-  On Saturday, June 7th, we will provide lunch for 50-75 people at Bailey's Crossroads Homeless Shelter.  Would you like to participate in this wonderful ministry before going on your summer vacation?  Food will be prepared and served at the shelter.  All are welcome to join us -- men, women, and youth. We would like to know the number of volunteers as soon as possible, so please speak with Elisabeth Nguyễn or email her at elisabethnguyen@gmail.com.

- The Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston, Bishop of Virginia, will visit Saint Patrick's on Sunday, June 8th (Day of Pentecost).  The service for that day will be held at 2:00 PM, and there will be a potluck to honor the Bishop and celebrate with those baptized and confirmed.  Please mark your calendar and attend the service.  Please note that on Sunday, June 8th we will not worship in the morning. Please bring food!

- The Falls Church Community Service Council (FCS) will once again be sponsoring its local CROP Walk and hopes to have all 19 of its FCS-member congregations participate. The CROP Walk helps people in the U.S. and around the world with hunger relief efforts and it also helped raising over $3000 for our FCS Food ministry, which works to deliver groceries to Falls Church area residents all year-round.
            A preliminary planning meeting will be held on Thursday, May 29 at 7 pm, at Knox Presbyterian Church (located at 7416 Arlington Blvd). Tentative date for the CROP Walk is Sunday, October 26, 2014 at about 2 pm.

- Calling All Graduates

Is there a graduate in the family?  If so, please phone or email the parish office as soon as possible and no later than Wednesday, May 28, with the name and school (and degree, if applicable).  We want to recognize and remember in prayer on Sunday, June 1, all members of the parish who are graduating from either high school or college.  Church office phone number is 703-532-5656.  Tinh+'s email address is:  stpats3241@gmail.com

  Tinh+ and Thai Lee at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, last Thursday, May 15th.  Thanks to the many prayers he got from St. Patrick's, and from his loved ones and friends at Holy Apostles Episcopal Church in St. Paul, MN, Thai has been discharged from the hospital after several months of treatments and surgeries following a mine explosion in Afghanistan that wounded him. Thai is grateful for your prayers, especially for the prayer quilt that St. Pat's sent to him.   Holy Apostles is an Anglo-Hmong Episcopal congregation and is led by the Rev. Letha Wilson-Barnard.  Holy Apostles is also Rev. Toua Vang's home church.  Both Letha+ and Toua+ were at Saint Patrick's for field education when they were seminarians at VTS. 

Shrine Mont

PYM 8th Grade Weekend.  

May 16-18, 2014

Dear Father Tinh,

I just came back from my second trip to Shrine Mont, and I really enjoyed it. The youth leader and ministers and the PYMers were very nice and funny. I met some of my old friends I made two years ago when I attended the 6th and 7th grade weekend, and I got to meet new people and make new friends.

       There were a lot of activities planned for the weekend. One of our activities included praying as a group. This was very spiritual because we all joined in praising our God and our Father, Jesus Christ.   

       Another activity we did was smugglers and spies. This activity joined with our

prayer for our week-end because the game 'smugglers and spies' is all about perseverance. If you didn't make it to the safe zone, you just went back to your side and tried to do something different to succeed.  It was very fun, and also very much applied to the Word of God.   

       Another activity we did was the walk to the Labyrinth. This was probably my favorite activity on my trip because of the powerful feeling I got from it. As I walked the Labyrinth, it was like having a discussion with God himself.  When I reached the middle, a ray of light hit my forehead and I felt radiant. After enjoying this experience, I headed back. When I reached the exit, it was as if I had received a cold shower. I began to shiver. In that instance, to me, Jesus had forgiven all of my sins, and heard my prayers.  I felt like shouting out, and jumping up and down and rejoicing, but the other kids were still enjoying their experience in the Labyrinth, so I restrained myself to praying on the bench.   

       Shortly after the last person walked out of the Labyrinth, we hiked to the Cross. What was so cool about the trip to the Cross was that, every few steps on the way leading up to the Cross at the top of the Mountain, there were pictures representing the different stations of the cross - verses of scripture and pictures of Christ's Crucifixion. It was truly a remarkably touching moment.         

       When I reached the top, I was truly amazed at the remarkable view. I especially liked when the tree line met the sky line. We later spent some time at the Cathedral Shrine of the Transfiguration. We were supposed to have a church service there on Sunday morning, but for some reason, this did not happen. I was so looking forward to this.

