st. christopher’s · 2016. 7. 7. · order to accommodate every parish in the diocese receiving a...

E-pistle THE WEEKLY

NEWSLETTER OF

St. Christopher’s

Episcopal Church

SPRINGFIELD, VIRGINIA

December 30, 2015

The Rev. Peter K. Ackerman

703-451-1088, ext. 1 or

Email: [email protected]

Sunday, January 3 – The Epiphany;

The Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ 7:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist

10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist (Nursery is provided)

11:45 a.m. Refreshment and Fellowship

Servers’ Schedule for January 3, 2016 Acolytes

7:30 a.m. Acolyte –

10:30 a.m.

Crucifer – TBA

Server– TBA

Torchbearer – TBA

Altar Guild Marie Ackerman and Katie

Alleman

Communion Bread Janet Bush

Flower Guild Chriss Foster, Virginia Clark and

Sandy Price

Greeters TBA

Lay Eucharistic

Ministers

& Lectors

7:30 a.m.

(CB) Pam Branstetter

(L) Mike Brandt

10:30 a.m.

(PB) Helen Spence

(CB1) Mark Ingebretsen

(CB2) Virginia (Ginny) Brown

(L1) Beth Lytle

(L2) Jim Bradshaw

Intercessor Betty Carper

Chapel Prayer

Team

John Quinn and Jennifer Guernsey

P.A.T. (Pastoral

Assistant Team)

Minister

Helen Spence

Ref. & Fellowship Liz Zubritsky

Usher Guild Team 3 -Manning

Tellers Helen Spence and Debbie Frear

Vestry Person of the

Week

Debbie Frear

Lectionary

Readings

•Isaiah 60:1-6

•Ephesians 3:1-12

•Matthew 2:1-12

•Psalm 72:1-7,10-14

*** If you cannot serve as scheduled, please be sure to switch

with someone else.

This Week at St. Christopher’s

Monday, January 4 10:00 a.m. AA

12:45 p.m. Preschool Staff Meeting

Tuesday, January 5 10:00 a.m. AA

7:30 p.m. Preschool Board Meeting

Wednesday, January 6

9:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist

7:30 p.m. Adult Choir Rehearsal

Thursday, January 7 10:00 a.m. Women’s Bible Study

Friday, January 8 5:00 p.m. S. Anonymous Meeting

Saturday, January 9 5:00 p.m. S. Anonymous Meeting

8:30 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous

Sunday, January 10 – The First Sunday after the Epiphany; Bishop’s Visit 2:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist and Bishop’s Visit (Nursery is

provided)

3:15 a.m. Festival Reception for the Bishop's Visit and

Celebrating our 60th Anniversary

ANNOUNCEMENTS From the Rector's Desk

Near the first of every month Fr. Peter offers a topical reflection

for our readers, so look for his next correspondence in upcoming

issue here.

Vestry Nominations [Fr. Peter prays that you are enjoying a Merry Christmas, and

further hopes that you will enjoy a safe turnover to a Happy

New Year. He adds "I encourage you to take a moment and

read this article by Bill Price about calling people to join our

next Vestry. If you meet the criteria I want you to seriously

discern if this is for you. Furthermore I specifically invite

people who have joined the parish since I began five years ago,

like Bill, to consider if God is calling them to serve. We are one

of the parishes who invites a healthy vestry experience; one that

is inclusive and invites all members, no matter their length of

time at St. Christopher's to serve God and God's church in this

way. If you have questions you can direct those to the people

Bill names in his short article, to current Vestry members or to

me. Thank you for truly, prayerfully considering this request."]

This is an exciting time in the life of Saint Christopher's! Not

only are we in the midst of celebrating 60 years of service to

God, each other, and our extended community, but we are

looking to possibly embark on a Capital Fund Campaign which,

if we take this on, will sustain Saint Christopher's as we move

forward into the next 60 years.

Looking forward, I ask for your continued prays for your Vestry

Nominating Committee. We are looking for at least two more

people to run for the four positions on the Vestry which will

become available at the election during our Annual Meeting on

January 24th next year. We are truly blessed to have two

members agree to serve and need at least two more Vestry

members in order to fill the twelve Vestry Commissions: Senior

Warden, Junior Warden, Buildings, Christian Formation, Parish

Communications, Grounds, New Member Incorporation, Parrish

Outreach, Register, Stewardship, and Worship.

Your next Vestry will play a guiding role, as your

representatives, to decide upon and manage some much needed

capital improvements to Saint Christopher's property which will

further allow us to continue to serve God and spread His Good

News.

