Free Luncheon sponsored by: Kelly Gaitten of Prudential Carruthers - Hamilton VA.

Date:  Thursday June 7, 2012   Time:  11 AM - 1 PM

Venue: Prison Fellowship, 44180 Riverside Parkway, Lansdowne, VA 20176

RSVP by June 3 to Dave and Jamie Dittmeier at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 540-338-5380. There are still 10 free ministry tables available…first come first serve. Please reserve today.

In biblical times, the elders of the city met at the city gate to discuss matters of the city.

Reaching the Last Tribes by Translating the Bible in Their Heart Language

Guest speaker: Mark Kordic is the Executive Representative for the Seed Company in Eastern U.S

Following college at Bowling Green State University, Mark served 25 years connecting partners with community-transforming projects in conjunction with faith-based higher education, media, church and worldwide-missions focused non-profits. Serving at Cedarville University, Mark was instrumental in building a fourteen-station Christian radio network in the Midwest. His also served as a national consultant with some of the leading Christian media ministries in the United States with Advocace Media of Dallas, TX. In his role with The Seed Company, Mark focuses on engages individual, business and church partners to invest in world mission. Mark and his wife Paula live in Northern Virginia (Purcellville) and are parents of two married children and a son currently attending college at Cedarville University.

The Seed Company’s mission, a Wycliffe Bible Translators affiliate, is to accelerate Bible translations in the heart languages of people without God’s Word. The Seed Company and partners have brought the Scriptures to more than 1.1 Billion people worldwide in the last 13 years, the fastest acceleration
in the history of the church!

See Weblink: http://www.theseedcompany.org.

Encourage more Christians and Churches to “breathe” words of prayer for the Persecuted Church

Guest speaker: Scott Darling is President of Fellowship of the Cross Ministries International (FOTC).

Scott Darling is President of Fellowship of the Cross Ministries International (FOTC). Scott founded FOTC in 2007 to serve the Persecuted Church around the world. The initial vision and thrust of FOTC is to encourage more Christians and Churches to “breathe” words of prayer for the Persecuted Church and to show how God works through their prayers. This effort is being done under the banner of OneMillionPraying.org.

Scott previously held leadership positions at Outreach to Asia Nationals, Bridging The World and Smyrna Ministries International. 

Scott graduated from Washington Bible College in 1982 with a B.A. in Religious Studies. He had a 21 year business career at MCI Telecommunications working in many different departments of this entrepreneurial company.

See FOTC Weblink: http://www.OneMillionPraying.org.

About Shepherd’s Table

The Shepherd’s Table was established in January 2007. The quarterly event is organized by Transformation Forum in association with Prison Fellowship Ministries (PFM) at Lansdowne, local churches and faith based non-profit organizations. The purpose of the Shepherds Table is to provide a neutral quarterly forum in Northern Virginia to bring together Pulpit ministers from across denominational and cultural boundaries and the marketplace (including people of faith in government, education, media, arts/ entertainment, family, intercessors, faith-based non-profit organizations and any person(s) or civic organizations interested in seeing their city transformed.

In biblical times, the elders of the city met at the city gate to discuss matters of the city. Similarly, at the quarterly Shepherd’s Table pastors and elders meet for fellowship, prayer, to identify synergy opportunities, share ideas and discuss focus items and have a meal together Currently about fifty churches are praying and working in Christian unity within Loudoun County and this number is gradually increasing.

It all started back in 2006 when Jack Stagman and the original members of Shepherd’s Table established this pastoral prayer group and contacted PFM leader Jim Heigl (http://www.prisonfellowship.org). Jack was searching for a neutral and centrally located venue to accommodate the periodic meetings and PFM agreed to meet that need. PFM is always seeking to work with the faith community and provided the use of the facility conference room free of charge. 

Prison Fellowship Ministries is located at 44180 Riverside Parkway in Lansdowne.  The next luncheon is scheduled for Thursday, September 6 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Ken Cuccinelli, Attorney General for Virginia will be the guest speaker. For more information about the Shepherd’s Table goals and objectives, please contact Facilitator Jack Stagman at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or telephone 703-581-4390. Shepherds Table is a ministry of the Transformation Forum Network.

Lenten Series celebrates our Neighbor’s Faith

Special to Community of Faith
By Pastor Joe Vought
Community Lutheran Church
Sterling, Virginia
http://www.communitylutheran.org

Throughout this recent Lenten Season, we welcomed other Christians to join us for Wednesdays in Lent to share their faith and witness with us. It was an informal and relaxed way to welcome our Christian Neighbors to Community Lutheran and have them share the distinctive gifts and blessings of their tradition. Over five Wednesdays in Lent we were privileged to hear from the following leaders and churches:

Pastor Wayne Snead Galilee United Methodist Church
Father Rob Merola St. Matthew Episcopal Church
Father Art Johnson Christ the Redeemer Roman Catholic Church
Pastor Brian Clark Riverside Presbyterian Church
Thomas Varghese Immanuel Mar Thoma Anglican Church.

We offered this series mindful of the fact that, although we gather as Lutherans in Worship every Lord’s day, whenever we gather to pray for the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, we pray for the One Church in all of its diversity- Christian disciples who are Methodists, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Indian Anglicans and many more who name the name of Jesus. St. Paul reminded the Corinthians, “Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ.” (Corinthians 12: 1-2) “There is one body and one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one God and Father of all…” (Ephesians 4:4-6). And yet, within this one Body there are many expressions and gifts that give glory to Christ, expressions and gifts which we may learn to appreciate in each other.

