UMW Newsletter THE METROPOLITAN CHURCH
April 2016 Metropolitan Memorial, St. Luke’s & Wesley United Methodist Churches 202-363-4900 (MMUMC office) MetroUMW@gmail.com
Mark Your Calendar April 2 Sa
pg BW Conference UMW Spring Luncheon (11:30am-2:30pm, Holiday Inn College Park)
3
10 Su
Cuba in Words & Pictures (10:10am, Pedro Pan exodus talk, Great Hall; 3pm, Concert; 4:30pm, Reception, Great Hall)
6
16 Sa
Great Day of Service
4
18 M
AARP (1pm, Vestry)
6
21 Th
Lunch & More (noon, Great Hall)
6
GWD Annual Prayer Breakfast (9-noon, Hughes UMC, Wheaton, MD)
3
29-31
1-3
BW Annual Conference (Wardman Park Hotel, DC)
4 Sa
Daughter’s Tea
16-18
Northeast Jurisdiction UMW Quadrennial Meeting (Syracuse, NY)
F-Su
Vacation Bible School
6
Mission U (Pooks Hill Marriott, Bethesda)
3
F-Su
Highlights Daughter’s Tea, p. 3 Great Day of Service, p. 4 Recap of Book & Bake Sale, p. 4 UMW Directory updates, p. 5 Cuba in Words & Pictures: talk, concert and reception, p. 6
June W-F
11-15
pg
M-F
May 28 Sa
July
Circles, p. 9 3
Metropolitan UMW Newsletter : April 2016
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Metropolitan & Community News
Reflections Easter was when Hope in person surprised the whole world by coming forward from the future into the present. ~ N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church
Metropolitan UMW Newsletter : April 2016
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Metropolitan & Community News Save the Date: Daughter’s Tea Saturday, June 4 Everyone is welcome. We hope that the United Methodist Women will invite their family and friends to attend. There will be tea and finger foods (i.e. cucumber sandwiches, scones, cookies, fruit). We expect to have live music.
Upcoming Baltimore-Washington Conference UMW, Greater Washington District Event April 2, 2016, Saturday 11:30am-2:30pm Spring Luncheon to benefit the Epworth House Mission Project Committee (Expanding concepts of mission at Wesley Theological Seminary) Holiday Inn College Park, 10000 Baltimore Ave, College Park, MD 20740 Theme: Embracing Mission and Outreach through Love in Action Register by Mar 14, 2016, $35/person Contact Connie Sommers at sommersc@gmail.com for a registration form.
Other UMW & United Methodist Upcoming Events May 28, 2016, Saturday 9:00am-12:00pm Greater Washington District Annual Prayer Breakfast Hughes UMC, 10700 Georgia Ave, Wheaton, MD 20902 Topic: Confirming the Christian Worldview as God’s Message to the World Register by May 12, 2016, $10/person June 1-3, 2016, Wednesday – Friday Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington DC July 29-31, 2016, Friday – Sunday Mission U Pooks Hill Marriott Hotel, 5151 Pooks Hill Road, Bethesda, MD 20814
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Metropolitan & Community News Spring Great Day of Service Saturday, April 16 The United Methodist Women invite you to a Great Day of Service at St. Luke's Mission Center. Gather for breakfast provided by Chef Anthony and then work for the good of your neighbor. There are several projects to choose from. One group is invited to travel to the DC Diaper Bank to help with distributing diapers. Another group will travel to Grand Oaks to visit and play games with senior citizen residents. Many are needed to do work at the center too. Help Chef Anthony after breakfast to clean the kitchen for the upcoming Campus Kitchen Ministry work. Assemble UMCOR health kits, create Mother's Day cards for the American Red Cross, and personalize teddy bears for the Wendt's Center on Loss and Healing's summer camp for grieving children. Join us Saturday, invite friends, and do good for others. To facilitate RSVPs and the volunteer work, please let us know you're coming and what project you want to do by signing up here:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/70A0E4DA8A6238-great Questions: contact Anita Seline at amseline@aol.com
UMW Book and Bake Sale an Overwhelming Success! The 2016 Annual UMW Book Sale raised over $7,000 for our mission partners, the DC Diaper Bank and Bright Beginnings Early Learning Center. Enormous thanks for this success go to Anita Seline and Martha Mizroch who organized the event. Book donations far exceeded all previous years, enticing shoppers on both Saturday and the following day. The volume of books received can be credited due to the support of the congregation, and to this year's innovation, a Drive By Book Donation event the week before the sale. This turned out to be a great convenience for our donors. We thank all who helped with publicity by to putting up flyers, posting lawn signs and sharing list-serve announcements. We also thank all who came to sort books in the days before the sale, those who worked the day of the sale,and tho se who baked yummy goodies for the Bake Sale. Thank you also to those who created the delicious soups! Thank you Anita and Martha and all the volunteers! ~ Ellen Bachman
UMW President
Metropolitan UMW Newsletter : April 2016
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Metropolitan & Community News
