Ash Wednesday is on March 5. From 6:00 to 8:30 a.m. Father Jim and Rev. Laura will be at the Sunset Hills Park and Ride (near Reston Town Center) to provide ashes and prayers to those who would like them. They will be at the bus stop from 6:00-8:00 a.m.

At St. Anne's there will be two services that day:

12:00 noon with Stations of the Cross to follow

7:30 p.m.

Both are Eucharist Services.

Helping Hands

The Helping Hands Leader for February is Nancy Lawson. Please call or email the Church Office should you or someone you know need a

Helping Hand.

703-437-6530

St. Anne's on Twitter and Facebook

St. Anne's is on Facebook and Twitter. You can click the icons below to connect to our Pages.

Our Website

Would you like to hear Sunday's sermon again? Do you have questions about upcoming events? Would you like to see a back copy of The Journey or the e-newsletter? Check out our website. We update it daily.

Contact Info.

1700 Wainwright Dr.

Reston, VA 20190

703-437-6530

fax: 888-467-8179

stannes@stannes-reston.org

The Readings for Feb. 16, 2014

Ecclesiasticus 15:15-20

Psalm 119:1-8

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Matthew 5:21-37

February 12, 2014

An Amazing Celebration of St. Anne's

What an amazing event we had last Sunday, 35 banners representing a lot of the work we do inside and outside the walls of St. Anne's. Probably our best ever attended annual meeting with some lively discussion and the Ministries Fair afterwards where you expressed interest by signing up for new ministries and enjoying fellowship. My thanks to everyone who helped make this happen including the folks who made/restored and carried their banners and staffed the tables and, of course, to our Celebration coordinators, Sheila Sandford and Chris Cameron.

In addition to fabulous event, we had a great response to our pledge drive. We are very close to our goal -- but not quite there. At present, 260 of you have pledged to support St. Anne's during 2014, bringing our 2014 pledge total to $771,00 -- just $4,000 short of our goal. If you have not yet pledged for this year, please consider making a pledge this week. Our budget is based entirely on the commitments from the congregation. Every pledge, large or small, makes a huge difference.

The pledge form can be made online at or by completing a pledge card (available in the Narthex) and dropping it in the collection plate or mailing it to the office.

Thank you.

Thirst and Theology Tonight

Please join us tonight at the corner of Thirst and Theology for our monthly gathering. We will be meeting at Kalypso's in Lake Anne Plaza at 6:00 p.m. Fill up with a good chat. Fill up with good people. Fill up with good news. For more info, contact Rev. Laura.

Voice for Life is Happening Tonight

Although FCPS has cancelled evening activities, St. Anne's evening activities will proceed.

St. Anne's Closure Policy

With somewhere between 5 to 12 inches forecast for this region, now would be a good time to review St. Anne's Closure Policy. When Fairfax Country Schools are cancelled, the Church Office is closed and all church activities are cancelled. When FCPS has a late opening, church activities proceed. Should you ever have a question, please call the church office (703-437-6530). Thanks!

Meeting for Greeters & Newcomers Committee

We are looking for new volunteers to join us to discuss these important ministries. Our greeters welcome everyone into the church on Sunday mornings, and we are in need of some new volunteers. We also hope to add new members to our Newcomers Committee. This committee is responsible for our Newcomers' Coffee hours, which introduces St. Anne's to new members. We believe that these two ministries can work together to help make visitors and new members feel warmly welcomed. Please consider joining us on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 11 a.m. in the Library. If you have any questions please contact Susan Allen.

Exploring Spirituality and the Aging Process

Please join us on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 10:00-1:00 for a workshop and time of time sharing for those who are considering a residential retirement facility for themselves or a loved one. The Rev. Bruce Steward, Director of Chaplaincy Services at Goodwin House in Alexandria will facilitate the discussion. Coffee and tea will be provided; please bring a snack to share. To sign up for this workshop, please contact the Church Office or sign up on the clipboard in the Narthex.

Family Night In!

