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Welcome to
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Bailey's Crossroads
Sunday Worship is Holy Eucharist
and will be held in person
in our sanctuary
on May 22nd at 10:30am
If you are more comfortable wearing a mask, please do so, but masks are not required.
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Greetings!
Deja Vu all over again. Have you ever had the opportunity to pause for a moment in the midst of a powerful experience to connect the dots and see how 'this' thing connects to 'that' thing and how it all came together like an intricate dance? In hindsight it's easy to say, "Oh, THAT'S why this happened!!" as we connect the dots that tie together the most intricate parts of our lives. "Without this, we wouldn't have had that!" And all of it seems to hinge on the way we live and what we believe and how we make sense of seemingly random events. When we arouse the Holy Spirit and listen, then we are less afraid. And when we are consciously aware of Jesus' words and frequently say to ourselves, "What would Jesus do?" We rarely get an easy or a straight answer. All we can do is trust and try and that's all Jesus is asking of us. It takes a little practice but it helps us make sense of all the disconnected people and things and events that float through our lives. Every now and then the curtain is pulled back and we get to see a little glimpse of the seemingly random events that morphed into a powerful and life-changing experience! Jesus' promises are for real!!!
Rev. Liz Tomlinson
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Love is an action word
Jesus makes a pledge to his disciples
In this part of Jesus' Farewell Discourse in the gospel of John, he makes a promise to his disciples and to all who follow him and believe in him. He knows that all humans are created to need each other and to need a community they can live with and someone to stand by them when they're in trouble and and someone to comfort them when they are broken hearted. Surely the disciples heard Jesus' words, but it must have been nearly impossible to grasp both the power and the significance of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus' promises them that the Holy Spirit will remind them of all the things that Jesus has said. The Holy Spirit will comfort them. The Holy Spirit will come to them after Jesus leaves. This is an important reassurance because the disciples and those following Jesus are still trying to process the unbelievable fact that Jesus has risen from the dead. And now he's telling them that a force will descend on them in the form of the Holy Spirit and they should not be afraid. They will not be on their own ever again.
Join us on Sunday morning at 10:30am
for Holy Eucharist
and join us in celebrating the greatest gift
any of us has ever been given.
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Join Us for Coffee Hour
Following Morning Worship
We have recently resumed Coffee Hour in Fleming Hall after our morning Worship Service and it feels really good to be socializing again over a cup of coffee. We missed our Coffee Hour while it was suspended for over a year as a result of COVID. We are delighted that it is now back in place! If you would like to help plan this Coffee Hour from time to time, please contact one of our Vestry members. They are Tam Mehuron, David Wright, Anna Ko, Averill Springer and our consultant, Alvin Jones. Won't you join us in Fleming Hall immediately after our worship service to eat some delicious treats, have some excellent coffee and bask in the equally nourishing conversation?
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Bible Study
The Psalms
Our current Bible study is an exploration of the meanings and uses of The Psalms through the detailed study of select Psalms. The next Bible Study will be held on Wednesday, May 25 from 7:00pm to 8:00pm on ZOOM. It will be led by David Wright. You do not need to be a member at St. Paul's to join us for Bible Study. If you would like to be a part of this study, contact our Parish Administrator, Linda Green at green@stpaulsbxr.org and she will provide you with the ZOOM link.
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Lilian Marfo
Beloved member of St. Paul's.
On Thursday, April 21, our beloved sister in Christ, Lilian Marfo, returned to our Lord. An immigrant from Ghana, Lilian has been a member of St. Paul's since the 1990's and has twice served on the Vestry. She was dutiful in raising her daughters Maame and Yaa in the heart of this Christian fellowship. And she was devoted to the Episcopal liturgy and services. She was a deeply spiritual woman and found great comfort in her faith as her health began to fade. She was always patient, kind, generous, and rarely complained even though life had presented her with a number of massive obstacles. She was beloved by all who knew her and we shall miss her very much. A viewing will be held in the sanctuary at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Friday, May 20 at 6:00pm and the funeral service will follow at 7:00pm. The committal will be at 10:00am the following day, Saturday, May 21, at Oakwood Cemetery, 401 Roosevelt Blvd., Falls Church, VA. 22044. A Homegoing Celebration of Life will be held at 3115 Golansky Blvd. in Woodbridge from 9:00pm until 2:00am. All who knew her are encouraged to attend. Your presence will be a great comfort to her family.
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Episcopal Relief and Development
Aid for Ukraine
This war in Ukraine seems to be unfolding in unprecedented ways...even for warfare. It's heartbreaking to know unarmed civilians are subject to attack. So many of us are looking for reliable and truly useful ways to help the people of Ukraine during this unprecedented crisis. One of the most reliable charity organizations world wide is Episcopal Relief and Development. If you would like to make an online charitable donation earmarked especially for Ukraine, please CLICK HERE to access their website.
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Updating the Directory
Staying in Touch
Now more than ever, it's important for us to be able to stay in touch with one another in any way that we can...telephone, snail-mail, e-mail, smoke signal, morse code, etc. If you aren't sure whether or not you are in the directory or if your information is correct, please contact our Parish Administrator, Linda Green at green@stpaulsbxr.org and give her your contact information so that we can update the directory. They will be ready for distribution soon and we want to be sure that everyone who should be in there is in there...and that everyone who should have a directory gets one!
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Bailey's Shelter & Supportive Housing
Volunteer Opportunities
The next meeting of the Advisory Committee will be Wednesday, July 13, 2022 at 7:00pm 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. Although face-to-face volunteer work has been temporarily suspended the shelter is in the process of re-instating that support for the shelter clients. David Wright has been representing St. Paul's as a volunteer at the shelter and would be happy to share his experiences with you if you are interested. He also has some recent experience with Safe Haven Shelter that works through First Christian Church of Falls Church.
Contact Community & Volunteer Coordinator
Bailey's Shelter and Supportive Housing
New Hope Housing
5914 Seminary Rd
Fairfax, VA 22041
Tel: 703-578-8852
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. Please designate Bailey's Shelter and Supportive Housing, 5914 Seminary Rd., Falls Church, VA. 22041 when you place your order if you want your donation to go to this shelter. 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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The Food Pantry
Replenishment Needed
Urgent calls have come from ACCA this month for donations to the food pantry. We have hungry people around us all year long, but especially now in this season of COVID-19 when so many sources of income have disappeared. St. Paul's continues to be both faithful and generous in supporting the ACCA Food Pantry and they need our help now more than ever. At the last Vestry Meeting, the Vestry voted to double the monetary support that we give to ACCA each month. 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. They are particularly in need of any kind of rice, canned fruit, fresh vegetables, and canned stew.
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The Rev. Elizabeth W. Tomlinson
Priest in Charge
tomlinson@stpaulsbxr.org
703-820-2625
Connect to our website here
Connect to our facebook page here
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