Saint Christopher's Episcopal Church

Transcription

1 Saint Christopher's Episcopal Church 6320 Hanover Ave. Springfield, VA Our Vision: To Know Christ To Love Christ To Serve Christ in Others 1994 Armento The Second Sunday in Advent December 10, 2017 *Hymn Prayer Book Number Page Number {7:30 a.m. Service words and responses begin on Page 323} * Indicates that the people stand Choral Introit: O come, o come Emmanuel David Willcocks O Come. O come, Adonai. who in thy glorious majesty. From that high mountain clothed with awe gavest thy the elder law. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel, shall come to thee O Israel. *76 On Jordan s bank the Baptist cry Opening Words/Call to Worship Priest: A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse. People: And a branch shall grow out of his roots. (Isaiah 11:1) The Lighting of the Advent Candle Reader 1: We light this candle as a symbol of the purity of heart only God can bring. Reader 2: For he shall purify his people like gold and silver, until they shine forth his righteousness. All: Come, Lord Jesus, come! *Festive Eucharist (Gloria)

2 Priest: The Lord be with you. People: And also with you. Priest: Let us pray. *The Collect of the Day First Reading: Isaiah 40:1-11 Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 Second Reading: 2 Peter 3:8-15a *65 Prepare the way, O Zion Gospel: Mark 1:1-8 (see insert) (see insert) (see insert) (see insert) (see insert) The Children s Sermon The Rev. Peter K. Ackerman, Rector Children may go to Children s Church The Sermon Ms. Meredith Maple, Youth Minister for Teens The Nicene Creed 358 The Prayers of the People The Confession & Absolution 360 The Peace & Announcements The Holy Communion Offertory Anthem: E en so Lord Jesus quickly come Paul Manz *380 Praise God from whom all blessings flow (verse 1) The Great Thanksgiving, Eucharist Prayer A 361 * Festival Eucharist- Handouts (Sanctus) The Prayer Continues (kneel) 368 The Lord s Prayer 364 The Breaking of the Bread 364 Children return from Children s Church and Nursery * Festival Eucharist- Handouts (Fraction) The Communion of the People *75 There s a voice in the wilderness crying Blessing of Birthdays and Anniversaries Post Communion Prayer & Blessing 365 *72 Hark! The glad sound The Dismissal (Response: Thanks be to God.) Postlude: Bagatelle on Il est Ne John Dixon

3 WELCOME TO ST. CHRISTOPHER S EPISCOPAL CHURCH! Visitors and New Members: please fill out a white pew card and put it into the offering plate or hand it to the priest, or an usher. Nursery Care: is available for infants and toddlers at the later service. Ask an usher or greeter for directions to the infant room. We invite all baptized persons of Christian faith to receive communion. If you are not baptized you are invited to stand or kneel at the altar rail, while crossing your arms over your chest. You will receive a blessing instead of bread, and the wine person will pass you by. For Those Who Need Assistance: Communion can be brought to your in your seat just let an usher know during the service; large print bulletins and hearing assistance devices are also available (see an usher or greeter for the service for assistance). This Week We Are Praying For: The Church: Michael, our Presiding Bishop; Shannon, Susan, and Ted our Bishops. For Peter our Rector, Brooks our Seminarian, Joe our Music Minister, Sylvia our Preschool Assistant and for Trish our Pastoral Assistant this week. Our Government: Donald our President, and Terry our Governor. Thanksgivings: For those celebrating birthdays this month (but not read in church): Bob Hall, Katie Alleman, Debbie Frear, Beth Lytle, Mia Hicks, Avery Hall, John Quinn, Peggy Bradshaw, Richard Rowley, Tim Johnson, Sarah Belisle, Noella Bond, Elaine Sevy, Jim Foster, Thalia Grant-Wisdom, Dawn Cannaday, Malcolm Andrews, Beverly Guernsey, Dale Guernsey, Christina Manning, Ursula Walls, Cody Thurmond, Nick Farrar, Brent Guernsey, Colin Johnson, Shelby Clardy, Mike Snyder, Joshua Wolfe, and Stan Spence. We give thanksgiving to God for those who are deciding to be Confirmed or Received in the Episcopal Church here on January 14th: Hunter Duggan, Bebe Dunlap, Creighton Dunlap, Alton Kirk, John Snyder, Zac Manning, John Olsen, Ralph Dommes, and Timmie McArthur." The Sick, Suffering, and in Need Morgan Price, Barbara Milton, Debbie Frear, Betsy Lowrey, Ralph Woodrow, Indra Corea, Ursula Walls, Janice Hagan, Marion Evans, Ginny Berg, Sandy and Dick Rowley, Peter, Marguerite Wagner, Ralph Tomita, Jim Foster, Jay Jantz, Priscilla Greene, Virginia Cole, Molly Gray,

