Spiritual Reflections from Your Pastor, For Such a Time as This
Week of the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost 2020: “Parsonage as Priory?”
Dear Friends in Christ:
Those who pay attention to the background scenes in my sermon videos have noticed more things appearing on the walls in the parsonage dining room and kitchen area where I make the video recordings. Indeed, I am at that point of moving in where I am placing beloved pictures, icons, crosses, and more on the walls, a clear indication that I am making my home out of the house that is this congregation’s parsonage.
Having moved from a 500 square foot railroad apartment in Manhattan (which I viewed as a glorified dorm room) to a four bedroom house that is about six times the size of that New York domicile, I am delighting in all of the space and breathing room. I cannot imagine sheltering in place in what had been my New York City apartment. Needing to stay home here is comparatively agreeable indeed! I am thankful to God for my new home, and I am thankful to you in our congregation who expended the effort and resources several years ago to renovate and expand the parsonage.
But how does a single person, who is generally frugal and modest when it comes to his surroundings, make sense of and perhaps justify living in such a large house, which I have come to refer to as my palatial hermitage?
Financial Update
July Financial Update. The below chart is a summary of RELC’s finances for the year to date as of June 30, 2020. The columns titled “(a) YTD Giving,” “(b) YTD Expenses” and “(c) Giving minus Expenses” provide key data for our three primary financial funds. This data shows that our giving is slightly above our actual expenses for the YTD but well below our giving levels for this time last year. We continue to see the negative impact of the cancellation of Sunday services on our giving. Please continue to send in your weekly contributions which can be made through Simply Giving, by using the “Donate Now” button on RELC’s website or by sending your contribution check to the church office in the US Mail. Please prayerfully consider what this information means to you as we work together to support RELC’s ministries.
| (a) YTD Giving | (b) YTD Expenses | (c) Giving-Expenses | (d) Giving as % of Budget |
(e) Change from 2019 Giving |
|
| General Fund | 190,159 | 201,428 | (11,269) | 71% | (8,737) |
| Benevolence | 33,070 | 18,275 | 14,795 | 60% | (3,078) |
| Renovation | 11,052 | 831 | 10,221 | 110% | (681) |
| TOTAL | 234,281 | 220,534 | 13,747 | 70% | (12,496) |
RELC Offerings
Our community is facing a challenging time as it continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and the economic damage resulting from business closures, now compounded by the suffering of racial injustice. Despite our separation, it’s important for us to maintain our financial support for the church and its ministries in the community – and, if possible, to considering increasing that support to address our neighbors’ immediate needs. As our church determines how it can best serve the community, please ensure that it has the resources needed to provide that help. You can make your offering by using the “Donate Now” button on the RELC website or by mailing your offering to our office at 6201 Washington Blvd., Arlington, VA, 22205.
AFAC Food Collection
When: July 12th and July 26th, from 11:00am – 1:00pm
Where: Washington Blvd. Entrance
RELC will continue collecting food donations for AFAC every two weeks. Our next collection will be Sunday, July 12th, from 11:00am to 1:00pm at the Washington Blvd entrance. Due to the pandemic, the need for food is increasing daily. AFAC needs canned vegetables , cereal (low sugar), canned tuna, canned tomato products (stewed, diced, paste), and peanut butter (in plastic jars). Members of the Social Ministry Committee will be there to assist you with your donation. Monetary contributions, which enable AFAC to purchase more perishable items are accepted and welcomed. All donations will be delivered to AFAC Monday morning. Any questions? Contact Edd Nolen , This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 703-533-2953.
Care Takers For RELC’s Plot Against Hunger Garden
Our Plot Against Hunger garden is in full swing! We are looking for a few more people to help us water, weed, and harvest during the summer. Please sign up on this link to volunteer for a week of watering the RELC garden: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040a4babad2cabff2-help. If you have any questions, please contact Kristen Wine (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or Monica Hirschberg (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). We appreciate your help!
Readers For Home Worship
Would you like to serve as a reader for the weekly home worship videos? If so, please contact the church office at relcarlington.org or Kim Harriz at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and request to be added to the list of faithful stewards who serve the members of the body of Christ by reading God’s word.
Children’s Ministry
For Families:
ZOOM time with Ms. Angie continues every Monday at 2:00. If you are interested and have not yet joined, you are missing out on some FUN TIMES. Upcoming events: Quick Draw, Indoor Scavenger Hunt, Charades and CarryOut VBS.
Our Wine and Whine event for parents continues every other Friday, beginning at 7:30 for an hour give or take. Schedule: July 17, 31; August 14 & 28.
