St. John's Episcopal Church - Centreville, VA |
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Parish News - August 5, 2020 |
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Dear St. John's Parishioners and Friends:
Joy and delight. Two words that many of us may not see a lot of right now. We are in the midst of a pandemic that is spiraling out of control right now, a presidential election that may be fraught with difficulties, and protests about racial inequality that are continuing. How can we think about joy and delight?
But how can we not think about joy and delight? Joy in the life that God has given us. Delight in the beautiful creation that surrounds us. Joy in our relationships with loved ones. Delight as we realize God's love for us - unconditional and endless. Joy as we use the gifts that God has given us.
I realize joy and delight as I watch my 18 month old granddaughter learn new things, as she squeals with delight as she watches two squirrels chasing each other up and down a tree, as she is mesmerized by watching water come through a hole is a cup as she plays in her small pool. Little things give her such joy and delight, things that we adults might not notice.
One thing that has given me additional delight is the YouTube video of the "Dancing Priest". The song "You'll be back" is from "Hamilton" with the words change to reflect our present situation of not being able to gather in church. I hope this brings a smile to your face. Enjoy! (please be advised that St. John's does not choose the ads preceding the video, and they are different for each viewer.)
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The Rev. Carol Hancock
Rector
What else can St. John's be doing to fill your spiritual needs during this difficult time? If you have ideas or suggestions, please let Carol know.
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St. John's is here to help you!
If you or someone you know has a need that the church can help with during this pandemic (going to the grocery store, picking up prescriptions, etc), please do not hesitate to call the church (703-803-7500). Many of us are ready and willing to help, should the need arise. The church is here to help in any way we can
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Education for Ministry - For you?
EfM is a four year program of study and theological reflection. The class meets once a week for 2.5 hours for 9 months, starting in September. The four years cover the Old Testament, the New Testament, Church history and theology. The cost is $375 per year, and you commit for one year at a time. We need to have two more people join us in order to have an EfM group this year. In addition to the readings for each week, we do a theological reflection, which can help show us where God is in the midst of ordinary events, and how God may be calling us to minister to others in God's name. Questions? Contact Carol or other members of EfM (Craig Staresinich, Walt Cooner, Patricia McPherson, Bob Faithful). We'd love to have you join us!
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St. John's is here to help you!
If you or someone you know has a need that the church can help with during this pandemic (going to the grocery store, picking up prescriptions, etc), please do not hesitate to call the church (703-803-7500). Many of us are ready and willing to help, should the need arise. The church is here to help in any way we can.
What else can St. John's be doing to fill your spiritual needs during this difficult time? If you have ideas or suggestions, please let Carol know.
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Every Wednesday, St. John's has a Service of Evening Prayer at 6 PM. 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:
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A few announcements:
Many thanks go to Mandy Hull, our organist, for finding hymns on YouTube that are not copyrighted, so we can use them for our Sunday morning recorded services. This is not an easy task and it takes her quite awhile to come up with hymns that are on YouTube that are in our hymnal, appropriate for that Sunday and that are not copyrighted. So some of the hymns might be new to us, and some might have to be used over again. Thanks, Mandy, for your hard work.
Continued thanks goes to David Weir, who takes the various parts of the service sent to him by different people, and puts it all together with the music and beautiful pictures from the internet. This, too, takes quite awhile each week. Thanks, David, for your hard work.
We encourage you to please stay current with your pledge and contributions to St. John's. Our bills continue to come in and need to be paid. You can mail your contributions to St. John's at 5649 Mt. Gilead Road, Centreville, VA 20120. If you would rather give online, please use the Tithe.ly button below.
The manufacturer, Brick Makers, is going to be discontinuing the color of the bricks that we use on our "Walkway of the Saints". If you are thinking about getting a brick in memory of or in thanksgiving for someone, please let Carol know as soon as possible. We need at least 5 brick applications to send an order into Brick Makers. We can continue having engraved bricks installed in our walkway, but they will be a different color. The cost of an engraved brick is $75.
