September 2015

METROPOLITAN CHURCH

A MULTI-SITE UNITED METHODIST COMMUNITY

September 14, 2015 Volume XXV, No. 9 Nationalchurch.org

The Messenger September Means Time To Learn!

I always loved the new school year. Unused crayons, sharp pencils, fresh notebooks, new ideas and new friends – September was the best time of year. At Metropolitan, we get to have that new school year experience too. September marks the beginning of our Christian education year!

Affordable Housing Worship and Rally Sunday, September 20, 3pm, Brighter Day’s A.P Shaw Campus*

A little over two years ago, our Metropolitan community joined with our brothers and sisters at Brighter Day UMC in a very powerful joint worship service that brought a focus on Parkway Overlook, a site with great potential for the development of affordable housing. There is a desperate need to have more affordable housing in DC. As a result of our efforts, significant progress was made, but unfortunately, progress has stalled again. Ownership of the property was transferred to the DC Housing Authority with the intent that the property would be redeveloped. However, 18 months later, no redevelopment plan has been released, despite repeated promises from that office.

We have invited Mayor Bowser, members of the DC Council, directors of housing agencies in the DC government, members of WIN, and members of the press to another joint worship service and rally. Members of our Dayspring, Chancel, and Wesley choirs will participate and we will again move from worship to a rally in the neighborhood of Parkway Overlook (which is adjacent to the A.P. Shaw church). Please join us for this time of worship and advocacy for an issue for which Metropolitan has provided leadership for decades. *2525 12th Place, SE.

Children’s Sunday school resumes September 20, with an open house in the classrooms on September 13. The second floor classrooms are clean, freshly painted, and ready to welcome our children. If you haven’t been upstairs in a while, come take a look.

Our Sunday school uses Godly Play for preschool through 4th grade. Godly Play is a Montesorri-based curriculum that lets children listen to the stories of the Christian faith, wonder about their meaning, and then interpret these stories through art, reflection, movement, and play. Godly Play recognizes that children already experience God in their daily lives, and gives them the vocabulary and stories to express their experiences. The approach is open to questions and wonder, not rote learning.

In 5th grade, the children are moving to the new Submerge curriculum from the United Methodist Cokesbury publishers. Submerge immerses tweens in the Bible, while allowing them to discuss some of the issues and concerns that arise as they move into adolescence. Submerge focuses on practical, daily faith, and how we live out our faith in the world through service, love and justice.

Youth Sunday school also resumes September 20, with an open house and parent meeting on September 13. You can discover more about our youth and what they are doing by following their adventures at youthmetropolitan.wordpress.com.

Adult Sunday school continues throughout the year. We are blessed to have several active, lay-led groups that explore a variety of topics. All classes are open to newcomers. For details and contact information on adult classes, go to nationalchurch.org/ Learning/Adult.

Food for Thought resumes on Wednesday, September 30. A community dinner is available at 6pm for $8/person. At 7pm, you have your choice of a Bible study led by Rev. Charlie Parker and Bob Olson, or a topical study. Our first topical study of the year will be “Race & Bias.” Details about this class can be found on page five. Food for Thought continues throughout the school year with a different book of the Bible and a different topical study each month.

Disciple Bible Study. We are reintroducing this long-term Bible study class to Metropolitan this year. For details, see page five or contact me at jcraswell@nationalchurch. org or 202-363-4900, ext. 115.

Join the Journey. Interested in joining our church? Want to learn more about the Christian faith, Methodist Church, and us here at Metropolitan Memorial, Wesley, and St. Luke’s? This is the small group for you! Rev. Dottie Yunger leads our Sunday group at Metropolitan Memorial during the study hour (Room 106) and Rev. Kate Payton leads our Thursday evening group at 7pm at Wesley Library (5312 Connecticut Ave., NW). Contact Pastor Kate with any questions at kpayton@nationalchurch.org or 202363-4900, ext. 110.

Even if you are too old to celebrate unbroken crayons or a new lunchbox, you are never too old to celebrate the chance to learn and grow in your faith. I invite you to participate in learning this year at Metropolitan!

Blessings, Rev. Janet Craswell

Life at the Metropolitan Church September Sermon Series: Prophetic Voices During September -- in answer to the invitation that has been issued from voices as diverse as the United Methodist Women to the Bishops of the AME Church to President Obama -- we will be exploring the topic of Prophetic Voices as we enter into a conversation about race.

