(Updated at 11:55 a.m.) Two years ago, Grace Community Church held its meetings at the Thomas Jefferson Middle School auditorium.
Now, it is hosting big acts in contemporary Christian music at its new home in Ballston Quarter, which seats 500 people.
Next week, Grammy-award-winning artist Steven Curtis Chapman, a fixture on Christian radio for decades, will be making a stop at the church for a sold-out show.
On March 20, Colton Dixon and Jordan Feliz — two ascendant artists whose recent singles and albums have topped Billboard charts for contemporary Christian music — will perform “in this most intimate setting of their entire tour.”
It is a big shift for the church, which bounced between TJ and Key Elementary School before settling into the second floor of the mall, across from the art gallery, wine bar and restaurant WHINO one year ago this month.
Moving into the space drove a 30% attendance bump but the concerts, which started in September, put Grace Community Church on the map, says Pastor John Slye, Jr.
“We were a decent-sized church of 1,000-ish people before we had our space, but people didn’t know who we were,” he said. “But now, they know who we are. The concerts have given us awareness, for sure, and that’s fun.”
Slye had always envisioned using the new digs for concerts but he credits his son Jonathan — who owns a prominent national rock festival — for having the connections to book these acts and other big names. The church previously hosted singer-songwriter David Crowder and has concerts booked with rapper LeCrae, the band Big Daddy Weave and American Idol star Danny Gokey.
“We’re thrilled to have this,” says Pastor Slye. “There’s no way we could’ve done it without his skills and what he knows.”
With the recognition has come the opportunity to take on other types of events, too. Grace Community Church recently put on a worship night that drew people from 200 churches in the D.C. area and hosted a mixer for young professionals that spilled over into WHINO across the way.
With seats for 500, Slye says Grace Community Church is full but capacity is only an issue for larger events and concerts. As a result, future events might make use of other spaces in the mall. The church is in talks with a local radio station to host a singles event in the public outdoor space outside the Ballston Quarter food hall and has discussed the possibility of co-hosting a larger event at the MedStar Capitals Iceplex upstairs.
“We have no desire to make Grace the hero: We just want to see the space bring people together because this is a lonely place, and community is healthy for us, mentally, spiritually and physically,” Slye said. “People just want to make friends and make community. We want to rally around that, big time.”
The pastor and his wife both grew up in Arlington and attended the schools where later, their church would meet before moving into Ballston Quarter. They knew early on that their son loved music but never imagined their then 5-year-old, dancing and playing music in their sparse living room, would one day make his dad’s church into something of a regional hub.
“I had no idea that the seeds of this started way back then,” he said. “I can’t even clap on beat.”
Photos via Grace Community Church/Facebook
A custom stone cross was lifted into place on the Cathedral of St. Thomas More along Arlington Blvd this week.
To celebrate the placement of this feature, the highest point of the structure, the Diocese of Arlington held a “capping ceremony.”
“Bishop [Michael] Burbidge blessed the cross and construction personnel, asking God to continue protecting them throughout their work, and invited them to a luncheon as a gesture of his gratitude for their devoted work,” said Billy Atwell, the chief communications officer for the diocese.
The new cross is one of many changes coming to the structure at 3901 Cathedral Lane, also home to a school. A suburban parish church retrofitted to serve as a cathedral, the house of worship is undergoing a year-long renovation project to better signal its status as the “mother church” for a half-million Northern Virginia Catholics and the seat of their bishop.
Atwell says the project started on time and will be completed before the altar is dedicated on Sept. 5.
Workers first repaired and replaced infrastructure systems such as heating and air conditioning. Since then, all interior walls have been repainted and a new marble floor for the sanctuary was installed.
“The exterior stonework is nearing completion, which already gives the cathedral a completely new appeal for those visiting or driving by the church,” Atwell said. “New stained-glass windows are being installed, and new liturgical furnishings, including an altar and a tabernacle, will be set into place.”
Meantime, craftsmen have been carving some dozen statues that will celebrate the multicultural communities within the diocese. The project, including the custom cross, was designed by Arlington-based sacred architecture firm O’Brien and Keane Architecture.
Atwell confirmed the project remains within budget, which includes the $15.3 million estimated for materials, construction, engineering and architectural costs.
