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By Sharon Brickhill Welcome to the first newsletter of the Arlington County Chapter. This newsletter is written by members of the Chapter but published and mailed by the Thrivent Financial home office. As you may remember, Aid Association for Lutherans and Lutheran Brotherhood merged in January 2002 to form Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. You are receiving this mailing because you are a member of the Arlington County Chapter of Thrivent Financial. The following churches also reside within the Arlington County Chapter:
By Carl Hoffman Faith Lutheran Church, with the support of Thrivent Financial, celebrated The National Day of Prayer with a prayer, praise and song observance on Thursday morning, May 6, 2004. A breakfast of danish, bagels, orange juice, and good old Lutheran coffee was served at 6:45 AM. Faith's Pastor, John Bradford, gave a short message on " Can one be a Patriot and a Christian at the Same Time." Bradford, a retired Marine Corps officer, now a Lutheran pastor, also led the attendees in prayers for our country, its leaders, and its soldiers. Faith Church thanks Thrivent Financial for its support and encouragement of this event.
By Marianne Hetzer Advent's first Care Abounds in Communities project for 2004 supports the A-SPAN (Arlington Street People's Assistance Network) bagged meal program. Once a month, Thrivent Financial members and friends gather to prepare 60 bagged meals for distribution to homeless folks in Arlington. Volunteers of all ages participate in this activity; the only requirement is clean hands! Congregational coordinators at Advent are recruiting new Thrivent members via personal letters of invitation. Recently, Chapter operating funds helped to purchase Thrivent Financial paper products and tickets to Luther: The Movie.
"To the Leadership Board of Thrivent's Arlington County Chapter: Thank you for your recent gift of $400 to Advent for our use in promoting Thrivent Financial within our congregation. A portion of these funds will be used to sponsor a social hour on Chapter Board election day in October. In addition, we have purchased Thrivent Financial merchandise to distribute to current and new members of Thrivent Financial."
By Marianne Hetzer Thrivent Financial members and friends of all ages celebrated Join Hands Day in June by assembling “Happy Hats” for critically ill children in Arlington hospitals. Two hat-making sessions were held on Sunday evenings: on the 13th at Our Savior Lutheran, and on the 20th at Faith Lutheran. A light supper was served at each event. “Happy Hats” kits were purchased (with funding from Thrivent Financial) from Glories/Happy HATS, Inc. a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting children suffering from serious illness, while promoting community service, especially among youth. Join Hands Day is a national volunteer service day, usually celebrated on the 1st Saturday in May -- although any day is a good day to Join Hands with friends of all ages to brighten the life of others.
In 2003, the Arlington County Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans had 834 members.
The Arlington County Chapter Leadership Board has been meeting monthly but will take a break for the summer. Thrivent Financial members are welcome to attend the next meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, September 20, 2004, 7:30 p.m., at Our Savior Lutheran Church.
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