Rector’s Update: Autumn! (and more APEX news!)

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!  If I would count them, they are more than the sand.  I awake, and I am still with you.  Psalm 139: 17-18
 Friends,

Hope you are having a great week.  We prayed this psalm during morning prayer today.  It is such a rich reminder of God’s attentiveness to us.  He doesn’t miss a thing.  Quick reminder that starting September 1, morning prayer will start at 8:00am.  I hope this time shift makes it possible for you to join us in this daily rhythm.  

FALL SMALL GROUPS
Each week, I host a 15 minute call with Restoration’s small group leaders and ministry volunteers.  This week, I am sending the video of it as part of my rector’s update.  You can see how we check in about life in our church and the programs we are offering.  Perhaps you’d like to serve as a small group leader?

I am so grateful for our small group leaders who pray for you, facilitate Bible discussions, and walk alongside you in the joy and pain of life. Small groups have become even more important in this time of social distancing.  We want to make sure everyone can be in one this fall.  The deadline to submit your leader form is this Sunday, Aug. 30.  If you have questions about leading a small group, reach out to Nathan, today.  Registration for adult small groups will open to everyone on Sept. 6 and they all kick off (Kids’, Apex, and Adults!) the week of September 13.  

MORE APEX NEWS!!
Speaking of Apex, we have exciting news!  A couple weeks ago I announced that Nathan Dickerson would be serving as the interim Apex Director.  This week, I get to tell you that we have added 2 Apex coordinators to our Youth Ministry team:  Lexi (Wiles) McMann and Ryan Goyer.  Thanks be to God! 

Would you like to know a little bit more about them?  Of course you would!  Here ya go:

Lexi hails from Richmond, VA and the University of Richmond, and has lived in Arlington since fall 2013! She came to the area after completing a year in Raleigh, NC with The Fellows Initiative to work for FOCUS (Fellowship of Christians in Universities and Schools). She spent 6 years exploring faith with middle and high school students at independent schools all around the DC Area, and taking them up to Martha’s Vineyard for camp adventures in the summers. Lexi loves her community of friends in Arlington, all things outdoors, music and art, her husband Jonathan, and her new puppy Haven! She can’t wait to spend more time with Resto’s Apex community, growing in relationship with each other and Jesus.

Ryan writes, “I am very excited to begin working with Apex! I have spent the last six years working with students, as a Young Life leader in college at Christopher Newport University, and then as a staff member and volunteer at The Falls Church Anglican since 2017. I had the privilege of being John Yates’ study assistant before joining the Restoration team last summer. I can’t wait to work with Lexi to build upon the foundation Isaiah has built here over the past few years.

I love to read, hike, and play (and watch!) sports. I hope to earn a degree in counseling sometime soon, and love to walk with people through challenging times. I’ve spent the summer watching bubble sports (go Bruins & Celtics!) and planning a wedding with my fiancée, Callie Gaskins. We’ll be married on September 5, and couldn’t be more excited to start our life together at Restoration. You’ll be able to find us about a minute away from Restoration, in a little condo on Monroe Street.”

The close reader will be wondering, ‘Wait. Doesn’t Ryan already work for Restoration?’  Yes he does.  He has been our Communications Coordinator and Facility manager for the last year.  We are glad that we were able to adjust his job description so that he can give a good portion of his week to Apex.

THIS SUNDAY
Thanks for reading along and joining us in thanksgiving to God.  I am looking forward to this Sunday, Aug. 30:  I will wrap up our series on Joseph and we will have the first of weekly, outdoor, in the Resto backyard, Eucharists!  The liturgy starts around 11:15, right after the YouTube livestream ends.

Praying for you. 

“The Lord hems you in, behind and before.  His hand is upon you.” 
(Psalm 139: 5)

-David

Posted by  Ryan Goyer on Aug, 27 2020 | 1 comments

Rector’s Update: 22 July 2020

“God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!”
                                                                       Psalm 57:3b

Dear Restoration,

We have been sharing with you our plans to gather in person in the sanctuary for worship.  It starts this Sunday, July 26!  Our team created a fun video to show you what it will look like and to remind you of things you need to remember-  like entering through the second floor doors!  Make sure you watch it before you arrive on a Sunday!  

