VA Constitutional Amendment Vote on Redrawing Congressional Districts
Many Virginians may not yet be aware of an important development in our state government. Along party lines, the Virginia Democratic leadership in the General Assembly has advanced a referendum that would amend the state constitution to give lawmakers the authority to redraw congressional districts.
This move stands in sharp contrast to the will of VA voters just a few years ago. In 2020, roughly two-thirds of Virginians approved a constitutional amendment establishing an independent redistricting commission. The message then was clear: voters wanted to take map-drawing power out of the hands of politicians (Republican and Democrat alike) and ensure a fairer, more transparent process. Now, that decision is effectively being revisited.
If you’re looking to better understand what’s being proposed, we’re providing resources to help you make an informed decision – click the link below. These include voting times and locations for Loudoun and Fairfax counties, as well as side-by-side comparisons of the current and proposed congressional maps. You’ll also find background information and perspectives from both sides of the issue.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE INFO DOCUMENT
After careful consideration, we ask you to consider a “no” vote on this amendment. Early voting is already underway until April 18, and Election Day is Tuesday, April 21. Because this is a lower-profile election, turnout is expected to be lighter than usual, which means your vote carries even greater weight. Thank you for taking the time to stay informed, to pray, and to participate in this important decision.
Praying for Muslims During Ramadan
It’s estimated that nearly 2 billion Muslims fast and pray during the month of Ramadan. From dawn to dusk, Muslims fast from food and drink as they seek to draw closer to Allah, asking for forgiveness and cleansing from sin.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we have an incredible opportunity during this month to pray for Muslims around the world as they search for answers. While many are sincerely seeking mercy and peace, we know that true forgiveness and reconciliation is found in Jesus Christ alone.
Right here at RBC, each week our International Connection program welcomes Muslims from around the world to learn English. Not only do our ESL learners study English, but each week the Gospel of Jesus Christ is clearly shared in class.
As followers of Jesus, we have the privilege and responsibility to pray that Muslims would encounter Christ personally and enter into an eternal saving relationship with Him.
Many hearts are open and asking important spiritual questions. As followers of Jesus, we have the privilege and responsibility to pray that they would encounter Christ personally and enter into an eternal saving relationship with Him.
Please join us in praying for our Muslim ESL learners and for Muslims around the world during Ramadan.
The Jesus Film Project offers a helpful prayer guide if you are looking for specific ways to pray.
VA “Right to Reproductive Freedom” Amendment
VA Constitutional Amendments and House of Delegate Elections: The Virginia Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment is a proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution that would establish a right to “reproductive freedom,” defined as the “right to make and effectuate one’s own decisions about all matters related to one’s pregnancy.” By clicking on the link above, you can find the full text of the amendment, Senate Joint Resolution No. 247, House Joint Resolution 1, and the breakdown of the vote in each chamber.
The constitutional amendment process in Virginia requires four steps. Here’s the full process:
- A simple majority of both the state House and Senate approves an amendment.
- There must be an election for the state House (all 100 House seats are up for election this November.)
- A simple majority of both the state House and Senate approves an amendment for a second time. This attempt will be made in January or February of 2026.
- Voters decide on an amendment in a statewide election. It only requires a majority vote to be added to the state constitution. This would occur sometime in 2026 likely coinciding with next fall’s midterm federal elections.
The proposed amendments have all completed the first step. A governor cannot veto an amendment.
Currently, Virginia allows abortions into the third trimester, with restrictions. That will no longer be the case under this amendment. Babies who survive an abortion attempt will no longer have the legal protection of reasonable, life-saving care currently required by Virginia law. Abortionists will be legally allowed to deliver the baby and let it die on a medical table if it survives the abortion process. Further, rights of parents to know about or consent to their teenage daughters’ invasive abortion surgery will be eliminated.
“Reproductive Freedom” is an umbrella term not limited to women. Men, women, and minors would also have a right to sterilization and therefore “transgender” surgery. One of the other constitutional amendments is on codifying same-sex marriage. It is also destructive to our society, but for different reasons. Please vote for the delegate who will protect life. We will keep you posted as the process unfolds next year.
Loudoun County Special Elections
As Pastor Jim discussed during his series on “Christ in Culture,” we wanted to alert our body to an opportunity to be involved in our local elections. There are some critical moral issues to be decided by our local government authorities in a upcoming special elections that we can impact not only for our good, but for society’s well-being in general (Romans 13:1-4, 1 Peter 2:13-17.)