Are you interested in meeting other families at St. Anne's? How does a night of fun, fellowship, and make-your-own tacos sound? Join us for Family Night In! on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 5:00 - 7:30 p.m. We'll provide shredded cheese, flour tortillas, and hard taco shells...you bring your favorite filling and toppings to share! If interested, please sign-up on the clipboard in the narthex or email Rev. Laura.

Life Planning Workshops

This is an early notice that we will be holding an important series of Life Planning workshops on five consecutive Sunday afternoons from Feb. 23 to March 23, running from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Eight guest speakers will discuss topics that are vital to our preparation for the latter stages of life, including: Financial planning; Home modifications; Staying healthy in body and mind; Wills, trusts and medical directives; Discussing the future with your family. Target audiences are not only everyone age 50 or better, but also the adult children of 50-year-old parents. For more information contact Michael Broddle at 703-795-3910 or

Lunch for the Soul Planning Meeting

�Hola St. Anne's! We are well on our way to a strong relationship with Lunch For The Soul based out of Trinity Presbyterian in Herndon. It is clear that as a church we are excited to help this unique program, however, for some of us, Wednesday mornings are not a workable time slot. On Sunday, Feb. 23 at 1 p.m. in Room 1 we will have a planning meeting to brainstorm other ways we can support our day laborer neighbors. If you have any questions please contact Katrina Alexander (703-328-5206).

Another Chance to Get in Shape!

St. Anne's Spiritual Shape-Up class is back for spring! An in-depth study of the Gospel of Matthew starts Sunday, Feb. 23. Led again by Bro. Mike Boland, the class will run for eight weeks and will consist of study, discussion, and meditation on scripture - a perfect activity for Lent. Classes will meet Wednesday mornings, 10-noon, or Sunday evenings from 7-9. Cost is $30. Please sign up early so that we can be sure we have enough books ordered in advance. The sign up sheet is available in the Narthex or you can contact the Church Office.

Havana Nights Party!

Come celebrate Havana style with your St. Anne's Cuba mission team on Saturday, Mar. 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Hall! Raffles and wine! Music! Delicious food! Join us and learn more about what we will be doing when we're in Cuba. We'll be raising money for construction on Camp Blankenship, a youth camp in Santa Clara, and good faith contributions will be accepted. See photos from our trip last year that show the wonderful lifestyle of years gone by, old cars, beautiful people, tropical climate. The main dish will be provided by your Cuba mission team, and we ask that you bring a side dish to share. Sign up is available in the narthex. Please see Eleanor Ware with any questions. Hope to see you all there!

Relay for Life Meeting

Is there anyone who doesn't have a family member or friend who has been impacted by cancer? A long standing St. Anne's tradition is the Grateful Living our team at Relay for Life. What is Relay for Life you ask? At Relay For Life events, communities come together to honor cancer survivors, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against a disease that has already taken too much. The funds we raise truly make a difference in the fight against cancer - just ask one of the nearly 14 million cancer survivors who will celebrate another birthday this year! Relay For Life teams camp out overnight and take turns walking or running around a track or path at a local high school, park, or fairground. Events are up to 24 hours long and because cancer never sleeps each team is asked to have at least one participant on the track at all times. We'll be meeting on March 9 at 1 p.m. in Room 1 to talk about Relay for Life, the Grateful Living and how we can invest in research for the American Cancer Society. Please join us.

Save the Date: Lenten Series

Please mark your calendars for our upcoming Lenten Series, called Exploring Your Faith. The four-week session will be held on Sunday evenings from 7:00-8:30. The discussion session will be proceeded by a time of fellowship and dinner starting at 6:00 p.m. The dates are: Mar. 9, 16, 23, and 30. If you any questions about this series or would like to sign up, please contact the Church Office.

