Highlights of this issue include:
- Epiphany-season Adult Formation Concludes Sunday, February 14
- A Word from Andy+: A Word about Lent
- Ash Wednesday Quiet Prayer in the Historic Church
- TFCE Youth host No-Contact Food Drive Saturday, February 20
- Vestry Elects Officers for 2021
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The Last Sunday after the Epiphany |
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Please join us for our digital, live-streamed worship service of Spiritual Communion on YouTube, Sunday at 9:00 a.m.
Note the forecast for snow this Sunday: check your email/social media platforms for messages from TFCE. There is a possibility we will hold the service on Zoom.
If you cannot join us for the live streaming at 9:00, you may watch the service on your own schedule. If you are not watching live, fast forward through the first five minutes to the start of the service.
To get notifications of our services and other posts to our YouTube channel, go to our page and click the red Subscribe button .
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The Rt. Rev’d Porter Taylor is our preacher on Sunday, February 14, and will join us for Coffee Hour
Bishop Taylor joined the Diocese of Virginia as Assisting Bishop on July 1, 2020. He shares duties with Bishop Goff and Bishop Brooke-Davidson in episcopal visitations to churches, schools, colleges and retirement communities; the support of clergy and congregations; and development of clergy teaching days around diocesan mission priorities. He is the author of To Dream as God Dreams: Sermons of Hope, Conversion, and Community, and From Anger to Zion: An Alphabet of Faith. Bishop Taylor lives in Arlington with his wife, Jo, his office is here at TFCE, and he's an old friend of Fr. Andy's from seminary days at The School of Theology at Sewanee.
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Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invites Episcopalians to deepen their participation in Christ’s ministry of reconciliation by offerings at observances of the Feast of Absalom Jones to support St. Augustine’s University and Voorhees College, two historically black Episcopal
institutions of higher education. These HBCU's bring educational, economic, and social opportunity to often resource-poor communities, and they offer many blessings into the life of The Episcopal Church. We invite you to consider supporting our common mission to create dynamic and empowering educational environments for college students from diverse backgrounds. |
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Spiritual and Emotional Light in the Darkness concludes February 14
We conclude our Epiphany series on Spiritual and Emotional health. Please join us at 10:10 this Sunday TFCE Parishioner Courtney Morrison, LCSW, shares her insights into leading a balanced and whole life through incorporating spiritual practices into our daily routines; she is a psychotherapist in private practice in Falls Church. Courtney will introduce us to practices she has used in her own professional and spiritual journey. Our hope is to give you “tools for your journey.” |
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This week's Youth Forum activity is available here
Youth Groups meet Sunday, February 14, on Zoom
High School group meets at 1:00 p.m.; Middle School group at 2:00 p.m. Please email John for the link or to register your youth. |
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Sunday, February 14 – Saturday, February 20
Sunday, February 14:
- 9:00 a.m. – Live-streamed Service of the Word & Spiritual Communion
- 9:45 a.m. – Children's Formation (email Lauren for more information)
- 10:00 a.m. – Coffee Hour/Adult Formation (click here to join)
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1:00 p.m. – High School Zoom (email John for link)
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1:30 p.m. – Bailey's Crossroads Shelter Dinner Prep (all volunteer slots are filled; email Dave Raglin for information)
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2:00 p.m. – Middle School Zoom (email John for link)
Monday, February 15: Presidents' Day holiday (TFCE office closed)
- 6:00 p.m. – February Vestry Meeting
- 6:30 p.m. – EfM Seminar
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8:00 p.m. – Compline
Tuesday, February 16: Shrove Tuesday
- 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Staff & Liturgy Planning Meetings
- 6:00 p.m. – Evening Prayer
Wednesday, February 17: Ash Wednesday
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7:00 - 8:00 a.m. – Historic Church open for Quiet Prayer
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12 noon – Ash Wednesday Service Available on YouTube
- 12 noon - 1:00 p.m. – Historic Church open for Quiet Prayer
- 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. – Historic Church open for Quiet Prayer
Thursday, February 18:
- 7:30 a.m. – Morning Prayer
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7:00 p.m. – Foyer Group studying The Book of Joy led by Tiffany Smith
Friday, February 19:
Saturday, February 20:
- 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon – No-Contact Food Drive for FCS Food Bank
- 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. – Historic Church open for Quiet Prayer
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Ash Wednesday Quiet Prayer |
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February 17, 7 a.m., Noon, 6 p.m.