We know that most of you will worship with us remotely on our YouTube Channel.  Some of you might want to join us in the sanctuary.  We’ve got room!  And we need to know if you are coming.  So please sign up by 4pm on the Friday before the Sunday you want to attend.

TONIGHT:  A Zoom Discussion about Racial Injustice in the Church
This is our last week! We will again start at 7:30 tonight and keep it to a firm hour- so log on a few minutes early to say hi and plan on being finished by 8:30. You are welcome to invite a friend.

We break our time into thirds with lecture, moderated breakout discussions, and Q&A for all participants.  We are using the book, The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby.  It is organized chronologically.  Tonight we will discuss the period from 1968-the present (pages 152-end).

When we have our breakout sessions, I will ask you to consider this question:  “What is troubling to you?”  It is intentionally open-ended.  You could be troubled by the content of the book or the way it is presented.  You could be troubled by something new that you learned.  You could be troubled by the behavior of Christians and the Church during this time period:  “by what we have done and by what we have left undone.”  All of us have opinions about these things and not all of our opinions are the same!!  We want Restoration to be a place where we can talk openly, honestly, and charitably about things that are difficult.   I hope you will join us tonight and share the things that you find troubling.

You can join the conversation, here, or through the ‘This summer at Resto’ box on our website.

Things on the horizon…
Phase Alpha of reopening started with 4 Yard Worship sites on July 12.  That was a roaring success!  So we are bringing it back. Stay tuned for more information about locations and time for Yard Worship on August 16!

Many of you have asked about the sacrament of Holy Baptism.  We have a plan!  In the long tradition of Yard Eucharist and Yard Worship, we present to you:  Yard Baptism.  They will happen outside, in Restoration’s Yard, on September 21, October 18, and November 1.  We will time it so you can watch the Sunday service on YouTube Live and then show up at Restoration for baptism.  You do not have to attend worship inside the sanctuary to participate in the outdoor baptisms.  More details and a sign up form will be coming soon.  We look forward to celebrating baptisms with you.

I’ll let the words of Psalm 57 take us out:  “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!  Let your glory be over all the earth!”  Amen and amen.

-David

Posted by  Ryan Goyer on Jul, 22 2020 | 0 comments

Rector’s Update: 15 July 2020

“Give glory to the God of Israel.”  1 Samuel 6:5

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.”  Psalm 37:3

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! 
Give thanks to Him; bless His name!”  Psalm 100:4

Dear Restoration,

It grieves me to write and tell you of the death of our dear friend and brother in Christ, Evan Pollack.  Evan died peacefully on Monday, July 13, surrounded by his wife, Cathy, son, Jesse, and daughter, Leah.  Evan had been a faithful part of Restoration since our days ‘in the old building’.  He was baptized at our Easter Vigil.  He was a gifted musician and a gifted teacher.  He helped us “Enter His courts with praise.”  He made us laugh.  I loved praying with him because Evan prayed in unabashed familiarity with His heavenly father.  He showed me what it is like to honestly tell God what I think and to feel safe in the telling.  I will miss him.

I invite your prayers for Evan’s family.  I will lead just the family through a small, graveside service this weekend.  We will not be able to have a public funeral. 

Some of you may want to serve the family by bringing or sending them a meal.  You can do that, here. 

Some of you may want to give a memorial gift as a way to worship God and to give thanks for Evan’s life.  Cathy has suggested a few recipients for you to consider:

1. Hungry for Music.  This is a local non-profit that collects and refurbishes used instruments and donates them to beginning musicians in school bands. Over the course of his life, Evan spent several thousands of his own dollars refurbishing drums for area students.
2. Restoration Anglican Church General Offering Fund.  Restoration had a significant impact on Evan’s life and Evan had a significant impact on Restoration.
3. Glebe Elementary School PTA where he volunteered and worked teaching music.  You can give a gift in his memory to the PTA through PayPal.

Almighty God, grant us, with all who have died in the hope of the resurrection, the fullness of life in your eternal and everlasting glory.  Amen.

Phase Alpha:  small congregations in our sanctuary
Two weeks ago, our wardens introduced Phase Alpha of our reopening plan for corporate worship.  You can read their letter, here, which references the detailed plan that can be read, here, in its entirety.

