K n o x P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u r c h Good News from Knox March 2017 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased. Luke 3:21-22 Theme of the Year: Baptism! The title of a church magazine article caught my attention; it read, 40 Ways to Increase Baptisms in 2017. I was hooked so I read the article which included some wild ideas, including, #30 Provide outdoor heaters if you baptize outdoors in the winter, or #4 Make it a party atmosphere. It s a celebration, not a funeral. Applaud baptisms! (I like that one). The article got me to thinking how wonderful it would be to increase baptisms here at Knox. Then some other things occurred, including several people approaching me to inquire about having their children and even themselves baptized. I took this as a sign! Then, Linda Rice- Johnston showed me a short book, entitled Being Christian, which describes four, simple things that help us recognize we are part of a Christian community. The four things are baptism, the Bible, Eucharist and prayer. Aha! There it was again: baptism! Then, the Session held a planning retreat in February and it was decided that we should focus, as a church, on a theme for the year, and you guessed it, we decided on baptism! Baptism is one of two sacraments we celebrate (the other being communion) as a Presbyterian Church. Baptism essentially is the visible sign and way in which people of all ages become a part of the church. So, what does it mean for Knox to declare that 2017 will be the Year of Baptism? It means that we will promote and invite people, of all ages, who have not been baptized, to consider receiving this gracious gift, beginning with several of our church kids who have not been baptized. It also means we will keep the meaning and significance of baptism before us, throughout the year and beyond. We will also hold one or more worship services which will focus on the reaffirmation of our own baptisms. In 2016 we celebrated two wonderful baptisms; an infant baptism and a teenager being baptized on Confirmation Day. In 2017 we hope and pray to increase that number. Please join with me in that hope and prayer! Bill Hale Our prayers of sympathy go out to the family of Eric Smith, who passed away in early February. Eric, son of the late Pat Smith, joined Knox in 1994. He is survived by his brother Mark. Our former accompanist, Ellie Kim, is recovering from surgery for thyroid cancer in early February. Please continue to pray for Pastor Kevin Harris and his family in the Philippines. Kevin will be visiting us soon. Please continue to pray for: Catherine Alexander, Lotta Chi, Carlisle Cummins, Ed Langford, Jim Lecky for ALS, Kathy O Dowd, Steven Roemmel, Donna Toppings, Dale Turner and Aidyn Wong, who have ongoing health concerns. Please pray for the unemployed in our community and for those deployed overseas. Please keep our nursing home and homebound members in prayer: Helena Howard and Kiz Stevenson
Book Group meets Encouraging generosity in the month of March: 1. Cold drink cups for fellowship 2. Paper plates Next meeting will be on March 26 at 12:30 p.m., to discuss The Good Lord Bird by James McBride. The next Men s Prayer Breakfast will be on Saturday, March 11 at 8:00 a.m., followed by a work day for all Knox members and friends. New Study for Adult Sunday School Starting Sunday, March 12, after worship and fellowship a Lenten study of Rowan Williams book Being Christian, exploring the essential elements of Christian life. Staying Home: Making Smart Choices for Easy Living and Aging in Place A free community workshop includes presenters who will share practical tips to minimize the financial costs of home modifications and to keep your home safe and healthy. County exhibitors will be on hand to share information about local resources available. RSVPs are requested as seating is limited. You may register online at states.aarp.org/march25 or by calling 1-877-926-8300. Saturday, March 25, 2017, 9:00 am-12 noon Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Member Care How You Can Help! Elder Mary Highsmith is suggesting that we send emails and/or e-cards to a few of our members and friends who are either home-bound or have health concerns. Please consider sending greetings by email to the following: Lotta Chi: Lottachi01@gmail.com Ellie Kim: Elliek920@gmail.com Dennis O Connor (Dennis attends the Wed. morning Bible study): dennis.lawrence.oconnor@gmail.com Dale Turner: dbturner1@cox.net If you wish to donate electronically to Knox, look for the Donate Now link on our website. Or you can use the QR code provided here:
Ordination and Installation of Church Elders, February 19 Teens and ice cream Scout Sunday, February 5
