Father Paul

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The Rev. Paul Moberly joined St. Alban’s in 2017 as Assistant Rector and in 2018 became Associate Rector. He and his husband, Gerardo, live in Annandale.

June 12: The First Book of Common Prayer, 1549

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Today, we remember the publication of the first Book of Common Prayer. It is typically remembered on a weekday following the Day of Pentecost. This year, at St. Alban’s, we observe it today: June 12. 2019.

Almighty and everliving God, whose servant Thomas Cranmer, with others, did restore the language of the people in the prayers of thy Church: Make us always thankful for this heritage; and help us so to pray in the Spirit and with the understanding, that we may worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The first Book of Common Prayer came into use on the Day of Pentecost, June 9, 1549, in the second year of the reign of King Edward VI. From it have descended all subsequent editions and revisions of the Book in the Churches of the Anglican Communion.Read More

June 11: Saint Barnabas the Apostle

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The Episcopal Church observes June 11 as a major feast, a holy day commemorating the life and ministry of Barnabas, an Apostle of Jesus Christ.

Grant, O God, that we may follow the example of your faithful servant Barnabas, who, seeking not his own renown but the well-being of your Church, gave generously of his life and substance for the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

“Joseph, a Levite born in Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and turned it over to the apostles” (Acts 4:36–37). This first reference in the New Testament to Barnabas introduces one whose missionary efforts would cause him to be called, like the Twelve, an apostle.

As a Jew of the diaspora, Barnabas had much in common with Paul. When Paul came to Jerusalem after his conversion, the disciples were afraid to receive him. It was Barnabas who brought Paul to the apostles, and declared to them how, on the road to Damascus, Paul had seen the Lord, and had preached boldly in the name of Jesus (Acts 9:27). Later, Barnabas, having settled in Antioch, sent for Paul to join him in leading the Christian church in that city.

Barnabas and Paul were sent by the disciples in Antioch to carry famine relief to the church in Jerusalem. Upon their return, the church in Antioch sent them on their first missionary journey beginning at Cyprus.

At Lystra in Asia Minor, the people took them to be gods, supposing the eloquent Paul to be Mercury, the messenger of the gods, and Barnabas to be Jupiter, the chief of the gods, a testimony to the commanding presence of Barnabas.

The association of Barnabas and Paul was broken, after their journey, by a disagreement about Mark, who had left the mission to return to Jerusalem.

After attending the Council of Jerusalem with Barnabas, Paul made a return visit to the churches that he and Barnabas had founded in Asia Minor. Barnabas and Mark went to Cyprus, where Barnabas is traditionally honored as the founder of the church.

Tradition has it that he was martyred at Salamis in Cyprus.

from Lesser Feasts & Fasts 2018

Bishop’s Reflection on Abortion & Women’s Health

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On May 21, Bishop Susan Goff released a reflection on abortion and women’s reproductive health. It is reprinted below:
Diocese Coat of ArmsWith renewed national attention to issues of abortion and women’s reproductive health in recent weeks, I’ve been asked by people from across our Diocese about the position of The Episcopal Church on these matters. I write this reflection in response to those questions and in hope that it will be helpful as we think, pray and act as individuals and as a Church community.

Jesus said, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” John 13:34

These words from the Gospel reading for the Fifth Sunday of Easter shape our most basic motivations as Christians. Following Jesus’ commandment to love one another animates who we are and what we do. Our commitment to love stands front and center as we hear and respond to recent legislation about abortion, reproduction and women’s health in our highly politicized era.

The Episcopal Church has held our arms of love wide open across the decades in the midst of political and moral debate about these matters. We assert without equivocation the sanctity of human life. “All human life is sacred,” we affirmed at the 69th General Convention in 1988. “Hence, it is sacred from its inception until death. Human life, therefore, should be initiated only advisedly and in full accord with this understanding of the power to conceive and give birth which is bestowed by God.”

