Worship, January 23, 2022
Elder Cynthia Gervais Preaching
Today’s Anthem: Lift Up Your Hope – Clifton/CPC Virtual Choir
Emergency
Notifications!
Life requires patience and flexibility. Closures, schedule cutbacks, shortages and delays are very much a part of our days this winter!
We are starting a new notification practice when the church building will be closed and we will worship online only. The reason for this may be obvious on Sunday morning—like ice and snow—or not—like increased Covid transmission or leadership shortages.
There are four ways you will receive notification of a temporary in-person closure. By 8 AM Sunday at the latest:
- Emails will go out to all who receive this CPC Tuesday newsletter.
- A banner will go up on the church website at cpcfairfax.org.
- The CPC office voice message will announce it. You can call the office at 703-278-8365.
- If you opt in, the CPC office will send you a text message.
Please get into the habit of checking for messages at one of these options before leaving for church Sunday morning.
Carolynn Baer
Elder
Updates on Hybrid Worship at Christ Presbyterian
We continue to learn how to be one church—online and in person—for worship. There are some bumps, but it is good to be together again.
Worship Technology Updates:
- Most of the hybrid system components have been installed and were physically evident to those worshiping in the Sanctuary this past Sunday. See the photos of the 86″ “monitor” in the front of the Sanctuary and the computers that will control the new system in the sound booth at the rear of the Sanctuary.
- Software set up, connectivity/testing, and training are planned for this week.
- We are hopeful of completion and the launch of truly hybrid worship by this coming Sunday, January 30.
We are streamlining the way we do things:
- If you take communion in the sanctuary, you will notice that we are using pre-packaged communion juice and wafers. It’s a safe way to celebrate the Lord’s supper and ensures that we are always prepared.
- Our newly hired worship tech is running the sound board and Zoom feed, which has helped greatly.
Still, we do need volunteers to help at every service:
- One online liturgist to greet online worshippers, read prayers and scripture during the service, and chat with Zoom folks after the service.
- Two in-person worship hosts to do things like welcome and sign in folks as they arrive at the church, help them understand current precautions, and assist with microphones for joys and concerns.
- Here’s the link for sign up: Signup Genius. If sign up is a barrier, email me at ctbaer1@gmail.com
Thank you to all who have helped week after week and to those who are helping for the first time!
Carolynn Baer, Elder
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.
Presbytery Meeting January 25, 2022
The next scheduled meeting of the National Capital Presbytery is January 25. Each member church is permitted two Commissioners for representation and voting. Any member of CPC who is an ordained Ruling Elder, whether or not you are currently serving on session, is eligible to serve as a Commissioner for CPC.
Sign up to serve as a CPC Commissioner to Presbytery here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0a4faaa82daafd0-20212022
While only Commissioners and members of the Presbytery (ordained clergy) can vote, Presbytery meetings are open to everyone. Watch this page for registration information:
https://thepresbytery.org/presbytery-meeting/
ALL MEETINGS will be held via Zoom. Meetings begin with Open Space at 4:00 p.m., on Zoom Meeting Platform. The business meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. on Zoom webinar platform.
The January 25th presbytery packet is posted! https://thepresbytery.org/
ABOUT THE January 25th presbytery meeting:
Worship on a common zoom meeting platform at 5 PM. Worship is our central act as Christians, and it is also the central act for our Presbytery gathering.
- The Rev. Rachel Vaagenes, Pastor, Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church will be preaching.
We will continue on the same zoom meeting platform at 6 PM as we conduct the work that allows our common ministry to grow in faithfulness.
Please refer to the Moderators’ letter included in packet for information about this meeting.
As we continue to adapt to the changing circumstances and respond to the expressed desires of our members, we hope that you will pray for those in leadership, offering constructive suggestions and generous judgment as we continue to live into being faithful in these times.
LaJuan C. Quander
Director, Communication
National Capital Presbytery
11300 Rockville Pike, Suite 408
Rockville, MD 20852
www.thepresbytery.org
Continued Prayer for Christ Presbyterian Church
Pastor Megan invites us to continue praying for our church using this communal prayer:now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
Gracious God,
You open our eyes to the world you love, and show us your presence and purpose all around us.
We pray for people who feel lost and alone. Open our eyes for opportunities to reach out to them with compassion and understanding.
We pray for people who suffer the impact of COVID-19 in body, mind, and circumstance. Open our eyes to new opportunities to support them.
We pray for people who provide care, and for people wait for hope and healing. Open our eyes to people in need of compassion, and to ways we can provide it.
We pray for communities overwhelmed by natural disaster, injustice, and loss. Open our eyes to recognize suffering around us, and ways we can help alleviate it.
We pray for Christ Presbyterian Church and the future you are calling us to. Open our eyes to perceive the new thing you are doing in our midst, and help us live into your vision for us.
We ask this and all things in Christ’s name. Amen.
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.