Every year during Lent, we collect funds for the One Great Hour of Sharing. OGHS enables the church to share God s love with our neighbors-in-need around the world by providing relief to those affected by natural disasters, provide food to the hungry, and helping to empower the poor and oppressed. This offering will be collected on Palm Sunday, April 9. Paper fish banks are available for those who wish to use them during Lent. Knox Church received a thank you letter from Church World Service for the kind donation of School Kits. Your compassion has given individuals and families the tangible evidence that they matter. To learn more about this go to cwskits.org. It s time to make our per capita donation. Per capita is the designated dollar amount that is asked of each member of the PC(USA) as a yearly voluntary contribution. Per capita is collected by the presbyteries. It is based on your church s membership. It is used to pay for the essential administrative operation of the Presbytery, Synod and General Assembly. Knox Church must pay $38.75 per member to National Capital Presbytery for this purpose. The per capita reminds us of our connection with the rest of the Presbyterian church. Envelopes will be available for payment of per capita on 5th Sundays throughout the year. You may pay your per capita at any time. Just be sure to designate the donation as per capita. Attention Women of Knox! Sunday, March 26, has been designated as Women of the Church Sunday. We will be planning the worship service. Please come to a meeting after worship on Sunday, March 5, to plan for this special service. Session News: The Session met on February 20 and we welcomed our three new elders: Melissa Graves, Linda Rice-Johnston and Russell Whitmoyer, who were all officially installed during worship on February 19. Session approved a request for an infant baptism from Heath and Laura (Bays) Shelters, for their infant son, Kenneth, to be celebrated on March 12. Steve Pida discussed several bids for roof replacement. A final decision will be made in March. Linda Rice-Johnston reported on several upcoming worship events, including for Lent and Easter, beginning with Ash Wednesday on March 1. The special One Great Hour of Sharing offering will be received on Palm Sunday, April 9. Member Care elder, Mary Highsmith, updated us on several Knox members. Mary also will ask congregation members to stay in touch with several home-bound members. A Women of the Church worship service will be held on Sunday March 26. Melissa Graves is helping to plan that service. We continue to need helpers with our middle-school age kids during worship. Please talk to Kathy O Dowd or just sign up to help on the bulletin board. A Lenten adult class will begin on Sunday, March 12, and run for 4 weeks. Russell Whitmoyer presented the January financial report and it was approved. He will offer a Minute for Mission on February 26 to promote the per capita apportionment offering. Session briefly reviewed the planning retreat held on February 11 and attended by 6 elders and Session affirmed making baptism our theme for this year. Session went through the annual roll review of church membership. Next meeting: March 20
2017 Easter Flower Order Make checks payable to Knox Church and return this order form to the church office by March 22. 1. Indicate what you want printed in the bulletin: Given by: In memory of: and/or In honor of: Your phone # (not printed in bulletin) 2. Choose the color and number of plants and what to do with them after the Easter service. Please note: THERE MAY BE SOME COLOR SUBSTITUTIONS DEPENDING ON WHAT IS AVAILABLE FROM THE SUPPLIER Flower Cost Take Home: White Lily $9.00 Tulips-yellow, red, orange, purple, pink Hyacinths white, purple or pink Asiatic Lily - $7.50 $7.50 Yellow/orange $7.50 Floral mums - White or purple $9.50 Hydrangea blue or pink $10.75 Number & color Donate to Shut-in: number & color Total Cost: Cost 3. Indicate manner of payment: Check: Cash:
MARCH 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Bible study 10; Ash Wed. dinner/ program 6:30 pm 2 3 4 5 Communion 6 7 8 Bible study 10 a.m.; Knox Kids Club 6 p.m. 9 10 11 Men s breakfast 12 Adult Lenten 13 Ruth Circle 14 15 Bible study 16 17 18 study begins meeting 7:30 p.m. 10 a.m.; Knox Kids Club 6 p.m. 19 20 Session meeting 7 p.m. 21 22 Bible study 10 a.m.; Knox Kids Club 6 p.m. 23 24 25 26 Women of 27 Newsletter 28 29 Bible study 30 31 the Church Sunday; Book group Deadline 10 a.m.; Knox Kids Club 6 p.m. Every Sunday: 9 a.m. Sunday school and light breakfast for children. Adult choir rehearsal. 10:15 a.m. Worship service in the Sanctuary. Children go downstairs for enrichment following the children s message. 11:15 a.m. Fellowship time with refreshments. Food on first and third Sundays. 11:20 a.m. Individual prayer time- Sanctuary. 11:45 a.m. Adult Sunday school. Hypothermia Shelter Knox will again be providing Fellowship Hall as an Overflow Hypothermia Shelter for the homeless the nights of March 5 through March 11. Daylight Savings Time begins March 12! Don t forget to spring forward one hour before you go to sleep on Sat. March 11. Don t be late for church!
Knox Presbyterian Church 7416 Arlington Blvd Falls Church, VA 22042 703-560-5288 Pastor William V. Hale Email: knoxpreschurch@vacoxmail.com Office hours: Mon. Fri. 9:00-1:00 p.m. Worship service at 10:15 a.m. each Sunday Website: www.knoxfc.org March 2017 March 1 Ash Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. supper and worship program for all ages March 5 Communion celebrated March 11 Men s prayer breakfast March 26 Women of the Church Sunday Book Club meets Good News from Knox