       Later that Saturday night, we had a trash bag dance, which was just to enjoy each other's company. We had the opportunity to make our own costumes with trash bags, and I was dressed up as Moses.  We danced for almost two hours, and I literally had to peel the trash bags off! The

dance was very fun.  On the last day, Sunday, we sang songs that we had learned earlier in the weekend, had our Church Service in the Virginia House before we were dismissed. It was a bitter sweet moment when w  e had to say our goodbyes to our friends, old and new.

       Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to enjoy this experience with others in my grade level from different churches.  I would urge anyone questioning their decision to go to attend this wonderful program to just GO!!! It was such a wonderful experience and I would do this all over again in a heartbeat.

        From,

        Alexander Benjamin.

Alex is on left, in red "Boston" sweatshirt 

Texts: 

Acts 17:22-31

Psalm 66:8-20

1 Peter 3:13-22

5 Easter  - May 22, 2014

Text:  

John 14:1-14

Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16  

1 Peter 2:1-10  

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

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

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

Today is a special Sunday at our church.

We have chosen May 18th to celebrate our partnership

with Westlawn Elementary School

in helping the needy children of our neighborhood.

Helping the poor is one of the calls of the church.

We thank God for the opportunity to respond to the needs

of the less fortunate in our community.

We give thanks for the care and thoughtfulness of the educators of Westlawn Elementary School.   

We give thanks for the generosity we witness in our community that speaks to God's presence and love. 

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

Several years ago,

a woman came to Saint Patrick's looking for the priest.

I asked her what I could do for her. 

She said she hoped that I could help her with the bills. 

She apologized for disturbing me,

and she said she was embarrassed to ask for assistance.

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

I gave her a gift card to buy food.  

She said thank you,

and she said again

that she was embarrassed to ask.

I told her that she was all right. 

She asked me to pray for her. 

I did, and then she left. 

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

I felt sad as I saw her walking away. 

I feel bad

when someone says that he or she is embarrassed

about asking for help.

 -------------------

The author of Psalm 31,

which we read today,

says in his prayer:

"In you, O Lord, I seek refuge;

do not let me ever be put to shame."

---------------- 

Shame is what the heart is most fearful about.

Shame is when you feel bad about who you are,

when you measure yourself against certain standard

and see that you are unacceptable. 

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

Many of us suffer deep inside with things that bother us.

Spiritually speaking, we may at times feel we are homeless.

We then seek shelter in the things of this world.

We are after success.

We compete and we fight. 

We must win victories and honors. 

Those things seem able to allay our fear and anxiety. 

But oftentimes even people of success and power get entangled in shame.  ////

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

This morning, before we read the gospel,

we sang hymn 603.

The lyric read:

"When Christ was lifted from the earth,

his arm stretched out above

through every culture,

every birth,

to draw an answering love. ///

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

Still east and west his love extends

and always,

near or far,

he calls and claims us

as his friends

and loves us as we are."

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

The words of the song are about us.

We are of different cultures.

We came from the east and the west.

The words of the song are about Christ.

Christ died on the cross for us --

not only for people who are exactly like us.

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

"Where generation,

class,

or race

divide us to our shame,"

the lyric continues. 

"He sees not labels

but a face,

a person,

and a name.

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

In the Gospel of John that we read this morning,

Jesus says: "Do not let your hearts be trouble. 

Believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father's house there are many dwelling places."

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

Perhaps the disciples of Jesus were worrying

about what would become of them

as Jesus spoke about his death.

Yet they might not have known and understood fully

about the Word made flesh.

The Father was in Him, and He was in the Father.

God was right there with them. 

The promise to them was that they

would die and rise in Christ.

Jesus would be going ahead of them

and they would follow Him.

Jesus would be going across the chasm

between life temporal

and life eternal,

and so will they.

Not only that,

Jesus would also be preparing for them a place in the Father's home.

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

Listen, stop worrying!

There is a space for you in the Father's house.

Isn't that wonderful?

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

"Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame."

God has called us out of darkness

into his marvelous light.

The thought of belonging to God can give comfort to our soul.

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

Jesus said, "In my Father's house there is many dwelling places."

God has called us God's people.

We have received mercy.

================

Should we stop at the notion  

of the dwelling place in the heart of God,

which has been promised to us?

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

The dwelling place in the heart of God

 is the place we can enter as we pray. 

We can find ourselves secured in it. 

That is the place we want to be in when we face

the challenges of life.

That is the place we seek when we cannot stand the unbearable loneliness and brokenness.

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

Yet this promise of the dwelling place

does not come without challenge.

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

Are we followers of Christ willing to allow  

people around us dwelling places?

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

There is a word that may express the idea well.

That word is "hospitality."

Hospitality, in this sense,

is to allow the neighbor a space in your heart --

a spouse,

friend,

co-worker,

or persons whom we interact with in our daily lives.