This is a conversation that has taken shape over several years in our Metropolitan community as we have sought to become a multi-cultural church in our merger between Metropolitan Memorial and Wesley and our St. Luke’s Mission Center, as we deepened our partnership with Brighter Day UMC in Ward 8, and as we continue to broaden our partnerships across the Anacostia River. So, in the four Sundays of September, we will look at various aspects of how race impacts our lives and the world around us. Throughout the series, the readings will be taken from the lectionary.

On September 6, the sermon was on Race and Economics and we looked at issues of race and poverty. Our gospel lesson was the powerful story of Jesus’ own expanding understanding of his ministry as he engages the Syrophoenician woman and looks at racism in his own cultural contest.

Combined with this reading, the letter of James invited us to explore how racism impacts our church’s commitment to address poverty.

On September 13, the sermon addressed Race and Language, as we reflected on the lectionary texts of Isaiah 50: 4-9 and James 3:1-12. While we sometime lament the obligation to speak in ways that are “politically correct,” we cannot lose sight of how the words we choose shape how people hear us. With our rich history of racial epithets, how

Thank You! Brighter Day Camp/NASA STEM Classes

Thank you to everyone for supporting the Brighter Day Summer Camp STEM classes. With your help, the campers designed and built satellites (using the donated paper towel and toilet paper rolls) and then launched them with balloon rockets, maneuvered human robots through an obstacle course, and designed, built and tested Mars rovers. The class also had guest visits from two genuine robots, thanks to Bruce Weber and Barry McPherron.

Many thanks to the volunteers who came to the camp to help with these STEM activities, including Jillian Blair (Julian Blair’s daughter), Chuck Kluepfel (Foundry UMC), Alex McPherron, Martha Mizroch, Keith Ord, Mary Rollefson, Connie Sommers, Bruce Weber, and a special thank-you to Kelsey White, who helped with every class!

we use language becomes even more critical (witness the interesting dialogue about “Black lives matter” vs “All lives matter”).

On September 20, the Sermon title will be Race and Housing, and we will have an opportunity to hear from our wonderful ministry partner, Rev. Ernest Lyles, Senior Pastor of Brighter Day, a multisite United Methodist Church in South East DC. Metropolitan and Brighter Day have been in a very effective and wide ranging partnership since the summer of 2011. Ernest and I are doing a pulpit exchange on the morning of September 20, and we are delighted to welcome him back to our Metropolitan Memorial pulpit. That afternoon at 3pm, our Metropolitan community will join with our brothers and sisters at Brighter Day in a joint worship service and rally that will focus on affordable housing (see front page).

On September 27, we will close out this sermon series with a focus on Race and Gender. It is United Methodist Women’s Sunday, and our UMW has invited a wonderful theologian to our pulpit, Rev. Aundreia Alexander, Esq., the Associate General Secretary, Action and Advocacy for Justice and Peace at the National Council of Churches. We look forward to hearing the prophetic voice that Rev. Alexander will bring to our conversations about race.

I hope that you will join us this month as we journey together into some difficult and challenging territory, but territory that God is calling us to explore together. We are blessed with all of the gifts of being a multicultural church in a multicultural country and world, and we are called to be inclusive and sensitive to the power of racism in all of our lives.

Blessings,

Rev. Charlie Parker Our September sermon series, “Prophetic Voices” has been exploring a conversation about race.

If you miss any of the sermons in this enlightening series, you can listen to the audio version of the sermons on our website at nationalchurch.org/Praising/Sermons_Podcasts.

Metropolitan Book Club Monday, September 21 7:30pm, Parlor

Join us as we discuss David McCullough’s well-received biography, The Wright Brothers. Our selection for October 19th is the newly released Harper Lee novel, Go Set a Watchman. This is the first draft of the Pulitzer Prize winner, To Kill a Mockingbird. Contacts: Joan Topalian, topajoan62045@gmail.com or Suzanne Clewell, reader1021@aol.com.

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Life at the Metropolitan Church

Owning Institutional Racism by Rev. Kate Payton

In 1816, the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) was founded after members experienced racial discrimination in a Methodist Church in Philadelphia, PA. 199 years later, racial discrimination killed the Emmanuel 9. We join our Wesleyan brothers and sisters in saying enough is enough. The AME Council of Bishops has issued a call for all faith communities in the United States to join them in addressing the problem of race in America.

