Summer Exploratory Book Journey: Reading the Bible from the Margins

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Last year we explored an Education for Ministry (EfM) Interlude Book: The Dream of God By Verna J. Dozier

Join us this year for another exploratory book journey into:

Reading the Bible from the Margins By Miguel A. De La Torre

Or, in other words, how to read the Bible from perspectives that are often ignored; for example, from the perspective of the victims of discrimination.  The author shows how “standard” readings of the Bible, and interpretation by the dominant culture, are not always acceptable to people on the “margins” of that dominant culture.

A comment by Cain Hope Felder, author, Troubling Biblical Waters: “This innovative resource is filled with considerable multicultural capital that can help many better understand the sad persistence of many ‘great divides’ in a nation that is so ready to proclaim to the world, ‘United We Stand!’”

We will explore together this timely and challenging book over 4 Wednesday evenings this summer:  July 12, 19, 26, and August 2. Join us from 6:30 to 7:30 pm to discuss and share thoughts about the important messages provided by this author. Participants may gather personally in Room 11 of the Church or may participate remotely via ZOOM.

An excerpt from the author’s Introduction: “All football players are damned!  According to the Scriptures, anyone who plays football is cursed by God and will spend eternity in hell.  The Bible is very clear about this.  According to Deuteronomy: ‘The pig, because its hoof is divided and it does not chew its cud, is unclean.  You shall not eat its flesh, nor touch its dead skin’ (14:8).  So anyone who touches a ‘pigskin,’ another name for a football, is cursed.  . . .  Yet my understanding of Deuteronomy 14:8, regardless of how legitimate and logical it may be to me, is still rejected by the majority of Christians.  Why?”

Got your attention?  If you would like to join us in this journey, please email Pam Matthes at [email protected]  by June 28, 2023.  [The first 5 to sign up will receive their books for FREE!]

Annandale Christian Community for Action: Call for Food Donations Support

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Help Our Hungry Neighbors

Due to the end of COVID assistance, families across the US struggle with their reduced Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. As a result we have seen a huge increase in demand for food from our food pantry here in Annandale!

Our food donations for February were 8,905 lbs. an amount twice as high as January 2023 thanks to the Stuff-the-Bus Campaign as well as the Stuff-the-Cruiser Campaign, both of which brought in over 2,000 pounds of food.

In February the ACCA Food Pantry provided food for 106 households and 369 individuals, which was very close to the same numbers we had for January, so the need for food assistance remains extremely high. Pre-pandemic we had approximately 8 deliveries a week now we are doing closer to 30!

With this increase in demand our shelves are BARE!!

Some of the Items Needed Include:

Bar soap, Beef stew, Canned Beans including Kidney, Black, Pinto. Baked, Garbanzo (chickpeas), Baked, Canned Chicken, Canned vegetables, Canned fruit, Cereal, Coffee (Instant preferred), Cooking oil, Diced Tomatoes, Dish soap, Dry Black Beans, Dry Red Beans, Diapers all sizes, Feminine napkins, Flour, Juice, Jelly/Jam, Laundry Soap, Macaroni & Cheese, Maseca/Masa, Mayonnaise/Ketchup/Mustard, Oatmeal, Pancake syrup, Paper Towels, Rice (1 or 2 lb. bag) , Shampoo, Soups (Chunky), Spaghetti Sauce, Sugar, Tea, Toilet Paper, Tomato Sauce, Tooth brushes, Tortillas, Tuna.

PLEASE HELP!!

1) Donate Nonperishable foods – We will be collecting food donations Tuesday-Friday afternoons from 1:30-4 pm, with the exception of County Holidays and other scheduled closings. The ACCA food pantry is located at 7200 Columbia Pike (trailer separate from the day care center) in Annandale. Please do not drop off food if a volunteer is not available.

