Schedule for the Coming Week at Resurrection Church
Sunday, October 1
9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. — Sunday School in the Parish Hall.
10:00 a.m. — Worship: Pastor Harold (Harry) Therwanger. Pets and owners are welcome to view the service via weblink in the Parish Hall. Pet Blessing will be held on the lawn after the service.
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. — Homeward Trails adoption event at the church.
Confirmation instruction is beginning and if you know a young person in grades 6 through 9 who would be blessed to learn more about our Faith, please let Pastor Harry know.
Reusable Communion Glasses
The Creation Care Team has an assortment of small glass cups to give away to church members for your use during communion. Take one, keep it, and bring it back to reuse every Sunday! We encourage you to take one for every member of your family! This will help reduce the number of paper cups we throw away, thus reducing our waste and helping our church take one more step to care for creation! The glasses will be located in the Narthex starting on Sunday, September 24.
Only Two Opportunities Left in 2023 to Donate Altar Flowers
The holidays and year-end are fast approaching. Only October 8 and November 26 remain available for you to donate flowers. Please place your $55.00 in the offering plate with an envelope, or you may mail it to the church, indicating for both, "Altar Flowers for (date)," on the envelope or check.
Thank you for the very warm welcome!
Dear Resurrection Community,
I would like to say a warm and heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated in my official installation last week! Thanks to everyone who came out and worshipped and was part of the celebration. Thanks to all who gave of their time, effort and talent to bring the service together -- the music, editing of the order of service, the altar guild special setup, ushers, lay assistant, communion assistants -- everyone. Thank you to the Fellowship Committee for the warm reception and fellowship afterward.
Ebon and I would also like to say thank you for the very warm welcome our family members received.
It was truly a community effort and a community celebration. Thank you!
Ebon and Pastor Harry
Singing in Choir Is an Exercise in Teamwork
This Sunday, listen as the Choir sings a simple but lovely anthem based on a Shaker tune. You will hear a fine example of teamwork as the choir works as one to make the music blossom and gently recede. Being a choir member means that you are playing a team sport. A choir is the perfect manifestation of the adage, "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." You don't need to have a particularly beautiful voice to contribute to a beautiful, collective sound. Being part of something bigger than yourself is both humbling and motivating.
To sing in the Choir the only thing you need is… your voice! And RELC needs your voice! So what are you waiting for? Grab a pencil (actually there are plenty of those in the Choir Room) and your water bottle (there is water there, too!) and come sing with the Choir!
With a voice of singing,
Barbara
Pet Blessing on Sunday, October 1
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On October 1, we will have the Pet Blessing at the 10:00 a.m. service. All pet owners are welcome to bring their pets to the Parish Hall, where the service will be live streamed. After the final hymn, we will meet on the lawn for the Blessing itself. Refreshments and treats will be provided for humans and their pet family members. Afterwards, we will host Homeward Trails for an adoption event at the church from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. All animals are welcome for the Blessing. |
CROP Hunger Walk on October 21
The 2023 Arlington CROP Hunger Walk will be held on Saturday, October 21.
You can join and/or support the Resurrection team online by clicking here.
More information on the CROP Hunger Walk is also available in the Narthex.
Creation Care Team's October 14 and November 4 Volunteer Opportunities
RELC has a way to reduce its Stormwater Utility fee, but needs our hands to help. Arlington County is changing how it funds the Stormwater Management Program. The County is replacing the sanitary district tax (from which non-profit organizations like RELC are exempt) with a Stormwater Utility fee (non-profit organizations are NOT exempt from fees) based on the amount of impervious area on a property (hard surfaces like roofs and driveways that don’t let rain runoff soak into the ground). The estimate for RELC is $1,600 - $2,000 per year. Arlington County offers a credit program where the fee can be reduced if we undertake certain voluntary actions aimed at reducing storm water runoff or increasing awareness about these issues.
Here’s where your help comes in. If we dedicate a total of 30 hours, we get a ten percent reduction in the fee. The Creation Care Team is providing two volunteer opportunities to help pull invasive vines at Potomac Overlook Park. The dates are October 14 and November 4 from 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Please sign up at this link for one or both events.
