Restoration Anglican Church – Vestry Candidates Cameron Doolittle
Elizabeth Boesen
Carolyn and I finally realized what you have realized, “We are home.” Restoration’s authentic community and vibrant godliness grip us and draw us closer to Jesus.
In my mid-30s, after much spiritual searching, I was invited to The Falls Church, where I heard teaching that stirred my heart, felt loved by an intergenerational community, and began poring over God’s Word. It soon became clear that I could not save myself, and I begged my Maker to forgive me for trying to do so for so long. My prayer since then has been that the Lord would show me how to live abundantly and to rest in Him, and in so many ways He has answered that prayer!
I grew up – and found Jesus – in an Oregon church plant. Early on, God ignited a passion for the lost, leading me to Wheaton College and Stanford, where He brought twenty men in my fraternity into His family. I landed in DC as a Hill staffer and met Carolyn in 2000. I ostensibly went to UC-Berkeley for my JD/MBA, but really I was following Carolyn! We now have four children: Grace (4), Christiana (3), Hewson (1), and Sandhana (in theaters October 28). Professionally, God made my mind for business. I’ve launched two new businesses at my company and am now turning around a struggling business unit. Since 2007, I have served on the board of Every Generation Ministries, which focuses on training Sunday School teachers around the world. My hope for Restoration starts in our own home. Carolyn and I are building a home in Falls Church that we hope will become your family room – a place where you feel comfortable stopping by for dinner, where your face is familiar, and where your prayers are on our prayer list. I believe three opportunities will define Restoration’s next season: > Maintaining Intimacy as We Grow. > Supporting Our Pastor and Staff. > Turning Our Community Outward. I am excited to navigate these opportunities with you, whether a member of our vestry or not!
Contact Info:
[email protected] 202.701.451 1815 N Quincy St, Arlington, VA 22207 – http://restorationarlington.org - 10/24/09
As Alpha was central to my conversion, I then led several Alpha small groups. Later, I spent three years as a CS Lewis Institute Fellow and underwent an extended period of soaking prayer, which led to deep healing that continues. The spiritual disciplines have helped me to know Jesus better, as have listening to what He says about marriage and parenting, walking in transparency with other believers, and spending time in nature. I would bring to the vestry a passion for outreach and discipleship, as well as (I am told) gifting in teaching, prayer, and hospitality. As a parent, I care deeply about Restoration’s youth. I also have 19 years of strategy and communications experience in non-profits, much of which has been with “start-up” organizations. I pray that Restoration becomes an ever-more vibrant witness for the radical parts of the gospel, that we would be a prayerful beacon of generosity, diversity, and gospel hope for the community around us.
Contact Info:
[email protected] 703.546.8280 (home) 703.965.7971 (mobile) 1
Restoration Anglican Church – Vestry Candidates Christine Jones
Cindy Darnell
I moved to Falls Church in 2006 with my husband Andrew and three kids. We came to Restoration on Easter Sunday and have been worshipping here ever since! I absolutely love my part-time job at The Falls Church coordinating their ESOL ministry.
My search for truth began about 13 years ago, at which time I began going to church. After about five years I found that somewhere along the way I came to believe in Christ as my Savior and was baptized in 2002. Since that time, I have grown in my faith primarily through relationships built in small groups, mission teams, inductive Bible study, and the CS Lewis Institute Fellows program. The Word of God in partnership with others’ sharing their understanding and experience has been essential to my growth in the faith.
I didn’t grow up in a Christian home. God first found me (ironically) on a 7th grade Unitarian field trip to an Episcopal church! He then patiently pursued me through divine appointments with people (including Andrew!) who challenged me to grow in my faith. I now crave time with the Lord, through bible study, prayer, music, and teaching Sunday school. In standing for the vestry, the bar set in Timothy & Titus is high! Am I ''above reproach''? Don’t ask my kids if I am always “self-controlled”! It's clear I'm a sinner saved by grace, striving to be a humble servant. Through my upbringing, cross-cultural work locally and overseas, and gifts of hospitality and encouragement, God has enabled me to bond with people of diverse backgrounds, seekers and believers alike. At TFC, I love bringing volunteers and ESOL students together. I enjoy building programs and the structures to sustain them. My dream for Restoration is that it would continue to be a welcoming, transparent place where everyone feels they can let their guard down and have a voice and where newcomers more and more clearly and tangibly “will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Ps. 27:13).
