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Upcoming Events
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Sunday, Nov. 30:
Stewardship Sunday
Sunday, Dec. 7:
Annual Meeting after service
Sunday, Dec. 14:
Worship Ministries Training 12-2 PM
Saturday, Dec. 27:
Feed the Homless
10:30 AM
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Birthdays
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November
1 Bennett Miller
4 Brian Dubas
7 William Herbert
9 Colby Leonard
10 Tom Auld
12 Nhung Dang
18 Nam-Tran Mai
24 Thomas H. Wetrich
25 Kiet Samuel Tran
December
4 Irene Graham
5 Jennifer Moya
6 Jean Pierre Chanu
10 Winnie Lebo
11 Graham Parvinkarimi
14 Lois Cascella
15 Laurie Los
15 Moi Phan
24 Jane Chapman
25 Amelia Nicholson
28 Paul Los
30 Patricia Phan
31 Trang Diep
31 Chon Kim Huynh
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Our Prayer List
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We remember in our prayer:
Cathy Anderson, Dee Bailey, Brandon, Rachel Burgess, Jane Chapman, Marie Cosimano, Tim Clary, Dorothy Connelly, John Davis, Michael Dickinson, Loretta Dougherty, Steve Escobar, Luis Garay Pat Gardner, 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, Jeff King, Michael Knowles, Ashley Kolitz, Peter Kosutic, Susan Lawrence, Thai Lee, Bruce Lineker, Sharon 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, 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.
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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.
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Saint Patrick's Ministers
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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
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The Vision of St. Patrick's
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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.
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| Previous Issues of the Epistle | Please click here if you wish to see the previous issues of The Epistle
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St. Patrick's Organized for Missions and Ministry
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SAINT PATRICK'S ORGANIZED
FOR MISSIONS AND MINISTRY
Vestry Committee:
Senior Warden: Kathy Oliver; Junior Warden: Bill Houston;
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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Photos
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Altar flowers arranged by Phung Nguyen
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Parish Notes
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This Sunday, when you come to church, you will see the Westlawn Angel Tree in the narthex. We have been asked to help sixteen families this year. This includes 28 children and 26 adults. Please choose one or more angels from the tree. We are asking that you purchase just one gift per angel picked. Wrap the present, put a gift tag with the child's name on it on the present and affix the angel from the tree to the package in such a way that it can be removed. We use these angels to match up families. So they are very necessary. If you are unable to shop but would still like to participate, a monetary contribution may be made. Please make checks payable to Saint Patrick's Episcopal Church with "Angel Tree" on the memo line. You can either mail this to church or place it in the alms basin. We ask that all gifts be returned to church by Sunday, December 14. December 19 is the last day of school before the winter break and we need to have the packages to school for distribution before that date. If you wish to have an angel but can't make it to church to pick one, please feel free to contact Winnie Lebo at thelebos@verizon.net or by phone at (703) 536-2075.
- Cookies for Coeds
- Pastoral Search Prayer
Your love for us is unfailing. You surround us with a hedge of spiritual protection against the storms of life keeping us from harm's way. You have blessed this church- a sacred place we love, a diverse and caring community where all are welcome and each is valued. Look graciously upon us during this time of transition.
We ask your guidance as we seek a faithful priest who will: lead us in worship, care for us, celebrate our diversity, help us to know Christ and make him known, and equip us for ministry using the gifts and talents of our congregation to share Christ's love within our community and in the world beyond.
Encourage us in this endeavor. Renew our faith, and inspire us to conceive that which is beyond our experience. Let us be of one mind and heart in Christ.
We pray especially for those who have been called to serve on the search committee: give them clarity of purpose and help them listen carefully to your still, small voice. In all of these things, let us be mindful that it is you who is calling the right person to shepherd your flock at St. Patrick's.
We ask this in the name of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, AMEN
- Thanksgiving Prayer
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. -Colossians 3:14-15
Loving God, we pause today to offer you our gratitude for the many ways You have blessed us. Our lives, our health, our families, our work, and our parish, St,. Patrick's.