CarryOut VBS will take place during our regularly scheduled ZOOM time on Mondays at 2:00, beginning July 20 and ending August 31. More details coming to an inbox near you.
If you do not receive emails from me and are interested in any of the above, please reach out to Angie Brooke at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. OR call 703 972-2086
Youth Ministry
Provided is a Home Faith Formation Calendar, updated each week with the following week’s recorded content. For those who couldn’t tune in live, see those resources available to you now. Check out too suggestive home activities, lectionary readings, and resources for racial justice for all ages.
ELCA Metro D.C. Synod News
- The Metro D.C. Synod Racial Equity Team is providing an opportunity for people of all ethnicities, especially white allies, to attend a new Racial Equity series of listening sessions over the next six weeks.
Thursday, July 16th at 7:00 PM
Imago Dei: Christ, Color and Covid
Led by Rev. Dr. Ulysses Burley III, Founder of UBtheCure
All sessions are being presented on Zoom webinar. You can watch a live stream of the session on our website, our Facebook page or our YouTube page, if you cannot enter the Zoom webinar.
Please also save the date for the next session:
- July 30 - Justice-Centered Embodied Leadership, with Rozella H. White
In case you missed last week's session, you can view a recording here.
Contacting Pastor Linman
Now that I am in residence in Arlington, and in the same time zone with you, I am beginning to incorporate into my routines contact with our members, mainly via phone and email given the need for continued physical distancing. But please do not hesitate to contact me first should you have need and desire. In fact, I would welcome and cherish as your pastor also hearing from you. A good way to start would be to send me an email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I monitor and respond to my emails quite regularly. An email exchange may result in our plans to converse by phone, or FaceTime or Zoom, or other creative avenues. You may also wish to phone me at first. The direct line to the pastor’s office at the church (the messages on which I also now monitor regularly) is: 703-972-2076. There is also a new landline at the parsonage: 703-237-4157 (but kindly please first leave messages at the pastor’s office phone number).
Other Announcements?
Should you have announcements that you wish to communicate in this weekly message as committee chairs or those responsible for other ministry initiatives at Resurrection, please contact Monika at the office (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by late Monday mornings for inclusion in the message for the coming Wednesday. Thanks!
Ms. Angie has a new Children's Message. Click below to view:
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 July 5, 2020
The Rev. Jonathan Linman, Ph.D.
The holy gospel according to Matthew. Glory to you, O Lord.
[Jesus spoke to the crowd saying:] 16“To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 17‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ 18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; 19the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” 25At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
In today’s gospel reading we get a palpable sense of Jesus’ humanity in that he was exasperated with the popular culture of his own day. Jesus’ statements that begin today’s passage seem to indicate that nothing that either he did, or John the Baptist did would satisfy anyone. John was too ascetical and rigorous. Jesus and his followers, in contrast, liked their food and drink too much. Neither John nor Jesus were therefore well-received by the popular majority in their day.
There are some missing verses in today’s lectionary passage. In verses 20-24, left out of today’s reading, Jesus lashes out at the cities of his day that were unrepentant. “Woe to you cities,” he said. Then he named the names of some of those cities. And he warned of coming judgment.
Jesus seems to reserve particular frustration for the wise and the intelligent of his day.
We humans – often those considered most wise and intelligent – can indeed be maddening in the ways we complicate things.
Dear members of God’s family at Resurrection Church,
The Gospel today is a beloved passage, unique to Matthew. Jesus speaks, as the very presence of the ancient Wisdom of God, offering rest to those who “are weary and carrying heavy burdens.” In this hard time, we may come to this deep rest to- gether as we encounter Christ in the scripture and as we pray. If you are able, join the congregation, using one of the many ways available, at 10am on Sunday, July 5.
Worship Service Broadcast
A pre-recorded worship service, complete with readings, Pastor Linman's sermon, prayers, and music will broadcast at 10am on Sunday, July 5 on our YouTube channel and will be available below:
Worship material for July 5, 2020
Home Worship Bulletin for July 5, 2020- Children's Bulletin for July 5, 2020
- The transcript of Pastor Linman's sermon
The following have been posted to YouTube; here is the YouTube Playlist for July 5, 2020:
- Musical Reflection: God Himself Is With Us, by David Cherwien
- Barbara Bulger Verdile: Psalm 145:8-14
- Pastor Linman's recorded sermon
- Hymn #611: "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say"
- Hymn #874: "Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart"
Music Notes
Hymn of the Day “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say”, #611
Text: Horacius Bonar (1808-1889)
Tune: Kingsfold, English folk tune
Dr. Bonar's family has had representatives among the clergy of the Church of Scotland during two centuries and more. Horatius Bonar was ordained to the ministry and served as pastor at Kelso. In 1843, he joined the Free Church of Scotland. His reputation as a religious writer was first gained on the publication of the "Kelso Tracts," of which he was the author. He has also written many other prose works, some of which have had a very large circulation. Nor is he less favorably known as a religious poet and hymn-writer. The three series of "Hymns of Faith and Hope," have passed through several editions.