In looking at Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3, I am keenly aware I fall short of living these verses out perfectly and I’m humbled to have been nominated to serve Restoration in this way. My key strengths relevant to vestry service are administration and process improvement. Additionally I have a heart for people, especially going deeper than the surface, and a passion for missions, prayer, small groups, and leadership (particularly encouraging and supporting leaders). My dream for Restoration is that we maintain the warmth and openness I experience here on a weekly basis and that we represent the diversity in our surrounding community. I want us to be a community that encourages one another to courageously pursue the path that God has for each of us and holds each other accountable in removing roadblocks along that path. I believe the result will be a Christ-like love for others in our community and the world.
Contact Info: Contact Info:
[email protected]
[email protected] 703.627.4098
703.462.8426 (Home) 703.332.9671 (Mobile) 1815 N Quincy St, Arlington, VA 22207 – http://restorationarlington.org - 10/24/09
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Restoration Anglican Church – Vestry Candidates Anne Cregger Patterson
Ramsey Wilson
My journey with God didn’t start until I was 31. I’d been searching for him for years, half-heartedly. I had grown up in a “Christian home,” but didn’t know Him and just prayed there was more. I finally struck gold. Or that’s what I thought. The truth is, of course, God was the pursuer, I was the sadly misguided prize. He turned my world upside down and went to work. I’ve never, ever wanted to return. How do I nurture this relationship? Yearning, talking, serving, listening, yearning, worshiping, yearning, discussing, reading, and mostly yearning. I’m married to George Patterson and the mother of four grown sons who grew up at The Falls Church. It was my privilege to learn and serve there in different capacities: early leadership in Women’s Ministry; Director for for first 7 years of the Falls Church Fellows program. Probably my most exciting service was as a vestry member during the years leading up to and including our movement back towards the orthodox expression of Anglicanism. The packet of the lawsuit naming me as a defendant is a precious possession, a treasure representing my imperfect love for God’s perfect Word and His work in our time. My dream for Restoration is that we become established as a body who loves God and holds his Word as the final authority; that we demonstrate true and real love for Him, for each other, and all in our sphere of influence, connecting them to the triune God and to each other.
Although I invited Jesus into my heart as a kindergartener, I remained nominally Christian, at best, until age 32. God then grabbed hold of me, making clear that all I possess − time, talent, money, and even life − is a gift, which I am to steward and He is to own. My relationship with God shapes essentially every decision I make: where to live (we moved back to DC), how to make a living (I left the practice of law to be a homemaker), with whom to live (we now live with extended family and friends), what to read, what to consume, and so on.
Contact Info:
[email protected] 703.929.6967
Educated as an accountant and experienced as an attorney, my vocation now involves leading a discipleship ministry for next-generation Christian leaders. The nonprofit that Christine and I founded helps participants live in the world (they receive financial support) while resisting the temptation to be of the world (I guide them in a year-long study of worldview issues, with an emphasis on stewardship). In addition, I recently concluded a three-year term as a board member and treasurer of a ministry to children in Southeast DC. My primary hope for Restoration is that sold-out discipleship to Jesus would be the norm, not the exception. I hope also that our church missions and business would be characterized by Christian thinking, not just Christian ethics and spirituality. Christian attitudes are indispensable but insufficient if our chosen actions do not reflect a biblical understanding of how the world works.
Contact Info:
[email protected] 703.241.1443 1815 N Quincy St, Arlington, VA 22207 – http://restorationarlington.org - 10/24/09
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Restoration Anglican Church – Vestry Candidates Logan Breed
Tom Downie
Things you should know about me: I have the best wife in the world and four incredible children. I strive (sometimes failing miserably) to honor the Lord as a husband, a parent, and an attorney. I cherish deep community, authentic worship, and bacon.
Tom was born and raised in Syracuse, NY. After graduating with a degree in engineering he started a small business in New England. It was through the pressures of the business that he decided to make Jesus Lord of his life and sold his business interests and went back to Columbia Graduate School of Bible and Missions for a year of study and spiritual growth. For the next two years he acted as the Stewardship Director for Africa Evangelical Fellowship (AEF), the mission that was originally started by Andrew Murray as Cape General Mission.