Come join us to get some exercise, learn a new skill, and have a chance to help both our church and our community! When you attend, please make sure to sign a RELC signup sheet so that we get credit!
Concert Presented by the 18th Street Singers on November 4
On Saturday, November 4 at 4:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary, the Music at Resurrection Committee will host a concert presented by the 18th Street Singers. It has been quite a while since this phenomenal group has performed at RELC, so you won’t want to miss them. The concert is free, but there will be a free-will offering that will go to an Arlington charity: Clothesline for Kids. There will be a reception after the concert in the Parish Hall. Please make plans to attend and invite your friends!
Contact Information for Pastor T
Pastor Harry has a new email for you to reach him. It is: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Also, Pastor will normally take Monday and Tuesday as his weekend so he asks that you contact him Wednesday through Sunday. Unless, of course, there is an emergency. You can reach him on his cell phone at 312-515-7269.
Please Use Name Tags
There are name tags available in the Narthex. Please use them during the next few weeks to help Pastor learn all of our names and maybe also to help us refresh our memory!
Please Update Member Information
Resurrection is continuing to work on updating its membership directory with the most current, accurate and preferred contact information. Member Information forms are available in the Narthex. Please complete one, even if your information has not changed, and consider including a photo!
Including a Name in Sunday Prayers
We will be returning to having individuals who request to be named in the Sunday morning Intercessions. To add a name to be mentioned on Sunday during worship to the prayers, please email or phone Pastor Harry by Thursday evening. The name will be included for one week, and if you wish to continue having someone named in the prayers, please update Pastor each week.
COVID Update for the Fall/Winter
With Fall underway and Winter not far behind, the Council approved the RELC Reopening Group (COVID Group) recommendation that the current "Masks Optional" policy is still appropriate (see below) with one change: for communion, ushers must wear masks along with communion assistants and the pastor. Mask wearing for ushers is optional at all other times. The COVID Group will continue monitoring CDC guidelines for COVID and other infectious concerns, and act accordingly.
Congregants are strongly encouraged to adhere to the following guidelines:
Masks are not required, but everyone should feel comfortable wearing a mask at any time, particularly those at high risk for severe illness.
Pastors, communion assistants, and ushers will wear masks for communion.
To the extent possible, congregants should maintain a safe distance in the pews when sharing the Peace of Christ with prayer hands and taking communion. Hand sanitizers will remain available throughout the church.
The wearing of masks in Sunday School will continue to be guided by parents.
The CDC recommends staying up-to-date with COVID vaccines and isolating at home if symptoms do occur, if one receives a positive test or if one is exposed to someone with COVID.
Share Your Intent to Support Our Budget
Having adopted our 2023 operating and capital budgets, Resurrection’s financial team needs to ensure that our congregation will back these budgets with its generous offerings of support. Please let us know of your giving intentions by answering the Stewardship Committee’s request and returning your Giving Intent response at our Sunday services, mailing it to the church office, or using the online form on the Resurrection website.
You can also choose to have your offering automatically drawn from your bank account on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis with the “Simply Giving” electronic funds transfer program. Just complete an enrollment form and return it along with your giving intent – or schedule a recurring offering using the “Donate” button on the Resurrection website.
Can't make it to church? Watch us Live! Now Livestreaming Worship
To view our 10:00 a.m. Sunday worship service on YouTube live, click on the live worship link on the RELC home page on Sunday mornings during the worship hour and be redirected to the YouTube live stream. The Live Stream will "go live" at 9:55 a.m. on each Sunday morning. To view the service at a later time, go to our YouTube Channel. Click on the videos tab to browse archives of past services. Click on the Subscribe button and create an account to be notified when Live Streams are started or when other videos are added. For any questions, please contact the pastor.
Other Announcements?
Alexandra Mattson, the editor of our quarterly “Steeple Light” newsletter, is, at present, also serving as the editor of our Weekly Announcements messages, working closely with Council President Leslie Nolen. If you have any items that you wish to communicate in the Weekly Announcements as committee chairs or those responsible for other ministry initiatives at Resurrection, please send them via email to both This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by late Wednesday mornings for inclusion in the message for the coming Thursday. Thanks!