Legacy Gift from Bethel United Church of Christ

For eighty-some years in Arlington, VA, the church with the red doors on Arlington Boulevard marked a place of welcome to the neighborhood. Bethel United Church of Christ was founded as a mission church of what was then known as Concordia Evangelical and Reformed Church in Washington, DC, and mission remained woven into its identity. The church was founded in October of 1941 as the suburb of Arlington was growing. As the church prepared to break ground and build, the United States entered World War II, and the building was postponed. The community, however, was not; Bethel worshiped together despite the challenges.

Stained Glass from the front of the church

Bethel saw neighbors everywhere: next door and across the globe. Each generation brought its own service to the congregation, beginning with famous turkey dinners for those soldiers stationed at Arlington Hall during World War II that both helped raise money to build the sanctuary after the war and to provide a community for those serving. The congregation invested in the Arlington community through local organizations like the Arlington Food Assistance Center, beginning with bagging groceries and then supporting AFAC financially. Through relationships of the pastors over the years, Bethel was instrumental in the creation of both a school in Uganda and a medical clinic in a small town in El Salvador. 

Stained glass at the rear of the church

Bethel believed in mission close to home, too. One Sunday morning a neighbor knocked on the church door before worship, desperate for help as they were being evicted from their apartment close by. The sheriff’s officers were emptying all their possessions out onto the parking lot. The congregation, not content to sit by and watch, jumped into action. Everyone who was able to help went to the parking lot, picked up boxes and furniture, and carried them into Bethel’s fellowship hall, ensuring that no matter what happened, this neighbor would not lose everything. 

At Bethel, All Saints Sunday was a special day. On All Saints Day, we honor the lives of those who have gone before, who have shaped us individually and as a community of faith. In worship, just before the Lord’s Supper, names would be read aloud of members and friends who passed away during the previous year, and as the names were read, a pastor would light a candle on the altar for each person. The great cloud of witnesses, embodied in the light of the candles, surrounded members as they shared the bread and cup. 

All Saints Day at Arlington Church of the Brethren

As Arlington grew, the church faced issues of adapting the property to the modern era, with challenges like finding enough parking on Sunday mornings, and in 2018 the congregation moved in with Arlington Church of the Brethren nearby. And with time came the same challenges that many congregations are facing: fewer people joining worship on Sunday mornings, fewer still available to help manage the life of an active congregation, finding a new pastor in a time when many are retiring. 

Easter 2018 at Bethel UCC

Although the congregation had to make the difficult choice to cease worshiping together, it was obvious that Bethel would live on in the decisions they made about how to move forward. The saints of the past and neighbors of the future would be woven together through the Bethel legacy committee’s distributions of financial assets.

In choosing how to distribute the assets, the legacy committee kept Bethel’s expansive understanding of “neighbor” in mind. Gifts were given to those partnerships the church had maintained through its history, as well as to association and denominational bodies that had supported the church over time. With the sale of the church property, the legacy committee was able to make significant contributions to these organizations, allowing the congregation to be committed to looking to the future of the church and the work of God in the world.

As part of this commitment to joining God’s work wherever it can be found, Bethel’s legacy committee made a gift of $75,000 to Invested Faith. This gift will ensure that even more Fellows are able to grow their social enterprises, bringing connection and community to places near and far from Arlington, VA. 

One part of this community’s life together has ended, yet Bethel is still here, in the investments of time, connection, and financial contributions. Bethel is here in the education of a child at the school in Uganda. Bethel is here in the cans of tuna feeding a family in Arlington. Bethel is here in each and every Invested Faith Fellow who, thanks to Bethel’s legacy gift, is able to invest back in their own community. And we know that the great cloud of witnesses remains with all who have received because Bethel gives. 

Thank you to Peter Rich of Bethel for sharing Bethel’s beautiful history to enable us to tell their story.