ministriesMinistries of Aquia Church
Acolytes
Serve under the guidance and training of the Acolyte Master and the Assistant Rector. Their coordination and knowledge of our liturgical traditions strengthen the spiritual atmosphere four our worship, and assist the clergy during worship services. This group is open to all parishioners, including adults. Youth acolytes must be at least entering the 5th grade. For more information please contact Rev. Jay Morris
Altar Guild
The Altar Guild serves God as the caretakers of His Sanctuary at Aquia Church. We are organized into four teams and work on a rotating weekly basis. Hence our "duty" comes around about once a month, and we are never working alone. We prepare the Altar for all services according to the needs and requests of the clergy. We purchase and/or care for the wine, bread, candles, linens, vestments, furnishings, and plateware as needed for worship. An Altar Guild member is present at most services. Training is ongoing by the team leaders and new members are always welcome. Three teams meet on Saturday mornings to do their preparations; one team meets on Fridays. Some members are only able to help on Sunday mornings. Each member makes an important contribution to the Guild! Total time commitment is usually less than 4 hours per month. Altar Guild work is an offering of time and many talents, a quiet ministry of love undertaken in the name of Our Lord. Please join us! For more information please contact Mary Jane Cole.
Aquia Care Teams (ACTS)
Celebrating the Holy Spirit's presence in our midst, Aquia Care Teams (ACTS) serve one another in love by coordinating service to help meet the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of Aquia Church members. Services are provided in a loving and respectful manner. For more information please contact Bridget Kane.
Aquia's Table
Aquia's Table is a hot meals program that serves dinner every Wednesday night from 6:00 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. We have been providing nutritious hot meals and fellowship to adults and children on a weekly basis, in a secure and welcoming environment since April of 2009. We invite all to join us every Wednesday, but especially invite those in need of a hot meal or companionship. For more information please go to our page.
Buildings and Grounds
Provides for the maintenance, beautification, and improvement of our physical property. For more information please contact Tim Spaulding..
Choir and Music Ministry
Members provide spiritual enhancement to our corporate worship. Musical talent is defined as a desire to make a joyful noise. Adult choirs serve at the 9:00 and 11:15 AM services. For more information please contact Linda Beville or check out the choir web page at aquiachoir.wordpress.com
AQUIA CHOIRS All Aquia members who love to sing and would consider expanding their leadership through music are invited to join either the Praise Choir (9am service) or Sanctuary Choir (11:15am service). Rehearsals for both choirs are on Thursday evenings from 7pm to 8:30pm in the Sanctuary Choir loft. Many exciting new pieces are planned from the fall through Christmas. For additional information, contact Linda Beville, Organist & Choir Director.
AQUIA CHORISTERS A new youth choir is being formed for students presently in the 3rd through 8th grades. Rehearsals will be on Thursdays from 5:00pm to 5:45pm. Rehearsals have begun and meet in the Sanctuary Choir loft. For additional information, contact Linda Beville, Organist & Choir Director.
Daughters of the King
Is an organization for women and girls dedicated to prayer, service, and evangelism for Christ's sake. Members of this Order (founded in 1885) follow a Rule of Life incorporating the Rule of Prayer and the Rule of Service by reaffirming the promises made at Baptism and Confirmation. A Daughter pledges herself to lifelong prayer and service and to strengthening the spiritual life of her parish. For more information please contact Chris Bowie.
Episcopal Church Women (ECW)
Together we share the love of God through prayer, service, and education, by knowing Christ and by making him known. You need look no further than our own parish for opportunities of spiritual growth, and your company will enrich our meetings as we all strive to seek and serve Christ. Each chapter or guild of the ECW incorporates prayer and study into its meetings, and each welcomes new members at any time of the year. The groups are the Saints Mary and Martha Guild, and the Aquia Chapter. Their meetings and activities are spaced to accommodate the variety of schedules, needs, and talents of the women at Aquia Church. For more information please contact Jan Van Metre.
Feed His Sheep
provides food to the less fortunate in our community one Sunday each month. Families needing assistance are referred to us by the Stafford County Department of Social Services. Parishioners donate bags of food, assist with supplementing other bags from the food pantry, and deliver them with God' s love to those who cannot pick them up.
- Currently helping 12 families.
- Hand out bags on the first Sunday of the month.
- Return filled bags and distribution on 3rd Sunday of the month.
- Donors credited with donation to Pledge records secretary.
- Special support to additional families for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Support to other than regular families as they become known to clergy and staff.
- Ad hoc food collections during the year by other groups to support pantry.
- Once a year fund drive to support pantry.
For more information please contact Dina Stanford.
Fellowship
is a ministry of hospitality in the parish hall after every Sunday worship service, so that members and newcomers can get to know each other better. For more information please contact the office.
Flower Guild
The mission of the Flower Guild is to enhance the worship service glorifying God by the sharing of our creative gifts to adorn the sanctuary. Our ministry is to joyfully present to God offerings of natural beauty.