Individual Racism is often what we think about when we talk about the issue of race. In 1787, ushers of St. George’s in Philadelphia, attempted to forcibly remove Rev. Absolom Jones, kneeling in prayer, to a different seat—not allowing him to sit in the new gallery his money had helped build. In 2015, Dylan Roof killed 9 members of Mother Emanuel AME Church at a Bible Study—even after saying he almost didn’t because they were so kind to him.

Rev. Richard Allen describes leaving St. George’s that day in 1787 writing, “We all went out of the church in a body, and they were no more plagued with us in the church.” (The Life, Experience, and Gospel Labours of the Rt. Rev. Richard Allen, 1833) What is ironic about this quote is that when the real plague came to Philadelphia in the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793, it was these exact black leaders who would stay in Philadelphia caring for the sick and digging graves when the white community fled. Then, when winter finally brought reprieve, the Blacks who stayed would be vilified as opportunists, the

heroes designated as the whites who set up hospitals outside the city.

This is institutional racism. This flip-flop of hero and villain is our carefully taught, enculturated bias. Today it manifests itself when Julian Blair three times in a row can’t catch a cab in NW DC—cabs that have their for hire lights on and no one in the car. Or Pam Rogers’ husband who was followed as soon as he entered a supermarket or Debbie Hines who had to tell her brother not to flag down the police officer for help for fear they’d interpret his disorientation as drug abuse rather than a medical condition.

Unfortunately, the church is one of the worst perpetrators of institutional racism. We are a volunteer organization that has achieved greater segregation than the laws many of us have fought to dismantle. In a study done in 1998, sociologist Michael Emerson shows how churches are on average ten times more segregated than the neighborhoods surrounding them and twenty times more than the schools. Enough is enough.

Metropolitan Memorial, Wesley, St. Luke’s: We are perfectly poised to do something about this. We can be the national church that changes the racial inequality of our city by simply being the church, intentionally extending our networks of care to include the multi-ethnic make-up of our congregation and neighborhoods.

Join us in worship and at our Wednesday Food for Thought study September 30 - October 21 (see page 5).

Serving Ministries Community Improvement Day Saturday, September 26, 8am – 6pm, 5929 East Capitol St., SE

We are partnering with the University of the District of Columbia to bring a three-acre urban farm to Ward 7. The farm will be a multi-purpose/food production Urban Farm providing space for growing healthy food along with space for other community activities.

You can help! Join us for a Community Improvement Day. Hosted by the DC Building Industry Association, hundreds of volunteers from across the city will join with DCBIA architects and engineers to renovate the site. We will send a team from our three sites to be part of this. Lunch is provided and no experience is necessary. To volunteer, contact Rev. Dottie Yunger, dyunger@ nationalchurch.org or 202-363-4900, ext. 111.

Grate Patrol - Two Locations to Serve

A New Semester and New Shifts!

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 4pm - 7pm Saturdays 11am - 3pm, St Luke’s Mission Center* Campus Kitchen needs your help to make meals and recover donated produce and protein we receive from local food operators. We also want to expand our meal delivery program, delivering the meals to our brothers and sisters in Wards 7 and 8 who live in food deserts (over a mile away from a full service grocery store). Want to volunteer? Sign up for shifts at nationalchurch.org/volunteerhub! For more information, contact Rev. Dottie Yunger, dyunger@nationalchurch.org or David Hackney, gdavidhackney@gmail.com *3655 Calvert St., NW.

The Metropolitan Church participates in Grate Patrol twice each month, preparing food and then riding in the Salvation Army van to deliver it to the homeless. St. Luke’s participates on the first Sunday of each month, and Campus Kitchen prepares the food. Metropolitan participates the last weekend of each month. Sandwiches are prepared on Sunday and delivered Monday evening.

Sunday, September 27, 10:10am, Vestry Kitchen

You can volunteer to make sandwiches on Sunday, serve meals by going out in the van on Monday evening, or both.

Volunteer at nationalchurch.org/servenow!

Sunday, October 4, 6pm St. Luke’s Mission Center*

You can volunteer to put together meals, serve meals by going out in the van Sunday evening or both. Volunteer at nationalchurch.org/volunteerhub! *3655 Calvert St., NW.

