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In This Issue
Parish Notes
The Propers
Sermon
Đại Ý Kinh Văn

Upcoming Events


  

Thursday, Dec. 19

 

Hypothermia, 8:00 PM

 

Friday, Dec. 20

 

Hypothermia, 8:00 PM  

 

Saturday, Dec. 21

 

- Christmas Pageant Rehearsal, 9 AM

 

- Feed-The-Homeless Volunteers' Luncheon, 11:30 AM

 

-  Feed The Homeless, 3:30 PM 

 

Sunday, Dec. 22

 

Greening of the Church

 

- Sing-Along at Mariko and Joe Hiller's residence, 3 PM 

 

Erin Dubas' scout troup lock-in, 6 PM 

 

Tuesday, Dec. 24

 

Christmas Pageant,  

6:45 PM    

 

Christmas Music Program, 7:00 PM 

 

Christmas Eve Worship, 7:30 PM 

 

Saturday, Dec. 28

Katie Grosse's Memorial Service, 11 AM

Hypothermia, 8:00 PM

 

Sunday, Dec. 29

Service of Carols and Lessons, 10:30 AM

Hypothermia, 8:00 PM  

 

Sunday, Jan 5

 

Degreen the church, after the 10:30 AM service

 

Sunday, Jan 12

 

Odeon concert, 4 PM

 

Tuesday, Jan 14

 

Commissions, 6:30 PM

Vestry, 7:30 PM

 

Saturday, Jan 19

 

Feed the Homeless, Time TBA

 

Saturday, Feb. 1

 

Vestry Retreat.  Time and Place TBA.

 

Sunday, Feb. 2

 

TET Celebration, after church -- Potluck 

 

Saturday, Feb. 15

 

Feed the Homeless.  Time TBA

 

Friday, Feb. 28

 

Piano Student Recital, afternoon

 

Saturday, March 1

 

Hypothermia, 8 PM

 

Sunday, March 2

 

Hypothermia, 8 PM

 

Friday, March 7

 

Hypothermia, 8 PM

 

Saturday, March 8

 

Hypothermia, 8 PM

 

Sunday, March 9

 

Hypothermia, 8 PM

 

Friday, March 14

 

Hypothermia, 8 PM

 

Saturday, March 15

 

Feed The Homeless.  Time TBA   

 

Altar at Easter 2013      

Birthdays

December

24    Jane Chapman  

 25    Amelia Nicholson

28    Paul Los

30    Patricia Phan

31    Trang Diep

31    Chon Kim Huynh

January

4    Suong Pham

4    Catherine Burgess

5     Joua Vang

 7    Jim Clark

 8    MeiLi Haan

 9    Debbie Mills

 9    Tinh Huynh

10   Jocelyne Miller

12    Loc Mai

15    Kevin Tingley

15    Hue Vo

19    Helen Nicholson

22    Jay Parrotta

25   Anne Hiller

25    Anita Nicholson

26    Anna DuBro

28    Tyler Mills

30    Robin Tingley

 

 

 

Our Prayer List

We remember in our prayer:

 

Dee Bailey, Kari Boeskov, Jane Chapman, Marie Cosimano, Tim Clary, Dorothy Connelly, John Davis, Michael Dickinson,  Loretta Dougherty, The Edsall Family, Nance Finegan, Luis Garay, Carolyn Gawarecki, Louise Gibney, Anne Goodwin, Jean Graham, Katherine Hafele, Anne & Thomas Edsall, Margaret Ellis Harris, Alek Hensley, Leslie Hogan, Cindy Hogman, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Michael Horn, Mary Isibel, Lindsay Johns, Gray Johnson, Jamie Kaplon, Quinn Kimball, Jeffry King, Michael Knowles, Peter Kosutic, Susan Lawrence, Lois Magrogan, Colleen Mavrikas, Gregory McGinnis, Evelyn Morgan, Danielle Morgan, Ed+ and Margaret Morgan, Que Nguyen, Chick Nixon, Christine Nolan, Olive Oliver, Jim Owens, Gary Owens, William Ross, Fern Shuck,
Bill Sitler, Irene Skowron, Josh Smithers, Inez Stanton, Candi Stewart, Barbara Stefl, Kara Stryker, Walter Sushko, Steven Talbert, George Thomas, Clara Torres, George Torres, Elizabeth Trigg, Tammy Vanphung, Michael Weekes, Warren Weinstein, The Crowley Family, Nhon Thanh Vo, The Westfall Family, Paula Wiech, Meredith Wiech, Bernard Williams, Donna Wolfe, Rudy Zimple.