Help us to recognize that You are the source of every blessing. Grow in our hearts with the desire to share what we have been given with all those who have so much less. Open our eyes to behold Your face in every person we meet. We ask You this in the Name of Your Son, Jesus, AMEN.
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The Propers
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Sunday, November 30, 2014
Texts:
First Reading: Isaiah 64:1-9
Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18
Second Reading: 1Corinthians 1:3-9
Mark 13:24-37
Collect:
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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Last Sunday's Sermon
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Given by The Rev. Marian Humphrey
November 23, 2014
Today is the New Year's Eve of the Liturgical Year in the Church. This Sunday the Gospel of Matthew Year A concludes and the Gospel of Mark Year B begins next Sunday. We have walked through the year, Sunday after Sunday with Jesus. We have watched from the sidelines as He encountered the crowds and have listened to His words. We have watched Him interact with His slow to understand disciples and the stubborn Pharisees. And this morning, we stand before Him in awe as the King of Kings.
As with many things during this time of year, it is time to pause and reflect. To look back over the past year and ponder our relationship with God during the last twelve months is a worthwhile endeavor. Before beginning a new church year, it is good for us to slow down and listen to what the Lord is saying to us about our discipleship both personally and collectively.
As we moved through the year led by the Gospel of Matthew, the theme of discipleship was a central motif that recurred throughout the entire Gospel. Before beginning a new church year, it is good for us to slow down and listen to what the Lord is saying to us about our discipleship both personally and collectively.
Those who have been faithful and true disciples and who have acted in accordance with Jesus' instructions will be rewarded at the Final Judgment with eternal life while those persons who have only cared about themselves will not be allowed into the eternal peace of heaven.
Our Gospel today is a familiar presentation on the end of the world when God's Final Judgment is pronounced. Jesus divides the nations into two distinct groups. The sheep stand to the right hand of the King while the goats stand on His left side. Jesus offers eternal life to the sheep and eternal rejection to the goats. We know that the sheep are those who fed the hungry, gave water to the thirsty, and visited those in prison. And the goats were those people who did not offer those in need any of those necessities of life to others.
The Gospel turns on the point that the ones who offered the food, drink, and the visit and the welcome did not realize that they were giving those things to Jesus Christ Himself. The others who did not help those in need also had no idea that they had refused to help Christ who was present in the needy. The surprise of this story is that both groups the helpers and the rejecters both had no idea that the Lord was the one receiving or not receiving the gift. The point here is simple. It is not what we profess with our lips but how we respond to the needs of others that makes us disciples of Christ or not. "Our faith is not only of the mind and of the heart, but is also for the hands and the feet. We live our faith in what we do. We live it in what we do in places that aren't always pretty."
This Christmas and every Christmas we celebrate the reality that Jesus, the Son of God, became a human being. He lived and laughed and loved and suffered and died. Three days later He was raised by God. Christ who sought the lost, the least, and the left out during His lifetime identifies with them. He informs us that when we help those in need we are helping Jesus Himself. Jesus is saying to people of every nation, "When you serve the needs of others; you are serving Me." This is the core of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. In serving others, we see the face of Christ.
Jesus wants us to look Him in the face-in the faces and stories of the homeless, the prisoners, and people who line up each day for a meal at a soup kitchen. Are we looking for Jesus in the faces of the poor? What do we really see? Are we looking past them while trying to rush by and not be bothered? What more can we do, St. Patrick's to respond to Christ in those in need around us? "Mission itself becomes redefined when we consider the move outwards as a move towards God! The community is sent out from the Lord's Supper as body of Christ only to discover that the body of Christ is already waiting for the community in those suffering in the world.
Liz Nugyen has been leading a feed the homeless program here for years. She and her volunteer team make and serve a meal at the Bailey's Crossroads Shelter. Why not get involved this year? Another opportunity to see Christ is in the faces of the homeless who will be staying overnight here at St. Patrick's in December. Why not volunteer to come by for a few hours or stay overnight one night offering hospitality.
Jesus is the face of God for us. Let us not miss Him when He comes to us again.
Amen!
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