The Historic Church is open for quiet prayer and reflection on Ash Wednesday. We will practice social distancing procedures. Please wear a mask, mark where you sit, sanitize your hands, and follow entry/exit rules. 4th Grade and above are welcome. We ask that all participants sign up individually
and stay within allotted time periods.
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Interruptions in Our Plans, Including Lent!
Someone once said, “You want to make God laugh, tell God your plans!” Put another way, “Life is what happens when we’ve made other plans!” Yes, in spite of our plans, God’s life happens, often interrupting our lives with what we have expected and planned on happening. And so, for the last two Sundays, snowstorms in the DMV have interrupted our planned live-streaming services of Spiritual Communion from the Contemporary Church. Nevertheless, God’s life was shared and celebrated as we pivoted our Sunday morning worship to Zoom. If the weather reports are as accurate for this Sunday as they were for the past two, it looks like we will again be shifting to Zoom. Please be aware and prepared to join our service on Zoom! We’ll let you know on Realm, in a Constant Contact e-mail, on the web site and on Facebook!
One of the changes in our Zoom worship is that we did not celebrate Spiritual Communion on the last two Sundays. In Lent, we will not celebrate Spiritual Communion on Sundays. Our worship service will take the form of A Service of the Word, that ends with the Lord’s Prayer and final prayers, dismissal, and music, simplifying the service as a Lenten practice. We will look forward to exuberantly celebrating Spiritual Communion and, hopefully, an in-person outdoor service of the Holy Eucharist and Holy Communion on Easter! If our service is on Zoom this coming Sunday and not live-streamed from the church, we will not offer Spiritual Communion. Continue reading here
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Vestry Elects 2021 Officers
During an organizational meeting on February 7th, the Vestry elected the following as officers for 2021:
Senior Warden: Paul Rosbolt
Junior Warden: Margaret Stromecki
Treasurer: Tom Disantis (non-Vestry member continuing in a three-year term; also serves on the Executive Committee)
Registrar: Megan Patrick (the parish "secretary," a non-Vestry member with voice but no vote on the Vestry)
Stewardship Warden: Erin Cline (Vestry member serving as liaison to our Stewardship Ministry who is invited to join the Executive Committee because Stewardship is a major focus of our work this year)
Thanks to all of our Vestry members for their leadership!
Class of 2021: Erin Cline, Amanda Dupree, Jill Kettler, Paul Rosbolt
Class of 2022: Roger Cline, Nick Donlan, Christine Gilbert, Margaret Stromecki
Class of 2023: Scott Cole, Krista Gauthier, Geoff Kannan, Barbara Mantegani
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Organ Stewardship Reflection
Much has been made in recent weeks about the continuing work of this church during a pandemic. We have been able to serve, and to worship, continuously. We had to change the way we meet, but we are meeting. We had to change the way we worship, but we are worshiping. One important aspect of our worship, especially in the Anglican tradition that is our heritage, is raising our voices to God through music. The music program at the Falls Church Episcopal is still going strong, taking our music making to a virtual platform, and recently, back in the sanctuary.
But it is our hope in a faithful God that one day soon we will be able to worship together again as a whole community in person. That day will be one of celebration and triumph. It will be filled with the essential tool of our worship - music. But to get to that day, we have to be prepared. And one of the preparations that we find ourselves in need of undertaking is the necessary restoration of the bedrock of our musical worship in the Historic Church, the Shantz Organ. This magnificent and essential instrument of our worship is in need of updating and repair, so that it can continue to be the centerpiece of our musical life in the Historic Church.
