Upcoming Events

Saturday, August 2:

Birthdays

July

 5    Hannah Burris

 9    Lillian Berg

11    Timothy Dang

13   Tom Wetrich

13   Louis Spinelli

13   Tina VanPhung

14   Mickie Frizell

17   Tuyet Diep

19   Jonathan Huynh

20   Frankie Haan

22   Diem Nguyen

24   Matthew Mills

26   Christian Benjamin

27   My Linh Tran

31   Stephen Gawarecki

August

 2   Mark Mills

2   Jim Ellis

2   Grace Payne

2   Olamide Thomas

8   Bich-Thuy Diep

9   Victoria Kennedy

11   Jonathan Burgess

15   Heather Stefl

15   Christofer Johnson-Harbers

16   Dang Pham

23   Carrie McCall  

24   Frank Harbers

Our Prayer List

We remember in our prayer:

Cathy Anderson, Dee Bailey, Kari Boeskov, Brandon, Rachel Burgess, Jane Chapman, Marie Cosimano, Tim Clary, Dorothy Connelly, John Davis, Michael Dickinson, Loretta Dougherty, Steve Escobar, Nance Finegan, Luis Garay, Carolyn Gawarecki, Louise Gibney, Jean Graham, Katherine Hafele, Margaret Ellis Harris, Alek Hensley, Leslie Hogan, Cindy Hogman, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Michael Horn,  Lindsay Johns, Gray Johnson, Jamie Kaplon, Laura Kennedy, Quinn Kimball, Alice King, Michael Knowles, Ashley Kolitz, Peter Kosutic, Susan Lawrence, Thai Lee, Bruce Lineker, Evelyn Morgan, Danielle Morgan, Que Nguyen, Chick Nixon, Mary Esther Obremskey, Tom Olander, Olive Oliver, Jim Owens, Gary Owens, Cathy Riley-Hall, William Ross, Fern Shuck, Irene Skowron, Josh Smithers, Inez Stanton, Candi Stewart, Patrick Stefl, Barbara Stefl, Kara Stryker, Walter Sushko, George Thomas, Elizabeth Trigg, Tammy Vanphung, Michael Weekes, Warren Weinstein, The Crowley Family, The Westfall Family, Meredith Wiech, Bernard Williams, Rev. Letha Wilson-Barnard, Rudy Zimpel.

               ____ 

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 Winnie Lebo at

thelebos@verizon.net  or call her at 703-536-2075.  Also, should a name need be removed from the list, please let Winnie know promptly, and give the reason.  

Saint Patrick's Ministers 

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

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.

St. Patrick's Organized for Missions and Ministry 

SAINT PATRICK'S ORGANIZED

FOR MISSIONS AND MINISTRY

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

GROUPS AND ACTIVITIES

The Propers 

Given by The Rev. Ann Truitt 

July 27, 2014

            The kingdom of heaven is like.....! It is an intriguing thought to ponder. What is heaven like? What is eternity like? These are questions we will never be able to answer until we get there. In our Gospel passage this morning, though, we hear Jesus giving us five analogies of what the kingdom of heaven is like so we can better understand. Jesus compares heaven to yeast that was mixed with flour until it was leavened; a tiny seed that grows into a mighty tree; a treasure hidden in a field; a pearl of great value; and a net full of fish that the fisherman must separate into the good and the bad. Jesus gives us insight into the qualities of heaven, but we are still left with questions to wonder about.

            I believe for Christians the concept of heaven is something we are so familiar with and something that is so integral to our faith that we may not always stop to reflect on what we really believe about heaven. Scriptures give us many hints, not only these in today's parables, but also throughout the Bible. In Hebrew, the ancient word was samayim, or God's dwelling place. It was understood to represent a new order for the world. In the New Testament, heaven often refers to God's reign and the second coming of Jesus Christ. Referring to The Book of Revelation and other New Testament ideas, Erdman's Dictionary of the Bible describes heaven after the eschaton (the end of days) this way: "A new heaven and a new earth emerge: eternal, pure, and free from God's wrath. Heaven, the dwelling place of God and Jesus, before and after his earthly journey, resurrection, and exaltation, produces voices, angels, the Messiah, and souls. Theologically, heaven is God's realm." Further, "Heaven is the abode of God and of God's angels, the just, and the holy. It is the real home of Christians on earth, the treasures of the faithful, and arena of salvation - the ultimate home of Christ's disciples." Erdman's concludes with the following observation: "Heaven is both now and in process, not yet. Heaven embodies the vision of eternal life with God steeped in mutuality, mercy, and justice that accords a transcendent freedom, an eschatological love, and liberating salvation of humanity."

            I find one of the most intriguing aspects about heaven to be the ancient concept of it being "now and not yet." We get glimpses of heaven each time we come to the table to take communion, for there we receive a taste of the heavenly banquet. We see glimpses of heaven in other times in our life as well. From time to time in our lives we may encounter places where heaven seems very close....those are known as "thin" places, and are considered theologically to be places where the distance between earth and heaven is very narrow.

            My own understanding of heaven was formed very recently, actually. In seminary of course I studied the many tomes of theological thought and scriptural analysis of what heaven is, what it means theologically, and what it means for our lives here on earth. But I gained great and shocking clarity into what I believe about heaven this year, on the night of May 28th. You see, that was the day that my beloved mother died unexpectedly. Mom was 92 years old, and she and my dad had been married for 69 years. Her death came quickly and unexpectedly early on the morning of May 28th.

            My mother was a pianist, with a college degree in the instrument and graduate studies in piano and pipe organ. For decades Mom taught hundreds of children to play the piano, and to have a love for classical music. Mom was a gifted musician. But sadly, in the last months of her life, the eye condition macular degeneration had robbed her of her sight to the point that she could no longer see to read her music, and therefore she could no longer play. Not a day went by that Mom wouldn't remark how very, very much she missed playing the piano.

            Well, the day she died I was driving home that night after a very long, shocking, and emotionally wrenching day when a thought occurred to me. I realized with crystal clarity something that made me smile. I realized that my Mom was heaven, once again playing her beloved piano.

            I believe each of us comes to have our own understanding of what heaven is like. Jesus shared with us in his parables images that help us formulate an understanding: yeast that leavens bread, a mighty tree providing shelter, a beautiful pearl, a treasure that has been buried in a field. But whatever our personal understanding of heaven, the most important thing to know is that heaven is a place of God's love for us. Heaven is a place of love that "surpasses human understanding", and a place where we will live life eternal in peace and glory. When Jesus died on the cross for us, he overcame the bounds of death and opened the doors of heaven for us, and because of that, our lives here in this life on earth changed as well.

            Because of Jesus' sacrifice for us, we are called upon as Christians to live our lives on this earth as fitting for people who will live an eternal life in heaven. We are called to love each other, to care for the sick and poor, to build up our communities and welcome strangers into them. Yes, we won't know what heaven is really like until we are there...but by following the teachings of Jesus, we know how to come as close to possible in this life to living in heaven on earth. Someday, the mystery of heaven will be revealed to us. Until then, we walk in love, and give great thanks for God's unfathomable love for us.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior,

Amen