St. John's Episcopal Church - Centreville, VA
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Parish News - October 6, 2021
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Dear St. John's Parishioners and Friends:
How many of us have gotten out of the habit of doing certain things due to the pandemic - things like going to the gym or shopping in a local store? Might we add "going to church" to that list? I have heard from a few people that they have gotten "out of the habit" of going to church. They have scheduled other things for that time slot on Sunday morning. Fortunately, we are able to provide our Sunday (and Wednesday) services online. But there is something different about watching a service online and being there in person. We miss the sense of community when we are watching the service from home. Don't get me wrong - online services are great for those who are sick or elderly or out of town and cannot get to church. But those of us who have been vaccinated and feel okay about being inside a room with others who are all masked are encouraged to make going to church a habit. It's what we do on Sunday mornings. We gather together to worship God, to hear the scriptures and sermon, to sing the hymns, to be with other Christians who have similar beliefs. It's important for us to be together in community as we are able, to get back "into the habit."
The Rev. Carol Hancock
Rector
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PARISH NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Centreville Day is on Saturday, October 16! As in the past, the main stage will be in our front parking lot and tents for various vendors will be across the street. Previously, St. John's has had a table in front of the church to sell baked goods, cold drinks, coffee and our St. John's afghans and books. We also provided tours of the church. We need volunteers to provide baked goods, to staff the table for two hour blocks during the day, and to offer tours of the church. A sign up sheet will be in the back of the church this Sunday. So far only one person has signed up to provide baked goods and no one has signed up to staff our table. If you can help with either of these tasks and you will not be at church on Sunday, please email Carol. The times to staff the table are 8-10 AM, 10-noon, noon-2 PM and 2-4 PM. The earliest shift will need to help set up tents, tables and coffee.
Blessing of the Pets - We will have a blessing of the pets during Centreville Day, Saturday, October 16 at 2:00 PM in front of the church. Invite your friends and neighbors to bring their pets to be blessed.
Outreach Committee: Updated Needs for Afghan Refugees
Ambreen Rizvi came to St. Johns last Sunday. She gave an update on the very latest on the state of Afghan refugees passing through Northern VA. The situation continues to change. The need for helping these people transitioning to Canada and the United States has not. The luggage, shoes, socks, towels, and undergarments have been terrific. Many thanks to parishioners that continue to bring goods to the church all during the week and on Sundays.
Here is the latest update as of 10/6/2021 of items needed:
Women’s:
New Shoes: Adult Size 7 - 9
Socks
Undergarments – Nothing above Large
Men’s:
New Shoes: Adult Size 7 – 9
Socks
Belts. Size 34 or smaller
Undergarments – Nothing above Large
Please leave in the office at the church. If you need someone to pick up any supplies or would like to give funds for someone else to make the purchases, please contact the church office @ 703-803-7500. If you have any other questions, please contact Andrew Wade: [email protected]
The Outreach Committee
Calling all gardeners and others who like to get their hands dirty.....the weeds around the church are starting to take over. If you have some free time and would like to come to the church and pull some weeds, it would be greatly appreciated. We want to be "looking good" for Centreville Day on October 16.
Many, many thanks go to our wood splitters, about 20 in number, who came to Gilead Green last Saturday to cut up the six dead trees that has been taken down previously. Thanks go to Andrew Wade for organizing this event and bringing friends and neighbors to help, and to Monti Zimmerman for his expertise in cutting down the trees. This is a huge undertaking that was well organized and executed. The firewood will be wrapped in small bundles and will be put out for sale in the coming weeks.
St. John’s Second Annual Wood Splitting Event - a note from Andrew Wade
Wow. We had a terrific day of hard work, fun, and a little fellowship. Blast from the past: Former parishioners Larry Schaefer and his two boys Danny and Stephen were part of the work crew along with 20 other volunteers. Many neighbors and friends also participated. Two log splitters ran from about 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. One of the log splitters was a loaner for free, while we did have to rent the second one. The wood was nicely split and stacked behind the shed on pallets. We also had a little fire to help burn the small dead limbs. The good news is no one got injured and we had great weather! We completed about 75% of what needed to be done. Part II will most likely happen in the next 4 – 6 weeks. Andrew Wade (pictures will be posted next week)
All Saints' Day will be celebrated on Sunday, November 7. This is one of the five days during the church year that is appropriate for baptism. If you or a member of your family is interested in being baptized, please contact Carol as soon as possible. Also, if you have loved ones who have died who you would like to remember on All Saints' Day, please send their names to Carol and they will be prayed for on November 7.