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The Arts at the Metropolitan Church Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month Jazz@wesley Saturday, September 26 6:30pm, Wesley*

Arts Council Exhibition The Colors of Haiti Sunday, September 27 4:30pm, Great Hall

Jazz@wesley celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with Verny Varela and Friends. An internationally acclaimed flutist, singer, composer, and arranger, Verny Varela lives in the DC area and teaches at Howard University. Tickets available at the door and at instantseats.com. Entry $10 I $7 Seniors I Children 12 and Under Free. For more information email wesleyinfo or call 202-966-5144, ext. 325. Bring a non-perishable food item to jazz up someone else's life. *5312 Connecticut Ave., NW.

Arts Council Concert: A Different Sound Sunday, September 27, 3pm, Sanctuary

Join us for some not-often-heard sounds in the Metropolitan Memorial sanctuary: Jazz! The Arts Council joins with Wesley to celebrate the city's month-long Hispanic Heritage Festival by presenting our opening concert of the season with the Colombian-born vocalist, flutist, and pianist Verny Varela. Verny and his four accompanying musicians will play Latin jazz and other Latin music, such as salsa, boleros, cumbia, merengue, and cha cha.

A three-time nominee for the Washington Area Music Association Award (Wammie), Verny is known for his broad songwriting ability. He has collaborated with a number of acclaimed artists and has played before heads of state and other dignitaries and at such venues and events as the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Memorial, and the World Salsa Festival. He holds degrees in music (B.A., Universidad de la Valle) and Afro-Hispanic studies (M.A., Howard University) and is a member of the faculty at Howard. As usual, there will be no admission charge; a free-will offering will go entirely to the performers. The concert will be followed by a exhibition and reception of Haitian art.

October 24, 2015

you know refuted.

The study of art history and of the humanities is based upon several immutable laws (at least, some of us think they are), one of which is “that the art of a group of people reflects its time and culture.” Walk into the Great Hall on September 27 and prepare to have every art history text

The art of Haiti, the country that was hit by that 7.0 earthquake in 2010, the very same country that produced “Papa Doc” Duvalier and “Baby Doc,” the son, should, by normal standards, be poor and the population should be worn out and browbeaten. That it is not.

The people of Haiti have come through political and natural disasters and yet have produced some of the most colorful, cheerful, and charming works of art to be found--Dr. Janson and Ms. Helen Gardner, go figure!

The Arts Council has the great pleasure of presenting works of Haitian artists, alive and dead, naive and classically trained, pleasant village scenes and a few of the damage of the earthquake.

For example, one of the works shows a brightly-colored image of life in a Haitian village--with typical colors and perspective and subject. The other image is based upon the experience of the earthquake. The colors are muted, the figures long and swaying a bit, and the middle and forward grounds are pushed together. The most definable building is a church whose bell is swinging out of its tower. And there is Voodoo.

Saturday, October 24, 6pm, Great Hall $30/Person I RSVP by October 11, 2015

The Metro Players are planning a 30th anniversary gala celebration to toast our longevity and honor our founding director, Frances Bartley Cleaver.

Cocktail attire or come dressed as your favorite theatre character! The celebration will be a catered event, with a video presentation and various other “honorings” tracing the history of the Players and the role our ministry has played at Metropolitan. Ultimately, we’ll let the guest of honor speak! We’re in the process of creating an archive of photos, videos, programs, etc. of the last 30 years to share with all our fans. The entire congregation is invited, of course, but reservations and tickets are required. To reserve your tickets go to nationalchurch.org/metroplayers30.

There are also additional ways to support this special event for The Players: Advertise in the Program: $30 for a quarter-page | $60 for a half-page | $100 for a full-page Submit a photograph, write a note of support, or advertise your business or service. Contact Bob Benn at metroplayersdc@ yahoo.com for more details about advertising in the program.

Be a Program Sponsor: Ex. Producer/$500 (6 Tickets/Table) I Producer/$250 (4 Tickets) I Asst. Producer/$100 (2 Tickets) Make a Special Donation: $50/Specialty Lighting & Sound I $50/“Set Decorations” (Centerpieces, etc.) I $50/Awards Presentation I $50/Transportation (providing rides to and from Homewood, Asbury, etc.)