My story: After years of building deep relationships at the Falls Church, I never thought we would leave. Starting a church plant was definitely not on my radar screen. But we felt an inexorable pull to be part of what God was doing in Arlington, and we have been blessed beyond what we could have asked for or imagined by Restoration. l love the fact that Restoration is a place where people know and are known by each other, where we serve and are served, celebrate and are celebrated. Plus I’ve had the opportunity to do everything from negotiating my first church lease to leading a small group to showing off my goofy dance moves in front of 100 people at our first-ever retreat. It has been quite a year. I love this church.
In 1981, he moved to Washington, DC, and met and married his wife, Patty. He formed a Washington commercial real estate business with his brother, which they operated for 11 years.
Things that get me really excited: Being part of a strong community of open, real, we-don’t-think-we’ve-got-it-all-figured-out-already followers of Christ who believe that the gospel changes everything and who are working together to determine how we can serve the Lord faithfully in 21st century Arlington. Seeing our families, friends, and neighborhoods transformed by the gospel. Working to meet the needs of vulnerable people in Arlington and around the world to the glory of God.
Over the years, Tom has served as an elder and deacon in a church and taught primary age children in Sunday school. He began attending The Falls Church in 2007. In 2008, he became a member of the Servant Team that helped David start Restoration Anglican Church. Being able to serve others gives Tom great joy. Tom and Patty live in Arlington and have four children: Heather, Scott, Jeff, and Christine. Running, biking, skiing, and playing golf are leisure activities that Tom enjoys. Currently, he is a consultant to the federal government in information security.
Contact Info:
Contact Info:
[email protected] 571.213.4840
[email protected]
1815 N Quincy St, Arlington, VA 22207 – http://restorationarlington.org - 10/24/09
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Restoration Anglican Church – Vestry Candidates Anthony Swisher
Corrin Chambers
I am deeply humbled to be nominated to serve on Restoration’s first vestry. At David’s suggestion I have been reflecting on Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3. Those passages set a high standard that I will always strive to meet, ever mindful of my need for grace. I would bring to the vestry all the gifts God has given me and would be honored to serve with the dedicated men and women who pour themselves into this church. Restoration is a special place where God is using relationships and community to draw people to Himself. In my own walk, God has always been faithful to give me relationships to teach me what it can look like to be Christ’s man in the world. My aspiration is to be whole and consistent: whole in Christ, and the same person – God’s person – at church, at home, and at work. My hope for the church is that through our relationships we would show our friends and neighbors the love of Christ and strengthen each other in our walks with the Lord. As I look at all of the current and soon-to-be middle schoolers with whom we are blessed, I particularly pray for a vibrant youth ministry to serve them at a critical time in their lives. This is an exciting time for our church. I am so grateful for the wonderful people God has drawn here, and I am excited to see what He has in store next.
I was raised in a Christian home with parents who did their best to ground their children in biblical principles and to show us the love of Christ. They introduced me to God as Savior, but it wasn't until my experience at Youth With a Mission’s Discipleship Training School right out of high school when my heart and soul were captured by the sovereignty of God and an authentic desire was born to make Him Lord of my life. By daily submitting to Christ's rule in my life, I find my identity in Him and in this I have found great freedom, peace, and joy. I have been honored to be a part of a church that is eager to share life together. It is my hope that Restoration be a community that furthers the kingdom of God right here in Arlington. I pray that through Christ, being rooted and established in love that surpasses knowledge, we would bring the changing power of the gospel to our friends, neighbors, and coworkers and that we would be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Contact Info:
[email protected] 571.289.5337
Contact Info:
[email protected] 703.516.4086
1815 N Quincy St, Arlington, VA 22207 – http://restorationarlington.org - 10/24/09
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Restoration Anglican Church – Vestry Candidates Graham Henshaw
Erica Chapman
Spending my childhood in Saudi Arabia with parents who let me figure out most things on my own meant that my earliest exposure to faith were daily calls to prayer amplified from mosques in our neighborhood. In high school, I began investigating faith for myself through Young Life. Only after the devastation of an ended relationship that was “supposed” to grow into marriage did I realize my priorities had been misaligned and make a full commitment to pursue a real relationship with Christ. Since then, I’ve made it a priority to surround myself with authentic Christian community – friends and mentors who have shared in my great joys and incredibly difficult circumstances, who have encouraged and challenged me to grow as a believer, husband, father, friend, and leader.
