Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Pohick Post, January 2017
Pohick Post, January 2017
The Reverend
Donald D. Binder, PhD
January 2017
the Vestry has awarded three grants from this fund, of
which two will help attract and retain new families, while
one has already established a new program - Walking
the Mourners Path - that ministers directly to them
(as well as to our existing membership). One from the
former of these categories is the new moveable sign that
now advertises special church services and events to
passersby on Richmond Highway.
The other is the establishment of the Robert and
Bernice Kilmarx Scholarship Fund, which seeks to assist graduating high school seniors who have been active in Pohick Churchs youth programs in their pursuit
of post-secondary education. The first of these scholarships was awarded this past June to Graham Hogg, now
a freshman at Shenandoah University.
While on a pastoral call last summer, I shared this
last bit of news with our (now) late parishioner Anne
Powell. She then said to me, Oh, Ive been a educator
all my life; thats something Id really like to support!
And so Im pleased to announce that before she died,
Anne generously designated one third of her estate to go
into that scholarship fund. While the total of her final
bequest is pending the sale of her home, the amount is
estimated to be more than $100,000. Once those monies
have been received, the size and/or the number of annual scholarships awarded to future Pohick scholarship
recipients can potentially be enlarged.
From our survey responses, another area identified
for improvement was our parish website. When I last redesigned it six or seven years ago, it was tailored towards
audiences who browsed through the then dominant
desk- and laptops. Since that time, of course, the tech
Continued on page 2
The Reverend
Dr. Ruth E. Correll, Ed.D.
2016 in Review: Deeper and Wider
My fifth year as assistant to the Rector has presented new opportunities and challenges that have
stretched me and increased my appreciation for this
fine parish body with its dedicated staff. I am particularly grateful for study leave time. During the last
twelve months, I have profited by taking courses on
spiritual formation, the use of music in worship, understanding Islam, and the 20th century intellectual
life of the Christian community. I enjoyed passing on
the profoundly rich heritage of our faith to students in
Confirmation Class.
Pastoral Care: Jennifer Sassin spearheaded and
developed Community of Hope at Pohick. Her leadership has extended far beyond our church. Congratulations for her new role as Executive Director of
COH International. Lay ministers of COH carry on
their ministry to encourage ill parishioners, do continuing education, and explore Benedictine spirituality through study of The Rule, retreats, and attendance
at the annual convention of COHI in Texas. Chuck
and June MacDonald spearheaded a new visitation
program to residents at The Fairfax. My thanks go to
all those who have helped Pohickians in difficult circumstances. Some complicated situations have been
resolved through combined efforts of COH members,
parish nurses, Agape volunteers, prayer shawl knitters,
skilled parishioners, social service agents, and Gods
intervention.
This year had its regular rhythms of Holy Baptism,
Matrimony, and Burial. I value highly the pastoral offices that provide opportunities to work with parishioners on a one-to-one basis as they approach, undergo,
and persevere when dealing with significant turning
points in life. For the first time, our Alpha Marriage
Course team, Bruce and Beth Baird and Edwardene
Pitcock, are hosting engaged couples along with the
usual married couples. Early in the year, EYC meetings provided an opportune time for parents to take
the Alpha Parenting course. The choir set the tone for
our largest gathering for Blue Christmas, and gifts of
prayer shawls left a concrete sign of loving care. Our
first offering of Walking the Mourners Path, ably facilitated by Nancy Bireley and Mary Howard, supported seven parishioners as they dealt with a past
bereavement in his or her life. Blessings to everyone
involved.
Ministry with Women: In April, Rita Stankwitz
hosted once again a womens retreat addressing the
incredibly busy lifestyle in this area through directed
prayer, meditation on Scripture, and calming physical yoga exercises. The MOMs group has gone on
Facebook to share information and to announce their
meetings, primarily for informal conversations about
topics of interest. The Ann Mason Guild sponsored
a Beth Moore study series on the Psalms of Ascent.
They watched and discussed while enjoying the bag
lunches they brought.
Discretionary Fund: Last year, we made a policy
that we would not give donations to people unknown
to this parish unless they were referred to us through
one of the social service agencies in Fairfax or Prince
William Counties. The LCAC for which we supply
goods, financial gifts, and leadership provides a first
step for many of our neighbors in need. The new
policy has allowed us to diversify use of discretionary
funds.
Jesus Christ leads us in extending both internal
and external support for growth in faith. The quality
of care people receive at Pohick truly lets the light of
Christ shine within and outside our walls. Thank you
for allowing me to be a part of this witness.
