Announcements

The Chronicle for April

A gentle reminder to parish authors: the deadline for submissions to the April Chronicle is Wednesday, March 17. Please send articles to joycew@st-albans-parish.org or ericg@st-albans-parish.org.

Name Tags

PLEASE pick up your name tag in Nourse Hall; wearing our name tags will help John Lawrence get to know who’s who more easily and quickly. Those who have picked up their name tags and promised to pay later, please do so. Thank you!

SAVE THE DATE!

Our 2010 Spring Gala Dinner just got more glamorous! Elizabeth Petty of The Catering Company will be providing another of her exquisite dinners. Take a table, invite your friends for Saturday, April 17th. Silent Auction and Champagne Reception in Nourse Hall at 6:30 with dinner in Satterlee Hall at 7:30. The most important fund-raiser for our Crossroads Shelter and Feeding Ministries, this occasion will feature a video presentation made by Charlotte Morris, as the J2A went on grate patrol one evening. Sign up in the Narthex to help or email Eve Zartman-Ball at ezb@thevisioncouncil.org. To contribute something special for the Silent Auction (an item such as a lovely framed picture, a service such as a week at your house on the shore or 100 bulbs planted in the winner’s garden next fall), contact Sherill Garvey at sgarvey@masongarvey.com. Tickets will be available in the Narthex starting Sunday, March 14th.

Consider a Carbon Fast for Lent

Bishop Chane has asked members of the Diocese of Washington to consider a carbon fast for Lent. The Pennyworth Shop of Grace, Silver Spring has produced a Carbon Fast Calendar: www.graceepiscopalchurch.org/site/1/docs/Lenten_Carbon_Fast_2010.pdf

Greater Washington Interfaith Power & Light also has published a calendar, available at: http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B9Qktp5wbrwNMDJhYWZlZmYtNGIxNS00ZjJmLTk1NWItZDQyNDg2NmJkMjM1&hl=en

Prague, Vienna, Salzburg

There are still a few spots open for people interested in accompanying a choir from St. Alban’s (as non-singers) when they travel to the Czech Republic and Austria, June 6-14. The choir will sing at St. Nicholas Church in Prague, the concentration camp at Terezin, St. Stephansdom and St. Peterskirche in Vienna, and Salzburg Cathedral, as well as the Anglican churches in Prague and Vienna. We will visit the historic parts of these three cities as well as visit Melk Abbey. It’s a unique way to be a tourist and to travel with a wonderful group of people. If you are possibly interested, contact Sonya Sutton at SonyaS@st-albans-parish.org or 202-363-8286, ext. 205.

Easter Memorial Flowers

Remember a loved one with an Easter flower memorial; the names will be printed in a special section of the Easter bulletins. To add a name, please contact Sandra Loftin at 202-966-4720 by Friday, March 26th.

BUILDING A HEALTHY BODY: Disciplines for a Vibrant Church

As many of us know, regular personal practices like prayer, Scripture study, and even a fitness regimen help make us healthy and strong as individuals and as Christians. But there are also practices that, when done together as members of the Body of Christ, help build that body and enable it to flourish. Even better, these practices, far from being burdensome, can be entered into with joy. Come join us at the Lenten Forums each Sunday of Lent (except on March 7, our welcome date for Interim Rector John Lawrence) as we learn some ways to enrich our beloved parish community. As usual, there will be a book table.

St. Alban’s Abbey Choir of Men and Girls - Host Families Needed

Mark your calendars for a concert by the Choir of Men and Girls from our mother church in England, St. Alban’s Abbey on Wednesday, April 7, at 7:00 pm, as part of their 2010 American tour. A traditional Evensong forms the first part of their program, which includes music of Handel, Rutter, Howells and other gems of the Anglican repertoire. In addition to having the chance to hear one of England’s finest choirs, you also have the opportunity to host members of the choir for the evenings of April 5-7. Host families are asked to provide transportation to and from St. Alban’s Parish, breakfasts, and a comfortable place to sleep of course. We need housing for 19 adults (chaperones and men of the choir) and 22 girls, ages 9-14. In previous years host families have found our British visitors to be delightful guests and hosting them to be a very rewarding experience. If you are interested in doing so, please contact Noell Sottile at noniesings@gmail.com or 301-654-7898.

Parish-wide Lenten Reading

It is not too late to join your fellow St Alban’s parishioners for a Lenten program of reading and reflection. The Lenten program holds up the question, "What is my ministry now?" aimed at discerning how we can best continue to exercise our faith in our lives.

St. Alban’s has chosen to read together a short book called A 40- Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which was written to encourage thoughtful reflection on Christian practice. It offers a daily, short, accessible paragraph of Bonhoeffer’s writings together with a short passage of scripture and questions for personal reflection and perhaps journaling. The book is available to the entire Parish, along with a personal journal notebook. We invite parishioners to join in weekly small group reflections on the readings during four weeks of Lent, with many small group options at convenient times during weekdays, evenings or Sundays. Each session will last an hour or so. Group meetings began the week of February 28th.

Stephen Ministry

St. Alban’s is one of several thousand congregations nationwide which equips lay ministers to accompany members of their communities through challenging times by extending Christian care giving. If you find yourself going through a difficult period in your life and want to explore the possibility of having a Stephen Minister walk along with you through your time of trial and provide a confidential caring or spiritual friendship, please contact one of the Stephen Ministry Leaders: Dee Dykstra at 703-971-5795, Ada Kugajevsky at 202-333-2631, Dick Parkins at 202-244-3798, or one of the clergy.