We know that all of us are carefully watching what is happening in our community in relation to the coronavirus.  Each of us is making decisions about public gatherings that correspond with our medical and living situations.  I have been grateful for the opportunity to correspond and pray with many of you as you discern what is best for you and for your household.  Because of the diversity of our situations, we are continuing to offer our YouTube Livestream for Sunday worship as the safest and most socially distant way for us to worship together.  We are also beginning to offer some in-person opportunities for those who feel comfortable gathering with others.  Both options are great!

On July 26, we will begin hosting small congregations in our sanctuary.  If you are interested in participating, we ask that you read our reopening plan.  It will answer the majority of your questions.  You can sign up for a spot at one of our five Phase Alpha services, here.  We look forward to seeing those who want to come and we are praying for all of us as we move through this challenging season.

A Zoom Discussion about Racial Injustice in the Church
It started last week!  If you missed it or if you want to review the notes from my lecture, you can find them, here.  We will again start at 7:30 tonight and keep it to a firm hour- so log on a few minutes early to say hi and plan on being finished by 8:30.  This is a three week conversation that will build on prior weeks.   You are welcome to join any or all of them, but the content will be different each time.  You are also welcome to invite a friend.

We break our time into thirds with lecture, moderated breakout discussions, and Q&A for all participants.  Last week we had about 100 people join the conversation.

We are using the book, The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby.  It is organized chronologically.  Tonight we will discuss the post Civil War period to Civil Rights legislation (pages 70-152).  When we have our breakout sessions, I will ask you to consider this question:  “What is troubling to you?”  It is intentionally open-ended.  You could be troubled by the content of the book or the way it is presented.  You could be troubled by something new that you learned.  You could be troubled by the behavior of Christians and the Church during this time period:  “by what we have done and by what we have left undone.”  All of us have opinions about these things and not all of our opinions are the same!!  We want Restoration to be a place where we can talk openly, honestly, and charitably about things that are difficult.   I hope you will join us tonight and share the things that you find troubling.

Here is the link to join the conversation.  We start at 7:30.  I look forward to talking with you!

-David

Posted by  Ryan Goyer on Jul, 15 2020 | 0 comments

Rector’s Update: July 8, 2020

“…I will feed them in justice.”  Ezekiel 34: 16b

Dear Restoration,

Hope you are doing well!  I am writing to remind you of 2 special things that are happening this week.

A Zoom Discussion about Racial Injustice in the Church
It starts tonight at 7:30pm.  We will keep it to a firm hour- so log on a few minutes early to say hi and plan on being finished by 8:30.  This is a three week conversation that will build on prior weeks.   You are welcome to join any or all of them, but the content will be different each time.  You are also welcome to invite a friend.

We will break our time into thirds with lecture, moderated breakout discussions, and Q&A for all participants.  I have no idea how many people will join the call tonight and I ask for your flexibility if we need to adjust certain things.

We will be using the book, The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby.  It is organized chronologically.  Tonight we will discuss the years up to the Civil War (beginning of book to page 70).  Next week, we will look at the post Civil War period to Civil Rights legislation (pages 70-152).  The final week will examine the last 50 years of our history, (pages 152-216).   Each week we will be asking God to lead us as a church in how we should respond to these things. 

Here is the link to join the conversation which begins tonight at 7:30pm.  I look forward to talking with you!

Yard Worship on July 12
Last week, our wardens introduced Phase Alpha of our re-opening plan for corporate worship.  You can read their letter, here, which references the detailed plan that can be read, here, in its entirety.

We know that all of us are carefully watching what is happening in our community in relation to the coronavirus.  Each of us is making decisions about public gatherings that correspond with our medical and living situations.  I have been grateful for the opportunity to correspond and pray with many of you as you discern what is best for you and for your household.  Because of the diversity of our situations, we are continuing to offer our YouTube Livestream for Sunday worship as the safest and most remote way for us to worship together.  We are also beginning to offer some in-person opportunities for those who feel comfortable gathering with others.  Both options are great!

