UMW Newsletter THE METROPOLITAN CHURCH
November, 2014 Metropolitan Memorial, St. Luke’s & Wesley United Methodist Churches 202-363-4900 (MMUMC office)
Table Of Contents
Mark Your Calendar November
pg
1 Sa
UMW Bazaar (8-3pm, Vestry)
2 Su
UMW Bazaar (10-1pm, Vestry) Church only
5W
Charge Conference
10 M
UMW Board Mtg (7-8:30pm, Conference Rm)
17 M
AARP Mtg
27 Th
Thanksgiving
28 F
Newsletter items due
8
UMW Board Mtg (7-8:30pm, Conference Rm)
14 Su
UMW Recognition Lunch
24 W
Christmas Eve
25 Th
Christmas Day
pg 2
UMW News
2-6
Metropolitan News
7-8
Circles
9
Highlights UMW Honorees (p. 2) Reading program (p 4-6) Food for Thought sessions (p 7-8)
December M8
Reflections
2
8M
UMW Board Mtg (7-8:30pm, Conference Rm)
22 Th
Jana’s Campaign
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Women’s Retreat PriestField
Thessalonians 5:18 (NRSV)
January
February 6–8 F-Su
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UMW News
Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace, the celebration of work and the simple life... a true folk-festival that speaks the poetry of the turn of the seasons, the beauty of seedtime and harvest, the ripe product of the year — and the deep, deep connection of all these things with God. ~Ray Stannard Baker (David Grayson) Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way. ~Native American Saying
UNITED METHODIST WOMEN RECOGNITION LUNCHEON Sunday, December 14, 12:30 pm, Great Hall The Annual UMW's Recognition Luncheon honors exceptional women who have made a significant contribution to the church and community. This year we honor four outstanding women--Jane Cunningham, Barbara Green, Cynthia Pugh, and Joyce Shields. We will also celebrate this year's newborns, welcome our new UMW members and remember with gratitude those who have died this year. This is a special event in the life of our church and we hope that many of our women in the church can attend. UMW Circle 6 members are hostessing the catered luncheon. The suggested donation is $10 for UMW members; guests are free. Reservations are not necessary. This annual event promises to be a special day of celebration for all women in the Metropolitan Church community. If you have questions, please contact Carol Schleicher, rschlei@verizon.net, or Sandy Yeager, syeager42@yahoo.com.
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UMW News A Letter from Metropolitan UMW President Jeanie Mah I know it’s a little early for Thanksgiving, but if CVS can start selling candy-by-the-kilo in September and radio stations can start playing holiday tunes on the heels of Veteran’s Day, than what’s wrong with stretching out the 24-hour pause we dedicate to giving thanks just this once? And it is with deep gratitude that I thank this community for responding so powerfully with your individual Pledges to Mission this year. As I’ve said before, for the past few years our unit has committed $6,000 annually towards fulfilling the Greater Washington District’s $50,000 pledge to UMW-supported missions. Never ones to play it safe, our unit has designated the $6,000 goal as a stretch made in faith, with individual Pledges usually accounting for about half that amount, and income from the bazaar providing the balance. This year, our unit has contributed nearly $5,500 in individual pledges -- over 90 percent of our unit’s Pledge to Mission commitment. Though I always knew our UMW had a heart for mission, I had no idea of how great a heart it was. Your giving is an act of faith that supports nearly 100 National Mission Institutions in the U.S. and about 120 international projects (in over 100 countries) that focus on the health and welfare of women, children, and youth – projects that primarily rely on UMW funds. However, funds can be also be deployed responsively when needs arise. Currently, the UMW in Liberia is using mission funds to distribute food and other staples to villages quarantined by the government due to the Ebola virus. UMW funds are also being used educate women, the primary caretakers of the sick and the dead, about preventative practices. So we approach the November 1 st bazaar in a secure financial position, knowing that every penny earned will stretch our arms that much further around our world and that much tighter around our beloved Washington area. Thank you to those who have donated items, spent precious hours pricing, asked how you could help, or lifted the spirit of a weary fellow volunteer, and thank you in advance to those of you who will help us swell the ranks this Saturday – as sellers or shoppers! Whatever you can give, it will be enough, and we will give thanks for it! ~Jeanie