 

               ____ 

 

Note: If you have a loved one or friend who needs prayer please call the church and leave a message at 703-532-5656, or write to Tinh+ at

stpats3241@gmail.com  or call him at 703-405-9571.  Also, should a name need be removed from the list, please let Tinh+ know promptly, and give the reason.  

 

 

Saint Patrick's Ministers 

The Ministers of Saint Patrick's Church are the People of this Parish

 

supported by

 

The Reverend  

Tinh Trang Huynh, Rector

 

Ms. Mariko Hiller,  

Music Director

 

Ms. Rachel Burgess,

Nursery Care

 

We serve our Lord as part of the Diocese of Virginia

 

led by

our chief pastors

 

The Rt. Rev. Shannon Sherwood Johnston, Bishop

 

The Rt. Rev. Susan Goff

Bishop Suffragan 

 

and  

The Rt. Rev. Ted Gulick,

Assistant Bishop 

The Vision of St. Patrick's

Saint Patrick's Episcopal Church is a community of care, called to be Christ-centered and multicultural in worship, Christian education and action to proclaim  Christ's love to the world.

   

Previous Issues of the Epistle
Please click here if you wish to see the previous issues of The Epistle

St. Patrick's Organized for Missions and Ministry 

 

SAINT PATRICK'S ORGANIZED

FOR MISSIONS AND MINISTRY

 
Vestry Committee:
Senior Warden: Kathy Oliver; Junior Warden:  Bill Houston;
Registrar: Winnie Lebo;
Treasurer:  Kathy Oliver; 

Other members of the Vestry:   Elisabeth Nguyen, Milton Thomas, Amelia Nicholson, Victoria Kennedy, Ann Nelson. 

 

GROUPS AND ACTIVITIES

 

Altar Guild:  Lois Cascella;  
Bell Choir:  Mariko Hiller; 
Sunday Service Bulletin:  Diem Nguyen, Steve Lebo;
Offering Counters:  Bob Cascella; Diocesan Council Delegate: Bill Houston (Kathy Oliver, alternate delegate);
St. Margaret's Circle:  Ann Nelson; Telephone Chain:
Alice King; Feed the Homeless:  Elisabeth Nguyen;
Odeon Chamber Music Series:  Mariko Hiller;
Westlawn Elementary School:  Winnie Lebo;
Falls Church Community Services: Catherine Dubas;
Hypothermia Shelter Program:  Hao Nguyen; 
The Epistle Newsletter Editors: Winnie Lebo and Cindy Rhoad; Flea Market:
Chris Nicholson; Prison Ministry: Nancy Burch;
Meals-on-Wheels: Amelia Nicholson;Sunrise/Bluemont:
Michael Knowles   

Church

 

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December 19, 2013
 Parish Notes

    angels    

 - Christmas Pageant.    All are invited to attend the Christmas Pageant presented by our St. Pat's children on Christmas Eve, at 6:45 PM.  

       Dress rehearsal will be at 9 AM in the church this Saturday, December 21st. Contact: Amelia or Chris Nicholson when you see them at church, or email canicholso@aol.com.    

 

-  We will green the church this Sunday, after the 10:30 AM service.  Please join us.  Dress casually, and bring work gloves and cutting tools, if you have them.  On that Sunday we will need volunteers to bring into the sanctuary the iron frames of the large wreaths from the storage area downstairs.

 

Kathy and Nghia  Kathy Oliver and Nghia Dao at the 2010 Greening of the Church 

 

 Christmas Flowers.  Would you like to offer flowers at Christmas,   I in memory of someone or in thanksgiving for a blessing?  Please make a $12 check payable to St. Patrick's Altar Guild.  You may fill out the form, which is included in the Sunday service bulletin, or send and email to stpats3241@gmail.com.  You may also call the church at 703-532-5656 to leave a message. 
        Checks should be made payable to Saint Patrick's Altar Guild, earmarked "Christmas Flowers," and mailed to St. Patrick's Church, 3241 Brush Drive, Falls Church, VA 22042. Deadline: This Sunday, December 22nd. 

