St. A's News
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Building into the Future:
2024 Stewardship Campaign
This October, we are asking all of our members and guests to prayerfully discern how they are called to support the work of our parish, with both time & talent as well as financial support. How can we build into the future together?
You can learn more about the Stewardship Campaign here on our page, by clicking here or navigating with the links above: click "Serve" and then "Stewardship".
We hope you'll join is in building into the future in 2024!
Fall Formation Series
An Introduction to the Gospel of Luke & the Acts of the Apostles
Thursday nights @ 7pm, beginning September 28:
September 28: Historical Context & the Opening of Luke
October 5: Luke 5:12-21:38: Jesus Teaching, Feeding, & Healing
October 12: Luke 22-24: The Final Chapters of Luke
October 19: 1st Half of The Acts of the Apostles
October 26: 2nd Half of The Acts of the Apostles & Conclusions
In-person (in the Marshall Gallery) and via Zoom
All are welcome!
If you'd like to join by Zoom you can contact Rev. Scott (priest@staugustinesdc.org) for our channel information & password.
If you have missed some sessions and want to catch up, you can find each one as they are recorded and released on our YouTube channel:
Blessing of the Animals
In celebration of the Feast of St. Francis, St. Augustine's will hold a Blessing of the Animals at 11am on Sunday, October 8, right outside our front doors. All are welcome!
Celebrating Pride Month at St. A's!
June is Pride Month, a time for LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, & Queer) people and their allies to celebrate, advocate for, and defend full equality for all people. At St. A's, we will honor Pride month on June 25: we will celebrate the Feast of Pauli Murray during worship, and then after the service, Scott will offer a special Sunday Forum: "What does the Bible Say about LGBTQ People?" You may be surprised by what you hear!
We hope everyone will join us for this special day!
Supporting Migrants Coming to DC
Over the last 18 months, a large number of migrants, refugees, and asylees have been arriving in the DC area. Various local groups and faith communities, including Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network and our Diocese, have been supporting these folks in various ways. We expect the number of people coming to increase dramatically in the coming weeks. There are many needs, but the major need right now is for specific items of clothing. Scott is asking St. A's to show our love for our migrant neighbors by supporting this effort. If you want to help, don't send money to the church; instead, you can buy the items directly through this Amazon Wishlist: bit.ly/welcome-center-supplies. When you buy the items through that list, they will automatically be shipped to the welcome center where migrants will arrive.
The Feast of Thurgood Marshall: May 21
On May 21, we will celebrate the Feast of Thurgood Marshall. During our service, we will welcome Ms. Cecily Bumbray as our guest vocalist. Then, in honor of Justice Marshall, we will also hold a very special Sunday Forum immediately following the service. Mr. Hilary Shelton, National Advisor of Governance and Policy at the NAACP, will speak to us about the power of Marshall’s legacy. After Mr. Shelton’s presentation, we will gather in the community room downstairs for fellowship and a catered lunch.
All are welcome to join us!
Holy Week at St. Augustine's
Holy Week begins on April 2! We will have special services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday,
and Holy Saturday (April 6-8):
April 6: Maundy Thursday service with foot washing & meal @ 6:30pm
April 7: Good Friday service with reading of the Passion @ 6:30pm
April 8: The Great Vigil of Easter @ 6:30pm
All services will be hybrid: held in-person and available online, both by Zoom & Facebook Live.
The bulletin is available above, or by clicking here.
All are welcome!
Women's History Month Forum,
March 26: Elizabeth Johnson
In honor of Women's History Month, we will present a special Sunday Forum on Dr. Elizabeth Johnson's seminal book, She Who Is. We will gather for this forum after the service, at approximately 11am.
All are welcome to join, either in-person, or via Zoom! (If you don't have our Zoom connection information, just email Rev. Scott at priest@staugustinesdc.org and he will be happy to send it to you.)
April is Alcohol Awareness Month. To mark the occasion, Samaritan Inns will host its inaugural Zero Proof Soiree & Battle of the Mocktails, its signature fundraising event. This year's theme is "DC Goes Tiki."