This Sunday, July 12, our YouTube Livestream will start at 10am.  I will be preaching the next installment of our Joseph story.  We are also offering 4 opportunities to gather for Yard Worship at Restoration and the homes of several Restoration members.  You can sign up, here and read all of the details for how it will work.  We warmly invite you to join us.

As always, I am grateful for the creativity of our staff and volunteers, grateful for the faithfulness of our congregation, and grateful to God as He leads us through these challenging times.

Sincerely,
David

Posted by  Ryan Goyer on Jul, 08 2020 | 0 comments

Rector’s Update: June 25, 2020

Dear Restoration,

This week we finished our series on 1 John.  We have been preaching through it since Easter and it has provided deep theology and rich vocabulary for what it means to know that we know the living God.  

The final verse in the letter is “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5: 21)  

It’s an important and interesting way to wind up a book.  

On the one hand, John has been saying this for 5 chapters.  Don’t give your trust and worship to anything besides God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We have eternal life!  Christians live every moment in a relationship with God that has already begun and will continue forever.  We are His children.  Jesus has defeated the power and consequence of sin.  The Spirit is in us.  

The other way of saying this positive exhortation is the sentence he uses to close-  keep yourselves from idols.  At this moment in time, we are experiencing the exposure and limitations of lots of idols.  I invite you to pray and listen to the Holy Spirit as He speaks to you about the idols that are active in your own life. 

In case you missed the end of my sermon from Sunday, here are my reflections on the idols that are failing us in this cultural moment. I hope you will watch it again or for the first time.  

On Sunday I invited you again to consider purchasing The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby and to reserve the evenings of July 8, 15, 22 for a 3 week conversation on racial injustice and the church.  You can find the book, here, at one of our VA, independent booksellers.

Some of you have asked why am I inviting us to read this particular book and to have this particular conversation?  Here are a few thoughts:

First, I want to be clear on what I am not doing.  My agenda is not to heap guilt and shame on white people (like myself).  Christians have been set free from guilt by the finished work of Jesus on the cross and shame never moves people in a direction for real and lasting change.  

Instead of guilt and shame, it may be that God moves us to feel grief and lament.  These have always been the Biblical precursors to real change and amendment of life.  The good news is that God always joins us in our grief, for Jesus promised that those who mourn will be comforted (Matthew 5:4).  Thus, lament is a place to meet God.  I want us to meet God as we have this conversation.

Second, let me tell you about Jemar Tisby.  Mr. Tisby is a Christian, black, historian, who was trained in the evangelical tradition (he has an MDiv. from Reformed Theological Seminary) that trained most of the pastors Restoration people already trust.  Mr. Tisby is writing about church history from his academic work (he is a PhD candidate at the University of Mississippi) and from his lived experience as a black follower of Jesus.  Unless you have read other Christian, evangelically trained, black historians, I would encourage you to read this.  It will help you to understand the way many, many black people view the church’s role in bringing us to this particular moment in the summer of 2020.  I am not asking you to agree with that viewpoint.  I am inviting you to learn from it and to talk about it.

Third, I want to have this conversation because the direction the ‘church’ (that’s ‘church’ for any racial hue) should go from this point in time in regards to racial injustice is not at all clear.  Although there have been many policy suggestions over the last few weeks that will require each of us to decide what we think about their merit, the church has not yet offered guidance for how Christians should move forward together.  I would like to hear from you and to discuss with you how the church should respond-  how our church should respond.  In order to have that conversation, I submit that we need to know the history that got us to this conversation in 2020 and Mr. Tisby’s book is a helpful resource to engage the sins and the transgressions of the church over the last 400 years.  

So, I invite you to read it.  I invite you to attend all 3 Zoom conversations.  I invite you to pray for the church, for our church, and for the conversation we need to have about moving forward in reconciliation, justice, and hope.  I am grateful to be on this journey with you.

-David     

Posted by  David Hanke on Jun, 25 2020 | 2 comments

Rector’s Update: June 10, 2020

Dear Restoration,

It has been a full week.  I am grateful for the words we prayed in morning prayer today from Psalm 100:

‘Know that the Lord, he is God!  It is He who made us, and we are his;  we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.’  

I am so grateful to be HIS.