4 Ann Moore, Ted Woodcock, Elaine Apostles, John Wells, and L. B. Berg as well as those on our December s Parish Family Prayer List (names not read in the service): Christian Canell, Helen Yi, Melvin Gantt, Phyllis Kerr, June Shaw, Marty Kiefer, Susan Ackerman-Peterson, Daniel Carr, Fritz Baldwin, Brad Penney, David and Stephen Penny, Helen Wagner, Jennifer Lowe, Cook Family, Alleman Family, Dawn, Brendan Scriber, Bev Gilman, Matt Zeller, and Robin Courts. For Those Who Have Died: The Altar Greens are given in the glory of God by the Flower Guild. The Sanctuary Candle is given to the glory of God by the Altar Guild. ANNOUNCEMENTS Prepare for "Cold" Worship on Sunday - As the reading from 2 Peter reminds us on Sunday - God is patient with us. Patience, especially when briefly out of the norm as we are in Advent, is a virtue. We will possibly take this patience one step further on Sunday December 10th at both services. Due to the changeover of boilers we may have no heat in the church sanctuary on Sunday on a weekend that might trend colder than normal. With that in mind, I want us to continue to worship together, so a) dress in layers, b) bring an extra coat, blanket, scarf, etc. to share, c) leave if it ends up feeling too unbearable. I will have all ministers ready to preach and pray less, and sing fewer hymn verses so, that if it is too cold so that we are not kept too long. My hope is that you will come to church. I promise if the Sanctuary does get cold and you feel the need to leave early, that someone will be ready to offer you your weekly Communion from the Reserve Sacrament. There is the saying that "it gets darkest before the dawn," and for us it gets coldest right before the new boiler is installed! What a great opportunity we have to share faith, share warmth, and share together in a story that we will laugh about in a few weeks. Perhaps this message is all for naught and it will not be a challenge. If it is we will be prepared. See you on Sunday! Fr. Peter

5 Be Still Advent Challenge! Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10) This simple and straightforward instruction is so hard to do during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season! Join us this Advent for brief 20- minute meditative sessions where we will challenge ourselves to be still and explore the power of this verse together. Session continue December 10 and 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. in Classroom #1 in the Education Building. Child care will be provided. Please contact Christina Manning for more information at christina.manning.cm@gmail.com or by phone at Blue Christmas A number of parishioners of lost loved ones over the course of the last few years. Knowing that this time of year is especially challenging for those who feel the loss Fr. Peter will preside over a Blue Christmas Service this year on Saturday, December 16th at 4:00p.m. in our Sanctuary. There will be music, prayers, and a chance to light a candle in memory of those whom we miss this time of year. In the midst of the joy around us, this service offers an opportunity for those who are a bit blue to live into that reality, and take that with them as part of a holy faith journey this season The Vestry is accepting contributions for a "Staff Purse" for this Christmas season. As part of your annual gift giving, the Wardens ask that you consider showing your appreciation for the work these individuals have done throughout the year by contributing to this purse. You may do so by either writing a check with "Staff Purse" in the memo line or by providing your gift directly to one of the members of the Vestry. The staff includes the Rector, Nina, (Administrative Assistant), Joe Bush (bookkeeper), Joe Gabalski (minister of music) Meredith Maple (Youth Minister for teens) and Liz Dlima (who provides nursery care during our Sunday services). The last day to donate is Sunday, December 17th. Thank you in advance for you generosity. Hello from the Children s Church:

6 Here is a picture of a parish volunteer team putting together costumes for our first time in a long, long time Christmas Pageant. This will be held on Christmas Eve at 5:00pm." Friendly Reminder Those participating in the pageant, please stay after church on Sunday, December 10 th to try on your costumes and assign accessories. We are working to ensure everyone, and some extras, have a costume. Costumes will stay at church, but want to ensure they fit and we have all the accessories Thank you for your help in making this pageant a reality! Pageant schedule: December 23 - At 9:30 a.m. meet at the church for a dress rehearsal. All children participating need to attend. Rehearsal will be approximately 2 hours. December 24 - Pageant will take place at the 5 p.m. service. Ask that the children arrive at 4:30 to prepare.