- Need to know the contact information of a former member of Saint Patrick's?  Tinh+ may have it.  Please feel free to contact him at stpats3241@gmail.com or leave a message at 703-532-5656.  Tinh+ has just updated the addresses of Miriam Balding, Jane Chapman and Maggie and Felix Spinelli on his contact list.

- Would you like to help our Lois Cascella to teach Sunday School at Saint Patrick's?  Please click here to sign up! All you have to do is pick the Sunday you can teach, put in your email address (which will not be shared) and click "submit."  Thank you!        

-  The Stewardship Letter and pledge card have been sent to all church members.  Please prayerfully consider your giving for next year, and promptly send your pledge cards with pledged amount to the church, or put them in the alms basin on Sunday, so that the Vestry can establish our 2014 budget. Thank you. 
                 
 -  Sign Up Online to help with the Hypothermia Shelter Program.  We now need a volunteer to open church door on the evening of Saturday, December 28, for the homeless who will stay overnight in the church.  The volunteer will come at 8:00 PM and stay for about 10 minutes following their arrival.  Please let Fr. Tinh know if you can help.   You can also click here to sign up online.  All you have to do is enter your email address, which will not be shared, and choose the date.  Please sign up to help.  Thank you.  

 

Tinh -  Last week Tinh+ announced his plan to retire.  After letting the Vestry know of Bishop Shannon's blessing on his plan, Tinh+ sent a letter to the congregation.  Bishop Gulick and Lindsay Ryland, the Transition Ministry Director of the Diocese of Virginia, will  come to meet with the our vestry, and the search process will soon begin.  The service of Sunday, June 29, 2014 will conclude Tinh's twenty-two years of ministry at Saint Patrick's.  In his letter, Tinh said of the years as "the best part of my life."  

 

Coffee cup - On every Sunday we need volunteers to serve for our coffee hour.  Please sign up to help! The sign-up sheet is in the kitchen. Everyone is invited to stay after church for a time to visit with our friends and catch up on what has been going on in each others' lives.  

 

- Westlawn Angels' Tree 2013.  -   This year, Saint Patrick's delivered Christmas gifts to fourteen needy families of Westlawn Elementary School.  The total value of the gifts is over $900.00. Many thanks to the members of our church for their generosity, and to Winnie Lebo and other volunteers for making this happen.  

 

Christmas Eve.  On Christmas Eve there will be a Christmas Pageant at 6:45 PM, Christmas Prelude Music at 7:15 PM, and Holy Eucharist at 7:30 PM.  Please come worship with us, and please invite your family and friends.   

      Rehearsals and events are scheduled as follows:

4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.   Brass and organ practice in the sanctuary
5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.   Bell choir practice in the sanctuary  
5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.   Children get dressed in the lounge (or chapel or nursery)
5:30 p.m. to 6:10 p.m.   Pageant dress rehearsal in the sanctuary
6:10 p.m. to 6:40 p.m.   Adult Choir practice in the sanctuary
6:10 p.m. to 6:40 p.m.  Children eat snack (dinner)
6:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.   Children's Pageant
7:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.   Prelude music
7:30 p.m.               Christmas Eve service starts
    It would be great if some of us volunteer to provide dinner food for the children.

Katie Grosse -  A memorial service for our Katie Grosse, 103, will be held at Saint Patrick's on Saturday, December 28th, at 11 AM.  Your prayers and presence are requested.  There will be a reception following the service.  Please bring food if you can.  

 

- Prayer Requests.  Please pray for our Alice Blumer, who is recuperating after surgery, and for Hannah Fiscenne, friend of Erin Dubas, who will undergo major surgery on December 23rd. 

 

The Propers 

Sunday, December 22, 2013
This Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Advent  

Texts: 

Isaiah 7:10-16
Psalm 80:1-7,16-18
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25

 

Collect:   

 

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Last Sunday's Sermon    

Advent 3 -- Year A -- December 15, 2013

Text:  Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146:4-9; James 5:7-10;  Matthew 11:2-11

 

-----------------------

 

In the Name of God:  The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

------------------------

Today we lit the third candle of Advent --

the Candle of Joy.

As we wait for the Second Coming of our Lord,

we remind ourselves of the promise he gave --

in Him we will find the true and everlasting joy.

