Schedule for the Coming Week at Resurrection Church
Saturday, October 28
Council Retreat at Fellowship Square Fellowship House in Reston, Virginia. Please coordinate in advance with Leslie Nolen and Maggie Mount to bring food.
Sunday, October 29 - Reformation Sunday
9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. — Sunday School in the Parish Hall.
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.
So Long and Godspeed to Cindy Reese
Many of you may already know, but our dear and faithful servant, Cindy Reese, will be leaving us soon. Her last Sunday with us will be November 5th, and then she will be moving to California to be with family. Please join us for a special coffee hour, this Sunday, October 22nd, so that we can honor and thank Cindy formally for her many years of service and dedication to RELC.
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.
Lutheran World Relief Quilt Assembly Began on October 10
Lutheran World Relief Quilt Assembly started 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.
Reserve Your Poinsettias for Christmas
Sunday, November 5, is the deadline for reserving your poinsettias in honor or memory of family and friends as part of Resurrection’s traditional Sanctuary Christmas decorations. Please complete the form provided in the Narthex along with our worship program and place them in the offering trays along with cash or a check made out to Resurrection Evangelical Lutheran Church with a notation that it is for poinsettias. A donation of $15 for each poinsettia is suggested. Reserved poinsettias are yours to take after the conclusion of the January 7, 2024, church service.
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!
Thanksgiving Day Dinner at RELC on Thursday, November 23
The Thanksgiving Dinner sign-up sheet will be in the Narthex starting this Sunday, October 22. We plan on meeting at 1:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 23 – the church will provide the turkeys, stuffing and wine, and everyone else may bring a side dish or dessert. Everyone is welcome, but anyone who would like to attend has to sign up, so that we know how many place settings to set out (and how much turkey we will need).
There is also a Resurrection Team registered for the Arlington Turkey Trot, so come out in the morning, do your part for hunger relief, and work up a proper appetite for dinner!! For Arlington Turkey Trot registration details, please visit: https://arlingtonvaturkeytrot.org/
Holiday Wreath Making on November 26
Mark your calendars for our Annual Holiday Wreath Making event on Sunday, November 26, following the worship service in the Parish Hall. Sign-up sheets will be available in the Narthex and in the Parish Hall. The suggested donation for all of the wreath-making supplies is $10.00, which will benefit our youth attending the ELCA National Youth Gathering in 2024.
Help Decorate the Church for Christmas
Please join us on Sunday, December 17, after the service to help decorate and make the church festive for Christmas. Many hands are needed, and all ages are welcome!
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.
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!