Dr. Bonar's poems—-including many beautiful lyrics, several psalm versions, and translations from the Greek and Latin, a large number of hymns, and a long meditative poem—-are very numerous. With Dr. Bonar's poetical writings great difficulty has been encountered by the historian and annotator because of his absolute indifference to dates and details. It was enough for him that he had written, and that the Church of Christ approved and gladly used what, out of the fulness of his heart, he had given her.
In Great Britain and America nearly 100 of Dr. Bonar's hymn texts are in common use. They are found in almost all modern hymnals.
Thought by some scholars to date back to the Middle Ages, the tune KINGSFOLD is a folk tune set to a variety of texts in England and Ireland. It was published in English Country Songs (1893). After having heard the tune in Kingsfold, Sussex, England (thus its name), Ralph Vaughan Williams introduced it as a hymn tune in The English Hymnal (1906) as a setting for Horatius Bonar's "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say".
Musical Reflection: God Himself Is With Us, David Cherwein (1957)
David Cherwien, Artistic Director of the National Lutheran Choir, is a nationally known conductor, composer, and organist. Recognized for his contributions to the field of church music and liturgy, he is in demand as a clinician and hymn festival leader across the country.
In applying his vibrant, musical imagination to this calm and serene hymn setting, David Cherwien has composed an enchanting piece filled with hushed harmonies which fall gently on the ear. Enjoy!
Spiritual Reflections from Your Pastor, For Such a Time as This
Week of the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost 2020: “On Christian Freedom in Lutheran Accents”
Dear Friends in Christ:
Independence Day approaches, a national holiday on which we celebrate freedom from the tyranny of rule by a monarch. The Fourth of July gives us a good opportunity to contemplate what we mean by freedom.
Oh, there is much discourse – civil and uncivil – about the nature of freedom these days. We hear about freedom of speech, and freedom to assemble and to protest. There are movements to generate free markets and free trade, as in efforts to de-regulate businesses, for example. Then there’s academic freedom. And the freedom to choose in relation to reproductive rights. There’s also freedom of religion, as in the right to follow one’s own conscience and to practice one’s faith without the state establishing an official church or tradition. Religious freedom is also taken up in relation not just to worship, but to other practices as well, in health care and commerce, for example. Then there are those who advocate freedom from religion.
It all quickly becomes very complicated with lots of strong feelings and opinions on one side or the other and in between. One person’s exercise of freedom may infringe on the freedoms of others. It is common to hear the phrase, “It’s a free country,” which usually is a retort that essentially means that “I can do anything I darn please.” Thus, we have freedom from the constraint of any rule or regulation. This is freedom as licentiousness.
Celebrating a New Birth!
Congratulations and God’s blessing to Andrew Hanson and Dallas Milholland on the birth of their daughter, Eliza Pearl Wilbur Hanson, born on June 23. Christ be with this new family as they enter into this new adventure of parenting and childhood.
Mourning a Death
Members of our congregation became aware that long-time member of Resurrection Church, Jean Dick, died on the morning of June 25. She was 94. She had been living in Connecticut in recent years to be near her daughter, Jennifer O’Donnell. Arrangements are pending both for a funeral in Connecticut and then the interment of Jean’s ashes in the Memorial Garden at Resurrection Church sometime next year, when we pray that we can gather for such an occasion.
