News

Adult Formation Offering - Christianity and Politics

Posted by St. Anne's Webmaster

Join us for three Sunday evenings, 7:00-8:30 p.m., as our own Jim Jones leads us in a series entitled "Christianity and Politics: A Biblical Perspective." The first session on September 21 is subtitled "The Passion of God" and will look at the relationship of religion and the "secular order" from the perspectives of the Genesis story of creation, the moral imperatives imbedded in the teachings of the Torah, and the writings of the Old Testament Prophets. The second session on September 28 is titled "Jesus and Empire" and will explore Jesus' attitudes towards the secular state, as well as his strategies for dealing with the empire of his day. The third session on October 5, titled "The Challenge for 21st Century American Christians" will consider the implications of all of this for us as 21st Century Christians living in the seat of the world's current empire.

Kerygma Bible Studies to Resume in the Fall

Posted by St. Anne's Webmaster

Kerygma, a Greek word that means "proclamation," is the name of an ecumenically-based company that produces Bible study materials. One of the real advantages of the series they offer is that they are helpful to all, regardless of their level of experience and knowledge of the Bible. Both those who have never opened the Bible and those who know it well, get a lot out of the studies - and the groups have a lot of fun along the way.

As in the past, two sessions will be offered to help accommodate different schedules. One group facilitated by Mother Jackie and Jane Smith will meet on Monday mornings, 10:30 to noon; the other group facilitated by Mother Jackie and Geoff Lunt will meet on Tuesday evenings, 7:30-9:00. The week of September 22 we will begin a six-week study of the Beatitudes, examining the Beatitudes themselves, their Old Testament roots, their context and contemporary implications. The cost of the book is $15. If you would like to participate, please sign up on the sheet provided in the Narthex. Call Jackie at the church office if you have any questions.

Looking ahead, we plan a four-week study of the texts and seasonal themes of Advent beginning the week of November 17. Beginning in January we will tackle a fourteen-week study of the Book of Revelation.

Koinonia Groups Forming for the Fall

Posted by St. Anne's Webmaster

Koinonia is another Greek word, this word meaning "community." It has been our tradition at St. Anne's to invite people to sign up in the fall, and then those folks are grouped in groups of about eight people who meet in each other's homes for dinner throughout the school year. It is a great way to build community as you really get to know your group by the end of the year. Fellowship and fun are the only goals of the groups. There is nothing to study, there is no agenda, and the meals can be simple and shared, with everyone bringing one of the dishes. The time commitment is four or five meal times set around the schedules of your particular group, usually evenings but some groups have found a Sunday brunch works well.

We gather all together for a kick-off potluck dinner in October. At that time, groups meet each other and decide when and where they will meet next. If you would like to participate this year, please sign up on the sheet provided in the Narthex. Please indicate on the sheet if you would like to be part of a group that includes children and if you are willing to coordinate a group (simply making sure your group gets together, often by hosting the first meal). If enough indicate a preference, we can offer a group for singles. Many singles prefer to be part of a general group and often two singles will host one meal together.

Please call Mother Jackie if you can volunteer to help coordinate or have any questions about it.


Calendar

Aug 17: Sunday School Registration Begins

Sept 7: Fall Picnic and Semi-annual meeting/Sunday School Open House

Sept 14
: Sunday School Begins/Change to Fall Service Schedule

October 31 - November 2:
Shrine Mont weekend

Nov 22:
Smiles for Liberia Silent Auction

Staff

 

The St. Anne's staff is skilled, dedicated, passionate and fun. Read a bit about each staff member below.

David Allen, Minister of Music

David was born and raised near Manchester, England. David was well known as a boy chorister. He won many music festivals and was a regular participant in courses run by the Royal School of Church Music. He sang in the choir at Coventry Cathedral. As a professional musician he found his way to London where he spent many years as a music director, composer and conductor. He conducted the BBC Radio orchestra and later entered the world of musical theatre. He was the music director at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane before becoming the music supervisor for a Swiss production company bringing Broadway musicals to Europe. He met his wife, Susan, in New York when she was cast in the European tour of “Oklahoma!” After moving to the U.S. in 1993 David was hired as a tenor with the men and boys choir of the National Cathedral. He later became the music director at Washington Plaza Baptist Church and then St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church in Burke Virginia, before arriving at St. Anne’s in 2000. David brings to St. Anne’s his love of traditional Anglican music as well as his gifts as a composer and contemporary pianist.

Peg Brown, Parish Administrative Assistant

Chances are that Peg Brown is the first person you will meet as you walk into the Parish Office. You can tell her desk by the frogs--peaking out of pencil holders, supervising from the top of her monitor, anchoring a stack of large mailing envelopes. Peg has been accumulating frogs on staff for over 10 years; she has been a member of St. Anne’s since 1982. Peg produces all of the church bulletins and the monthly newsletter. She is responsible for parish records, maintains the membership database, orders supplies, argues with office equipment, and is most likely the voice at the other end of the line whenever you phone the church. She has numerous volunteers who help in the office regularly as well as volunteers who help with collating/folding all those bulletins and newsletters.

Born in Gunnison Colorado, Peg graduated from Western State College in Gunnison with a BA in science. She has lived in Reston since 1979 and has a large, extended family. Nick Brown, her husband and also a St. Anne’s parishioner, is a retired environmental scientist, although “retired” might not be appropriate for someone who spends as much time as he does volunteering at Reston Interfaith and being a full time baby sitter for grandsons, two year old Ashton and seven year old Stryder. Peg’s older daughter, Rini, is married to Mark Segar and lives in North Carolina; her younger daughter, Arwen, is married to Chris Tinker and has the two boys: Stryder and Ashton. They live in Reston with Peg and Nick.

Perry Macdonald, Parish Administrator