Join us, along with Emcee Leon Harris, News4 Anchor, and Special Guest Chuck Todd, Moderator of NBC News' Meet the Press. For sponsorship opportunities and more information, please reach out to ZeroProof@samaritaninns.org.
To purchase tickets, go to https://bit.ly/zeroproofsoiree.
Ash Wednesday
The season of Lent begins on Wednesday, February 22nd. Lent is a season of preparation for Easter: a time for honest self-reflections & penance, when we admit our complicity in the evil in the world and commit to follow Jesus's Gospel.
We will hold an Ash Wednesday Service at 6:30pm on February 22nd, available in-person and via Zoom. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Black History Month Forum:
Learning From Dr. James Cone
In honor of Black History Month, St. Augustine's will host a special Sunday Forum on February 26th exploring the work of Dr. James Cone. Dr. Cone taught theology at Union Theological Seminary for decades, and was without a doubt one of the most influential American theologians of the 20th and early 21st century. He is well-known as the founder of Black Liberation Theology in the US.
Scott will offer a presentation on Dr. Cone's principle ideas and then host a question-and-answer conversation afterwards. This forum will take place after the service and coffee hour, at approximately 11am. All are invited to attend.
Christmas Schedule
Christmas Day (Dec. 25) this year falls on a Sunday. That means that we will gather for our Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) service on Saturday evening at 6:30 pm, and will gather for Christmas Day at our regular time of 9:30am. Both services will feature lots of music, and will be held in a hybrid format, both in-person & online via Zoom and Facebook Live:
Saturday December 24, Christmas Eve: 6:30pm Eucharist
Sunday, December 25: Christmas Day: 9:30am Eucharist
We hope you can join us for both services!
Advent Book Group
During Advent, we will gather to read and discuss Being Christian, a book written by former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams that provides a brief theological understanding of our faith. We'll cover a chapter per week for 4 weeks, meeting each Thursday at 7pm, both in-person & via Zoom.
Here's the schedule:
December 1: ch. 1—Baptism
December 8: ch.2—Bible
December 15: ch.3—Eucharist
December 22: ch.4—Prayer
All are welcome to join! Our plan will be to read each chapter on our own before we meet to discuss it. You can go ahead and buy a copy now so you're ready for our first meeting in a few weeks. You can find different ways to buy the book here:
eerdmans.com/Products/7197/being-christian.aspx
bookshop.org/p/books/being-christian-baptism-bible-eucharist-prayer-rowan-williams/12602746
amazon.com/Being-Christian-Baptism-Eucharist-Prayer/dp/0802871976
On October 2nd, we launched our 2023 Stewardship Campaign: Visions & Dreams of the Future. We are asking our members, friends, guests, and neighbors to discern how they are called to support the work St. Augustine's does each week!
To learn more, please visit our Stewardship Page.
Stewardship continues, as we pivot from financially stewardship to stewardship of time and talent:
This Sunday, November 6, we will hold our annual Ministry Fair: leaders from our ministries and committees will be on hand to talk about the work they do—and how you can get involved! The fair will be held in-person, though we will also take our Zoom attendees on a tour of the fair as well.
Then, next Sunday, November 13, we will hold another Vision Forum—a time for our members and guests to tell us what goals and dreams you have for our community over the coming years. Please join us, in-person, or via Zoom!
(If you want to attend by Zoom but don't have our Zoom channel information, just email Scott at priest@staugustinesdc.org and he'll be happy to share it with you!)
A Crash Course in the Hebrew Bible
Do you sometimes feel like you don’t know the Bible as well as you want to? Well, if so, good news! Formation returns with a class this Fall: A Crash Course in the Hebrew Bible. This course will cover the major narratives of the Hebrew Bible over 4 weeks. Scott will lead a presentation on the section of Scripture being covered that night, and we will conclude with a short Q&A discussion. We’ll meet Thursdays at 7pm, in-person & via Zoom, starting September 15. All are welcome to join us! (If you want to join via Zoom but don't know our Zoom channel and password, please email Rev. Scott at priest@staugustinesdc.org.)