“Bishop Burbidge has kept his commitments to ensure all donor gifts received were beyond their normal contributions to their parish, the diocese and Catholic Charities, that no debt would be incurred, and that no funds are being drawn from parish or diocesan accounts, including offertory and the Bishop’s Lenten Appeal.”
The cathedral renovations were timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Diocese of Arlington, established in 1974. The diocese will undertake charitable works, still being discussed, and host three events to honor the project’s completion and the milestone anniversary.
First up is a Diocesan Jubilee Fest on June 8 at the Warren County Fairgrounds, boasting a Marian procession, Mass, games, music, rides and a fireworks show. Next, the renovated cathedral will be dedicated during a Mass on Sept. 5 unveiling the changes and celebrating the Golden Jubilee. Lastly, there will be a pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in D.C. on Oct. 5, presided over by Pope Francis’ emissary to U.S. bishops.
Development plans for St. Charles Catholic Church in Clarendon have descended into planning purgatory.
The brick church, which occupies a large piece of land near Northside Social and George Mason University’s Arlington campus, has assembled plans to redevelop the property with a new church building and parish center, affordable housing and underground parking.
Progress was continuing apace. As of December 2023, members of a special committee — of the pastor, diocesan representatives, parishioners and other stakeholders — holding discussions with the development partner, LCOR, and hammering out financial planning details, according to an update that was removed from the website this week.
Now, the church is taking a break due to current economic conditions, Fr. Don Planty, the church’s pastor, confirmed to ARLnow yesterday evening (Thursday).
“The rise in interest rates over the last year negatively impacted our developer’s financing capabilities — as it did for residential and commercial real estate projects everywhere,” he said in a statement. “We have suspended the project to evaluate our options or until financial conditions in the real estate sector improve.”
The idea to redevelop has been in the works for a few years now. The church filed conceptual plans in November 2022 proposing a 429-unit apartment building with a courtyard in the center, a rooftop pool and ground-floor amenities. The church will be connected to the parish center, with meeting rooms and an event space, by cloistered gardens.
Parking, currently on Fairfax Drive, would have moved underground and an alley would connect the church and apartment building. Fairfax Drive was slated to be redesigned as a walkable plaza, with a new “West End Plaza” located in front of the church on a county-owned parcel.
But these plans may not lie dormant forever.
“It is absolutely our intent to redevelop the site — it is simply a matter of when,” Planty said. “We will continue to pray that with a new and more beautiful parish site, we can more effectively continue our mission to bring the Good News of Jesus to the heart of Arlington and serve our community.”
St. Charles is situated among several other development proposals — from planning to construction — that are poised to significantly change the neighborhood. In response to all the planned development activity, the county updated the Clarendon sector plan to include a study of this subsection.
Other projects include the Silver Diner/The Lot, Joyce Motors, Wells Fargo/Verizon and YMCA sites, as well as George Mason University.
GMU broke ground on its $235 million expansion project, dubbed FUSE at Mason Square at 3351 Fairfax Drive two years ago and is set to finish construction by the end of 2025.
Last year, the Arlington County Board approved the Joyce Motors project, replacing the automotive shop with an 11-story apartment building with ground-floor retail that preserves the building’s historic façade. It also approved the Silver Diner project, which will see a new hotel and apartment building replace the restaurant, The Lot beer garden, two brick structures called “The Doctors Building,” an auto repair facility and surface parking.
The Wells Fargo project has not yet advanced to Planning Commission or County Board review and the YMCA project is still under an earlier county review process.
A new development with affordable apartments, a church and childcare, across from the Ballston Metro station, is set to debut early next year.
Nearly two years ago, Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing broke ground on the long-delayed, $84 million project to replace the old Central United Methodist Church building at 4201 Fairfax Drive with an 8-story building with 144 committed affordable units.
Dubbed Ballston Station, the project received $19 million from the county’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund and $9 million from an Amazon-funded state housing grant. Approved in 2017, APAH took over in 2019 and received a construction extension until it could get started.
As of now, construction is 88% complete, APAH Senior Project Manager Ryan Nash tells ARLnow. The project is on schedule and on track to finish next January.
Work has turned to the final finishes within each unit, such as flooring, but other site work — such as sidewalks — remains as well, he said.
“We’ll open right after we’re done and right after we get our certificate of occupancy,” he said.
The project had to weather increasing construction costs — including sky-rocketing lumber prices — as well as high interest rates, Nash said.
