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In This Issue
Photos
Parish Notes
The Propers
Last Sunday's Sermon

Upcoming Events

 

Saturday, Sept. 13:     Clean-up Day 

 

Sunday, Sept. 14:

Bell Choir starts

 

Saturday, Sept. 27:     Feed the Homeless, 9:30 AM

 

Sunday, Sept. 28:        Odeon Concert, 4:00 PM

 

Altar at Easter 2013

       

Birthdays

September 

1   Felix Spinelli

1  MyChi Haan

4   Laura Kennedy

8   Lucille Selby

8   Nghia Dao

10   Rachel Burgess

11   Oanh Phan

13   Debbie Clark

13   Doan Huynh Tucker

13   Michael Knowles

14   Thanh Nguyen

18   Pauline Leonard

23   Hannah Knowles

24   Deani Coker

24  Margot Deanna Miller

28   William Houston

29   Justice Lebo

30   Michael Spinelli

 

 

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, Iona Kiger, 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, Valerie Parkhouse, 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

 

supported by

 

The Rev. Marian Humphrey, interim rector

 

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, 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; Flea Market:
Prison Ministry: Nancy Burch;
Meals-on-Wheels: Sunrise/Bluemont:
Michael Knowles   

 

 

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September 11. 2014
Photos

Altar flowers arranged by Ann Nelson

Nancy Burch and The Rev. Noreen Seiler-Dubay

Irene Graham and Cindy Downing

Bob Cascella training Domenic Bourgeois to be a counter
Parish Notes
- The flowers for Sunday September 14th are given by Oanh Phan in memory of her father, Kha Hoa, and her brothers Kha Kim Hao and Kha Kim Phat.

- We extend a warm welcome to The Reverend Marian Humphrey, our new Interim Rector.
     The Vestry of St. Patrick's and with Bishop Shannon Johnson's blessing; we are pleased to announce that we have called the Reverend Marian T. Humphrey as our new Interim Rector.

     Marian comes to us from the Washington Diocese. She served as Assistant Priest at St. John's Episcopal Church, Broad Creek in Fort Washington Maryland for two years.

     Humphrey has previous Interim experience having assisted at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Burke two years ago. Most recently, Rev. Humphrey has been serving as a Supply Priest in both the Washington and Virginia Episcopal Dioceses.

     Prior to her ordination as a priest, Reverend Marian has worked as a licensed clinical social worker helping severely injured service members and their families.  


- The Search Committee had its first meeting with the director of Transition Ministry. Liz Nguyen is the Chairperson. Other members of the committee are Tuyet Mai, Nyonkon Mason, Milton Thomas, Lois Cascella, Joe Hiller, and Michael Knowles.
Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they begin this important work.

- Kim-Anh and I thank you all for your generous gifts on occasion of my retirement. The service of June 29th will be indelible in my mind. The beautiful picture book and the quilt are among our most cherished things. We would like to thank the vestry for allowing us to stay in the rectory while we made our new home in New Jersey ready for occupation. We have finally moved to Columbus, New Jersey. We left on Tuesday, September 2nd. Many thanks to all of you who helped us load the U-haul truck on Monday, and especially to Chris and Amelia Nicholson and Park Hoovler who accompanied and assisted us on the way, with Chris driving the truck. I miss you all, and I am thankful that the Rev. Marian Humphrey is coming as Interim Rector of Saint Patrick's, and I join you in praying for Saint Patrick's in the search process. May God bless you all. Tinh+

- Clean-up Day is scheduled for Saturday September 13 from 9 am to 2 pm. Please bring gardening gloves.

 

- Call for "Lay Weeders"
Sat, Sept 13 9am -
The pollinator garden would like to be refreshed for the winter.  Let's bless God with our actions, as we use our arms to pull weeds, and add mulch in the pollinator garden, so that the plants can be fortified for the winter. We might even scope out our next area to garden!
Please bring gloves and small gardening tools.
   

 

- Bell Choir starts practice this Sunday at 9:15 am. All are welcome to come ring bells. No experience is necessary. Mariko will gladly teach anyone who wishes to participate. 

 

The Propers 

Sunday, September 14, 2014
This Sunday is the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Texts: 

Genesis 50:15-21

Collect: 
O God, because without you we are not able to please you mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

 

 

Last Sunday's Sermon

Given by The Rev. Noreen Seiler-Dubay 

September 7, 2014

 

Let us listen to the Word of God spoken in the Scriptures for today. In the Gospel, Jesus outlines for us a way to deal with interpersonal conflict in the church. Now some of us believe that the church should never be a place for conflict. But since we are human, there are conflicts within the church, just as in the rest of the world. Wouldn't it be great if we could take interpersonal hostility out of life? Wouldn't it be great if we could live in peace and harmony with all people? Well, Jesus tried to help us out with this. "If another member of the church sins against you," said Jesus, "go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if that person will not listen to you, take one or two others with you, so that every case may be settled on the evidence of two or three witnesses."

 

Notice that in Jesus' teaching, conflicts are dealt with directly, face to face. They do not involve going out into the parking lot, or gathering in a corner of coffee hour to complain about the person who has wronged you and to try to gather support for yourself. Moreover, it is the person who is offended or sinned against who takes the first step. Jesus is saying to us that being right sometimes is not as important as maintaining communication.