Would I be willing to listen attentively to what the person has to say?

Would I be brave enough to apologize to someone I have hurt?

Can I accept people and love them the way they are?

Can we endure the pain,  

just to allow the person a space in our heart? 

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

The words of Hymn 603, which we sang this morning,

echoes very well the idea:

"Thus freely loved,

though fully known

[as with many faults],

may I in Christ be free

to welcome and accept

[the people whom Christ embraces as] his own,

just as Christ has accepted me.

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

In the Name of God:

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Chúa Nhật thứ Năm của Mùa Phục sinh  

18 tháng 5, 2014

Kinh Văn:   

Thi Thiên 31:1-5, 15-16

1 Phê-rơ 2:1-10 

            Trong bài đọc Phúc Âm hôm nay, Đức Giêsu trò chuyện cùng các môn đệ, và Ngài nói trước rằng Ngài sẽ rời khỏi họ, và mục đích là để sắm sẵn cho họ một chỗ, rồi Ngài sẽ trở lại để đưa họ về cùng Ngài, để Ngài ở đâu thì họ cu~ng ở đó.

            Đức Giêsu bảo họ: "Thầy đi đâu thì anh em biết đường rồi."  Làm sao họ biết được?  Không lẽ đó là con đường đến chỗ chết?  Chắc là họ không dám nghĩ đến con đường ấy, mà quả thực, Đức Giêsu đã nhiều lần nói trước cho họ, rằng con đường Ngài đi là con đường đau khổ.

            Ông Thô Ma hỏi: Thầy ơi, chúng con không biết thầy đi đâu, thì làm sao nghĩ ra con đường?" Câu trả lời của Đức Giêsu thật là khó hiểu:  Chúa phán, Ta là đường đi, chân lý và sự sống; chẳng bởi ta thì không ai đến cùng Cha được.  Sau đó, Chúa phán, Ta với Cha là một.

            Có phải thật đây chính là lời Đức Giêsu phán; hay là tác giả Phúc Âm viết ra để người đọc hiểu rằng chính Đức Giêsu là đường đi, lẽ thật và sự sống, và chính Ngài là Đức Chúa Trời đến ở giữa loài người?

            Ít nhất, đây chính là niềm tin của những tín hữu đầu tiên, những độc giả nguyên thủy của Phúc Âm Giăng.  Họ là những người các học giả Kinh Thánh gọi tạm là "Cộng Đoàn Giăng," và họ là những con cái Chúa bị bắt bớ và bị loại trừ ra khỏi các nhà hội Do Thái.  Họ là những người Do Thái và ngoại kiều ở Giêrusalem, và họ dùng tiếng Hy Lạp để truyền thông với nhau.  Tiếng Hy Lạp ở vùng Do Thái thời thế kỷ thứ nhất thịnh hành như Anh Ngữ thời nay. 

            Trong hoàn cảnh khó khăn, người tín hữu cần nơi an trú cho tâm hồn.  Nhờ lòng tin, họ được đứng vững. Nhờ biết Đức Giêsu Kitô là Chúa Trời, họ được an tâm.  Biết Đức Kitô là biết Thiên Chúa, và nhờ biết Chúa họ có được hy vọng mà sống trong cõi đời.  Không phải chỉ tin, và c u~ng không phải rập theo khuôn khổ nhà thờ và đạo giáo mà cha mẹ truyền cho, họ kinh nghiệm được sự hiện diện của Chúa qua công việc của Đức Thánh Linh.  Thần của Chúa hành động một cách nhiệm mầu trong đời họ.  Có những lúc nguy khốn mà họ trải qua được và được bình an.  Có những lúc buồn thảm mà họ thấy được yên ủi.  Có những mất mát lớn làm họ điên đảo, nhưng họ không chết mất. Chính những từng trải ấy khiến họ nhận ra rằng Chúa không phải là một ý niệm mà là một

thực tại.  Chúa lúc ấy không còn chỉ có trong Kinh Thánh, trong bài giảng hay trong nghi lễ, mà Chúa đã chiếm cả tâm hồn của họ.  Chúa ở trong họ, và họ ở trong Chúa; c u~ng như Đức Giêsu ở trong Đức Chúa Cha, và Đức Chúa Cha ở trong Ngài.  Họ trở nên một với Chúa.

            Chúng ta thì thế nào?

            Tác giả Thánh Vịnh 31, đoạn Kinh Thánh chúng ta đọc hôm nay, nói rằng Chúa là nơi ẩn náu cho ông.  Chúa là tảng đá, là thành lu~y che chở; trong tay Chúa ông phó thác hồn mình, và số phận ông ở trong tay Chúa.