Message from the Interim Pastor, Rev. Heidi Eickstadt
I am excited to serve at Christ Lutheran as your interim pastor. I felt God was calling me to be a pastor since the age of 10 but I wrestled with my call and with my faith for a long time. Looking back, I see God at work during that time, accompanying and guiding me through conversations, relationships and life experiences to a new understanding of God, my faith and myself. I am so grateful that God never stopped wanting to be in relationship with me and kept meeting me wherever I was in my journey. And I rejoice that my journey has brought me to Christ Lutheran!
I am originally from Iowa and am the oldest of four. I received my B.A. in Political Science from Luther College in 2003. I met my husband Ike at a wedding while he was in the Air Force and stationed in Dover, Delaware. We were married in October 2004. After his enlistment was up, Ike and I moved to Virginia in 2007 and I graduated from George Mason University with my M.A. in Political Science in 2010. I graduated from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in May 2017, where I earned a Master of Divinity degree. Ike is a federal contractor and is also studying for his B.A. in Communications at George Mason University. We enjoy sharing time together and with our dog and three cats.
I am grateful for the chance to serve God through our ministry here at Christ Lutheran. We are all called to be Jesus’ disciples who live out God’s love as a community of faith and in our daily lives out in the world. We are freed and forgiven in Christ, to love and serve God and each other. I am excited and passionate about equipping our congregation to be God’s hands and feet in the world, participating in God’s ways of love and relationship in our actions and being. I can’t wait to see how the Spirit will continue moving in our work together!
Pastor’s email address is: heickstadt@gmail.com
Our Congregation
I love this community! Christ Lutheran is a place of deep, caring and enduring relationships, oriented toward serving others and praising God. Following are the 5 best attributes of this community of faith. Come join us!
1) Worship
Reflecting our Lutheran heritage as “the singing church”, music at CELC adds to our worship experience through the rich tradition of liturgies, choral works, hymns, songs and instrumental music. As a congregation we participate joyfully during the service and are grateful and appreciative of our world-class organ. We value and foster the development and growth of our music ministry.
CELC provides opportunities for members of all ages and musical backgrounds to take part in celebrating through music. The adult choir and bell choir offer leadership and support during the Sunday services. The children’s choir, as well as vocal and instrumental soloists and ensembles join in regularly.
Our Christmas Eve and Easter Services especially give us the privilege of sharing all these musical gifts and talents in glorious worship. Music is a thread that binds us together, opening our hearts to a more meaningful spiritual experience.
2) Serving One Another
We believe strongly in Jesus’ exhortation to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty and welcome the stranger. As faithful followers of the Gospel, we believe that by serving others we are serving Christ.
Generous giving permeates life at Christ Lutheran, and as good stewards of our resources, our congregation serves each other as well as the wider community. With a relatively small congregation, as one member puts it, “it’s amazing how much we [the congregation] can do with so little.” In addition to visiting and bringing meals to shut-ins, preparing monthly meals for the homeless, giving gifts and food to needy families at holidays, providing housing for a family in crisis in our Christ House, and many other service projects, we provide food and shelter for homeless clients for one week each winter through the county-wide hypothermia shelter program. “Serving God by Serving Others” could very well be our banner.
3) Learning
Our congregation places a high priority on Christian education. Church is not only a place of prayer but also a vehicle of learning about the Word. Strong, life-long friendships formed within our membership foster faith. Visitors feel welcoming warmth from our congregation due to the genuine caring our members feel for one another. Educational opportunities include children’s and adult Sunday school, confirmation class, and other fellowship groups such as Bible study for all adult members during the week. We continue to expand our education with learning opportunities such as lifestyle courses, additional book discussion and fellowship groups, and Vacation Bible School. Our preschool extends our education to the community!
4) Living in Friendship
Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church (CELC) is known in the Northern Virginia community as a friendly and welcoming church.We greet newcomers and welcome new members with gratitude and genuine interest, and want to get to know you.
We are eager to include a wide variety of individuals from all age groups and cultures within the activities of our congregation. We cultivate and nurture lifelong friendships, kindred spirits, and human heart connections through a variety of large and small group activities.
We grow together spiritually in fellowship and community within our congregation, and, being nurtured in this way, we enter our broader communities as witnesses of our living faith.
5) Celebrating Together
Members and friends of our congregation enjoy celebrating major events together, such as baptisms, weddings, funerals, and confirmations, and also weekly at worship services and other gatherings we cherish throughout the church year. Our church family offers our talents and form joyful memories as we work together to improve and share our property. Other church celebrations include picnics and different fun night gatherings for adults and children.
As our loving God constantly showers us with Grace, our congregation responds with a celebration of joy and thanksgiving as we share our gifts of fellowship, faith, music, and service with each other and with the community in which we live. Join us!
The Staff of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church
Steven Beck – Director of Music Ministry
Our Director of Music Ministry is Steven Beck. Steve directs the adult choir for us on Wednesday nights at 7:15 p.m and children’s choir on Sunday mornings at 8:45 a.m. If you are interested in joining this choir please contact him at 703-273-4094 and leave a message with our church administrator.
Virginia H. Trygstad – Director of Education and Congregational Ministries and Director of the Christ Lutheran Preschool
Ginny grew up in Pittsburgh and moved with her family to NoVA in 1983. She joined Christ Lutheran that year and has been a member ever since. Her work here involves working in many aspects of the educational ministry: Sunday School, preschool and confirmation class. In addition, she helps to organize activities for the congregation and enjoys visiting with shut-ins and older members of the congregation.
Ginny’s email address is: preschool@fairfaxchristlutheran.org
Fernando Guzman & Esther Blond – Parish Custodians
Fernando Guzman & Esther Blond began work in November of 2019.
Connie E. Hepler – Church Administrator
Connie grew up in Harrisonburg, Virginia in beautiful Rockingham County. She moved to the area in 1983 to begin work with the U. S. Navy, after attending James Madison University.
Connie’s email address is christlutheranadmin@vacoxmail.com