St. John's Episcopal Church - Centreville, VA
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Parish News - January 5, 2022
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Dear St. John's Parishioners and Friends:
Due to the large surge in COVID cases in the past two weeks, St. John's will be having only online services for the month of January, or longer if the number of COVID cases continues to rise. Since December 20, the rate of infections in Fairfax County has increased from 23 to 145 per 100,000. Fortunately, those who are vaccinated are having milder symptoms. But the unvaccinated are continuing to die at alarming rates, and our health care systems are being overrun.
The services will be live streamed at 9:30 AM on Sunday morning. They can be watched later as well. While we would all prefer to gather in person to worship on Sundays, we are taking this step to insure the safety of everyone, particularly the most vulnerable. The link to the online service is found below and will be the same link every Sunday. On Saturday, we will resend the link, along with a link for the bulletin and the lectionary class.
Please remember in your prayers all who are suffering from COVID, and those who are living in fear of contracting the virus. May we also pray for our health care workers, and those who are working hard to provide vaccines and helping to stop this world wide pandemic.
SUNDAY LIVESTREAM LINK:
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The Rev. Carol Hancock
Rector
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PARISH NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
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We are searching for a new non-profit group to use the parish hall during the week. If you know of any group looking for space, please tell them to contact David Thompson at St. John's (703-803-7500). We need to spread the word as widely and as quickly as possible. There are flyers on the back table in the church if you know of someone to send it to or a public bulletin board to post it. We have put an ad on Craigs List. If you know other websites, social media, or other places where we could advertise (preferably for free), please let Carol know. Without this income from a group using the parish hall during the week, we will have financial difficulties down the road.
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The Epiphany party/potluck dinner scheduled for Friday, January 7, at 6:00 pm, has been postponed due to the surge in COVID cases. We will reschedule it when it is safe to regather.
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Bishop Ted Gulick will be making a Bishop's Visitation to St. John's on Sunday, April 3. If anyone wishes to be confirmed, received into the Episcopal Church from another denomination, or renew their baptismal vows, please let Carol know as soon as possible. Classes for confirmation candidates will need to start in January.
Volunteer Opportunities: A great opportunity to help those less fortunate.
As part of our continuing community outreach, we seek volunteers to collect and deliver items to the Katherine Hanley Family Shelter. They provide crisis intervention, stable housing, and supportive services to homeless families and victims of domestic violence. They are located nearby and currently house up to 12 families onsite, 12 families in hotel sites and serve over 40 families in their prevention and rapid rehousing programs. The Katherine K. Hanley Family Support Shelter is seeking volunteers in collaboration with St. John’s for the following immediate needs and volunteer opportunities:
- On-call movers: Support for moving items of furniture: 3-4 volunteers with a pick-up truck or U-Haul Rental Truck, must be able to lift and move furniture and other household items – we can form teams around a member with a truck able to pick up these items. Let me know if you are interested in volunteering and especially if you have a truck.
- Volunteer Delivery Driver (VDD): Provides essential help in getting items to community members, residents, and Shelter House Program Participants. The VDD is asked to assist in delivering items to both public and private locations on an as needed basis. This position requires a working vehicle, license, and personal ability to navigate to new places. Items to be delivered range in size, quantity, and description. This is a flexible / on-call position. (Ages 17+)
- Volunteer On Call Moving Assistant (VOCMA): A hands on position that requires the ability to lift, carry, and drive. The VOCMA is invited to work directly with residents who are moving out of shelter or relocating and need assistance in both loading and transporting items such as boxes, furniture, etc. This position involves both physical labor and logistical planning. The VOCMA agrees to be added to an “on call” list and contacted by Shelter House staff when needs within the community arise. This position does not include the transportation of people. (Ages 18+)
- Volunteer Shelter Assistant (VSA): A versatile position that participates in onsite tasks such as cleaning, organizing, and various hands-on activities depending on the needs of the shelter determined by the Building Manager and/or Community Coordinator. This position requires physical participation including but not limited to the ability to lift, carry, and bend. The VSA might have direct contact with shelter residents since much of their work is within and surrounding the building. (Ages 16+)
- If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact Rev Deacon Steve at stjohnscvdeacon1@gmail.com who will coordinate with KKHFS Community Coordinator to get you started. Note: positions may require training from the KKHFS particularly those involving direct contact with clients.
