What Would Love Do?
A Word to the Church from the Presiding Bishop
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This is truly worth watching, and if you don't have the bandwidth to watch the video, you can read the transcript at the same page.
"None of us can go back. We must move forward. But we don’t know for sure what the new normal will be. Fortunately, God’s rubric of love shows us the way."
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Thanks to the generosity of many, the diocese is now able to provide direct assistance to those within our congregations and the communities they serve. The COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund amplifies congregational ministry to assist congregation and community members experiencing financial hardships as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic; and established congregational food pantries and meals programs experiencing increased demand. Learn more.
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Could You Offer Some Help?
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Our community needs us now, more than ever. There are a number of ways that we can continue to serve our community, even in these difficult times.
- Joe’s Place is continuing to feed people who are able to come on Thursday afternoons twice a month. At the moment, we seem to have enough food to keep up with demand. Monetary donations are, of course, always welcome. You can mail a check (made out to the church) to the church or use the Paypal “Donate Now” link on the church’s website. Just be sure to indicate, either in the memo line of the check or in the information box online, that the donation is for Joe’s Place.
- If you are a person who sews, you can make face masks. First for your family, and then if you have ones you can donate, Deacon Susan will be glad to pick them up from you. She has a number of sources that are able to put the masks to good use.
- We can provide face and hand cream for our doctors and nurses and those that have to wear their masks all day long while fighting this battle. This is a surprisingly urgent need for many of the hospital staff and first responders. .Mary Kay Cosmetics has put together bundles of the most-requested items. If you would like to make a contribution towards the purchase of those bundles for local hospitals, you may use the Paypal “Donate Now” link on the church’s website or send a check to the church (please note “face cream for nurses” on your donation). Contributions fort this effort need to be received by May 15.
- Lifestyles, the local umbrella organization for services to the homeless, is running a“cabana” at Mount Hope Baptist Church in Nanjemoy. It will be stocked with bags of toiletries and food, and staffed by volunteers. They are asking for donations of both money and specific items. Here is a list of items they are looking for. Deacon Susan will gladly make arrangements to pick up donations. Checks should be made payable to End Hunger in Charles County and write COVID19 food in the memo. Send them to the Fuller House, 3470 Rockefeller Court, Waldorf, MD 20602.
- The Diocese has set up a COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund (see above) to help parishioners, and folks associated with our parishes, who don’t have enough money for food. It also is set up to support established food pantries like Joe’s Place. Applications for assistance are made by the clergy on behalf of the parishioner, and reviewed by a diocesan committee. Contact to Rev. Catharine to apply for assistance. You can also donate to the fund here.
We are a community committed to following Jesus in his Way of Love. In these times when we cannot worship together in person, God can still show us ways in which we can follow him faithfully. By reading scripture and praying for guidance we can be led to acts of love that show the good news of the gospel in action When that happens we discover that we ourselves are blessed by extending the blessings of Christ to others in these tangible ways.
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Outreach? Evangelism?? Mission???
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Most Episcopal churches have a committee that’s called “Outreach” or “Mission” or “Mission & Outreach.” (Not so many include “Evangelism” in the name, but some do!). These terms can generate confusion, and they get used to mean different things by different people at different times.
Here’s one set of fairly common definitions:
- Outreach is what we do when we offer services to any population that might not otherwise have access to those services.
- Evangelism is sharing the gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Sometimes that means, or turns into, “proselytizing,” or actively trying to convert someone to your own faith.
- “Mission” is a word that means a number of different things. Our most basic mission as a church is to participate in God’s mission of love to the world. That’s the sense of the word “mission” that we use when we talk about an organization having a mission statement, or someone having a mission in life. The word also gets used to describe an organized effort to spread Christianity to new converts, using people called missionaries who go out to carry the good news (“evangelize”) to people who need to hear it. Often missionaries participate in the sorts of service activities that we as a parish do as “outreach.”
These three aspects of Christianity often hang together because it is by reaching out and serving others (“outreach”) that we become living examples of the Good News of Christ (evangelizing), which in turn often draws new people into a faithful relationship with Jesus (one of the senses of “mission”).
Is this how you understand these terms? Are you interested in sharing your thoughts and hearing what others think? There are already a couple folks who are interested in having a virtual chat about these questions. Speak up to Rev. Catharine or Deacon Susan if you’re interested.
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This Week's Announcements
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Joe’s Place Food Pantry: A small, dedicated, and much-appreciated crew of volunteers is continuing this vital ministry for us during this period of social distancing.
Paying your pledges. Yes, you can still pay your pledge! In fact, the parish budget is counting on it! You can either mail a check to the church's postal address (8700 Ironsides Road, Nanjemoy, MD 20662) or use Paypal on the church website. One way in which we are trying to provide financial oversight in these tricky times is to issue regular giving statements to our pledging members. When you receive your statement, please check to confirm that the church’s records match yours.
