The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Joyful celebrations

As it is the Lord’s Day, the sabbath, this Sunday we will gather as a community of believers in a resurrected Jesus and praise God for the wonders that God has done, the showering of gifts, the assurance that we are loved and never alone, and the promise of eternal life. We gather every Sunday to do these things, but this Sunday will be different. This Sunday we will celebrate Julie Huang Tucker for her decade of service to The Falls Church, a decade in which she has been one of the heartbeats of our life together. While we lament Julie’s decision to move on toward new ventures, we only rejoice in the possibilities that lie ahead for her and hope she will remain connected to all of us who love her and will miss her (and Scott and Zoe!). She is always welcome here.

We will celebrate Julie’s service to The Falls Church during the service itself as well as with a festive coffee hour following the 10:00 a.m. service that will include tokens of appreciation from the choir and parish. In addition, parishioners will have the opportunity to offer their own thanks to Julie in a purse that we will collect through Realm for the month of September. You can donate here or via the church’s website (thefallschurch.org). I encourage you to be generous in your offering, as Julie has been so generous with us over these last ten years. I also remind you that because gifts to the fund go directly to an individual, those gifts are not tax-deductible and will not appear on your giving statement from the church.

Please join us on Sunday to offer our thanksgiving for Julie’s service to The Falls Church and the legacy she has established for music in this community.

Fr. Burl+

Transitions

Transitions within communities are difficult and transitions at The Falls Church are no different. We are a community, however, that honors and values transparency, and the rector, wardens and vestry of The Falls Church invite you to participate in either (or both) of two listening sessions designed to further that commitment to transparency. The first is Monday evening, 12 September, 7:00 p.m. via Zoom, and the second is during the adult forum on Sunday, 18 September, in the Parish Hall. We look forward to seeing you at one (or both) of the sessions and building on our commitment to truth and to love.

please fill out the child sections of a second form and submit both together, and return it printed and filled in to the office, or digitally filled in (it’s a fillable PDF) to [email protected] We will also have copies to pick up at church if you do not have the ability to print or fill in digitally. Please be sure to complete information on your baptism and confirmation, if applicable. The number of delegates representing TFC at Diocesan Convention is determined by our confirmed member total.

As well as information, we would also love to have an up-to-date photo of all members, including and particularly children, a word from Lauren on why this is important:

Updated children's photos are an important part of our safety protocols at The Falls Church. These photos help us have a current picture of your child(ren). Current photos ensure that if a child were to go missing, our security team would have an accurate description of your child(ren). Thank you.

You can email a photo along with the form, or upload one yourself if you have a Realm log in. We will also be hosting a photo booth one Sunday in September to take photos of those who do not have them or who are unable to upload or provide a digital photo.

I am more than happy to help anyone who needs it, via email, phone call, video call or even a visit to the office, please just let me know.

Thank you in advance for your help,

Ellie and the staff of The Falls Church

Register for our annual parish retreat at Shrine Mont, October 7-9, 2022.

Registration closes Monday September 12!

Enjoy the beautiful Shenandoah mountains, comfort cooking, a thoughtful guest speaker, small group activities, and a bonfire for the whole family! And the best part of all -- enjoying all this with your parish community and family.

Children of all ages are welcome at Shrine Mont and can expect interactive lessons, crafts and games during their sessions. Nursery, children, and youth programing will also reflect the overall theme for the weekend, to create the opportunities for intergenerational discussions about God. It will be a time for all ages to grow closer to God and to our Parish Community. 

If you have questions or would like to volunteer to help plan weekend activities, please email [email protected].

To register, sign up via Realm, or by downloading and returning this completed form, along with a deposit check for $100, the remaining balance payment can occur up to the retreat.

More details are available here and if you have any questions please reach out to Robin Gardner at [email protected]

Limited financial assistance is available this year, so don't hesitate to contact Father Matthew: [email protected] for details.

Invitation to Join a Sacred Ground Group

On behalf of the Racial Justice Committee of The Falls Church, I'd like to extend an invitation to all within the congregation to join a Sacred Ground group at TFC this fall. Sacred Ground is a film- and readings-based dialogue series on race, and grounded in the Episcopal faith.

Small groups lead by facilitators are invited to walk through chapters of America's history of race and racism, while weaving in threads of family short story, economic class, and political and regional identity. The 11-part series is built around an online curriculum of documentary films and readings that focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with the European American histories. Participants are invited to peel away the layers that have contributed to the challenges and divides of the present day, all while grounded in our call to faith, hope, and love. More information can be found here.

If you are interested in taking part this year, please contact Erin Muhlbradt.

Choir Practice for the Historic Church Choir will begin on Thursday 8th September at 7:00 p.m. 

For more info please contact Geoff Kannan by email..

Children's Formation and Children's Chapel are returning on Sept 11th!  That's only a few weeks away. I am so excited! We are planning, getting classrooms ready and so much more. Help us plan for the best year ever by registering your child(ren) for Formation Classes. 

We want every child to feel known and loved at TFCE and registration helps us to know how to prepare our classes, ensures our children are greeted by name, assists with the creation of Children's Chapel, and gives us the opportunity to pray for your child(ren) uniquely. 

As we gear up for the start of our year, we ask that you fill out THIS DOCUMENT for each of your youth. This will give us some of the important information about your youth and will make sure that they are ready to go for the next year of programming. This is a general release, please know that we will also ask for specific permissions for photo use and events that take us away from our church campus.

Starting September 11th we will be returning to our weekly programming. You can find our completed fall schedule and tentative spring schedule here. We look forward to welcoming back all of our youth and bringing in our new 6th graders!

Use the SignUpGenius to learn more and sign up!

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