Announcements: Week of Sunday, October 14th 2018
Morning Call
Father Morris will continue a new Morning Call series on the Creeds, with focus on the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed, as we explore some of the key beliefs in the Christian faith. This series is an excellent opportunity for you to grow deeper in the faith, whether you are a fairly new Christian or whether you have been attending church for years. Morning Call is our Sunday morning forum for adult formation and discussion, starting at 9:00 a.m. in the great hall of the new building.
Aquia's Annual Fruit Sale
Ends Sunday November 11th. Please come out and order fruit for Christmas gifts and just good eating. Besides citrus you can also order a Cheese Spread Variety Pack, Cheese and Sausage Combo, Sweet Potatoes, Apples and Pears, Tropical Fruit and Apples, Fudge and Nuts. All proceeds benefit the mission and ministry of Aquia Church. You can also order by contacting Jean Golas at bjgolas@yahoo.com.
Trunk or Treat
Trunk or Treat......Saturday, October 27th at 6:00 pm: Decorate your trunk, bring a dish to share, candy or treats to give out, and your child in costume. You are encouraged to come in costume too! You can begin parking and decorating your trunk in the parking lot between the church and the fellowship building at 5:00 pm. This parking lot will be for cars handing out treats only. We will have a potluck dinner at 6:00 pm outside the fellowship building, followed by “Trunk or Treating.” Please contact Kristen Morgan if you will be participating or if you have questions: christianed@aquiachurch.org
Choral Evensong: Aquia Church will offer the first of our new monthly Choral Evensong service on this Sunday, October 14th at 5 PM. This service will be held at 5 PM on the second Sunday of each month during the program year.
Youth Group: The youth group for teenagers in grades 6-12 will hold its next evening on next Sunday, Oct. 21. Teenagers will meet in the youth room (lower level of the Christian formation and fellowship building), starting at 4:00 p.m., with dinner served by 5:30 p.m., and teens can be picked up at 6:00 p.m. after the great hall and kitchen have been cleaned from the meal. (Parents who wish to remain on campus while waiting for their teenagers are welcomed to do so away from the youth room.) Our plan is to hold our evening meetings on the first and third Sundays (at least through 2018: so Nov. 4 & 18, Dec. 2 & 16), with details about times, locations, and activities to be announced well in advance. Our evening meetings will have a different focus and atmosphere from the youth group’s morning meetings (which take place every Sunday, 9:00 a.m.—9:45 a.m. during the time of Sunday school). In order to reserve your place for dinner, please notify Father Morris (morris@aquiachurch.org) that you will attend, and let him know if you have any food allergies.
Wednesday Bible Studies: Father Rickenbaker continues his survey of the Old and New Testaments on Wednesday mornings, 10:30 a.m. till 12:00 noon, in the conference room downstairs in the new building. Please let him know if you need a copy of the very helpful workbook to use during this series or for reading on your own. Father Morris continues his series on “The Parables of Jesus” on Wednesday evenings, 7:00—8:30 p.m., in the conference room downstairs.
Matching Challenge Opportunity: Earlier this year, Aquia Church received a matching challenge in the amount of $100,000 for our fundraising toward paying off the construction loan for the Christian Formation and Fellowship Building. Our opportunity is simple: for every dollar contributed toward the new building between the end of the second capital campaign (which concluded on 14 April 2018) and the end of the 2018 calendar year, our gifts will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000. This generous challenge from an anonymous source provides an excellent chance for us to begin the upcoming third capital campaign next year with a big boost. Gifts of any size will be welcomed and can be counted toward the match, with “New Building” marked on your envelope or on the memo line of your check. For information about transferring gifts of stock or mutual funds in the most tax-advantageous way (whether to avoid capital-gains taxes in cases of appreciated value or in order to sell for a loss), please speak with our treasurer, Chris Arey.
