Announcements: Week of Sunday, April 14th 2019

Lenten Cross

This Palm Sunday is the final Sunday for selecting one card or more from the Lenten Cross.  Each card offers an opportunity for personal outreach and charitable giving during the Lenten season.

Special Worship Schedule April 14 to April 21

Sunday, April 14 (Palm Sunday):  Holy Eucharist at 7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m. (note the special times in the morning!!!), and 5:00 p.m. The evening Eucharist is part of the Christian Seder Meal in the great hall.  For the Christian Seder Meal, the Jewish Feast of Passover (which recalls God’s deliverance of the Hebrew people from slavery) is connected with how Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection deliver us from sin and death.  Our event is patterned after a traditional Jewish Seder meal, with attention to the links between Old Testament history and Christian faith.  Bring a dish or two to share for the pot-luck meal.

Monday, April 15 through Wednesday, April 17:  Holy Eucharist at 7:00 p.m. each night

Thursday, April 18 (Maundy Thursday):  Holy Eucharist at 7:00 p.m. with foot-washing and stripping of the altar.  Gethsemane Watch Prayer Vigil: in the great hall from the end of the Maundy Thursday service to the start of the noon service on Good Friday.  Reserve an hour of prayer for the Gethsemane Watch.

Friday, April 19 (Good Friday):  Stations of the Cross and Holy Communion at 12:00 noon and 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, April 21 (Easter Sunday):  Holy Eucharist at 6:30 a.m. in the graveyard (note the special time and location!!!), 9:00 a.m. (childcare in nursery), 11:15 a.m. (childcare in nursery), and 5:00 p.m., with Children’s Easter Egg Hunt at 10:15 a.m.

Our regular schedule for Sunday worship resumes on April 28:  7:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m., and 5:00 p.m. with 9:00 a.m. Sunday school for children and youth in the new building downstairs and with 9:00 a.m. Morning Call for adults in the new building’s great hall.

Attention Golfers!

The 10th Annual Bob Jones Memorial Aquia's Table Golf Tournament is less than a month away, so register now!  This golf tournament at Augustine Golf Course in Stafford is THE fundraiser for the entire year of ministry at Aquia's Table, and we encourage you to bring your co-workers, friends, and neighbors to join in the fun.  Information sheets about registering yourself or your group of golfers, along with information sheets about sponsorship opportunities, are available from the tall table at the back and from the entryway at the new building.  If you can bring a foursome, then wonderful; if you want to play but do not have a complete foursome, then we will gladly group golfers together as needed.

Youth Group:   The youth group for teenagers in grades 6-12 has evening meetings remaining on Sunday, May 5, and Sunday, May 19, with at least one of those meetings expected to be an off-campus event, so stay tuned for more details.  The youth group will not meet on Easter Sunday, April 21.

Morning Call:  Father Morris will offer a Q&A session on Palm Sunday, April 14, inbetween the special-time 9:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. worship services, as a conclusion to our current Morning Call series on “images of salvation.”  There will be no Morning Call on Easter Sunday, April 21.  Stay tuned for more details about Morning Call for the weeks after Easter.  Morning Call is our Sunday morning forum for adult formation and discussion, held in the new building’s great hall.

Easter Egg Hunt:  Our annual Easter Egg Hunt will take place following the 9 am service on Easter Sunday (April 21st).  We need filled plastic eggs for this event.  Bags of empty eggs are available in the entrance to the Christian Formation & Fellowship building.  Please fill eggs with wrapped candy or treats (stickers, erasers etc...)  Filled eggs can be dropped off at the church office or the Christian Ed. office by Thursday, April 18th.  If you are able to help hide eggs at 8:30 am on Easter Sunday, please contact Kristen Morgan at christianed@aquichurch.org.