My spiritual journey has been rich, unpredictable, and filled with God's favor. Although my decision to follow Christ came at a very young age, my identity in Christ was solidified through my high school discipleship group. The truth that Christ calls us friends (John 15:15) resonated with me; in turn the privileges and responsibilities of that label also became a reality for me. The Lord continually shows Himself trustworthy in the midst of life circumstances. My trust in God’s sovereignty has been tested, but the result has been a deepening of my faith. I find peace in my relationships and day to day struggles when the Lord reminds me that I am merely a participant in His work. He has simply called me to be obedient to His word. I pray that at Restoration, our relationship with the Lord would be one of constant discovery and that we would continuously rely on the truth of scripture so we can live in light of its direction each day. Time passes so quickly, and my heart’s conviction is that time is short for both the believer and unbeliever alike—for the lost to hear the Truth and respond and the believer to serve the Lord well. I am passionate about learning and sitting under sound teaching, that I may "present [myself] to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
At our previous church, I had the privilege to lead alongside, pray with and learn from godly, wise believers as we started a ministry for young couples. I also had the opportunity to be part of the first class of deacons before stepping down to move to DC. My wife, Laurel, and I love sharing our lives with those around us and enjoy being a family with an open door and listening ears. We have a heart for God’s people and desire to love and serve our global neighbors. My prayer for Restoration is that as a community we would be a living, breathing, acting example of God’s truth. I pray that Christ would be reflected in our relationships, vocations, priorities, and service.
Contact Info:
Contact Info:
[email protected] 312.933.9126
[email protected] 703.987.0657
1815 N Quincy St, Arlington, VA 22207 – http://restorationarlington.org - 10/24/09
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Restoration Anglican Church – Vestry Candidates Mary Vinson
Jon Terry
Born in Roanoke, VA, I was fortunate to be raised in a Christian home, so I can never remember a time when I did not believe in Jesus. I married fellow believer Ken in 1979, and we moved to Virginia Beach, where I worked for Bell Atlantic. We had two kids while living there, Kat, 23, and Braxton, 20.
My relationship with Jesus helps me establish priorities for my life. I nurture my relationship with Jesus through Sunday worship, celebrating the Eucharist, hearing and reading the Scriptures, individual and group prayer and ongoing fellowship with believers. Every day I ask God to help me remember that my relationship with Him and others are more important than anything else.
In 1993 we moved to Richmond where I took a Director’s position at Bell Atlantic. While there we both attended a weekend retreat called “Walk to Emmaus” where I made a recommitment to Christ. Shortly after, we moved to Hawaii for 8 years. There I worked as a Technical Director for a start-up wireless company, which later became part of Sprint. While working for Sprint, I felt the Lord’s call to leave corporate America and work in full time ministry. I’m still Executive Director for Hawaiian Islands Ministries; I just do it virtually from Arlington. I also consult with the Christian Leadership Alliance. Before The Falls Church and Restoration, I was a lifelong attendee and an Elder in the Presbyterian Church. I have a BS in Public Administration and an MA degree in HR. My spiritual gifts are administration and hospitality. I have been on the Servant team since October of 2008, and have been handling all personnel matters for Restoration with the help of a great team. I also recently coordinated our first retreat. My hope for Restoration is that we are a loving community who welcomes all who seek Christ.
Contact Info:
[email protected] 703.534.432 (Home) 808-371-9500 (Mobile)
1815 N Quincy St, Arlington, VA 22207 – http://restorationarlington.org - 10/24/09
I am eager to serve others. I am open and accessible and understanding of others who have different opinions. I want to learn from others and help them learn about the unique grace of Jesus. I want to strengthen others and be strengthened in my faith. I would like to help RAC make the successful transition into a free-standing church. We will need to hire additional staff, take on new financial responsibilities and make decisions about our facility, number of services and outreach. It is my hope that we can remain committed to our role in the building of God’s Kingdom and also retain the chemistry and character that makes RAC special. I would love for RAC to continue to encourage and provide opportunities for people to be real and personal with each other. We should strengthen each other with power through His spirit. I’d like RAC to be a place where all adults play a role in nurturing and supporting the young people in our congregation. The responsibility of caring for and loving our youth is not limited to the volunteers running Children’s Church.
Contact Info:
[email protected] 202.841.5302 7