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CHILDREN Easter Activities Childrens Choir Festival Bubbles Toddler Event Club 56 Care Packages Spring Mission Project Family Bowling Event YOUTH JP Mission Reflection Parables Youth Musical Pink Elephant Sale Sr. High Trash Day MISSION Pastoral Ponderings Hypothermia Week Congregation Updates JP Mission Reflection Pink Elephant Sale Child. Mission Project Sr. High Trash Day Lenten Offering Jenny Oaks Baker Food Closet Note Old Luggage Request IN THIS ISSUE: Ash Wed. Worship Pastoral Ponderings Hypothermia Week Holy Week Schedule Easter Activities Congregation Updates Lenten Eve. Worship Lenten Season Study JP Mission Reflection March Prayer Focus New Member Class Welcome New Members Parables Youth Musical Trad. Music Schedule Pink Elephant Sale Bubbles Toddler Event Club 56 Care Packages Child. Mission Project Family Bowling Event Sr. High Trash Day Lenten Offering Jenny Oaks Baker Food Closet Note Old Luggage Request THE CIRCUIT BOARD March 2014 St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church A Place for All God’s Children www.stmatthewsumc.org 703-978-3500 Join us for worship on Sunday mornings: Traditional Worship: 8:15 & 11:15am Modern Worship: 9:45am Classes & Studies for all ages: 9:45am The 11:07 Adult Sunday School Class: 11:07am St. Matthew’s Upcoming Events March 2nd - 5th Hypothermia Mission Week March 12th - April 9th Wednesday Evening Lenten Worship March 9th INOVA Blood Drive New Member Class Begins March 11th Lenten Short Term Study Begins March 15th Children’s Choir Festival Toddler Balloons & Balls Event March 16th Youth Musical: Parables Family Bowling Event March 21st - 23rd Jr. High Journey Retreat March 22nd Sr. High Trash Day March 23rd Club 56 Care Packages April 5th Pink Elephant Sale Our season of Lent always begins with a special wor- ship service, Ash Wednesday. You have a choice of time on this Wednesday, either 1:30 or 7:00 PM. Our Ash Wednesday worship is a meditative time, to prepare our- selves for our journey with Jesus to the cross, and to be in touch with our own brokenness.
Transcript

CHILDRENEaster ActivitiesChildrens Choir FestivalBubbles Toddler EventClub 56 Care PackagesSpring Mission ProjectFamily Bowling Event

YOUTHJP Mission ReflectionParables Youth MusicalPink Elephant SaleSr. High Trash Day

MISSIONPastoral PonderingsHypothermia WeekCongregation UpdatesJP Mission ReflectionPink Elephant SaleChild. Mission ProjectSr. High Trash DayLenten OfferingJenny Oaks Baker Food Closet NoteOld Luggage Request

IN THIS ISSUE:Ash Wed. Worship Pastoral PonderingsHypothermia WeekHoly Week ScheduleEaster ActivitiesCongregation UpdatesLenten Eve. WorshipLenten Season StudyJP Mission ReflectionMarch Prayer FocusNew Member ClassWelcome New MembersParables Youth MusicalTrad. Music SchedulePink Elephant SaleBubbles Toddler EventClub 56 Care PackagesChild. Mission ProjectFamily Bowling EventSr. High Trash DayLenten OfferingJenny Oaks BakerFood Closet NoteOld Luggage Request

THE CIRCUIT BOARDMarch 2014

St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church A Place for All God’s Children

www.stmatthewsumc.org ● 703-978-3500

Join us for worship on Sunday mornings:Traditional Worship: 8:15 & 11:15am

Modern Worship: 9:45amClasses & Studies for all ages: 9:45am

The 11:07 Adult Sunday School Class: 11:07am

St. Matthew’s Upcoming EventsMarch 2nd - 5th

Hypothermia Mission Week

March 12th - April 9thWednesday Evening Lenten Worship

March 9thINOVA Blood Drive

New Member Class Begins

March 11thLenten Short Term Study Begins

March 15thChildren’s Choir Festival

Toddler Balloons & Balls Event

March 16th Youth Musical: Parables Family Bowling Event

March 21st - 23rdJr. High Journey Retreat

March 22ndSr. High Trash Day

March 23rdClub 56 Care Packages

April 5thPink Elephant Sale

Our season of Lent always begins with a special wor-ship service, Ash Wednesday. You have a choice of time on this Wednesday, either 1:30

or 7:00 PM. Our Ash Wednesday worship is a meditative time, to prepare our-selves for our journey with Jesus to the cross, and to be in touch with our own brokenness.

