Dear St. John's Parishioners and Friends:

There has been a lot going on in our world this past week. Afghanistan has been taken over by the Taliban, after 20 years of the American military fighting to keep that from happening.

Haiti was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake and is about to be hit by tropical storm Grace. Over 1900 people have died so far and the rescue missions are just beginning.

The COVID numbers continue to soar and ICU beds, in some areas, are filled to capacity. Schools are about to reopen and the controversy on wearing masks continues.

What do we do when situations like these seem overwhelming? First, we pray. We have faith in God who is with us always, no matter what is happening around us. God gives us strength to endure the hard times and leads us through them. Our God is ever present and ever loving, even during the times when we don't see it.

Our faith calls us to pray for those who are enduring the difficult times of life. Our bishop, The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Brooke-Davidson, has called us to pray for the people in Haiti:

If you would like to help the people of Haiti, you can do so through Episcopal Relief and Development . 

Our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry calls us to pray for the people of Afghanistan:

 Eternal God, hear our prayer for the peoples of Afghanistan. There is a profound humanitarian crisis. Countless people, mostly women and children, are now fleeing and vulnerable. The lives of many are now endangered. The hopes of many are forgone. Send your Spirit, Lord, to rally the resolve of the nations of the earth to find pathways to save human lives, protect human rights, and to resolve the hardships of those seeking refuge, asylum, and safety. Hear our prayer for the peoples of Afghanistan. This we pray as followers of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen.

For the people who want to know how they can support The Episcopal Church's efforts to resettle and provide direct assistance to Afghans seeking special immigrant visas, please visit episcopalmigrationministries.org/give.

May we pray without ceasing for our brothers and sisters who are suffering and who are in harm's way.

Rector

A newly formed Garden Committee met for the first time last week to discuss the possibility of a vegetable garden at St. John's in Gilead Green. Many churches who have adjacent land have gardens to provide fresh produce to food banks and homeless shelters. The committee shared lots of ideas on how to start a garden. We decided to start small next summer with 3 raised beds and see how that goes. We might be able to expand after that, depending on the number of volunteers we have. If anyone is interested in helping with this project, please let Carol know.

If you have a home vegetable garden, you are invited to bring your extra produce to the church on Sunday, August 29 and put it on the long table in the breezeway. After the service, parishioners will have the opportunity to purchase the produce they would like. A free will offering basket will be provided. The proceeds will go to St. John's, and any left over produce will go to WFCM.

The SCAM continues. I learned this week from the police department that the scam that St. John's encountered some months ago is still going on. An email is sent out that looks like it came from someone in a leadership position at a church and asks for people to buy Itune gift cards online for cancer patients. This is a SCAM! If you get such an email, even if it looks like it have come from me or a member of our leadership team, do not reply. Carol

Bishop Porter's class for the laity - Begins late August/early September

In Bishop Porter's fall online class for laity, he'll explore "remembering our Christian calling even as we confront the difficulties we face." To structure the conversation, the group will use a book by Ron Rolheiser, Wrestling With God: Finding Hope And Meaning In Our Struggles To Be Human. Day and time of sessions are to be determined. If you wish to participate, please contact Anita Lisk. See full class description.

Our bell - The bell that has graced the front of St. John's for about 60 years will be taken down on August 19 ( tomorrow)and returned to the Navy. If you would like to take any pictures of the bell, please be sure to do it before August 19.

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 Carol 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.

St. John's is in need of a used stand-up freezer to replace one in the kitchen that stopped working some time ago. One use of the freezer would be to keep frozen the leftover food from the Seventh Day Adventist Church food give-away so that we can give it to Western Fairfax Christian Ministries. If you have a freezer you are looking to get rid of, please let Carol know.

We need YOU!!! Do you like children and want to share your love of Jesus with them? Can you read a story to a few children? Can you help them with a craft if all the directions are provided? Can you play a DVD? If so, YOU can be a Sunday School teacher! We want to start our Sunday School class on the first Sunday in October and the class will meet on the first Sunday of every month. You can sign up to do it just one time....or several times. But we can't have this class without your help. All we need is you! Please tell Carol if you can help. (So far, no one has offered to help with our Sunday School. If we don't have any teachers, we can't have a Sunday School for our youngest members.)

If anyone is interested in the Education for Ministry program, which meets once a week for 9 months and is a four year program, we WILL be starting a class in September. Please let Carol know soon if you are interested in joining the class or want more information. The tuition is $375 per year. We will meet on Thursdays from 3:30 - 6:00 PM at the church.

Sacred Ground is a 10 week class on racism, sponsored by the Episcopal Church. It consists of readings and online videos as homework for each session. If you are interested in joining an online class, Virginia Theological Seminary will be hosting two classes starting on September 21, one during the day and one at night. Go to www.vts.edu and type "Sacred Ground" in the search box.

David Thompson, our Ministry Partner Administrator, is on vacation and out of the office until August 21.

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.

·   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.)

 At our last Food Drive we collected and donated to WFCM over $800.00 which goes directly to buy lunch meat, cheese and fruit. These are particularly needed/used at their youth summer programs.

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 scwfc.office@gmail.com and copy Deacon Steve at stjohnscvdeacon1@gmail.com.

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.

The First Reading: Joshua 24:1-2a,14-18

The Psalm: 34:15-22, page 627, BCP

The Second Reading: Ephesians 6:10-20

 Paul warns Christians that we must contend with powers greater than ourselves, and testifies to the full armor God gives us for the struggle.

The Gospel: John 6:56-69