On The Table

Labels: baptism, Doan, Maisel

Hi church,


This Sunday morning (10am), we'll be celebrating the baptism of two members of our community at Mike and Stacy Stavlund's place in Falls Church. (Parking is very limited, so if you could park on Sleepy Hollow and walk the last block, we'd appreciate it.) Mike S.'s words from last week express beautifully the meaning of this sacrament for us: "We'll be coming around Lucretia and Alyssa as they celebrate the new life they have been given, and to pledge ourselves to them as they continue to live after Jesus." In that spirit of baptism as a communal commitment, the service will include a time for open sharing of our prayers, love, and support for Alyssa and Lucretia, so if you have a prayer, poem, or other expression that you'd like to share, please bring it. And if you're still considering being baptized yourself, it's not to late - let us know right away!

Also, this Saturday afternoon (the 8th) at 3pm, the Design Team will be meeting to plan our services for October and beyond, when we'll be looking at how Christian communities take very different forms based on the people they seek to serve, the cultural context, and the gifts and passions of the community members. Everyone is welcome to contribute to the planning, even if you've never been a part of Design Team before, and you can participate in whatever way works for you, whether it be just helping us brainstorm, or taking a role in a single service or in the whole series. Location is TBD - look for an update on the core list. Also, a bunch of us might go watch people pull airplanes around on ropes before the meeting. So that should be fun.


Have a great week - welcome back to the school year, if that's an important thing in your life. If it isn't, welcome to another week just like last week. :-) Hope it's blessed.


Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: baptism, DT4.0

Dear Church:

With apologies to the bunch of hard-working folk who braved the heat last week to do some landscaping at the Benedictine monastery nearby, it looks like we'll be enjoying some cooler temperatures and clear skies this Sunday morning, September 2 at 10am as we gather there to celebrate the anniversary of our church, and to walk a labyrinth together.

Immediately following the time of worship, we'll be having a picnic on the grounds there to extend our Eucharist. The Amazing Kate has graciously volunteered to coordinate the plans, and has asked everyone to bring some meat (or meat-like substance) for the grill, and a dish to share. You also might want to bring a chair or blanket to sit on, both for the picnic and the labyrinth.

So we hope you can join us at this beautiful oasis in the 'burbs of Bristow, VA . (a note about driving: Google maps produced a rather jacked-up, confusing route for me, but Israel-- the friendly man, not the nation-state-- suggested a more straightforward route: exit 66 at Lee Hwy/29, head south, then take a left onto Linton Hall Road/619. The monastery doesn't have any blatant signage, but you will probably notice the giant Baptist church with huge lettering on your right. The monastery is directly across Linton Hall. Once you get on the grounds, head left at the main building toward the twin white grain silos at the end of the property.)

Next week (September 9th), we'll be gathering at our place in Falls Church for a celebration of baptism! We'll be coming around Lucretia and Alyssa as they celebrate the new life they have been given, and to pledge ourselves to them as they continue to live after Jesus. Please pray that the pool stays relatively warm, and rest assured that there is a (brand-new!) Chipotle just up the hill. So our normal liturgy won't be interrupted that much.

Hope everyone has a nice, relaxing holiday weekend.

Mike Stavlund

Labels: baptism, labyrinth

Labels: baptism, GNU Team, service-worship

Christ is Risen; He is Risen Indeed!

Happy Easter everyone. As our resident Anglican has rightly pointed out, Easter is not just a day, it's a season. And that feels somehow right this year; that Easter is not so much a punctuation mark, as an emergence of renewal, redemption and life. I like the idea of beginning an Easter journey.

And I can't think of any better way to begin that journey than by formally welcoming Kieran Tennyson and Ella Stavlund to our church, and the Church, through baptism. This Sunday at Jammin Java, we have the opportunity to gather around the Tennysons and the Stavlunds to celebrate the lives of their children, to symbolize our hopes and prayers for Kieran and Ella, and to recommit ourselves towards modeling lives of grace and love. Plan to join us for this special celebration at 10:00 AM.

As we look forward to the coming weeks, here are a couple other dates to put on your calendar:

April 21 Service-Worship: We'll be serving one of our own families next week, as we install new floors at the Chapman's home. Ryan has been quite allergic to the carpet in their house for a while, so this will be a neat chance to minister to him, as well as to gather around Ryan, Becky and Sophie to celebrate the addition of Grant to their family. We're planning for a 9:00 AM start time but come help whenever you can that day -- there will be plenty of work to go around!

April 29 Passover Seder: As we continue our journey through the Jewish Calendar this year, we'll be celebrating passover (a bit late) with a dinner at the Fairfax Station Railroad Museum. Dinner will be from 5:00 to 8:00 -- look for more details next week.

Feel free to check out the new Common Table calendar to see what else is going on. In fact, when you're there, spend a little bit of time browsing around the new church web site. It's pretty snazzy - with more features on the way! The new design is meant to be an interactive hub for our community and to give visitors a better sense of who we are. Many thanks to the iTeam for all their cool ideas in spinning it up!

See you on Sunday,

Deanna

Labels: baptism, Ella, Kieran