The prophet Isaiah says, "Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain joy and gladness,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

-----------------------

Joy?

That word is nice to the ear.

Yet to many people

December is the saddest time of the year.

The joyful songs of Christmas

and the festivities around them

can worsen their pains and sorrows.

---------------------

Isaiah 35 was spoken to a people in exile.

The words of Isaiah,

speaking of the promise of joy,

could have been nonsense to those who heard him in those days.

It was in the 6th century before Christ.

They were like those languishing in the labor camps

in Vietnam or North Korea.

They were like those with tattered clothing,  

hungry, tired and frightened,

under the hands of the brutal enemies.

Joy?

Nonsense!

--------------------

What spoken in church can be nonsense to today's many people.

The more advanced we are in technology,

the more withdrawn we find ourselves.

Recently I found myself more comfortable with sending text messages than with making phone calls.

Young people of our time don't think much about coming to

worship or being part of a community of faith.

Loneliness and boredom are serious problems of our time.

You've just got a new video game for your birthday.

You tried to beat the enemies in the game,  

enjoying the shootings and destroying you do on the screen.

Joy seems overwhelming in there, between you and your thumbs on the buttons.

It's the joy of winning that you crave. 

But that kind of joy subsides in no time.

You then look for a new game to excite you.

------------------ 

What about the person who came along to walk beside you,

trying to claim the center of your heart?

What a joy!   

All in a sudden, things once dead became alive again. 

This must be the one who would take your loneliness away.

But soon it became apparent that it was not really so.

You might have become even lonelier than not having the person around.

Joy?

Can there be joy on earth?

-----------------

Isaiah the prophet must have been of age when he wrote for the Jews in exile. 

Isaiah was among those who suffered.

They were taken away from their homeland.

Their army was destroyed,

The Babylonians slaughtered his son before his eyes,  

put out the eyes of him, bound him in fetters and took him to Babylon (2 Kings 25).

The same atrocity was done to many of the Jews of Isaiah's time, not only to King Zedekiah.   

Would the Jews in exile listen to Isaiah's message?

-------------- 

Isaiah was a man of vision.

Isaiah knew in his heart that God was watching. 

The people in exile could not see and could not believe, 

but Isaiah saw the Lord's coming.  

---------------

When the LORD comes, said Isaiah, 

things will be transformed.

Even nature transforms when He comes.

"The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,

the desert shall rejoice and blossom..." 

The Lord will redeem His people from exile,

and will bring them home to Zion.

The weak will receive strength,

the fearful courage,

and the feeble firmness.

Isaiah said that there would be signs

of the Lord's coming,

and one must be attentive to the signs.

---------------

This morning we read from the Gospel of Matthew

the question John the Baptist had for Jesus.

From prison, John asked,

"Are you the one who is to come,

or are we to wait for another?"

Jesus answered saying,

"Have you not seen the signs?"

- The lame walk,

- The blind receive their sight,

- The dead are raised

-  The poor have good news brought to them.

"Have you not seen the signs"?

-------------------------

Sometimes we choose despair

and think that our lives are all hopeless.

That is a terrible choice!

Holding on to hopeless thoughts is definitively wrong.

Perhaps we have had negative thoughts about our lives,

relationships, or even about the viability of our church? 

-----------------------

We don't want to miss the signs of God's presence. 

Those signs are all around us, great and small --  

the Angel Tree gifts to the needy Westlawn children,

the thank you note of a homeless man on our guest book for the hypothermia shelter,  

the pictures of the free dental clinic,

the food making at the Bailey's Crossroads Shelter,

the pets that live quietly in our homes,

children who run about,

the hands that prepare food for the dinner table,

the light of morning at the moment we wake up from sleep and find ourselves alive... 

There are so many things that we can be thankful for.

There are so many things that the Lord has given to bring joy to us.  

Knowing that we are not alone is a great joy. 

---------------------

We are like the people who heard Isaiah sing.

We are like John the Baptist asking Jesus from the prison.

All we have to do is to listen.

All we have to do is to pray that God open our eyes,

so that we may see.

---------------------

Our Lord Jesus is coming to us.

The One who embraced suffering and death

did not die for ever.  

He is coming to liberate us,

to save us from sin

and lead us on the journey through the wilderness

toward our real home.

When He comes, he want transformation to happen.

When He comes, he claims the center of our hearts as his own.