2 Pastoral PonderingsRoad Trip!

Harriett and I love to travel – and of course it sometimes is a hassle, but the smiles greatly outweigh the frowns. For me, I like all the parts of a travel experience: planning it, getting everything ready to leave, the travel itself, and the double of joy of reaching the destination and being in a different place. Although it is a very different kind of road trip, I have often thought of the season of Lent as a very special travel event. The interweaving of stories, events, and teachings in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John do not easily translate into a flowing chronology of Jesus’ life. And yet, many scholars see the validity of labeling Jesus’ Transfigu-ration experience as the mid-point of his ministry (the focus of our worship on March 2nd). Coming down from that mountain-top experience, Jesus begins the second half: the journey to Jerusalem – his final journey, his Lenten journey. For me personally, the journey of Lent challenges, saddens, and encourages me in my spiritual journey. Every Lent for me is a fresh opportunity to embrace the core teachings of Jesus, to watch the way he responds to situations and relates to people, to feel his emotions and the depth of his spirit, and to marvel at the way Jesus embodies the truth of God in his very being. Every Lent I get excited anew about who Jesus is, and as his steps bring him closer and closer to Jerusalem, I want him to live forever! Every Lent, I feel the inner conflict of emotions, knowing that Holy Week is palms and hosannas, bread and cup, whips and nails . . . . and then there is “dawn”. Every Lent, I experience something new about Jesus, I learn something new about myself, and I appreciate in greater depth, the journey Jesus took for all of us. All along the way to Jerusalem, Jesus encountered people. These encounters were opportunities for teaching with parables and for entering into life-changing dialogue with ordinary people. For us at St. Matthews, the sermons from Brian and myself, and the youth musical, will portray and proclaim these encounters of Jesus. Our worship on our Lenten journey will challenge us to consider our own encounter with Jesus . . . and to find in that encounter the life of faith that was and is Jesus’ Good News. Ash Wednesday, the road trip begins. How will your days of Lent be different from other days, from other sea-sons of your life. A thought worth pondering.

Peace,Jay

Palm SundayApril 13th: 8:15, 9:45 & 11:15 AM

Maundy ThursdayApril 17th: 7:00 PM

Good FridayApril 18th: 7:00 PM

Easter SundayApril 20th

Youth Led Sunrise Worship: 6:30 AMTraditional Worship: 8:15 & 11:15 AM

Modern Worship: 9:45 AM

Easter SundayPANCAKE BREAKFAST!

April 20th (7:00-10:00 AM)Come celebrate Jesus’

resurrection with pancakes and support the

St. Matthew’s Children’s Ministry

FACETS Hypothermia Shelter Week at St. Matthew’s UMCMarch 2 - 9, 2014

During the first week of March we are housing approximately fifty of our homeless neighbors in our Social Hall each night as part of a county-wide Hypothermia shelter program. Each night we feed our guests, provide them shelter, and send them off for the day with a healthy breakfast and a bagged lunch. This is made possible by all of us working together – there will be over 150 people participating on-site throughout the week with contri-butions of food and other supplies from even more. Thank you to everyone who is making this ministry happen – together, we are doing God’s work!

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AMONG OUR CONGREGATION:February Births

Canaan James Smith - born February 18th. Son of Keisha and Henry Smith.