To RSVP, pay for your tickets, become a Program Sponsor, or make a Special Donation go to nationalchurch.org/metroplayers30. If you have any questions, please contact The Metro Players at MetroPlayersDC@yahoo.com.

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Study at the Metropolitan Church Disciple Bible Study Beginning Thursday, September 17 7pm, Conference Room

As Christians, we believe that God reveals God’s self to us in unique ways through the written words of Scripture. When we study the Bible, we learn more about God, more about ourselves, and see the world and its challenges through new eyes. The Disciple Bible Study program offers you a chance to grow in your faith, strengthen and stretch your knowledge of scripture, and form a community with other members of your Disciple class. If you are ready to stretch and grow, Disciple is the place for you.

Beginning Thursday, September 17, we will offer Disciple 2: “Into the Word, Into the World.” This study proclaims the transforming power of Scripture while teaching Bible study skills that will take us deeper into the Scripture. The purpose is to change habits and transform lives. The study also emphasizes the rhythm of coming to God and going for God, of being in the Word and in the world individually and corporately. The class will meet Thursday evenings and will be led

by Rev. Janet Craswell.

Disciple 2 is designed for those who have already completed Disciple 1 (the red book), but individuals with other previous extensive Bible study experience may also participate.

Please speak to Rev. Janet if you have any questions about your participation. We will do an overview of the course and distribute books on September 17. If you are interested in joining Disciple 2, please contact Rev. Janet Craswell at jcraswell@nationalchurch.org or 202-363-4900, ext. 115 so we can be sure to order enough books.

Intergenerational Bible Story Hour First and Third Sundays, 9:30am, Wesley*

Join us on the first and third Sundays of the month for a more in-depth look at the stories in scripture we’ll be reading in worship at Wesley. Meet at 9:30am to sing a few songs together. At 9:45am step into the story tent on the stage in the fellowship hall. Pastor Kate will re-tell the story, and then we’ll have until 10:45am to reflect on the story using different art mediums--drama, drawing, painting, modeling clay, journaling. This is a time for all of us to gather--no matter what age--for some Wesley family time in exploring scripture together. Contact Pastor Kate with any questions or ideas. *5312 Connecticut Ave., NW.

Inspired Parenting Class Sundays, 10:10am Fireplace Room

Metropolitan Youth and Children’s Ministry invites you to an Inspired Parenting Class.

Beginning on Sunday, September 20, the class is open to parents with kids of all ages.

This class is a safe space to share the week’s parenting challenges and joys. We talk about helping keep our kids grounded and passing along lessons of our faith.

It’s a great place to find advice, feel affirmed, and become connected with other parents in our church community. Drop in as you can—newcomers always welcome.

Food for Thought: Race & Bias Wednesdays Sept. 30, Oct. 7, 14 and 21 6pm - Dinner 7pm - Class

As part of Metropolitan’s fall focus on race, Food for Thought is offering a short course on Race & Bias. We will be looking at the usually unconscious, unintentional racial divisions present in our collective living. We look to uncover the enculturated and unconscious bias we all carry in one form or another through study of scripture, sociological research, and prayerful listening. The course will include: Got Bias?: A presentation from Julian Blair and Dushaw Hockett; Identity Reflection: In different stages of your life, what have been your experiences of discrimination?; Trust Circles: Prayerful listening around personal stories of discrimination; Understanding Race as a Social Construct; The Church's Role in Moving Beyond Institutional Racism: Structures to be transformed, power, possibility, and barriers.

The course will be led by Rev. Kate Payton and Dr. Esther Barkat with assistance from Julian Blair and Dushaw Hockett, Executive Director of SPACEs—Safe Places for the Advancement of Community and Equity. Community dinner available at 6pm, $8 per person. Reserve your spot for dinner (requested but not required) at nationalchurch.org/ foodforthought! For more information, contact Rev. Janet Craswell, jcraswell@nationalchurch.org or 202-363-4900, ext. 115.

Science and Religion: Head, Heart and Spirit Sundays, 10:10am, Parlor

During the Fall months of 2015, the Science and Religion Sunday morning class will focus its discussions on the topic “Head, Heart and Spirit.” The disciplines of the neurosciences have recently become “interdisciplinary” in many respects, with conferences and research projects now involving theologians, philosophers, bioethicists, evolutionary biologists, psychologists and many medical specialists.