Feeling Blessed Through Helping Others At Shelter

While it could never take the place of an actual home, for the 23 men and women that icy evening the church hall was a safe place to escape yet another night of dangerous winter weather - and St. Anne's was there. St. Anne's sent 15 volunteers to staff three shifts at the Hypothermia Shelter at Holy Comforter the evening of Feb. 4 and the morning of Feb. 5. We helped set up the shelter, served dinner and breakfast, shut down the shelter, and interacted with the guests. It was fulfilling but challenging work, since interacting with the homeless is very different from passing them on the street. "I feel blessed; any one of us could be in the position of the people we served," one volunteer observed. Another added, "Swimming upstream against the easier us/them image, seeking to live out the reality that we are all one -- to sit in that uncomfortable gap, wanting to help, while being painfully aware that the person you are sitting with doesn't necessarily want 'that kind' of attention from someone who will be gone from their life in a few hours." Regardless of our level of comfort or discomfort, in the middle of the night, in the middle of an ice storm, the room was dark, quiet and warm for 23 men and women.

- David Safford

1750 Lbs of Groceries Collected at Stuff the Bus

Thanks to the generosity of the customers and staff and great support from the store manager we collected 1750 pounds of food and $300 in cash donations from the customers at Shoppers Food Warehouse at Herndon's Clocktower Shopping Center for our food pantry. It was a long day, but we now have about a month's worth of food in most categories. While we'll still need some additional items for this month's distribution we have a significant amount of spaghetti!!! A special thanks go out to all of the St. Anne's volunteers (adults and children) who talked with the generous customers at Shoppers asking for their support, packing bags, unloading boxes, sorted and shelving the food back at church. Once again it was a wonderful group effort.

-Susanne Walsh

Food Pantry Needs

We had a great response to Stuff the Bus on Saturday! We still have a few food pantry needs in order to fill 100 bags of grocery for our food pantry distribution on Thursday, Feb. 20. If you are able please drop off the following items at the Church. It would be great if we did not have purchase items for the Food Pantry this month!

Items needed:

-- 16-18 oz jars of jam/jelly -- 46 jars needed

-- 15 oz cans of fruit -- 15 cans needed

Shrine Mont Summer Camps

Registration for Shrine Mont Summer Camps is open! If you have a child who is 8 years old through high school, they would be eligible to participate in these week long camps. Please see the Shrine Mont camps webpage for more info or to register. Pamphlets with camp descriptions can also be found in the Narthex.

Summer Camp and Mission Dates

On these cold mornings it feels like summer is just a distant dream, however, it is time to start talking summer Mission Trips. This year we're traveling to Appalachia/Dungannon, Philadelphia, the Dominican Republic and around Northern Virginia as well as Vacation Bible School. We've got something for every age from elementary school up and for all energy levels! It's a chance to change the world and change yourself! There'll be a meeting on March 2 at 1 p.m. in Room 1 to discuss how they work, what we're doing this year, cost and age requirements, and whatever other questions you might have. If you need info before the event drop a email to Tim Barwick. The dates of this year's mission trips are below.

� Philadelphia Mission Trip - June 28-July 3

� Mission Possible - July 14-18

� Vacation Bible School - July 21-25

� Dungannon - July 26-Aug. 2

� Dominican Republic - July 12-22

Upcoming Monday Book Discussion Selections

On Monday, Mar. 3 at 12:30 at Caf� Montmartre on Lake Anne Plaza the Monday Book Group will be discussing The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway. For their April meeting, which will be on April 14 at 9:30 in the Library, the group will be discussing In the Land of Invisible Women by Qanta Ahmed.

Clean Out your Closets and Donate Coats for OAR

Help provide a warm, fresh start to those who are newly released from prison with your gently used coats. Fairfax OAR (Opportunities, Alternatives, Resources) needs used men's/women's coats, S-XXL. The collection box is in the narthex. This has been a record year for donation, thanks to all who have already given so generously! OAR told us of a man released from prison during a snow storm when everything was closed, but they were able to give him a warm coat for his new life. We also need volunteers to help take the coats to Fairfax weekly. Check out the OAR website. Any questions, contact Jackie Wooldridge or by calling 703-819-2346.