Here's the full schedule:
September 15: "In the beginning..."—Genesis
September 22: "Let my people go!"—Exodus
September 29: "Enter a land of milk and honey"—Joshua, Judges, Kings, & Chronicles, etc.
October 6: "Prepare the way of the Lord"—Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.
Each class will be recorded and made available to the community, so if you miss a session, it will be easy to catch up! All four videos can be found at this playlist as they are uploaded.
If you have any questions about this course, please get in touch with Scott: priest@staugustinesdc.org.
This Sunday, September 11th, Bishop Mariann Budde will make her formal visit to our parish. Bishop Mariann will preach and preside at the altar, and then lead our Sunday Forum after the service. We are happy to have her visiting parish, and hope that you all will come join us in welcoming her!
This Sunday, June 19th, marks the 157th anniversary of Juneteenth, the day when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned of the end of the Civil War and of their emancipation. Juneteenth has since spread from Texas as a holiday marking not only the historical end of slavery in the United States, but also the commitment of African-Americans and their non-black allies to continue to struggle for peace, truth, and justice.
The National Museum of African American History & Culture will be marking the occasion with a variety of events, both in-person and online. You can find the full listing of events on their site here: nmaahc.si.edu/events/upcoming.
Furthermore, the Poor People's Campaign will also be holding their yearly mass rally one day before Juneteenth, this Saturday. You can find the full details on their site at: poorpeoplescampaign.org/june18/
Holy Week at St. Augustine's
The week leading up to Easter is commonly referred to as Holy Week. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and then culminates in the Triduum, the "three great days" right before Easter. It is in many ways the center of the Christian worship calendar. We will gather for the ancient services of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil of Easter on Holy Saturday, before gathering as usual on Easter Sunday morning.
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday on April 10:
April 10: Palm Sunday @ 9:30am
in lieu of palms, we invite you to bring small branches from your yard or garden!
April 14: Maundy Thursday @ 6:30pm
April 15: Stations of the Cross @ 12 noon
Good Friday Service @ 6:30pm
April 16: Vigil of Easter @ 6:30pm
April 17: Easter Sunday @ 9:30am
All services will be hybrid, available both remotely and in-person.
The Palm Sunday bulletin can be found here.
The full Triduum bulletin is available at this link.
The Easter Sunday bulletin is available here.
Please join us!
Women’s History Month Forum!
This Sunday, March 27th, We welcome Dr. Shannon R. Wooden, Professor of English literature at Missouri State University, where she coordinated the Gender Studies program for several years and currently chairs the Disability Studies program. She will discuss the beginnings of Women’s History Month and its emphasis on voice and education. She will also discuss what is left to be done through the initiative of Women’s History Month, including examining COVID life and gendered roles, the role of intersectionality in Women’s History Month and broadening the ideas of "gender" to include others for whom binary and patriarchal definitions of gender have been historically limiting.
Dr. Shannon R. Wooden
Shannon regularly teaches critical theory, literature and medicine, British literature from the 19th century to present, and disability studies. Recent and current research focuses on literary and popular representations of gender and ability, including boy culture as represented in Pixar movies; disability and masculinity in the television series Breaking Bad; and teaching with critical disability studies, medical humanities, and empathy.
The forum will begin a few minutes after the service (approximately 10:45am), both in-person and on Zoom. (To access our Zoom channel, just email Rev. Scott). Please join us!
Stephanie Ball Joins us for Women's History Month
Stephanie Ball has been recording beautiful music for us for the last year and a half. Finally, this Sunday, May 13th, we will get to hear her in-person! She will join us for Sunday worship. Stephanie has curated a selection of hymns and songs written by women in celebration of Women's History Month.
We are excited to welcome Stephanie to join us for worship this Sunday! In the meantime, we hope you heard each of her excellent songs in February, such as her recording of Lift Every Voice and Sing:
St. Augustine's Returns to In-Person Worship!
After a significant surge in December and January, the COVID-19 numbers are finally back to their pre-surge levels. We returned to our hybrid/in-person worship format for Ash Wednesday, and will continue to worship both remotely and in-person each Sunday!