AMONG OUR CONGREGATION:February In Sympathies

Teresa d’Avila Nguyen Thi My Huong, mother of Trung Trinh - prayers to Trung, Lien,

family and friends.

by Ethan Jones I have spent a week this past summer on the Jeremiah Project in Winchester, Virginia. If you don’t already know what the Jeremiah Project is, it is a youth mission project for middle schoolers, where we go to people’s houses and do things such as building wheelchair ramps or putting up pickets along the side of a deck. It’s a lot of fun, which you wouldn’t expect from being outside for hours every day and leaving a week of your summer to participate, but after hav-ing done it once, it was what I was looking forward to most this summer since it feels really good getting to help people who aren’t as fortunate as us. On Thursday, we got to go to a trailer to take out the roof of a porch that had been rotting. All day we worked on taking it off, starting with the shingles, and then took of the boards underneath then, then replaced a couple of the rotten two by fours that were underneath the whole thing. We didn’t get to finish it all, but it was really cool that the next day we worked at a site within walking distance of the one we had been working on the day before, and after we had finished on Friday, got to drive by the house to see what had happened after we had worked. Now going on JP isn’t all just working on houses, but also learning about God. Every night, we’d have a time when we’d talk about the Kingdom of God. The first couple of days we talked about how it is unshakable and unlike things like fame or money which if you focus on may bring you down in a catastrophe, the Kingdom of God won’t fall, and you can believe in God and not be brought down. In the middle of the week, we talked about how the Kingdom of God invites all of you to come into it, not just the wealthy or powerful. In that way, it is different from other things like sports which accept the most athletic for the field, while God accepts all who wish to come. On the last day, we talked about Kingdom Destiny, how God has made us with a purpose and that if we become part of the Kingdom of God, we can learn just what our Kingdom Destiny is. So in short, Jeremiah Project has been a life changing experience for me. Not only was I able to help people in need, but I got to grow in my relationship with God. Just like how it was last year. Even though I can’t go ever go back as a camper, I hope that one day I can either go as a staffer or an adult to help others have the same experience that I did.

AMONG OUR CONGREGATION:February Baptisms

James Thomas Koenig - baptized on February 12, 2014. James is the son of Amy

and James Koenig.

LENTEN STUDYDo you want to be a part of the work that God is doing to change the world? Do you want to learn some of the sim-ple and powerful wisdom of the Meth-odist tradition? Reuben P. Job’s book Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living is based on rules used by John Wesley in the early days of the Meth-odist movement and explores the im-portance of disciplined Christian living for transforming our world and our lives. Join us on Tuesdays from March 11th through April 8th at either Noon or 7:30 PM for this one-hour study. The Noon study will include a simple lunch each week. Join us in growing in faith us as we journey towards Easter. Led by Pas-tors’ Jay Hanke and Brian Johnson.

LENTEN EVENING WORSHIPJoin us at 7:00 PM each Wednesday evening from March 12 through April 9 for a brief (less than half hour) Lenten worship service. Each service will in-clude prayer, Scripture reading, and celebration of Communion. Join us and take the opportunity to center on God each week as we journey through Lent together.

Epic JP Speech!!!

March Prayer Focus“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.”

John 3:16

4NEW MEMBER CLASS:

If you are new to St. Matthew’s and would like to learn more about Methodism, our St. Matthew’s Congregation, and how to get involved in our church community, come join our New Members Class. This class will meet for 3 consecutive weeks on March 9th, 16th & 23rd.

For more information and to sign up, please contact Lynne Studeman ([email protected]).

Matt & Alice EasterMatt and Alice Easter were introduced to St. Mat-thew’s by Grace Han. The Easters are the parents of two daughters, Sarah, 5, and Norah, 3. Matt and Alice are both Foreign Service Officers with the De-partment of State. They have lived in China, Sin-gapore & Moldova. They are currently completing language training before heading to Shenyang, China, for a 3 year posting. The Easters are excit-ed to have found a church with a strong children’s & youth programs. Although they will be moving overseas this summer, they plan to make Falls Church and St. Matthew’s their home base as they raise their family. They Easters usually attend our 9:45 service. Be sure to introduce yourself and ask about ways St. Matthew’s can support their family while they are in China.