- Please contact Deacon Steve for additional information about the KKHFS about these and other volunteer positions.
St John’s is also continuing to support the clients of the KKHFS by collecting items needed as they move into their permanent residence. Please drop off any of the below items requested by the KKHFS as soon as possible. The following items are in need year-round as these families transition into permanent housing. Items should be new or like new unless directed to be new.
Household items
Trash cans, Shower liners (new only), Shower rings, Toilet bowl cleaner and toilet brush, laundry baskets, laundry soap, Toilet paper, $25 gift cards to Walmart, Home Depot, or Lowe’s
Kitchen
Cutlery, Flatware, cooking utensils, measuring cups/spoons, Mixing bowls, Tupperware sets, Pot and pan set, Broom and dustpan, Dish soap and sponges
Linens (new only)
Twin, Full and Queen sheet sets/comforters, Towels, Bathmats
Vestry Candidates Needed - On February 6 at 12:00 noon on ZOOM, we will have our Annual Parish Meeting where we will be electing new members of the Vestry. Three of our current Vestry members will be completing their three year terms. Six people will remain on the Vestry so we can elect up to six additional members. If you would like to have more information about the work of the Vestry, please feel free to talk with a member of the Vestry (listed on the back of the bulletin each Sunday) or to attend one of our meetings on Zoom. Just let Carol know ahead of time so she can send you the link. The Vestry currently meets on Zoom on the third Sunday of the month at 7:00 PM. Vestry members must be confirmed communicants in good standing. To date, we have only one person who has agreed to run for the Vestry. We need YOU!!!
The Bishop's Learning Series: My Story; Our Story; The Story
How fiction and poetry can take us deeper into our faith
Clergy: Thursdays at 4 p.m., January 12 - March 16.
Lay: Wednesdays at 3 p.m. January 12 - March 16 OR Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. January 13 - March 17.
As human beings we make meaning through story. Stories are how we connect with one another. When you are introduced to a stranger, you begin with your story: “Where I am from; what I do; what are my passions” and so on. In addition, the deeper truth can often only be reached through story. We know this from reading the gospels. People asked Jesus a complicated question, and he answered with a story: “Once there was a man who had two sons…”
This online series of classes is intended to deepen our awareness and our reservoir of story and image. We will read short stories and poems and use them as the way to go deeper into the Good News and how we encounter it in our lives. The class is not an English class but a Theology class that uses fiction and poetry as the doorway into the mysteries of our faith. If you wish to join the class, please email Anita Lisk and indicate if you are clergy or lay. Read the full class description
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*Wood Bundles Now For Sale*
The price is still nominal at $5 per bundle and the bundles are located outside the breezeway. Donations can be put in the envelopes provided and put in the secure adjacent mailbox.
Andrew Wade
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Western Fairfax Christian Ministries has put out their list of the foods that they need the most. You can bring your non-perishable items to the church on Sunday mornings, or drop them off in the box outside the door by the breezeway during the week and they will be delivered to WFCM.
· Canned garbanzo beans (low salt preferred)
· Canned kidney beans, red beans, and black beans (low salt preferred)
· Canned pasta
· Pasta Sauce (low salt preferred)
· Canned Tuna and Canned Chicken
· Flavored pasta/rice
· Mashed Potatoes
· Oatmeal (Quaker Oats Healthy Old Fashioned Oatmeal)
· Canned vegetables (corn, carrots, spinach, beets) (low salt preferred)
· Canned Pineapple (no sugar added preferred)
· Tomato Paste (low salt preferred)
· Toiletries: Toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, feminine pads, deodorant, baby wipes, shaving cream, mouth wash (NOTE: we are not currently in need of diapers due to our partnership with Greater DC Diaper Bank. Please only donate larger size pull ups or wipes if you want to donate items for babies.)
Outreach Opportunity to Help Our “Neighbors”
The Western Fairfax Shepherd Center is still accepting volunteer drivers to support clients who need help getting to appointments, shopping trips (for food), and to deliver food from WFCM to clients. Please contact the Shepherd Center at 703-246-5920 or email scwfc.office@gmail.com and copy Deacon Steve at stjohnscvdeacon1@gmail.com.
