Welcome to
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Bailey's Crossroads
Sunday worship and Holy Eucharist at 10:30am
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If you've ever spent much time around children, you know that they go through different stages as they grow and mature. Somewhere around the age of 2 or 3 when they are learning new skills like dressing themselves they adamantly don't want any help. "I can do it by myself!"
can be heard from various points all over the house. Little ones don't want any help! They want to show everyone else that they are grown up and don't need anyone to do things for them. Some of us stay that way well into adulthood. "I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself. Thank you, but I don't need your help!" becomes a familiar refrain for some of us in adulthood. We don't want to be dependent on anyone and we don't want to appear weak or needy. We want to project the image of being quite self-sufficient. And we want to be the strong one...the one that is offering the help, not the one who needs the help. And yet, deep down inside, we know that we aren't always as self-sufficient as we would like to believe. That's why there is prayer. That's why there is Jesus Christ who tells us that if we will just slip into his yoke, he will carry most of the burden for us and will give us rest. We don't have to do it all by ourselves! Thanks be to God!!
T
he Rev. Liz Tomlinson
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Rest for the Weary
Jesus invites us to share the burden
Jesus has already explained to his disciples and to us that following him will have hardships and it will be difficult even in the best of times. So when the cultural sands begin to shift beneath our feet and multiple threats loom large on the horizon, it's a good time to remember that we are not in this alone. Partnering with Jesus provides us with the support, the direction and the strength we need to do what we've been called to do. And Jesus has said to his disciples that he would not leave them comfortless. He will be with them until the end of the age. And he's made the same promises to us in our discipleship to him. He never wanted us to try to do this without him. He never expected us to do this alone. It is in being in partnership with Jesus that we find true meaning in our lives. Jesus shoulders the lion's share of the burden and relieves us of our fatigue and takes on our worries. He's trustworthy and constant in our lives as we pursue his call to us. Be with us this Sunday morning as we explore the ways that Jesus gives us rest when we are weary.
To join us on Sunday morning at 10:30am on Facebook for our Liturgy of the Word worship service.
CLICK HERE
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On the first Sunday of the month, we offer blessings
for birthdays and for wedding anniversaries.
If you will e-mail Linda Green on Thursday at green@stpaulsxr.org
and let her know the date of your birthday or your wedding anniversary,
we will include you in a blessing.
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Vestry Meeting 
Sunday, July 19
Our next Vestry meeting will be on Sunday, July 19 at 12:15pm and it will be on ZOOM. If you would like to listen in on the meeting you can use the same log-in information available for Virtual Coffee Hour. If you have questions, suggestions or matters to bring to the Vestry's attention, please contact one of the Vestry members. The Vestry has taken advantage of this time that our building is empty to take care of some major maintenance in our sanctuary. It you are curious about what's happening in our sanctuary, join the Vestry meeting and listen in. If you have ideas or suggestions about what you would like to see in our Sanctuary, talk to the Vestry. The Vestry members are Fred Silvers, June Jallah, Tam Mehuron, Dave Wright and Alvin Jones. Any one of them will be glad to listen to you and to answer any questions that you may have.
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Virtual Church
The Season of COVID-19
We are currently using ZOOM to conduct our worship service each week. The service is recorded from the Rectory and the sacred spaces and homes of the Virtual Church Ministry team of Caroline Kruger, Dave Wright, Markeeta Belmar, Tam Mehuron, Michael Dunn, Sarah Dunn, and Abraham and June Jallah with the beautiful music provided by our Music Director, Anna Ko. You can view the pre-recorded worship service on Facebook on Sunday morning at 10:30am. You can participate in all the liturgy, congregational responses and hymns right from your own home. It will enable us to 'be together' for worship and to enjoy Anna's music. We will be able to see and hear multiple people read, but we will not be able to hear a congregation responding during the course of the service. It will be different, but while our building will be closed, we are still the church and are still open to others. You will be able to access our Sunday morning service on
Facebook if you CLICK HERE
at 10:30am or later in the day if you wish.
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Virtual Coffee Hour
Face-to-Face...almost...at 11:30am
One of the things we miss most about not being able to gather together on Sunday morning for worship is the fellowship that we enjoy afterwards over a hot cup of coffee. We can still have the coffee...and we can still 'see' each other. It will just be 2-dimensional on ZOOM. Grab your coffee after our worship service and climb into a comfy chair in your own living room. We can all get reconnected with each other and catch up on all the latest news just like we're accustomed to doing after church. Just send your RSVP to Linda at green@stpaulsbxr.org to reserve your spot! 'See' you there!! If you need some help with ZOOM just let Linda know when you RSVP. One of us will be happy to walk you through it.