Choir Returns! The Adult Choir has resumed rehearsals on Thursdays at 7 PM in the Choir Room and you are welcomed to join. The Aquia Choristers have also resumed rehearsals, now meeting on Sunday mornings for 45 minutes in the choir room immediately following the conclusion of the 10:00 AM service EXCEPT for Sundays when they sing that morning. They will be singing at the 10:00 AM Service on October 14th.
We are currently recruiting for all three choirs (the Adult Choir for Sunday mornings, the Aquia Choristers children’s choir, and the Choral Evensong Choir) and are particularly in need of more male voices for our Adult Choir and children for our Choristers. The Aquia Choristers is open to children presently in the 3rd through 8th grade. If you are interested in singing in any of our choirs, we encourage you to get in touch with our Director of Music, Trystan Bennett at musicdirector@aquiachurch.org. We look forward to seeing everyone for another great year!
No Aquia’s Table on Halloween: Aquia’s Table and Aquia’s Pantry will NOT be serving on the Wednesday of Halloween night (Oct. 31), so that everyone might enjoy trick-or-treating in their neighborhoods. But remember to attend our Trunk-or-Treat on the Saturday prior (Oct. 27); please see the separate announcement about that.
All Saints Day is November 4th: Aquia Church will be remembering all those that have passed away since last years All Saints Day. If you have a loved one that you would like to add to our prayer list for All Saints Day, contact the church office 540-659-4007or email Sue at: sue.selz@aquiachurch.com. Please have those names to us by November 1st.
Fall Fest Thank-You: Thanks go to so many people who helped to make Fall Fest on Saturday, Oct. 6 such a success. We saw many familiar faces and made some new friends on this special occasion. Particular thanks go to those parishioners, businesses, and other patrons who donated items to be sold or auctioned; to all the volunteers who cheerfully helped with the preparations, set-up, operations on the day of Fall Fest, and clean-up; and to such spirited leaders as Curt Bradford, Mary Jane Cole, Jean Golas, Shields Jones (our talented auctioneer), Briget Kane, Dina Stanford, Jennifer Stoltz, and other key personnel. We’ll see you all again (and others too) on the first Saturday of October 2019—that’s October 5!
Financial Contribution Statements: Your third quarter financial contribution statement is available for pickup on the tall table at the back of the church. Please check that information against your own records, and let us know about any discrepancies.
Shoe Box Time: Outreach's annual shoe box collection for Operation Christmas Child will begin on Sunday, October 14. The mission of Operation Christmas Child is "to demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ." Please fill a regular shoe box (wrapped or unwrapped), or a plastic one, or one of the pre-printed boxes we have available, with items such as school supplies, hygiene items, or items such as t-shirts, small toys, caps, sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, or flashlights (with extra batteries). One of the suggestions made is to deflate a soccer ball and put it in your shoe box along with a small inflation kit. Please do not pack used or damaged items; toothpaste; tooth brushes; candy, chocolate or food; liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snow globes or glass containers; aerosol cans; or war-related items such as toy guns, knives, or military figures. The boy/girl labels are available in the folders in the Operation Christmas Child box on the picnic table in front of the Church, in the back pew, or in the foyer of the new building. To defray overseas shipping costs, please include a donation of $9 per box either in cash or by check (payable to Samaritan's Purse with "Operation Christmas Child" in the memo line). The donation envelopes are included with the folders. If you do not want to pack a shoe box, but would like to help with shipping costs, please put your check or cash in one of the envelopes provided with the donation folders. Please return your filled shoe box (with the appropriate boy/girl label attached) and/or donation envelope, to the Church by November 11.
Did you know? Can you help? Every Monday evening, at 9:30 P.M., a member of our parish picks up the Day-End Dough-Nation from Panera Bread in Stafford Market Place for Aquia’s Table and Pantry. For over eight years, the restaurant has generously given the Table lots of bread, bagels and cookies to be passed on to those who come to the Great Hall on Wednesday evenings for a delicious hot meal and fellowship. We could use a couple more folks to help in the pick-up rotation. If you could spare an hour once a month, please consider volunteering by contacting Mary Jane Cole maryjane@cfsw.biz.
