Second Sunday after the Epiphany

2023! I can’t believe we are already here. Life has been a wonderful tailspin of joy in the Children’s Ministry program this past year, and we are so excited about all the amazing things already taking place this year. 


Let me catch you up on some highlights. If you haven’t seen them already, we have newly renovated classrooms and nursery spaces, thanks to our incredible parish donors and vestry volunteers. We also updated all of our Bibles and added new books and artwork to celebrate diversity. 


Additionally, we added new bulletin boards, a diversity resource library, and interactive resource walls that enable transparency of our programs and ways for families to continue the Sunday morning conversation at home. 


With a goal of designing a program that empowers our children to not only think for themselves but also promotes them into leadership positions, we have more than doubled our opportunities for children to get involved in the life and decisions of the church. For instance, we have had listening sessions with our children in Chapel about curriculum, and leadership roles, and encouraged them to develop ways for them to lead the adults in spiritual formation. As a result, our children have led us in services, led outreach projects for refugees, and unhoused children, written prayers and collects, created interactive, intergenerational formation curriculum for adults through our Holy Week Cross Walk, and continue to be an integral guiding voice in the development of the Children’s Formation Programs. Every week they have prayed for the church, led in church, and challenged all of us to see God through their eyes. 


Listening to them question us, confront the hard topics with grace, and remind us of what is truly important, is one of the greatest joys of my life! I never want cookie-cutter children of faith, and I am so proud to say…. our children are fearless in both their faith and their diverse voices. 

To everyone who has loved our children, YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB!!!  We have brilliant, powerful, and wise children here and I am beyond proud of them. I can’t wait to see what they do next this year…2023!


If you have questions about Children and Family Programming at The Falls Church or want to get more involved, I would love to hear from you! Don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email.


Lauren Breeden,

Director of Children's & Family Ministries

The 9:00 a.m. service premieres on YouTube at 8:45 a.m. and remains available afterwards. If you are worshiping virtually, you may follow along with the service bulletin. See the Week-at-a-Glance below for the complete Sunday schedule.


Preaching on Sunday January 15: The Rev'd. Matthew Dumont-Machowski

Realm Literacy, Sunday January 15


This Sunday during adult formation (beginning at 10:20 a.m. in The Parish Hall), Ellie will lead a session on Realm literacy. This will include an overview of Realm and its functions, how to set up your individual notification settings to ensure you get the latest church news and how to ensure your personal details are up to date. There will be a time for questions also.

Please feel free to bring your computer, tablet or phone to follow along, and/or bring your Realm log in details (email address and password) to have Ellie help you to check your settings.

2023 Stewardship Campaign Update


Our Pledge campaign for 2023 is still going - you can make a pledge anytime, the sooner the better!


You can pledge online through Realm or return your pledge card in the offering plate or by mail. Click here for a video on how to pledge via Realm, or email Ellie for help

If you didn’t receive a pledge packet either at church or in the mail, and would like one, we will happily send you one, please contact Veronica Kannan via email.


As of now, we have 110 pledges for a total of $515,978.21, which is 81% of our pledge goal for 2023 of $640,000.

Coffee Hour Contributions


The Coffee Hour team is in need of food donations to supplement the weekly offerings. Please consider bringing a sweet or savory item to church with you on Sunday morning to be served. Dishes can be dropped off in the kitchen prior to the service. Please, no nuts.


If you plan to bring something to share, please email Dave Schranck.

Are you considering whether The Falls Church is the right place for you to make a spiritual home? Are you curious about what it means to make your place here, or in any spiritual home? Would you like to learn more about what The Falls Church has to offer and what you might bring into this community?


If your answer to any of these questions is “Yes!” (or even a qualified “maybe”), we invite you to join the first session of a three-part workshop that will help introduce newcomers to one another, to this spiritual community, and to the Episcopal church. We’ll journey together and learn from each other in a safe and inclusive dialogue designed to foster spiritual exploration and identify practical ways to become more involved.


The workshop will be facilitated by Fr. Burl and parishioner Kim McCleary. The first session begins on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023, from 4:00-5:30 p.m. Part 1 focuses on establishing relationships and will be an important foundation for the other two sessions. We ask that anyone considering participating in the workshop series attend this first session. If you are interested but can’t attend on Jan. 22, please mark your calendars for the next series that begins on April 16.


Please register to attend by emailing Ellie. Need more information to determine whether this workshop is a good fit for you? Please email Fr. Burl or Kim McCleary.


Winter Series Dates:

Part 1: Sunday January 22, 4:00-5:30 p.m.*

Part 2: Sunday February 5, 3:00-5:30 p.m. (may include a tour of the National Cathedral)

Part 3: Sunday February 26, 4:00-5:30 p.m.


Spring Series Dates:

Part 1: Sunday April 16 from 4:00-5:30 p.m.*

Part 2: Sunday April 30 from 3:00-5:30 p.m. (may include a tour of the National Cathedral)

Part 3: Sunday May 7 from 4:00-5:30 p.m.


*Participation in part 1 is required to attend parts 2 and/or 3.

We have two exciting opportunities to join the staff of The Falls Church that we'd love you to share with your networks to ensure we get the best person for the job.


We are hiring a Director of The Day School and a Parish Administrator. You can find out more about the roles on the 'Job Openings' page of our website here.

On Sunday, January 15, Children's Formation Classes are diving back into lessons. Check out what they are learning below! Nursery and Children's Chapel will be available at both services.

TFC Week-at-a-Glance

For activities January 15 - January 22, click here

Parish Prayer List

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

Click here to have someone added to the prayer list.

Ways to Give
Please mail your check to:
115 E. Fairfax Street
Falls Church, VA 22046
Donate safely and securely through our website. 
Text “TFCE” and the amount to 73256. 


If you have questions about Realm or eGiving, please contact Claire Hardie

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 click here to
add us to your account! 
To stay informed visit our website
Connect to the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
Facebook  Instagram