Directory Updates – Corrected Version Dear UMW Sisters, The UMW Directory 2016 is now ready both in hard copy and electronic versions. We have only printed 100 copies and are hoping that many of you will prefer to keep the directory on your computer or print it out. There are only 17 pages. For those of you who do not have email and want a copy of the directory, they are in a box in the business office copier room with a sign-up sheet on top. Please sign out if you take a directory. Circle leaders we would encourage you to be responsible for any of your members who want their own hard copy. At large members I would encourage you to come into the copier room and pick up a copy if you do not download the electronic version. Any questions please contact Phyllis Kokus (202-362-7861; pkokus@aol.com) or Caralee Adams.(301-801-0553; caralee.adams@verizon.net) Many thanks to Alex McPherron for her input and for Jeff Clouser for printing and compiling our new directory. Caralee Adams and Phyllis Kokus, Membership Co-chairs Note email corrections to the print directory: Diane Myers dsmyers2549@yahoo.com Damayra Duporte Perez damayra2015@gmail.com Paula Pree iamasong@aol.com Pam Rogers waterjugpr@aol.com Susan Staines staines@rcn.com Aubree Eliza Weaver aubreeeliza@gmail.com
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Metropolitan & Community News Cuba in Words and Pictures Sunday, April 10 10:10am Study Hour talk by two who left Cuba as children 3pm Concert 4:30pm Art Exhibit Opening, Photographs of Cuba The Arts Council has a variety of interesting things planned for April 10. At 10:10, two persons will tell about their experiences as part of the "Pedro Pan" exodus of many thousands of young children from Cuba to the U.S. in the early sixties, after Castro came into power. That will be followed at 4:30 by the opening of a show of large, colorful, recent photographs of Cuba. Between, at 3:00, there will be a concert of trios and duets for flute, cello, and piano by Beethoven and others; the visiting flutist is from the Bolshoi Orchestra. Photo from http://www.pedropan.org/category/history
March AARP Meeting
Lunch and More
Monday, April 18, 1pm, Vestry
Thursday, April 21, noon, Great Hall
Please join us on Monday, April 18 in the Vestry. Sally White, Executive Director of Iona, will discuss all the services Iona provides for local seniors.
Join the Lunch and More Crowd for lunch! Hope to see you Thursday, April 21! Invite someone to join us!! Phyllis Kokus pkokus@aol.com or Mary Jo Marchant mjmarchant@verizon.net.
Social time is at 12:30 p.m., and the meeting starts at 1:00. Refreshments will be served. Contact Bobby Turnbull, (301) 320-4154, bobbyturnbull@comcast.net.
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Metropolitan & Community News Food for Thought Wednesday evening adult Christian formation programs Dinner 6 pm; Classes 7 pm Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church
www.nationalchurch.org/Learning/Adult Food for Thought: Every Wednesday, Every Week Every Wednesday evening, everyone is welcome to a community dinner in the Vestry between 6 and 7 pm. Enjoy a chef-prepared meal with friends old and new. Dinner is $8 per adult, $5 per child, with a maximum of $20 per family. AU students pay what you can. Reservations are appreciated for planning purposes; to reserve your meal, go to http://www.nationalchurch.org/Learning/Adult#wednesday. After you feed your body, feed your mind and soul with a mid-week study. Food for Thought features two different study opportunities: a Bible study and a topical study. Studies change monthly, so you can choose a Bible study one month and a topical study the next, without missing pieces of either. The Bible study is led by Bob Olson, co-chair of the Learning Pillar, and Rev. Charlie Parker, the senior pastor of the Metropolitan Church. Topical studies will be led by different individuals throughout the year. Session 7: April 8, 13, 20, and 27 Bible Study: Romans. A theologically deep, complex book, Romans offers profound messages of God’s grace. Topical Study: The Middle East: What is wrong, is there hope, and how can we help? Speakers TBA. With the pain of the recent events in Syria, Iraq, and Israel/Palestine, it can be hard to see a way forward in the Middle East. Join us for a discussion led by area experts on Middle East politics, diplomacy, and the work of the church in the area. Session 8: May 4, 11, 18, and 25 Bible Study: 1 Corinthians Led by Patrick Landau. The apostle Paul founded the Christian church in Corinth. It was multicultural and made up of people from all different economic classes. In later years, he wrote a series of letters back to that church, encouraging them in their faith but calling them to task for their hypocrisy too. What does this letter to a diverse, conflicted Corinthian church have to say to our diverse, conflicted church today? Topical Study: Embracing Forgiveness. A study by Barbara Cawthorne Crafton. Led by Rev. Janet Craswell. Forgiveness is not a job or task; it is not a conditional act to earn God’s love. It is a spiritual gift given freely by a God who simply wants to connect with us. Author Barbara Cawthorne Crafton shows how forgiveness can remove the tumor of anger from our hearts to become a means of grace that gives us back our humanity. Crafton’s thoughtful insight allows participants to weight the transforming power of forgiveness in their own lives.
