pick up groceries and medications for them. Contact Fairfax County Aging, Disability and Caregiver Resource Line at 703-324-7948.
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This Sunday, May 31, join us for a virtual coffee hour at 12:00 noon on Zoom.
The link for the coffee hour will be sent out in Saturday's email, which will have the link for the service (9:30 AM), the link for the Adult Lectionary class (10:30 AM) and the link for the coffee hour (12:00 noon)
.
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A few announcements
-All Shrine Mont camps
have been cancelled for this summer due to COVID 19 and the need to keep all campers and counselors safe.
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St. John's received a $5000
matching grant from the Peter James Lee Grants for Small Churches from the diocese. These funds will be used to offset some of the costs of the HVAC unit that was recently purchased and installed. Many thanks to Tom McDermott for applying for this grant on behalf of St. John's.
-St. John's received a
Payroll Protection Plan grant for $28,300 to help with the payments of salaries, mortgage, and utilities. Many thanks to Andrew Wade, Juliette Faulding and Susie Pike for applying for this grant.
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As many of us
are now using Zoom for various meetings, they are wanting all users to upgrade to Zoom 5.0. It costs nothing but the upgrade needs to be done by May 30. Please allow a few extra minutes the next time you sign on for a meeting to do this upgrade.
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Congratulations go
to Kimberly and David Schenk on the birth of their first child, Cayson Walter Schenk on Saturday, May 23. Cayson in the grandson of Carol Hancock. Carol will be in Mechanicsville, VA for several days this week getting to know her new grandson.
Many thanks go to
David Weir for editing and posting our services on YouTube. He spends a lot of time doing this so we can take part in regular worship together but physically apart. Thanks also go to the readers who are now taking part in the services, and to Mandy Hull who finds the appropriate hymns on You Tube that we can use, and plays a prelude and postlude.
Do you have a Book of Common Prayer at home?
As our online services continue, it would be easier for each of you to follow the service and make the appropriate responses if you had your own prayer book at home. Many people do, not just to use for services but also to use its many other resources for personal prayer time. We have extra prayer books at the church, if you would like one. Just let Carol know and we can arrange a "no contact" pick up.
The Prayer list -
If you would like to add someone to the prayer list, please email Carol. The readers who do the readings as well as the Prayers of the People, do their recordings from their homes toward the beginning of the week. If you send a name after the recording has been made, the name might not be on the prayer list until the following Wednesday or Sunday. Also, please note that the prayers of the sick, and those who have died, are read during the services we are posting on YouTube. So they are now "virtual".
We encourage you
to please stay current with your pledge and contributions to St. John's. Our bills continue to come in and need to be paid. You can mail your contributions to St. John's at 5649 Mt. Gilead Road, Centreville, VA 20120. If you would rather give online, please use the Tithe.ly button below.
Forward Day by Day
, a daily devotional normally available in the breezeway, is now here for May/June/July. If you would like one to be mailed to you, please call Carol or send an email.
Read any good books lately?
If you have read something that you would like to share with others, please send Carol the name and the author of the book and a short review. We will share that in the E Notes. If you would be interested in having an online book study, please let Carol know.
Virtual Active Adults Program through Fairfax County
➢
Please join in a variety of fun activities such as games, discussion groups, trivia, exercise classes, caregiver focused discussion groups, and much more!!
➢ Follow the instructions below to join our zoom classes on the computer, smartphone, tablet, or telephone. You may join in as many activities as you would like and share this information with friends!
➢ Brought to you in partnership with ServiceSource Inc., Fairfax County: Neighborhood and Community Services Senior Centers, Department of Family Services: Area Agency on Aging, Health Department, Community Services Board, Public Libraries, and Department of Housing and Community Development.
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Use your phone
o Dial in by phone: 1-929-205-6099
o You will be asked for:
▪ Meeting ID: 9051235932#
▪ Press “#” to continue
▪ Meeting password: 3636#
•
Use your computer, smartphone, or tablet
o Log onto Zoom using internet or app
o Go to: https://zoom.us/
o Select join Meeting from the top right
o Meeting ID: 905 123 5932
o Password: 3636
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Make an Online Donation!
You can make your donation here electronically.
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Use this button to make your donation.
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THE ADULT LECTIONARY FORUM
*Now being held virtually via Zoom. All are invited to join in, following the virtual Sunday service. The links to the Forum and the service are sent out in a separate email on Saturdays.
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We can prepare our hearts & minds by reading ahead
for the Sunday Service lesson
The Day of Pentecost - May 31, 2020
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The First Reading: Acts of the Apostles: 2:1-21
The effects on the faithful are immediate, dramatic, and powerful when the Holy Spirit comes upon them.
The Psalm: 104:25-35,37, page 736 , BCP
The Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
God provides for the needs of a community by endowing its members with gifts for various ministries.
The Gospel: John 20:19-23
Jesus appears to his faithful followers, and by his holy breath, imparts the power of the Holy Spirit for the good of their ministries.
