“Let us go forward in Christ's name as a community of faith; to grow in faith through worship, witness and love for one another and our neighbor”
— St. Anne's Mission Prayer

St. Anne's Episcopal Church is a vibrant, energetic, optimistic, fun, and loving community of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington located in Upper Montgomery County, MD. As Episcopalians we believe in a loving, liberating, and life-giving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are descendants of and partners with the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church, and are part of the third largest group of Christians in the world.

We believe in following the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection saved the world.

Ours is a legacy of inclusion. We aspire to tell and exemplify God’s love for every human being. We believe that God loves you – no exceptions.

IMPORTANT REMINDER

It's not too late to make your estimate of giving!
Our 2019 Living Out Our Mission Giving Campaign is Ongoing!

• Returning the form from the giving letters to the offering plate, or mailing it in. If you lost your form - there are forms available in the Narthex.
• Entering the information through our website by clicking here or going to going to https://saintannesdamascus.net/living-out-our-mission-pledge
• NEW- Use your Realm Account to enter your pledge. Simply sign into realm and choose giving from the menu on the left of your profile; then select the button labeled +pledge.

Congratulations

Children's Hour 

St. Anne's Lenten Offering

• Damascus HELP, which helps local families in the Clarksburg-Damascus area who are in need of food, clothing, furniture, assistance with bills, etc.
• Opening New Doors, which helps women and their children who are victims of domestic violence.

This Sunday we celebrate the Second Sunday of Lent

In the early Historic Period Iona lay within the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata, in the region controlled by the Cenél Loairn (i.e. Lorn, as it was then). The island was the site of a highly important monastery (Iona Abbey) during the Early Middle Ages. According to tradition the monastery was founded in 563 by the monk Columba, also known as Colm Cille, who had been exiled from his native Ireland as a result of his involvement in the Battle of Cul Dreimhne. Columba and twelve companions went into exile on Iona and founded a monastery there. The monastery was hugely successful, and played a crucial role in the conversion to Christianity of the Picts of present-day Scotland in the late 6th century and of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria in 635. Many satellite institutions were founded, and Iona became the centre of one of the most important monastic systems in Great Britain and Ireland.

Iona became a renowned centre of learning, and its scriptorium produced highly important documents, probably including the original texts of the Iona Chronicle, thought to be the source for the early Irish annals. The monastery is often associated with the distinctive practices and traditions known as Celtic Christianity. In particular, Iona was a major supporter of the "Celtic" system for calculating the date of Easter at the time of the Easter controversy, which pitted supporters of the Celtic system against those favoring the "Roman" system used elsewhere in Western Christianity. The controversy weakened Iona's ties to Northumbria, which adopted the Roman system at the Synod of Whitby in 664, and to Pictland, which followed suit in the early 8th century. Iona itself did not adopt the Roman system until 715, according to the Anglo-Saxon historian Bede. It is also believed that the famous Book of Kells, an illustrated manuscript was created by the monks on Iona.

In our modern times Iona Abbey was restarted and has been the source of incredible liturgy and programs for spiritual pilgrimage. Our lenten liturgy will draw heavily from the tradition of this Holy Isle.

Lenten Study: Simon Peter: Flawed but Faithful Disciple

• Read chapter 2 of the book prior to this weeks class and don't forget to reflect on your homework questions.

Music Notes

Parishioner seeking Leads

Damascus Y-Women; Relay for Life

Social Justice Committee

In 2019  the Social Justice Group is sponsoring a Conversation on Palestine which will follow along the lines of the Palestine/Israel Network of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship. Last week, Dana Grubb, a member of St. Anne’s, wrote about the History of the Holy Land before 1948.  This week’s essay is on the history of the ongoing conflict after 1948. Below is his second article.

A Brief View of the Holy Land Today
by Dana Grubb

Introduction:

This is the second of six articles about Israel and Palestine today. 

  1] A very brief history until 1948.

  2] A modern history from 1948

  3] Israel.

  4] Palestine.

  5] Gaza

  6] Possible solutions.

A Modern History of the Holy Land from 1948 to the Present

In 1948, as the British forces were leaving, war broke out between the Jewish residents and the Jordanian Army (fighting on the behalf of the Muslims). The bitter fighting continued between Jewish paramilitary forces and the similarly weak Jordanian army. 