On Tuesday, January 7, 2025, a special election will be held in Loudoun County for Senate of Virginia, (District 32) and House of Delegates (District 26.) The stakes are exceptionally high, and will determine who holds the state senate majority until 2027 and whether the House of Delegates will require bi-partisan support to pass legislation. To further understand the implications and moral issues of those candidates running for District 32 State Senate—including the important topics of abortion/life, gender & sexuality, preventing boys from playing in girls’ sports and keeping boys out of girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms—Tumay Harding’s website is here and Kannan Srinivasan’s website is here. To understand the implications and moral issues of those candidates running for District 26 House of Delegates, Ram Venkatachalam’s website is here, and J.J. SIngh’s website is here.
Only residents of House District 26 and/or Senate District 32 are eligible to vote. To determine if you are eligible to vote visit the Loudoun Co. Government website. You can vote early through Saturday, January 4 at the Office of Elections in Leesburg or at Claude Moore and Dulles South Recreation Centers. There is no pre-application required. Otherwise, voters must vote at their assigned precinct on election day between 6:00 am – 7:00pm, January 7. The turnout will likely be very low. Your vote will matter.
Aiding Ukraine Together
A long-time RBC attender, Sandy Varney, was born in a barn while her parents fled from Ukraine during World War II. She would become a refugee in Germany then eventually immigrate to America. Eventually she would marry, practice dentistry and raise a family in Reston. In May of this year, Sandy went to Germany as a translator in a Ukrainian refugee camp. That became a springboard for a later trip into Ukraine where she met relatives, assessed urgent needs and found reliable on-the-ground organizations where the gospel of Jesus Christ would be spread in conjunction with delivering material needs.
As with all war, devastation and destruction leave people without adequate shelter and basic things for life. This is coupled with the mental and emotional trauma many experience. As a congregation, we have not forgotten about the needy and poor of Ukraine. Together, RBC recently supported a large purchase of sleeping bags that protect to -20 degrees. These bags will keep people in some targeted villages from freezing in their bombed-out homes. Generators were also purchased for churches so people can be fed and kept warm.
The generosity of the RBC congregation allows us to extend the love of Jesus to Ukrainians in need. Please continue to pray for an end to hostilities and for many to turn to Jesus Christ. Thank you for being a generous church. Below are some pictures of the villages where this aid was sent.
Elder Update on COVID – December 2020
Your Elders and the leadership of RBC have received much feedback from many of you representing various views on the issue of COVID-19 protocols at RBC. The majority of feedback surrounds the requirements currently in place to attend Sunday worship services. We are grateful for your guidance, trust and willingness to reach out with your thoughts, concerns, encouragement and prayers. In addition to much time spent in prayer and discussion, we have read many articles and listened to many talks and messages sent to us. As we and the pastors consider how best to care for you and fulfill our scriptural duties, we also prayerfully consider how our conduct when we gather may impact our local community, whom we are called to love and care for as an extension of Jesus’ love and care for us. In the case of COVID, it is not easy to know how best to do both. There are rational, but opposing, viewpoints that impact our decisions. There are scriptures we could quote that support various viewpoints. We have soberly considered these and the range of opinions within the larger medical community as well as from government agencies, non-government researchers and healthcare providers. We also heard from many of you, not only through our recent survey, but through many conversations and emails. Thank you for your patience with us. We are very grateful for your comments as well as the respectful and mature manner in which you have addressed us.
Sincerely, each time we remember you, we do so with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. You have endured, with continued generosity and hopefulness, a year of historic challenges to normal fellowship, discipleship activities and collective worship of the LORD Jesus Christ on Sundays. To paraphrase Paul, we give thanks to God for you since your faith in Christ still grows and the love of each of you for one another remains (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4).
After multiple meetings, much prayer, and careful dialogue about all pertinent issues, the Elders are in unanimous agreement that we intend to move to a “dual service” option: one requiring facemasks and social distancing, just as we have in place now at 9:00am, and one more relaxed protocols which alters the facemask and social distancing protocols at 10:45am. This “dual service” option would allow those within our body who hold differing convictions and preferences the option of attending a worship service in which they can better engage without concern or distraction.
While the elders are in agreement that we would like to move to a “dual service,” the question remains of when should this begin. It is not an issue of willingness, but of timing. We have concluded it will not be before 2021.
The natural questions that arise then are When in 2021? and What does it depend upon? While many considerations are factored into the decision, such as biblical principles of shepherding, the number of confirmed positive cases in our area, the ongoing impact on all of you, vaccine availability, etc., at this time there is a particular important factor that rises to the surface: What are the conditions of the two hospitals that serve most of our community and congregants (Reston Hospital Center and INOVA Loudoun Hospital)?