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Metropolitan & Community News Vacation Bible School—We Want YOU to Help Save the Date: July 11-15; 9am till noon You may think VBS is not your thing. You’d be wrong. This year’s program is all about food and faith and feeding the hungry. To help, Contact: Courtney Leatherman: c_leatherman@ix.netcom.com; 202-363-4247
Diaper News From https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/03/10/diaper-divide
“…the lowest-income quintile of families with infants pay 14 percent of their income for diapers alone – an average of $936 for diapers per child each year, while many higher income families pay less than half that amount. These struggling families may not have access to transportation to the big box store, the credit or capital to buy in bulk at cheaper prices, or the access to internet or ability to receive packages required for online subscription services. The technology that makes life easier for so many of us just doesn’t provide the necessary supports for these families. There is also no federal assistance for purchasing diapers, unlike other essentials like food or health insurance. …Online retailers, diaper manufacturers and non-profits are partnering to expand access to diapers for families in need. Continued p. 9
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Circles Continued from p. 8
As a result of these efforts, Covenant House – a youth homeless shelter – will be able to double the number of diapers that they can order with the same amount of money – and they'll cut the shipping time down from one week to two days. The mothers and children in their care will benefit from the added reliability, and the organization’s resources will be able to stretch to other priority areas like job training, daycare and skills courses. Cecilia Muñoz Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council For more, see Wh.gov/DiaperGap hat tip: Suzanne Vieth
AU
The AU UMW Circle meets Fridays at 7:00 p.m. in the "AU Lounge" at Metropolitan. Contact Tori Lynn Gilkeson at VP@aumethodists.org
1
Our next meeting is April 17. We will have a joint meeting with Circle 10 to plan the Daughter’s Tea. Contact Helene Lilly at j718hel@aol.com / (202) 733-1876.
2
Contact Jane Cunningham, jtc3rd@aol.com, 703-821-3486 or Charlotte Carter, char.carter@cox.net, 703-442-0934
6
Please join us on May 1 as we enjoy the latest performance of the Metro Players, Rumors! The play is at 2:00, after the performance we will share a meal together, please RSVP to Mary Jo, so we can make a reservation for our circle. Join us as we test-dive our new format of quarterly gatherings. Questions, Mary Jo Marchant, mjmarchant@verizon.net or Ann Michel, amichel@wesleyseminary.edu.
8
Circle 8 meets the first Tuesday of the month at 7:30 in the church parlor. Following up on the February UMW retreat, in March we did Bible study with the whole circle on the David and Bathsheba stories in the Hebrew Bible. In April, we will continue with Bible study on the book of Ruth. Contact Kelly D’Angelo at 202-210-2220 or kellysclothes@aol.com.
9
Circle 9 will meet on Wednesday, April 6 at 10:30 a.m. in the Choir Room. We will discuss books from the UMW Reading Program and will have the Pledge to Mission service. Please contact Bobby Turnbull, (301) 320-4154, bobbyturnbull@comcast.net.
10
Our next meeting is April 17. We will have a joint meeting with Circle 1 to plan the Daughter’s Tea. Contact Caralee Adams caralee.adams@verizon.net (301-801-0553) or Suzanne Vieth msvieth@verizon.net
The next UMW Board Meeting is Monday, April 11, MMUMC Conference Rm Newsletter prepared by Alexandra McPherron. To add items to the next newsletter, email alexmcph@gmail.com by Monday, April 28, 2016.
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