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Midweek Announcements for December 23, 2021

Plans are to Worship in Person This Weekend

Our intent is to proceed with plans to worship in person for Christmas this weekend even amidst growing concern about the extent of contagiousness of the omicron variant of covid-19. Please engage in careful discernment concerning your own assessments of risk tolerance that are appropriate for you and your family’s circumstances. You are also encouraged to wear an N95 or equivalent mask or to double-mask with a surgical mask below a cloth one. Please also engage extra diligence in physical distancing while seated in church and mingling among worshipers. Finally, here’s how you can safely and hygienically extinguish hand-held candles during Christmas Eve worship: rather than blowing the candle out, simply removed the lit candle from the holder and use the holder itself as a snuffer. This little but significant effort will prevent the spread of germs. Thanks for your careful attention to extra precautions.

Schedule for Christmas

The Sundays of Advent conclude this week, and Christmas will be upon us soon. Mark your calendars now for the following noteworthy occasions as we mark the seasons in our life together:

  • Friday, December 24 at 5:00 pm: Worship for the Whole Family on Christmas Eve.
  • Friday, December 24 at 9:00 pm: Christmas Eve Worship with Choir. Choir prelude music begins at 8:35 pm. This service will be livestreamed.
  • Saturday, December 25 at 10:00 am: Worship on Christmas Day.
  • Sunday, December 26 at 10:00 am: Worship on the First Sunday of Christmas

Where Your Christmas Offerings Go

In keeping with Resurrection’s traditions, offerings to the church in special Christmas envelopes and loose offerings not designated for other purposes will be used to support benevolence giving to charities and missions in the church’s budget, along with any offerings designated for benevolence in regular offering envelopes. As usual, offerings in regular envelopes that are not otherwise designated will go to Resurrection’s General Fund. A reminder: the Congregation Council may reallocate money from the General Fund to cover budgeted benevolences, but offerings designated for benevolence cannot be reallocated for any other purpose.

Faith Formation for Whole Families at Home

In our life together, we value continued learning and study of scripture. In our pandemic life together, we value supporting virtual and household participation in that learning, supported with resources and opportunities to connect and practice with others.

We’re excited to offer two new opportunities in the New Year, one that will kick off this weekend.

A Gift for You—New Bibles & Small Catechisms

The Education Committee is distributing to households in the congregation new bibles and small catechisms for your use at home. These resources were selected to complement upcoming programming, and are additions to your personal libraries. To learn how to receive your copy, reach out to Amanda Lindamood or Pastor Linman by email. We’re excited to share these! Distribution and deliveries will continue through December and January.

An All-Ages Bible Study

Beginning on Tuesday, January 11th from 6-7 pm, Pastor Linman and Amanda Lindamood will be leading a monthly all ages Bible Study using our newly distributed materials, “Growing in God’s Love A Story Bible”. This Bible Study will be led on the second Tuesday of each month via Zoom, designed to be paired with your dinner hour, and to engage all of the members of your household. We will build relationships, pray together in multiple ways, and respond to stories in our sacred texts through this creative new pilot. To RSVP email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Tuesday, January 4th. Details on each session’s exact logistics and login information will follow.

Collection of Food Items for AFAC on Sunday, January 2

We will receive donations of food items for AFAC on Sunday, January 2, in conjunction with our regular worship service.

If you Wish to Donate to Tornado Outbreak Disaster Relief

A simple way forward is to write a check payable to Resurrection Lutheran Church with Tornado Relief written in the memo line. You can also make a donation directly to Lutheran Disaster Response.

Mark Your Calendars Now – Annual Congregational Meeting on January 23

Details of time and format are forthcoming, but please mark your calendars now for our annual congregational meeting which will take place on Sunday, January 23, 2022. Please know, too, that our Nominations Committee is currently recruiting members to offer themselves for election to our Congregation Council. If you are approached, please take the invitation into prayerful and serious consideration.

Can't make it to church? Watch us Live! Now Livestreaming Worship

To view our 10:00 AM 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 9:55AM 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.