I have 4 things for you this week and I am sincerely asking that you would respond to each one.  I want you to know about our plans.  I want to hear how you are doing.  I want you to have opportunities to gather with friends.  I want you to listen and learn about the racial injustice moment in which we find ourselves.  Thanks.  You are a responsive church and there are several responses I am requesting from you this week.

1.  Watch the Parish Meeting:  Ou wardens, treasurer, and I hosted 2 parish meetings this week.  Well over 200 of you listened in-  which is record-breaking for a parish meeting by a long shot.  Thanks.  If you already heard the parish meeting, you can skip this one!  If you missed it, please take 45 minutes and listen as I recount the last 3 months and suggest how the next few months could look at Restoration.  This is information you want.

2.  Fill out the survey:  We want to know how you are doing now and how you are feeling about the possibility of re-opening our facility for public gatherings and worship in the future.  I would love for every person who gets this email to fill it out.  Thank you!

3.  Host a Summer Gathering:  As I explained at the parish meeting, we are seeking to offer a variety of small, outdoor opportunities for people in our congregation to connect to each other this summer.  Perhaps you would like to host a yard Eucharist, or popsicles in your driveway, or pizza on your patio, or ‘sitting in adirondack chairs with no kids around for quiet conversation’, or something we haven’t thought of yet…  Fill out this form with your awesome idea this week.  Then, next week, look for a sign-up genius with lots of summer gathering opportunities!

4.  Read this book.  Listen to this lecture.  Join this conversation.  In this time of unrest over racial injustice, I am going to lead a Zoom discussion on Jemar Tisby’s book, The Color of Compromise:  the truth about the American church’s complicity in racism.  You can get the book, here.  Not sure you want to read the book?  Please listen to this lecture that Jemar did last year on a ‘A Racial Reformation in the 21st Century’.  You will be challenged by the book and the lecture.  You will disagree with some of it.  You will learn stuff you didn’t know.  Let’s talk about it.  On July 8, 15, and 22 at 7pm, I will host a Zoom discussion on the book.  It is open to anyone who wants to participate from anywhere in the world.  Invite a friend.  

Thank you for reading and responding, Restoration!  Thank you for faithfully joining in to the significant work that God is doing in us and through our church.  I look forward to seeing more of you in person as the weeks go by!

So glad to be His.
-David 

Posted by  Ryan Goyer on Jun, 10 2020 | 0 comments

Rector’s Update: June 3, 2020

Hi Restoration,

So much is happening.  So many voices.  So many words. 

Thanks for taking the time to engage with what we are saying at Restoration.  Cling to the truth that our Lord reigns.  He is a very present help right now.

TONIGHT:  a prayer meeting 

If you’re like me, current events have left me drained, discouraged and at a loss. I long with you for a world made right; where righteousness and justice reign. We look forward to the heavenly reign of Christ and yet we need wisdom, courage and strength to live as kingdom citizens right now. To this end we must pray.

Tonight I am gathering with the leaders of other churches in Arlington and I invite you to join us.  It will begin at 6pm.  You can access it on YouTube, here or through Restoration’s FB page, here. 

I apologize for the late notice.  This event just came together today.

Parish Meeting Warm-Up Questions

We have a parish meeting on June 7 at 11:15am (right after the service) and June 9 at 8pm.  We will talk about re-opening, finances, and summer plans.  I would love to know what you want to hear.  If you have a question about life in our congregation, hit reply (today!) and let me know.  We want to be prepared with the information you most need.  

A conversation about racism, the church, grief, and hope

This is my rector’s update for this week.  I invite you to take time to listen to the whole thing.

• In the update, I will read a letter from four of our Anglican bishop’s that articulates Restoration’s position about the killing of George Floyd.  You can read it, here.
• We will also mention a Ted Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie called The Danger of a Single Story

When we come to God in prayer, we feel our grief and we are strengthened by His presence.  

“But for me it is good to be near God;  I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.”  Psalm 73: 28

-David

Posted by  Ryan Goyer on Jun, 03 2020 | 0 comments

Rector’s Update: May 20, 2020

 

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Posted by  Ryan Goyer on May, 20 2020 | 0 comments

Rector’s Update: May 15

Rector’s Update: May 15, 2020

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Posted by  Ryan Goyer on May, 15 2020 | 0 comments