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Most of the bundles will be ash wood. If you would like to fill up your car or truck, please leave a message with the church office and we will make arrangements.
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St. John’s Men’s Group / Lumberjacks SELLING WOOD!
Replenish your firewood, as we are all sequestered at home! And help benefit St. John's at the same time!
The Lumberjacks are selling bundles of wood outside the front entrance to the Historic Church for the great price of $5 per bundle.
(or $20 for 5 bundles).
Please give the money to someone in the office, a vestry member, or Carol.
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A Letter from Bishop Goff
May 13, 2020
Dear Friends in Christ,
Last Friday, Governor Northam issued Executive Order #61 which outlines "phase 1 easing of temporary restrictions due to the novel coronavirus." It goes into effect on Friday, May 15 for much of Virginia and on May 29 for the northern counties, cities and towns of Virginia. While this order allows individuals to attend religious services, we in the Diocese of Virginia will not begin our phased regathering in church buildings this month. Like dioceses across The Episcopal Church, as well as many denominations and faith traditions across the country, we will continue the fast from in-person worship that we began in March for a time longer.
This continued fast from in-person worship is rooted in scripture. In 1 Corinthians 10:23-24, we read, "All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Do not seek your own advantage, but that of the other." Regathering under very specific guidelines is now lawful, but it is not beneficial for our whole population when nearly 2,000 people died of COVID-19 in the United States just yesterday. We are bound by Jesus' law to love our neighbors as ourselves. We sacrifice worship in our church buildings for the sake of people we love in our congregations and for the sake of people in our communities whom we will never meet.
Experience shows in this time of pandemic that worship is a "superspreader" of the virus. When we go to the grocery store or to a restaurant pick-up window, we accept the inherent risk. When we gather for worship at church, however, we produce the risk. As people morally bound to live the way of love, we choose not to produce such risk. Instead, we choose to protect others and ourselves until the time when we can worship together safely.
As we continue our fast from in-person worship, we ease one restriction that has been in place in this diocese since April 19. Beginning on May 22, congregations may live-stream or record worship from inside their worship spaces, following specific guidelines that are outlined in
Attachment 1
of this letter. We ask congregations desiring to exercise this option to write a letter to me outlining their plan for the reasons included in the attachment.
W
e continue to work in the Diocese of Virginia to develop strategies, guidelines, checklists, support and review processes for phased regathering for worship in our church buildings, as promised in
our letter of May 4
. The
Worship in this Diocese over the past month has been marked by tremendous creativity and energy. Many congregations have learned new technologies and skills that have enhanced worship. Many of you have moved outside of your church walls to engage with people who never come to church. We have worshipped with a good number of congregations over the past weeks. The most vibrant worship we experienced was not filmed in a nearly empty church, but in homes and backyards, neighborhoods and pastures. We hope congregations will continue the new best practices you have learned, even if you do record or livestream from the church building, so that worship may continue to reach far beyond our walls with the saving, healing, loving grace of Christ Jesus. Let's not be in a hurry to "go back," but filled with urgency to keep going forward into the future, into all that God is revealing to us.
God bless you with hope and grace as these days of fasting from in-person worship continue.
Faithfully yours,
The Rt. Rev. Susan E. Goff
Bishop Suffragan and Ecclesiastical Authority
The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Brooke-Davidson
Assistant Bishop
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Diocesan Resources
The Diocese of Virginia has posted on its website (www.thediocese.net) many resources for individuals and clergy to use during this time when we cannot gather together for worship and Christian Education. On the opening page of the website, you will see "Covid 19 Resources" in the upper right hand corner. This page includes statements by Bishop Susan Goff, some church financial resources, tips about recording services online, and Christian Education resources to use at home. One resource is entitled "Do Faith at Home" and has ideas for adults and children
www.dofaithathome.org
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Every Tuesday morning, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry broadcasts a short reflection entitled, "Habits of Grace". He has encouraging words of hope and love for all of us during this difficult time. You can watch the videos at
https://episcopalchurch.org/habits-of-grace
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Follow
Perhaps at this moment in your journey with Jesus you are not seeing or perceiving how God is working in your life, how Jesus is present with you amidst the world's bewildering confusion and suffering. If so, take Jesus at his word. We will come to know God’s presence with us by following the example of Jesus: by teaching and healing, by listening to our neighbors, and by doing acts of love and mercy even in the face of those who wish us ill.
-Br. Jim Woodrum
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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, Rector
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ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH | 5649 MT. GILEAD RD. , CENTREVILLE, VA | 703-803-7500
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Please note:
If you choose to unsubscribe below, please be aware that you will no longer receive either St. John's sermons or E-Notes, which are sent weekly. If you do unsubscribe and later want to be added back in, that needs to be done through the provider, Constant Contact. Please email St. John's office with the request: SJECCentreville@aol.com.
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