The real joy he offers does not come without demands.  

And the other thing is that He can do nothing about the choices we make. 

------------------- 

"By virtue of Christ's cross

joy has come to the whole world." (BCP, page 281)

 

Amen. 

 

 

Đại Ý Kinh Văn Chúa Nhật Vừa Qua

 

 

Hôm nay chúng ta thắp ngọn Nến Trông Đợi thứ ba - Ngọn Nến Vui Mừng.  Khi Chúa đến thì Ngài mang cho chúng ta sự vui mừng.   Đoạn Kinh Văn Êsai mà chúng ta đọc hôm nay là một bài thơ diễn tả sự vui mừng khi  Chúa đến.  Tác giả hát rằng: "Hãy mạnh lên! Đừng sợ! Vì Chúa sẽ đến và giải cứu ngươi.  Kẻ mù sẽ được sáng mắt, người điếc sẽ nghe được, và kẻ què sẽ đi được. Vì nước sẽ phun ra từ hoang địa, hoa trổ nơi sa mạc."  Êsai là một tiên tri ở Giêrusalem trong thời kỳ thành nầy bị quân Asiri vây trường kỳ.  Bài ca nầy không phải chỉ là một bài ca của người Do Thái, mà là lời hứa của Chúa cho chúng ta.  Đó là lời hứa về sự vui mừng trong khi chúng ta sống giữa cõi đời đầy đau khổ.

        Tác giả Thi Thiên 126 nói, "Khi Chúa dẫn tù nhân Xi-ôn trở về, ta tưởng mình như giữa giấc mơ... Ai nghẹn ngào ra đi gieo giống, mùa gặt mai sau khấp khởi vui mừng."  Xi-ôn là tên ngọn đồi cao mà người ta xây thành Giêrusalem.  Chữ "Giêrusalem" có nghĩa là "thành phố hòa bình."  Tác giả Thi Thiên mơ một ngày người Do Thái, bị bắt làm phu tù qua xứ Babylon (Iraq), được thả về lại quê hương.  Tù nhân được giải phóng không thể tin rằng mình được tự do, mà tưởng như trong giấc mơ.

      Trong Phúc Âm Mathiơ, ông Giăng sai các môn đệ tìm gặp Đức Giêsu và hỏi có phải Ngài là đấng cứu thế hay họ vẫn còn phải trông đợi?  Chúa bảo họ về báo lại cho Giăng những gì mắt thấy tai nghe:  kẻ què được đi, người điếc nghe được và kẻ câm nói được.  Rõ ràng là Thiên Chúa đã đến ở với con người.

        Ông Gia Cơ, trong đoạn Kinh Thánh thứ nhì chúng ta đọc hôm nay, khuyên chúng ta kiên nhẫn trong sự trông đợi.  Thời điểm Chúa đến không ai biết được.  Nhưng chính vì Đấng Cứu Thế đã ở ngay bên mà mọi người phải chuẩn bị đón Ngài. 

        Đây là lúc chúng ta nhắc nhau về sự chuẩn bị sẵn sàng gặp Chúa.  Chúng ta chuẩn bị như thế nào?  Có những khi chúng ta nghe tiếng nói của Chúa Thánh Thần, song không muốn lắng nghe và làm theo.  Ít khi chúng ta dám nghĩ về sự ngắn ngủi của cuộc đời và sự bất ngờ của cái chết.  Nhưng khi chúng ta suy nghĩ về những điều nầy, thì sự suy nghĩ ấy có thể là một khởi điểm cho một tiến trình hoán cải, vì không ai muốn qua đời thiếu chuẩn bị.  Đây không phải chỉ là sự sắp xếp về tiền của để lại cho con cháu, hay là nghi thức tang lễ phải ra sao.  Quan trọng nhất là chuẩn bị tâm linh:  giải quyết tất cả các nỗi giận hờn, và nếu được thì làm thế nào khi ta chết đi thì không ai phải ân hận.  Khi đã sẵn sàng thì tâm hồn thanh thản.  Càng được thanh thản sớm bao nhiêu thì cuộc đời lại an lạc hơn bấy nhiêu, và do đó mới hiểu sự vui mừng của Chúa.

May God bless and keep you, and may God grant us peace. 

 

The Rev. Tinh T. Huynh

Rector of Saint Patrick's Church