Circle 6 ladies bringing out the Harvest Soup
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UMW News UMW Reading Program 2015 Do you know about the UMW Reading Program? UMW encourages everyone to read and the UMW Reading Program is a great way to commit to learning through reading in 2015. To participate in Reading Program Plan I, read one book from each of the five categories listed below and take a look at Response magazine regularly. In Reading Program Plans II, III, and IV, read at least two, three or four books, respectively, from each category as well as Response and New World Outlook magazines. The books listed below are in our church library as are both magazines. More choices for the Reading Program can be found online at http://www.umwmissionresources.org/t/categories/reading-program/2015-readingprogram/s/ascend_by_name. If you don’t want to commit to a Reading Program, please consider reading one of the books listed below. Happy reading! If you participate in the program, please report the names of the books you read and their categories to Connie Sommers, sommersc@gmail.com, 240-205-3944 no later than August 15, 2015. Those who complete a Reading Program Plan will be recognized at a District meeting in the fall of 2015.
Education for Mission: Chasing Chaos: My Decade In and Out of Humanitarian Aid by Jessica Alexander. Random House (2013) In this honest and irreverent memoir, Jessica Alexander introduces readers to the realities of life as an aid worker. We watch as she manages a 24,000-person camp in Darfur, collects trial evidence in Sierra Leone and contributes to the massive aid effort in Haiti; we also hear about parties, romances, burnouts and self-doubt while struggling to do good in places that have long endured suffering. 400 pp.
What’s So Blessed About Being Poor? Seeking the Gospel in the Slums of Kenya by L. Susan Slavin and Coralis Salvador. Orbis Books (2013) In this inspiring exploration of how happiness and holiness can exist in the midst of poverty and illness, two women, one a Maryknoll lay missioner, the other a New York attorney who left her law practice to become a lay missioner, tell their stories of living among the poor in East Africa. 176 pp.
Spiritual Growth: No Longer Silent: The Empowerment of Women in the Gospels by Susan Dehn Matthews. ACTA Publications (2011) Imagine, along with Susan Dehn Matthews, that you hear the voices of the women in the Gospels, many of whom have been overlooked, ignored, misrepresented or misunderstood. Listen as they reveal the stories behind their words and actions in the Scriptures. They are no longer silent but speak the truth about themselves as it was revealed to them by their encounter with the one they called teacher, prophet, brother, beloved and son. 256 pp.
Continued next page
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UMW News (UMW Reading Program continued)
Praying to Change Your Life: A Guide to Productive Prayer by Suzette T. Caldwell. Destiny Image Publishers (2009) Praying to Change Your Life is an action-oriented, results-driven, how to guide for believers that glorifies God, transforms lives and increases the power of your prayers. Through instruction, prayer exercises, personal stories and testimonies, you will learn what prayer is, why you should pray and how to pray using the six categories of the Lord’s Prayer. 303 pp.
The Seven Paths: Changing One’s Way of Walking in the World by the Anasazi Foundation. Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2013) This poetic, moving story presents the meditations of an ancient Native American tribesman who rejects his family and community and sets off on a journey through the desert. He walks seven paths, each teaching a lesson symbolized by an element of the natural world: light, wind, water, stone, plant, animal and the unity of all beings with the Creator. 102 pp.
Eat With Joy: Redeeming God’s Gift of Food by Rachel Marie Stone. InterVarsity Press (2013) Food is the source of endless angst and anxiety. We struggle with obesity and eating disorders, and agricultural horror stories make us worry about whether our food is healthy, nutritious and justly produced. Rachel Marie Stone asks us to rediscover joyful eating by receiving food as God’s good gift of provision and care and fills this book with practical insights and tasty recipes. 208 pp.