Condolence messages can be sent to Jean’s children at the following addresses:
Jennifer O’Donnell 16 Brook Street Noank, Connecticut 06340-5513
John Dick 725 N. Vermont Street Arlington, VA 22203
Financial Update
May Financial Update. The below chart is a summary of RELC’s finances for the year to date as of April 30, 2020. The columns titled “(a) YTD Giving,” “(b) YTD Expenses” and “(c) Giving minus Expenses” provide key data for our three primary financial funds. This shows that our giving is slightly above our actual expenses for the YTD but well below our giving levels for this time last year. We are beginning to see the impact of the cancellation of Sunday services on our giving. Please continue to send in your weekly contributions which can be made through Simply Giving (May is “Simply Giving Month”!), by using the “Donate Now” button on RELC’s website or by sending your contribution check to the church office in the US Mail.Please prayerfully consider what this information means to you as we work together to support RELC’s ministries.
| (a) YTD Giving | (b) YTD Expenses | (c) Giving-Expenses | (d) Giving as % of Budget |
(e) Change from 2019 Giving |
|
| General Fund | 124,083 | 134,499 | (10,416) | 68% | (19,102) |
| Benevolence | 22,430 | 12,328 | 10,102 | 64% | (3,855) |
| Renovation | 7,301 | 831 | 6,470 | 109% | (353) |
| TOTAL | 153,814 | 147,658 | 6,156 | 69% | (23,220) |
RELC Offerings
Our community is facing a challenging time as it continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and the economic damage resulting from business closures, now compounded by the suffering of racial injustice. Despite our separation, it’s important for us to maintain our financial support for the church and its ministries in the community – and, if possible, to considering increasing that support to address our neighbors’ immediate needs. As our church determines how it can best serve the community, please ensure that it has the resources needed to provide that help. You can make your offering by using the “Donate Now” button on the RELC website or by mailing your offering to our office at 6201 Washington Blvd., Arlington, VA, 22205.
AFAC Food Collection
When: July 12th and July 26th, from 11:00am – 1:00pm
Where: Washington Blvd. Entrance
RELC will continue collecting food donations for AFAC every two weeks. Our next collection will be Sunday, July 12th, from 11:00am to 1:00pm at the Washington Blvd entrance. Due to the pandemic, the need for food is increasing daily. AFAC needs canned vegetables , cereal (low sugar), canned tuna, canned tomato products (stewed, diced, paste), and peanut butter (in plastic jars). Members of the Social Ministry Committee will be there to assist you with your donation. Monetary contributions, which enable AFAC to purchase more perishable items are accepted and welcomed. All donations will be delivered to AFAC Monday morning. Any questions? Contact Edd Nolen , This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 703-533-2953.
Care Takers For RELC’s Plot Against Hunger Garden
Our Plot Against Hunger garden is in full swing! We are looking for a few more people to help us water, weed, and harvest during the summer. Please sign up on this link to volunteer for a week of watering the RELC garden: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040a4babad2cabff2-help. If you have any questions, please contact Kristen Wine (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or Monica Hirschberg (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). We appreciate your help!
Readers For Home Worship
Would you like to serve as a reader for the weekly home worship videos? If so, please contact the church office at relcarlington.org or Kim Harriz at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and request to be added to the list of faithful stewards who serve the members of the body of Christ by reading God’s word.
Children’s Ministry
Upcoming: For our Elementary aged friends, join Ms. Angie for ZOOM TIME! Upcoming themes: Show and Share; Ice Cream Social; Indoor Scavenger Hunt, Bingo... Look in your inbox for further details. For our Parents: join me and friends for a Wine and Whine event. Look in your inbox for further details. If you are interested in the above and have not already expressed interest, please email me at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Youth Ministry
Provided is a Home Faith Formation Calendar, updated each week with the following week’s recorded content. For those who couldn’t tune in live, see those resources available to you now. Check out too suggestive home activities, lectionary readings, and resources for racial justice for all ages.
ELCA Metro D.C. Synod News
- Monday, June 29th was the 50th anniversary of the Lutheran Church in America's vote in favor of ordaining women. The following November, Pastor Elizabeth Platz was the first woman ordained in a North American Lutheran church body. Pastor Platz served as Chaplain at the Lutheran Campus Ministry of the University of Maryland in our neighboring synod and is a beloved member of the Metro D.C. community.
Can you see your pastor's name (or your name) in this mural? If you haven't already, please reach out to our beloved women pastors this week and remind them that the work God does through their actions and words is important to bringing about the Kingdom!
This year, the ELCA also celebrates 40 years of the ordination of Lutheran women of color, and 10 years of Lutheran LGBTQIA+ individuals’ freedom to serve. All celebration materials including worship liturgy is available below.
https://elca.org/50yearsofordainedwomen - The Metro D.C. Synod Racial Equity Team is providing an opportunity for people of all ethnicities, especially white allies, to attend a new Racial Equity series of listening sessions over the next six weeks.
This Thursday, July 2 at 7:00 PM
Malformed Genealogies: Race and Religious Identity
Led by Rev. Dr. Stephen G. Ray, Jr
President of Chicago Theological Seminary
All sessions are being presented on Zoom webinar, but we expect to be at capacity for this week's session. You can watch a live stream of the session on our website, our Facebook page or our YouTube page, if you cannot enter the Zoom webinar.
