Announcements: Week of Sunday, November 19th 2017
Thanksgiving Eve Service
Please join us for our annual Thanksgiving Eve worship service on Wednesday, Nov. 22, at 7:00 pm in the historic church. Bring your relatives, friends, and neighbors for this special occasion.
Annual Pledge Update
As of 12 November, we have received 67 adult pledges for $270,450.00 (and 2 pledges from children and youth for $336) in support of God’s mission and ministry at Aquia Church in 2018. That is a good start, with room for improvement. Pledge cards are available from the tall table at the back of the church and from the church office.
Youth Group News
The youth group for teenagers in grades 6-12 will have its next evening meeting on Sunday, Nov. 19, with a bowling trip to Splitsville behind Spotsylvania Mall. Parents may bring their children to Splitsville (NOT to the church!) just prior to 3pm and pick them up from Splitsville at 5pm; friends, siblings, and parents are welcomed to bowl with us at Splitsville, where we will have some lanes reserved. Each bowling participant should bring $20 cash to cover the cost of lanes and shoe rental (the actual cost may end up being a bit less), plus extra money if you want refreshments. Future meetings will be held on Dec. 3 & 17 (with Dec. 17 being the date for Christmas caroling and Christmas party). Teenagers are expected to bring $40 each in order to cover their meals at most evening meetings for the school year, and parents are expected to provide meals at evening meetings once or twice during the school year (with reimbursement up to $80/meal available). Please contact Father Morris (morris@aquiachurch.com or 540-659-4007 at the church office) in order to schedule your family’s turns providing meals and in order to submit your teenager’s meal money. In addition to the evening meetings, the youth group meets on Sunday mornings during the time for Sunday school: the middle school group meets in the new building downstairs in the large room with upholstered chairs and sofas, while the high school group meets upstairs in the great hall as part of Morning Call.
Morning Call: Sunday, November 19th Father Morris will continue our new Morning Call series on “Jesus and the Old Testament.” Morning Call is our Sunday morning forum for adult education and discussion, meeting in the new building’s great hall starting around 10:20am. Morning Call is always available for visitors, newcomers, and those who attend regularly; Morning Call is available for high school students as well.
Wednesday Morning Bible Study: – The Book of Daniel – we continue the Wednesday morning Bible study series on the Old Testament book of Daniel. This text constitutes an important foundation block for our understanding of the Revelation to John and, through that, to our conception of the Day of the Lord. The study will last for twelve weeks (skipping the Wednesday of Thanksgiving week), finishing up Wednesday, December 13th. Therefore, our study of the end of things will last throughout Advent, which is quite fitting. Elements of the Revelation to John will be brought in to give a holistic view of Christian eschatology (the theology of the end). We would love to have you join us!
Wednesday Evening Bible Study: This series will not meet on this Wednesday, Nov. 22 (when we shall have our parish-wide Thanksgiving Eve service at 7:00pm), but the series will resume on Wednesday, Nov. 29 as we explore the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes, chapters 6 through 8. This short-term study will continue for at least the first two Wednesdays in December. This series will be led by Father Morris. Come join us as we seek to gain some wisdom with provocative perspective for the seasons of Advent and Christmas and for the new year.
Advent Lessons & Carols: Please join us for an evening service of Advent Lessons and Carols Sunday, Dec. 10, at the special time of 5:00pm (this will not be a communion service). Bring family, friends, and neighbors as we journey through the season of Advent together.
Christmas Flowers: Help us decorate the church for Christmas. Enclosed is the poinsettia form; fill it out and return it to the church office by December 11th. The cost of the flowers this year is $20.
Aquia Church Annual Fruit Sale: Order your fruit now until November 27th. Delivery will be December 11th. This is a great Christmas gift! Order forms are at church or in the church office.
