Highlights of this issue include:
- Epiphany-season Adult Formation Resumes Sunday, February 7
- A Word from Andy+
- Bailey's Crossroads Shelter Dinner Sunday, February 14
- TFCE Youth host No-Contact Food Drive Saturday, February 20
- Historic Church Organ Renovation Project
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The Fifth 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.
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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Spiritual and Emotional Light in the Darkness continues February 7 & 14
We continue our Epiphany series on Spiritual and Emotional health, building on our January classes. 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 7, 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 7 – Saturday, February 13
Sunday, February 7:
- 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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2:00 p.m. – Middle School Zoom (email John for link)
- 7:00 p.m. – Adult Formation Committee
Monday, February 8:
- 6:30 p.m. – EfM Seminar
- 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. – Youth Leadership Committee
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8:00 p.m. – Compline
Tuesday, February 9:
- 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Staff & Liturgy Planning Meetings
- 6:00 p.m. – Evening Prayer
Wednesday, February 10:
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10:00 -11:00 a.m. – Foyer Group – Interim Rector's Bible Study (email Andy for more information or to join)
- 12 noon - 1:30 p.m. – Buildings & Grounds Committee
Thursday, February 11:
- 7:30 a.m. – Morning Prayer
- 12 noon – Stewardship Committee Meeting
- 5:00 p.m. – Finance Committee Meeting
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7:00 p.m. – Foyer Group studying The Book of Joy led by Tiffany Smith
Friday, February 12:
Saturday, February 13:
- 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. – Historic Church open for quiet prayer
- 12 noon - 1:00 p.m. – Silent Witness against Racial Injustice
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Hope perches in our hearts…
Quietly, suddenly I awakened Wednesday morning at the sound of birds singing outside the shuttered window. Immediately and simultaneously, I received the answer to the bidding prayer I always make before the rest of the night to come… The night heralds the dawn. Let us look expectantly to a new day, new joys, new possibilities (A New Zealand Prayer Book , Night Prayer). What a joyful sound calling me to the day’s ripe possibilities and joys. I knew that hope was an abundant gift given for this day. I must tell you I am a hopeful person, and over the past few weeks for many reasons, hope is growing in my heart in spite of the accumulative darkness we have faced on so many levels in our lives, in the church, in our nation, and in the world. But I must say that some days I work hard at knowing and sharing even the smallest grain of hope. But not this day! As Emily Dickenson reminds us, “Hope” is the thing with feathers, literally today with birds singing…seeing these feathered friends foraging for the seeds we had left scattered on the deck for three days now uneaten. But Dickenson’s poetic words go deeper. Listen to them:
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February 17
Mark your calendars for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of our Lenten journey. Watch for more information in the February 11th eNews, as well as additional messages via Realm and on our social media platforms.
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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. Here's what we need:
* Make cupcakes at home and bring to the church
* Cook the beans at home and bring to the church
* Cut up the onions and peppers at home and bring to the church
* Cook the meat and rice at church and assemble the burritos and put them into trays. Put the beans, onions and peppers, and rice into large trays for delivery. Masks and gloves are mandatory at all times and we will use both the kitchen and Fellowship Hall to help socially distance.
* Deliver the trays and cupcakes to the shelter
* Clean up the kitchen and Fellowship Hall afterwards
Please use the SignUp Genius to volunteer:
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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