November Financial Update

The below chart is a summary of RELC’s finances for the year to date as of November 30, 2021. 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 general fund is currently running significantly below our actual expenses for the year and below our giving levels for this time last year. This trend has continued during the first eleven months of 2021.

Please continue to donate during our newly reestablished weekly service or send in your contributions 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
2020 Giving
General Fund 310,287 378,785 (68,498) 66% (14,526)
Benevolence 65,643 50,174 15,649 72% (39)
Renovation 14,319 2,500 11,819 103% (5,223)
TOTAL 390,249 431,459 (41,210) 68% (19,788)

 

Stewardship Season: Supporting Resurrection’s 2022 Programs

As we begin a new church year and plan for resuming and refocusing our ministries and activities for 2022, it’s important for us to prayerfully consider how we can generously support Resurrection’s plans and programs. Sharing your giving intentions is important in helping the church plan for the resources needed to accomplish its goals and plans. Please share your giving intentions for 2022 by completing the Statement of Intent you received by mail or in the Sunday worship program, or you can use this online form. It’s also a good time to consider enrolling in the “Simply Giving” electronic funds transfer program to have your weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly offering automatically drawn from your bank account or charged to your credit card – just complete the enrollment form and return it along with your pledge. As always, you can also use the “Donate” button on the Resurrection website to schedule a recurring offering.

An open invitation – Racial and Social Justice Learning Group

Over the past year, we participated in Pastor Linman’s Monday evening Bible study sessions (recently focused on “social justice” references in scripture) and the year-long monthly deep dive discussions co-led by the Pastor and Youth Director Amanda Lindamood into the challenging book “Dear Church, A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the U.S.” These validated our belief that continual learning about social justice is needed and is essential for us and for our RELC community.

As one step in this effort, we’re offering to facilitate a regular gathering of those interested in exploring this topic and learning more together. We envision this group:

  • Broadening individual understanding and identifying how it might lead/influence actions at RELC and in our lives.
  • Self-identifying discussion topics and sources of information (e.g., books, articles, films, news events, personal experience, etc.)

To get started, we propose an in-person meeting at RELC (pandemic-permitting of course) starting after the holidays on January 19, 2022 at 7 p.m. to discuss the first few chapters of “White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity” by Dr. Robert Jones (available in local libraries, on-line, in paperback, etc.). We anticipate the group will also establish its ground rules then (meeting schedule, format, process for picking topics, etc.)

If you are interested or just want to inquire further, please contact either of us. Any and all will be welcome. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Altar Flowers Sign Up

In keeping with RELC’s custom prior to the pandemic, we will resume ordering flowers for the chancel, beginning on Rally Day (September 12, 2021). If you would like to participate in flower dedications, please sign up on the calendar, which will be placed in the hallway just outside of the kitchen. Please be sure to inform the church office for whom the flowers should be dedicated to, preceding the Sunday that you have assumed responsibility for the embellishment of the Nave. There will be recognition of your dedication in the church bulletin. Please also note that you will need to submit a $40 check to the church office for the flowers. The check should be paid to the order of Resurrection Lutheran Church, and should include a memo which identifies that the donation is for the church flowers. Sending great thanks to all who partake in serving and glorifying God and RELC, through your gifts of flowers during the worship service.

Helpful Tips for Our Young Families During Worship

A bit of noise from children of all ages is indeed a wonderful blessing throughout our church. But if you feel the need for an additional space, our lounge around the corner is fully stocked for your use. Speakers in the space allow you to hear the service so you won’t miss anything. You will find a changing table and a couple of couches, which may be a welcomed sight for nursing mothers. Since we are maintaining physical distancing, we encourage you also to use our “pray-ground,” the carpeted area with table and small chairs, at the back of the church.

Faith Formation Calendar

Click below for the current faith formation calendar that includes activities and resources for all ages:

pdfAdvent Calendar RELC 2021

Monday Evening Bible Study on Themes of Justice in the Bible

This Bible Study continues on Monday evenings at 6:30 and will meet for several weeks. This series focuses on how themes of justice variously appear in the Bible, in both Hebrew and Christian scriptures. If you are interested in participating, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. All are welcome to join in!