 

I believe that Jesus' advice about how to handle conflict in the church applies to our families and other close friendships as well. Those of us who are married or who are parents know that this is the case. Sometimes we have fights with our spouse or one of our children. We think that we are right and sometimes we just avoid the person with whom we're fighting. Eventually, if we value that relationship, someone has to make the first move toward reconciliation. It takes a big person to take the first step in seeking reconciliation in a relationship, rather than seeking to prove that one is right.

 

Jackie Joyner-Kersee, one of the world's best female athletes, who holds the world record in the heptahlon, and is a three-time Olympic gold medallist, and her husband, Bobby, have a unique solution for discussing problems. Off the side of their house is an office which they've designated the "Mad Room." Whenever they have a serious disagreement, Bobby and Jackie go to the "Mad Room" to discuss it. Neither is allowed to leave that room until the matter is settled.

 

Jesus is saying that the responsibility for resolving any conflict and rebuilding any relationship resides with us. No matter who is at fault, it is always our responsibility to take the initiative in rebuilding a relationship. If you are like me, this is not easy. I don't want to take the responsibility. It feels too risky to seek someone out who has already hurt me in order to rebuild the relationship again. Wouldn't that just leave me open to being hurt a second time?

 

The French philosopher Sartre once said Hell is other people. I don't think he was right. I believe that Hell is spending your life-and maybe eternity-waiting for someone else to make the first move. It is no accident that the Gospel writer Matthew edited his Gospel in such a way that these instructions were located immediately after the parable of the shepherd who leaves 99 sheep in order to go searching for the one who is lost. Love always calls us to be the shepherd, to be the one who goes looking for the brother or sister who is lost to us either because we hurt that person or that person hurt us.

             

 And that brings us to the last thing we need to see: Sometimes there is an urgency to being reconciled. There is an urgency because if we treat each other badly, it can have a life time impact. In a little church in a small village, an altar boy serving the priest at Sunday Mass accidentally dropped the cruet of wine. The village priest struck the altar boy sharply on the cheek and in a gruff voice shouted, "Leave the altar and don't come back." The boy became Tito, the Communist leader of Yugoslavia, a complete and total atheist. In the cathedral of a large city in another place another altar boy serving the bishop at Mass also accidentally dropped the cruet of wine. With a warm twinkle in his eyes, the bishop gently whispered, "Someday you will be a priest." That young boy grew up and became Archbishop Fulton Sheen. As those of you who came from New York or other states in that region know, Fulton Sheen was a well known speaker, radio personality, and very much beloved Bishop of New York City for many years.

             

In a church that I served, one priest treated the acolytes poorly. A family with five children always tended to run late, even when their teens were serving as acolytes. One Sunday, they showed up just as the Opening Procession was to start. Some of the acolytes came to the Altar area from the Vesting Room, which was behind the Altar. When the priest got up to the Altar, she whispered to the acolytes that they should leave the altar, take off their vestments and to be seated with their father. That family was so embarrassed and hurt that they stopped going to the church. Moreover, two other individuals who were shocked by the priest's insensitivity left the church as well. In time, after I became Rector, the family returned to that church. The teens went through a Confirmation class that I led. But they never would agree to serve as acolytes again. And the other two individuals never returned to that church either. Our actions and insistence on being right can destroy relationships and have a greater destructive impact than we ever intended.

 

The other reason there is an urgency to be reconciled to those who have done us wrong is because there's a danger in procrastination. We think we have all the time in the world to be reconciled, but we just might not. This is addressed in our Epistle-Paul's Letter to the Romans. "Remember the debt of love you owe one another. Those who love their neighbor have met every requirement of the law...Always remember that this is the hour of crisis...It is far on in the night; day is near. Let us behave with decency as befits the day...Give your unspiritual nature no opportunity to satisfy its desire." We may not have unlimited time to be reconciled to people with whom we've had conflicts. I am particularly aware of this because this coming week, we will be remembering the events of 9/11. As you may recall, it was reported that many of the people on the planes, when they realized what was happening, called their relatives and said something like "I just wanted to let you know how much I love you."

 

I also am aware of this because my mother came down with breast cancer for the second time about sixteen years ago this month. Shortly after she had her operation in 1998, I decided to end each phone conversation I had with her by saying "I love you Mom." At first she was sort of surprised-after all she and I have had many ups and downs in our relationship when I was growing up and all the way through my twenties. But she immediately began to say "I love you too." Although my mother lived 8 ½ years more, much longer than expected, I am still glad I put aside any lingering bad feelings and told her I loved her. Interestingly enough, as she was dying in a hospice and my brothers and sister and I were gathered around her bed, she not only told us each something personal, she also said, "You know, if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't always have to be right." She wanted us to know and remember that it was the love, the relationship that was important, not always having the last word.

 

So my message to all of you is this: When it comes to conflict, Don't wait to do the things you know need to be done. Take the time to do what you need to do and do it now. That's the advice Jesus would give us. Sometimes people hurt us, whether intentionally or without meaning to. But sometimes who is in the right and who is in the wrong is not as important as reconciling and re-establishing communication is. Sometimes that means we have to take the first step-and to have the courage to do so face to face with the person with whom we're in conflict. And the best time seek reconciliation is today! AMEN.

 

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

Please pray for Saint Patrick's throughout the process of transition 

 

Saint Patrick's Episcopal Church

Falls Church, Virginia