Our initial discussions will center on current brain research, and then broaden to include topics focused on language, memory, artistic creativity, empathy and social collaborations, autism and cognitive disorders, personal identity, transcendent spiritual experiences, and new technologies for cognitive enhancement. Leadership for this three month series of discussions will be provided by Dr. Alexandra McPherron, Principal Scientist at MYO Therapeutics.

During the Fall, our discussions will be enhanced by having the participation of the members of the Bible-Plus class.

Visitors and anyone curious about the topics are always welcome. We will be meeting every Sunday morning at 10:10am, with formal discussion ending in time for persons to attend the second worship service each Sunday. Background readings are available. For more information, contact Maynard Moore, emaynard8@yahoo.com or Kent Weaver, kenthweaver@gmail.com.

Check out our blog at nationalchurch.blogspot.com!

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The United Methodist Women Health in Harmony Tuesday, September 22, 7pm, Wesley Library*

Join in a conversation with representatives from “Health in Harmony.” The Margaret Rich Staats Fund has long supported this Indonesian based non-profit that provides medical care in exchange for credits that patients earn by helping to sustain the rain forest in which they live. An innovative model for addressing both the environmental damage of illegal logging and the lack of adequate medical care in the area, “Health in Harmony” has successfully pursued its mission of “Saving Forests * Saving Lives” since 2005. Please send questions/RSVPs to MetroUMW@gmail.com.

UMW Sunday Sunday, September 27 9am and 11:15am Worship

Join us at Metropolitan Memorial as we celebrate “United Methodist Women Sunday” at both worship services. Our guest preacher is Rev. Aundreia Alexander, Esq., Associate General Secretary for Action and Advocacy for Justice and Peace at The National Council of Churches (NCC). The NCC is a community of 37 Christian denominations called by Christ to visible unity and sent forth in the Spirit to promote God’s justice, peace, and the healing of the world. In recent years, their Action and Advocacy work has extended to Eco-Justice, Ending Poverty, Racial Justice, and Women’s Ministries. Rev. Alexander leads the NCC’s initiative to reverse the rising trend of mass incarceration in the United States.

Our annual luncheon follows worship at 12:45pm in the Vestry. Our luncheon speaker will be Maria Estefania, President of the Board of Directors of Bright Beginnings.

About Bright Beginnings. Have you ever wondered where children living in shelters go during the day? Where do they learn? Where do they play? Where do they go to feel safe?

Bright Beginnings understands the special needs of young children and families living in homeless environments.

Bright Beginnings provides safe, nurturing, developmentally-appropriate childcare for homeless infants, toddlers and preschoolers, to help them reach important childhood milestones, while also helping their parents to end their homelessness. Bright Beginnings is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

We suggest a donation of $10 for UMW members for the luncheon and guests are FREE! Please stay for lunch with us and check us out!

United Methodist Women’s Bazaar Volunteer Now! Tuesdays, 10am, Parlor

Join the sorting and pricing team! It’s a great way to get connected with folks you may not know very well, and many hands make light work! Have items to donate?

Drop off your gently-used items (kitchen things, china/ collectibles, puzzles/games, “attic treasures,” Christmas decorations and women’s accessories) beside the UMW closet near the Vestry. Please drop jewelry donations off at the church office. (No books. Save them for the spring book sale). Contact: Barbara Gaskill, BETQGaskill@ gmail.com or 202-244-3512.

Rachel Ternes AU Methodists and UMW Alum Begins Life as a Missionary

Rachel Ternes graduated from AU last spring and was a familiar face at our 11:15am worship at Metropolitan (she was last year’s liturgist on UMW Sunday!). Rachel was commissioned in July as a US-2 Global Mission Fellow of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries.

An artist, Rachel will spend her two-year term as a community organizer at a center run by Arch Street UMC in Philadelphia, PA. She will connect with the local art community to raise support for Arch Street's social justice campaigns and their ministry with neighbors who struggle against the homelessness, poverty, and violence that result from racist and unjust economic systems.