Stewardship Corner
Hello, Goodbye
Jesus told him, if you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor,
and you will have treasures in heaven. Then come, follow me. (Matthew 19:21)
In this issue of the Post, well talk briefly about how
Pohick financial life works. From a parishioner standpoint, Pohick is now, and has always been a church in
flux. Each year we welcome 20 or so new families and
typically three quarters of those will pledge some level
of financial support. For some churches, that would
indicate a huge increase in their budget. But Pohick
also loses parishioners each year as a result of military
or government transfers, retirement moves, and deaths.
The total number of parish families fluctuates slightly
from year to year, but stays relatively constant. As you
might now guess, the number of families who pledge
their financial support also remains relatively constant.
By in large, the parishioners who leave pledge at a
higher rate. This is to be expected because they tend to
be older and more established in their finances. We also
expect a certain number of parishioners to reduce their
pledge each year. This might be, for example, because
one member of the pledging family has recently retired
from the military and has not yet found post-retirement
employment. As a result of these generally downward
fluctuations, Pohick depends on current parishioners to
step in and pick up at least some of the slack. As parishioners are promoted, as they receive raises, as their
children finish college, as they pay off mortgages, we
anticipate that their giving will increase. That is why we
emphasize proportional giving (moving toward a tithe)
in many of the stewardship articles - both in the Post
and in the weekly stewardship perspectives. Lets see
how that seems to be working out for 2016.
For 2017, we are thus far aware of the loss of only
nine pledging families from our 2016 baseline. That is
well below the average and that should be good news.
However, we know the cumulative pledge of those
nine families was close to $40,000 and that cumulative number is well above average and nearly equal to
2015 when we lost 24 pledging families who gave, cumulatively, $41,000! In addition, thus far in 2016 we
are looking at slightly more decreased pledges than has
been the recent norm but for a smaller dollar total just
over $12,000. Partially offsetting these reductions, as
of mid-December, we had welcomed 10 new pledging
families and had 36 families increase their pledges for
Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. Look, he said to his people, the Israelites
have become far too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and,
if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country. - Exodus 1: 8-10
This monthly report is part of the Vestrys ongoing effort to inform and update the Parish about the ongoing controversies
within The Episcopal Church (TEC) and the Anglican Communion. These controversies largely involve the blessing of samesex unions, ordination of non-celibate homosexuals, interpretation of Scripture, and breakdown of traditional boundary lines
between Provinces.
Music Notes
New year
New light
New chances
New choices
New songs
New insight
New grace
New life
Behold, I make all things new.
The first Sunday of each month Pohick collects nonperishable food items to be contributed to the Lorton
Community Action Centers food pantry. Consider
bringing an item on February 5 to include as a part of
the alms giving. Foods brought to the church for the
9:00 am service are brought to the altar by the ushers for a blessing. Food can be brought at other times
and left in the Common Room for delivery to LCAC.
Suggested items include canned fruits, vegetables,
soups, boxed cereal, brown rice, pasta, and pasta sauce.
Sunday
Monday
7p EFM
8a GD Inventory
7p Boy Scouts
8:30p AA
11a Epps Funeral
2p HE, the Fairfax
7:30p Healing Service
10
11
12
13
15
16
17
18
19
20
Epiphany 2a
Martin Luther
7:45a HE I
King Day
9a HE II
Office Closed
10:15a Annual Mtg
11:15a HE I
7p EFM
6:30p EYC Jr&Sr
Pohick Post Deadline
22
23
14
8a Brotherhood of
St. Andrew
10a Holy Spirit
Retreat
21
Vestry Retreat
26
27
28
FEB 1
29
30
31
6p Marriage
Course
7p EFM
8a Brotherhood
of St. Andrew
9:15a Baptism
rehearsal
1p 1st Sat Docent Tour
25
7p EFM
Winter Trip
Epiphany 4a
7:45a HE I
9a HE II
11:15a HE II
Saturday
24
Epiphany 3a
7:45a HE I
9a HE II
11:15a HE II
6:30p EYC
8p Sheffield
Rec HOA
Friday
Thursday
Wednesday
JAN 1
Epiphany 1a
7:45a HE I
9a HE II
11:15a HE II
6p EYC Dinner
Tuesday
Diocesan Convention
6:15p Bell Choir
7p Boy Scouts
7:30p Choir of
Pohick
8:30p AA
6:15p Bell Choir
7p Boy Scouts
7:30p Choir of
Pohick
8:30p AA
Diocesan
Convention
Winter Trip
Diocesan Convention
Winter Trip
8a Brotherhood
of St. Andrew
8a Brotherhood
of St. Andrew
1p 1st Sat Docent Tour
Contact the Parish Secretary, Susan Hayward-Costa, to list group meetings or events on the calendar, shcosta@pohick.org.
