Get Ready to STUFF the TRUNK for Samaritan Ministry!

Q: Trunk? What Trunk?

A: The car trunks of Deacon Theresa and Ivy Kilby’s cars for

Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington’s

Empowering Our Neighbors In Need (ENN) 2021 Campaign!

When: 8:30am-Noon on Saturday, May 15th

Where: Saint Alban’s Episcopal Church parking lot.

Why: Many of SMGW’s Participants use government assistance to purchase food. Unfortunately, that benefit does not cover items such as household cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products.  We’re asking our Saint Alban’s family to donate household cleaning supplies and full size hygiene products for SMGW’s Participants.

Household Cleaning Items Needed:

  • Sponge with green scrub pad
  • Dish soap
  • Dish towel
  • All-purpose cleaner (e.g. Comet, Mr. Clean…) liquid or powder
  • Laundry pods
  • Paper Towels
  • Toilet paper

Personal Hygiene Items Needed (full size):

  • Body Lotion
  • Sunblock
  • Body Wash
  • Body Soap (bars)
  • Foot Powder
  • Dental Floss
  • Mini Tissue Packs

*Please wear your mask during this donation collection. Thank you!

Empower our Neighbors in Need (ENN) Campaign – 2021 – Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington

New ministry at St. Alban’s

As pandemic conditions in our area improve we’re looking at the resources we’ll need to live-stream our Sunday morning worship services – just one part of a very complicated process for re-gathering for in-person worship.  Early on, we will need lectors, ushers and Altar Guild members to work with us, but we’re also looking for individuals of any age who are interested in learning our new audio/video system which we’ll use for live-streaming.

We have a brand new audio/video system, and we’ll need volunteers to run it on Sunday mornings.  If you have any interest in learning about live-streaming on the internet and learning some new skills in the area of video production, please contact Fr. Jeff or Fr. Paul.

Palm Sunday palms are here!

Waving palms branches on Palm Sunday to reenact Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is an ancient and cherished tradition.  While we won’t be gathering again this year for our Palm Sunday procession, blessed palm fronds are available in front of the narthex doors at St. Alban’s.

Come pick up palms for your household as a reminder that Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week and Jesus’ passion.  (For those allergic to cats, Clark did not touch any of the palms, and he may or may not be present.)

Palms will be available until 5:00 pm Saturday evening, and from 8:00-5:00 Palm Sunday.  If you are unable to come to St. Alban’s, please let me know via email and I will deliver them to your home.

Click here for easy instructions to make your own palm cross.

 

Samaritan Ministry’s Next Step Breakfast – March 20, 10:00 am

You are invited to learn more about how Samaritan Ministry, a faith-based community partnership, has continued its work during the pandemic to improve lives throughout the DMV, one next step at a time.

Yamiche Alcindor, White House correspondent for the PBS NewsHour, will serve as emcee.  As part of the program we’ll hear from a Next Step participant who will share how Samaritan Ministry has changed his life.

St. Alban’s own, Ivy Kilby, an active participant and volunteer at Samaritan Ministry, will be sharing her story as a Samaritan Ministry volunteer.

If you are interested in “attending” this online event, please click here to register.  Registration is free, and make sure you enter “St. Alban’s, Annandale” as your parish, and specify Deacon Theresa Lewallen or Ivy Kilby as Table Captain.

A chance to make a new friend, and to give generously!

Hi, I’m Margaret Pendley, a member of St. Alban’s (originally of the 110:15 service persuasion), and I was recently challenged to make lemonade from a lemon.  You see, last month I broke my right foot in NINE PLACES, and will be wearing a series of casts for the next 8 weeks (the lemon).  I decided to sell advertising space on these casts to raise funds for the St. Alban’s Clergy Discretionary Funds (the lemonade).

Fr. Jeff, Fr. Paul, and Deacon Theresa receive a small stipend each year in the budget to use at their discretion to answer the needs of God’s children, both inside and outside of our church.  I myself have been the recipient of its bounty when Fr. Jeff sent me an amazingly relevant book when I was going through a rough patch.  These stipends are usually supplemented over the year by donations that they receive for officiating at weddings, funerals, and other religious services.  Well, as you can imagine, COVID has put a serious dent into this ministry for them, so I thought it would be a grand thing on our part to help them out.

Below is a partial shot of the first cast, with parishioners’ signatures, and the latest edition with LOTS of open space.

You can either come to my house and sign it yourself, or send me your signature request via email or snail mail. Minimum requested donation is $1, but feel free to give more!  As a bonus, if you’re in the mood to hear some of the hilarious stories of how some of these signatures got on these casts, you can give me a call!  My contact information is:  [email protected],.

Come enjoy a lovely glass of lemonade with me!

Stay current with news from The Diocese of Virginia

Diocese Coat of ArmsIn our continually evolving circumstances, we’ve all been anxious to have the most current status updates, especially the status of worship protocols and regathering for public worship. Many of our policies are guided by the Office of the Bishop of the Diocese of Virginia.

While St. Alban’s will always communicate the latest information from the Bishop’s office, you are eligible to get these updates directly from the Bishop’s office by subscribing to the diocesan e-news service.

There’s another important reason you should subscribe. Last year, the Diocese made the difficult decision to discontinue the printing of the quarterly magazine, the Virginia Episcopalian. In a time of decreasing budgets, a costly magazine was simply not a luxury that our church or the Diocese could afford to continue.