“It was day-to-day watching lumber prices,” he says. “Other supply chain issues remain: a big thing these days is electrical switchgear and appliances, but we timed it well and got things procured and ordered in time so it wouldn’t impact our schedule.”
APAH has a list of prospective residents who could move in as soon as the occupancy certificate is inked, said Nash, projecting the building could be fully leased by June.
Future tenants, who mostly reside in Arlington right now, range from those in affordable housing to those leaving “rapidly disappearing” market-rate affordable units, he said.
“Because it’s so close to Ballston Metro, and has a low parking ratio, it will be catered toward residents who would have a car-free diet,” he said.
Ballston Station will have a mix of one- and two-bedroom units. There will be 15 units for people earning up to 30% of the area median income (AMI), with 60 units for those earning 50% AMI or less and 69 at 60% AMI.
The church, meanwhile, will have a series of celebration events starting with Easter on March 31, says Rev. Sarah Harrison-McQueen.
“In the weeks after Easter, we’ll have a variety of open houses and mission events to culminate with a building dedication worship service,” she told ARLnow.
The CUMC congregation currently meets at a church in the Arlington Forest neighborhood. When it returns to Ballston, it will have a revamped church space with a dedicated commercial kitchen to support its food distribution ministry, providing hot breakfast, lunch and groceries, medical care and referrals to more than 200 people.
The childcare provider, Kinhaven School, is set to open next spring with capacity for 115 children — a significant increase from the 67 permitted in the original building, says Director Amy Hitchcock.
Kinhaven School was co-located with CUMC for nearly 50 years until 2017, when construction on the new development was initially expected to start.
It relocated to St. George’s Episcopal Church in Virginia Square and the school now plans to keep that location for a half-day preschool serving 2- to 5-year old children. The Ballston Station location will enroll infants through school-aged children.
“The Ballston Station project is exciting as each of the three partners contributes to Arlington’s vitality: APAH and its stellar approach to housing; CUMC’s commitment to addressing food insecurity as a lived mission of their faith; and Kinhaven’s pledge to participate in the Virginia Child Care Subsidy program and offer non-traditional hours to support working families,” Hitchcock said.
(Updated at 12 p.m. on 10/10/23) A church in Clarendon could be redeveloped with senior housing, pending the outcome of a forthcoming county land-use study.
Over the last year, Clarendon Presbyterian Church and Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, or APAH, have been developing plans to tear down the 75-year-old church at 1305 N. Jackson Street and build a 92-unit affordable apartment building for seniors 55 or 62 and older.
The church would move into a new 8,000-square-foot space in the building, with design elements and programming specifically geared toward LGBTQ seniors, says Pastor Alice Tewell. The Clarendon Child Care Center — which a parent co-op board runs from the church — would also move in and have space for up to 58 children. It has that capacity now but currently serves 40.
The process is in its early stages. This summer, Clarendon Presbyterian and APAH asked the county to embark on a special General Land Use Plan (GLUP) study to determine if the property can be redesignated from “semi-public” to “low-medium residential.”
The county granted the request and scheduled a “Tier 1” review to begin later this fall, though no meetings have been scheduled. In this stage, the Long Range Planning Committee would review whether it is appropriate to consider the property for a new land use designation.
Removing the “semi-public” designation would lay the groundwork for this project, located a 5-minute walk from the Clarendon Metro station. The project would require rezoning, too, as the site is zoned for single-family homes — and now 2-6 unit homes, with the approval of ‘Missing Middle’ changes.
The church is located next to older garden style apartments and new, market-rate apartments.
If the Arlington County Board approves the designation change, the church and APAH would then file a site plan application subject to public review. It will be a few years before the duo has the approvals they need to obtain financing from federal tax credits and commercial, local and state loans, says Tewell.
Should all this happen on schedule, the church could open its new doors in 2029 or 2030 after a two-year construction period. That means a few more years in a church building that is too big and too old to serve the congregation and community effectively, according to the pastor.
“Our current building of nearly 75 years — built for 450 people and now serving a congregation of less than 80 — is literally falling apart with massive annual repair costs, and we will soon no longer have the resources to maintain it and continue serving the Clarendon community unless we redevelop and create a new and much smaller worship space for the congregation,” Tewell said.
The congregation identified the need to redevelop in 2021 and a year later voted to work with APAH, she said.