Worship Committee will meet on Monday, May 11 from 12:30 to 2pm.
Adult Forum is trying out an email format for discussion. If you’d like be included and aren’t on the email list, contact Rick Posey.
Make a Joyful Noise for Pentecost! Kathy Doyle is putting together a virtual anthem for the birthday of the Church on Pentecost (May 31). We are planning a joint service that day with St James', Indian Head, and she already has expressions of interest from several directions. Please contact Kathy soon if you are interested, as this project requires a fair bit of preparation and coordination.
Episcopal Asset Map. The Episcopal Church has a massive site that allows people to find us, our worship services and our services to the community. Our own parish’s entry (and not ours only!) needs some spiffing up. Deacon Susan and Mike Cahall are working on it at the direction of the bishops. If you have a little time, check out the Asset Map to see how other parishes are represented, and if you have information that you think could or should be included, please let Deacon Susan know.
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It should not be a big surprise that we will not be re-gathering in the church building on May 16, as we had at one time hoped. When and how we do resume worship in physical proximity to each other is going to depend on a variety of factors. The Bishops of Washington, Maryland, and Virginia have issued a joint statement on how they expect the "re-opening" process to go. It will likely be a slower and more gradual process than many of us imagined when we first closed the doors of the church.
See their statement here.
Image: Dave Walker's CartoonChurch
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May 10th is the 5th Sunday in Easter
He is the Way.
Follow him through the Land of Unlikeness;
you will see rare beasts and have unique adventures.
He is the Truth.
Seek him in the Kingdom of Anxiety:
you will come to a great city that has expected your return for years.
He is the Life.
Love him in the World of the Flesh:
and at your marriage all its occasions shall dance for joy.
W. H. Auden (1907-1973)
Morning Prayer at 10:30am on Sundays. Compline (a brief service of nighttime prayers) at 8pm on Sundays and Wednesdays.
Click here to join us on Zoom
Or dial 301-715 8592
and punch in
Meeting ID: 583 567 005 and
Password: 061094
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Check out this handy calendar to see what the readings will be in the Episcopal Church this Sunday or any Sunday. The Revised Common Lectionary site has additional resources for exploring each week's scriptures.
If you're looking for the Daily Office (Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer), you can visit Forward Movement. You will also find Forward Day by Day at this site.
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Keep abreast of goings-on in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, of which we are a parish. Sign up for the newsletter or check out previous issues here.
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With One Accord: Acts in Easter
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We are in the fourth week of our study of the Book of Acts, which tells how the early church got its footing in a confusing time. This week we'll be looking at Acts 13:1 - 16:15. We'll get to hear about what Michael Curry calls the first "church fight."
It's not too late to join us on Zoom for study and fellowship. Each week the same material is covered at noon on Wednesday and at 7pm on Thursday. Check out the reading schedule here.
Prefer to listen, rather than read? You can get audio versions of the Bible through the Charles County Public library here, or on Hoopla here.
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Let us pray......in thanksgiving for the members of our congregation: Linda, Kathy, John, and Chris.
....for support and protection for those who serve our country at home and abroad: Alex, Mike, Wes, Thomas, Steven, and Megan.
....for those in need of God’s healing grace: Vivian (mother of Barbara), Rose (friend of Gloria), Anna and Chris (daughter and son-in-law of Jinger and Sue), Mabel, James (neighbor of Rick and Mary), Jane (sister of Bill), Tom; Our continuing prayers are offered for: Mabel, Barbara, Thelma (Deacon Susan’s mother), Butch, Livvy (mother of Kathy), Buddy, Rhonda, Jeanne, Jean, Roy, and Luci (aunt of Barbara).
The Diocese of Washington cycle of prayer: Presiding Bishop Michael Curry; Church of the Good Shepherd, Silver Spring;
Good Shepherd Episcopal Preschool, Silver Spring. The Anglican Communion Cycle of Prayer: Pray for the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (The Anglican Communion in Japan)The Most Revd Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu - Primate of The Nippon Sei Ko Kai & Bishop of Hokkaido.
The Episcopal Diocese of Washington's COVID-19 prayer:
Holy One, we ask for you to embrace the whole human family with your care as we seek to understand, adapt, and live into the reality of the COVID 19 pandemic. We pray for those who are giving care and those who are ill, for those who are afraid or alone, and for those who have died. We especially pray for those who have tested positive for this disease and those who are in self-quarantine. Give us strength and courage to face what is to come and guide the leaders of the nations in finding ways to work together for the good of all. Hold your church, this diocese, our congregations and clergy, in communion with each other, so that we might find ways to be in relationship while apart, uniting us in your your son, Jesus, who with the Spirit hold us all in Your loving arms. Amen.
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