THANK-YOU FROM HOLY WEEK AND EASTER SUNDAY: Our thanks go to many people whose ministry made Holy Week and Easter Sunday so meaningful, including the altar guild, the flower guild, the choir, the ushers, those who helped with the Easter egg hunt, those who helped with the set-up and take-down for our sunrise service in the cemetery, and those who contributed Easter lilies. Thanks to everyone who made a favorable difference!

WANT AN EASTER LILY?

WANT AN EASTER LILY? If you would like to take home one or more of the lilies that adorned our church windows on Easter Sunday, please help yourself on this coming Sunday. You can leave them in their containers, or you can plant them in the ground and watch them return over the next several spring seasons.

U.T.O. SPRING INGATHERING

U.T.O. SPRING INGATHERING: The United Thank Offering of the Episcopal Church Women will be received at all worship services on Sunday, Apr. 19. For your coins, dollar bills, and checks for the UTO, please use the blue-and-white boxes and envelopes available around your pews for this special offering that will fund many mission projects supported by the national ECW; these boxes and envelopes will be collected in the straw baskets with blue ribbon (rather than the usual offering plates for contributions to Aquia Church) in order to keep the two offerings separate.

MORNING CALL

MORNING CALL: Morning Call is our Sunday morning forum for adult formation and discussion, held in the great hall (9:30—10:15 a.m.). Our current series concerns the various uses of the Old Testament in the New Testament, and this series will resume on Apr. 12.

AQUIA’S TABLE GOLF TOURNAMENT 2026

AQUIA’S TABLE GOLF TOURNAMENT 2026: Monday, May 18, at Augustine Golf Club in Stafford. Mark your calendars, practice your driving and putting, and recruit your fellow golfers to join in the fun. Registration and sponsorship information is now available at the tall table at the back of the historic church: one flyer has a registration form for golfers, a different flyer has a form for those who want to be a sponsor for the tournament, and both flyers have important details about the day. Both forms are also available on our Website <www.AquiaChurch.org>. Also, as an incentive for recruiting golfers who are new to the tournament, a donor will contribute $50 for every golfer who plays this year but did not play last year, up to $1,000; and of course we always welcome returning golfers, too.

OPTIONS FOR DONATING ELECTRONICALLY

OPTIONS FOR DONATING ELECTRONICALLY: The use of electronic contributions to Aquia Church is a convenient blessing. For your information, this is how they are handled. Contributions made through Realm are processed by VANCO, a third-party firm. We are assessed a 3% fee for this service, and many of you pay an additional 3% of your donation to cover that fee—thank you for doing so! By contrast, we are charged only a 1% fee for contributions made with Zelle; simply send funds to <treasurer@aquiachurch.org>. As a third option, you may be able to use a bill-pay function provided by your financial institution, wherein the institution sends a paper check to the church, for which normally there is no fee at all. For more details on this third option, please consult your financial institution directly.

HERITAGE SUNDAY

HERITAGE SUNDAY: Aquia Church will celebrate our rich heritage on Sunday, May 17, with a delicious luncheon sponsored by the ECW after the end of the 10:30 a.m. worship service. Mark your calendar, and stay tuned for more details.

THURSDAY EVENING BIBLE STUDY

THURSDAY EVENING BIBLE STUDY: Father James Rickenbaker will begin a new series on the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament, starting on Thursday, Apr. 16 at 6:00 p.m. in person in the CFFB downstairs conference room and simultaneously over Facebook Live <www.facebook.com/AquiaEpiscopalChurch>.

WEDNESDAY EVENING BIBLE STUDY

WEDNESDAY EVENING BIBLE STUDY:  Father Jay Morris will begin a new series on the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament on Wednesday, Apr. 22 (7:00 p.m.) over Facebook Live <www.facebook.com/AquiaEpiscopalChurch>.

YOUTH GROUP

YOUTH GROUP: Our youth group for teens in grades 6-12 will resume their morning meetings on this coming Sunday (Apr. 12) and their evening meetings on Apr. 19 (5:00—6:00 p.m.) with a scavenger hunt on our campus. We also have tentative plans for holding an overnight lock-in starting on Friday, May 1 (in lieu of an evening meeting on Sunday, May 3) and to plant flags on the graves of military veterans buried in our cemetery on Sunday, May 17, starting at 5:00 p.m., with dinner afterward at El Gran Charro in Aquia Town Center.