Social Action: Americanah: A Novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Random House (2014) Ifemelu reluctantly left Nigeria on a college scholarship and seems to have everything a Nigerian immigrant in America could desire. But culture shock, hardships and racism have left her feeling like she has “cement in her soul.” Astonished at the labyrinth of racial structures that confront her, Ifemelu launches an audacious and instantly popular blog that explores what she calls Racial Disorder Syndrome. May contain provocative language and content. 608 pp.
Ecoliterate: How Educators Are Cultivating Emotional, Social and Ecological Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Lisa Bennett and Zenobia Barlow. John Wiley (2012) Hopeful and bold, Ecoliterate tells stories of educators, activists and students who embody an integration of emotional, social and ecological intelligence. Through stories from the Arctic to Appalachia, New Mexico to New Orleans, the authors reveal how education that engages in some of the most pressing ecological issues of the day advances academic achievement, fosters resilience and helps communities play a vital role in protecting the natural world. 192 pp.
Kind of Kin: A Novel by Rilla Askew. Harper Collins/Ecco (2014) A new Oklahoma state law makes harboring an undocumented immigrant a felony. Rilla Askew’s brilliant, hilarious and heartfelt novel follows a handful of complicated lawmakers and lawbreakers as workers are exiled, friends turn informers and families are torn apart in a statewide exodus of Hispanics. In the end, Kind of Kin reveals how an ad hoc family and an entire town unite to do anything necessary to protect its own. 432 pp.
Continued next page
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UMW News (UMW Reading Program continued)
Leadership Development: Fulfilled: Living and Leading With Unusual Wisdom, Peace and Joy by Kirk Byron Jones. Abingdon Press (2013) Leadership can be mentally, emotionally and spiritually exhausting. In Fulfilled, Kirk Byron Jones examines stillness, awareness and playfulness, three inner capabilities that every leader can access but most simply ignore or disregard. He shows you how to draw on each of them in daily life and how the fulfilled leader lives in wisdom, peace and joy, successful in all the most important ways. 176 pp.
Sum It Up: 1,098 Victories, a Couple of Irrelevant Losses and a Life in Perspective by Pam Summitt. Random House (2014) Pat Summitt, a country girl from Henrietta, Tennessee, grew up driving fast and playing hard, learning basketball playing with a homemade backboard against three brothers. She went on to win an Olympic medal and at 22 became head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols. Her autobiography tells the whole story, full of humanity, wit and fierceness, by a giant among coaches who has transcended American sports. 416 pp.
Nurturing for Community: Across Many Mountains: A Tibetan Family’s Epic Journey From Oppression to Freedom by Yangzom Brauen. Thorndike Press/Gale Cengage Learning (2012). LARGE PRINT. In this memoir, Yangzom Brauen tells the story of her now 90-yearold grandmother Kunsang (a nun) and grandfather’s (a monk) daring decision to flee from Chinese controlled Tibet to India with her mother, then 6 years old. With little money and no idea of what they would meet along the way, they began their journey to cross the Himalayas on foot. 481 pp.
The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe. Random House (2012) The End of Your Life Book Club is the inspiring true story of a son and mother who start a book club that brings them together as her life comes to a close. Over two years, Will and Mary Anne carry on conversations that are both wide-ranging and deeply personal, prompted by a diverse selection of books and a shared passion for reading. Throughout, they and we are reminded of the power of books to comfort, astonish and teach. 352 pp.
January First: A Child’s Descent Into Madness and Her Father’s Struggle to Save Her by Michael Schofield. Random House (2013) At age 6, January Schofield was diagnosed with one of the most severe cases of child-onset schizophrenia on record. Michael Schofield takes us on his journey with his daughter as they face seemingly insurmountable obstacles and daily challenges with her care and his unwavering commitment to save her from the edge of insanity while doing everything he can to keep his family together. 320 pp.
