Worship
Join us for worship Sunday mornings at 10:30 in person and on Zoom
Worship, November 26, 2023 – Pastor David Baer shares a message on Sheep from the Book of Ezekiel.
Watch archived lessons by visiting our Worship Page
Tuesday Message From Pastor Gary – November 28
Hello CPC-Fairfax!
I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday. Lisa and I had a great trip, and it is nice to be back home.
By now I hope most of you have a copy of the 2023 Advent Calendar that Lisa developed. If you don’t have one yet, don’t worry, there is still time – Advent doesn’t start until this Sunday. Come by the church or come to worship on Sunday and get yours.
The season of Advent is a busy time, with projects to finish, gifts to buy and wrap, decorations, parties, travel plans, and on and on. But as it says on the first page of our Advent Calendar, “While these are all wonderful, they are not the focus of Christmas. You have heard it said
before, ‘Jesus is the Reason for the Season.’ May this calendar help you make that a reality this year.”
I do hope that you take a copy of our Advent Calendar (and maybe one for a neighbor!) and use it for a bit of quiet time each day during Advent. I know it will add meaning a depth to your holiday season!
Have a great week!
Gary
CPC’s 2024 Stewardship Campaign
Please take another look at the stewardship letter that was sent to you.
Please respond as generously as you can.
Three Sunday’s ago we launched our Stewardship Campaign for 2024. We continue to see God at work in and through our church community! During this campaign, as always, we should take time to consider our many gifts from God and how we can be a part of God’s mission at CPC. During this Stewardship Campaign, we specifically focus on our financial commitment to God’s glory.
By now you all should have received a Stewardship Letter outlining the goals of our Campaign for 2024 – as well as a Giving Statement detailing your 2023 Tithes & Offering through September. Please review these materials and prayerfully consider your financial commitment to God’s work here at CPC for 2024. Together, our pledge commitments will build CPC’s mission and ministry for the coming year. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Mary Ellen Absetz, meabsetz@verizon.net, or Jay Lough, jnj.lo@verizon.net.
Thank you very much!
Study Program continues with Part Four
Wednesday, December 13th at noon.
Women are cordially invited to participate in a Bible Study. The study is the 2023-2024 PW/Horizons Bible Study which is Sacred Encounters – The Power and Presence of Jesus Christ in Luke – Acts. The participants will meet the 3rd Wednesday of each month. The Horizons studies provide a wonderful opportunity to discuss and converse about scriptures and how they relate to us today. Study books are available.
Please contact, Mary Ellen Absetz at meabsetz@verizon.net or phone at (703)789-6691 and leave a message, I’ll return your call.
Mission and Outreach
(Relationship Outside Church Community)
VOLUNTEER SIGN UP BOARD
Continue to look on the board for any updates. The following schedules seek your time.
Children Sign up to assist in ringing the hour on Sunday
Adults Providence Elem School – Two volunteers each week needed to help bag lunches on Fridays 2:30-3:30.
WFCM Mitten Handout – Two volunteers needed to hand out our gifts during WFCM’s food distribution site on Dec. 16.
Thank you to those special people who assisted with communion and the offering during the evening Thanksgiving service on November 19: Madi Stago, Betsy Stagno, Lois Wenzell, Bonnie Short, Janet Lough, Mary Ellen and Jack Absetz, and Frank and Erma VanFleet. Also, thanks go to everyone who organized the food stations for the many people who stayed after the service for fellowship – and of course those who cleaned up!
Mittens, Scarves, Hats – Look for our Elf
WFCM’s Holiday Food Distribution Day for Christmas is coming. CPC, once again, is asking for your donations of new gloves, scarves, mittens, etc. This year we will again hand out the items during their food distribution drive-through. Now that we are busy collecting, we also need a volunteer or two to hand our items as the clients drive by in the vehicles in the food line.
Wegmans – Checkout Hunger
From October 25 – November 29, 2023, shoppers at Wegmans Chantilly have the opportunity to donate to WFCM during checkout by rounding up their purchase amount or selecting any amount they choose. The annual Checkout Hunger campaign is a great way to support our work while shopping for groceries!
100% of the donation supports Western Fairfax Christian Ministries when you choose to Checkout Hunger at Wegmans Chantilly this month!
Please Help WFCM Fill their Open Volunteer Positions
WFCM currently has a few volunteer positions open. Many of our best volunteers have learned about WFCM from our partner congregations. As such, we are reaching out to ask if you will post our volunteer openings in your congregation’s newsletter, bulletin, or other appropriate communication avenue that you use.
Most needed items in the food pantry this month:
- Flour (1-5 lb. bag)
- Maseca Corn Flour
- Hot cereal (Oatmeal, Grits)
- Sugar (White, Brown)
- Rice (Brown, White, 1-2 lbs. bags)
- Boxed Pasta (ziti, macaroni, bow-tie, penne)
- Snacks (family size, crackers, pretzels, popcorn)
- Cake Mix and Brownie Mix
- Toiletries: body wash, toothpaste, laundry detergent, and dish soap (NOTE: we are not currently in need of diapers size 0-4 due to our partnership with Greater DC Diaper Bank. Please only donate larger size pull ups size 4T/5T for toddlers, size 5 or 6 diapers, or baby wipes if you want to donate items for babies.)
(NOTE: we are not currently in need of diapers size 0-4 due to our partnership with Greater DC Diaper Bank. Please only donate larger size pull ups size 4T/5T for toddlers, size 5 or 6 diapers, or baby wipes if you want to donate items for babies.)
As a reminder, we accept food and toiletry donations Monday – Friday 8-10 am at 4511 Daly Drive Suite H (Back Door) and on the second Saturday monthly 9-11 am.
Empty egg cartons are appreciated also as WFCM purchases eggs by the cases and separates them into smaller portions for their clients.
Organizations CPC Support
Ronald McDonald’s House – Aluminum pop top tabs
Lion’s Club – Eyeglasses
FACETS – Supports FFx communities with hot meals, per permanent supportive housing, food equity, hypothermia preventions & shelter, emergency pantries, and much more.
Shelter House – Supports the FFx County communities with hot meals, operates five shelter facilities and several housing programs to support our homeless neighbors.
Shepherd’s Center of Fairfax-Burke – Provides educational and enrichment programs for older adults in the community. Volunteers are needed to drive clients to various appointments or grocery shopping. Volunteers are needed in their Fairfax office also to take phone calls, add info to database for the drivers to select who and when they can assist.
Panel members are Elders Lois Wenzell and Nancy Jones.
Coffee in the Narthex
Thanks to Janet and Jay Lough, we again have coffee in the Narthex! Please join us at 10:00 a.m. and after the service for this wonderful fellowship.
Christ Presbyterian Church Mission Statement
God calls us to be a people who:
Live in the reconciling Spirit of Christ;
Joyfully praise God and grow together in faith and knowledge;
Care for one another in His Spirit;
Nurture each other through teaching, fellowship, and prayer;
Reach out into our community, witnessing for Jesus Christ,
and sharing His hope, faith and love.
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.