Dan & Jill BurrerDan and Jill Burrer are not entirely new to St. Matthew’s. They attended here about eight years ago, and Jill was very active in the Mary Circle of UMW. In time they re-turned to their “home” church of Mt. Olivet in Arlington. With their growing children becoming more active, they once again began to look at churches closer to home. The arrival of former Mt. Olivet pastor Jay Hanke to St. Matthew’s, sealed the deal for the Burrers. Dan works for Verizon and Jill works at Falls Church Academy. They have three children: Jack, a 6th grader, and twins Marley and Leah, 4th graders. The family is joining to-day because St. Matthew’s is an active church, close to home, with great children and youth programs. Jill is a lifelong Methodist who has served on every church committee except for Trustees! (Which St. Matthew’s trustee will pick up the phone first?) The Burrers are a very active family enjoying soccer, basketball, crafts, camping, hiking, skiing, boating, & biking. Be sure to ask the Burrers how you can assist with their transition back into the St. Matthew’s church family!

Kevin Anderson & Cindy RucknoKevin Anderson and Cindy Ruckno are both Army of-ficers. Kevin is from Montana, and Cindy from Pennsyl-vania. The list of places they have lived is very long – northern Virginia is 13th on Cindy’s list and 11th on Kevin’s. Kevin currently works as an Item Manager at the National Guard Bureau and Cindy is an attorney at Defense Health Headquarters. They have two children, Ryan, 4, and Mira, 3. They are excited about St. Mat-thew’s children’s programs as well as adult mission op-portunities. In their spare time they enjoy reading, run-ning, and watching movies. Cindy is a lifelong United Methodist while Kevin grew up Catholic. They live in the Mantua area and can’t wait to find great babysitters here at St. Matthew’s. Be sure to greet them with a warm St. Matthew’s welcome.

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Traditional Sunday Worship Choir Schedule: March & April

March 2nd 8:15 - Sanctuary Choir, Mitchell Ringers; 11:15 - Chapel Choir, Celebration RingersMarch 9th 8:15 - Sanctuary Choir, Tower Ringers; 11:15 - Altar Choir, Praise Ringers

March 16th 8:15, 9:45 & 11:15 - Youth Musical: ParablesMarch 23rd 8:15 - Men’s Ensemble, Wesley Choir, Peace Ringers

11:15 - Men’s Ensemble, Carol RingersMarch 30th 8:15 - Sanctuary Choir, Mitchell Ringers; 11:15 - Altar Choir, Rainbow Ringers

April 6th 8:15 - Chapel Choir, Celebration Ringers; 11:15 - Sanctuary Choir, Tower RingersApril 13th 8:15 - Wesley Choir, Altar Choir, Mitchell Ringers

11:15 - Wesley Choir, Altar Choir, Sanctuary Choir, Mitchell Ringers

April 20th (Easter) 8:15 - Chapel Choir, Carol Ringers; 11:15 - Sanctuary Choir, Carol Ringers

April 27th 8:15 & 11:15 - Women’s Vocal Ensemble, Women’s Handbell Ensemble

The Altar Choir will be attending a Children’s Festival sponsored by the Choristers Guild Northern Virginia on Saturday, March 15th. The children will

rehearse all day and then present a worship service in song at 3:00 PM. Families & friends are invited to St. George’s UMC for this presentation.

parablesa youth musical

arranged by Carol Workmanmarch 16th: 8:15, 9:45 & 11:15am

“Parables” is a youth musical arranged by our very own Carol Workman. This musical will be presented on Sunday, March 16th at all three worship services and will feature youth of all ages. “Parables” is action centered, God centered & packed with lessons to be learned. It is a great musical for all ages and we hope you will join us for this special time of worship - bring a friend!

If you have items you would like to donate to this year’s Pink Elephant Sale and need your items picked up, you may call 703-978-3500 x225 beginning March 24th. We cannot guarantee your pickup will be

scheduled if you leave a message before March 24th. See you at the sale!

6BUBBLES & BALLS (TODDLER EVENT)

March 15th, 10:00-11:00 AMPreschool children (ages 18 months - 5 years) and their parents are invited to join us on the church playground for bubbles and ball games. In the case of cold or inclement weather, this event will be held in the Social Hall. Light refreshments will be served.

Club 56 Care Packages: Sunday, March 23rdClub 56 will meet on Sunday March 23rd from 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. to make and deliver care packages

for members of the congregation on the prayer list who live locally.