Vestry Nomination Forms: Those who want to offer to stand for election to the Vestry will find the blue self-nomination forms available at the tall table at the back of the historic church. Completed forms are due on or by Sunday, Dec. 17, at 7:00pm in the Fleurries office building. Elections will be held in at the parish’s annual meeting on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018. The blue form includes information about eligibility for election and the expectations of Vestry members; for more information, please see the Rector’s column in the October issue of the Cross Section newsletter.
Cemetery News: Upon the recommendation of the cemetery committee, the vestry has recently voted to increase pricing for burial rights in our cemetery, effective 1 January 2018, in order to keep pace with the expenses of cemetery operations and perpetual care. The price for burial rights for each space in the memorial garden will increase from $350 to $750, and the price for burial rights for each space throughout the rest of the cemetery will increase from $1,000 to $1,500. This is the first price increase in nearly a decade. Please note that every eligible purchase of burial rights in our cemetery requires approval from the vestry.
Capital Campaign for New Building: Are you able to consider making a year-end gift that is fully tax-deductible to you and that will help us meet our goal? You can make such a gift regardless whether you have made a pledge for this campaign. At the moment, our successful “Generation to Generation” capital campaign has $84,630.70 in dollars pledged but not yet paid. With this capital campaign ending in April 2018, there is indeed time to fulfill your existing pledge or even increase it, but you will want to plan accordingly for the remaining months. There is also opportunity for those who are enjoying our new building but have not yet pledged toward it to make a new pledge or a one-time contribution that will support our efforts to reduce the costs of our construction loan.
Attention Ministry Group Leaders: The vestry has recently adopted a new, simple, but important policy governing the collection of cash, checks, and gift cards for ministry groups and for improved accountability about them. If your ministry group receives donations in the form of cash, checks, or gift cards, then please check with the church office for information about this new policy. Also, we ask that you please submit your written report on your group’s complete ministry during 2017 (a.k.a. “annual reports”) by Wednesday, Dec. 20 to the church office (office@aquiachurch.com). The annual reports from our ministry groups help not only preserve an important record of our history, but also to explain the work of our various ministry groups and can help attract new members to them.
Virginia Episcopalian: Envelopes for contributions for the Virginia Episcopalian are available in the pews or at the tall table in the back of the church. Please direct any questions to the Treasurer, Chris Arey.
Donating Bicycles: Moments of Hope Outreach is a certified non-profit 501(c)(3) that has a Bike Shop ministry within as a service that refurbishes bicycles to give away for those in need of transportation and to provide a weekly bicycle clinic for repairs and adjustments to keep bicycles operating as dependable transportation. In the last 17 months, the Bike Shop ministry has provided 45 bicycles to our friends in need, and Aquia Church members provided 5 of those adult bicycles to our homeless friends needing transportation for their job. Thank you for your past support. If you have a gently used adult bicycle that is no longer used but is taking up space in your garage, you could make a moment of hope for homeless and poverty-stricken individuals as a gift of transportation to get to a job and needed services: Please contact parishioner Bill League (wleague@gmail.com) in order to arrange the donation of your bicycle.
Flower Guild: The Flower Guild requests donations of magnolia, evergreen, and holly (with red berries) branches, and a volunteer (or two) with a ladder to help wrap the pine roping around the four pillars under the balcony, and volunteers to place poinsettias in the windows before Christmas Eve. We will be happy to pick up greenery, if necessary!
We will “green” the sanctuary on Saturday, December 23, at 10am.
Also needed: a volunteer to water the poinsettias and remove dead leaves or plants, a couple of times between Christmas and Epiphany. Please contact Sheryl Colliver, drreilly11@aol.com or Betsy Husser, bhusser1104@gmail.com if you can volunteer or have any questions!
Attention Leaf Rakers: The Fall Clean-up of our grounds will be held on Saturday 2 Dec from 8AM to 12 PM. Work will involve cleaning leaves from around the buildings and parking areas, trimming shrubs, and removing other debris. Please bring gloves, rakes, hand held gas leaf blowers, and trimmers. Coffee, pastries, and water provided. In the case of rain, we will re-schedule on Saturday 9 Dec.