In a series of statements over the decades we as a Church have fleshed out our understanding of the sacredness of human life, the lives of women as well as the lives of the unborn. We have declared “that we emphatically oppose abortion as a means of birth control, family planning, sex selection, or any reason of mere convenience.” We have also declared our “unequivocal opposition to any legislation on the part of national or state governments which would abridge or deny the right of individuals to reach informed decisions [about the termination of pregnancy] and act on them.”

At our most recent General Convention last summer we resolved that “equitable access to women’s health care, including women’s reproductive health care, is an integral part of a woman’s struggle to assert her dignity and worth as a human being.” A complete summary of General Convention resolutions on abortion and women’s reproductive health can be found here.

Our statements about abortion and women’s reproductive health are bound together by our unshakable affirmation that all life is sacred and all human beings are worthy of abiding love. As a woman, as a child of God and as a bishop, I hold my own arms wide open in love to support women in making informed decisions about their bodies and their reproductive health. I reach out with pastoral care toward those women who chose to end a pregnancy and to those who choose to give birth in difficult circumstances. I call on our legislatures to provide access to adequate health care, education, safety and freedom from violence for all who are born. While honoring the sanctity of life for all people and upholding our Church’s teachings about the seriousness and “tragic dimension” of abortion, I will do what I can to keep our society from returning to an era of backroom abortions in which the lives and health of women are threatened. With arms held wide open in love, we can reach out to people on the many different sides of these issues without becoming polarized. God bless us all as we navigate these waters in the love of Christ Jesus.

The Rt. Rev. Susan Goff
Bishop Suffragan and Ecclesiastical Authority
Episcopal Diocese of Virginia

The Great Vigil of Easter: Un-bury the Alleluia!

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Most people are familiar with Easter Sunday, with its familiar readings and hymns, and its feeling of joyful celebration. Along with Christmas Eve, it’s one of two services that are attended even by people who almost never go to church the rest of the year.

Less well known, though, is a very important service that takes place the evening before Easter, which we call the “Great Vigil.”

It begins in darkness, with lighting of the New Fire, from which the Easter (Paschal) candle is lit. That one small flame grows as it is passed from one person to another, and the first part of the service happens by the light of many candles, during the gathering dusk.

Through readings from the Old Testament, the Vigil tells the whole story of salvation, beginning with the creation in Genesis; and continuing with the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, as well as memorable words from Hebrew prophets.

The early Christians welcomed new converts through Holy Baptism primarily during the Easter Vigil. This year, we will continue that tradition — it’s always a joy to welcome a new person into the family of God! And we will all renew our own baptismal vows, and be sprinkled in Jordan River water.

Part of what makes the Easter Vigil fun is the fact that the service rarely stays in one place for long. Here at St. Alban’s, we start by lighting the New Fire in the Memorial Grove, and then the Old Testament readings and baptism happen while we gather around the font in the center of the church.

After the Resurrection is joyfully announced, we will all ring bells, the brass will play, and we will sing the Gloria in Excelsis for the first time since Lent began. The focus of the service then moves to the front of the chuch, where we celebrate the first Holy Communion of the Easter season.

Way back at the start of Lent — on Ash Wednesday — many of the children of St. Alban’s attended the children’s service, in which we “buried” the Alleluia under the Altar at the front of the church. At the Easter Vigil, we hope many of the children of St. Alban’s will come and help to UN-bury the Alleluia! And the children will help the celebrant announce the joyous moment when we recognize the resurrection of Jesus.

The Great Vigil of Easter includes a lot of memorable elements: fire, flickering candles, sprinkling of baptismal water, joyful music with a brass ensemble and choir, fragrant incense … and, of course, meeting the Lord at the altar in the consecrated bread and wine of Eucharist.

The Great Vigil is truly worship for all the senses.

I hope that you and your family will consider joining us this year for the Easter Vigil. It’s my favorite service all year long. You might just find you agree with me!

The 2019 Great Vigil of Easter begins at 7pm at St. Alban’s on Saturday, April 20.