2) Donate Cash to purchase fresh foods. Donate through the Catalogue for Philanthropy at https://www.cfp-dc.org/cfpdc/checkout_onestep.php?charity_id=94251

3) Volunteer to schedule and make deliveries – fill out the volunteer interest form at https://accacares.org/volunteer-interest-form/

ACCA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

Summer Choir Camp: July 31 to August 4

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Building on the success of our nascent Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) Chorister Program, St. Alban’s is delighted to announce a weeklong Choir Camp from Monday, July 31 to Friday, August 4. St. Alban’s Minister of Music and Organist Adam Detzner and Vocal Coach Merissa Martignoni Driscoll will lead a week of carefully structured rehearsals, theory lessons, music games, break time, and snacks from 9 AM to 12 PM each morning.

All boys and girls age 8 and up with unchanged voices are welcome to join us. (Children aged 7 are welcome to join after a brief meeting with our music staff to determine readiness.) It is our hope that children and families who participate in our summer program will consider participating in our Chorister Program, which runs from September until June. For more information about our program, RSCM, and the RSCM VOICE for LIFE curriculum, please visit https://wearestalbans.org/music/.

We have many details to work out between now and July, but if you are interested in our summer program and would like to learn our plans as we finalize them, please fill out this form.  Please help spread the word about our program, and thank you for your time and consideration. Please don’t hesitate to be in touch with Adam with any questions via e-mail at [email protected].

Help earthquake relief efforts in Turkey and Syria

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The devastating news of a major earthquake in Turkey and northern Syria is heart wrenching.  News of rescues and recovery leave one wondering what we can do in the midst of such tragedy.

Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) is a four-star rated charity and a reliable way to get funds to those most in urgent need.  This link will take you to Episcopal Relief and Development’s earthquake support page where you can help provide critical relief to communities in Turkey and Syria impacted by the earthquake.

We can offer prayers for those who lost their lives and pray for the grieving families and loved ones.  We can pray for those who lost homes and have inadequate shelter in the face of winter’s cold winds.  But we can also provide financial assistance – a concrete offering to help those who are suffering.

God, our times are in your hand. In the midst of uncertainty lead us by your never-failing grace as we seek to be agents of healing and hope. Walk with us through difficult times; watch over us in danger; and give to us a spirit of love and compassion for those who suffer and mourn. And finally remind us that you have promised never to leave us so that even in the valley of the shadow of death your love may be felt, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

– The Rev. Lyndon Harris, from the Episcopal Diocese of New York disaster preparedness plan

Carrie Rose and Szu-Yi Li in Concert

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Join us for our first Muldoon Concert of the season on Sunday, October 23, at 4pm in the St. Alban’s Parish Hall!

Carrie Rose, flutist and Szu-Yi Li, pianist combine liquid phrasing and musical sensitivity to interpret the delicate Morceau de Concours by Fauré, the dark and complex Sonata in E Minor by J. S. Bach, the frothy Cantabile et Presto by Enesco, and the fireworks of Poulenc’s Sonata. Szu-Yi will interpret Schumann-Liszt’s Widmung for solo piano.

There is no fee for admission – all are welcome and encouraged to donate to support the Muldoon Memorial Concert Series. A brief reception will follow the concert.

Meet Our New Youth Vocal Coach

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Welcome Merissa Martignoni Driscoll, who has joined St. Alban’s as the Vocal Coach for our new Youth Chorister Program!

Merissa Martignoni Driscoll has been working with young people in the Arts for over 15 years. Before college she developed her skills in the theater department of her middle and high school, performing in dramas, musicals, and one-acts. Her summers were spent at Stagedoor Manor, a premier performing arts camp in Loch Sheldrake, NY and any spare time was dedicated to community theater.  At 17 she was honored to spend a summer studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan.

She earned a Bachelor of Music in Composition with a minor in Classical Voice and Choral Studies at Temple University in Philadelphia. After graduation she found her passion for education while working in a private music school, teaching voice, theory and choral music, as well as developing the school’s vocal curriculum.

After relocating to Northern Virginia, Merissa received her teaching certification from George Mason University, to transfer her love of education to public schools. She spent seven years in Prince William County as an Elementary Music Teacher.  Throughout those years she also developed a professional presence in Northern Virginia’s Musical Theater community.  She has a creative home at The Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA where she regularly can be seen music directing mainstage shows and cabarets, as well as performing original music.

Currently Merissa is embarking on a career as a full-time musician and educator. Her position as Vocal Coach for St. Albans youth Chorister program is another step in engaging with her community and bringing the love and discipline of the arts to young people and their families.