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Metropolitan & Community News Food for Thought Wednesday evening adult Christian formation programs Dinner 6 pm; Classes 7 pm Childcare available
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 $7 per adult, $4 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. Upcoming sessions: Session 3: November 12 and 19, 2014 (no class November 5 or 26) Bible Study: The Beatitudes. Found in Matthew 5 and Luke 6, the Beatitudes are a succinct yet profound expression of core Christian values and key example of how the gospel message turns the world’s priorities upside down. Topical Study: “Mission and Myanmar.” Led by Patrick Landau Our director of youth, Patrick Landau, will lead a two part discussion on missions in a pluralistic world focused on his experiences in Myanmar as a seminarian. The first session will focus on the first missionaries sent by Americans and the impact they had on the country. This will include examining how early missionaries shaped Christianity in the region and their participation in the Anglo-Burmese War with a particular focus on the question “Has Christian missions been harmful or helpful to Burma?” The second session will explore contemporary issues of religious freedom in Burma with a particular focus on the question “Can I be both Buddhist and Christian?” Continued next page
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Metropolitan & Community News
(Food for Thought upcoming sessions, continued)
Session 4: December 3-17, 2014 Bible Study: The story of Christmas in Matthew, Luke and John Matthew and Luke are the only two gospels that contain stories of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, and the stories have some significant differences. John doesn’t have a birth story, but opens with a poetic hymn to the pre-existent Christ: “In the beginning was the Word…” Prepare for Christmas by studying these scriptures and seeing what their differences and similarities have to say to us today. Advent Experience: “The Shade of the Living Light: Walking and Listening with Hildegard of Bingen” As we move toward Christmas, take a break from the hustle and bustle of the season by walking the labyrinth and enjoying the art and music of Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard was a 12th century German nun, abbess, writer, physician, composer, and mystic. Our Great Hall labyrinth will be open 7 pm-8 pm for you to walk, pray, and contemplate at your own pace, with readings, illustrations and music from Hildegard to enhance your Advent preparations.
AARP Meeting November 17, 1pm Please join us on Monday, November 17th in the Vestry. Bruce Maliken of Up and Running Computer Services, LLC will bring us up to date on “Computer and Technology Issues of Which We Should All Be Aware.” Social time is at 12:30 p.m., and the meeting starts at 1:00. Refreshments will be served.
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Circles
Jewelry-Making Group On hiatus until January The Jewelry-Making Group meets the fourth Wednesday of the month after the Community Dinner during Food for Thought classes. We are off November and December but please join us when we resume in January. For questions, contact Kelly D'Angelo at kellysclothes@aol.com or 202-210-2220 (home/cell) or (301) 443-0871 (work).
2
Contact Jane Cunningham, 703-821-3486 or Charlotte Carter, char.carter@cox.net, 703-442-0934
6
Please join us November 13 at 7:00 pm in the parlor. We will welcome Charlie Parker to share with us his experiences while on sabbatical this summer in Japan, Vancouver and participating in an Aikido camp. Our Renaissance minister, come hear about the adventure! For those of you who missed the movie last month, we will repeat, perhaps as our Christmas Celebration, stay tuned! Contacts: Mary Jo Marchant, mjmarchant@verizon.net 703-435-1715 and Ann Michel, amichel@wesleyseminary.edu or 202-885-8582.
8
We will not meet in November. Contact Eugenia Evans,
9
We will not meet in November. Please contact Bobby Turnbull, bobbyturnbull@comcast.net (301) 320-4154
10
setevens@comcast.net
Contact Caralee Adams caralee.adams@verizon.net or Suzanne Vieth
msvieth@verizon.net The next UMW Board Meeting will be held November 10, 2014.
Newsletter prepared by Alexandra McPherron. To add items to the next newsletter, email alexmcph@gmail.com by Friday, November 28, 2014.
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