Highlights of this issue include:
- Adult Formation: Spiritual & Emotional Light in the Dark, beginning Sunday, January 10
- Winter Newcomers' Class starts Sunday, January 10
- No-contact Food Drive Saturday, January 16
- Participate in the TFCE Hunt-for-History Project
- TFCE Annual Meeting Set for Sunday, January 31
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The First Sunday after the Epiphany:
The Baptism of our Lord
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Please join us for our digital, live-streamed worship service of Spiritual Communion and Renewal of Baptismal Vows 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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Coffee Hour with Adult Formation beginning at 10:00 a.m. Join here
Curt Thompson, M.D., is a psychiatrist in private practice in Falls Church, Virginia and founder of Being Known, which develops teaching programs, seminars and resource materials to help people explore the connection between interpersonal neurobiology and Christian spirituality which lead to genuine change and transformation. Dr. Thompson is the author of Anatomy of the Soul (Tyndale, June 2010) which demonstrates how insights from interpersonal neurobiology resonate with biblical truths about God and creation—validating the deep human need for meaningful relationships as a key to a life of hope and fulfillment. Thompson graduated from Wright State University School of Medicine and completed his psychiatric residency at Temple University Hospital. He is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Father Andy will facilitate two additional sessions on February 7 and 14.
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This week's Youth Forum activity is available here
Youth Groups meet Sunday, January 10, 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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Virtual Formation Classes Are Back This Sunday Jan 10th
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We will be diving back into our curriculum this Sunday!
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Another perspective on Christmas this year
One day past our Christmas observance ending with the Feast of the Epiphany on Wednesday, I had the time to read this brief reflection on “Christmas and Distance,” a meditation on how for most people everywhere Christmas felt like it was more about being apart than being together. From the creative team at a favorite blog and faith site, salt*, this lovely piece helped me rediscover aspects of Christmas often overlooked. Check out their website, www.saltproject.org!
Blessings as we look to much hope and change in 2021.
Christmas, we’ve been told, is all about closeness.
“Being together” with loved ones for the holidays. Taking a break from work to connect with family and friends. Gathering for worship. Even Jesus’ celebrated name, “Emmanuel,” means “God with Us.”
And yet this year, for many all over the world, the opposite seems true. There’s plexiglass between us, or a window, or a screen of pixels, or span of miles longer than we can count.
This year, Christmas is all about distance. It’s backwards.
Or is it? This is the kind of year that can call our attention to dimensions of the season we might otherwise overlook. On second thought, maybe Christmas is about distance after all. MORE
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Sunday, January 10 – Saturday, January 16
Sunday, January 10:
- 9:00 am – Live-streamed Service of the Word and Spiritual Communion (www.thefallschurch.org/e-services)
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9:45 a.m. – Children's Formation (contact Lauren for more information)
- 10:00 a.m. – Coffee Hour with 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 Meal Prep (All Available Slots Filled)
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2:00 p.m. – Middle School Zoom (Email John for link)
- 5:00 p.m. – Winter Newcomers' Class #1 (sign-up here)
- 7:00 p.m. – Adult Christian Formation Team
Monday, January 11:
Tuesday, January 12:
Wednesday, January 13:
- 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. – Foyer Group – Interim Rector’s Bible Study (email Andy for more information or to join)
Thursday, January 14:
- 7:30 a.m. – Morning Prayer (www.facebook.com/thefallschurch)
- 5:30 p.m. – Finance Committee
- 7:00 p.m. – Foyer Group studying The Book of Joy led by Tiffany Smith
- 7:00 p.m. – Outreach Committee
- 7:30 p.m. – Sacred Ground led by Amy Marshak
Friday, January 15:
Saturday, January 16:
- 9:00 a.m.-12 noon – No-Contact Food Drive (Upper Parking Lot) (All Available Volunteer Slots Filled)
- 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 (Broad St.)
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Invite - Welcome - Connect at The Falls Church Episcopal:
Newcomers' Class Starts Sunday, 5:00 p.m.
Are you new to The Falls Church Episcopal and interested in learning more?
We invite you to join us this Sunday, January 10 for the first of our three winter Newcomers' Classes. You'll meet with our clergy, vestry members and staff to learn more about the history of the Episcopal Church, the history of TFCE, and how to get connected to a group or ministry. To register, contact Parish Administrator D'O Dillard. The remaining classes are scheduled for Sundays, January 17 and 24.
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Prepare dinner for Bailey's Crossroads Shelter, Sunday, January 10, 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 here at TFCE in a responsible and safe manner.
All available slots have been filled. Thanks to all who have volunteered!
The next dinner prep is scheduled for Sunday, February 13.
If you have any questions, please contact David Raglin at [email protected] or 703-835-1198, or Barb Mantegani at 703-835-1194.
Thanks, Dave and Barb
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Please do not donate expired or opened items. We cannot use them.
All volunteer slots have been filled for this drive. We sincerely thank everyone for the generous giving of their time and treasure.
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Silent Witness Against Racial Injustice, Saturday, January 16 Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Members and friends of The Falls Church Episcopal are 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 on 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 [email protected] 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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The Annual Meeting of The Falls Church Episcopal is scheduled for Sunday, January 31st at 10:00 a.m. During the meeting the membership will vote on four new Vestry members and will hear from church leadership how the church has weathered the unique challenges of 2020. Information on Vestry nominees will go out in a future eNews, along with meeting logistics.
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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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