Dear St. Aidan’s Family and Friends,

What beautiful Advent and Christmas seasons we experienced together at St. Aidan’s! Thank you for your presence, generosity, care, creativity, and joy as we welcomed a new church year and celebrated the mystery of the Incarnation in a myriad of ways.

Pictures in the collage below capture some special scenes in the life of our congregation recently and the people who made them happen: Christmas pageant actors, Christmas flowers, and the congregation’s first outreach event of 2025 on the 12 th day of Christmas.

(Photo credits: Eileen Myers, Paula Kay, and Sylvain Richard)

As we continue now with the season of Epiphany – a season in which we explore the gospel stories which describe various events that manifest the divinity of Jesus – we are called to respond to Christ in faith. One of the ways I am looking forward to how St. Aidan’s will respond to Christ in faith is through outreach activities. On Friday, January 24, at 6:00 p.m. I hope you will join me for a Bingo Game Night and Chili Cook-off! What does this have to do with outreach? In 2024, we prioritized outreach as a key part of our formation as disciples by instituting First Sunday Outreach. Instead of youth and adults going to separate rooms for more typical formation classes, on the first Sunday of every month people of all ages gathered together after the morning service for outreach activities: making lunches for the hungry, hosting a neighborhood blood drive to support the work of our local Inova hospitals, writing cards of encouragement and blessing for Virginia prison ministers, preparing warm meals for VICHOP, packing school supplies for local students, and more!

Rev. Rebecca even designed at Outreach Bingo Card (download yours here!) to help folks enjoy the many ways we can serve others and track one’s outreach endeavors. On January 24, we will not only give thanks for all who served in 2024, we will invite conversation about hopes and plans for outreach at St. Aidan’s in

2025. We’ll enjoy a delicious chili dinner to warm us up as well.

There are more and deeper ways to serve, within and beyond the walls of St. Aidan’s, and I look forward to discovering and living into those with you this year.

Stay safe and warm this snowy week,

Laura+

*We distribute an updated Church Directory at the Annual Parish Meeting so now's the time to submit an updated photo and any contact information that might be different than last year's. Please send to Eileen staidansalexandria@gmail.com

no later than Wednesday, January 22nd. Thank you

Children's Formation

Children's formation returns this weekend! Meet in the corner classroom from 10:45-11:30. Volunteers needed! If you are able to help in Godly Play or EYOA, please contact Rebecca+.

Please note: due to the annual meeting and Mardi Gras brunch the first weekends in February and March, an outreach project will replace Formation for all Ages the last Sunday of January and February.

Adult Formation

Adult Formation: Spiritual Discernment •

January 12 and 19 at 10:45 a.m.

When life brings us to a crossroads or to the threshold of something new, where do we turn for guidance as we seek a way forward? We’ll explore how the simple, yet profound, practice of spiritual discernment can help us sift and sort the voices, experiences, and influences in our lives, listening with the ear of our heart for the spirit of God at work in ourselves, our faith community, and our world. 

Outreach Update

St. Aidan’s closed out 2024 with a great month of Outreach contributions! 

Along with the Day School, we far exceeded our goal of cookies and gifts to support Rising Hope Angel Tree, and they had a great event with Santa before Christmas.

Some of the gift donations went to a family temporarily housed at Bethany House Domestic Violence Shelter. The mother in this family was particularly grateful for the gifts and forwarded us this thank you note:

"This year was a life changing year for me. Having gone through many trials and tribulations, Christmas was one of the things I was looking forward to this year. I want to thank you for your generosity, time & thoughtfulness. With your help, I was able to give my children the best Christmas they’ve had thus far. Words can not express how grateful I am. I pray God continues to bless you as you are indeed a blessing to others. May this holiday be as special for you and yours as it is for me and mine. Merry Christmas and happy holidays."

Finally, Carla Saia decorated and delivered a Spiderman cake that we baked in the fall in support of Cakes 4 Kids.

Keep up the great outreach work, St. Aidan's!

*********************************

Ventures in Community-Hypothermia Outreach Program

(VICHOP) Meals • February 9 & 23, and March 9 & 23



Each year, VICHOP provides hot meals and overnight lodging from December to March for unhoused residents of Fairfax County at Rising Hope Mission Church. St. Aidan’s supports VICHOP by preparing and serving the hot meals and a to-go breakfast/lunch bag for four Sundays in February in March.

Sign up below to cook, donate, or serve. You can participate as an existing group (e.g., Book Group) or come together as individuals! The St. Aidan's kitchen is available for prep or storage, but meals need to hot and ready to be transported by 6:00 p.m. on each of our Sundays. Questions? Reach out to Eileen at staidansalexandria@gmail.com. Sign up for either helping with the hot meal or with donations for the bagged meals below.

Congratulations on completing St. Aidan’s inaugural year of First Sunday Outreach programs! How is your Outreach Bingo card looking? Brush it off, fill in any missing squares, and see how your family's participation stacks up on Friday, January 24 with a Bingo Party and Chili Cook-off! We will celebrate the past year and consider future ways to serve our neighbors (prizes awarded for Outreach Bingo, game winners, and chili winners)! Sign up here to let us know if you are entering a pot of chili or if you can contribute sides for the meal.

Knitting Group

St. Aidan's knitting group will meet on Sunday, January 12th at 10:45 a.m. We will be making hats and scarves for Artemis House Domestic Violence shelters. If you are interested in joining us, please bring size 7 (4.5 mm) 16-inch circular, double pointed needles and worsted weight yarn for the hat and/or size 10 (6mm) needles and bulky weight yarn for the scarf. Thank you. If you have any questions please contact Jennifer Smaha at: jennifersmaha@gmail.com

Grace in Action: 2025 Annual Giving Campaign

On Sunday, November 10, we gave thanks for the commitments made for our 2025 "Grace in Action" annual giving campaign. If you have not submitted a pledge yet, you are still invited to make an impact and join with others in participating in God's ongoing mission of radical inclusion, love, compassion, and justice. You are invited to be grace in action. Read more about this year's campaign in a letter from Rev. Laura and this year's stewardship chair, Amanda Smith.  

Online and printable pledge cards, as well as the secure online giving portal, are located under the "Giving" tab on our website.

Thank you for your generosity and faithful support of St. Aidan's!



Episcopal Church News

Washington National Cathedral, the Episcopal cathedral in Washington, DC, is preparing to host the state funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, who died December 29 at age 100. The funeral will be held at 10:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, January 9, and it will be livestreamed on the cathedral’s YouTube channel. Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe will officiate. The National Cathedral, the seat of both The Episcopal Church's presiding bishop and the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, has been chosen for several past presidential funerals, including services for Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, and George H.W. Bush. Read more here.

Useful Links

Update from our Treasurer

December Income: $39,960.78 (pledge, plate, Vanco, other)

December budgeted income: $25,291.67

December YTD income: $3344,519.76 (pledge, plate, Vanco, other)

Thank You for your support of this amazing community!

*******************

 You may safely and easily make a contribution to St. Aidan's using the button below. Your financial gift of any

size supports the mission and ministries of St. Aidan's.

Thank you for your support!

Service Times

Sunday, 9:30 am (virtual & in person)

Sunday, 5:30 pm Celtic (virtual & in person)

Compline, 7:00 pm Monday, Wednesday & Friday (virtual only)

You are always welcome at St. Aidan's,

wherever you may be on your faith journey.

Service Links

If you are not receiving our separate mailing each week with links for worship gatherings and would like to be added to that list, simply reach out to the office

and let us know. Those links are sent out on Saturday.