According to authors Dr. Ryan T. Hartwig and Warren Bird in

their book Teams That Thrive: Five Disciplines of Collaborative

Church Leadership (IVP Books, March 6, 2015) personality

traits for vestry members should include good models of

Christian character as well as people with diverse skills and

experience who are adept at solving problems. S/he should be

folks16 years and older who are motivated and committed to

collaboration, who are also aligned to the parish’s and wider

church’s missions, including a hearty assent to the doctrines,

worship, and discipline of The Episcopal Church and who are

either Confirmed or Received into the church (or willing to be

during the next Bishop’s visit on January 10th).

Serving on the Vestry is, indeed, a commitment, but it is a

commitment that comes with many rewards, opportunities and

blessings. When I was asked to consider serving on the Vestry

it took me several weeks of discernment before I said "Yes". It

is a three year term and I had to be certain that I was willing to

make that commitment. I prayed about it, I asked others to pray

with and for me, I talked with current and former members of

the Vestry and I met with Father Peter. In truth, I think I was

looking for reasons to decline but in the end, I was lead to say

"Yes", I was approved by you and this year has been one of

growth and gratitude for me.

Like my decision, any decision to serve on the Vestry or on the

many committees and ministries available to us at Saint

Christopher's is a personal one. And so, I ask that you

prayerfully consider serving on Saint Christopher's Vestry.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss this further, please

contact me, any other member of the Vestry Nominating

Committee (Janet Bush, Jessica Manning, Chris Erbe and / or

Mike Snyder.). Please also consider talking with other current

and past Vestry members and with Father Peter. Your ideas,

thoughts, energy, spiritual leadership and passion are needed and

welcomed.

In closing, I ask that you please pray daily for this committee

and for Saint Christopher's, and pray for those who God knows

are called to run and/or serve on our next Vestry, and please

pray that God will also guide you to determine the answer to the

question: “who is God raising up as leaders in our parish?” I am

grateful for your prayers and serious discernment towards this

important ministry. Bill Price

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN SURVEY As the Vestry considers undertaking a capital campaign to

address serious, long-deferred maintenance issues at St.

Christopher’s, the committee assembled to explore the

possibility would appreciate your thoughts. Please take a few

minutes to complete the brief on-line survey at this link:

http://bit.ly/stchristophersurvey . Written copies of the survey

will be in the Fellowship Hall with a basket to submit completed

surveys. Thanks! Chas Henry, John Olsen, Diane Owen and

Richard Sellers

Dear Flower Guild members, thank you for

creating beautiful Christmas flower arrangements throughout the

church from the altar, hymnal boards, lectern, baptismal font,

choir pillars, rail garlands, chapel, meditation room church

windows, St. Francis, front window and entrance. Your labor of

love showed beautiful arrangements of red and white flowers

http://bit.ly/stchristophersurvey

throughout the church along with the red poinsettia plants,

magnolia leaves and candles. A special thank you to Lynn Knox

who goes to the flower wholesaler's and choses the lovely

flowers and sees that everyone has the flowers and greens that

they need. Always a big job. A big thank you to the following

members who gave of their time and with great energy and

creative talent made the arrangements everyone enjoyed. They

are: Lynn Knox, Virginia Clark, Harriet McCollum. Marie

Ackerman, Mary Andrews, Sandy & Dick Rowley, Ruth Ritt,

Mary Rietman, Andrea Duggan, Sandy Price, Chriss Foster and

Richard Sellers. We were happy to have David and Steve Penny

put up the garlands on the railing, grandsons of Marguerite

Wagner. We had the creative help of newcomer, Stephanie

Hedge who helped Mary Andrews at the choir pillars. Sandy

and Dick Rowley had help from Dick's daughter at the church

windows. It is a happy and fun time every Christmas to work

together and see the results. When all is done and the last job to

clean up the kitchen work room Ruth York and Richard Sellers

are there to take care of the final chores.. Thank you Ruth and

Richard. To those who gave to the Flower Guild for Christmas

flowers and poinsettia plants a BIG THANK YOU for your

generous donations. You make it possible to decorate St.

Christopher's every year. (co-chair June Hoffman & Ruth York)

Sunday School updates There will be no Sunday school on 1/3 or 1/10 due to winter

breaks and Bishop Visitation. See everyone on 1/17 for the

beginning of Epiphany!

