St. John's Episcopal Church - Centreville, VA |
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Parish News - December 9, 2020 |
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Dear St. John's Parishioners and Friends:
I want to share with you Presiding Bishop Michael Curry's Christmas address:
Joy to the world! The Lord is come: let earth receive her King; let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing.
Perhaps like me, you’ve sung this hymn for years – in church, at home with your family, gathered with friends and neighbors. Perhaps you’ve sung it to yourself – in your car, on a walk, or quietly in the dark of night. Joy to the world!
While we may not feel joyful this year – as the pandemic of disease continues to bring sickness and death, when fear and mistrust – a darkness – threatens to overcome the light – we, as followers of Jesus Christ must bear joy to this aching world. We must shine light into the darkness. Joy to the world!
Like much in our lives, proclaiming joy is difficult work – also good and essential work – especially now. Though we mourn that which is lost in our lives, our families, and our communities – Joy to the world!
While we strive to pull up the twisted and thorny vines of hatred and bigotry and anger – Joy to the world!
Through streaming tears and gritted teeth – Joy to the world! – because God is breaking into our lives and into this world anew.
While this is a strange year, the ministry He gives us remains the same. We will prepare him room in our hearts by taking on the ministry Jesus demands of us: feed those who are hungry; welcome the stranger; clothe those who are naked; heal those who are sick; visit the prisoner. Love God. Love your neighbor. Sing joy into this old world. Prepare him room.
St. Luke writes of the first Christmas, “[Mary] gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” There, in the simplest bed, in the cool of the night, in a trough, in bands of cloth, lies the One for whom no room was made. And yet strangely, there lies the One whom not even the universe can contain.
Joy to the world! The Lord is come. In your hearts, in your homes, in your lives, prepare him room.
God love you; God bless you; and may God hold us all in those almighty hands of love.
The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
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The Rev. Carol Hancock
Rector
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Looking ahead... When we have our Annual Parish Meeting in February, we will need to elect several people to serve on the Vestry. We are now looking for people to run for the Vestry for three year terms and we can have up to 12 people on the Vestry. The Vestry currently meets online at 7:00 PM on the third Sunday of the month. If you are interested in serving on the Vestry, or have questions about what it entails, please contact Carol or Susie Pike, Senior Warden. Please prayerfully consider serving on the Vestry with your time and talent.
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Food Drive...Thanks to the generosity of St. John's parishioners, the Thanksgiving food drive was a tremendous success with 600 pounds of food collected and another $1900 contributed for the purchase of perishable items. Because the need is still so great, we are repeating the effort this weekend. The Outreach committee will be collecting non-perishable foodstuffs for Western Fairfax Christian Ministries on Sunday, December 13 from 1 to 3 in the front parking lot. If you'd like to make a financial contribution, checks can be sent to the St John's office with "WFCM" on the memo line. Please let your neighbors who may also like to contribute food know about this event through any electronic groups, etc. you may belong to.
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cookie baking & spreading cheer! delivery |
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Many thanks go to all who made this event of taking bags of cookies and Advent materials to our parishioners possible. Our bakers, assemblers of the bags and bag deliverers were Susie Pike, Ann Goldberg, Lisa Heller, Mimi Spear, Val Tucker, Dick Griffith, Carol Hancock, Angela and Julia Hadfield, Lori Wade, Kristen Tucker, David Thompson, Denise McCarthy, Andrew Wade, Steve Busch, and Craig Staresinich. Thanks so much! It was good to check in with all our parishioners so they know that St. John's is thinking about them. Bags were delivered to 72 households. |
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Santa's helpers...the Wades |
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Denise, Carol, Susie, and Dick helping out with packaging |
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Be a Sunday service reader, from anywhere!
During this time of covid, St. John's holds a Sunday morning prayer service....
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...which is "aired" on Sunday mornings at 9 AM.
The readings are pre-recorded, and several parishioners have been doing a great job doing them, from different venues - no matter where they are! We welcome, need, and value your help! If you would like more information on how to do this, click here for the info page on SignUp Genius. Please sign up a week before the Sunday you would like to read, so we can get the readings to you and you can get your recording to David Weir by Thursday.
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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:
December 9, 2020
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Many thanks go to Susie and Larry Pike and Andrew Wade who bundle up the firewood and keep the breezeway well stocked for people to buy it. Tell your friends and family this firewood is for sale ($5 per bundle, $20 for 5 bundles). One man told me stores treat their firewood with chemicals; ours has none. |
If you or someone you know is in need of a male caregiver with excellent references, please contact Carol for more details. |
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.
Free COVID Testing
COVID Testing is done at the Centreville Regional Library for those who have symptoms or who have been in contact with someone who has COVID. For more information, call 703-267-3511 for hours and other restrictions.
"A Christmas Festival of Lessons and Music" will be a diocesan service on Sunday, December 27. More details will be forthcoming.