Our Annual Pledge Campaign for 2022 has begun and you should have received a letter and a pledge card in the mail. Thanks go to John Tucker and Durinda Smith for being the co-chairs this year. During the month of October, we will hear from parishioners about why they give to St. John's, and David Weir will offer some reflections in the E Notes (see below). The ingathering of the pledge cards will be Sunday, November 7. Please prayerfully consider what your pledge will be in response to God's great goodness and mercy and return your pledge card as soon as possible.
Veteran's Day is November 11. We would like to remember all St. John's parishioners who have served, or continue to serve, in our armed forces, including active duty, reserves and National Guard. Please let me know what branch of the service you served in, your highest rank, and the years that you served.
Sunday School Update - We are in discussion with Wellspring, one of our Ministry Partners, to have a joint pre-school class in-person starting in January. We are also looking at the possibility of having a class online prior to that. We will keep you updated as plans become more firm.
The Society of St. John the Evangelist is offering several free online classes this fall. Check out what they are offering and see what you might like to sign up for to deepen your spiritual walk with God. The link is ssje.org/programs
Washington National Cathedral offers free spirituality classes online. These classes are offered on Sunday afternoons from 4:00 - 5:30 starting on October 3. You can sign up just for one class or the whole series. Click below for more information.
Treasurer and Assistant to the Treasurer set to retire. After serving faithfully for 6 years, our Treasurer, Tom McDermott, and our Assistant to the Treasurer, Penny Parker, will be retiring at the end of the year. We need to find a new Treasurer and Assistant as soon as possible so they can "shadow" Tom and Penny and learn the ropes. If you have some financial skills and a little time to commit, please consider volunteering. If you have questions about what is involved, talk with Tom or Penny. Please let me, Tom or Penny know as soon as possible if you are interested.
Calling all lectors, crucifers and ushers! We need you to sign up to assist with the Sunday services in the coming weeks. We are also in need of others to be trained to be lectors, crucifers and ushers. Please let Carol know if you are interested in being trained to serve on Sundays.
Diocesan Bishop Search Committee Announces Listening Sessions
The search process is lifting off in earnest this Fall. In early October, the committee will conduct virtual listening sessions to give all members of the Diocese an opportunity to share their hopes for our new bishop. All listening sessions will be held via Zoom. Registration is required. PLEASE NOTE: Registration closes 2 days prior to each session. The schedule for the listening sessions will be as follows:
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Tuesday, October 12 at 7:30 p.m. Register
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Thursday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m. Register
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Saturday, October 16 at 10:30 a.m. Register
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Monday, October 18 at 7:30 p.m. Register
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Wednesday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m. Register
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Friday, October 22 at 7:30 p.m. Register
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We are searching for a new non-profit group to use the parish hall during the week. If you know of any group looking for space, please tell them to contact David Thompson at St. John's (703-803-7500). We need to spread the word as widely and as quickly as possible. There are flyers on the back table in the church if you know of someone to send it to or a public bulletin board to post it. We have put an ad on Craigs List. If you know other websites where we could advertise (preferably for free), please let Carol know.
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A New Order of Sacrifice - A reflection on being asked to serve, by David Weir
She didn’t have to go there because it was a dangerous place to be. After she arrived, she did not have to stay because it all seemed hopeless. Yet she did go, and she did stay because she believed it was where God wanted her to be.
Sister Constance was an Episcopal Nun. The year was 1878 and she arrived in Memphis Tennessee. A mysterious disease was ravaging the city. People were dying from the illness. Memphis citizens who could leave, fled the city. Left behind were thousands of the poor and disadvantage who could not leave. The city government had collapsed. The police force had been reduced from 41 to 7 officers. Stores were closed. People were terrified.
Amid the darkness a plain wooden Episcopal church called St Mary’s was a beacon of light. Constance and several of her nuns from Peekskill NY joined St Mary’s Priests to provide comfort and care for the stricken community. Constance and her sisters organized a soup kitchen to feed the desperate people. They began 24 hour a day visits to care for families who were ill.
Constance’s good works also brought her personal danger. Outside the city, an angry mob confronted her when she attempted to open an orphanage for children who lost parents to the disease. The mob feared the children would infect them. Constance refused to leave and told the men; “Sirs, is it possible you would have us to refuse to these children the very protection you have obtained for your own?” The mob let her pass. She and her sisters opened the orphanage for 50 children.
Yellow Fever was the epidemic that the City of Memphis and other parts of the South were fighting. At the time they did not know the disease was caused by the bite of a mosquito. The first frost of 1878 killed the mosquitos and brought an end to the plague. The disease also ended the earthly life of Constance, the priests, and most of the nuns.
