by Janet L. Parker

 

 The past six months or so have been filled with many activities and joys in the life of Rock Spring, but it has also been a season of loss for our congregation as we have grieved the deaths of one after another of what Chuck has aptly called the "mighty oaks" of the church.  The loss of these long-time elders of our church leaves a hole in our heart, and it's important for us to acknowledge the emotional impact of these losses on us as individuals and as a church.  We need to hold open a space for memories, story-telling, and grieving as we adjust to the fact that these familiar faces are no longer among us.  For the families and friends of these beloved members of Rock Spring, and also for the faithful caring ministry volunteers among us who entered into their lives and accompanied them on their journey, we need to offer special support and care.  

One of the mysteries of the death of someone close to us is the strange dialectic of absence and presence that we experience with regard to that person.  We have lost their physical, bodily presence with us, and yet, as the apostle Paul says, "love never ends," and so we continue to experience the presence of our loved ones in our hearts.  For Christians who believe in the promise of eternal life, we also know that our loved ones are not truly "absent" but are "present" in another dimension--alive with God.  Perhaps that explains why we sometimes glimpse their ongoing presence with us in spirit, even after their death.

I want to share with you an excerpt from a book I am reading called Twenty Poems to Nourish the Soul.  The poems cover a number of subjects, including "Loss," and are followed by a short commentary by Judith Valente or Charles Reynard, who together compiled this volume.  This selection comes from Judith Valente, and she is reflecting on her own experience of her mother's death: "Grieving the loss of a loved one is probably the ultimate desert experience.  But it is an inevitable part of life. If we're lucky, it will spur us on to growth. A few months after my mother died, I attended a talk on All Saints' Day given by my friends Eileen Durkin and her sister Julie.  They spoke of their father, who had [recently] died, and how acutely they missed him.  Julie said that one day after he had died, she simply knew her father was with her in the room.  Not in the flesh or as a ghostly vision, but as a presence.  He came to her as she heard a song he often sang to her when she was a child.

I now know exactly what Julie sensed.  I tell friends who've lost someone they love that, as hard as it seems at first, there comes a point when you stop feeling the person's absence and start feeling his or her presence...."
Perhaps just as Julie sensed that her father was "in the room" with her, we will also experience the spiritual presence of our departed members "in the room" with us when we are in worship, at prayer, and engaging in all the ministries of our church, to which they greatly contributed.  It is up to us to carry on the legacy that they helped build, the legacy that has made Rock Spring the mighty oak that it is today.  To paraphrase Hebrews 12, "therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside everything that weighs us down and run with perseverance the race that is set before us."  

- -Janet L. Parker

Condolences and prayers for Caroline Hufford Anderson, Linda Anderson, and other family members and friends of Del Anderson, beloved member of Rock Spring Church, who passed away on Friday, July 20.  Del will be greatly missed at Rock Spring. Born to Laura Graves and her husband, James Brooks, a daughter, Josephine Grace Brooks on June 25.  Born to Ben and Meredith Eckman, a daughter,Bailey Grace Eckman, on July 25. Congratulations to the new parents!  Prayers are requested for Alexander Kincaid, son of Mark and Karin Kincaid, who is still in the neonatal intensive care unit at Inova Fairfax Hospital...prayers for Emily Haseltine who is in room 325A at the Jefferson, in rehab from her stroke, and is now able to receive visitors...farewell and Godspeed to Valerie Rhoe who is leaving for a two-year assignment in Nigeria with her job and will join the Rock Spring contingent forming there along with the Bells!  Continued prayers for Josh Lawton, Janet Moore, Charlie and Lou Per-Lee are welcome.  Congratulations to two Rock Spring couples who were married in the month of July:  Chris Maness and Catherine Goodrich, and Ralph Embree and Diana Ceresi, with Janet Parker officiating.  Congratulations also to the Keister family on the baptism of their daughter Melanie Carolyn on July 29.
 
Funeral Service for Helen Perreault:  Helen Perreault will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday, August 21 at 2:00 pm.  Gather in the administration building at 1:30.  Hank Fairman will officiate.  A memorial service for Helen was held at Rock Spring on July 30.

 

STAFF DOINGS

Hank Fairman is back from vacation and study leave on August 12, and Janet Parker goes on vacation and study leave from August 13-Labor Day.  Chuck Wildman returns to the office on August 24.  

 

 

 

 

ORGAN 101 

-- Come hear Rock Spring organist Ed Roberts, after church on any of five Sundays in August and September, discussing plans to replace the Schantz pipe organ and demonstrate its problems and limitations.  The sessions, open to all, are scheduled for August 19, 26, and September 2 after the 10 a.m. service, and September 9 and 16 after the 11 a.m. service. 
 
Last year, the Church Council created an Organ Planning Committee to explore options for a new pipe organ.  The Committee is at work and will report back to Council this fall.   If Council approves the Committee's recommendations, a congregational meeting will be scheduled in November to vote on the proposal.  In addition, the church's Centennial Committee, working on plans for 2012 events, has identified a new pipe organ as a central component of the celebration of Rock Spring's first 100 years.
 
Members of the Organ Planning Committee are Jeff Dale, Don Hall, Emory Hackman, Jeanne Page, Priscilla Taylor, and Co-Chairs Laurie Rodgers and Claudia Sturges Scott.  William Neil, organist for the National Symphony Orchestra and National Presbyterian Church in Washington, is consultant to the Committee.

 

FOOD FRIENDS FUN

WHAT:  Rock Spring Church Picnic

WHEN:  Saturday, September 1 at 4:00pm 

WHERE:  Lacey Woods Park, Arlington

Lacey Woods Park is at the corner of George Mason and Washington Blvd in Arlington.   Also parking is on the street and the pavilion where to deposit food is in the middle of the woods with entrance paths from George Mason Blvd a little way along from the corner.

  

WHO:   YOU!!!!  There will be activities for ALL ages - singing, checkers, sack race, 3 legged race, tug of war, a playground, ice-cream cranking (and eating), and good old-fashioned socializing!!!

WHAT TO BRING:  A side dish or dessert to share.  Non-alocoholic beverages for yourself !!!

**Hot dogs with all the fixins will be provided by JFFAL (Just For Fun and  Laughter)!!**

 

 

YOUNG ROCK SPRINGER  EXPERIENCE WITH THE HOMELESS DINNER PROGRAM

From working in a restaurant-like setting to learning how to make great mashed potatoes: A young Rock Springer's experience with the Homeless Women's Dinner Program

By Eliza Bracy (grade 4)        

 

D.P.H.W. (Dinner Program for Homeless Women) is a great experience for   all ages. At first glance it may seem like a soup kitchen but it is much more. My experience is on Sundays you leave your house at about four and get   there about four thirty. The building does not stand out much but once you go downstairs and see the kitchen you know this is a very special building. The kitchen normally is already busy with people who make the food. They get there earlier. You normally end up with the job of putting the food on the plates - a job that has my mouth watering! If you bring kids they usually get the job of passing out the food, utensils, and salt and pepper. After the eating there is the cleaning. We kids actually do not really mind cleaning up. Except for washing the dishes. It makes you feel really great to know that you are helping the community. You can do just about anything at D.P.H.W. From working in what is like a restaurant to learning how to make great mashed potatoes, it is FUN! 

 

--- Rock Spring participates in the dinner program every second Sunday of the   month. If you would like to join other Rock Springers on October 14 or November 11, please contact Peter Moll at (703) 525-9890 or   pmoll@worldbank.org.