We also want to be very clear: masks will continue to be required while inside of the building. The District government has removed its mask mandate, but at St. A's we will continue to wear masks. All those attending in-person must wear a mask over their mouth and nose while in the building.
If you have any questions about our return to hybrid/in-person worship, please feel free to contact Rev. Scott at priest@StAugustinesDC.org.
Bible Study: Women in the Bible
March 10th at 7pm via Zoom
Deborah, Judge of Israel
Our next monthly Bible Study will be held on Thursday, March 10th at 7pm. This month, in honor of Women's History Month, we will look at a number of Women in the Bible. Women's contributions to Scripture are often overlooked (to say the least) and yet we will see that women have been at the center of the most important events of salvation history.
All are welcome! Please join us next Thursday via Zoom! If you don't know our Zoom connection information, just email Rev. Scott at priest@StAugustinesDC.org.
Shrove Tuesday TONIGHT!
Ash Wednesday TOMORROW
Our Shrove Tuesday party will be held TONIGHT remotely by Zoom only. Senior Steward Tara Ramsey is organizing a fun night of conversation, games, cooking at home, and music too! The festivities begin with a pancake cooking less at 6pm; the full party will start at 6:30 and will probably end around 8pm. All are invited! Please join us via Zoom. If you don't have our Zoom connection information, just email Rev. Scott at priest@staugustinesdc.org and he will send it to you!
Tomorrow we will hold our Ash Wednesday service, beginning the season of Lent. You can join us either remotely (via Zoom or Facebook Live) or in-person for this service! The Ash Wednesday service is a time for us to gather in penitence and reflection, preparing ourselves to seek a deeper relationship with God through faith and discipline. All are welcome to join us!
Please note that those attending in-person must wear a mask over their mouth and nose while inside the building.
Whichever way you'd like to attend, we hope to see you there! As always, if you have any questions, please get in touch with our priest, Scott Lipscomb at priest@staugustinesdc.org.
This Sunday, we will welcome Deputy Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (and member of St. Augustine's!) Kinshasha Holman Conwill as she leads a special Sunday Forum on February 27th. Kinshasha will discuss Dr. Vincent Harding, African-American historian, scholar, and activist who focused on American religion and society. Dr. Harding is perhaps best known for his book There Is a River: The Black Struggle for Freedom in America. We will discuss his significance as a scholar and how is legacy can guide us in the struggle for justice today. Please note that this forum will be held on Zoom only (not Facebook Live). If you don't have our Zoom channel information, just email Rev. Scott and he will be happy to send it to you!
Ms. Kinshasha Holman Conwill
We are excited to welcome Kinshasha to lead our Black History Month Forum this year, and hope you will join us!
Hybrid/In-Person Service Returns on March 2nd
On December 23rd, we announced that we were moving our worship to a completely remote format in response to the incredible surge of COVID-19 cases in the District. I am glad to report (as many of you already know!) that the infection rate has dropped considerably over the last few weeks:
As the infection rate has dropped to something close to its pre-surge levels, we will finally return to offering an in-person option for worship beginning with our Ash Wednesday service on March 2nd at 6:30pm. We plan to continue offering this hybrid/in-person service the following Sunday and thereafter. (Note that our services on February 20 & 27 will be remote only!)
We will, of course, continue to offer full remote access to our services as well. So, if you would prefer to join worship via Zoom video, phone, or Facebook Live, you certainly can continue to do so!
For those who do decide to join in-person, please know that masks are required at all times while in the building, to be worn over the mouth and nose.
We are excited to be able to return to our hybrid service format. We hope to see you in-person or online!
Bible Study: Forgiving
We will gather for Bible Study this Thursday, February 10th at 7pm on Zoom, when we will read Scripture and seek to understand the work of Forgiving.
All are welcome to join! If you don't know our Zoom channel address, just email Rev. Scott at priest@staugustinesdc.org and he will be happy to send you the info! All are very welcome to join us..