Please also save these dates for the next sessions:
- July 16 - Christ, Color and Covid, with Dr. Ulysses Burley III
- July 30 - Justice-Centered Embodied Leadership, with Rozella H. White
In case you missed last week's session, you can view a recording here.
Pastor Linman in the Sun Gazette:
Pastor Linman has been featured in Arlington’s very own Sun Gazette! Please take a look on page 10 (link below), where Resurrection Lutheran Church and Pastor Linman are being noted. https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/d85df45a-d226-4bc2-800c-75a1d56073e2/downloads/Arlington%206-4-20.pdf?ver=1591359945357
Contacting Pastor Linman
Now that I am in residence in Arlington, and in the same time zone with you, I am beginning to incorporate into my routines contact with our members, mainly via phone and email given the need for continued physical distancing. But please do not hesitate to contact me first should you have need and desire. In fact, I would welcome and cherish as your pastor also hearing from you. A good way to start would be to send me an email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I monitor and respond to my emails quite regularly. An email exchange may result in our plans to converse by phone, or FaceTime or Zoom, or other creative avenues. You may also wish to phone me at first. The direct line to the pastor’s office at the church (the messages on which I also now monitor regularly) is: 703-972-2076. There is also a new landline at the parsonage: 703-237-4157 (but kindly please first leave messages at the pastor’s office phone number).
Other Announcements?
Should you have announcements that you wish to communicate in this weekly message as committee chairs or those responsible for other ministry initiatives at Resurrection, please contact Monika at the office (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by late Monday mornings for inclusion in the message for the coming Wednesday. Thanks!
Dear Friends in Christ:
I want to let you all know that we just received confirmation that my son's surgery is indeed scheduled to take place tomorrow, Good Friday. This will be major surgery to correct the vascular malformation in Nathan's brain that first caused his stroke. Thus, Nathan, his mother, and I covet your prayers for effective, uncomplicated outcomes to this procedure.
Needless to say, my observance of home worship during this Holy Week will focus on my keeping vigil at my son's side, even as I also intend to share with you in using our congregation's worship resources to mark these Three Days. With Nathan's surgery in mind, I created video files of all of my Holy Week and Easter sermons early, so they are all uploaded and ready to go.
I don't know how many days Nathan will be in the hospital—it all depends on how the surgery and his recovery go. While attending to my son is my first priority in the coming days, I also intend to engage in my pastoral responsibilities as well, keeping abreast of church-related emails and phone messages and also preparing sermons for the next Sundays in Easter.
Thanks in advance for your prayers for us, and may you all have blessed and holy Three Days during these most trying and unprecedented times in the life of our congregation and in the world.
Sent with my own prayer for all of you in our life together.....
In Jesus' name,
Pastor Jonathan Linman
Beginning March 22
- Consistent with State, county, and local closure of group events and activities, Resurrection Lutheran Church will cancel all worship services, Sunday School and other educational activities, and Coffee Hour indefinitely beginning Sunday, March 22.
The Stained Glass Windows in the Nave at Resurrection Evangelical Lutheran Church
Dr. Melvin S. Lange, pastor of Resurrection Lutheran Church from 1958 to 1971, prepared the theological material for the artist, Roy Calligan, of the Hunt Stained Glass Studios in Pittsburgh, PA. The meaning of each of the seventeen windows is indicated by a Bible verse. The theme begins with the window to the left of the lectern (when facing the altar) and proceeds around the nave toward the back, and then forward on the opposite side toward the last window to the right of the pulpit.
Stained Glass Windows Information
We are a church that strives to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). We do justice by serving our community through our social outreach activities and through contributions of finances and member’s time to local programs, including, for example, Lutheran Social Services. We provide opportunities for a rich Christian education to our members and to the community. Many of our members are active in synod activities and in ecumenical activities with other Christians.
We love kindness in the Christian work we do, often quietly but resolutely, for our members and for the community. Benevolence has always been a priority for our church, and we are a significant donor both in our financial resources and, perhaps more importantly to us, our member’s time. We are active with food assistance programs in the Arlington area and to other social service organizations.
We strive to walk humbly with our God in our worship services. We take liturgy, prayer, and music very seriously in our church as a path through which our parishioners can experience the word and sacrament in their lives. Finally, we are excited about offering the sacrament of communion to our parishioners at every Sunday service and believe it is important that we continue to do so.