Two-day Food Security Packets Delivered to Crestwood Elementary This Week Thanks to the generosity of parishioners, we packed

and delivered 90, two-day food packets last Sunday and

delivered them this week to Crestwood Elementary School in

our neighborhood to give to students for their use during the

holidays. However we’re not finished and we could use many

more lunch/dinner items to make 60 or more packets with the

many remaining breakfasts, snacks and drinks. Please bring

them until January 3rd and put them in the appropriate baskets

in the Fellowship Hall. You can also write checks to St.

Christopher’s with a memo to “Crestwood Food,” or just give

me cash to buy food. Last year we delivered 60 packets before

the holidays and 60 after. Help us to provide even more

assistance to our neighbors. Again, MANY THANKS! Richard

Sellers, St. Christopher’s Outreach Chair

The Martian Andy Weir's The Martian tops the Reading Discussion Group's

2016 Reading List. We will meet in the church library at 2 p.m.

on Tuesday, January 19, to discuss this popular book, which has

been made into a major motion picture. Astronaut Mark Watney

finds himself alone on Mars after his crew evacuates without

him. Will he survive against all odds? Contact Janet Bush, Janet

Quinn, or Christine Meloni for more information. Everyone is

welcome.

Sunday, January 10, 2016 – Bishop’s Visit – at 2:00p.m. That early afternoon service will be

our ONLY Eucharist and our Primary service on that day. In

order to accommodate every parish in the Diocese receiving a

Bishop’s visit everyone must take a turn in hosting an afternoon

one. In order to do this, and to encourage the congregation to

attend that 2:00 p.m. service, we will not hold a 7:30 a.m.

service, nor will there be any Sunday School/Christian

Formation Activities that day. Fr. Peter, however, encourages

the congregation to gather and welcome Bishop Goff at

2:00p.m. On January 10th.

Festive Reception for the Bishop's Visit and Celebrating our 60th Anniversary! Following the 2:00 PM service with the Bishop on Sunday,

January 10, 2016 we will host a festive reception in the

Auditorium to celebrate the new confirmand and to welcome the

Rt. Rev. Susan Goff, Bishop Suffragan. Look for the sign-up

sheets for food and please consider bringing donations of finger-

type appetizers and desserts. We'll need the donations at the

church by 2 pm, and if you could plate them on your own

dishes, it would be helpful to the reception staff.

We will be setting up for the reception on Saturday morning

(January 9th) at 10:30 am in the Auditorium and could use some

extra hands. Please come on by the church and help! Please also

consider sticking around to help clean up after the reception

ends. Thank you in advance from the St. Spatula's Reception

Committee and your Parish Life Commissioner, Tammy Farrar

Annual Meeting Reports are needed by January 11, 2016. Every year we prepare a report for the congregation on our life

together in the past year. If you chair or head a ministry be sure

to submit your report electronically to Nina Miller,

[email protected] by Monday, January 11,

2016.

The Annual Parish Meeting will be held on

Sunday, January 24, 2016 at 9:15 a.m. and Vestry Elections for

2016.

221st Annual Council of Diocese of Virginia – January 21-23, 2016 The Annual Council of the Diocese of Virginia meets in Reston

Virginia. Our delegates Lynn Knox and Jim Bradshaw, Helen

Spence, President Delegate of Region VII will attend along with

Father Peter. Please hold all of them in your prayers as they

work with others from around our diocese in doing the work of

the wider church.

Hypothermia Program – January 31 – February 6,

2016.

Hello, All! Please see below for a quick update on our

coordination efforts for this year's support of the Hypothermia

Prevention Program:

St Christopher's week for the 2015-2016 Hypothermia

Prevention Program is 31 January - 7 February. An online

sign-up will be available in the near future. A poster board-

sized sign-up will also be available in the church.

This year, we will utilize a team approach for dinner

preparations. I encourage you to volunteer with either

members of an existing ministry, or use this as an

opportunity to get to know other parishioners better. I will

ensure we've coordinated the overall "dinner plan" for the

week across all groups, with grocery shopping and menu

planning centrally supported. Please contact me directly if

want to be part of the dinner planning efforts.

A big thank-you to the Men's Group and choir, who have

each volunteered to take on a dinner -- thank you all!

I will hold a training session for all of our volunteers in

early January, so please stay tuned for that date to be

published in an upcoming Epistle.

Please contact me directly ([email protected]) with any

questions or suggestions. Thank you! Katy Dunlap

Preschool Prattle Occasionally our preschool outreach has some special news, a

teacher to introduce, or other tidbit to share. Fr. Peter

encourages you to watch this space in future issues of the

E-pistle for those times when such news comes forth!

[email protected].

mailto:[email protected]

st. christopher’s · 2016. 7. 7. · order to accommodate every parish in the diocese receiving a...

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