Black History Month at St. Augustine's
As we enter February, we begin Black History Month. This year, we will recognize this important time in 2 ways:
First, we welcome the return of Stephanie Ball's musical gifts to our weekly worship. Stephanie is recording music that we will hear each week this month: 2 songs for us to sing along to, as well as brand new anthems each Sunday! Join us for worship via Zoom or Facebook Live to enjoy Stephanie's musical gifts!
Ms. Stephanie Ball
Second, we will welcome Deputy Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (and member of St. Augustine's!) Kinshasha Holman Conwill as she leads a special Sunday Forum on February 27th. Kinshasha will discuss Dr. Vincent Harding, African-American historian, scholar, and activist who focused on American religion and society. Dr. Harding is perhaps best known for his book There Is a River: The Black Struggle for Freedom in America. We will discuss his significance as a scholar and how is legacy can guide us in the struggle for justice today. Please note that this forum will be held on Zoom only (not Facebook Live). If you don't have our Zoom channel information, just email Rev. Scott and he will be happy to send it to you!
Ms. Kinshasha Holman Conwill
We are excited to welcome Stephanie and Kinshasha to lead our Black History Month programming this year, and hope you will join us!
Celebrating Martin Luther King
& Seeking the Spirit
This Sunday, January 16th, we will celebrate the Feast of Martin Luther King, Jr. We will remember King's life and ask what his legacy has to teach us in the struggle for justice today. We will especially focus on how King both sought the presence of the Holy Spirit and acted as a conduit for that Spirit in the world around him.
Please join us for worship at 9:30am, via Zoom or Facebook Live!
Monthly Bible Study on Hope
Christian faith is centered around hope: we find ourselves in a world that is very often full of suffering, ignorance, despair, and death. And yet we seek to live the values of compassion, love, kindness, and joy. So at the core of our faith is the belief that things can be better than they are. This marks our faith as one of striving, struggling, willing, and working to make a better world. In short: we hope.
The past 2 years have been a severe test of our ability to hope, as COVID-19 has caused pain, death, and major disruptions to our daily lives. As Christians, we look to God’s love, God’s salvation, in Jesus Christ. A big part of our work as a community has been to hold on to hope during a time that can often feel hopeless.
So: what does this “hope” really mean? Does it actually help us to achieve anything? Would we be better off if we just accepted that the way things are is the way they have to be? This Thursday, January 13th at 7pm, we’re going to explore the Scriptural witness to hope to try and get some answers to these questions.
All are welcome to join us via Zoom! If you don't know our Zoom connection information, just email Rev. Scott at priest@staugustinesdc.org and he will be happy to share it with you!
This Bible Study will occur every 2nd Thursday at 7pm, with a new topic and selection of Bible passages each month.
St. A's Worship: Remote Only For Now
In August of 2021, many of us were able to finally return to in-person worship after 18 months of gathering only by internet or phone. Last week, we unfortunately had to return to a remote-only format due to the huge spike of COVID-19 infections in the District of Columbia:
Image via Google & the New York Times
Even though our community has been faithful & diligent in wearing masks at church, and even though our population seems to be highly vaccinated, this rate of infection means that gathering together in-person presents real risks for many members of our community, especially for those of us with un-vaccinated or immunocompromised family and friends.
For this reason, Scott has decided to keep our gatherings remote-only for the time being. He will continue to evaluate the infection rate weekly, and we hope that we can announce a return to hybrid services with an in-person option soon—but that time has not come yet.
If you have questions or concerns about this decision, or simply want to talk more about it, please feel free to reach out to Scott by email or phone.
Christmas 2021
Important Update
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Many of us have been waiting for more than a year for the chance to gather together in-person for this beautiful service when we hear the story of Jesus’s birth and sing well-loved songs together. Today I have to share the sad but necessary announcement that we are canceling in-person worship for the near future, due to the huge increase in COVID infections in the District of Columbia over the last week. This means that our Christmas Eve an Christmas Day services, as well as worship this Sunday, will be remote only via Zoom and Facebook Live.
This was not an easy decision, but ultimately I believe that safeguarding our community’s health must be a top priority. Although we have been faithful in wearing masks when gathering together, and nearly all of our members are vaccinated, the new Omicron variant of the COVID virus seems to be more transmissible than previous variants, and such measures may not be sufficient to keep us safe. Even with the precautions we have been taking, I believe gathering together in-person is simply too risky at this time.