Today Constance and the others are recognized in the Episcopal Church Calendar as the Martyrs of Memphis. They are remembered not as a call to martyrdom but as an inspiration to serve the needs of the community, no matter how difficult the challenge. Many of you reading this are part of the community of St John’s. As we begin our 2022 pledge drive you may consider how you will serve the community needs at St John’s, the Centreville area, or wherever in the world your find God’s calling.
You are asked to serve because Jesus brought about a new order of sacrifice. No longer were people sacrificing to reach God, instead it was God sacrificing to reach us. The new order of sacrifice meant:
A higher life was exchanged for a lesser life
Everything was given to those with nothing
An eternal light banished an endless darkness
A greater love defeated a certain death
A priceless gift was freely given
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Online Service Videos
As we return to in-person worship, it will be important for us to continue our ministry of having our services online for those who cannot or choose not to come to church. Our videos are also sent out by parishioners to friends and family in other states. We need several people to take turns recording the service on Sunday mornings. Instructions will be given. Please join us if you can help with this ministry. We need several people so it doesn't fall on the shoulders of one person every week. Please let Carol know.
You may be on YouTube. As we are now recording our services in the church and posting them on YouTube, you might be recorded in the service, particularly when you are going up to communion or returning to your seat. If this is a problem for anyone, please let Carol know.
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St. John’s continues to meet the immediate needs for the Afghan refugees that have passed through our area over the past few weeks. The luggage, shoes, socks, towels, and undergarments have been terrific. Many thanks to parishioners that continue to bring goods to the church all during the week and on Sundays.
Here is the latest update as of 10/6/2021 of items needed:
Women’s:
New Shoes: Adult Size 7 - 9
Socks
Undergarments – Nothing above Large
Men’s:
New Shoes: Adult Size 7 – 9
Socks
Belts. Size 34 or smaller
Undergarments – Nothing above Large
Please leave in the office at the church. If you need someone to pick up any supplies or would like to give funds for someone else to make the purchases, please contact the church office @ 703-803-7500. If you have any other questions, Andrew Wade: [email protected]
Envelopes will be on the back table in the church for those who would like to make a monetary donation to assist the Afghan refugees. Checks should be made out to St. John's Church, with the notation of "Afghan Relief" in the memo line.
The Outreach Committee
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Western Fairfax Christian Ministries has put out their 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.
· Canned garbanzo beans (low salt preferred)
· Canned kidney beans, red beans, and black beans (low salt preferred)
· Canned pasta
· Pasta Sauce (low salt preferred)
· Canned Tuna and Canned Chicken
· Flavored pasta/rice
· Mashed Potatoes
· Oatmeal (Quaker Oats Healthy Old Fashioned Oatmeal)
· Canned vegetables (corn, carrots, spinach, beets) (low salt preferred)
· Canned Pineapple (no sugar added preferred)
· Tomato Paste (low salt preferred)
· Toiletries: Toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, feminine pads, deodorant, baby wipes, shaving cream, mouth wash (NOTE: we are not currently in need of diapers due to our partnership with Greater DC Diaper Bank. Please only donate larger size pull ups or wipes if you want to donate items for babies.)
Outreach Opportunity to Help Our “Neighbors”
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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Service of Evening Prayer - Virtually
Every Wednesday, St. John's has a Service of Evening Prayer. 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:
Wednesday, October 6
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THE ADULT LECTIONARY FORUM - IN PERSON & ON ZOOM
All are invited to join in, following the Sunday service. Here is the link to the Lectionary Forum via Zoom, in case you cannot attend in person:
PLEASE NOTE NEW LINK TODAY
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Last Sunday's recorded service: The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, October 3, 2021
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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 Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
October 10, 2021
The First Reading: Job 23:1-9, 16-17
After suffering so much loss, Job yearns to plead his case before the Lord.
The Psalm: 22:1-15, p. 610 BCP
The Second Reading: Hebrews 4:12-16
In his role as high priest, Jesus identified with our struggles and conquered them.
The Gospel: Mark 10:17-31
Jesus requires great sacrifice of those who follow him, because God intends to redeem their lives.
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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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Foundation
All kinds of things are possible in a house that has a good foundation. It can be remodeled, updated, and renovated. But where there are foundation problems, trouble follows. Jesus made this point when he compared a house built on rock to one built on sand.
Interstate 35 runs from Laredo, Texas to Duluth, Minnesota. In the stretch from San Antonio to Austin, it matters which side of the highway you build on, because the highway closely follows the Edwards fault. On the west is the Edwards Uplift: the Hill Country, a landscape of limestone and granite. There’s no point in buying a gallon-size plant at the nursery because you can’t dig a hole more than about four inches deep. Houses just don’t have foundation problems on the west side of I-35. They are literally built on rock.