And so it is with a spirit of gratitude for the opportunity to worship with the music that is part of our spiritual life, that we come to you, the parish, to ask for your help in preparing us all for our return to the physical church. We have announced a campaign for the restoration of the Shantz Organ (click link for video) in the Historic Church. This is an undertaking that will cost the church $30,000. The repairs will start very soon, taking advantage of the fact that we are not currently using the space. However, we ask the parish to consider what the musical tradition of this church, and of our faith, mean to each of you, and we ask for your financial help to achieve this goal.
We will be announcing further details of the campaign in the days to come, but in the meantime, the church has set up an “Organ Donation” fund that you may contribute to, either on Realm, or by sending a check to the church with “Organ Donation” written on the memo line. We do this because although we have never stopped worshiping, we look forward to the day when we can worship together, singing and praising God, and doing so with glorious music.
Geoff Kannan
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Prepare dinner for Bailey's Crossroads Shelter, Sunday, February 14, 1:30-4:30
For several years, The Falls Church Episcopal has been preparing dinner on the second Sunday of each month for the people staying at the Bailey's Crossroads Community Shelter. We have gone back to cooking the meal at TFCE in a responsible and safe manner.
All available slots are filled. Thanks to all who have volunteered!
The next dinner prep is scheduled for Sunday, March 14.
If you have any questions, please contact David Raglin at darags@ymail.com or 703-835-1198; or Barb Mantegani at 703-835-1194.
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Silent Witness against Racial Injustice on Saturday, February 13 from Noon to 1:00 p.m.
Members and friends of The Falls Church Episcopal ae invited to join Falls Church Presbyterian Church for the next Silent Witness protest on Broad Street. Participants are asked to wear masks and maintain social distancing.
Protests are held alternate Saturdays, rain or shine.
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Make sandwiches for those in need
Make sandwiches or bag lunches for drop-off at the Bailey's Crossroads Shelter or New Hope Housing's Eleanor Kennedy Shelter near Ft. Belvoir.. Please see the attached flyer and contact Sami Smyth at 703-799-2293 x11 or ssmyth@newhopehousing.org for more information.
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The Little Free Food Pantry
On Fairfax Street near the church’s Thrift Shop is a small “take some food, leave some food” pantry (like the “little libraries” where people can take or leave a book). We are definitely seeing people use that pantry to supplement their groceries, and you can drop off non-perishable food items there at any time.
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The Falls Church Episcopal historic church is more than 250 years old, and the grounds on which it stands carry vestiges of the entire sweep of American history.
The Falls Church Episcopal welcomes you to our church grounds to “Hunt for History,” a scavenger hunt list that offers you, family, friends, and neighbors a way to get fresh air while maintaining vital social distance. You can:
· Spend time together as a family or friends, or or visit in contemplative solitude on the picturesque and historic grounds of The Falls Church Episcopal.
· Learn American history, and pass it on it to children and newcomers in our community.
“Hunt for History” features 19 items that mark the life of the church and the nation, from their beginnings in colonial America to the pre-revolutionary era, to the building’s 250th birthday that was just celebrated in 2019.
The brochure is available in three locations around the church grounds. Thanks to Paul Allvin for his wonderful work on this project!
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TFCE Nave Open for Private Prayer Saturdays
The Historic Church is open for silent prayer each Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. We ask everyone to wear a mask, and use hand sanitizer when entering and leaving the Sanctuary. Please click here for rules and expectations. Questions? |
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We are still checking the mail and depositing checks!
Please mail your check to:
115 E. Fairfax Street
Falls Church, VA 22046
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Donate safely and securely through our website.
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Text “TFCE” and the amount to 73256.
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Are you shopping more online these days? If you’re buying more items from Amazon, please consider adding The Falls Church Episcopal to your AmazonSmile account. With every purchase you make, the church earns a small percentage. Simply
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Parish Prayer List: Prayers & Transitions |
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Please use the Prayer List in your prayers for each other and the world.
Praying for each other and the needs of the world is a powerful way to love our neighbors as ourselves! THIS WEEK’S PRAYER LIST
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Here are some ways to enhance your spiritual journey at home as suggested by the Washington National Cathedral.
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