For more information about our Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) “Voice for Life” chorister program, please click here.

Watch Party for Sacred Ground Fall Kickoff Webinar

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Sacred Ground Fall Kickoff with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry

On September 15, 2022, Presiding Bishop Curry will hold a webinar session with the Church to share his vision for racial reckoning and justice ministry for the next two years. We will be holding a watch party  at St. Alban’s for anyone who would like to join us for this special webinar!

Following our time with Bishop Curry, we will:

1) learn from leaders skilled at welcoming new (and perhaps skeptical) people into race conversations; and

2) explore strategies for transitioning into action and community engagement (including organizing groups for the new Sessions 10 and 11!)

Who: Fellow Sacred Ground facilitators, participants, and all Episcopalians interested in learning more about this dialogue series.

What: Bishop Curry will share his vision for racial reckoning and justice ministry over the next two years and how to engage using the Sacred Ground curriculum.

Where: St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, Room 11.

Snacks and drinks will be provided at the St. Alban’s Watch Party.

When: Thursday, September 15th, at 1:30pm or you can watch it at home by registering for this special event via zoom. The webinar will be from 1:30pm to 3pm (EST). To register to watch it at home, please use this link.

School supply collection

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Rising costs and the end of pandemic stimulus checks have stretched the resources of many families in our area to the limit. There are less than 20 days until the new school year begins in Fairfax County, and local agencies are seeing a daily increase in the requests for help for school supplies.
FACETS (Fairfax Area Christian Emergency & Transitional Services) is collecting backpacks and school supplies through August 9th with a goal of providing 400 backpacks across Fairfax County.  A list of needed school supplies can be downloaded here.

You can leave your donation this Sunday (8/7) in the “School supply” bin in the narthex, or deliver them to FACETS by August 9th at

10700 Page Avenue
Building B
Fairfax VA  22030

Mason District has some of the neediest areas in Fairfax County – AnnandaleToday.com

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According to an online article at annandaletoday.com, “the 2022 Needs Assessment recently published by Fairfax County confirms that some of the neediest areas are in Bailey’s Crossroads and Annandale.”

The 2022 Needs Assessment report is a bit cumbersome to read, however, the article from AnnandaleToday.com shines a light on the poverty, need, and disadvantage in our own backyard.

Holy Land Pilgrimage: October 5-15, 2023

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The Holy Land is often called the “Fifth Gospel”: testifying to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus in its own vivid, unforgettable way. Our parish pilgrimage will be based at St. George’s College in East Jerusalem, on the grounds of the Cathedral Church of St. George the Martyr, located just a few blocks from the Old City.

We will participate in the Footsteps of Jesus pilgrimage course, which includes visits to all of the major sites in Jesus’ ministry:

This pilgrimage will enable you to

  • Explore Jerusalem’s Old City, its four ancient quarters and lively markets
  • See the Church of the Resurrection (a.k.a. the Holy Sepulchre)
  • Kneel at the site of Christ’s birth at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem
  • Visit Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth
  • Ascend to the Church of the Transfiguration at Mount Tabor
  • Experience a calm ride on a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee
  • Meditate and pray in the Judean Wilderness
  • Remember your Baptismal Vows at the Baptism of Jesus site on the Jordan River
  • Walk the route of the Palm Sunday Procession
  • Walk the Way of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa
  • Worship with Palestinian Christians in a local parish
  • Reflect on the complex political realities in the Holy Land, with diverse Israeli, Christian and Arab speakers

Room and board for full ten days, course transportation and admission to all sites: $2600. (Airfare and travel insurance not included.) Some scholarship funds may be available through supporting organizations. A $500 deposit is due to register. (The remaining course fee is not due until 30 days before the course begins.)

For more information, talk to Fr. Paul: [email protected].

The course is still quite open, so there is time to join! The course size is limited to 38 participants; so, once it’s full, it’s full. Open to parishioners and friends of Saint Alban’s parish.

More details here: Holy Land Pilgrimage Information

I can speak from experience, having been twice before: your faith, and your life, will never be the same after visiting this sacred and challenging place.

-Fr Paul