We will, of course, still gather for worship on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and on Sunday. Please join us remotely via Zoom video conference, phone, or Facebook Live. We will be celebrating Holy Eucharist during at least one of these services, so if you do not have any consecrated wafers at home and would like some, please be in touch with me ASAP and I will be happy to meet you today or tomorrow to hand them off to you.
Even though we won’t be gathering in-person this weekend, our community still stands together, just as we have throughout the pandemic. If you have any questions for me, or just feel the need to talk, please reach out to me by phone or email. I also encourage you to call each other in the coming days, to keep the bonds of fellowship strong at a time when we celebrate hope even as we face anxiety and uncertainty.
No matter what happens, no matter what challenges we face in the coming days, Christmas is coming—Christ, God incarnate, is coming. Even in the midst of darkness, there is this good news to share. I hope you’ll join me tomorrow as we share the Good News of Christmas!
The Season of Advent begins November 28!
As we approach the Feast of the Nativity (Christmas!), we enter the season of Advent: a time of waiting, watching, of remaining alert for God's presence in the world. We invite you to join us over the next 4 Sundays as we keep vigil during this special season in the life of the church. We will be wondering together especially about the Signs that God gives us in the world: how can we notice God's signs to us, and how can we interpret them? How can they guide us on a good path in life? Join us as we ask these questions together in prayer, study, and worship!
Wresting with the Angel: Bible Study
And as we begin the season of Advent, we are also launching a new version of our Bible Study, called Wrestling with the Angel. We will gather with one theme or topic in mind, and draw from a number of passages from Scripture as we seek to learn together. We will meet once a month at 7pm on the 2nd Thursday. Each class stands on its own; you are welcome to join whenever you can and like!
Our first session will be at 7pm on December 9th on Zoom. We'll read Scripture together and ask "What is the Church?" If you don't know our Zoom channel address, just email Rev. Scott at priest@staugustinesdc.org and he will be happy to send you the info! All are very welcome to join us.
Coy McKinney Discusses
the Douglass Community Land Trust
This Sunday, Coy McKinney, a DC public school teacher and one of the principal leaders of Southwest DC Action, will lead our Sunday Forum as he tells us more about the proposed Douglass Community Land Trust that aims to provide affordable housing here in Southwest. Please join us after the service, in-person or via Zoom!
Gathering the Gifts Stewardship Campaign
Our Stewardship season began October 10th and continues through November. This year our theme is Gathering the Gifts: this Sunday we will kick off the campaign and discuss financial stewardship. Then on October 31, we shift to stewardship of time and talent, with a ministry fair and guest speakers.
We invite members, neighbors, and friends to discern how you are called to support the work our community does. We invite you to listen to Stewardship Committee Chair Bruce Crane reflect on what gathering the gifts means to his own practices of stewardship in this video below:
Our full Gathering the Gifts Stewardship materials are available online: click here to view them. To offer your 2022 pledge, please email Stewardship Chair Bruce Crane at bruce@staugustinesdc.org.Thank you for visiting our site and for your support!
Blessing of the Animals: October 10th
In recogntion of the Feast of St. Francis (Oct. 4) we will hold our annual Blessing of the Animals at 11:45am on October 10th, right after our Sunday Forum. Please see our flier below for more information! All are welcome to join us.
We Return to In-Person Worship with a Hybrid Service
We return (again!) with in-person worship on September 12. We will hold a hybrid service, so feel free to join us either in-person or remotely via Zoom or Facebook.
All are welcome!
As always, if you have any questions about this or any other issue, please get in touch with Scott: priest@staugustinesdc.org.
Possible COVID Exposure on August 29
No in-person worship September 5
This past Sunday, we met for our first in-person/hybrid worship service in nearly 18 months. On Tuesday evening, Rev. Scott was informed that one of the people present had tested positive for COVID-19 after developing symptoms on the Monday after our service. Note that this person is vaccinated.
