201 East Frederick Drive • Sterling, VA 20164

Saint

Episcopal Church

Matthew’s

August 2017

Dear Friends, I’d like to share with you one of my favorite stories about my wife, Linda. Some years ago, I took up gardening and planted my first flower garden. I grew the plants from seed and gently (Oh, so gently!) nurtured them along. I lovingly watered, pruned, and fertilized them and diligently protected them from pests. The result was a beautiful blanket of blooms of which I was so very proud! Not long after the flowers started blooming Linda was sitting in the living room on a Friday afternoon (I was away on a Vestry retreat) and heard some noise outside the window. Looking out, she saw some neighborhood kids being kids and pulling the flowers off my beloved plants. They were giggling as they picked them and threw them on the ground. Linda rushed out the door and, of course, as soon as they saw her they ran away.

Somehow, (I never did hear that part!) Linda managed to, uh, track those kids down and “encourage” them to return to the front yard. “Please do not pull off the flowers,” she said, “because it damages the plants.” But then she went on to do something extraordinary. Using clippers, she cut each kid a nice bouquet of long stemmed flowers, gave it to them, and said gently, “All I ask is that you please ask me if you’d like some flowers.” They kids went away amazed, and we never had another problem. I couldn’t help but think it was probably a good thing she was home and not me! Linda’s approach to life has pretty much never been to see what she can take, to protect what she has, or to get what she can out of something or somebody else. To the contrary, she really is the kind of person who looks for what she can give. Even in this situation where she could have chosen the path of harsh justice delivered with great righteousness, she chose the path of great love instead. That’s what a follower of Jesus should look like, I think. Kind. Gracious. Gentle. Generous. Never has the world needed such people more than we need them now. Never has the world needed YOU (and me) to nurture our spiritual lives more than it needs us to do so RIGHT NOW that we might increasingly become such people. Thank you for your dedication to Jesus, and to this journey together. One of the reasons I continue on it is hoping more of you (and more of my wife!) will rub off on me. Hopefully, Rob+

From the Rector

Rob Merola

Check out our website: WWW.STMTTS.ORG for more upcoming events.

Don’t Miss

August 12 & 13

Stories from the

High School

Adventure Trip!

English Relational Ministry for

English Language Learners (ELL) Make a Difference on Monday Nights This Fall

Starting Monday, September 11, 2017

This fall we each have the opportunity to touch the life of a neighbor, or a friend by volunteering to be part of the English

Relational Ministry. We’ll meet on Monday evenings at 7pm to share the gift of English with those new to this country. Many

volunteers are needed, but the time required is not great. Commit to volunteering just one or two Mondays per month to help

make a real difference in the life of someone from our community. You do not need to speak a second language to participate

in this important ministry. In addition to working with

adults, we will also offer homework help and child care

for younger participants. There are so many ways to

help! Mature teens who would like to earn service hours

are also welcome!

We ask those who are interested in volunteering to

please join us on Monday, August 28th at 7pm for a

short planning and training meeting.

If you’d like to learn more please contact Roz Gann at

rrgann@gmail.com or 423-202-0007.

Summer is almost over and fall is just around the corner. That means it’s time to get

back into our regular habits. Grab your calendar and create a recurring event for Church

every Saturday evening or Sunday morning. Children are invited to bring their

backpacks to any of the four services the weekend of August 19th & 20th to receive a

special blessing before the new school year begins.

Blessing of the Backpacks

August 19 & 20

Faith Factory

Register by August 27—Begins September 3

It’s time to register for Saint Matthew’s 2017-2018 Faith Factory, where we

build faith one child at a time. We have a great year planned with stories from

the Bible, engaging music, dramatic skits, crafts, and relationship building. It is

my hope that each child will be engaged in what they are learning and able to

discover ways that the stories from the Bible connect to who they are and the

world around them. This year is going to be an inspiring year and your kids will

not want to miss out on this fun learning experience. Faith Factory classes will

begin on Sunday, September 3rd. Please complete the attached registration form

and submit to the church office by August 27th . If you have any questions or

are interested in volunteering to be part of the awesome Faith Factory team,

please email Ashly Townsend at ashly@stmtts.org.

Parent’s Name: _______________________________________________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________________________________________

Street City Zip Code

Telephone: (home) __________________________________ (cell) _____________________________________

Email Address: _______________________________________________________________________________

Which Sunday school service time will your elementary children be attending most frequently? (please circle one)

9:30AM 11:00AM

Child(ren) Enrolling for This Term Grade (Fall 2017) Birthdate (mo/day/yr)

1.____________________________________ ___________ ____________________________

2.____________________________________ ___________ ____________________________

3.____________________________________ ___________ ____________________________

4.____________________________________ ___________ ____________________________

Allergies, dietary needs, or situations in your child’s life that the teacher should be aware of:

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Parental/Teen Support

Your participation is integral to the success of our Faith Factory Program. There are many opportunities to assist in

small ways that will have a huge impact on our children. We ask that you prayerfully consider ways your family might

contribute to our program this year.

I/We would like to assist with the following:

Hospitality/Service Teaching Special Projects

___ Teacher Appreciation ___ Teacher ___ Christmas Program

___ Substitute Teacher ___ Special Craft Program

___ Teacher’s Aide

Best time to contact you ________________Do you prefer to be contacted by phone or email? ________________

Please submit the completed form to the church office by August 27, 2018.

Saint Matthew’s Episcopal Church Enrollment for Faith Factory 2017-2018

Open to children aged four - 5th grade (Must turn four by September 30, 2017)

St. Matt’s Choir Welcomes

New Members

The St. Matt’s Choir is seeking new members to join our

ensemble group for the upcoming year. No experience is

necessary, and all ability levels are welcome.

Rehearsals are held from 7:30pm—9:00pm on Thursday

evenings.

For more information, email or call Kevin Fletcher at

Kevin@stmtts.org or 303-834-0601.

Do you have “Big Questions”? Questions about life, about God,

about church, about prayer? What if there was a safe place to

explore life’s big questions?

There is and it’s Alpha here at St Matthew’s this fall. Alpha is an

opportunity to explore life and the Christian faith in a friendly,

open and informal environment. Join the more that 3 million

people in the United States and 27 million in 169 countries who

have experienced Alpha.

Starting on September 27th we’ll meet on Wednesday nights at

7pm. We’ll share a meal, watch a short presentation and discuss

these questions. We’ll continue meeting until shortly before

Christmas.

Register today: Alpha@stmtts.org

Alpha Returns to St. Matt’s Wednesdays starting September 27, 7pm-9pm

Whether you are trying to figure out how to balance saving for

retirement, college and family vacations, or you are struggling to make

ends meet, FPU has something for you. As a church, we want to share a

practical plan that can help you discover God’s way of handling money.

We want to empower you to get on a budget, get out of debt, save for the

future, and take control of your money. Financial Peace University is

that plan. To register, sign up online at: www.daveramsey.com/fpu/

classes/1043797.

If you have any questions, please email Miriam or Mason Turner at

Family@turnerville.us. Free childcare is available upon request.

Financial Peace University Wednesdays starting September 20, 7:15pm-9:15pm