Announcements - Week of Sunday, October 20, 2019

Vestry Fundraiser

Vestry Fundraiser: This year our vestry will sell Newsom’s Peanuts instead of citrus. We will receive orders through November 24, with order forms available at the back of the church or from the church office. Newsom’s is a family-owned-and-operated farm in Newsom, Va., offering a wide variety of nuts that are not cooked until the order is placed (for maximum freshness). Options include Cajun spice peanuts, habanero & jalapeño spice peanuts, peanut clusters, peanut brittle, honey crisp pecans, chocolate & amaretto pecans, and cashews. They make great Christmas gifts, hostess gifts, or treats for snacking. Please contact Jean Golas with any questions (bjgolas@yahoo.com).

Attention Visitors and Newcomers

Attention Visitors and Newcomers: Our next newcomers luncheon will be held on Sunday, Nov. 17. Right after the 10:00 a.m. worship service ends, our visitors and newcomers will be given a brief tour of our historic church building, and then they will be led into the great hall of the Christian Formation and Fellowship Building for a luncheon prepared in their honor. Child care and meals for children will be available. This is a good opportunity for those who are new at Aquia Church to begin making a few friends in an inviting atmosphere and to ask questions that are on your mind. In order to reserve your space and let us know how many people (including children) will be coming with you, please contact Sue Selz in the church office (sue.selz@aquiachurch.org or 540-659-4007).

Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child: Outreach’s annual shoe box collection for Operation Christmas Child is underway. 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 suggestion is to deflate a soccer ball and put it in your shoe box along with a small inflation kit. Please do not pack any of the following: candy; toothpaste; gum; used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives, or military figures; chocolate or food; seeds; fruit rolls or other fruit snacks; drink mixes (powdered or liquid); liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snow globes or glass containers; aerosol cans. 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 (depending on the weather). 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 17.

Fall Fest Thank-You

Fall Fest Thank-You: A hearty expression of gratitude for the success of our recent Fall Fest goes to everyone involved with the hours of preparation, set-up, staffing, and clean-up, not to mention all the donations made and all the good energy from parishioners and guests. Most every department garnered more proceeds in 2019 than in 2018, and overall we cleared more than $16,300 (figure revised from previous announcements) – which is a near record! Congratulations to everyone who made this accomplishment possible! Special thanks go to Fall Fest co-chairs Briget Kane (representing the Episcopal Church Women) and Bill Hoffman (representing the vestry). Please mark your calendar for the first Saturday in October 2020 as we anticipate next year’s Fall Fest.

Morning Call

Morning Call: A new Morning Call series titled Turning the World Upside Down: What the Early Church Discovered will continue on this Sunday. During this series, we shall explore several different ways in which Christians in the early church drew upon their various backgrounds (including Jewish heritage and Greco-Roman culture) while profoundly transforming them with their Christian faith and life. Morning Call is our Sunday Morning forum for adult formation and discussion, held in the great hall 9:00—9:45 a.m.

Wednesday Bible Studies

Wednesday Bible Studies: Father Rickenbaker will continue a new morning series titled “A Christian Reading of Genesis” on this Wednesday (10:30 a.m.—12:00 noon), and it’s not too late to join in. Father Morris will continue his Wednesday evening series on the Book of Acts on this Wednesday, Oct. 23 (reading Acts 18:23—20:38). Those attending the evening series may start the evening with a meal at Aquia's Table, which begins serving at 6:00 p.m. Both groups meet in the new building's downstairs conference room.

Youth Group

Youth Group: Our youth group for teens in grades 6-12 will have its next evening meeting on campus (on an every-other-Sunday rotation) on Sunday, Oct. 20, 4:00--5:30 p.m. in the youth room, with refreshments served. In November, our evening meetings will be on November 3 & 17. In addition, our regular Sunday morning meetings take place 9:00--9:45 a.m. in the youth room nearly every Sunday of the school year.

Trunk or Treat

Trunk or Treat: Please join us with your children, grandchildren, friends and neighbors on Saturday, October 26th from 6-7:30 pm for our annual Trunk-or-Treat event. (Rain date: Sunday, October 27th at the same time). Decorate your trunk, bring a potluck dish to share, candy or treats to give out, and your child in costume. You are encouraged to come in costume too! A prize will be awarded to the best decorated trunk/car. The parking lot between the church and new building will be for vehicles passing out treats only. We will have a potluck dinner at 6:00 pm, followed by "trunk or treating." Please contact Kristen Morgan at christianed@aquiachurch.com for more information.

All Saints' Day

All Saints’ Day: November 3rd we will be celebrating All Saints’ Day at Aquia. Please let the office know if a loved one has passed away since last All Saints’ Day; their names will be read on that Sunday. Please get the names to Sue Selz in the church office (sue.selz@aquiachurch.org or 540.659.4007) by October 28th.

Cub Scout Pack 1757

Cub Scout Pack 1757: Join the Fun and Adventure. Sign up for Cub Scouts by October 31st to snag a FREE Pinewood Derby car kit! To learn more please contact Cubmaster, Tim Spaulding at caveman2005@live.com

Matching Challenge Opportunity

The deadline for our matching challenge grant has been extended to December 31, so there is more time for you to join in! Every dollar received for the new building between now and this year’s end will be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to a total of $100,000.00, with the combined funds being applied (unless otherwise specified) toward reduction of the principal on the construction loan. This will work in much the same way as when you pay a bit extra on your car loan, home mortgage, or other debt: the faster you can pay down the original cost, the less accumulated interest you must pay in turn, and then the overall expense is reduced, too (and ahead of schedule!) - and in this case, your donation will be matched for even more powerful effect. Your contribution of any size will be counted toward the match, up to the limit, so that we can defray our total costs on the construction loan at a more rapid pace. Think about this: if we can meet this challenge, then we can reduce our principal repayment by the very significant amount of $200,000.00 AND reduce our interest repayment, too! Your tax-deductible donations can take the form of cash, check or investments like stock or mutual funds. For gifts of cash or check, simply make your contribution to Aquia Church, with “New Building” on your envelope or on the memo line of your check. For information on donating investments in tax-advantageous ways, please contact the church office or treasurer Chris Arey (chris.arey@gmail.com).