Happy New Year!

Hi Everybody,

I hope that you have had a great week opening gifts, seeing friends and family, watching football, eating too much, reading great books, finding a moment for a nap or 2…  As 2011 comes to a close, I want to remind you of a few things.

1. Tomorrow, we will have only one worship service at 11am.  We know that there are lots of things happening this weekend in many different places.  If you are in Arlington, we invite you to gather with us for carols, prayer, and the Eucharist.  The service will be casual.  Musical worship will be lead by Wendell Kimbrough.  Our brand new seminarian, Liz Gray, will be giving the message.  Christmas day was such a sweet service.  I am looking forward to tomorrow!
2. January 8–  everything returns to ‘normal’.  We will have all 3 services (9,11,5).  Kid’s small groups will fire back up downstairs.  Matt will return from much deserved vacation.  I will kick off a new sermon series.  And we will celebrate baptisms.  If you missed the announcements about baptism in December, but you are interested, please shoot a quick email to Erin as soon as you can.  We ask that everyone attend an orientation evening before baptism.  It will be fun!
3. Many of you will be thinking about ‘resolutions’ for the new year.  This is a great tradition.  Anyone involved in mentorship, growth, or leadership will tell you that reflection, evaluation, and goal setting is a great way to intentionally move toward a desired end.  May I encourage you to consider a resolution about Bible reading?  This is one of the (top 3?) most effective ways to grow in your intimacy, understanding, and love of our triune God.  Here is a blog post I wrote with great resources for daily Bible reading.

Happy New Year!  I can’t wait to see what God does in 2012.

-David