During this time, the church sunk more than $100,000 into HVAC, electric and plumbing maintenance, according to a letter to Arlington County. The letter foretells the church moving, possibly from Arlington, in five to 10 years if the expenses continue to mount with no redevelopment option.
Should the church leave, it says, childcare, community programming and monthly food and toiletry drives would go with it, and would be “a sore loss for the entire Arlington community.”
But not everyone is on board. A petition to “save” the church and “preserve our residential neighborhood” has north of 640 signatures to date.
There is a brick, mid-century Catholic church that overlooks Arlington Blvd from a hill, adorned with three stained glass arches and a white cross.
Built to serve a parish, it was repurposed in the mid-1970s and christened the Cathedral of St. Thomas More. Its exterior today belies the building’s significance as the “mother church” for nearly a half-million Catholics across Northern Virginia and the seat of their bishop, Michael Burbidge.
The Arlington diocese says now, in honor of its 50th anniversary, is the time to make the church in the Buckingham neighborhood — which also operates a school — look the part.
In April, work began on a year-long project to transfigure the building, updating the interior and exterior and installing new stained glass windows and liturgical furnishings.
“When the Diocese of Arlington was established in 1974, there was no pre-existing cathedral to serve the needs of the newly-formed diocese,” Billy Atwell, the chief communications officer for the diocese, said. “As such, a parish church was chosen and retrofitted as best as possible to meet those needs.”
“As we approach our 50th anniversary in 2024, it is an appropriate time to undertake this project to help the Cathedral of St. Thomas More better reflect its dignity as the mother church of the more than 433,000 registered Catholics in the Diocese of Arlington,” he continued.
The new church at 3901 Cathedral Lane will have a Tudor-style façade that will be a nod to the church’s patron saint, St. Thomas More, who lived at the turn of the 16th century in England.
A permit filed with Arlington County indicates the project is estimated to cost $15.3 million.
It is completely paid for by donors “who agreed to give beyond their current contributions to their parishes, the Diocese and Catholic charitable efforts,” Atwell said.
“Bishop Burbidge had three essential principles for funding the cathedral renovation project which have all been achieved: that no debt would be incurred, no assessments would be taken from any parish and that there would be no capital campaign for this project,” he said.
After going through county approval processes in late July 2022, and receiving a permit in late October, demolition work began in mid-April. The project is set to wrap up next summer.
The church will get the following upgrades, according to permits filed with Arlington County:
- new stained glass windows
- two twin belfries at the south façade
- a Tudor-style exterior
- a new cupola, or small dome
- new roofing
- a renovated raised sanctuary platform with a ramp for greater accessibility
- new liturgical furnishings, such as a cathedra or bishop’s seat
- a renovated shrine
- a refurbished choir loft
The project was designed by Arlington-based sacred architecture firm O’Brien and Keane Architecture.
From N. Glebe Road, travelers will be able to see a rose-patterned stained glass window. Imbued with scripture references, the diocese hopes the window inspires passers-by “to seek its deeper meaning in their lives,” according to the diocesan newspaper, The Arlington Catholic Herald.
Inside, there will be stained glass images of the saints for whom churches throughout the diocese are named, as well as devotional shrines to saints from the numerous cultures and communities represented in the diocese, the Catholic Herald said.
“Behind each statue will be stained-glass windows that tell the story of that saint’s life,” Atwell wrote in the article. “The cathedral will exemplify both the oneness and the diversity of the diocese — that our one body has indeed many parts.”
Following the cathedral renovation, also in honor of its 50th anniversary the diocese will conduct a capital campaign for charitable works, Atwell told ARLnow.
A local preschool operating in North Arlington church will soon shut its doors — but another childcare center is already lined up to replace it.
Overlee Preschool, a cooperative, parent-led school out of the Church of the Covenant (2666 Military Road) will close next month. Children’s Weekday Program — currently operating out of Redeemer Church of Arlington in the Alcova Heights neighborhood — will take over.
Founded in the 1940s by a group of mothers, Overlee Preschool is closing after reduced enrollment complicated by Covid. The school weathered the pandemic by moving fully outdoors.
“We are very sad to be closing the doors of an organization that has played such a significant role in the lives of many, many Arlington families,” school president Melissa Farrar told ARLnow.
“The times, however, have changed, and the fully cooperative model — which requires every family to spend time in the classroom and have a school ‘job’ — has been more difficult to market to local families, who have a multitude of competing pressures on their time,” she continued.