Family Bowling Sunday, March 16th

at 1:30 PM:Children’s Council in-vites all families with children to join us for Family Bowling at Bowl America (5615 Guinea Rd). The cost is $10 per person which includes 2 games and shoes. We will meet at the bowling alley. RSVP is required to participate by Sun-day March 9th to Carrie Schwab.

Children’s Spring Mission ProjectThis spring our Children’s Sunday School classes are supporting the upcoming mission trip of Jay and Harriett Hanke to Haiti. Jay and Harriett are part of a team that is going to Haiti from April 1-10, 2014. They will travel to the island of La Gonave to live among the Haitians there. A few years ago the United Methodist Church built a health clinic, a school, and structures to house mission teams who come to work with the Haitian people. While Jay and Harriett’s team are there they will continue to build a lasting relationship with the people through conversations and sharing Jesus’ love for them. While on the island their team hopes to: provide healing, health classes, and comfort to those who come to the medical clinic, work with the teachers at the school to help teach English to students, build and repair buildings/roofs as needed, worship together and offer VBS when the children are not in school, listen to their stories and learn from their new Haitian friends, and the pastors on the team will meet with the local pastors to share ideas and concerns as wells as Bible study. Our children are supporting this mission trip by gather-ing school supplies in tote bags to send to the children at the school on La Gonave. Each family was given a canvas tote bag to take home and they were asked to fill it with basic school supplies. Pastor Jay and Harriett will carry these supplies to Haiti in their luggage to be distributed to the children by the local leaders. We ask everyone to pray for Jay and Harriett and their mission team as they answer God’s call and walk with the people of La Gonave.

Trash DaySaturday, March 22nd

To Support Our Summer Appalachia Service Project Mission Week:

Is that pile of limbs or rotting firewood in your backyard really getting on your nerves? Do you have old electronics or furniture that are beyond yard sale quality? The youth are again offering to help you get rid of oversized yard waste, large household items, and other items that need to go to the transfer station (including household hazardous waste!). New this year, we are also taking electronics for recycling! For a donation to help support our college-aged ASP team, we will happily haul away these items on Saturday, March 22nd between 8:30 AM and 2:00 PM. Call the church to schedule a pick-up starting Monday, March 10th. Contact Brian Grafton with questions ([email protected], 703-283-5604). Think BIG for your 2014 spring cleaning!

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Your 2014 Lenten Offering will benefit the following projects:

Becky Parsons is a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Meth-odist Church, commissioned in 2009 and assigned to the United Methodist Community Outreach Program in Roanoke, Virginia, where she is program director and acting administrative director. Community Outreach seeks to meet the physical, spiritual, and educational needs of inner-city children and youth who live in at-risk environments in the Roanoke area by providing food, tutor-ing, summer camps, needed supplies, and relationships between young people and mentors. “My faith continues to be a journey every day, and it is defined by the beauty of God’s presence in each moment,” Becky says. “My faith is strengthened by the daily struggle of people who confront evil, seek justice, make peace, bear witness to God’s love, and care for God’s creation.”

Clara Mridula Biswas is a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church serving as a community worker in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She works with the ‘poorest of the poor,’ especially children, in slum areas and garbage dumps to facilitate their transfers to relocation and rehabilitation centers. Clara describes her work as “sharing the love of God, helping children obtain an education by opportunities to study through scholarship, improv-ing living conditions by providing vocational training, providing medical care and financial support to the ill, and with education creating awareness on human trafficking, human rights, and domes-tic violence.”

Rebecca ParsonsServing At: United Methodist Community Outreach Program in Roanoke, Virginia

Home Country: United States of America, North America

Clara Mridula BiswasServing At: Street Children Ministry, Cambodia

Home Country: Bangladesh

Stop Hunger Now is an international hunger relief agency coordinates the distribution of food and other lifesaving aid to children and families around the world. Stop Hunger Now created its meal packaging program in 2005. The program perfected the assembly process that combines rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and a flavoring mix including 21 essential vitamins and minerals into small meal packets. Each meal costs only 25 cents. The food stores easily, has a shelf-life of two years and transports quickly. Stop Hunger Now works with international partners that ship and distribute the meals in-country. Stop Hunger Now provides over 70% of its meals to support transformational development programs such as school feeding programs, vocational training programs, early childhood develop-ment programs, orphanages, and medical clinics. Working with these programs helps enhance lives

Stop Hunger Now

by giving beneficiaries the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty through education, skills development, and health care while also receiving much needed nutrition. Every year Stop Hunger Now reserves 10% of its projected meals to respond right away to crisis situations including natural disasters, conflict and famine.

