Dr. Mark Mitchell, a member of the Church of Our Saviour was published in the most recent Touchstone Magazine. You can read the article by clicking this link. https://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=37-06-018-v
Church News & Events
Virginia Abortion Amendment
| Abortion proponents in Virginia General Assembly House of Delegates, Committee for Privileges and Elections, on November 13 started the multistep, multiyear process to include a Constitutional Amendment “Fundamental Right to Reproductive Freedom” in the Virginia State Constitution. The House of Delegates Committee on Privileges and Elections met this afternoon to address their legislation, HJ1, a constitutional amendment enshrining full term abortions in Virginia’s constitution. The committee voted to move the amendment forward to the next stage of approval. The entire General Assembly in Richmond will take up the bill in January of next year. “The bill number in 2024 is HJ 1 & SJ 1: Provides that every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom and that the right to make and effectuate one’s own decisions about all matters related to one’s pregnancy cannot be denied, burdened, or otherwise infringed upon by the Commonwealth, unless justified by a compelling state interest and achieved by the least restrictive means. “The amendment prohibits the Commonwealth from penalizing, prosecuting, or otherwise taking adverse action against an individual for exercising the individual’s right to reproductive freedom or for aiding another individual in the exercise of such right, unless justified by a compelling state interest.” For more information including the steps and process followed to amend the Commonwealth’s Constitution, visit vshl.org |
St. Nicholas Feast Dec. 6
St. Nicholas Feast Day Celebration
Join us on December 6 at 5 p.m. to celebrate St. Nicholas and his remarkable life of generosity, love, and commitment to orthodoxy. There will be plenty of festive singing, hands-on crafts, lively activities, and delicious refreshments. Rumor has it St. Nicholas himself may make an appearance! We look forward to seeing you there!
Thanksgiving Day Service
Please join our church family at a service of Holy Communion on Thanksgiving morning at 10:00 a.m. This will be a sung service and all are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Need a place to feast?
If you find yourself in need of a place to celebrate this Thanksgiving, please contact Rachel Reeves at [email protected]. There are plenty of homes that would love to welcome you!
Christmas Baskets for Moms
Sally’s Lambs Christmas Baskets
Sally’s Lambs, part of the Radiance Foundation, will be preparing Christmas gift baskets for birth moms, who are connected with Family Life Services Adoption Agency. If you are able to support and want to encourage moms that have chosen adoption for their babies, please consider making donations to our pink Sally’s Lambs bin in the narthex. As a reminder, please do not include gifts for a baby. These baskets are specifically for the birth mom.
Items may include:
-encouraging plaques
-journals
-gift cards
-lotions and soaps
-coffee cups
No clothing items, please
If you have any additional questions, please contact Joby Mitchell at [email protected].
Please have items turned in by Sunday, November 24th
Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Helene Relief Update
Dear Church of Our Saviour family,
Thanks so much for your very generous support of our family’s trip down to Western North Carolina a couple of weeks ago, along with Ralph Davis, to aid in Hurricane Helene relief efforts. Thanks to your generosity and many others, we were able to bring more than $25,000 worth of supplies to church groups organizing relief effort in Asheville and hard-hit mountain communities north of the city. Most we brought to a distribution center being run by the Asheville Dream Center, a multi-church ministry in Asheville, where we spent Monday October 7th helping unload, reload, and redistribute everything from generators to canned goods. On October 8th, we joined a group headed to the hard-hit Toe River Valley, with a small delivery of supplies but more importantly, shovels and work gloves, and helped dig a thick layer of mud out of the first floor of Green Mountain Presbyterian Church. The church was located 24 feet above the water but still flooded 8 feet deep. The group we worked with was doing a lot of work helping the Whitson family, who ran a general store next to the church, rebuild, and we donated the $5,600 remaining from our fundraiser to their efforts. We were so encouraged by the courage, love, and perseverance of the Christians in the area working so hard to bless their neighbors amidst a great tragedy.
Blessings,
Brad Littlejohn
Update on Fellowship Groups
The first two Church of Our Saviour fellowship groups will kick off the in the next two weeks with one in Leesburg and another in Purcellville. The Leesburg group will meet at the home of Evan and Laura Brownstein on Tuesday, October 15th from 6-8 p.m and still has some openings. Please look for more groups beginning in the near future!
- Please RSVP to me ([email protected]) if you plan to attend. Also, please let me know: (1) how many of you plan to attend, (2) which group do you plan to attend, (3) will you volunteer to bring some food/drinks/supplies for our dinner, and if so, which/what?
- Please attend the group in your geographic area. Groups will be capped at 6-8 families or around 20 people, a reasonable number to meet in a home.
- If you’re not in the immediate Leesburg or Purcellville area, please be patient with us as we get these first two groups off the ground. Within the next several months we plan to establish two more groups, and if the Lord wills it, we will soon have enough groups for everyone to attend.
- Fellowship groups are for all ages. We want young and old to attend because we want our parish to be filled with all kinds of people and to mirror the Kingdom of Christ. The Church is stronger and healthier when all ages come together to help build the Kingdom.
- What to expect when you arrive: A casual meeting of 6 or so families (about 20 people) from 6-8pm, meeting twice per month (in different homes), everyone who is able bringing food and supplies and volunteering to clean up, a casual dinner with guided conversations, followed by Evening Prayer, and then a discussion time for all ages.
Leesburg Group
When: Tuesday, October 15th from 6-8 p.m
Where: (Please check the Church weekly eNews email for the address)
As mentioned before, these groups will enable us to be together, to live the Faith together throughout the week, and to invite newcomers to a more casual setting where they can get to know us. Once the first two groups are up and running and new leaders are trained, we’ll begin to start new groups. We’ll have our “under construction” signs up, so to speak, for the next few months, but I’m confident things will come together in God’s timing and we’ll find ourselves tremendously blessed by this opportunity to gather and grow together.
-Fr. Eric+
Election of Bishop Coadjutor
Beloved in Christ,
At the Diocesan Synod (Oct. 16-18) a man will be elected as the Bishop Coadjutor. He will serve as the assistant bishop to +Peter Manto until Bhp. Manto retires. This is a very important election for the future of our Diocese. Below, you will find information about the candidates.
Information on the three candidates:
Very Rev. Jason Grote:
Rev. Gregory Miller:
Rev. Dr. Gregory Peters:
Please pray for the three candidates who will stand for election. Please pray for wisdom for Fr. Jonathan & Fr. Eric as clergy, and Andy Kuniholm & Steve Mouton as lay delegates, as they prayerfully consider their votes during the election at the Synod in October.
Prayer for those to be admitted into Holy Orders:
“ALMIGHTY God, who has purchased to thyself an universal Church by the precious blood of they dear Son; Mercifully look upon the same, and at this time so guide and govern the minds of they servants the Bishops and Pastors of they flock, that they may lay hands suddenly on no man, but faithfully and wisely make choice of fit persons, to serve in the sacred Ministry of thy Church. And to those who shall be ordained to any holy function, give they grace and heavenly benediction; that both by their life and doctrine they may show forth thy glory, and set forward the salvation of all men; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