Since everyone in attendance wore masks throughout the service and, to our knowledge, all in attendance were vaccinated, the likelihood of any transmission should be very low. Nevertheless, we have taken this possible exposure very seriously. Those who were in attendance were contacted on Wednesday with the information about their possible exposure and encouraged to get tested for COVID.
For those of us present last Sunday, our first step, of course, was to get tested. Scott and one other parishioner first used an at-home test—which is relatively inaccurate—and both of us got a positive result. Both Scott and this parishioner then got more accurate PCR tests at a local pharmacy—and both tests came back negative.
All other people who have reported their test results to Scott have also reported negative results, so we are reasonably sure that no transmission has occurred. However, because there were some positive results—even though the positive results came from low-accuracy tests—we will not meet for worship in-person this Sunday. Please join us remotely via Zoom or Facebook Live.
We will be in touch next week with more updates about this situation, and we intend and hope to have in-person worship available for September 12. We will confirm this via email, Facebook, and on our site later next week.
As always, if you have any questions about this or any other issue, please get in touch with Scott: priest@staugustinesdc.org.
We Return to In-Person Worship on August 29!
Please read below for details, such as the requirement to wear masks and the strong encouragement to be vaccinated before attending.
The last time we met for worship inside our sanctuary was March 8, 2020. In the nearly year-and-a-half since then, we have continued to worship, learn, and keep fellowship remotely: by phone, video conference, Facebook, and email. Our community has shown incredible resilience throughout this time, and we remain a well-connected and committed community.
However, for the vast majority of us, maintaining community in this remote way has been far from ideal. Many of you have spoken to me of your longing to return to the building, to worship together and spend time in one another's presence. Of course, we had to prioritize the health and safety of our families and communities, and so we did the best we could with a difficult situation.
As the various vaccines were introduced in late 2020 and continued to be administered in 2021, the rate of infection began to drop precipitously, and in May of this year we began discussions as a community about when—and how—to re-open for in-person worship. Finally, now, after a long exile, we can return: we will hold in-person worship beginning on August 22 at 9:30am.
This is of course joyous news, but we must remain vigilant against COVID-19 and continue to prioritize our health and safety, and that of our families and communities, especially as the rate of infection has begun to climb again due to the Delta Variant of the virus. So, even as we re-open for worship, there are a number of important stipulations.
Please read the details of our re-opening plan below:
1. Remote worship will remain available:
Even as we return to in-person worship, we know that many people may prefer or even need to continue to worship remotely. On August 22, we will be launching a hybrid service: we will hold our service in-person but will livestream the whole service via Zoom so that those who choose to remain at home can continue to join us. We will also hold our Sunday Forum after the service and will make this available via livestream too.
2. Please do not attend in-person if you have symptoms of respiratory infection:
If you have symptoms of the COVID-19 infection, such as fever, persistent coughing, nasal or bronchial congestion, head or body aches, or shortness of breath, please do not attend in-person worship (or any other public gatherings!) until you received a negative COVID test.
Please note that we will record the names of those who attend so that we can facilitate contact tracing in the event of any infection among attendees.
3. Masks will be required for all people while inside:
Everyone will be required to keep a mask over their nose and mouth while they are inside the building.
4. We urge those who attend in-person to be fully vaccinated:
Although we will not be requiring proof of vaccination status for those entering the building, we strongly urge people who want to attend in-person to be fully vaccinated, both for their health and for the health of others in attendance. We know that some people, for health reasons, may not be able to receive the vaccine, and we welcome anyone who finds themselves in this situation to continue to join us remotely. Again, please note that the service will be available via livestream.
We understand that no children under the age of 12 can currently receive the vaccine, and only their parents can decide whether such children should attend in-person. It's not an easy decision to make, and please know that if you'd like to talk with Scott about this situation, he would be happy to talk: priest@staugustinesdc.org.
5. We will not hold Coffee Hour after the service:
St. A's has a long and wonderful tradition of sharing coffee, snacks, and fellowship after the service. However, since drinking and eating require us to lower our masks for extended periods, we will not be sharing food or beverages together. We know that abstaining from this time of fellowship will be difficult, but again, we must prioritize the health and safety of our communities.
