SRCA NEWS AND NOTES

REMINDERS:

Youth Bible Study is Sunday, 2/27 from 5:30 - 7:30

Worship Bible Study meets the first Thursday, which is March 3, from 7:30 - 9:00 at the Canody's home

Dear Parish Family,

Sunday we celebrate the 8^th Sunday after the Epiphany. (Next Sunday is the last Sunday after the Epiphany, the last Sunday before we enter into the season of Lent.) Our scripture readings will include Isaiah 49:8-16a, Psalm 131, 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, and Matthew 6:24-34.

In Sunday's gospel reading we hear Jesus say, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life… which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? Jesus gives such wonderful advice, which is so difficult to follow! Perhaps you are a person prone to worry, or perhaps not, but all of us worry at times, even about the things Jesus names in today's reading. Worry can rob us of focus and energy, add to our stress levels, and affect our health. As a church it can distract us from God's call on us to be about the business of advancing the kingdom.

What leads us to worry, and what can we do to live into Jesus' call to us to not worry? Let's explore this gospel imperative and some ways to make it more attainable by us as we follow Jesus.

See you at worship!Don't miss the opportunity to worship God in our loving community of faith!

Faithfully, 

Becki+

The Rev. Becki Neumann+

Rector, South Riding Anglican Church

Office  703-961-1983

Cell  240-217-4370

Home  717-762-0924

"When it's all been said and done; there is just one thing that matters. Did I do my best to live for truth, did I live my life for you?" 

SRCA NEWS AND NOTES

REMINDERS

The interest sheet is now out for Family Camp, July 1-3. If you thin you might be interested, please sign the sheet or respond to this email.

March 8 is Shrove Tuesday (when our cabinets get "shriven" of all fat before the start of  Lent on the 9th. We will host our 2nd annual pancake supper, so save the date!

FOR SUNDAY

These past weeks I have been talking a lot about our call to be ambassadors for Christ, the phrase that begins our mission statement. That statement reads, "Called to be ambassadors for Christ, SRCA is a vibrant body of Christ followers reaching out to bring healing and hope to neighbors near and far so that they will know the power of Christ?s love. We serve our neighbors by tending their spiritual, physical, and emotional, needs through the power of the Holy Spirit."

As we?ve heard, ambassadors represent their homeland while living in a foreign land. Some folks may be thinking, "I didn?t sign up to be an ambassador." By virtue of the fact that we are Christ followers, this is the call upon us. Our choice in the matter is whether we will represent Christ poorly or well. The more attuned we become to the love and mercy embedded in God?s law, the better we are able to represent Jesus. The call for us to be holy as God is holy is a call for us to be salt and light, to be people who can point to a holy and loving God with integrity, because others experience Him through us.

On this coming Sunday, the 7^th Sunday of Epiphany we hear that call, to be holy as God is holy, in our scripture readings. The lessons for the day include Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18; Psalm 119:33-40; I Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23; Matthew 5:38-48.

Welcome to our worship. I pray you will draw near to God, and be more and more transformed into His likeness.

Faithfully,

Becki+

--

Rev. Becki Neumann+

Rector, South Riding Anglican Church

Office 703-961-1983

Cell 240-217-4370

Home 717-762-0924

"When it's all been said and done; there is just one thing that matters. Did I do my best to live for truth, did I live my life for You?"

SRCA NEWS AND NOTES

Greetings in the name of Jesus,

I just got back from volunteering to cook breakfast at the Ronald McDonald House. What a blessing to provide love, a meal, and a touch of normalcy to folks who are struggling with some of the harder parts of life. In the months ahead we will be seeking this type of hands on service for members of our congregation. 

On Sunday we celebrate the 6^th Sunday after the Epiphany. Our scripture readings include Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Psalm 119:1-8, 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, and Matthew 5: 21-37. All focus on the importance of following God's law rather than our own desires.

As a people, as a church, we are called to be ambassadors for Christ. Again and again I go back to the definition of an ambassador – someone who lives in a foreign country with the sole purpose of representing their homeland. As Christ's ambassadors we live in this world, but we are citizens of Christ's kingdom. It is his kingdom we represent, him we are to imitate. When we get sucked into living life by the standard of this world we cease being effective in our role as ambassadors.

My role as your priest is to encourage you to continually develop the mind of Christ, to grow in your faith and understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. To that end I share with you some of the immediate fruit of Faith Alive.

*      A new men's Bible study is forming. It will meet in the evening. Please talk to Cris Campbell if you are interested in joining this study.

*      Remember the fellowship over dinner at Faith Alive, and the sharing that happened? We will be forming DSP groups. DSP = dinner, share, and pray. Groups will meet monthly. There is a 4 month commitment.

*      During Faith /Alive our visiting witnesses shared brief glimpses into what God had done for them. During Lent we will hear from 6 of our own members about what God has done and is doing. Are you one of the 6? Pray and ask the Lord.

Thanks be to God that we might worship Him in spirit and in truth! God is on the move here in SRCA!

Blessings,

Becki+

--

Rev. Becki Neumann+

Rector, South Riding Anglican Church

Office 703-961-1983

Cell 240-217-4370

Home 717-762-0924

"When it's all been said and done; there is just one thing that matters. Did I do my best to live for truth, did I live my life for You?"

SRCA NEWS AND NOTES

Dear Parish Family,

This Sunday we will welcome my two dear sisters in Christ, Mercia and Sophie, from Accra, Ghana, to our worship.  They are some of our mission partners working with Ghanaian Mother's Hope. They worship at St. Andrew's Anglican church in Accra when they are home. This is Sophie's first trip to the U.S. Please welcome them as Christ welcomes us! 

On Sunday we will celebrate the fifth Sunday after the Epiphany. Our readings will include Isaiah 58:1-12, Psalm 112, 1 Corinthians 2:1-16, and Matthew 5:13-20. We are indeed called to be salt and light.

As I read the Isaiah passage, I was reminded an incident in the summer of 2001. That summer, I was busy running a summer church camp and working on my long-term project for a course in inner healing ministry. The Lord, in his infinite care and wisdom, sent me an intercessor from South Africa – over 9,000 miles away. How she came to camp has God's fingerprints all over the story! Toward the end of her time with us, she came to me with a prophetic word, a bit of scripture that the Lord directed her to give to me. That scripture comes from Isaiah 58. I am reminded again of God's call on me, and most certainly on us to live into it. It says: "And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in."

As we pray for God to draw people to himself, and as we "SALT" we are engaging in the work described by Isaiah. We are called to be part of the work of reconciling the world to the loving God who brought it forth. Thanks be to God for the opportunity to worship together, and to be included in his work.

From one repairer to another,

Becki+

--

Rev. Becki Neumann+

Rector, South Riding Anglican Church

Office 703-961-1983

Cell 240-217-4370

Home 717-762-0924

"When it's all been said and done; there is just one thing that matters. Did I do my best to live for truth, did I live my life for You?"