Farrar thanked the teachers, particularly Louisa Stetekluh, who taught for more than 20 years and is “the beating heart” of the school.
“Her charisma, depth of experience, and gentle and respectful connection with our children has drawn family after family to Overlee,” she said. “It is impossible to speak of Overlee’s successes and what makes us special without mentioning her in the same breath.”
If there is a silver lining here, she says, it is that another preschool will replace Overlee.
“While our story is coming to an end, we will be glad to still hear the laughter of children on the playground as we walk by, and we wish the incoming tenant every success and growth in the coming years,” Farrar said.
Children’s Weekday Program intends to more than double the number of children for whom it can care. It has applied for a use permit to serve up to 71 children — a 136% increase over the 30 children Overlee Preschool was permitted to serve. The Arlington County Board is scheduled to approve the permit during its meeting this Saturday.
“We are really excited about the new space and look forward to moving into the building in August,” Children’s Weekday Program announced on its website. “CWP’s doors will open in September 2023 for Meet the Teacher events prior to the first day of school.”
Registration is ongoing for new and returning families, per the website.
County staff says the site can accommodate this proposed capacity increase with two indoor and outdoor play areas, divided up based on age, and a proposed staffing level of 16 employees. The program will operate on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The report says approval is recommended because the new school will not have negative impacts on the neighborhood, and the local civic associations either support it or have expressed no issue with it.
Arlington has long had a childcare shortage problem and the tight demand helped childcare programs survive the pandemic. The county has tried to encourage more daycare centers by loosening zoning regulations and helping people find options via a website and provider map.
A church featuring a 500-person capacity auditorium is about to open at Ballston Quarter mall.
Grace Community Church, which had previously been holding services at Arlington’s Thomas Jefferson Middle School, is planning a grand opening at Ballston Quarter this coming Sunday, March 19.
The new space is located on the second floor of the mall, near Macy’s, and will also soon include a childcare center, the church said in a press release.
Grace’s Pastor John Slye, Jr. called the new space — which ARLnow first reported on last January — “a safe place to explore faith and to ask questions.”
“We have been able to design a space that is unique and fits perfectly with the unique calling that God gave us,” Slye said in a video message.
As of this (Friday) morning, work was still underway on the church’s expansive, window-lined lobby. The overall space, across from WHINO restaurant, is 23,280 square feet.
More, below, from the church’s press release.
Grace Community Church has moved from Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Arlington, VA to Ballston Quarter. A newly customized space on the second level near Macy’s contains an auditorium that seats 500 people and a children’s ministry for ages 0-6th grade. Grace also has youth groups for middle and high school students and space for community classes.
Grace Community Church has been serving the Arlington community for over 20 years. This move brings Grace right to the heart of the city. Grace has a strong focus on compassion and justice initiatives, creating an engaging Sunday environment that is welcoming to all, and providing opportunities to connect and engage with others. The new space will also become home to a childcare center and many concerts, events and service opportunities for the community.
Services are held on Sundays at 9:00, 10:15 and 11:30am. Grace is celebrating its grand opening on Sunday, March 19 by giving away Ted’s Tarts from Ted’s Bulletin.
Sally Diaz-Wells, who coordinates the food pantry at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Arlington, just got the weekly egg bill.
It was $2,000, which makes up nearly 20% of the church’s weekly budget of $12,000 for purchasing food for distribution.
Arlington Food Assistance Center CEO Charles Meng says the wholesale price for a dozen eggs in January 2021 was $0.98. This month, AFAC paid $4.45 per dozen. Overall, food prices are up 35% for AFAC, which is already over its $1.3 million budget by $160,000.
The uptick in food prices, driven largely by inflation, is squeezing local food and meal distributors, which are at the same time seeing more Arlington residents come, and come more often, for free food. Inflation again is to blame for this, as clients report their earnings are covering less of their grocery bills, local food assistance providers said during an Arlington Committee of 100 panel on hunger held Wednesday.
“These numbers are not pandemic-related numbers,” Meng said. “These are numbers related to the basic need in Arlington, plus the burdens based on our families by inflation in particular.”
Providers say this is hitting the working poor the worst.
“This group comes to us when they need us, once or twice a month,” Meng said. “When their other benefits start running out, they’ll come to us more often.”
