Schedule for the Coming Week at Resurrection Church
Sunday, September 11
10:00 a.m. – Worship: Pastor Gordon Lathrop presiding.
11:00 a.m. – Special Congregational Meeting in the Sanctuary.
11:30 a.m. – Rally Day/Undie Sunday in the Parish Hall.
Wednesday, September 14
7:30 p.m. – Transition Team will meet in the Parish Hall.
Sunday, September 18
10:00 a.m. – Worship: Former Bishop Richard Graham presiding.
11:30 a.m. – Transition Team forum on updating the RELC Ministry Site Profile in the Parish Hall.
5:00 p.m. – Confirmation Class will meet in the Parish Hall.
6:00 p.m. – Dinner and Youth Group in the Parish Hall.
Special Congregational Meeting
There will be a special Congregational Meeting this Sunday, September 11, immediately following the worship service in the Sanctuary. At this meeting the congregation will consider the following recommendations:
- Approving a budget not to exceed $5,000 for Call Committee expenses associated with the calling of a pastor. These could include travel, meetings, and other incidental expenses incurred in researching and interviewing pastoral candidates.
- Approving $5,000 for the repair and painting of fascia on the church building exterior (in addition to the $10,000 approved as part of the 2022 capital budget). The cost of these repairs has increased due to supply shortages and, therefore, the contractor cannot honor the original bid.
- Approving a budget not to exceed $2,500 for the purchase and installation of a new gas stove/oven. Some gas leakage from the old stove has been evident even when the pilot lights are lit, although the pilot lights frequently go out, creating a potential hazard.
- Approving a budget not to exceed $2,500 for the repair and painting of the rooms previously occupied by the Clothes Closet. These repairs are necessary before those rooms can be utilized for other purposes including storage.
- Approving a budget not to exceed $1,500 for the repair and improvement of condensation drain lines and anti-flood safety controls for the air conditioning unit in the church choir loft. These repairs are needed to prevent damage as a result of leakage from the existing drain line.
This special meeting is important to facilitate the process of interviewing prospective candidates and calling a new pastor, as well as to address unbudgeted building maintenance expenses. Members are strongly encouraged to attend.
Rally Day/Undie Sunday
A reminder: this Sunday, September 11, is Rally Day! Events include a Backpack Blessing during the Worship service – bring your backpacks and computer bags for the blessing.
It’s also “Undie Sunday” – please bring some "undies" for our collection. We’re gathering men’s underwear, undershirts and/or white athletic socks – MUST BE IN ORIGINAL PACKAGING. Kindly drop these items in the box in the Narthex or in the Parish Hall. Thank you for your donations.
And, I scream, you scream, we all scream for Jake's Ice cream – in the Parish Hall following the service.
Update on Congregation COVID Protections
Thanks to those of you who contributed to providing feedback to the RELC Reopening Planning Group (“RPG”) regarding the measures and metrics that our church should use to trigger adjustments in safety precautions in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on your comments, the RPG recommended to the Congregation Council that the church base its precautions on the level of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 persons for Arlington County, based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. As of August 25, Arlington County moved into the “low” level of transmission with less than 10% of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 persons.
The RPG further recommended that, based on that metric, masking should be optional as of Sunday, September 18 – subject to adjustment if the level of COVID-19 cases in the county increases. At its September 8 meeting, the Congregation Council approved both of the planning group’s recommendations.
The RPG also recommended that congregants be encouraged to wear masks if they choose to, continue to maintain appropriate distances when sitting in pews, sharing the peace of Christ and taking communion, and to wash hands and use sanitizers in church. Pastors, communion assistants, and ushers will continue to wear masks when welcoming those attending services and in distributing Holy Communion in deference to congregation members who choose to take that precaution. The wearing of masks in Sunday School will be based on parents’ feedback. The group also recommended that congregants continue to be encouraged to keep up to date with vaccinations and that those not feeling well should stay home and access the livestream feed of worship services.