As of last week, the ICUs at both hospitals were at 92% capacity. This is much higher than during previous years at the same time. Reston Hospital’s COVID floor is 100% full with another ward now being used for overflow. All hospitals in the greater Northern VA area are experiencing staffing shortages and struggling to meet demand. Added to this are the negative trends of COVID-19 infections and the traditional increase of seasonal flu affecting the elderly and vulnerable.
Consequently, when we begin the dual service option in 2021, it will be strongly tied to better stability at our local hospitals. We will continue to monitor all factors and metrics at the beginning of every month starting in January, hoping for improved conditions so that we can move forward. We will keep you informed.
Thank you again for the good attitudes you have consistently demonstrated through these remarkably difficult months. You continue to fulfill what the Holy Spirit moved Peter to write in his first letter. “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind” (1 Peter 3:8).
As followers of our Savior LORD Jesus Christ, it is not unity on how to respond to COVID that we have been given. We have a better and deeper unity–the unity of “one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6). Thank you for your “eagerness to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). Thank you for months of sincere praying since the pandemic began in our region last March. We ask that you continue to pray for our LORD to bring many to salvation because of the present difficulties and to stabilize the circumstances at the hospitals. And also pray for us as we navigate many issues and together continue to know Christ and make him known here in Northern Virginia and around the world.
The Blessing DMV
The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord cause His face to shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His face to you, And give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26
Unity. It seems so out of reach these days. As we the Church continue to navigate these difficult days and push through the process of making challenging decisions in the wake of fear and division running rampant in our society, it’s easy to lose sight of our identity. It’s easy to gloss over the divine blessing that has been bestowed upon us, the Body of Christ, and the charge that we have been given to bless others out of the abundance of favor and good will that has been granted to us as the children of God, even in the hard times.
We must hold fast to the bonds that tie us together as children of the one true God. We must turn our eyes upon Jesus. We must earnestly abide in Christ. We must seek and find our rest in the midst of chaos in the hands of God who holds it all in his perfect will and sovereignty. From there, God will fill us up and send us out to impact the people around us with the love and light of Jesus. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).
Recently, several members of the RBC worship team had the opportunity to participate in a project called “The Blessing DMV,” a collaboration of many churches throughout the DC area coming together as the Body of Christ to pray for God’s peace, unity, blessing and favor over the Church and upon our city. As we sing The Blessing as a church family this weekend, it is our desire that we as the Body of Christ might sincerely appreciate both the gravity and the joy encompassed in these lyrics, pulled straight from scripture…and embrace the unity that they convey. We are ONE BODY. We are ONE CHURCH. We are a city on a hill: a light for all to see and know us by our love for one another and for others.
On COVID Precautions, Church Division & Romans 14
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. Romans 14:1
All of us are the weaker or stronger brother in different areas. Let’s not be dogmatic where there is no dog, but pursue unity as a fruit of corporate humility.
Keep God at the Forefront
Gathering looks different these days, but this is no time to put our sovereign Lord on hold or put him on the backburner. Keep Him at the forefront.
Continue readingCheck-In Survey Results (October 2020)
A couple weeks ago, the leadership of our church sent out an online survey to get feedback from our local body here at RBC. As we move into colder months, the weather impacts our ability to host outdoor ministry activities, so your feedback is very helpful as we consider how best to steward our ministries in this season. Within the next few weeks, you can expect to hear from the elders regarding any adjustments to our COVID requirements for indoor gatherings.
We do want to thank those of you who took time to fill out the survey. We estimate somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 of our congregation responded, and we are grateful for your feedback. As communicated when it was released, please note that the questions and responses in the survey are not indicative of any future leadership decisions on these matters. But because the issues at hand are complex and have implications for life and ministry in the body of RBC, it is very helpful to have heard from so many of you. Please continue to pray for our church leadership as we seek the Lord’s wisdom and discernment in faithfully caring for His bride. There are many factors, viewpoints and considerations to navigate, and we take none of it lightly. Yet, we have great hope and freedom, for the Good Shepherd whom we follow patiently reassures us His burden is easy and His yoke is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
For those within our body who are local, consider RBC your church home, and are experiencing significant financial or spiritual hardship in this season, we want to be able to care for you and minister to you. Please reach out to us.
FINANCIAL: If your household is experiencing financial difficulty, please reach out to our Deacon Ministry here. Our deacons are specifically-appointed men and women in our church commissioned to coordinate financial resources and assistance to meet the material needs of our congregation.
SPIRITUAL: If you are experiencing significant spiritual burden or you feel your walk with the Lord is suffering and you would like to speak with someone, please let us know by emailing us or calling the church offices at 703-404-5010. We would love to connect you to a pastor, elder or counselor here at RBC.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:9-10
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:6-11