UMW Newsletter THE METROPOLITAN CHURCH
April, 2015 Metropolitan Memorial, St. Luke’s & Wesley United Methodist Churches 202-363-4900 (MMUMC office)
Mark Your Calendar April
July
2 Th
Maundy Thursday, Worship (7:30pm, Metropolitan UMC)
3F
Good Friday, Seven Last Words of Christ (noon-3pm, Metropolitan)
3F
Good Friday, Tenebrae Service (7-9pm, Wesley UMC)
3F
Good Friday, Worship (7:30pm, Metropolitan UMC)
5 Su
Easter
12 Su
Wesley Circle informational meeting (12:30pm at Wesley UMC)
13 M
UMW Board Mtg (7-8:30pm, Conference Rm)
25 Sa
Great Day of Service
29-Aug 2
National Seminar, Chicago
August 24 M
UMW Board Mtg (7-8:30pm, Conference Rm)
September 14 M
UMW Board Mtg (7-8:30pm, Conference Rm)
27 Su
UMW Sunday
November 7 Sa
UMW Bazaar
December 6 Su
UMW Recognition Sunday
May 11 M
UMW Board Mtg (7-8:30pm, Conference Rm)
15-17
Charter for Racial Justice Seminar
F-Su 23 Sa
Greater Washington District UMW Prayer Breakfast (9am, Great Hall)
Metropolitan UMW Newsletter : April 2015
Table Of Contents Reflections
pg 2
UMW News
3-7
Metropolitan News
8-11
Circles
12
Page 1 of 12
UMW News The 2015 UMW Directory is out!
Highlights Wesley circle informational meeting, p. 3 Great Day of Service information, p. 4 Call for UMW Recognition nominations, p. 5 Thank yous, recaps and reflections on recent UMW events p. 3, 6, 7
We have distributed a version in PDF format to those on our e-mail list in an attempt to be “greener”. We have also distributed hard copies through Circle meetings to save mailing costs. However, if you still don’t have a copy, we will be mailing them out soon. If you have updates to this version of the directory, please send them to MetroUMW@gmail.com.
Have you tried Lunch and More? p. 8 Last chance to see Picturing Mary at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, p. 8 A trip to Italy with UMW member Esther Burkat and EO Tours, p. 9
Reflections “Christmas and Easter can be subjects for poetry, but Good Friday, like Auschwitz, cannot. The reality is so horrible it is not surprising that people should have found it a stumbling block to faith.” ~ W.H. Auden
“Remember Jesus of Nazareth, staggering on broken feet out of the tomb toward the Resurrection, bearing on his body the proud insignia of the defeat which is victory, the magnificent defeat of the human soul at the hands of God.” ~ Frederick Buechner, The Magnificent Defeat Metropolitan UMW Newsletter : April 2015
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UMW News
Expanding the UMW Circle April 12 at 12:30pm, Wesley UMC Come meet the women of Wesley who may be interested in starting a Wesley Circle. We will meet at Wesley (5312 Connecticut Ave. @ Jenifer St.) at 12:30pm in the Library (lower level). Come to share your experiences of UMW and let’s see what we can do together!
Lenten Contemplative Services Thank you to our UMW ushers, to Mary Jo Marchant for being our on-site coordinator and to Margaret Patterson, our unit’s Spiritual Missions Coordinator, for managing the schedule:
Connie Sommers Margaret Patterson
Bonnie Edwards Penny Pagano
Rose Kelley Pam McFarland
Claire Saret Jeanie Mah
Because of the UMW’s participation, our unit will collect the freewill offerings from the Lenten evening services and designate them for Courtney’s House. Our unit also gave $100 to the Greater Washington District UMW as our Call to Prayer and Self-Denial gift. A Call to Prayer and Self-Denial is an annual observance during which members reflect on the gospel of Christ and make an offering to mission in response to Christ’s love and his people. In 2015, the offering received will go toward the pensions and health care of retired deaconesses and missionaries. One hundred percent of the offering will go directly to provide health and pension support for retirees. When the Call to Prayer and Self-Denial offerings went towards this same fund 4 years ago, UMW members raised nearly $900,000 to provide pension and health support for approximately 160 retirees.
~ Jeanie Mah
Metropolitan UMW Newsletter : April 2015
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UMW News Mark your calendars now for the Great Day of Service Saturday, April 25th Our church and community need all helping hands on deck to support our Great Day of Service! We have booked a variety of activities that call on the full range of our unit’s gifts and talents. Some advance planning is required, so please think about how you’d like to plug in starting now. 10am – 1pm at the DC Diaper Bank Warehouse, 8858 Monard Drive, Silver Spring, MD We need 5 volunteers to help with inventory and packing diapers at the DC Diaper Bank Warehouse, from 10am – 1pm. If you would like to represent the UMW by volunteering at the Diaper Warehouse, please e-mail MetroUMW@gmail.com. Spots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. 9am – noon at St. Luke’s Mission Center, 3655 Calvert Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20007 Projects in the Chancel, including: • Filling Bags of Grace for Friendship Place • Compiling kits for the children of Brighter Day Ministries • Filling Outreach Bags for Courtney’s House • Hand-painting watercolor cards for the Metropolitan greeting card ministry 11:30am – 2:30pm at St. Luke’s Mission Center We’ll work with Chef Anthony to help keep the Campus Kitchen spotless and primed for service. 9:30am – 1pm (pending) There may also be an opportunity to deliver meals from St. Luke’s to one of our partners in NE or SE. Stay tuned!