The good news is that the monthly diocesan newsletter, the eCommunique, will now be incorporating some of the great storytelling and features you enjoyed in the Virginia Episcopalian, but without the lag time and hefty price tag of a traditional print publication. By subscribing to the diocesan news service, you will receive the monthly eCommunique email plus announcements from your Bishops as they happen. Rest assured that the diocesan offices will never share your information with any other parties.

Please share this information with those who you think might not see it.

Wednesday Evenings in Lent (on zoom)

One of the most fascinating writings in all the New Testament is the Letter to the Hebrews. The words of Hebrews are deeply embedded in the Christian tradition. Yet, the Letter to the Hebrews is cloaked in mystery.

Hebrews presents a startling portrait of Jesus and his mission. He is not presented as a prophet, nor as the king, nor as the suffering servant, but instead as our One Great High Priest. Nowhere else in the New Testament is this designation used for the Son of God.

The powerful words of Hebrews were written to encourage an early Christian congregation which had lost sight of its direction and its purpose. In this Lenten presentation, we will listen to what the author of Hebrews teaches us about Jesus, and learn how these words can encourage us in our own life of faith.

  • 6:30-7:45 PM – Program – Walking the Walk while Talking the Talk
  • 8:00-8:20 PM – Compline *note new time* during Lent

No pre-registration is necessary. Have a Bible nearby!

2/17 – Ash Wednesday (view the Ash Wednesday service beginning at 12:00 noon on 2/17)

2/24 – “On homeless shelters and alien residences” (Hebrews 11-13)

3/03 – “Nothing but the best: On the superiority of Jesus” (Hebrews 1:1-3:6)

3/10 – “Rebellion and religion: Apostasy and holy rest” (Hebrews 3:7-6:20)

3/17 – “Now this Melchizedek…A new priesthood for a new day” (Hebrews 7:1-8:13)

3/24 – “Once for all: Jesus and Eternal Atonement” (Hebrews 9-10)

Join us for this fascinating dive into the Book of Hebrews, as we prepare our hearts for Holy Week.

Help your neighbor – Stuff the Bus on January 30th!

ACCA will be participating in the upcoming ‘Stuff the Bus’ events in partnership with Fairfax County to help restock the food pantry. The ACCA food pantry has been overwhelmed with requests during the COVID pandemic and the volunteers constantly adjust to accommodate the demand. Suggestions for most needed items are available on our website at https://accacares.org/foodpantry/
Please drop off your donations on January 30 ‘between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at these locations:
George Mason Regional Library
7001 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA 22003
Belvedere Elementary School
6540 Columbia Pike
Falls Church, VA 22041
Providence District Supervisor’s Office
3001 Vaden Drive
Fairfax, VA 22031
James Lee Community Center
2855 Annandale Road
Falls Church, VA 22042

Prayers for Our Nation: Each Day at 5:00 p.m.

Washington National Cathedral

In the two weeks leading up to the presidential inauguration, the Washington National Cathedral will offer brief online prayers for our nation, together with our interfaith and ecumenical colleagues, each day at 5:00 p.m. The Cathedral staff invite you to spend five minutes in prayers for safety, solace and national unity.

The prayer service can be viewed on the Cathedral’s web site or here on YouTube.

Statement from our Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Michael Curry

Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, The Most Rev. Michael Curry
Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, The Most Rev. Michael Curry

Today is January the 6th, 2021. It is the Feast of the Epiphany. And on this particular day at this particular moment, even as our nation’s capital is being endangered and assaulted, we pray that the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray that God, in his Way of Love, might prevail in all of our hearts.

The events at our Capitol today are deeply disturbing. We believe the actions of armed protesters represent a coup attempt. We are a democracy, with long-standing institutional norms that must be honored, foremost among them, following the processes laid out in the Constitution and Federal statute to facilitate the peaceful and orderly transition of power.
Today’s protesters pushed through police barricades and forced their way into Congressional chambers, and the Capitol building are now threatened, and threatening the safety of lawmakers, their staff, and others who work in the Capitol complex. This threatens the integrity of our democracy. The national security of our nation, the continuity of government, and the lives and safety of our legislators, their staffs, law enforcement, and all who work in the Capitol.
I therefore ask you now to join me in prayer for our nation, praying first from the prayers that accompany Morning Prayer:
Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance;
Govern and uphold us now and always.
Day by day we bless you;
We praise your name forever.
Lord, keep us from sin today;
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
Lord, show us your love and mercy;
For we put our trust in you.
In you, Lord, is our hope;
And we shall never hope in vain.
– Morning Prayer II, Book of Common Prayer, p. 98
Let us pray:
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered together under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God and Creator of us all; to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever.
– For Peace, Book of Common Prayer, p. 815
Oh God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your son. Look now with compassion on the entire human family; and particularly this part of the family, in the United States, and those in our nation’s capital; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
– For the Human Family, Book of Common Prayer, p. 815
On this day and at this moment, we pray for our nation. We ask God to heal us, to show us the way to healing, to show us the way to be one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power and the glory,
forever and ever.
Amen.
And now, may the peace of God which passeth all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The blessing of God Almighty the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be on you and on this nation and on the entire human family and all of creation this moment and forevermore.
Amen.