Schedule for the Coming Week at Resurrection Church
Sunday, October 8
9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. — Sunday School in the Parish Hall taught by Pastor this Sunday.
10:00 a.m. — Worship: Pastor Harold (Harry) Therwanger.
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.
Reformation Sunday - Sunday, October 29
ON ALL HALLOWS’ EVE IN 1517, MARTIN LUTHER IS SAID TO HAVE POSTED "THE 95 THESES" FOR DEBATE on the Castle Church doors – the town bulletin board. We usually mark this as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. We will celebrate that Reformation anniversary this year on Sunday, October 29th as Reformation Sunday. The color to celebrate the day is RED. So, you are invited to wear red - the more red, the better! Red is symbolic of the fire of the Holy Spirit and of our being included as part of the decorations in church.
List of Saints for All Saints Sunday
"For all the saints who from their labors rest, who Thee by faith before the world confessed;
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia, Alleluia!"
We will celebrate all of God’s saints by observing All Saints Sunday on November 5th. Members of Resurrection whose funerals or memorials were held in our sanctuary or presided by our clergy since the last All Saints Day will be named in the service and family will be invited to light a candle in their memory. We will be including the names of members and others who have died during the past year in the prayers that day. If you wish to add the names of family members or friends who have died since November 2022, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Sunday, October 29th.
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.
God's Work, Our Hands
As Christians, our calling is to live lives of witness and service. One of the important ways that we do this is to support the work of many service organizations, both affiliated with our ELCA wider church and our local community.
To raise awareness of the many ways that Resurrection congregation is helping others through our generosity, we will invite representatives of the many charities we support to share their mission and inform us of the good work that they do.
This Sunday, October 8th, we will hear from Zach Heeter, of the National Lutheran Communities & Services, during the announcements at the end of worship. He will then be available after church downstairs during fellowship time if you would like to ask questions or learn more.
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 recent installation! 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 A Workout For Your Brain
While singing in a choir, one acquires basic music-reading skills which are known to increase the capacity of your memory, sharpen your concentration and improve your spatial organization. You hit the gym three times a week to keep your body in shape, right? Think of choir as boot camp for your brain.
… And It’s Uplifting
Every day, we're bombarded with bad news: tragedy, terrorism, scandal, etc. While singing in a choir doesn't make those things go away, it's the perfect way to bring something positive and uplifting into your life.
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
Lutheran World Relief Quilt Assembly Begins on October 10
Lutheran World Relief Quilt Assembly is starting next week, on Tuesday, October 10. We will meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month at 10:00 a.m. in Room 209 to layout, pin and tie quilts. No sewing experience is needed. You can sit to help us. Many hands make light work. Call 703-944-3462 if the Church door is locked. Thanks! Gail Flatness.
Happy Birthday, Alice Kinter!
Congratulations to Alice Kinter, a long-time member of RELC, on her 107th birthday on Thursday, October 12! Please send her a card wishing her a Happy Birthday. You may mail cards to Mrs. Alice Kinter directly by consulting the RELC Directory, or by contacting Leslie Nolen or Pastor Harry for her address.
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!
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!