The Second Sunday after Pentecost: Commemorating Juneteenth |
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Pride at The Falls Church
It’s June, and everywhere we turn we’re surrounded by rainbows. They’re on banners outside of buildings, they’re on flagpoles, they’re in the businesses we frequent, they’re even on unicorns in our swimming pools(!); it seems all the cool kids are putting out rainbows, but let me assure you that while rainbows during June are fun to see, the reality of LGBTQ+ children of God can be far less bright than the colors in a Pride or Progress flag.
This past Saturday, I walked behind the Diocese of Washington’s banner in the DC Pride Parade accompanied by members of six parishes within that diocese and the National Cathedral’s float. The mile and a half parade route was thronged with thousands and thousands of spectators, sometimes six- and seven-people deep, cheering, blowing whistles, waving, screaming, laughing, dancing, empowered to rejoice in the simple act of being without judgement, and when the contingent of Episcopal priests in their collars and parishioners carrying banners of their parishes proclaiming that all are welcome in their pews rounded each turn, the crowds cheered and waved and screamed and blew their whistles even louder. I can’t tell you the number of people who screamed “thank you” over the din of the parade, the number who asked for blessings as we passed by, and the number of genuine smiles of sheer joy that crept across faces when they realized that in between the thumping floats of dance music speakers was this troupe of faithful Christians who carried rainbow flags and walked in Jesus’ footsteps.
Pride Month at The Falls Church won’t involve parades, but we will mark the saints of our church whose love or lives put them at odds with the authorities of the day. Pay attention to our Facebook and Instagram feeds where, every Friday, we will highlight one or two of the queer saints of the church, and while nomenclature is tricky and our view of sexuality is modern, we acknowledge that we have had queer saints as long as there have been saints. We are grateful, therefore, for the examples of Perpetua and Felicity, Sergius and Bacchus, Aelred of Rievaulx, the twentieth-century’s own Pauli Murray, as well as the countless LGBTQ+ faithful of the church in every generation, including our own.
With faith in the God who created each of us, loves each of us, and will not leave any of us alone, I wish all a Happy Pride!
Burl+
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A Special Service for Juneteenth and mural unveiling
Join us Sunday, June 19th, at our usual summer service time of 10:00 a.m. for our annual Juneteenth celebration and worship, together with our siblings, The Rock Christian Center, followed by a joint coffee hour.
Then at 12:00 p.m. we will gather by the blacksmith shop, on the East Fairfax Street edge of the property, for the unveiling of a mural, realized through a partnership with The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation, entitled “Hope for Tomorrow.” The artwork commemorates the survival of a Falls Church landmark, the blacksmith shop, which we know was in business prior to the Civil War. Even more significantly, the artwork features two men, Robert Harmon and Henry Simms, one White and one Black, who operated that shop in a partnership for a half-century. This mural honors their success in running a successful business and in persevering a bi-racial business partnership in Jim Crow Virginia.
The 10:00 a.m. service premieres on YouTube at 9:45 a.m. and remains available afterwards. If you are worshiping virtually, you may follow along with the service bulletin. See the Week-at-a-Glance below for the complete Sunday schedule.
Preaching on Sunday 19th June: The Rev'd. Dr. Denise Wilson
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A video from the Bishop-elect of the Diocese of Virginia:
The Rev'd. Canon E. Mark Stevenson
Click the image below to be taken to the video, hosted on the Diocese's Facebook page.
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Pick-A-Spot: Garden Wizards
We are back meeting every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. for one hour to groom our delightful garden beds. Join us at The Memorial Chapel, bring your tools and we will see what progress can be made in each hour. Plant ID and guidance provided. No need to register, just come along.
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We are delighted to announce that registration is open for our annual parish retreat at Shrine Mont, October 7-9, 2022.
More details are available here and if you have any questions please reach out to Robin Gardener at [email protected]
The deadline for registration is July 7th.
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LAST TWO WEEKS TO REGISTER -
SIGN UP BEFORE THE END OF JUNE
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From the Music Department |
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Celebrate parishioner Scott Tucker’s 10th and final year at Choral Arts with his farewell concert, The Depth of Joy: A Night of Brahms this Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 7:00 pm at Washington National Cathedral.
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To sign up to help at the drive or to take the donations to FCS, please use the Sign-Up Genius.If you have any questions, please contact Dave Raglin at [email protected] or 703-835-1198.
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The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival brings people together to confront the interlocking evils of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the war economy, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism.
They are assembling and marching on June 18, 2022 because any nation that ignores nearly half of its citizens is in a moral, economic and political crisis. There were 140 million people who were poor or one emergency away from economic ruin before the pandemic. Since March 2020, while hundreds of thousands of people have died, millions are on the edge of hunger and eviction, and still without health care or living wages, billionaire wealth has grown by more than $2 trillion. You can find out more here.
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Shout Out for Justice
Join members of Falls Church Presbyterian and The Falls Church from noon to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 18th along Broad Street in silent witness to commemorate Juneteenth and demonstrate against racial injustice.
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TFCE Week-at-a-Glance
For activities June 19 - June 26, click here
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Please use the Prayer List in your prayers for each other and the world.
Praying for each other and the needs of the world is a powerful way to love our neighbors as ourselves! THIS WEEK’S PRAYER LIST
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Please mail your check to:
115 E. Fairfax Street
Falls Church, VA 22046
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Donate safely and securely through our website.
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Text “TFCE” and the amount to 73256.
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If you have questions about Realm or eGiving, please contact
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Are you shopping more online these days? If you’re buying more items from Amazon, please consider adding The Falls Church Episcopal to your AmazonSmile account. With every purchase you make, the church earns a small percentage. Simply click here to
add us to your account!
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