Israel conquered all of Galilee (in the north) and virtually all of the coastal areas. However, they were only able to conquer the western part of Jerusalem, mostly because the Jewish secular leaders considered it to be of minor importance. Many war crimes were committed by both sides. 

Many Arabs in the war zone fled from the intense fighting east to what is now Palestine. Many others who were behind the Israeli battle line were simply marched out of Israeli with only what they could carry on their backs. The result was that over 700,00 Arabs became refugees. Israel has never allowed them to return, which is a major issue in any peace talks. Jewish leaders also declared that Israel was a nation. The U.S. recognized the nation of Israel.

In 1949, the United Nations called for an armistice at the current border between the two military forces. Israel and Jordan signed an agreement on the arrangement. This is the so-called “Green Line” that, for the United Nations and most the world, is the partition from which a final land division would be made. 

In 1967, after a minor war with Egypt in 1956, a major war broke out between Israel and Egypt. Israel now had a stronger military led by experienced officers. Egypt had a massive army that was well-equipped by the Soviet Union. The quality of the Israeli army prevailed and all of what they had not conquered in 1949 was conquered. This included all of Jerusalem. 

Israel annexed Palestinian East Jerusalem (despite the U.N.) and greatly increased the size of Jerusalem with expanded suburbs.  Large Israeli civilian settlements were also begun on Palestinian land between the Palestinian eastern part of Jerusalem and the rest of Palestine. These settlements now contain an estimated 200,000 Israeli citizens. These settlements tend to seal off Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. There are also another estimated 200,000 Israeli citizens scattered throughout the more habitable areas of the West Bank. 

More recently, Arab citizens of Israel living south of the Old (medieval) City of Jerusalem have been expelled to make room to build tourist facilities for the excavations of the ancient ruins. (I went on an Israel tour there.)

In 1988, Jordan ceded their land in the West Bank & East Jerusalem to the new nation of Palestine. Its people identify themselves as Palestinians. Except for the U.S., most of the world recognizes the nation of Palestine as shown by the huge display of their national flags in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the temporary capital of the West Bank until Israel allows them to move their capital to East Jerusalem.

Anything is possible...

The Social Justice Committee

Diocese launches Strategic Planning Process

Planning Travel? Enjoy a Vacation knowing you are helping St. Anne's at the same time.

News from Washington National Cathedral

The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge is one of the world’s best known choral groups. Every Christmas Eve millions of people worldwide tune in to listen to their A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, which is the longest established annual broadcast in history, reaching 90 years in 2018. The choir’s international fame and reputation, enhanced by an extensive recording catalog, has led to invitations to perform around the world.

Want to see what your National Cathedral looks like built of LEGO® bricks? Want to help make it happen?

Over 13 feet long . . . 400,000 bricks . . . including the west rose window, Bethlehem Chapel, the central tower, and all of your favorite National Cathedral features. This will be the world’s largest LEGO cathedral to be built by the public.

We start building on March 1, 2019, and you can help! For $2 per brick you can “buy a brick” to help us raise the walls on the LEGO Cathedral and help us raise money to support repairs from the 2011 earthquake.

After we “break ground” on March 1, you can check this page for updates and progress photos!

• Visitors to the Cathedral can view the construction progress and “buy bricks” at the Cathedral gift shop on the nave (main) level. Official volunteers will assist and direct where to place purchased bricks.

PLAN YOUR VISIT 

• Donate online and volunteers will place bricks for you.
• We appreciate the interest and support from across the United States and around the world! Those who aren’t able to visit in person can donate online and volunteers will place the bricks onto the model.

DONATE NOW

Volunteer with us!

We need volunteers to make the LEGO Cathedral project possible! Volunteers will help facilitate the building process by showing visitors where to place their bricks, track the number of bricks sold, and more.

GET INVOLVED

Have you checked out St. Anne's Online Academy Yet? Take a simple course to learn just how easy it is! "How to take a ChurchNext Course" 

You can access the course which will allow you to register for our online learning by following this link

Register for St. Anne's On-Line Academy