Seeds. Shriveled, dead-looking, if we didn’t know better, we’d never guess they would produce anything worthwhile. If you’re a serious gardener, you know the way to plant, to water, to nurture and protect, to produce the crop we want. But most plantings happen without our help, and nature has a way of surviving despite us.

So much contained in a single seed. So much to learn. God can bring life from what seems dead or dormant. We help the seeds along, but God makes them grow, not in our time, but in God’s time. 

Can we trust that God is working for good, even when we can’t see or understand what’s happening? Can we trust that God will provide what we need, in God’s time, not our own? In this time of reemergence, how will we look for God’s growth, God’s hand, God’s harvest in our lives and at St. David’s?

Rest assured, the master grower is at work.  

Blessings,

Mary Kay+

Our weekly music team interviews continue!

Read this week's interview with drummer Scott Rabino.

Pray for those who suffer in body, mind or spirit: Colgate, Mary, John, Jeanne, Abby, Ken, Annie, Janet, Ginny, Steve, Kelly, Carol, Tom, Wayne, the Lewis family, Maximo Velez, Stacey, Zakary, Rich, Madeline and all those being prayed for by our prayer teams.

We pray for those who have died: Daniel, Jon, Richard, Pat, Gene, Jerry, David, Comfort and Gisela; and those who have lost a loved one through death: the Bidwell family, the Hill family, the White family, the Heiny family, the Arnold family, the Samson family, the Nathan family, the Obaji family, the Luby family, the Catron family, the Johnson family, the Ogunti family, the Gibson family, the Mellish family and the Burley 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.

Needless to say, although I’ll say it again, what a year it has been. The pandemic rearranged our entire lives and caused us to consider when to leave the comfort and sanctuary of our homes. Now that the COVID rates have sharply declined in Loudoun County and surrounding areas, businesses are fully reopening and one of those “businesses” is St. David’s Episcopal Church and School. As of May 30^th, the doors of St. David’s were opened wide to all parishioners wanting to attend the Sunday service with minimal COVID-related protocols in place. As Rev. Mary Kay exhorted in her email announcing the reopening, “Alleluia!”

Like most businesses, we know our “client base” has changed over the past 14 months. We have lost some fellow parishioners and we have also gained what will be new friends for us to finally welcome in person. Coming out of the past year gives us an opportunity to see where we stand and to examine what has worked well and how best we might move forward in this new environment.

Towards this end, you will be receiving a brief survey asking for your insights and feedback on various aspects of worship at St. David’s. Please watch your email for the survey and please take a few moments to respond. Your comments and suggestions will help St. David’s transition from an empty sanctuary to one that allows us to feed together on the Word of the Lord. If you have questions about the survey, please touch base with David Sheatsley, our in-house demographer and marketing analyst guru, at dwsheatsley@gmail.com.

As we gather in person once again, remember to wear your name badge! If you have never received one, or have misplaced yours, contact Karen at office@sdlife.org. First time name badges are free, replacements are $6.

We are blessed to have Bishop Jennifer Brooke-Davidson leading our worship service this coming Sunday, June 20th at 10 am to confirm and receive these members of our congregation: Josh Bidwell, Alex Brunet, Margot Culhane, Molly Donadoni, Aaron Eichenlaub, Connor Goodwin, Luke Grimm, Liz Jones, Jen Peiler, Anne Shively, Chelsea Sucherman, Katie Tirrell, Maggie Tirrell, HL Vogl, and Derek Yamatani.

For more information on these and other news and events please click the button below.