Metropolitan UMW Newsletter : April 2015
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UMW News
UMW Recognition Luncheon - Nominations Needed Each year the UMW celebrates four outstanding women who have made significant contributions to our church, the community, and embody the spirit of United Methodist Women. The Recognition Luncheon will be held December 6, 2015. We are seeking nominations for honorees and need your input. Since we prefer to honor women not previously recognized, please see Page 6 of your new 2015 UMW Directory, which lists people who have already received this honor. Should you not have a Directory, a list of previously recognized women is also available, upon request, from Carol or Sandy (see below). To nominate someone, please contact Carol Schleicher rschlei@verizon.net or Sandy Yeager syeager42@yahoo.com.
Charter for Racial Justice Seminar
District UMW Annual Prayer Breakfast
May 15-17, 2015
Saturday, May 23 9am-noon Our unit has been asked to host the Annual Prayer Breakfast of the Greater Washington District UMW on Saturday, May 23, 9am – noon in the Great Hall. This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with our sisters from all quadrants of the city and put Radical Hospitality into action. The theme will be “Welcomed by God, Welcoming All”. If you can contribute a dish and/or help host, please send an e-mail to MetroUMW@gmail.com.
The Baltimore Washington Conference UMW is holding a Charter for Racial Justice Seminar from May 15 - 17, 2015, at Blackstone United Methodist Conference Center, Blackstone, VA. Please e-mail MetroUMW@gmail.com or contact a UMW board member if you are interested in attending. Our Unit has set aside funds for UMW regional meetings and we may be able to provide some financial support (e.g., registration fees). For potential bus transportation, contact MetroUMW@gmail.com or Pamela Randall at (410)-257-7132.
Metropolitan UMW Newsletter : April 2015
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UMW News INNOVATIONS AT THE UWM BOOK & BAKE SALE
Book & Bake Sale Recap Thank you to all: Book Donators Book Un-Packers Book Sorters Book Sale Publicizers Book Sellers Book Browsers Book Buyers Bakers Book Re-Packers
Almost $3,700 raised! Thank you to Anita Seline and Martha Mizroch for fearlessly leading us through a wonderfully successful Book Sale! This year, with help from Bill Potts, we were able to process credit cards for the first time.
It couldn't have happened without you! Our book and bake sale earlier in March raked in nearly $3700 in sales thanks to all of you who brought in books, made baked goods, set-up, organized, cleaned up, and most importantly, helped us spread the word about the sale. Thank you for taking the many leaps of faith in the process. This year, we tried an electronic sign-up process called Sign Up Genius to organize volunteers. The slots filled before our eyes and those who weren't comfortable with the electronic sign-up still called and got on the list. For the first time, we accepted credit cards at the sale (for a $10 minimum charge, plus a 50 cent convenience fee). This resulted in nearly $600 in sales that we are not sure would have happened if the UMW hadn't been willing to take a chance on using plastic. Finally, we took to the internet to publicize the sale. Many of you spread the word about the sale on your neighborhood listserves to tell your communities about the event. We also found a special site just for used book sales called booksalefinder.com. And we created a twitter account and tweeted about the sale. Our twitter handle is @metropolitanumw. Tell your grandkids! The UMW is on Twitter! As successful as the sale was, we still have books left over afterward. Our friends at Wonder Books picked up the remainders and gave us a check for $140, ($1 per box). The children's books were divided among Brighter Day Ministries, for our sister church's after-school program; Democracy Prep charter school's Saturday Academy, and Chevy Chase Citizens Association, which is distributing the books to public school libraries in Ward 7 & 8. Thanks again to our wonderful UMW for its terrific work at the sale, which was a wonderful opportunity for our lively and generous community to come together. ~ Anita Seline & Martha Mizroch
Metropolitan UMW Newsletter : April 2015
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UMW News
My favorite thing about the retreat‌ This year's women's retreat was fun, challenging and reflective. We played, pondered and created awesome pouches that we can carry with us to remember our own personal stories as well as remembering the discussion and reflection we made on self-care. If you were not there you missed a wonderful time and an opportunity to reflect and rejuvenate!
~ Mary Jo Marchant Across the board it was a wonderful weekend, a stretch for me to enjoy a craft project, but my favorite moment was when I had asked those lying on the floor at the end of a Feldenkrais lesson to compare a move "now" with the same move when they started, and I heard breath in-takes and happy murmuring.
