This week, Bishop Goff extended our "fast from public, in person worship through May 8th.” She took this step in support of the world community as we work together to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Being together as the Body of Christ is at the very heart of our faith. And yet, this fast from public in person worship is what we are called to do for the common good. Its is a tremendous sacrifice, but a necessary one.
Read MoreWe are still the “church of God that is in Arlington at Virginia Square” and grace and peace surrounds us, even now, especially now. We are being the Church, just in different ways.
Read MoreWith the 20s and 30s in mind, body, and spirit, I have been journeying through a reflection on the Signs of Life in our faith this Lent. And, appropriately enough, it happened that the reflection for this past Sunday focused on water and invited us to use our handwashing as an opportunity to, in their words, “remember that as Baptized Christians, we have gone through the waters of death so that we may have abundant life.”
Read MoreI lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where is my help to come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Read MoreWe begin our 10:30am worship with the singing of the Great Litany (S-67) in procession. It is customary to use the Great Litany on the first Sunday of Lent.
Read MoreTThis Sunday is the Last Sunday after the Epiphany. Throughout the Epiphany season, we hear Gospel passages that help us to understand Jesus’ identity as the Son of God. This Sunday, we hear the “epiphany of epiphanies", Jesus’ transfiguration. In Matthew 17: 1-9, Jesus goes up a mountain with three of his disciples and Peter, James and John have a life-changing vision of Jesus suddenly radiating light. A voice from heaven says, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”
Read MoreAs a child, I loved going to church in evening. Somehow it was different than going in the morning. Maybe it was because I got to stay up a bit later, or maybe it was the interplay of the evening light and shadow in the nave. Maybe it was the music that was different. Whatever it was, some of my most vivid memories of worship as a child are of evening liturgies.
Read More…as we look ahead to hearing this verse proclaimed from the Gospel of Matthew this coming Sunday, I can think of several reasons why Christ might have specifically chosen the image of salt as a metaphor for people of good faith.
Read MoreThe vestry begins their tenure on retreat so that they can be grounded in their relationship with God and with each other as we lead the parish in the coming year. The vestry works with me to discern where God is calling us and how we can best live out our mission, “Loving God, Serving Others, Changing the World”. The vestry’s leadership ministry is very important and I hope you will hold all of us in prayer this week-end.
Read More“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.” Isaiah 9:2
These words from this Sunday’s first reading really jump out at us today. As people of faith, we are called to stay in touch with the light within us and to shine the light for others.
Read MoreOne of the things I teach future priests in my liturgical music class at VTS is the rule of 25-50-25. It is a simple guide for the selection of music that states over the course of a year your music choices should reflect 25% “golden oldies,” 50% established repertoire of the parish, and 25% new music.
Read MoreWhile the precipitation in recent days could have justifiably been a cause for concern—with secondary effects ranging from upended people to sliding cars, I’m also reminded as we anticipate the Baptism of our Lord this Sunday that water is the source of all life on Earth.
Read MoreDear Friends,
I hope this finds you well as we begin this new year in faith, hope and love. This Sunday, we will celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany (transferred from Jan 6th). Epiphany is an important feast day. It is the day that we celebrate the arrival of the three wise men at Jesus’ birthplace. We think about the star that they followed from their homeland in Persia and reflect on the light of Christ shining in the world today. In Christian tradition, the wise men represent the spread of Christianity throughout the world.
Christmas is almost upon us! I hope that you will be able to join us for one of our four service offerings this year. Please see above for service time and details.
Read MoreAs we approach the fourth Sunday of Advent, I am reminded of the world of dreams, where both God and our subconscious mind can speak to us—in ways that can be both playful and powerful. I think of the dream world like an arid landscape, perhaps untended for years but still providing fertile ground for countless creatures, some more wild than others.
Read MoreI love Advent and I love Advent hymnody even more. Often our Advent hymns get overlooked as we rush to hear or sing our beloved Christmas carols and we miss out on the depth and wonder – the mystery - these Advent gems offer us. This Sunday we get to sing two of what I think are probably everyone’s favorite Advent hymns.
Read MoreAdvent invites us to make space and time for light in the midst of darkness, and to prepare our hearts and our minds for the Christ Child.
Read MoreAmerica’s beloved children’s choir expert, Helen Kemp (1918-2005) had a wonderful chant which she uses regularly with her children’s choirs and in her workshops with adults:
“Body, mind, spirit, voice, it takes the whole person to sing and rejoice!”
Read MoreThis past Sunday was a day when our services took us one step closer to Christ’s call: a call described powerfully by Presiding Bishop Curry, to “change the world from the nightmare it often is into the dream that God intends.”
Read MoreThere is a whole lot of happy dancing going on today! The Nats’ victory last night was absolutely incredible and it is so wonderful to see everyone coming together in celebration. We tried to figure out a way to get our cardboard cut-out of Presiding Bishop Curry to do a happy dance but the most we could manage was to give him a World Series Championship cap.
Read More