7 Cookie making. Children s Church will be decorating cookies during the December 17 service to provide at the coffee hour. We have about 25 kids that come every week. If you would like to make some cut sugar cookies for the kids to decorate, please see Megan Coffey (megcoffey05@yahoo.com or ) to coordinate. Adult Christian Education Starting in January, Megan Coffey will be leading the adult formation based on the book by Rachel Held Evans "Searching for Sunday". Each week's discussion will be framed around one of the seven sacraments as outlined in the book: Baptism, Confession, Holy Orders, Communion, Confirmation, Anointing the Sick, and Marriage. This book tackles why Millennials (those born from ) are leaving the church, but also tells Evans' personal journey to the Episcopal Church in Tennessee. For more, try this Washington Post OpEd: tweet/2015/04/30/fb07ef1a-ed01-11e a1d756d0218e_story.html?utm_term=.f1a6b2e034d3 A Message from Jim Armstrong, Buildings Liaison We are blessed to be able to begin work on two major projects that are the result of the congregation's investment in the capital campaign.

8 The first is a project to replace the boiler that heats the sanctuary and a project is the replacement of four of the five old HVAC systems around the education building. This contract was let with Cropp-Metcalf after a number of months working with this firm and others and numerous discussions with the Vestry, including meeting with Cropp-Metcalf's free consultant. The costs of the contract is around $136,000 and represent a sizeable investment in our buildings and hence ministries over the long-term. While these are the most recent projects, we have been making improvements over the last year as a result of the wonderful efforts during the capital campaign. Some of these improvements include refurbishment of the breezeway, installation of new lights throughout the sanctuary, replacement of two HVAC units in the education building, regrading of ground around the church for water runoff, repair of exterior lighting, and installing the new retaining wall near the lower parking lot. It is truly humbling to be part of a church body that has dedicated their time and treasure to service in Christ. These projects will be an important part of the long term health of our church and is a direct result of the congregation s dedication to the next 60 years. Nominations for Vestry Members are Open! The current elected leadership of our parish, as well as our rector encourage you to talk and nominate yourself or other congregants who are Confirmed (or Received) into the Episcopal Church to commit to three years of special service on the St. Christopher s Vestry. The Vestry is not a collection of individuals, but along with the rector serves the congregation by ensuring that the business of the parish s accomplished with the assistance of the same congregants whom they serve. For more information on expectations for Vestry members please refer to the double sided laminates that are in the Fellowship Hall for information. Do not be shy about stepping up to serve God in this important manner, and/or encouraging others to do the same. The Election for four new members will take place at our Annual Meeting on the last Sunday of January. Names can be submitted to Fr. Peter, or to any Vestry member who will deliver those him.

9 Christmas Flower/ Poinsettia Plant Remembrance Honor a loved one this Christmas by giving a contribution for a poinsettia plant or flowers. They may be given in Thanksgiving for / or in memory of the loved one. The Flower Guild Thanks You for sharing in the joy of decorating our church for Christmas. Preschool Yankee Candle Fundraiser Candles are such a fitting fundraiser for our little school! When the children sing "This Little Light of Mine" during Chapel, they are like candles - glowing and hopeful. The Preschool will receive 40% of the sales and funds raised will go towards much needed repairs for our playground and for enrichment! If you love beautiful candles and accessories and need to do a little Christmas shopping, consider our Yankee Candle sale. Orders can be made through December 15th and shipped directly to you. Go to: And enter the group number: Thank you for your support! Inclement Weather Notice Winter is here! In the event of winter precipitation on a day when worship or other church activities are planned, please note the following: 1. We follow Fairfax County School closures. All weekday and evening activities will be cancelled when Fairfax County Schools are closed because of winter weather. If there is any question about your activity, call the leader of the activity. 2. Sunday morning cancellations will be decided by the rector by 6 a.m. on that particular Sunday. Notice about the service changes will be included on our website and the answering machine. Call Sometimes when the power has gone out or Verizon has a problem you may not be able to get into our phone system (which will identify itself by our "mailbox" phone number which is different than the number you dialed), in such a case, make your best judgment about determining if you will try to make it to the church or not.

