One of our 9am songs begins, 'give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning'. How is your lamp burning these days? Feeling filled and burning brightly? Trimmed and carrying on? Fizzling out?  Or, like me, all three, depending on the day and the news?

Followers of Jesus have lots of experience in waiting. Waiting for freedom, for the promised land, for the messiah. Waiting for peace, justice and healing. Jesus doesn't give us easy answers about when change will come. He encourages us to wait, awake and prepared, for God to act.  

But we're not meant to wait alone. We're meant to share our oil, to light one another's way and hold one another up when the wait seems long.  

That's why there's church. So, in the meantime, watch for signs of God's presence. Keep an eye out for inbreaking of compassion and empathy. Trust that God is at work. Together in Christ we'll keep our lamps burning, our voices singing, and our hearts serving and our lights will shine.  

Blessings,

Rev. Mary Kay+

Pray for those who suffer in body, mind or spirit: Colgate, Mary, John, Chris, Jeanne, Abby, Ken, Lou, Cindy, Bob, Ismael, Myron Ross, Eliza, Lois, Chris, Anne, Carol, Jemre, Tom, Steve, Marlene, Elizabeth, Anita, Rum, Michael, Mary Ellen, Edie, Liz, Annie, Norma and all those being prayed for by our prayer teams.

We pray for those who have died: Bill, Bern, Donald, Lance, Charlene, Lynn, Orit, Paul, Joel, Wayne, Bonnie and Daniel; and those who have lost a loved one through death: the Cross family, the McDonald family, the Bonifant family, the Sartelle family, the Bidwell family, the Decker family, the Mercy family, and the Whiting family, the Murphy family, the Gardner family, the Hill family, the Street family, the White family. 

We pray for our clergy, vestry, ministries, church staff, school staff, parents, and children. 

Loving God, we pray for all those who are affected by the coronavirus pandemic. We pray for those who are ill and those who are anxious. We especially pray for all health care workers and first responders who are putting their lives on the line to care for us: Ed Puccio, Anne Brown, Kondeh Greaves, Kelly Hayes, Sarah, Haley, David, Dave, Ted W., Jackie Hindi, Mark Mangilit, Crystal Garnett, Latonya Daniels, Monica Preval, Michelle Rowe, Robert Gore, Marie Normil, Mashawn Parker, Hantz Joseph, Rhonda Grant, Lupe Guerrero-Nabavi, Janice Chapman Smith, Arlene Blackett-James, Tinea Savage, Annette Crossan, Paula Williams, Nicole Mansfield, Matt Blair, Jason Shelton, Susan Norman. Keep them in your loving embrace. Keep them safe and strong. Be our strong rock, oh Lord, our shelter in the storm, our firm foundation. Draw us closer to one another and to you. Help us to trust your promises and live as people of hope.

We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The St. David's community has done an incredible job of staying together in Christ through this unprecedented year. Thank you for your part in that, and thanks to those who have already pledged to continue to support St. David's in 2021. If you have not renewed your pledge - now is the time! We are half-way to our goal for 2021, and we need your help to continue the work we are doing. If you have not previously pledged - now is the time! Help us keep the lamps of hope, healing and peace burning brightly. Go to sdlife.org to make your pledge today.

Click here to listen to parishioners sharing what they like about St. David’s and being part of our Covenant Community.

St. David's is looking for anyone who would be interested in participating in a drive-thru nativity on Sunday, December 20th. Please contact Maureen if you are interested.

Join us on Sunday, 12/13 at 7 pm for a fun night of virtual Bingo! All proceeds benefit the Alleluia Meals Ministry of St. David's and St. Gabriel's which provides food and necessary supplies to families in need. Prizes will be awarded. You must be present to win. Suggested donation is $25 per family. Please register here by 12/13 at 1 pm!

Are you looking for a meaningful way to use your gifts at St. David’s? Please consider running as a candidate for election to serve on the St. David’s Episcopal Church & School Vestry. We will be accepting nominations of qualified candidates through Tuesday, 12/8/2020. We have three, 3-year full-term positions to elect at the Parish Annual Meeting on Sunday, 1/24/2021. Please review the Vestry responsibilities and qualifications here. St. David’s Vestry, including the Rector, has the leadership responsibilities for the church property and the business of the congregation. The Vestry also assists the Rector, staff and ministries to discern and carry out the vision of where God is calling us as a congregation. If you are interested, would like more information or would like to nominate a fellow parishioner, please email Katherine Beckett-Goodwin at register@sdlife.org.

After several planning meetings among members of St. David's who wanted to help support families in our community struggling with the challenges of distance learning for Loudoun County Public Schools, we decided one of the most effective ways we can connect and support each other is by using a Facebook group. If you know of someone who needs support or wants to help but does not participate in Facebook, feel free to share the link to the Needs and Resources survey here, and a member of the working group will follow up individually.

For the 2020-2021 school year the Backpack Buddies program at St. David’s is currently handling 130 students for the program this year. We have set up a link to a Wishlist on Amazon for donations for the program, any items ordered will be shipped to Discovery Elementary, we will pick up and bring them back to the storage location for packing and sending back to the schools. The 3 schools this year are Cedar Lane Elementary, Discovery Elementary and Broad Run High School. Please share the link with friends, family and colleagues so we can help fill the pantry.

Join us on Wednesdays in November for dinner and fellowship via zoom. Bring your dinner and conversation at 6 pm. Contact mcarey@sdlife.org with any questions.

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