In a letter to Metropolitan’s UMW, Rachel wrote: “I remember standing and singing ‘Here I Am, Lord’ in the closing worship at the 2014 UMW Assembly in Louisville, KY. As I sang, I was thinking about all the powerful, faithful, inspiring women I had met and learned from over the past few days... Right then, I knew that the Global Mission Fellows program ...was the way that I was called to be involved in God's mission. … I would be setting out … in the company of all the wonderful women who have ever served the Church in mission, and with the support of a Church that (if the Metropolitan UMW is any indication) is devoted to generously supporting those working for justice, and believes in the ability of young people in the church.” See Rachel’s missionary profile at umcmission.org/explore-our-work/missionaries-inservice/missionary-profiles/ternes-rachel. Follow her blog at rachelternesgmf.wordpress.com.

Pictures from Mission U, July 31 – August 2, at the Pooks Hill Marriott, Bethesda, MD.

Ellen, Helene and Jeanie posed with David Hosey, AU Associate Chaplain, who made a cameo at Mission U to pick up his mom!

Mission U attendees: Esther Barkat, Jeanie Mah, Ellen Bachman, Helen Lilly. (not pictured: Mary Jo Marchant)

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Caring Ministries Life Transitions Offers Many Program Opportunities This Fall

The Life Transitions program is committed to helping members and friends during times of difficult transitions. Come and explore our fall support groups and educational events below.

“Time for Letting Go and Welcoming the New” with Marjory Bankson Sunday, October 25, 12:30pm, Great Hall

Marjory Zoet Bankson is a published author, working artist, and seasoned spiritual guide. Her books, Call to the Soul and Creative Aging, present a spiritual template for discerning call at every stage of life. Light lunch provided.

Fall Support Groups

Grief Support Group Beginning Wednesday, September 16 7pm, Great Hall

Our Life Transitions Ministry will offer a grief support group this fall for those who have experienced the death of a loved one within the last year. The meeting dates are Wednesdays, September 16 - October 21. Pre-registration is requested. For more information or to register, contact Rev. Drema McAllister-Wilson, dwilson@nationalchurch.org or 202-363-4900, ext. 104.

Chronic Illness and Caregiving Beginning Wednesday, September 16 7pm, Fireplace Room

Join us the third Wednesday of each month! On September 16, we’ll regroup after the summer to hear what we did and can do individually to “get recharged.” Just come, or contact Susan Roach, susanroach2@gmail.com or Nancy Cherney, nancy@nutritionmattersnow.com.

Creative Aging Beginning Wednesday, October 14, 7pm, Great Hall

The Creative Aging Group explores, through the sharing of personal anecdotes, the aspects of continuing to work or retiring. Meets the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month, starting October 14. Just come, or contact Susan Elliott, overlookzoo@verizon.net or Ann Cochran, ann@annpcochran.com.

Food for Thought: Life Transitions Wednesday Evenings, October 28 - November 18, Dinner - 6pm, Vestry; Program - 7pm, Great Hall Join us as Life Transitions presents four programs at Food for Thought October 28 - Advance Directives: Chronic Illness/Caregiving will host an informative Food for Thought discussion with a nationally known Elder Law Attorney, William (Bill) Fralin, on the two parts of an advance directive, a living will and a health care power of attorney, plus more.

November 4 - My Gift of Grace: A Conversation Game for Living and Dying Well: Chronic Illness/Caregiving will host another Food for Thought evening with “My Gift of Grace,” a conversation game for living and dying well, in hopes of encouraging good conversation and advance care planning. We welcome both new participants and those who previously attended our Chronic Illness/Caregiving Life Transitions events. Contacts: Susan Roach at susanroach2@gmail.com and Nancy Cherney at nancy@nutritionmattersnow.com.

November 11 - Aging Creatively: Join us for a conversation on aging creatively. Contacts: Susan Elliott, overlookzoo@ verizon.net and Ann Cochran, ann@annpcochran.com.

November 18 - Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande: A Book Discussion Led by Rev. Drema McAllister-Wilson: (Please note that you don’t have to read the book beforehand). In his bestselling books, Atul Gawande, a practicing surgeon, has fearlessly revealed the struggles of his profession. Now he examines its ultimate limitations and failures—in his own practices as well as others’—as life draws to a close. And he discovers how we can do better. He follows a hospice nurse on her rounds, a geriatrician in his clinic, and reformers turning nursing homes upside down. He finds people who show us how to have the hard conversations and how to ensure we never sacrifice what people really care about. Being Mortal shows how the ultimate goal is not a good death but a good life----all the way to the very end.