10 Service Participants For Sunday December 10, :30am Acolyte: John Snyder Lector: Mike Brandt Lay Eucharistic Minister: Carroll Hill 10:30am Acolyte(s): Laura Kirk, David Kirk, and Pam Branstetter Lectors: Mary Andrews (L1), Danny Gorham (L2) Lay Eucharistic Ministers: Brooks Boylan (PB), David Kirk (CB1), Pam Branstetter (CB2) Altar Guild: Richard Sellers and Margi Williams Flower Guild: Mary Rietman and Liz Zubritsky Vestry Person of the Week: Danny Gorham Prayer Intercessor: John Quinn Chapel Prayer Team: Jeff Baldwin and Jen Guernsey Communion Bread Baker: Margi Williams Greeters: June Hoffman and Virginia Clark P.A.T. Minister (taking Eucharist to our parish s shut-ins): Trish Taylor Refreshment & Fellowship: Sharon Hall Tellers: Lynn Knox and Helen Spence Ushers: Team Seller *if you are unable to serve, or a trade did not get posted, please let Fr. Peter know by Sunday morning ( /voic ) and he will let the appropriate ministers know. THE VESTRY OF ST. CHRISTOPHER S Senior Warden Janet Bush; Junior Warden Bill Price; Buildings Jim Armstrong & Bill Price; Christian Formation Katy Dunlap and Christina Manning; Worship Sarah Belisle; Register Liz Zubritsky; Grounds Jim Bradshaw; Membership Danny Gorham; Outreach Angela Bourke; Parish Life Richard Sellers; Stewardship Chris Erbe. STAFF The Rev. Peter K. Ackerman, Rector; Meredith Maple, Youth Minister for Teens; Nina Miller, Administrative Assistant; Joe Bush, Bookkeeper; Joe Gabalski, Organist/Choir Director; Polly Colwell, Preschool Director

11 This Week at St. Christopher s Monday, December 11 11:30 a.m. Preschool Christmas Program 12:45 p.m. Preschool Staff Christmas Luncheon Tuesday, December 12 7:00 p.m. Preschool Board Meeting 7:00 p.m. Powerful Fitness/Auditorium Wednesday, December 13 7:00 p.m. P.A.T. Minister s Meeting 7:30 p.m. Adult Choir Rehearsal Thursday, December 14 9:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist 10:00 a.m. Women s Discussion Group 7:00 p.m. Prayer Shawl Ministry Meeting/Library Friday, December 15 5:00 p.m. S. Anonymous Meeting Saturday, December 16 8:00 a.m. Men s Group Meeting 8:30 a.m. Frazelle Music Lesson 4:00 p.m. Blue Christmas Service in the Church 8:30 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous Sunday, December 17 The Third Sunday in Advent 7:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist 10:00-10: 20 a.m. Advent Class/Classroom 1 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Children s Sermon, and Children s Church (Nursery is provided) 11:45 a.m. Fellowship & Refreshments

12 With Us! MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24th 7:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist The Fourth Sunday of Advent 5:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist, This service will feature a Christmas pageant presented by St. Christopher's youth, and is geared toward families. 10:00 p.m. Music of the Season Our adult choir and instrumentalists will share the wonder of the holy season through the gift of music, as a prelude to our late evening Christmas Eve service. 10:30 p.m. Festive, Late Night, Holy Eucharist with candle lighting. A traditional late night Christmas Eve Eucharist with glorious music, worship, prayer and singing by candlelight as we welcome the birth of the Christ child. Christmas Day, Holy Eucharist, Monday, December 25 10:00 a.m. A reverential service where we gather together to prayerfully celebrate Christ s Holy birth.