Audio Sermons on the Web

Audio versions of sermons delivered at St. Alban`s are now available on the web. To listen to them, just follow the Sermons and Stories link and click on "Audio" for any given date. We are currently in the process of adding more sermons, so the list is not complete. Text versions (as before) are accessible by clicking on the "Text" links. The sermons can be found at:
www.st-albans-parish.org/sermons_stories/

Lunch with the Interim Rector

On the second Monday of each month we hold informal lunch meetings with the Interim Rector in Satterlee Hall Library. All parishioners are invited to attend so they can ask questions, raise issues, offer advice, or discuss anything else that’s on their minds. Please bring your lunch and join us.

Navigating Our Website

Sometimes trying to find a specific ministry or program on a website can be a challenge. We have added a feature to our home page (www.st-albans-parish.org) that we hope will make the process easier. The search option at the bottom of the page is somewhat different from that on most websites. Many website search functions end up referencing every word in the site, and what you often end up with is more obscure results than you care to slog through (or in some cases unwanted cross-references from some publication or press release). Our search mechanism addresses what we have discovered to be the most frequent need: finding basic information about organizations within St. Alban`s. To find the best set of links, you should enter a single word (such as "interfaith", "Alban", "peace", "cooking", etc...). HAPPY SEARCHING (and don’t forget--our News & Events link at the top of the page is updated several times a week to make sure the information is as up-to-date as possible!)

Memorial and Commemorative Altar Flowers

The Flower Guild seeks donations for altar flowers given in memory of a family member or friend, and for flowers commemorating achievements and events -- "on the occasion of," such as birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and the like, for those living. Flowers also can be given simply to honor someone. To add a name, please contact Sandra Loftin at 202-966-4720.

Time & Talent Pledging for the current Program Year (September 09 -- August 10)

Equally important to our financial pledge each year is pledging of our time and talent to the mission and ministry of St. Alban’s Parish. Time & Talent Pledging may be new to some people, so it might be helpful for you to read further for a thorough description of how it works.

The best and easiest way to pledge is to go to our parish website and click on the link for Time & Talent Pledging. Once there, review and pray over where God may be calling you to serve in the coming year. Check those ministries to which you feel called to serve and submit the pledge. You will receive an email confirmation of your pledge. Also, the leaders of the ministries to which you have pledged will also receive an email with your contact information indicating you have made your pledge of time & talent to that ministry. Those leaders will then be in touch with you as soon as possible to help incorporate you into the ministries to which you have pledged.

Time & Talent Pledging is a way to open up the ministry of the parish to as many people as possible. It is a good way to be as inclusive as possible and to increase the number of people active in all our many and varied ministries. It is also an important means for each of us to contribute our part to the ministry of the whole parish.

Please take a few minutes to pledge your time and talent for the coming program year.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Rector’s Aid

Saturday, March 13, 11:30 AM
Rector’s Aid will meet Saturday, March 13th at 11:30am in the Nourse Hall (rather than the old rectory). We invite anyone interested in our card and correspondence ministry and helping our rector with ongoing projects to join us. Please bring a sandwich and any other treat you might wish to share for our simple Lenten luncheon. Any questions call Jonnie Sue Hicks @ 703-528-1009.

Readers’ Forum

Saturday, March 13, 12:00 PM
The Readers’ Forum will meet on Saturday, March 13th at 12:00 noon in the Satterlee Hall Library. Since we cancelled February’s meeting due to the blizzards, we will discuss the February book IN ARABIAN NIGHTS by Tahir Shah. Bring your lunch. Dessert and beverages are provided. If you have any questions, please call Lynn Freeburger at 410-745-4332.

Welcoming One Another in Christ: How Hospitality Builds Up the Church

Sunday, March 14, 10:30 AM
It may sound like a soft virtue, a nice thing to do; but hospitality lies at the very heart of the Gospel. The Old and New Testaments abound with welcoming stories in which participants are transformed through their roles as guests and hosts of God. Hospitality is at once worship, missionary outreach, and spiritual discipline, says Professor John Koenig of General Theological Seminary, who will lead us in exploring its practical power in our congregational life.

Invitation to Local Community Advocacy

Monday, March 15, 7:00 PM
The team that represents our parish in the Washington Interfaith Network’s local community advocacy invites you to join us at a major event on Monday, March 15 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Covenant Baptist Church, 3845 South Capitol Street, S.W. The church is a few minutes drive out South Capitol Street from the bridge that crosses the Anacostia River adjacent to the Washington Nationals ballpark. We will carpool from the parish leaving at 6:30 p.m. At this meeting WIN representatives will ask Mayor Adrian Fenty and Council members, including Kwame Brown and Mary Cheh, to confirm their support for WIN’s agenda to create employment and social opportunities for unemployed D.C. residents, including young adults. Please RSVP to our invitation by contacting Clem Dinsmore at clem.dinsmore@opco.com or 202-261-0704. We welcome you to join us and see WIN in action!

SOME Casseroles

Sunday, March 21
St. Alban’s parishioners prepare 25 to 50 casseroles each month. On the second Sunday of each month, casserole tins and recipes can be picked up in the lobby area next to the narthex. On the third Sunday of each month, parishioners return prepared casseroles, fresh or canned fruits and juices, vegetables, coffee, peanut butter or powdered milk to the Satterlee Hall kitchen. Pick-up takes place from 10:30-11 am; donations are then transported to SOME for distribution the following Monday. Recipes are also available on St. Alban’s website at www.st-albans-parish.org/outreach/city_some.html.

^ back to top