Transition Team Update
As part of its work to update the Ministry Site Profile (MSP) that will help pastoral candidates learn more about our congregation, the Transition Team is asking congregation members to review and reflect on the profile written in 2018 and respond to a few general questions about how it should be updated to reflect more accurately who we are as a church today and our aspirations in calling a new pastor.
Copies of the relevant portions of the 2018 MSP are available in the Narthex along with the Transition Team’s questions. You can view the MSP below and click here to respond to the questions. The team will also hold a forum to receive feedback on revisions to the MSP during coffee hour following the September 18 worship service.
MSP (2018)
Sunday Supply Pastors
Our Sunday services continue to be led by an exceptional group of guest clergy in the coming weeks, with Pastor Gordon Lathrop preaching and presiding at our 10:00 a.m. liturgy on September 11. Former Metro D.C. Synod Bishop Richard Graham will join us on September 18, and on September 25 Professor James Farwell of the Virginia Theological Seminary will return to lead our service.
In October, we will welcome back Metro D.C. Synod Assistant to the Bishop for Candidacy and Mobility Pastor Sarah Garrett Krey, as well as Bishop Graham, Professor Farwell, and Professor Shawn Strout, also of the Virginia Theological Seminary. Please join us each Sunday as we continue our congregation’s life and worship.
Climate Solutions Forum
Please join us on Sunday, October 2, at 11:15 a.m. for a presentation by representatives from the Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions (FACS). Eric Goplerud, FACS Chair, and Julie Rosenberg, FACS Arlington County Hub Leader, will talk about the alliance’s mission and actions taken on climate issues. This will be an educational opportunity for our congregation to learn how we can get involved in climate solutions at the local level.
Here is a short statement about the mission of FACS: “The Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions (FACS) mission is to organize the power of Virginia’s faith communities to advance local solutions to the urgent moral challenge of climate change. Through sustained faith-based organizing of more than 2,600 activists from over 190 congregations throughout Northern Virginia, we’ve shown that local government policy, congregational practices, and personal actions produce change in local greenhouse gas emissions, resiliency, and equity.”
Please plan to stay after the October 2 worship service for this important discussion. You can also learn more about FACS at: https://faithforclimate.org/.
Member Information Form
In an effort to create an updated membership directory with the most current, accurate and preferred contact information, you’ve now received a message which contains a member information form which we ask each member of the congregation to fill out and return to the church office. This message and the form has come to you via Constant Contact.
Items for Fall “Steeple Light”
With the start of the church’s new program year, a new edition of the quarterly “Steeple Light” is coming soon. If you have any articles or news items to share, please send them to editor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 12:00 p.m. noon on Monday, September 12.
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.
Intercessory Prayer During the Time of Pastoral Transition
During the time after Pastor Linman departs and before an interim pastor is named or a new pastor called, we will suspend the compilation of a formal and published prayer list. Our intercessory prayer lists are crafted and maintained by the pastor who receives names and who exercises pastoral discretion and care in relation to those named and those who name them. Without an interim or called pastor to generate and maintain the list and to follow up pastorally concerning those named, an intercessory prayer list would be challenging to maintain with pastoral integrity and sensitivity. That said, each Sunday’s prayers of intercession include a petition during which members of the worshiping assembly can call out aloud specific names of persons for whom they would like to pray, and during this time of pause, worshipers can also name persons in the silence of their hearts and minds. Please be assured that your prayerful intents and those of the whole worshiping assembly are heard by God.
Pastoral Care for Emergencies and Other Needs
Pastor Amy Feira has graciously agreed to be on call for members of the congregation to contact in case of pastoral emergency and other pastoral needs through the month of September. She may be reached at: (703) 303-9388 and/or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Other Announcements?
Alexandra Mattson, the editor of our now quarterly Steeple Light newsletter, is now also serving as the editor of our Weekly Announcements messages, working closely with Council President Glen Mason. 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!