Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What goes on during the week at the church?
Answer: There are numerous activities happening each day (and night) at All Saints' though the schedule sometimes changes from week to week. Each week All Saints' sends out a Newsletter with an upcoming schedule of events. Please call the church office if you would like to receive the weekly newsletter by mail or by email.
- There are Bible studies that include women's groups, men's groups, Beth Moore studies, and others.
- Three times a year, a 10 week Alpha course (A Practical Introduction to the Christian Faith) meets on Tuesday evenings with a meal, talks, and small group time. For more information on Alpha, click here.
- Choir practice meets on Thursday evenings.
- The first Wednesday evening of each month, at 7:30 p.m., there is a Prayer and Praise service in the sanctuary, which includes worship, prayer for healing, and communion.
- Youth Group for rising 7th graders through senior high schoolers meet (during the school year) each Sunday evening from 6:00-8:00 p.m., with snacks, followed by activities.
- Three or four times a year there are special conferences offered in a wide range of topics.
- A note about the Nursery at All Saints': We strive to provide nursery care for most occasions. All of the above mentioned meetings have nursery care. The best policy is to ask the church office if arrangements have been made for an upcoming event. They will gladly do their best to make arrangements for childcare.
Question: We are new to the church and my small children want to stay with us in the sanctuary. Is this okay?
Answer: We want your children to feel secure in a new place. Please feel free to keep them with you at first. It is the experience of some families that a child may acclimate slowly in the nursery, Sunday School, or Children's Church. We recommend that a parent stay with the child the first week for part of the time. Once home, talk about the experience with your child so he/she is able to process and verbalize his/her new learning and play environment. Often by the second or third week the child is confident enough to be left for Sunday School, Children's Church, or the nursery. We ask that parents try to introduce their children to the nursery or Children's Church sooner, rather than later, so that children may take advantage of the programs which have been thoughtfully prepared for their age group and which help them to know the love of Jesus. This enables the worship service to be meaningful to adults without too many interruptions.
Question: How familiar with the church do I need to be in a service group?
Answer: If you attended last Sunday, its not too soon to serve coffee during fellowship hour, help cook a meal for Alpha, help mow the church lawn, or be a Vacation Bible School volunteer. For more information, see the Newcomers Guide and look for the "Opportunities for Service." Contact Sandi Clark at sclark@allsaintsdalecity.org if you would like to get involved.
Question: We are church shopping and still undecided about the church, can we still give an offering or tithe?
Answer: Yes, you can give an offering. We ask that you pray about a tithe. We believe in the Biblical principle of the tithe, or giving ten percent to the Lord. All Saints' currently gives just under 50% of its income to support local, national, and worldwide causes. See the Outreach Brochure "Because You Gave" to see what ministries we support. To learn more about giving to the church, read the Stewardship section of the Newcomers Guide.
Question: Does All Saints' offer communion?
Answer: Yes, every Sunday during all three services, and on Wednesday evening at the Prayer and Praise service. Communion is open to all baptized believers, regardless of religious tradition. Baptized infants and children may take communion also. A Children's Eucharist class is offered every spring for young children, ages mature four through eight year olds. It meets one hour on four Sundays after church. Parents decide when a child is ready to take the class.
Question: I want to get married in a few months. Can I get married at All Saints'?
Answer: Perhaps. All Saints' would delight in celebrating your marriage. All Saints' Church participates with 25 other churches in Prince William County in an Eastern Prince William County Community Marriage Policy. It is the responsibility of pastors to set minimum requirements to raise the quality of the commitment in those who marry. We believe those couples who engage in serious preparaton before marriage will have a better understanding of what the marriage commitment involves. As agents of God, acting on His behalf, we pastors feel it is our responsibility to encourage couples to set aside time for marriage preparation instead of concentrating only on wedding plans. We acknowledge that a wedding is but a day; a marriage is for a lifetime.
Question: I want to get baptized. What is involved?
Answer: See the "Baptism at All Saints" brochure (orange in color) for information and a form.
Find a list of Baptism Dates at All Saints' on our Baptism Page.
Question: How do I join the church?
Answer: Joining All Saints' is easy. Please see How to Join.
Question: If I need prayer, who do I call?
Answer: We all need support in this world. Our primary life support system is to stay connected to God through prayer. All Saints' has several ways of helping you receive prayer which are explained here:
The Prayer Room -- All Saints' has a room dedicated to prayer. It is located at the parking lot end of the education wing. The Prayer Room's primary purpose is to provide the setting for prayer for you, your immediate family, your extended family members, your friends, neighbors, acquaintances and co-workers, or communities, schools, other churches, our neighborhood, our nation and the other nations of the world. To place a request in the Prayer Room, fill out the form provided in the Prayer Room on the small altar or click Here. Record your name, the date, and the specific request. You can also phone the church office.) The requests will be prayed for regularly for two weeks. At the end of that time the form will be discarded. If you want continued prayer, fill out another form. All of us are encouraged to pray for these requests. The Prayer Room can be accessed when the church is not open by using the parking lot side access doors. A code is required. Phone the church office to obtain the code.
Prayer during the Sunday Service -- and at the monthly Wednesday night Prayer and Praise service. All Saints' prayer teams and the Wednesday night service are designed to provide prayer for our need to draw closer to the heart of our Father God and for prayer for physical healing or the healing of the stress and distress of life's problems. The prayer setting is for briefly sharing your need and then for receiving prayer in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Inner Healing Prayer -- Prayer for the wounds we experience through out life because of the sins of others who have wounded us and because of the effects of our own sinful choices. To receive this kind of prayer and to learn more about it, phone Mary Beth Affeldt at 703-680-4655.
You -- You are our own primary connection with God through prayer for yourself, your family, and your friends. You, as a Christian, have been given the authority to pray in Jesus's Name for yourself and others. We must not abdicate our authority. We must pray daily for ourselves, our loved ones, and for others.
Question: How are Sunday School and Children's Church different?
Answer: During Sunday school, children have a structured lesson of Bible learning which includes: singing, Bible study, a simple craft that ties in with the scripture for the day, a present day story that correlates with the Bible text, and a take home page for parents to follow up on the learning their children have received. This Bible lesson is systematic study where the children will have lessons from the whole Bible over the course of three years. Sunday school lasts from 9:15 - 10:30 a.m.
Children's Church is more a practical application of the Christian faith. This also includes scripture, although taught more in themes rather than in sequence. Our children are taught to pray for one another, experience different forms of worship, learn how to tell others about Jesus, participate in a craft that goes with the teaching, and take part in other practical workings of the Christian faith. This session goes from 11:00 a.m. until time for the announcements in the sanctuary. The children join their parents for communion and the final worship songs.
Ideally, we would like for the children to attend both sessions as they receive different aspects of Bible teaching and Christian fellowship.
Question: If I want to help out in the church who should I call to volunteer?
Answer: There is a "Who to Call" list of contact names found in the Newcomers Guide and in the church directory. Ministries from A-Z (Acolytes to Youth) are listed with the corresponding names and phone numbers. If you want to volunteer to help out in the office, please call 703-670-0093.