The east side of the highway is a different story. The soil changes abruptly from a solid sheet of limestone to deep black clay they call “gumbo.” When it’s wet (occasionally in October), it’s a bottomless, sticky mess. When it’s dry, it’s crumbly and dark. In drought (about 85% of the time), it breaks apart into enormous clods with cracks deep enough to break a horse’s leg. On the east side of I-35, the foundation repair people do a land office business. Everything is built on gumbo, which is as treacherous as sand.
In a land of limestone and gumbo, it’s easy to tell whether your house is built on rock or not. But when your house is as old as the Church in Virginia, and it is built on terrain as complex as the Diocese of Virginia, you have to look beneath the surface to find out how sound the foundation might be.
As I have pondered the “house” of the Diocese of Virginia, I’ve thought a lot about what our foundation might look like. What makes up the ground of our common life? Are we primarily defined by the character of the Church as re-formed in Elizabethan imperial England? Or do the customs and behaviors of the people who brought the Anglican church to life on Virginia soil determine our foundation – for good or for ill? What is at the root of who we are – the thing which, if removed, would cause the whole house to fall?
This is one place that I think the answer is actually clear, in scripture and in life. Either our house is built on the rock-solid foundation of Christ, or it is built on the gumbo and sand of our own strengths and weaknesses. Jesus taught us that the monumental Jerusalem Temple was dust in the wind; it would be razed by the Roman Empire, and a new temple, Christ himself, would rise to replace it.
Jesus said of himself (quoting the prophet Isaiah), “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’? [i] [ii]
Or to put it in song:
On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand. [iii]
Where our foundation is the rock of Christ, and our house is firmly tied to the foundation, we are going to be fine. As we wander around of our metaphorical house, we are going to find that everything that is strong and beautiful and true is tied tightly to the foundation of Christ.
Where our house is built on the gumbo and sand of our own devices and desires, nothing in it will be safe or sound. Everything that is out of whack, broken, leaking, moldy, or derelict has come loose from a sound foundation, or was never attached in the first place.
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' name
If the cracks and leaks and faulty wiring and sagging porches are bits that are disconnected, how do we fix them? We do it only by tying ourselves more firmly to Christ through our own ongoing formation, to that part of our common life the Benedictines call conversatio morum – our continuing conversion. We do it by actually continuing in the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers. We do it by telling the truth, in love. For reals. All the time.
If we have gotten too busy to read the Bible and pray and show up for study and accountability groups, then we have come loose from the foundation. If we prefer to gloss over the disconnects between the justice and mercy shown by God in Jesus and the conditions of the world we live in, then we have come loose. If we forget that when scripture says “some Pharisees,” or “the crowd,” or “Pharaoh,” it may be talking to us, then we have come loose.
When darkness veils His lovely face
I'll rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil
If our vestry has “too much business” and jettisons Bible study and prayer “to save time,” our house is going to drift. Bible study and prayer ARE our business. Martin Luther reminds us what comes first: “I have so much to do today that I will spend the first three hours in prayer.” If we launch anything – anything – without asking how it is connected to Christ and the mission he gives us, how it is going to help more people fall more deeply in love with Jesus, then cracks are going to appear.
To incessant clever and devious questions about what God wants from us, Jesus gave straightforward, clear answers: Love the Lord God with all you’ve got: mind, body, soul, money. Love your neighbor as yourself (and yes, your neighbor includes any breathing human being, whatever their race, language, nationality, religion, gender, sexuality, or worldview, including the people you dislike, disagree with, and fear). Go into all the world, proclaiming the good news of God’s love and salvation, teaching everybody all these things.
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
When we follow Christ’s script, we are tied tight to the foundation; the Church and the world are healthy. When we stray from that script, all hell breaks loose, in the Church and in the world.
Our slab, our cornerstone, cannot be cracked. As Cecil B. DeMille observed about the Ten Commandments, “It is impossible to break the law. We can only break ourselves against the law.” Our job, as those who continue to build that Temple that is the embodied Church, is to pray, to study, to worship, to give, and to serve – the manifestations of Love – in order to keep the structure tied to the foundation. Then our house will be what God intended – a house of prayer for all people.
On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand.
Blessings,
Bishop Jennifer Brooke-Davidson
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Mercy
We may bear the marks of our sins, living with their consequences years after the fact. But God is with us in grace, to forgive us, to heal us, to reconcile us, to restore us. Yes, God sees what you do. God knows what you think. And yet God’s judgment is always kind, true and just. God’s mercy never fails.
-Br. David Vryhof
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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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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: [email protected].
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