Worship, October 10, 2021
A camel through the eye of a needle
Today’s Anthem: Newsboys – STAND (Lyric Video)
Join us for worship Sunday mornings at 10:30 on Zoom
Click on the Worship link in the menu above
for videos of previous worship services.
Racial Awareness and Mindfulness 2021: A Mini-Festival for the Arts, Awareness, Healing, and Justice
Greetings!
This is an invitation to join us for our second virtual event of the Racial Awareness Festival, October 16, 2021 (#RAF2021). This is our sixth event and our seventh planning year! The festival is free! We don’t want money to be a reason anyone cannot join us. We do, however, accept donations from anyone who is able and willing to so so! You may learn more about this year’s festival, register, and donate if you like at https://raf2021.eventbrite.com
EVERYONE needs to register so that we know who plans to attend, and if for any reason you cannot be present on festival day, the keynotes and most workshops will be recorded for your later viewing!
Below is a photo copy of our two-part flyer to share with your communities, and also is attached a pdf you may use to print for handouts or post, as well as having a copy of the planned schedule of events. When you register, you will receive a link closer to the event to join the festival and a more detailed schedule.
Feel free to reach back to me with any questions or concerns. I hope I can be helpful. Otherwise, I hope to share RAF2021 with you on October 16! We will open for entry on that day around 9:30AM.
In peace,
Therese Taylor-Stinson
Co-Founder and Organizer
Racial Awareness and Mindfulness 2021: A Mini-Festival of the Arts, Awareness, Healing, and Justice
Sent from my iPhone
(301) 537-0558
“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.” ~Gospel of Thomas Saying #70
Amplify Live: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity
is now available to watch on demand.
Join Robert P. Jones — author of White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity — as he discusses with Jennifer Harvey — author of the New York Times bestselling Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America — why Christianity’s role in white supremacy cannot be overlooked any longer.
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Return to Worship
- We’ll have one 10:30 service that will include both in-person and online worshipers.
- The service will stream from the sanctuary to Zoom. We have the equipment to do this and will practice using it in advance. Patience and grace on everyone’s part will be needed and appreciated as we start this new venture.
- This will be an interim measure, meaning that for now the two parts of our congregation (online and in-person) will not be able to talk and see each other readily. Doing that will require more tech equipment, which we’re working on.
- We’ll be following Virginia and Fairfax County Board of Health recommendations for indoor gatherings at church. Most likely this will mean masks and social distancing.
- Worshipers in the sanctuary will have the option of sitting in areas where they will not be seen on the online Zoom feed.
- Music will most likely be online recordings, at least for a few weeks. Our bell choir will return and may ring for us from the sanctuary.
CDC Guidance on Safest and Least Safe Activities*
*https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/participate-in-activities.html
If you’ve been fully vaccinated:**
- You can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic.
- You can resume activities without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.
- If you travel in the United States, you do not need to get tested before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.
- You need to pay close attention to the situation at your international destinationbefore traveling outside the United States.
- You do NOT need to get tested beforeleaving the United States unless your destination requires it.
- You still need to show a negative test resultor documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before boarding an international flight to the United States.
- You should still get tested 3-5 days afterinternational travel.
- You do NOT need to self-quarantine afterarriving in the United States.
- If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms.
- However, if you live or work in a correctional or detention facility or a homeless shelter and are around someone who has COVID-19, you should still get tested, even if you don’t have symptoms.
**https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html
Christ Presbyterian Church Statement on Racism
October 2, 2020
The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) consists of two parts: The Book of Confessions and The Book of Order. Within The Book of Confessions is The Confession of 1967, Inclusive Language Text, Art. 9.44a, which states:
“God has created the peoples of the earth to be one universal family. In his reconciling love, God overcomes the barriers between sisters and brothers and breaks down every form of discrimination based on racial or ethnic difference, real or imaginary. The church is called to bring all people to receive and uphold one another as persons in all relationships of life: in employment, housing, education, leisure, marriage, family, church, and the exercise of political rights. Therefore, the church labors for the abolition of all racial discrimination and ministers to those injured by it. Congregations, individuals, or groups of Christians who exclude, dominate, or patronize others, however subtly, resist the Spirit of God and bring contempt on the faith which they profess.”
Similarly, the Mission Statement of the Presbytery states that we will “bear public witness to the love, truth, and justice of God in Jesus Christ specifically in the areas of racism and reconciliation.”
We, the community of Christ Presbyterian Church (CPC) of Fairfax, VA, a diverse Christian congregation, condemn the systemic racism and related violence in the United States that has oppressed and taken the lives of so many of our human family. We condemn the persistent inequities in wealth, health, and opportunity between blacks, along with other peoples of color, and whites despite the economic prosperity of recent years. These disparities exist because of a long history of policies that have excluded and exploited Americans of color. Racial inequality has become so normalized in our society that it has become an expectation. This inequality could be considered a part of American culture. And when there are protests against this culture, some even consider it a protest against America. That’s the way it’s been for more than 400 years. It has gone on, unchecked, for far too long. It has to end!
“Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin
We, the CPC community, cannot be silent. We pledge to the greater community to listen with empathy, to learn with open minds, and to act with purpose. We value and encourage diversity, and are united in our opposition to racism and bigotry wherever they exist. We commit to acting with intent to achieve justice, equality, and inclusivity for all. We further commit to protecting the civil rights of all individuals, without regard to race or ethnicity. We stand in solidarity with those actively working to end racial injustice, systemic or otherwise, with a vision of building a better America and world in general.
March 13, 2020
We know that all things work together for good
for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.
(Romans 8:28)
Dear Members and Friends,
After careful consideration, the session voted last night to suspend all in-person meetings in the church building until April 1. This includes Sunday worship, small group gatherings, and committee meetings. The session and I will reassess the situation on April 1, and let you know what we decide.
You may have seen this graph from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which shows how early action reduces the incidence and intensity of infection in epidemics like the current one.
More people will still get sick, but by implementing protective measures early, we can decrease that number and slow the rate of infection. By suspending in-person gatherings at CPC, we are doing our part to flatten the infection curve. This is the most important thing we can do to help our healthcare system and our neighbor.
The one exception to this suspension is the dinner that we are scheduled to provide for the FACETS Hypothermia Shelter at Pender UMC next Friday, March 20. Those arrangements are proceeding as planned. Contact Elder Nyambi Nyambi with any questions.
To keep us connected through this period of social distance, we will use our website, our Facebook page (Christ Presbyterian Church, Fairfax), and our email list. Your deacon will also be calling you, so please note their name and number in case you have a pastoral need.
Please join me on Facebook Sunday mornings at 10:30, when I will live stream a scripture reading, reflection, and prayer. You will be able to contribute your own thoughts and prayers by commenting on the stream. Either click on the link that will be on www.CPCFairfax.org, or go straight to the Christ Presbyterian Church, Fairfax page in Facebook.
I can also schedule Zoom meetings so that people may meet virtually. If you would like to schedule a meeting for your group, please let me know.
We have never been through a crisis like this before, so we may need to experiment with different approaches to find what works best for our community. Please be flexible, and bear each other and me with grace and patience. Remember that we are assured that we can do all things through Christ Jesus, who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).
In Him,
Pastor Megan
Email: pastor@cpcfairfax.org