6. We will continue to evaluate the situation:
The threat posed by COVID-19 continues, especially in the form of the Delta Variant, which is now increasing infection rates across the country, including the DC area. St. Augustine's leadership will continue to evaluate the situation, and we may make further changes to our in-person worship plan in the weeks and months to come.
Note again that we will continue also make our worship service available remotely via Zoom. To join us remotely, please contact Rev. Scott for the connection details: priest@staugustinesdc.org.
Newcomers are always welcome!
Derek Chauvin Convicted of Murdering George Floyd
On Tuesday, Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd. He was convicted on all 3 charges brought before the court; he remains to be sentenced sometime in the near future.
This conviction will not bring George back, nor will it single-handedly end systemic racism or state violence. But it is a real step of accountability, especially considering how rarely police officers are even charged with crimes after using deadly force.
This conviction is a victory for justice, although we know it is one step in a very long journey. The last few weeks have brought news of police violence and intimidation to people of color across the country. At St. Augustine's, we commit to being an active ally in anti-racist work. As always, if you have thoughts, concerns, questions, or ideas about this work, please contact Rev. Scott at priest@staugustinesdc.org
Bishop Mariann has released her own statement on the conviction, which you can read here.
Holy Week 2021
As Lent comes to an end, Easter is on the horizon. For nearly 2,000 years, Christians have spent the week before Easter in especially attentive prayer. The 3 days leading up to Easter are especially significant. Together they form the Triduum: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.
St. Augustine's will hold services on all 3 days, and we invite everyone to join us! Here is our schedule:
Maundy Thursday Service: April 1 at 6:30
Good Friday Stations of the Cross Service: April 2 at 12 noon
Good Friday Evening Service: April 2 at 6:30pm
Holy Saturday Easter Vigil: April 3 at 6:30pm
Please join us! All services will be live-streamed on our Facebook Page.
(You don't need a Facebook account to watch!)
Women's History Forum:
March 21
March is Women's History Month! Here at St. A's we will celebrate the month with a special Sunday forum on March 21, right after our worship service. Guests are invited to tell us about a woman in your life—a mother, grandmother, aunt, daughter, professor, priest, doctor, writer, politician, saint, or any historical figure—who has inspired, taught or shaped you in significant ways.
Please join us!
Upcoming Online Concert!
We are also very excited to continue our celebration of Black History Month with a special concert of traditional Spirituals performed by Stephanie Ball, concert artist and curator. Ms. Ball will present Musical Monuments: Spirituals and the African American Concert Tradition on Friday, February 26th at 7:30pm and again as a matinee performance at 2:30pm on Sunday, February 28th. You can get tickets here.
Worship Online Every Sunday
Although we are not meeting in-person due to the coronavirus, we worship together every Sunday online. Click here to see past and present services.
We also gather for worship on Tuesday evenings and for Bible Study on Thursday evenings.
Newcomers are always welcome!
Response to White Nationalist Terrorism in DC
statement released by Rev. Scott on January 6, 2021
On January 6, 2021, some supporters of the current president who do not accept the legitimate election results from November 2020 broke into the Capitol building and assaulted Capitol police with tear gas. Some of these terrorists accessed the Senate chamber (members of the House and Senate had been evacuated). As Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has said, the “events at our Capitol [on January 6] are deeply disturbing. We believe the actions of armed protesters represent a coup attempt.”
We strongly encourage you to read the statement released by the Movement for Black Lives, "Dear Black People", which astutely summarizes the reality we witnessed yesterday:
Mayor Muriel Bowser has issued a 15-day State of Emergency for the District. We encourage everyone living in the District to pay close attention to news and any alerts from the DC government.
St. Augustine's does not endorse political parties or candidates. But we do endorse fair elections. And we do un-endorse the violence at the Capitol on January 6. We are glad that Congress officially certified the results of the 2020 presidential election on January 7. We urge federal and municipal authorities to protect DC residents and prevent further violence from white nationalist terrorists who may remain in our city.