Announcements: Week of Sunday, June 17th 2018
Changed Worship Schedule??
We hope to hear from you about what changes (if any) you might wish to see in our current pattern of worship services: 7:30am, 9:00am, 11:15am, and 6:00pm on most Sundays of the year, plus special occasions as appropriate. Would you like to see your preferred worship service begin a bit earlier or a bit later? Would you like to see a midweek service offered? How important do you think it is for us to offer an evening service—and how often (weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.)? Would you like to see the current schedule of worship services changed at all? Would you like to have something added to a worship service, such as an occasional family meal or fellowship event or Christian formation opportunity? Father Morris will be available to hear your suggestions at the following times:
• June 24, during the breakfast after the 7:30am service & following the 11:15am service
Also, on this matter as on any other, you may let Father Morris know your perspective by e-mailing him at his new e-mail address (morris@aquiachurch.org), by calling him at the church office (540-659-4007), or by making an appointment to see him in person. Rest assured that there will be additional opportunities to share your views through an upcoming survey (to be available in both printed form and electronic form: the printed form is available in the Sunday bulletin, and the electronic form can be printed out from the June 2018 issue of our Cross Section newsletter).
New Church E-Mail Addresses
Please note that every member of the church staff now has a new e-mail address ending in dot-org, instead of ending in dot-com, as follows:
• The Reverend Jay Morris: morris@aquiachurch.org
• The Reverend James Rickenbaker: rickenbaker@aquiachurch.org
• Dennise LaBarre: office@aquiachurch.org
• Sue Selz: sue.selz@aquiachurch.org
• Trystan Bennett: musicdirector@aquiachurch.org
• Kristen Morgan: christianed@aquiachurch.org
The change in e-mail addresses is partly related to the change in our updated Website (www.AquiaChurch.org). If you have sent an e-mail message to a staff member in the past couple of weeks (while we were making adjustments in our e-mail system) but have not yet received a response, please re-send your message to the new address, with our apologies for the delayed response. Please update your list of e-mail contacts as needed.
Morning Call
On June 17, the clergy will begin a short-term summer series about preaching: what is involved in preparing and delivering sermons, what is helpful for listening to sermons and hearing the message, what kind of replies the clergy find especially valuable, and what the congregation can do to offer suggestions and constructive criticism to the preachers. There will also be opportunities available for you to provide written feedback and comments on our clergy's sermons, whether or not you attend Morning Call. Offered most Sundays of the year, Morning Call is our Sunday morning forum for adult formation and discussion, starting around 10:20am in the great hall.
Wednesday Bible Studies: On this Wednesday morning, Father Rickenbaker will continue his new short-term series about St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians. He will also continue his Wednesday evening Bible study series on the Book of Revelation through June 27; then after a one-week break for the Fourth of July, Father Morris will begin a new six-week evening Bible study series about the Holy Trinity on July 11. The morning series meets 10:30am—12noon and the evening series meets 7:00—8:30pm, both in the downstairs conference room.
All You Can Eat Crab Feast: Saturday, August 25th - 4pm - 7pm - Live Bluegrass “Reckless Brigade Bluegrass” - Adults = $35.00 - Ages 6 - 16 = $10.00
All you can eat crabs, steamed shrimp, fried cod, corn on the cob, coleslaw and hushpuppies. Lemonade, iced tea will be provided, BYOC (bring your own cooler or BYOB). Come to a great fun filled event, enjoy great music, great food and enjoy fellowship with your family and friends.
Historic Church Renovation: The repair and repainting work by Habalis Construction of Fredericksburg is nearly complete, as you can probably tell from all the progress in our historic church building. Thanks to everyone for your patience throughout this important project.
Cash for Cows & Change for Chickens: The collection to purchase animals to help a family or community in a struggling country was so well-received last year, Outreach will be doing the same collection this year. Each Sunday, starting with Mother's Day and ending on Father's Day, cow, elephant, and piggy banks will be on the picnic table in front of the Church (or in case of rain, in the Great Hall). We are asking for donations of your extra pocket change (cash accepted, too) to fill the banks. Last year we purchased a cow, a water buffalo, and chickens, geese, and ducks. Our thought for this campaign is to purchase another cow, a goat or donkey (or maybe both), and more poultry. We will make the purchases through Episcopal Relief and Development and Heifer International.
Old Testament Lessons: With the recent Trinity Sunday (May 27), we began the season of the church year called the season after Pentecost, which will run until the start of Advent (which this year begins on December 2). This season is also called ‘ordinary time’ because its Sundays are counted in sequence with ordinal numbers (such as the second Sunday after Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Pentecost, and so forth). (The phrase ‘ordinary time’ has nothing to do with the time being ‘ordinary’ in the sense of ‘average,’ ‘routine,’ or ‘boring.’) During the long period from early June through late November, most of our Old Testament lessons will focus on the historical narratives and the poetic wisdom of ancient Israel. Here we meet figures like Eli and Samuel, David and those around him (including Goliath, Saul, Nathan, Bathsheba, and Solomon), Esther, Job, and Ruth. These readings will not be linked to the Epistle or Gospel lessons for the given Sunday; instead, the Old Testament lessons will be somewhat linked to each other week after week, as though we shall hear and read something like a semi-continuous story flowing throughout the summer and the autumn. With these Old Testament lessons, be on the lookout for ways in which they indicate the work of the Lord in the lives of his people, in the history of the world, and in the wisdom of his faithful followers. Also be on the lookout for ways in which these Old Testament lessons point ultimately toward Jesus.