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Regathering 
Options for worshiping together
The Diocese has been very good about providing guidelines for when we can regather for worship together in person and what precautions we need to take. The Diocese also provides the latest information about the numbers associated with COVID-19 in Fairfax County so we can keep tabs on how things are going in the areas where we live. The Diocese authorized outdoor services beginning on June 21, but our Vestry decided to wait until Rev. Liz returned from vacation to make this first big step in regathering. At the moment there is only one parishioner working on the procedures for re-entering. There is alot of work to be done and it's difficult to develop our plan with only two people working on it, so volunteers with ideas and assistance would be most appreciated. Our plan must be submitted to the Diocese for approval before we can worship in person. If you can help out, please let Rev. Liz know. You should be getting a phone call before too long from one of the callers on the Telephone Ministry who will want to know from you how you are feeling about the prospect of re-gathering...both outdoors and indoors. Please feel free to share with your caller all your thoughts...anticipations and reservations...about coming together again for public worship. These are decisions our parish family needs to make together!
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Intercessory Prayer Group
Every Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
During this time of 'social distancing' the Intercessory Prayer Group will be maintained by Tam Mehuron in her home and on ZOOM. The day and the time frame and the structure will remain the same. Tam will be going through this Prayer Service at her house, so please send an e-mail to her with your prayer requests. Her e-mail is tmehuron@verizon.net. She can also let you know how to access the meeting through ZOOM.
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Telephone Ministry 
Staying in Touch
Jesus told Peter, "Feed my sheep!" There are lots of ways that we can 'feed' one another, but one of the best ways is through conversation. Since we can't 'be' together for worship services or for Coffee Hour, we have started a new ministry that will help us stay connected and perhaps even help us get to know each other better. Since the second week in March, you should have gotten at least one call from another parishioner at St. Paul's...and perhaps more than one. Our callers are fantastic, but we need to share the wealth and let others take a turn. If you would like to participate in this ministry and be one of the callers, please contact Tam Mehuron at tmehuron@verizon.net and let her know. She will give you all the details and will include you when she draws up the new rota.
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Adult Formation
Begins Wednesday, July 15 at 7:00pm
Since this is an election year, being able to talk with folks with a different point of view might be helpful to all of us. Had we been able to go to Shrine Mont this year, this book would have been the theme for our weekend together. Instead we will be able to read it and study it together on ZOOM which has become our home away from home. Arthur Brooks is a conservative writer but he doesn't write with a partisan viewpoint. His objective is to give us some new strategies...some new tools to use...to be able to hear other people without falling into the trap of arguing. We've been commanded by Jesus to love one another and Arthur Brooks takes that commandment very seriously. He's offering some insights and strategies to help us do just that. Books are available on Amazon in hardback ($24.99) and Kindle ($13.99). Let Rev. Liz know if you are planning to be part of this study and if you would like to be provided with a book. This book study will be completed on Wednesday, September 2.
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Pledges and Offerings 
Still needed
Thank you to each one of you who have been faithful with your pledge and those of you who are supporting us financially by donating through Tithley on our website and through this e-mail. Since we are not gathering for church on Sunday morning, we don't pass the collection plate during the service. That means that pledge envelopes and checks and cash offerings aren't presented for blessing, but when Monday morning rolls around, the bills continue to show up. To the extent that you can, please send your check or your pledge to the church via US mail. The address is at the end of this newsletter. You can also donate with your credit card by using Tithley. Just
CLICK HERE These are strange and unusual times and we're all in this together. If you aren't a member of St. Paul's but would like to make a donation to help us through this tough time, please know how grateful we are. Thank you in advance for keeping the St Paul's boat afloat! We are keeping a list of the Patron Saints of St. Paul's and we add each one of you to our prayers. Thank you!
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Book-Share
C
heck out the bookcase outside the Rector's office and help yourself to anything that looks interesting. It's said "a reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads only lives one." Some new selections have shown up recently! Check them out! When we get to return to our church building, check out the new books that have come in...or bring some donations yourself!
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The food pantry
Summer is here
St. Paul's continues to be both faithful and generous in supporting the ACCA Food Pantry. Your generosity is inspiring. If you have food to donate, please contact our Parish Administrator, Linda Green by e-mail at green@stpaulsbxr.org to make arrangements with her to drop off your donation. She is at the church several times a week to pick up the mail and keep the office running. She will be glad to arrange a time to let you in the building with your donation. Please continue to bring nonperishable foodstuffs for ACCA and place them in the wicker basket at the rear of the Sanctuary. Also, please remember to thank God's faithful servants, Dick and Mary Lou Runyon, for making sure all our donations are delivered to the ACCA Food Pantry where they will be shared with those in need. In the middle of this pandemic when many people are without incomes, the need for food is even greater. Please contribute all that you can!
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Homeless Shelter
Volunteer Opportunities
The next meeting of the Advisory Committee will be on Wednesday, July 8th at 7:00pm and it will be conducted on ZOOM. Please let Rev. Liz know if you are interested in shelter operations or volunteer opportunities and she will give you information about how to access this meeting. In the
meantime, if you would like to make donations to the shelter, New Hope Housing has provided a Wish List (on Amazon) for the homeless who are moving into housing of their own which is SUCCESS! To access that list, please
CLICK HERE
. New Hope Housing manages a number of shelters around the county, so be sure to specify to New Hope that you want your donation to go to the Bailey's Crossroads Shelter. You can reach New Hope Housing at the Bailey's Shelter by calling 703-820-7621. You are helping to ease the way for our neighbors to get back on their feet! What an act of love!!
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