Wednesday Bible Studies:  Father Rickenbaker’s Wednesday morning Bible study will NOT meet on April 17, will resume on April 24, and will conclude on May 1.  The morning group will have a break on May 8 and then will begin a new 12-week series on “Justice, Evil, and God’s Work in the World” on May 15.  Father Morris’s Wednesday evening Bible study will NOT meet on April 17 because of the evening worship service that same night at 7:00 p.m.  Then Father Morris will begin a new, six-week series titled “Studies in Luke’s Gospel” on Wednesday evenings from April 24 through May 29 (last Wednesday in April and every Wednesday in May, 7:00 p.m. till 8:30 p.m.).  In this short-term series, we shall explore what is unique about the Third Gospel, what Luke the evangelist emphasizes in his writings, and what tips will be helpful for better understanding Luke’s portrayal of Jesus.  For the evening study, considering arriving a bit early so that you may enjoy a meal at Aquia’s Table, which begins serving at 6:00 p.m. in the great hall.

Save the date...Our annual Vacation Bible School program will take place June 17-21 from 9 am -noon.  This summer we will be going In the Wild to have amazing encounters with Jesus.  VBS is the largest Christian Ed outreach we do all year.  We need volunteers for the following areas: decorating, music/worship rally, arts & crafts, games, snacks, Bible story, and helpers to lead groups of kids from station to station.  Please contact Kristen Morgan at christianed@aquiachurch.org if you are available to help with any of these areas.

United Thank Offering (UTO) Spring Ingathering is Sunday, May 12th.  Look for the blue and white boxes or the envelopes in the pews.  "UTO is a ministry of the Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of Virginia for the mission of the whole church."  Your loose change, cash and checks are used in missionary work, training, pension funds, building loans, scholarships and overseas development.  UTO is based on the "theological premise that it is good to give thanks to God."

Help Our Kitchen!  We want to keep our kitchen pest-free and clean, and you can help with that.  After your event or class ends, please do not leave any food out; leftovers should be taken home, if at all possible, or (if necessary) perishable food may be labeled and sealed for storage in a refrigerator, with non-perishable food labeled and sealed for appropriate storage.  If any food is left behind without being labeled or remains past its prime, those leftovers are subject to being discarded immediately.  After your event or class ends, please empty the indoor trash cans and blue recyclables can into the containers outdoors.

The Altar Guild Needs Your Help! The Altar Guild is seeking new members to fortify our ranks. We have four teams so our responsibilities roll around about once a month.  Preparations for Sunday services take only an hour on either on Friday or Saturday morning, depending on the team you join. On Sundays, we help after the service we attend. If you are seeking a quiet but critical ministry, please accept this call. No prior experience is needed! For more information, contact Ellen Brandon (edbfsu@comcast.net), Mary Jane Cole, Wendy Osborn, Jean Bittner or Carol Bailey.  P.S.  Altar Guild is not just for ladies! Did you know we have three men serving on our Altar Guild?

The Virginia Episcopalian Magazine is mailed to many parishioners in the
Diocese of Virginia and is available on-line at http://www.thediocese.net/news-and-events/the-virginia-episcopalian-magazine/.  If you receive a copy in the mail, please consider supporting the Diocese by remitting $5.00 to help with annual production and distribution costs.  Send a check to the church, with Virginia Episcopalian in the memo line.

Pig Roast and Craft Show:  Please invite your relatives, friends, neighbors and co-workers to our annual Pig Roast, Craft Show, and Rummage Sale which will be held on Saturday, May 4th from 9 AM to 2 PM.  The meal includes a pulled pork sandwich, 2 sides, a dessert, and a drink for $10.  The craft show features old friends from previous shows, including the woodworker who makes the beautiful wooden crosses, Virginia Night Lights, RJEAN Essentials, Peacock Glass, and Sugar Hollow Quilts.  New friends include All Bottled Up, Pennies 4 Memories, KB Treasure Trove, and a vendor selling jams, jellies, and salsa.  This is a great opportunity to pick up gifts for Mother’s Day.  Proceeds from the Pig Roast benefit our historic Aquia Episcopal Church, and proceeds from the Craft Show and Rummage Sale benefit our Outreach Ministry.  Flyers are available for you to share.  If you know any vendors who might be interested, there are a few outdoor spaces available.  The cost for a space is $25.