They tend to come after paying for other necessities like rent, utilities and medical expenses, says Stephanie Hopkins, the food security coordinator for Arlington County Department of Human Services.
“We find that people spend their available income on rent, utilities and medical expenses, and other bills, and if there’s enough money to pay for food, they will pay for their own food,” she said. “If there’s not enough money, that’s when they lean on food assistance network.”
More families who otherwise would be able to pay are leaning on Arlington Public Schools for meals, too, says Amy Maclosky, the director of the Office of Food and Nutrition Services for APS.
“Student meal debt has increased a lot this year and it has increased for paying students,” Maclosky said. “Every student is entitled to a free breakfast and lunch, whether they have the funds or not, but they do incur debt. Our debt is up $300,000 right now among people who do not qualify for free or reduced but aren’t able to pay.”
The rising need for food assistance needs comes as Arlington County is preparing to launch this month a Food Security Coalition tasked with implementing some two dozen strategies for tackling hunger.
Food insecurity affects about 7% of Arlington residents — 16,670 people — says Hopkins. It disproportionately affects people of color: 53% and 20% of AFAC clients are Hispanic or Latino and Black, respectively, while comprising 16% and 9% of the county’s population.
Food insecurity can mean “‘I’m worried that my food will run out before I have enough money to get more,’ to ‘I have zero food in my house,” Hopkins said. “We know there are people on both ends of that spectrum in Arlington and people journey that spectrum all the time.” Read More
Police are investigating an indecent exposure incident that happened in the Tara-Leeway Heights neighborhood on Christmas Eve.
According to an Arlington County Police Department crime report, a man pulled his pants down and exposed himself to a woman after trying to engage her in conversation. Police were called and he fled the area.
The incident happened on the afternoon of Dec. 24, on the 1600 block of N. Inglewood Street. There are a pair of churches on that block, in addition to a handful of single-family homes.
From the crime report:
INDECENT EXPOSURE, 2022-12240125, 1600 block of N. Inglewood Street. At approximately 1:34 p.m. on December 24, police were dispatched to the report of an exposure. Upon arrival, it was determined the victim was inside the building when the unknown male suspect approached her and attempted to engage her in conversation. The suspect then left the area and returned a short time later with his pants down and exposing himself. The victim was able to safely exit the building and returned a short time later to find the suspect was no longer in the area. The suspect is described as a white male with a thin build, approximately 5’7″ – 5’9″ with a bald head. No injuries were reported. The investigation is ongoing.
Police would not provide any additional details about the incident and would not say whether it happened inside a church.
“There are no additional details to share beyond what is included on the daily crime report,” an ACPD spokeswoman said in response to questions from ARLnow. “The investigation into the incident is ongoing.”
Scanner traffic at the time suggests that the man was in his 30s and that the incident took place at the LDS church.
(Updated at 4 p.m.) Two weeks before Christmas, someone has apparently stolen a nativity scene from a church in the Barcroft neighborhood.
But the pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church (825 S. Taylor Street), Wayne Fredericksen, is turning the other cheek.
“My focus is fresh hope and fresh encouragement,” he said. “This is where my head and heart are going, to remind us of the Bible story and see how it provided hope and encouragement before the birth and also still for us today.”
He was still processing the news when ARLnow spoke with him Monday morning. Fredericksen says he wished whoever stole the scene, if the intent was to resell, would instead connect with the resources that the church support, including Path Forward, Bridges to Independence and Arlington Food Assistance Center.
“Since we don’t know the circumstances or the situation, we wish the best for that person,” he said. “We’re sad they thought that was an action we thought was good for them. We wish them good in other ways and we move forward in forgiveness.”
Police were called but do not have much to go on at this point.
“Between December 11 at 12 a.m. and December 12 at 12 a.m., the unknown suspect(s) stole an outdoor nativity set,” Arlington County police spokeswoman Ashley Savage told ARLnow via email. “There is no suspect(s) description. The investigation is ongoing.”
Fredericksen called the loss of the scene, which was a gift to the church, “disappointing.” He says the decoration contributes to the communal celebration of Christmas and reminds people to support the ministerial work of houses of worship as well as local nonprofits that help people in need.
“It can feel overwhelming, but when you see how many people are at work trying to do good, it doesn’t take a lot to come alongside and support in some way, whether it’s with a gift, or a gift of time,” Fredericksen said.