On the morning of Saturday, April 26th, St. Matthew’s will be hosting a Stop Hunger Now meal packaging event, during which we will be packing 30,000 meals for hungry people around the world. Funds raised for Stop Hunger Now through the Lenten Offering will be used to help pay for these 30,000 meals.

The season of Lent calls Christians to remember the mystery of our redemption in Christ and to more fully participate in his life-giving spirit. lent is traditionally a time of reflection, repentance, and the preparation for Easter. It is a time of practicing what God’s word teaches. In response to God’s gift of great love, we can give to others out of the great love we receive from Jesus.

Members and frequent visitors of St. Matthew’s will soon receive a Lenten offering letter in the mail that will contain a special Lenten offering envelope. If you do not receive a letter or envelope, you can still donate to this annual offering. Please write “Lenten Offering” in the memo line of your check and return to the church office or place in the offering plate during worship.

St. Matthew’s Weekday School Welcomes Grammy Nominated

Jenny Oaks Bakerperforming selections from

“Classic: A Rock Album”with a special performance by the Baker Kids

Monday, April 7th at 7:00 PMDonations will be accepted to benefit the Weekday School.

Ms. Baker’s CDs will be available for purchase.

The Circuit Board is a publication of St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church8617 Little River Turnpike Annandale, VA 22003 www.stmatthewsumc.org 703-978-3500

Senior Pastor: Jay M. HankeAssociate Pastor: Brian JohnsonAssoc. Pastor of Senior Adult Ministries & Visitation: Bill MoberlyDirector of Music: Nancy CappelDirector of Youth Ministries: Grace HanDirector of Welcoming Ministries: Lynne Studeman

Director of Children’s Ministries: Carrie SchwabPreschool Ministries Coordinator: Emily YosmanovichSenior Administrative Assistant: Nancy ManningDirector of Communications: Erin TrostMusic Assistant: Tammy FreemanOrganist: Carol Workman

9:45 Worship Leader: Nelson CowanBookkeeper: Andrea CrewsFinance Secretary: Jackie DinkerOffice Resource Vol.: Claire AdamsWorship Media Coordinator: Dan FrakesPreschool Director: Anita GiocondaPreschool Assistant: Laura McLean

St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church8617 Little River Turnpike Annandale, VA 22003

• 1 box of dry cereal• 1 jar of peanut butter• 1 jar of jelly• 3 cans of fruit• 3 cans of vegetables• 1 can of beans

What Items are Used and Always Needed by the SMUMC Food Closet?The St. Matthew’s Food Closet continues to be a blessing to our Northern Virginia community. On Friday, February 7th alone, 15 bags of food were handed out to those in need. In 2013, 653 bags went out, serving roughly 273 families. To keep the food closet working, our dedicated coordinator, Karen Ralph, spent $8,277 of the monies collected from our congregation to help feed those in need.

If you are curious, here is a list of items that go into every bag handed out:• 2 cans of soup or chili• 1 stack of crackers• 2 cans of tuna• 1 can of meat (chicken, sausage, etc.)• 1 box of pasta• 1 jar of spaghetti sauce

• 1 bag of beans or rice• beverage items: tea, juice, cocoa, etc.• misc. snacks: snack bars, oatmeal packs,

Ramen noodles, etc. as available.• all items are packed into paper grocery

bags

We are always accepting donations which can be left in the marked bins located near the church entrances. Please be sure that all donations have a current expiration date, all items with a past expiration date will be dis-posed of and will not be included in the food bags given to our neighbors in need. Thank you for your generosity.

OLD LUGGAGE? Large suitcases are needed to carry supplies on Jay

and Harriet’s upcoming Haiti mission trip. These suitcases will NOT be returned. If you are able to

help, please speak with Jay or Harriet Hanke.


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