8a Rodger Jones
Stew Remaly
11:15 N/A
8 JANUARY
Mike Vaughn
Mike Zane
Hal Yarwood
Jim Foster
Brent Goeller
Fuzzy Thurston
F. Thurston
K. Kirkland
1:00
A. Choi
E. Pitcock
Pitcock/Schmid
AM
J. Wells
N. Sage
C. Foster
J. Geschickter
J. Mullins
H. Parker
R. Stankwitz
J. Wells
N. Sage
C. Foster
J. Geschickter
J. Mullins
H. Parker
R. Stankwitz
R. Stankwitz
M. Bartholomew
AM
9:00 N. Sage
11:15
T. Bland
7:45
Thorson (R)
Wagner (P)
9:00
11:15 N/A
Nelson (P)
Sage (R)
Faber (P)
Choi (R)
Paul Walden
Mike Wooten
Mo Faber
Beth Altman
Grant Hodges
Ron Schow
Tom Bland
Chris Brown
Pehr Pehrsson
Greg Wilson
D. Smith
A. Choi
TBD
E. Pitcock
F. Crawford
TBD
Bartlett/Remaly
M/M Myers
Faber/Kirkland
BJ McPherson
A. Powell, J. Schmid
M. Tonkin
S. Caesar
E. Pitcock
A. Marsico
M. Yezek
BJ McPherson
A. Powell, J. Schmid
M. Tonkin
S. Caesar
E. Pitcock
A. Marsico
M. Yezek
J. Sunderland
B. Altman
N. Bireley
V. Jones
J. MacDonald
R. Teale
B. Wagner
M. Harding
R. Stankwitz
S. Pehrsson
M/M Sunderland
M/M Bryant
M/M Stankwitz
TBD
TBD
TBD
COFFEE HOUR
8a Marsico (P)
Sunderland (R)
Sandra Caesar
Rick Nelson
FLOWER GUILD
7:45 8a Pagan/Wallace
9:00 10a W. Patton
11:15 N/A
D. McHugh
Dave Billingsley
Ed McGovern
ALTAR GUILD
TBD
Paul Walden
Stew Remaly
Rodger Jones
TELLERS
Schmid/Pitcock
29 JANUARY
Becky Wagner
Don Cooke
LOCK - UP
Byrne/Wagner
22 JANUARY
Tony Marsico
Alan Mayberry
OPEN - UP
7:45 M. Wagner
9:00 M/M Ayorinde
11:15 TBD
M/M Morawski
USHERS
Dru Hodges
Matt Gurrola
Bob Munson
Dennis Myers
Bill Bland
Kathy Kirkland
7:00
15 JANUARY
M/M Yarwood
GREETERS
M/M Bland
M/M Lynn
E. Bartlett
R. Stankwitz
M/M Biddlecomb
D. Sebastian
M/M Ickes
Darling/Antonelli
M/M Yarwood
DOCENTS
J. Bartholomew
F. Crawford
C. Knipling
Thorson (R)
Wagner (P)
Thorson (P)
Marsico (R)
Thorson (R)
Marsico (P)
Cockroft (R)
Sage (P)
Pasour (R)
TBD
Gastrell (R)
Arning (P)
C. Darling
LAY READERS
Gastrell (P)
Egan (R)
G. Delaune
Sage (R)
Egan (P)
B. Bland
Faber (R)
Cockroft (P)
The Sunday Service Volunteers Schedule is also available at Pohick Churchs website, www.pohick.org, under Ministries.
January, 8 2017
8:15 am to 9:00 am Myers/Marsico
10:15 am to 11:15 am TBA
January 15, 2017
8:15 am to 9 am Morgan/Jones
10:15 am to 11:15 am Closed
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 2
Lorton, VA
Pohick Church
The Purpose of Pohick Church is to be a nourishing community where Christs love is experienced and taken beyond its walls.
VESTRY GRAM
From:
Helen Parker
Fred Crawford
Dan Derbes
Susan Pehrsson
Amanda Choi,
Caroline Cockroft,
Isabel Hogg, Kathy Kirkland,
Edwardene Pitcock,
Doug Smith, Eric Thorson,
Fuzzy Thurston