FELLOWSHIP BREAKFAST

FELLOWSHIP BREAKFAST: While hosts have claimed the fellowship breakfast for this coming Sunday and the next (July 3 & 10) (starting around 8:30 a.m. in the great hall), no Sunday afterward has been claimed by hosts yet. If you want to serve as a breakfast host for July 17 or any subsequent 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.

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.), and our new summer series is titled “Anglicanism 101.” On this coming Sunday, July 3—for an aptly timed topic—Father Rickenbaker will discuss some issues around the American Revolution and the rise of The Episcopal Church. On the next Sunday, July 10, Father Morris will discuss the Books of Homilies, which are an important Anglican formulary.

ALTAR FLOWERS

ALTAR FLOWERS: The Sundays of July 10 and July 17, among other summer Sundays, are available to be claimed by those who want to donate flowers in memory of someone or in thanksgiving for someone or something. If you wish to claim any Sunday, you may contact Sue Selz in the church office (sue.selz@aquiachurch.org or 540-659-4007); the signup sheet is also available on the short table at the back of the church. The cost is $50/week.

DEVOTIONAL BOOKLETS

DEVOTIONAL BOOKLETS: Copies of Our Daily Bread (for June/July/August), together with copies of Forward Day by Day (for May/June/July), are available for you on the tall table at the back of the church at any worship service, as well as (for those needing access at other times) from the large black metal mailbox alongside the concrete walkway between the Fleurries office building and the parking lot. Please pick up a copy for yourself, and perhaps another to share with a friend.

INVITATION FROM AQUIA’S TABLE

INVITATION FROM AQUIA’S TABLE: Aquia’s Table is recruiting volunteers to assist with baking or preparing desserts (either at home or at the church kitchen on Tuesdays: cookies, brownies, crispy rice treats, cakes, etc.) and to assist occasionally this summer with preparing meals when others might be unable to serve (for instance, if they are sick or on vacation). In recent weeks, we have been serving between 300 and 400 guests, and some extra help with fixing desserts and meals from time to time would be welcomed. In order to offer your hands-on help, please contact Briget Kane (bkwings_n_things@yahoo.com) or Dina Stanford (jjanddina@comcast.net).

July Updates from Aquia’s Pantry

July Updates from Aquia’s Pantry: A huge THANK YOU goes to the Vacation Bible School children, who gave 34 boxes of cereal to Aquia’s Pantry for their service project! Our thanks also go to all in the parish who have donated cereal throughout the summer, and to our wonderful volunteers who fill the bags and the car trunks each week. During the month of June, on four out of five service days, we distributed groceries (bread, produce, dry goods, and frozen meat) to more than 95 families. We have an urgent need for donations of boxes of cereal, egg cartons, and brown paper grocery bags, as well as volunteers to unload, pack, and distribute donations. If the Holy Spirit is guiding you towards this ministry, please contact Michael Golasz <golaszmichael@yahoo.com> or Mary Jane Cole <maryjane@cfsw.biz>.

NEW MATCHING CHALLENGE

NEW MATCHING CHALLENGE: We now have an opportunity to reduce the debt on our construction loan for the CFFB faster than expected and with reduced interest payments. Thanks to an offer made anonymously, the vestry has approved undertaking a new matching challenge: every gift contributed to the new building between 1 January 2022 and 1 October 2022 will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000.00. Please mark your contribution “CFFB” on the memo line of your check or on the envelope of your cash gift. As of 28 June, following some significant contributions in recent weeks, we have received $78,885.45—that’s nearly 80% of the way toward our goal!

OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS

OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS: Between now and November 20, our regular Old Testament lessons for Sunday worship will follow Track One in the Episcopalian version of the Revised Common Lectionary. Track One lessons allow for a ‘semi-continuous’ reading of the Old Testament: during this period, typically there will be a fairly straight historical line from one week’s Old Testament lesson to the next week’s Old Testament lesson—as though one week’s Old Testament lesson leads naturally to the next—rather than having the Old Testament passage connected somehow to the Gospel passage (as often happens during other times of the year). In the current year of the three-year lectionary (Year C), the Old Testament lessons prominently feature narratives from the prophets of ancient Israel (including the minor prophets), with special attention to Jeremiah. Track One lessons provide broader reading throughout the Old Testament than did the previous lectionary in the Book of Common Prayer. We hope that these Track One lessons from the Old Testament will be helpfully eye-opening for your faith.

WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDIES

WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDIES: Father Morris’s new Wednesday evening series, covering the apostle Paul’s joy-filled letter to the Philippians, continues on Wednesdays through July 13, starting electronically at 7:00 p.m. over Facebook Live. The Wednesday evening series will take a break for at least July 20 & 27, then resume in early August. Father Rickenbaker has recently begun a new Wednesday morning series on the Gospel according to Matthew, starting electronically at 10:30 a.m. over Facebook Live. During the pandemic, most of our Bible studies are available online at our church’s Facebook page <https://www.facebook.com/AquiaEpiscopalChurch>. Even if you do not have a Facebook account, you can still access the videos simply by clicking on the video for the given day. Also, you do not have to join in the Bible study live; the videos will be stored there for your viewing at any time convenient for you.

CHRISTIAN PARENTING GROUP

CHRISTIAN PARENTING GROUP: Our Christian parenting group will take a break for June and July, with plans to reconvene in August. Stay tuned for more details.

YOUTH GROUP

YOUTH GROUP: The youth group will take the months of June and July off from a regular schedule of afternoon/evening meetings, but stay tuned in case we decide to hold a special event like a meal or a day-trip for recreation this summer.

SUNDAY SCHOOL

SUNDAY SCHOOL: Our Sunday school ministry for the current school year concluded on May 22, with our new year for Sunday school beginning on August 14 (the Sunday after Stafford County Public Schools resume).

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.

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.

COLLECTING NEWSPAPERS

COLLECTING NEWSPAPERS: The Daughters of the King ministry group at Aquia Church is collecting old newspapers (not magazines) to be taken to the animal shelter in Stafford. There is a black plastic cube in the back left pew (as you come into church) for collection. Your contribution is much appreciated.

ELECTRONIC GIVING

ELECTRONIC GIVING: The increased use of electronic giving is helpful, as it avoids the need for our office and counters to handle mail, which could be contaminated; but we still pick up the mail and your mail-in contribution will be counted. Where possible, when parishioners can absorb the nominal transaction cost, that is also very helpful, so that the church will receive the full amount of your intended contribution. Please note to use the correct category of contribution: if you submitted a pledge card and make a donation online, then please use that category. If you did not submit a pledge card, then please use the non-pledged category—just as important and helpful. Be mindful that you can make an electronic contribution and apportion your gifts between multiple purposes, e.g., pledge, flowers, outreach, etc. You can give electronically through Realm—the link is <https://onrealm.org/AquiaEpiscopalC/-/give/now>, and there is a “GIVE” link on the church website <https://www.AquiaChurch.org>. Also, you can give via text message: text AQUIA to 73256. If you have questions, please feel free to contact treasurer Chris Arey (treasurer@aquiachurch.org).

 

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).