St. Anne's Episcopal Church, Reston, Virginia

Vestry Completes Strategic Plan - Puts Three Focus Goals Into Action

Posted by St. Anne's Webmaster

Based on outreach and discernment activities that spanned 2007 and part of 2008, the Vestry has completed a 2008 – 2010 strategic plan that will guide our decision-making as we move ahead. The plan contains nine goals and three “focus goals” for 2008, and we’re pleased to report we’re already putting them into practice.

The focus goals for 2008 are:

* To strengthen our parish family
The Fellowship activities you’ve seen this year are a reflection of this goal. We've raised more than $300 in our Chik-fil-A Fellowship Night in support of Vacation Bible School - that equals a lot of parishioners and friends eating a lot of chicken! Our Lenten Series this year included a strong fellowship component with wonderful dinners which created a warm, inviting environment for the participants to explore their faith community. The buzz has begun for “Grill Nights – Summer 2008” where we’ll collectively enjoy an impromptu picnic in that beautiful new parking lot every Wednesday night throughout the summer. What a wonderful season in which we'll welcome our Assistant Rector for Family and Youth Ministries to our St. Anne's family.

* To communicate effectively within the parish family and the external community
The Vestry has worked hard to communicate better amongst ourselves, and we’ve assisted the staff with better communications as well. The St. Anne’s E-News has been a timely, mid-week reminder of all that goes on in our parish, and we’ll see that become more integrated with the Website in the coming weeks. The St. Anne’s Website is now the #1 way new parishioners learn about our church and make the decision to visit. You’ll see some changes in our print newsletter as well in the coming months. It isn’t all about media, however. Verbal communication within the parish is essential for coordination, and it was expertly used to manage the many volunteers, staff, and events that needed to take place around the parking lot paving project. Communication (and love) makes the world go ‘round.

* To act in gratitude for God’s gifts by sharing our resources to do the work and mission of a growing and vital St. Anne’s
Whether through grants to Reston Interfaith for transitional housing or committing to make the Common Ground Child Care Center safer for our community’s children by installing fire-safe windows, we’re acting in love and with gratitude for our many gifts, using them to improve the world around us. The Parish can expect to hear more about our plans for Liberian outreach as we work closely with our Liberian members of our community to assist one of our own as she rebuilds her homeland.

The underlying principles of the plan are to enhance our spiritual growth – individually and as a community, and improve the lives of others in Reston, our country and the world by practice and example, supported by the spiritual grounding that we find in our St. Anne’s community.

Click here to see the full strategic plan, including more on the background, or see the stack on the narthex credenza.

For more information or to find out how you can help, Contact Margret Hjalmarson for more information.

Common Ground Childcare Fundraiser with Lets Dish!

Posted by St. Anne's Webmaster

To help raise funds for Common Ground Childcare Center, we invite you to participate in a fun, new fundraising activity: Let’s Dish!

If you haven’t heard, Let’s Dish! is an easy and fun way to get healthy, homemade dinners on your table – and raise funds for Common Ground Childcare Center at the same time!

From May 1, 2008 – July 31, 2008, if you sign up for any session at Let’s Dish!, they will donate 10% of the proceeds back to Common Ground Childcare Center. Plus, you’ll get 4, 8, or 12 delicious meals to serve to your family.

Here’s how it works:

1) Go to http://www.letsdish.com/ and select the location nearest you
2) Select an in-store session or their pick-up service Dish-n-Dash
3) Choose a date and time that work for you and select 4, 8, or 12 meals from their monthly menu
4) Enter promotional code F3-CGChild on the page with your billing information (this will indicate to Let’s Dish! that you are part of our fundraiser)
5) Place your order, and show up at your date and time to prepare or pick up your meals

You can share your promotional code with friends. We look forward to seeing you at Let’s Dish!

Sunday School Walk for Sudan - May 4th

Posted by St. Anne's Webmaster

Dear Parents and Children of St. Anne’s,

On May 4th at 1 P.M. the St. Anne’s Sunday school is sponsoring a 2 mile walk to raise money for the Hope and Resurrection school in Atiaba Sudan. During Lent the children brought in their Lenten alms and raised 34 dollars towards our goal of 1000 dollars to help establish a library for the school. The vision for the school is to provide quality education, serve as a model school for the whole of southern Sudan and educate future leaders of Southern Sudan. Bishop Lee recently dedicated the school and classes began officially yesterday for the first 60 students, the graduating class of 2012.

Hope and Resurrection School will play an important role in breaking the cycle of poverty and greatly improving the future of the local community and its students. Participation in the walk by our students and their families will assist the school in meeting its goals and allow our community to participate in the Millennium Development Goals to end poverty and world hunger.

The walk will begin and end at St. Anne’s parking lot. At the end of the walk each participant will receive a certificate of completion. If each Sunday school family raises 20 dollars we can meet our goal. All donations should be collected prior to the walk and turned in at registration. Donations are tax deductible. Thank you for supporting this event and sharing the love of Christ by making a difference in the world. The registration and sponsor form can be filled out and turned in the day of the walk.

Peace and Blessings,


Ann Ritonia
Interim Assistant to the Rector for Family Ministries