SUNDAY SCHOOL

SUNDAY SCHOOL: Sunday school classes will resume on this coming Sunday, Apr. 12.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL (JUNE 15-19)

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL (JUNE 15-19): Children in preschool through 5^th grade are invited to join us for our VBS week (9:00 a.m.—12:00 noon) with the theme “Rainforest Falls: Exploring the Nature of God.” Online registration is available at our church Website <www.AquiaChurch.org> or at <vbspro.events/p/c905d9>.

FELLOWSHIP BREAKFAST 

FELLOWSHIP BREAKFAST: There are plenty of Sundays awaiting folks to serve as breakfast hosts, starting with Apr. 19. If you want to serve as a breakfast host for any Sunday, please use the signup sheet at the back of the church, or contact Sue Selz in the church office (sue.selz@aquiachurch.org or 540-659-4007). Please consider taking a turn in promoting fellowship within our parish through this weekly breakfast. The breakfast can be as simple or elaborate as you wish to provide.

ALTAR FLOWERS

ALTAR FLOWERS: Those who want to donate flowers in memory of someone or in thanksgiving for someone or something for most any Sunday of the year may contact parish administrator Sue  Selz in the church office and select a particular Sunday; the signup sheet is also available at the back of the church. The cost is $50/week. Even if a given Sunday has already been claimed, you may add your name and dedication for that same Sunday. Traditionally, we do not have flower arrangements during Lent or Advent, but most other Sundays during the year remain available.

AQUIA'S PANTRY UPDATE

AQUIA'S PANTRY UPDATE: Aquia’s Pantry is so grateful for the many gifts of hams and roaster chickens we received before Easter. Because of your generosity, our guests were given a choice of meat for their Easter celebration. We are also grateful to God for the gift of 50 boxes of macaroni-and-cheese that our Sunday school students collected for the Pantry guests during Lent.

We continue to have opportunities to volunteer: Tuesdays 10:00 a.m.—2:00 p.m., and Wednesdays 9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. and 5:00—7:00 p.m. If you have an hour or two to offer, we welcome your help. If you would like to learn more about the Pantry, come by anytime on a Wednesday or speak to Barb Bingay, Ron Korth, or Mary Jane Cole (maryjane@cfsw.biz).

FROM OUR FOOD MINISTRIES

FROM OUR FOOD MINISTRIES: The long lines of guests coming on Wednesdays for food from Aquia’s Pantry and Aquia’s Table likely reflect the ongoing financial need among so many neighbors around us. This level of outreach is possible because of the generosity of support from faithful volunteers and donations from many different people and groups—from among our parishioners and beyond our church membership. If you can offer some support to these ministries (especially with your time on Tuesday mornings and during the day and early evening on Wednesdays or with financial contributions), your help will be deeply appreciated. Aquia’s Table prepares a maximum total of 400 meals on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, and Aquia’s Pantry distributes groceries to a maximum of 140 households each week.

NEWS FROM AQUIA’S TABLE

NEWS FROM AQUIA’S TABLE: Aquia’s Table serves meals on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. There are opportunities for folks to join in the work of this important ministry, whether as a new volunteer or whether returning to involvement—we welcome assistance with food preparation during the day on Wednesdays, with plating the meals on Wednesday evenings, and with baking desserts on your own schedule at home or at church. For more information about how you might support Aquia’s Table, please contact Dina Stanford (jjanddina@comcast.net).

NURSERY AVAILABLE

NURSERY AVAILABLE: Our nursery, located on the lower level of the Christian Formation and Fellowship Building (just across the hallway from the elevator), is available for the 10:30 a.m. worship service, with coverage provided by caring, trained, and experienced staff—plus lots of toys, diapers and wipes, a pack-and-play, and whatever else your child or grandchild might need.

BUSY BAGS

BUSY BAGS: Busy bags are available in the historic church for our youngest members. A child’s Bible, activity pages, drawing paper, and crayons are available in canvas bags when you enter the church. Please take one bag per family and return it after the service ends.

ELECTRONIC BROADCASTS

ELECTRONIC BROADCASTS: We offer broadcasts of Sunday morning worship at 7:30 a.m., Morning Prayer on most weekdays at 8:00 a.m., and our midweek Bible studies as well. These broadcasts are particularly helpful for those who are unable to attend in person due to illness, travel, or work. The broadcasts are available online at our church’s Facebook page <www.facebook.com/AquiaEpiscopalChurch>. Even if you do not have a Facebook account, you can access the broadcasts simply by clicking on the given occasion. Also, you do not have to watch the event live; the videos are stored there for your viewing later on.

 

If you want to be added to our e-mail distribution list for weekly announcements and special updates or for the monthly Cross Section newsletter, simply notify Sue Selz in the church office (sue.selz@aquiachurch.org or 540-659-4007).