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Sign Up: Sunday service reader or usher We welcome, need, and value your help! The lector will read the 2 lessons and the psalm. The usher will hand out bulletins and bring the elements and offering to the altar. If you would like to do either of these, CLICK HERE.
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Sign Up: Altar Flowers
Please indicate how you wish your flower donation to appear in the Sunday bulletin. (Wedding anniversary, in memory of someone - something special you want to remember by providing flowers.) CLICK HERE
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Service of Evening Prayer - Virtually
Every Wednesday, St. John's has a Service of Evening Prayer. 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:
Wednesday, January 5
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THE ADULT LECTIONARY FORUM - IN PERSON & ON ZOOM
All are invited to join in, following the Sunday service. Here is the link to the Lectionary Forum via Zoom, in case you cannot attend in person:
PLEASE NOTE LINK updated
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Last weekend's recorded services:
Christmas Eve 4 PM
Christmas Eve 9 PM
Christmas Day
Sunday After Christmas
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SUNDAY WORSHIP & EDUCATION
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THE ADULT LECTIONARY FORUM - HELD EACH SUNDAY
All are invited to join in, following the Sunday service, in the library. Or use the link to the Lectionary Forum via Zoom, in case you cannot attend in person, found above.
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We can prepare our hearts & minds by reading ahead
for the Sunday Service lesson
The First Sunday after the Epiphany
January 9, 2022
The First Reading: Isaiah 43:1-7
There have been times of suffering in the past, and there is more trial to come, but God will never abandon his people. He will bring peace and redemption to them.
The Psalm: 29, p. 620, BCP
The Second Reading: Acts 8:14 - 17
The effects of discipleship are clearly seen: we must have teachers in the faith not only to instruct, but to pray us with and for us as we seek to grow into the full stature of Christ.
The Gospel: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Jesus is baptized into his life of public ministry along with many who are seeking a transformation and restoration of relationship with God. God is found in their midst, standing beside them in these promises.
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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 sjeccentreville@aol.com.
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A Meditation: "Where Everything Yet Can Happen"
Here we are on the ninth day of Christmas and the third day of the calendar year. Have we taken down the tree? Written our thank you notes? Gotten back into the routine?
In 1900 the German poet, Rainier Maria Rilke, wrote these lines as the page turned from the old century to the new:
“We feel the sweep of it like a wind.
We see the brightness of a new page
Where everything yet can happen.
Unmoved by us, the fates take its measure
And look at one another, saying nothing.”
This is the crossroads we face. The Christmas story is about a revolution. It’s why Mary sang her song of God turning the world right-side up. God lifts up the lowly. God fills the hungry with good things. God scatters the proud and brings down the powerful from their throne.
Christmas is not about presents. It’s not about the tree or the lights. It’s about embracing the new reality of “a new page/ Where everything yet can happen.” However, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Or course, there’s a voice in our heads that says, “the fates take its measure and look at one another saying nothing.” “Get real,” our inner critic tells us. Our cynical self thinks it’s time to pick up from where we were pre-Christmas and get on with our ordinary lives.
Here's the thing. We are not merely celebrating a birth 2000 years ago. We are embracing a new reality and therefore a new way of seeing and being. The birth is in us and around us and between us. Like the Magi, we are invited to go home a different way because it’s a new world. The Word has become flesh and dwells everywhere and therefore, God’s promises are coming true in this world.
Our calling is to resist going back to where we were. Our country is too infected with division and distrust and cynicism. If we truly believe that the savior is born in this very world, then we cannot pack up our hope with the ornaments. No. Christmas is a revolution. Something new has been born in us and around us and through us. We live in a new page where everything can happen. Our calling is not merely to celebrate the birth, but to be reborn and to be agents of the rebirth of this world. Everyone gets to start over and go home a different way.
If we believe God is making all things new, can we align ourselves with that reality and be agents of “the brightness of a new page/ Where everything yet can happen”?
Bishop Porter Taylor
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Treasure
The Christ who was born in Mary is the Christ who was born in you at your baptism. The treasures and the promises of Mary are yours to ponder in your heart.
-Br. Todd Blackham
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My email address is stjohnscvpriest@gmail.com,
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: SJECCentreville@aol.com.
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