Lunch and More Thursday, September 17, Noon, Great Hall

AARP Meeting Monday, September 21, 1pm, Vestry

Join us for games like Banana-grams, Trivial Pursuits, bridge or watch a movie. Our movie this month is Selma. Hope to see you there and bring a friend! For more information, contact Drema McAllister-Wilson, dwilson@nationalchurch.org.

Join representatives from the Northwest Neighbors Village in Chevy Chase as they update us on the village movement in the Washington area. These villages aim to keep people in their homes as they age. Social time is at 12:30pm.

Prayer Shawl Ministry Sunday, September 20, 12:30pm, Parlor

Weekly Meditation Practice Wednesdays, 8:30am, Sanctuary

Enjoy a time of knitting, crocheting, fellowship, ministry and fun! If you are interested in joining, contact Barbara Tate, Bdtate@verizon.net

Nurture a sense of inner peace, calm and balance with guided and walking meditation. All are welcome. Contact: Betty Rogers, betty.rogers24@verizon.net.

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Our Mission: Building an inclusive, caring Christian community that invites all into a deepening relationship with God and challenges all of us to grow as disciples, seeking justice and joy for the transformation of the world.

Our Vision: Extending radical hospitality, transforming lives, and pursuing justice.

Reconciling Statement: Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church affirms that all individuals are of sacred worth with-

out regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, education, marital circumstances, economic status, physical and mental condition, or criminal history. We declare ourselves in support of the reconciling movement and welcome the full participation in the church of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered persons and their families, as a reflection of God’s unconditional love. At the same time, we recognize differences of opinion on issues of sexuality and seek to journey together in faith toward greater understanding and mutual respect.

Pastoral and Administrative Staff - 3401 Nebraska Avenue, NW, DC - 202.363.4900 www.nationalchurch.org - Pastoral Emergency Number - 202.510.8555 Rev. Dr. Charles Parker –– Senior Pastor, ext. 108, cparker@nationalchurch.org Rev. Kate Payton — Associate Pastor, Sharing, Lead Pastor at Wesley UMC, ext. 110, kpayton@nationalchurch.org Rev. Dottie Yunger –– Associate Pastor, Service/Advocacy, ext. 111, dyunger@nationalchurch.org Rev. Drema McAllister-Wilson — Minister of Congregational Care, ext. 104, dwilson@nationalchurch.org Rev. Janet Craswell—Director of Christian Education, ext. 115, jcraswell@nationalchurch.org Rev. Barbara Green – Minister of Life Transitions, bgreen@nationalchurch.org, ext. 105 David Finnegan-Hosey - Campus Ministry Coordinator, dhosey@nationalchurch.org Princess Bethea — Office Coordinator, ext. 102, pbethea@nationalchurch.org Bruce Caviness — 11a.m. Organist-Choirmaster, ext. 152, bcaviness@nationalchurch.org Jeff Clouser — Director of IT and Communications, ext. 113, jclouser@nationalchurch.org Dona Collary — Pastoral Care Assistant/Wedding and Funeral Coordinator, ext. 106, dcollary@nationalchurch.org Casey Campbell — Dayspring Choir Director/9am Worship Leader/Youth Choir Director, ext. 151, celliott@nationalchurch.org Patrisha House — Director of Worship, Music and Arts, ext. 114, phouse@nationalchurch.org Patrick Landau — Director of Youth Ministries, ext. 112, plandau@nationalchurch.org Bill Potts –– Executive Director of Operations, ext. 101, wpotts@nationalchurch.org Rafael Reyes — Director of Building and Grounds, ext. 116, rreyes@nationalchurch.org Helen Simon — Executive Assistant to Dr. Parker, ext. 109, hsimon@nationalchurch.org Linda Smith — Director of Nursery School, 202.362.8746, lsmith@nationalchurch.org

The Messenger is published by The Metropolitan Church - A Multi-site United Methodist Community Metropolitan Memorial - 3401 Nebraska Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20016 Tel: 202.363.4900 St. Luke’s Mission Center (3655 Calvert St., NW)/Wesley UMC (5312 Conn. Ave., NW) Fax: 202.686.2056 E-Mail: jclouser@nationalchurch.org website: nationalchurch.org

NEXT ISSUE: October 12, 2015

NEXT DEADLINE: Noon on October 6, 2015