Each guest was a blessing and shared gifts which we as Lutherans might do well to emulate ourselves. From Pastor Wayne of Galilee United Methodist we learned of John Wesley’s devotion to Jesus and the “method” of Methodists to live lives of sanctification and growth in grace. From Fr. Rob of St. Matthew’s Episcopal we learned of the Anglican “middle way” between Roman Catholicism and the Reformed Faith that finds expression in a Book of Common Prayer, Sacraments, beauty and reason. From Fr. Art of Christ the Redeemer Atonement we learned of Franciscan spirituality in the Catholic Church that embraces the poverty of Christ and serves Christ in the neighbor in parishes, hospitals and among the poor. From Pastor Brian we appreciated the Presbyterian gifts of God’s Sovereign reign and grace and churchly life that values freedom and democratic worship. And finally from our Immanuel Mar Thoma friends we met an ancient tradition originating with St. Thomas himself that finds expression in Orthodox liturgy, Indian ethnicity, Anglican theology, a Reforming spirit and Ecumenical outlook to share with other Christians.

I want to thank all those who attended for your gracious hospitality and welcome toward our guests, your eagerness to learn more about their faith. I think we made new friends as we shared a simple meal at the tables and then gave our attention to each guest to learn and appreciate another Christian tradition. The simple gifts of hospitality, sharing a meal and giving our attention to others cannot be underestimated, but in my mind are the very essence of Godly welcome and love. It is what Jesus did with his disciples. When we do this with strangers and welcome newcomers, I believe we welcome them as we welcome Christ. Read the Emmaus Road Easter story (Luke 24:13-32) and I don’t think there is any doubt about it.

To welcome other Christians as fellow disciples, to share our faith with them, to be curious about their traditions, to discover what we have in common and what we might learn from one another is to live into the mind of Christ, who called his disciples “to be one, as He and the Father are one, so the world might believe.” (John 17:20-21) When we do this we not only strengthen our own faith but the witness of Christians around the world. But then that is what the Risen Christ of Easter always does as He goes before us to make all things new, promising that He will gather other sheep who do not belong to this fold, so there will be one flock and One Shepherd (John 10:16).

May the risen Christ go before us to make all things new, help us continually to share the gifts of hospitality, our friendship and faith with others so the world might believe!

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Loudoun County, VA:  The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) Eastern Loudoun Station (ELS) will hold its second annual Open-House on Saturday, May 19, 2012 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Residents are encouraged to attend and meet Sheriff Mike Chapman, Station Captain Allen Gabrielli and members of the Eastern Station staff, take a guided tour of the facility, and view Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office displays. Light refreshments will be provided. Last year, 350 residents logged in and attended the Open House.

This year the annual event will include several area high schools participating in the Open House. The Park View High School Band will have a portion of their team playing music throughout the event. Dominion High School will have their Step-Team perform and Potomac Falls, Art Department will have several students on hand for face painting. 

The Virginia State Police H.E.A.T. (Help Eliminate Auto Theft) Program will also be available to provide VIN Etching. VIN etching is the process of placing a light but visible stencil of your vehicle identification number on each piece of glass in your car - windshield, windows and sun roof. This deters vehicle theft, since in order to resell your car with an altered identification number the thief would have to replace all of the glass in the vehicle. For more information about VIN Etching and to view H.E.A.T.’s calendar of events, check out the H.E.A.T. web site at http://www.heatreward.com. 

The ELS is located at 46620 East Frederick Drive in Sterling adjacent to Rolling Ridge Elementary School.

The ELS provides substantial public safety services to the community and reduces travel time to the Sheriff’s Office Headquarters in Leesburg. The ELS also provides for some specialty offices. The LCSO domestic violence coordinator has an office here as does the agency’s interpreter. While both those positions serve cases and deputies countywide, a majority of their work lies in the easternmost areas of the county.

The National Criminal Information Center and the Virginia Criminal Information Network are housed there as well, with computers used to check criminal histories, vehicle registrations and people’s identifications.

Other services provided are fingerprinting, criminal history checks (only within Loudoun County) and good conduct letters. All services are provided from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The station also offers a community room available for public use to local non-profit organizations. To reserve the room, please call 571-258-3356. Please visit the ELS web site http://www.loudoun.gov/index.aspx?NID=593.

The ELS is the agency’s first stand-alone station. The facility is one of four planned stations for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office opened their first county-owned station, the Dulles South Public Safety Center, in 2007 in the South Riding area. The station serves as a combined fire-rescue station and law enforcement station. 
 
A Deputy Sheriff’s Prayer

“Oh, Almighty God, whose great power
and eternal wisdom embraces the universe.
Please watch over all our Deputies.
Protect them in their everyday duties of serving papers,
traffic violations, riots, evictions, domestic violence, and more.
Give them the strength to accomplish
the difficult tasks that lie before them.
Give them the wisdom and quick reactions that will result
in the safety of the people in their community.
God, protect these brave men and women.
Grant them your Almighty protection
and please unite them safely with their families
after their duty has ended.
Amen”

The Station Dedication Celebration Program took place on Wednesday, June 9, 2010. During the Dedication Remarks presentation a number of elected officials had praise for the completion of the new facility and its impact on the community. “We are overwhelmed by the tremendous outpouring of support from the local population attending the dedication ceremony,” they said. “The new station can only assist with our goal in building relationships with the residents of Loudoun to help keep the county a safe place to live and work.” Photo Courtesy LCSO.