church | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published June 12, 2014 at 9:15AM | Updated June 12, 2014 at 9:34AM

Flood Watch for D.C. Area — Arlington and the D.C. area is under a flood watch from noon today through later tonight. Another round of showers and thunderstorm with areas of heavy rain is expected today. [National Weather Service]

Bishop Attends School’s Last Mass — Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde attended the final school mass at St. Charles Borromeo Church last week. He “spoke to the palpable presence of both sadness and hope.” The school is closing due to low enrollment. The church’s pastor, meanwhile, is being transferred to another church against his will. [Arlington Catholic Herald]

Events

Arlington Church Hosts ‘Walk to Church Sunday’

By Ethan Rothstein

Published June 3, 2014 at 1:30PM | Updated June 3, 2014 at 1:47PM

Walk to Church day will be June 22, but those who want to participate can pick up T-shirts and pedometers next Sunday, June 15 in the lobby of the church’s building — it rents space in Thomas Jefferson Middle School, at 125 S. Old Glebe Road — before or after their service.

Building on the success of events like Walk and Bike to School Day, the church is promoting its event as “National Walk 2 Church Day.” While it’s trying to encourage other houses of worship to participate, it’s unclear whether any have joined in on the cause.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 15, 2014 at 8:45AM | Updated May 15, 2014 at 9:09AM

Shuttleworth Drops Out of Congressional Race — Arlington resident Bruce Shuttleworth has dropped out of the still-crowded race for Congress. There are now 7 candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to replace Rep. Jim Moran. Of those, 6 are from Alexandria and only Del. Patrick Hope is from Arlington. [Blue Virginia]

Garvey Phones It In, Literally — Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey, who was injured on Friday in a bicycle accident, voted and participated in Tuesday’s County Board meeting via phone. It’s the first time that has been done in Arlington — Virginia law only recently changed to allow board members to participate in meetings via phone in certain circumstances. [InsideNova]

Opinion

Morning Poll: Catholic Church Fires Gay Employee After Marriage Is Revealed

By ARLnow.com

Published April 8, 2014 at 10:00AM

As reported by the Washington Post, the 62-year-old was fired last summer from St. Agnes Catholic Church in Cherrydale — not because he’s gay, but because the pastor there found out he had gotten married to a man.

News of the firing has some in the community crying foul.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 18, 2014 at 9:00AM

Board to Consider $6.6 Million Homeless Shelter Contract — County staff is recommending that the Arlington County Board approve a $6.6 million contract for construction of the new year-round homeless shelter in Courthouse. The contract includes a $1.1 million construction contingency to cover overages. The contract is “within budget,” a county spokeswoman said. The new Homeless Services Center will include 50 year-round beds, 5 medical respite beds and an additional 25 beds for winter months. [Arlington County]

Hike in ART, STAR Fees Proposed — Arlington County Manager Barbara Donnellan has proposed a hike in fees for the county’s ART and STAR transportation systems. The base fare for ART buses would increase from $1.50 to $1.75 under Donnellan’s proposal. [Sun Gazette]

Opinion

Letter to the Editor: St. Charles School Closing Handled Poorly

By ARLnow.com

Published January 25, 2014 at 3:30PM

Last week, St. Charles Borromeo Church, near Clarendon, announced that it will be closing its private K-8 school after this school year.

Administrators say the decision is due to low enrollment — only 117 students are currently enrolled at the school, about half of its capacity. Still, parents are upset with the decision, and wondering whether anything could have been done to save the school.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published January 15, 2014 at 8:30AM | Updated January 15, 2014 at 11:08AM

Church to Drop K-8 School — St. Charles Borromeo Church, near Clarendon, has announced that it will be closing its private K-8 school after this school year due to low enrollment. Only 117 students are currently enrolled at the school, about half of its capacity. “No Catholic school can survive with such low numbers,” said the church’s pastor, in a letter to parents. The church will retain its popular preschool program. [Arlington Catholic Herald]

Surge in Students With Food Allergies — Statistics from Arlington Public Schools shows that the number of students with reported food allergies has nearly doubled since the 2008-09 school year. About 1,150 students, or 5 percent of the student body, have reported food allergies to the school system. [Sun Gazette]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published December 26, 2013 at 9:00AM

Church Ceiling Collapses in Nauck — On Sunday, just a few days before Christmas, part of the ceiling of the 1920s-era Lomax AME Zion church in Nauck collapsed. The collapse happened during Sunday services, forcing the choir to run for their lives, but miraculously no one was hurt. [NBC Washington, WUSA9]

Arlington Theater Makes ‘Best of 2013’ List — The AMC Courthouse movie theater, renovated in 2012, has made the Washington Post Going Out Guide’s “Best of 2013” list for “best reason to go to the movies.” The theater’s plush recliners are said to be “more comfortable than anything in your living room.” [Washington Post]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published December 12, 2013 at 9:30AM

Wreaths to Be Placed at Arlington Nat’l Cemetery — Wreaths will be placed on nearly 130,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday. Most of the wreaths are being made possible by a $250,000 donation from Google. [Washington Post]

Church Works to Package 100,000 Meals — More than 500 volunteers worked to package 100,000 non-perishable meals for hungry children around the world last week at Jefferson Middle School. The effort was organized by Grace Community Church. [Sun Gazette]

Around Town

Jewish Rocker-turned-Pastor Launches Arlington Church

By Ethan Rothstein

Published October 30, 2013 at 1:15PM

Maurer, 46, was raised Jewish, played in a rock band for five years in the mid-Atlantic region and worked in the D.C. tech industry for 10 years before deciding to join the ministry.

West City Fellowship, which is a nondenominational Christian church, held its first official service Sunday morning in a lecture hall at Wakefield High School, where it will continue to hold weekly services at 10:30 a.m.

Events

Pets to be Blessed this Weekend

By Ethan Rothstein

Published October 3, 2013 at 12:30PM | Updated October 3, 2013 at 12:55PM

Saturday, from 2:00 to 2:30 p.m., St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church will hold blessings for pets on the grassy area at the Clarendon intersection of Fairfax Drive, Washington Blvd and Clarendon Blvd, next to Northside Social. The service is being held in honor of medieval animal lover St. Francis of Assisi, and “Catholic and non-Catholic pets and people are welcome,” according to the event announcement.

On Sunday, the Rock Spring Congregational UCC will hold its own Blessing of the Animals, at 3:00 p.m. The service will be held on the church’s lawn at 5010 N. Little Falls Road. Visitors are encouraged to “come with the pets who share their life with us.”

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published September 18, 2013 at 8:45AM

Prayer Vigil for Navy Yard Victims — St. George’s Episcopal Church in Virginia Square will be holding a 40 minute prayer vigil and candle lighting for victims of the Navy Yard mass shooting tonight. [ARLnow Events]

Va. Is Test State for Gun Data Sharing — Virginia is a test state for a nationally-linked system that will share information on guns used in crimes across law enforcement agencies. The system is intended to skirt federal law that prevents the sharing of federal gun trace information. As of Monday, twenty-five Virginia law enforcement agencies had signed on to the program. The Arlington County Police Department was not on that list. [Richmond Times-Dispatch]