Save the Children
St. John's supports two children through Save the Children, and has done so for many years. Their pictures are posted in the breezeway. We pay $20 per child per month to support these children. ($40 per month). We are in need of donors to help us to continue to provide financial support for these children. If you can help, please make a check out to St. John's, and put "Save the Children" in the memo line.
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OUTREACH
TO OUR COMMUNITY
Western Fairfax Christian Ministries
We have recently received word that Western Fairfax Christian Ministries is again accepting personal donations of food and toiletries. This is what they need most:
Current Pantry Needs
Food & Beverages
Canned Tuna or Other Meat
Canned Fruit
Canned Vegetables (no Green beans, corn or Peas needed)
Canned Pasta (ravioli)
Rice (small bags or boxes)
Mashed Potatoes
100% Fruit Juice
Pancake Mix/Syrup
Flour/Sugar/Vegetable Oil
Toiletries
Deodorant
Toilet Paper
Diapers Size 5, 6
St. John's would like to help people in need of food and other items. We now have a bin outside the door to the breezeway for people who would like to drop off donations and we will get it to WFCM. If you would like a member of the Vestry to come and pick up your donation at your house, please email Angela Hadfield at [email protected]. She will contact a member of the Vestry to call you about a date and time to pick up your donation. If you would like to take your donation directly to WFCM, their address is 4511 Daly Dr., Suite J,Chantilly, V A 20151
Donations: 8-10 AM Monday/Friday and
2-4 on Tuesdays/Thursdays.
Here is the link that takes you directly to WFCM's 'wish list' on Amazon:
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This Sunday, August 9, join us for the service at 9:00 AM, the coffee hour from 10:00 - 10:30 and the Adult Lectionary Class at 10:30 AM on Zoom. The links will be sent out in Saturday's email to all.
Book Study - "White Fragility - Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism" by Robin Diangelo. Seven people have signed up for this book study that will start in September and meet for about 6 weeks on Zoom. If you are interested, please let Carol know. You can order the book on Amazon, or it might be in the Fairfax library.
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St. John's History Video
by David Weir
The St. John’s IT committee is putting together a video tribute marking this year’s 170th anniversary of St. John's consecration.
Many of you reading this have been part of St. John’s history and may wish to make a contribution to the video. The contribution can take the form of a short video of your St. John's memories. Or if you have videos, photographs, or other objects that you think may of interest to the parish community just let me know. Request any interested party contact me no later than 1 August. I can be reached via email at [email protected]
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What is "Messy Church"?
Messy Church is an intergenerational program of Christian Formation for all ages. Looking for something to do with your children or grandchildren? Check out the fun activities that are offered and learn more about Messy Church by clicking on this link.
Sunday readers - If you would like to be a Sunday reader and have the technology to record the readings and send them digitally to David Weir, please let Carol know. We would love to have you.
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The Prayer list - If you would like to add someone to the prayer list, please email Carol and Catherine ([email protected]). The readers who do the readings as well as the Prayers of the People, do their recordings from their homes toward the beginning of the week. If you send a name after the recording has been made, the name might not be on the prayer list until the following Wednesday or Sunday. Also, please note that the prayers of the sick, and those who have died, are read during the services we are posting on YouTube. So they are now "virtual". If you put a name on the prayer list, please contact the church office to have their name taken off the list when they have sufficiently recovered.
Preparing for Phase II Regathering in Our Church Buildings
Here's the link:
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SUNDAY WORSHIP & EDUCATION |
The Adult Lectionary Forum
Now being held virtually via Zoom. All are invited to join in, following the virtual Sunday service. The links to the Forum and the service are sent out in a separate email on Saturdays.
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We can prepare our hearts & minds by reading ahead
for the Sunday Service lesson
The Tenth Sunday
after Pentecost -
August 9, 2020
The First Reading:
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
Jacob’s sons sell their favored brother into slavery.