We have 9 teams of flower arrangers. This means that each team is on duty once every two months. Many of us are self-taught, and enjoy the creativity and fellowship in meeting the weekly requirements of flower arrangements for the altar. We honor the requests of our congregation members who are sponsoring the flowers that week with their choice of flower types and colors if possible. This personalizes their request to remember a loved one or in celebration and thanksgiving for birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions.
We decorate the church for special events during the church year--Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, and Pentecost.
Please come and join us. No experience necessary. You do not need to be a member of the Flower Guild to help decorate. For further information, please contact the church office or chairman, Linda Hemming
Episcopal Young Christians (EYC)
Provides a ministry for and by youth. The Junior Group (6th - 8th grade) and the Senior Group (9 th -12 th grade) meet the FIRST and THIRD SUNDAYS of each month (September through June) and on special occasions for fellowship, for exploring and developing their roles as Christians, and for opportunities to serve others. Adult leaders guide and nurture the EYC during the semi-weekly meetings, while other adults coordinate special events and trips and provide meals for the teenagers at each meeting. For more information please contact Rev. Jay Morris.
Lay Eucharistic Ministers (LEMS)
Read the Scripture lessons during worship and serve the chalice at Holy Communion, under the guidance and training of the Rector and Verger. Their coordination and knowledge of our liturgical traditions strengthen the spiritual atmosphere for our worship. For more information please contact the church office.
Men's Breakfast
Meets for fellowship at 8:00am on the second Saturday of each month. Members take turns preparing the meals. This men' s group also assists with some of our outreach ministries and other church projects.
New Building
Want to know the latest about our new building plans? Please click on the following link for the latest information - New Building.
Noah's Ark Ministry
Is the group that organizes our nursery ministry for providing care to the smallest of God's children on Sunday mornings and on other occasions. Parents and other parishioners take an active role in sharing the responsibilities and the joys of his important ministry. For more information please contact Nikki Piner through the church office.
Outreach
Members coordinate the wide array of outreach work that this parish supports. This ensures focus, avoids duplication of effort, seeks and discerns new callings for outreach by our parish, and prepares recommendations for the Vestry regarding the allocation of parish funds designated for outreach. Local outreach includes GED/Headstart, SERVE ( Stafford County outreach), American Red Cross, Stafford Ministerial Association, Fredericksburg Area Foodbank, and Hope House. Regional and national outreach includes our annual parish-wide mission trip led by the EYC, Kairos Prison Ministries, Exodus Ministries, Red Lake Nation in Minnesota, and the Jackson-Field Home. International outreach includes Our Little Roses in Honduras, Young Life in Germany, the Diocese of Kigezi, Five Talents (microloans for new businesses in developing nations), the Diocese of Haiti, Operation Christmas Child, and Episcopal Relief & Development. The Outreach Committee looks for persons with a heart for Christ who are committed to being the hands and feet of the Body of Christ. Faith in action can be manifested in outreach. Parishioners who are interested in bringing focus and energy to our efforts and who can prayerfully contribute to this ministry are invited to participate in this joyful ministry.
Prayer Ministry
Activates the prayer-chain for urgent prayers as needed, provides the prayer list for the monthly newsletter, and prepares the congregational letters of condolence and support. To activate the prayer-chain, please call the church office at (540)659-4007 or e-mail.
Saints Mary and Martha Guild
Saints Mary and Martha Guild meet the first, third and fifth Thursdays most of the year, and every Thursday from July through the first weekend in October.
They meet in the Wirman Room of our Parish Hall beginning with Morning Prayer at 9:30AM led by Fr. Jay Morris.
Following Morning Prayer there is a simple book study. After the study, there are simple craft projects offered to those who would like to participate. The crafts are sold at our Annual Fall Fest the first weekend in October and the Advent table before Christmas.
The Guild also does several service projects during the year such as cooking the meat for the Youth group's Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, and vi sting an assisted living home twice a year.
It is a multi-generational group of Sisters-in-Christ. Baby-sitting is provided. For more information, please contact Mary Jane Cole.
Ushers
Welcome those who enter the church building on Sunday morning. Ushers serve in a very important role as they provide a joyful greeting to people as they arrive, distribute bulletins, assist people to the pews as necessary, count and record the number of worshipers, collect and present the offering, and direct the flow of communicants during the Eucharist. For more information please contact Bob McManis.
Wedding Guild
The Wedding Team is a special task force that assists the clergy at weddings in the Church. It is composed of both Altar Guild members and non-members. This is such a fun and rewarding opportunity to serve! For more information please go to our page.
Welcome Ministry
Members extend a warm handshake to an unfamiliar face, share God' s love with new friends at Aquia Church, assist in showing others what this parish is all about, and help integrate newcomers into parish life here. Many opportunities for this in-reach ministry occur on Sunday mornings among parishioners and newcomers alike as we introduce ourselves to each other. The Welcome Ministry includes a group that celebrates together regularly to rediscover God' s love for us all. The group' s activities include delivering a welcome package and a loaf of bread to visitors, making follow-up phone calls, and periodically hosting luncheons and dinners in the parish hall for our newcomers.
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