For Your Prayers at Home

In addition to our usual prayers of intercession in our home worship, we encourage your prayers throughout the week for the following:

  • Henry Flatness
  • Janet Lewis
  • Maggie Mount
  • Rosalie Dech
  • Krista Kurth
  • Evon Lippencot
  • Nancy MacDonald
  • Bob MacDonald
  • Grant Aldonas
  • Norm Olsen
  • Ellie Barnes
  • Judy Frank
  • Effie Stallsmith
  • Malcolm Stark
  • Barb Jensen
  • Charlotte Boeck
  • Lynn Kiewel
  • Phillip Swingler
  • Maria Liwski
  • Tucker Dean
  • Irene Belcher
  • Sharon Kravetz
  • John and Anneliese Arnold
  • Julie Bates

For those whom you know, consider sending a card, or an email, or make a phone call. These additional expressions of prayerfulness can make a big, healing difference in people’s lives and promote their sense of well-being. For current contact information, if you don’t have it, kindly reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Prayer Requests

Should you desire to make prayer requests for persons you care about, or desire prayer for other concerns, please contact Pastor Linman with those requests: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 703-972-2076. Pastor will make certain that the names you provide will be included in the Prayers of Intercession for Sundays, and for your prayers throughout the week. Making your requests known to Pastor Linman will allow him to follow up with you directly – as your requests for prayer help set the agenda for our Pastor’s ministry at Resurrection Church.

Arlington County Covid-19 Response

Click here for the latest updates on our county’s pandemic response as well as official and current information concerning vaccinations.

New Seating Routine for Sunday Worship

We no longer currently rope off pews, allowing for greater flexibility in how we are seated. That said, we still ask you to maintain physical distancing as best you can, seeking to keep a three-to-six-foot distance between you and the next individual or family. We also encourage you not to sit directly in front of or behind another individual or family. This means also making the best use of the middle sections of pews. Ushers will be available to assist you with seating options. Masks will still be required of all worshipers.

Current Routine for Worship Indoors

We continue our worship indoors this Sunday at 10:00am. To alleviate any concerns and to help prepare you for your return, here is what you can expect:

First, out of loving concern for young children and others not yet able to be vaccinated, we ask that ALL worshipers wear facial masks. Secondly, we will maintain physical distancing, erring on the side of caution. These two basic practices serve as the foundation for safety and guide all other practices.

Upon arrival: kindly find your seats promptly on arrival to avoid congregating in the narthex. Every other pew will be available for seating. Please do not try to sit in pews taped off. Ushers will be available to assist you with seating options.

Offering: your offerings will not be collected. However, offering plates located near the front of the church are available for your use. When you come forward for communion, you may place your offering in one of the plates on stands near the chancel.

Communion: Holy Communion will be offered in both kinds, with bread being dropped into your hands, palms facing up, and wine administered from a pouring chalice into a container you bring from home. Intinction, dipping bread into the cup, is not permitted for reasons of hygiene. Communion will be continuous, with worshipers forming one line in the center aisle to receive both bread and wine at the direction of ushers. One side of the church will commune first, and then we’ll move to communing the other side. Return to your seats via the side aisles closest to you.

Upon Departure: kindly leave the nave promptly at the direction of ushers and avoid once again congregating in the narthex. If you wish to remain on church grounds for conversation, and we hope you do, please adjourn to the fellowship hall downstairs or outdoors beyond the Washington Blvd. entrance.

Misc. Considerations: Automatic hand sanitizer dispensers on stands are available for your use in several locations in the church building. If you forget your face mask, we have extras for you, and likewise small paper cups if you forget a container for communion. Worship indoors will be very similar to that which we have been doing outdoors, a simplified, somewhat shorter version of Resurrection’s normal worship practice.

We very much look forward to seeing you in church!

The best ways to contact Pastor Linman

Here are the best and most direct ways to contact Pastor Linman. The email address given for his professional and pastoral use is: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Pastor Linman’s direct dial phone number in the church office is: 703-972-2076. Please leave a message there if Pastor does not answer. He monitors and responds to his messages throughout the day even when he's not in the office. Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you.

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 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!