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The link to the Sunday service is sent out each Saturday as usual. Then join us for 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.
2021 Budget
The committee working on the budget for 2021 is struggling to put together a balanced budget. The anticipated expenditures have been cut as much as possible. The income we expect is much lower than last year as most of our Ministry Partners cannot meet due to the pandemic. We are still waiting for some additional pledges to come in from parishioners. If you have not already sent in your completed pledge card, please do so as soon as possible.
Advent Resources
The season of Advent, which is the four weeks before Christmas, began on Sunday, November 29. Below are some resources to prepare ourselves in heart and mind for the birth of the Christ child.
I recommend the following:
AdventWord sends daily emails from people around the world on various Advent themes.
Prophetic Voices is a podcast that discusses the Advent readings through the lens of social justice.
Advent Calendar is based on the 7 areas of the Way of Love: Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, and Rest.
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If no one is around to receive your money for the firewood, you may put it into the secure black mailbox adjacent to the firewood stack. |
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Curb Appeal @ St. John’s...! We thank all parishioners that continue to give necessary Time, Talent, and Treasure as we not only sustain but upgrade our facilities.
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This year, the traffic in and around St. John’s has been light because of the pandemic. The vestry thought the timing was right to have the curbs painted around the perimeter to meet the fire lane specifications. At the same time, the contractor re-striped the paved parking spaces for our Special Needs parishioners and visitors. |
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The contractor did a terrific job. We continue to do small repairs and upgrades as we plan for our eventual return to the church. The vestry is not looking to spend extra funds in a tough budget year. However, with recent specified donations and cost savings elsewhere, we were able to fully fund this project.
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SUNDAY WORSHIP & EDUCATION |
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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 Third Sunday of Advent
December 13, 2020
The First Reading:
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
To those who suffer and are oppressed, to the poor who have no hope, God proclaims justice, compassion, deliverance, and restoration. All will be set right.
The Psalm: 126, pg. 782 , BCP
The Second Reading:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
The Thessalonians are given a last charge, told how to behave to the glory of God.
The Gospel:
John 1:6-8, 19-28
In the beginning of John’s Gospel, the echoes of the Old Testament greats are heard as the contemporary people try to grapple with who John the Baptist is, and whom he is proclaiming.
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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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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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Darkness Cannot Overcome
"The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it." John 1:5
"The Light Shines in the Darkness." Susan E. Goff 2019
Yesterday afternoon, my husband Tom and I hung colored lights on our porch. It was a beautiful afternoon for the task, the air crisp and smelling like winter. The challenge was that I had to keep turning the ladder to ensure that my back was to the sun as I wound the lights around the pillars, otherwise I'd be blinded by the blazing light, low and strong in the afternoon sky. Light blinds as surely as it illumines. Light pierces as surely as it comforts.
In this holy season of Advent, as we look for the light of Christ to come blazing into our world, we experience the darkness of a continuing Coronavirus pandemic. What we know about increased infection rates pierces our hopes for Christmas. The news of a dramatically increasing death rate shatters our annual traditions and plans. We've known for a while that the late fall and winter could bring us to a crisis point, and that crisis for our health care system is upon us. Hope for effective vaccines is on the horizon as well, and fulfillment of that hope is drawing closer every day. Still, the dangers remain ever-present. As the days grow shorter and the darkness of night increases, the darkness of fear and frustration, anger and worry increases as well.
The light of Christ illumines our darkness more powerfully than a spotlight sun on a winter afternoon. The light of Christ pierces this winter of our discontent. It has the power to shatter our restlessness and scatter our dis-ease. The light of Christ shines in our darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.
In this blazing, piercing, blinding light of Christ, we are called by God to make the sacrifices we must to protect those we love and to save the lives of the most vulnerable -- and we can do it. We can worship the newborn King in blazing joy without gathering physically in our church buildings for this one year. We can hang out with extended family and friends without being together in the same room. We can support and serve others without threatening their health. We can share treasured traditions in new ways, knowing that all of these sacrifices are for the sake of love and are only for a short time. In the light of Christ, we can love others in these and so many more concrete ways. That is, after all, why Christ was born on earth in the first place -- to teach us how to love fiercely in the midst of a dark and fearsome world, to show us by word and example how to sacrifice our own desires for the sake of others. We honor the incarnate, crucified and risen Christ by following his example in the ways this time demands of us and in countless other ways, large and small, throughout our lives.
May the Sun of Righteousness shine upon you and scatter the darkness from before your path as you make sacrifices today, throughout this Advent season, and always.
The Rt. Rev. Susan E. Goff
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#PATIENT
Patience is that reminder that we are not in control, that our lives do not always happen according to our schedule. The experiences of the prophets, Mary, Joseph, shepherds and Magi remind us that we exist in God’s time. Living in kairos time requires our prayer, our attention and most certainly our patience as we recognize God's presence, as we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our lives.
-Rachel Nyback
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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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