The Psalm: 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b
pg. 738, BCP
The Second Reading:
Romans 10:5-15
No one is treated with partiality before God; all have sinned, all are offered redemption.
The Gospel:
Matthew 14:22-33
When Jesus approaches the disciples on the sea, Peter fears the weather more than he trusts God.
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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.
The Pledge contribution button may be used 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 donation button may be used for any contribution for the facility's buildings and grounds, or special facility campaigns.
The Donation button may be used for any other type of donation to St. John's. If designating gift for a special purpose (i.e.Organ Fund, Cemetery, etc.) please send an email after donating to [email protected].
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One of our Ministry Partners, the Spanish Seventh Day Adventist Church of Centreville, is continuing its ministry during this Corona Virus pandemic Although our Ministry Partners, as well as our congregation, cannot occupy the building they continue with outdoor services at the Gilead Green … masked and socially separated, with no singing. Additionally, they have a food bank providing groceries to their congregation and families in need in the Centreville community. They portion fresh vegetables, bread, bagels,
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frozen pizzas and much more into grocery bags stuffed to the top. This is done usually on the sidewalk outside our Parish Hall resembling a Farmers’ Market. Recipients drive by and are handed the groceries. This occurs each Friday afternoon. If you know of a family in need let them know about this generous example of Christian giving. Reverend Williams Ovalle, Yuly Barrios, and several other members of their congregation are showing the principles and values encouraged at St. John’s. |
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Sermons from the Bishop's Online Chapel
Each week, one of our bishops or a member of the diocesan staff prepares and posts a sermon based on the Sunday's readings that can be used for online services. Here is the sermon posted for this past Sunday.
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The Color Wheel
A Meditation on the
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
Colors crashing
Colors splashing, flashing
Dancing, prancing
Spinning together in wild abandon.
The more in one fabric
The more in one garden
The more on one canvas
The better.
When I was a child, there were strict rules about color. The rules dictated that you could wear, plant or paint with colors that are complementary, meaning across the color wheel, but not colors that are adjacent on that same wheel.
Yellow and purple? Perfect. Blue and orange? Great. Red and green? Of course - Christmas itself shows their complementarity. Yet in those decades past, all you had to do was try putting together colors that are closer on the color wheel and watch the scoffing begin. Maybe you remember the poem from the 1990s that begins, “When I am an old woman I shall wear purple with a red had that doesn’t go . . .”[i] Who said it didn’t go? Those old color rules! I, for one, am glad those rules have mostly changed, and glad to wear the crashing purples and reds that make up my daily bishop attire. More than anything, I am glad beyond measure that I am not color blind but can, instead, see and delight in the rich abundance and diversity of brilliant, crashing color in God’s amazing creation. All of the color. No holds barred.
Just as I rejoice in the immense diversity of colors on the color wheel and in the wilds of nature, I rejoice in the rich diversity of the colors of humanity. From deeps that are as blue as a clear winter midnight to pinks that are paler than a new moon. Sienna and umber. Henna, amber, beige and bronze. Words cannot begin to reflect the myriad colors and textures of skin and eyes and hair. I am glad beyond measure that I am not color blind but, instead, can notice and delight in the diversity, see the palette of the Artist every day, at every turn, and give thanks for such a diversity of beauty and creativity.
I never want to be color blind. Instead, I ask God to teach me more and more each day how to see without judging, how to notice without excluding, how to recognize my very own brother and sister and sibling in hope and deep trust. I ask God to give me bigger sight and bigger insight to honor our human differences and to see, in pure compassion and joy, the image of God in each person.
Color rules have always been overrated. God, show me how to break them wisely and lovingly for the sake of this wild, wonderful humanity you created.
The Rt. Rev. Susan Goff
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Reflections
Joy
We live in a world overwhelming us with the message that happiness is a thing we need to pursue; that peace is a thing to be acquired. And we buy into this lie, forgetting what we knew as children: that God’s peace and joy are ever-present, without price, and are not commodities at all.
-Br. Nicholas Bartoli
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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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