Third Sunday after the Epiphany |
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Beloved friends in Christ,
The Rev’d. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us from the Canterbury Pulpit of Washington National Cathedral that “nothing will be done until people of goodwill put their bodies and their souls in motion.” His call to action, peaceful resistance to the forces of oppression, and his encouragement to seek unity even in the midst of deep discord and societal division ring true today just as much as they did 50 years ago.
Here at the Falls Church, we believe that our faith in Jesus Christ, the one who died for us and called us to a new life in Him, demands that we seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God here on earth. He also invites us to live in truth, even when that truth is painful and uncomfortable. Sadly, even though we all celebrate the legacy of nearly 300 years of the faithful worship of God, we must acknowledge that the Falls Church was also a place of oppression for either the enslaved builders of our church or the LGBTQI community. As a parish committed to the mission of justice and wishing to become a more beloved community, we repent for these sins of our forefathers and call on each of our members to join us in righteous action.
Last Sunday, we prayed for peace, unity, and racial reconciliation in our country. On Monday, we joined our friends at the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation, the Social Justice Committee of Falls Church, Sen. Mark Warner, and Rep. Don Beyer for a rally observant of Martin Luther King Jr Day. Respecting the wishes of Dr King’s family, we stood at the foot of the Tinner Hill Monument, calling for equal access to voting rights and safeguarding our democracy. This coming Saturday, our joint Racial Justice Committee of Rock Christian Center and the Falls Church invite everyone to join us for our food drive supporting Falls Church Community Service Council (FCS).
We pray that you can join us by supporting the most vulnerable in our community. You can find a list of requested items below, on REALM, and on our Facebook page. We ask that you put your bodies and souls in motion and become coworkers with God in this vital mission. Let us bend the arc of the moral universe a little further toward justice together here and now.
Yours in Christ,
Matthew+
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Due to unforeseen circumstances, we regret that the 9:00 a.m. service will not be live streamed this week. We are sorry for any disappointment this may cause but commend the National Cathedral’s live streamed service, which can be found here.
Preaching on Sunday 23rd January: The Rector
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A note from the Rector
Dear siblings in Christ,
As positivity and hospitalization rates continue to decline, we will continue to gather wisely and with concern for the most vulnerable at TFC. While we believe that we have the space to continue worshiping safely, we ask that each of us remembers to distance safely while at services and activities of The Falls Church, maintaining a mask over both nose and mouth, and refraining from—as hard as it is—hugs and other contact. The air filtration systems in both our worship spaces and in parish hall are in place to provide protection as well. Our concern is always for the most vulnerable among us, and these practices are in place to care for those within our community. If you are uncomfortable being at services on a Sunday, we respect your decision not to be at church and look forward to the time when we can be together again with less anxiety and more safely. Thank you for caring for yourself and for each other.
Burl+
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To donate, please use the list provided above and put the items in disposable bags in your trunk, pull into the upper parking lot, pop the trunk, and a volunteer will unload them for you. Please invite your neighbors and friends to participate.
To sign up to help collect and sort the donations click here.
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Vestry Nominations
Nominations for the upcoming vestry elections on January 30th have been announced. You can view the letter from current Senior Warden Paul Rosbolt and the bios of the nominees here.
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We have been keeping track of how the Omicron Variant is trending. Safety has always been our priority; because of that, we have made the decision to cancel in-person formation for the month of January with hopes that we will return in February. This means there will be no Youth Forum, no Youth Group, and no Confirmation Class.
We will send youth forum activities for your youth to use in order to provide formation opportunities through this time. Here is this week's Youth Forum Activity.
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Children & Families Ministry |
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The New Year brought with it new challenges with COVID-19. The nature of the new variant, and the number of cases has made it clear that the wisest decision we can make for Children’s Formation is to suspend in-person programming for the month of January. Therefore, there will be no in-person Children's Formation or Nursery in the month of January. We will continue to monitor the situation as things change and hope to be back in person in February.
Every Friday, Children Formation will send out virtual formation options. If you want to subscribe to Children Formation Emails and Newsletters, please e-mail: [email protected]
If you missed last week's formation email, you can check it out HERE
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From the Music department: |
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Bel Canto in Tuscany presents Serata Lirica
An elegant evening of arias and ensembles showcases the extraordinary talents of Bel Canto in Tuscany's alumni and future students in a fundraiser for the 2022 Scholarship Fund. BCT General Director Giovanni Reggioli music directs from the piano, assisted by Patrick O'Donnell (Vocal Coach) and Julie Huang Tucker (Collaborative Pianist), as Victoria Cannizzo (BCT '16), Shana Fishman (BCT '22), Eugenia Forteza (BCT '18), Karen Fried ('19), JP Gorski (BCT '17), Ariel Michaelson (BCT '22), Josephine Miller (BCT '19), Cara Schaefer (BCT '16), and guest artist Geoffrey Di Giorgio delight with dazzling selections from the bel canto repertoire and beyond. Come at 6:30 for a discussion with Bel Canto in Tuscany Founder and General Director, international conductor Giovanni Reggioli, about the art and tradition of bel canto and the works that will be shared this evening. The concert is free and open to the public, but concert sponsorships in the form of donations to the Laura Pasqualetti Memorial scholarship fund are warmly welcomed in cash or check, or by digital donation at https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/bel.../campaigns/4497
PLEASE NOTE: The audience is required to remain masked at all times, and proof of vaccination will be required for admittance. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Click here for more information and to reserve your FREE tickets.
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TFCE Week-at-a-Glance
For activities January 23 - January 30, 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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