~ Pat Simpich
Save the date for the next PriestField retreat: February 5-7, 2016
I have not attended the retreat in years past, but will in the future. I enjoyed the warm, supportive company of other women as well as the opportunity to step away from my hectic life for a couple of days. ~ Carol Farris My favorite memory of the retreat was trading quotes from the movie "Pretty in Pink" (circa. 1986) with Dottie Yunger. Yes, I'm referring to Reverend Dottie. "What about prom, Blane?!" I thought it was amazing that our women clergy and staff, whose "day jobs" are the very definition of well-doing -- namely, shepherding the rest of us on our messy spiritual journeys -- wanted to attend the women's retreat and just hang out with us. Really, if anyone needed a weekend dedicated to self-care, wouldn't it be them? To see them having a good time and feeling safe enough to be themselves gave me yet another reason to be grateful for the annual women's retreat. It confirmed for me that care-giving isn't the job of a designated few, but with the gifts of the Holy Spirit in each of us, we can and are meant to take care of each other.
~ Jeanie Mah Metropolitan UMW Newsletter : April 2015
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Metropolitan & Community News National Museum of Women in the Arts Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea on view until April 12, 2015
Fra Filippo Lippi, Madonna and Child (Madonna col Bambino) (detail), ca. 1466–69; Provincia di Firenze, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence
“Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea” explores the concept of womanhood represented by the Virgin Mary as well as the social and sacred functions her image has served through time. This landmark exhibition organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts brings together more than 60 Renaissance- and Baroque-era masterworks from the Vatican Museums, Uffizi Gallery, and other museums, churches, and private collections in Europe and the United States. Divided into six thematic sections, the exhibition presents images of Mary as a daughter, cousin, and wife; the mother of an infant; a bereaved parent; the protagonist in a rich life story developed through the centuries; a link between heaven and earth; and an active participant in the lives of those who revere her.” See more at: http://nmwa.org/exhibitions/picturing-mary-woman-mother-idea
Lunch and More
Jewelry-Making Group
April 15 & May 21, noon, Great Hall UMW ladies please come and join us April 16 and May 21 (the third Thursday of the month) at noon in the Great Hall for lunch followed by fellowship time which can be Bridge, Games, or a Film. Cost $5. Food from Lidos. Reservations not required. Just come and enjoy. Contact Phyllis Kokus pkokus@aol.com or Mary Jo Marchant mjmarchant@verizon.net.
4th Wednesday each month
Metropolitan UMW Newsletter : April 2015
Next meeting April 22 at 7pm The Jewelry-Making Group meets in the Christie Room on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7pm during Food for Thought classes. The Community Dinner is 6pm in the Vestry. We go over the unsold pieces of jewelry from the last Bazaar, revamp them, and get them ready for the next Bazaar. For questions, contact Kelly D'Angelo at kellysclothes@aol.com
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Metropolitan & Community News
GRATE PATROL ~ GREAT CIRCLE ACTIVITY Wanted: Circles to volunteer to assemble lunches for the Grate Patrol Pick a Sunday study hour, Vestry (see dates below) Is your circle looking for an easy service project that can be done on Sunday morning? Every month, Metropolitan assembles about 50 or more lunch bags that are distributed to the homeless through a Salvation Army program called The Grate Patrol. Anita Seline is coordinating the scheduling of this volunteer activity and encourages all UMW circles to consider taking a date. The groups that sign up don't have to do the shopping nor the distribution on Monday night, but simply show up in the Vestry on the last Sunday of the month during the study hour, make sandwiches, and assemble the bag lunches. It's a fun activity while also providing a great service (and it doesn't take that long). If you are looking for a short but useful service activity, see if any of these dates fit in your circle's calendar and contact Anita Seline at amseline@aol.com to schedule. As of press time, the following 2015 dates are open: June 28 October 25 July 26 August 30
November 29 December 27
September 27
Educational Opportunities Tour trip to Italy with EO Tours November 3 – 12, 2015 Dear Friends, My name is Esther Barkat. I have recently join Metropolitan church. My husband and I moved to Springfield Virginia from West Virginia where my husband served UM Churches for 45 years. At present he is a part time pastor at St. Luke’s UMC in Falls Church, Virginia. I am a retired psychology professor. I am have been very active in UMW since 1973. At this point I am serving on UMW organization Board of Directors. My husband and I are hosting a trip to Italy in November and would like to invite you to come and join us on this part religious part pleasure journey. I am attaching a brochure (IT15_14180_Barkat_Layout 1.pdf) that would explain the trip and all the expenses. If you have any question, please contact me at eunica99@aol.com. Blessings, Esther Barkat
Metropolitan UMW Newsletter : April 2015
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Metropolitan & Community News Food for Thought Spring 2015 Wednesday evening adult Christian formation programs Dinner 6 pm; Classes 7 pm Childcare available by request 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 8: April 8-29, 2015 Bible Study: Job Why do bad things happen to good people? Is good rewarded? Is evil punished? The book of Job engages these questions using rich, poetic language. Topical Study: A Hopeful Earth: Faith, Science and the Message of Jesus by Sally Dyck and Sarah Ehrman Led by Rev. Dottie Yunger This study pairs the Christian faith of Bishop Sally Dyck and the scientific world of her niece, Sarah Ehrman, as they discover how the church can reach the younger generation by joining them in the race to save the environment that God created.
Dottie Yunger is an Associate Pastor at Metropolitan. She currently provides leadership to the service team. Previously Dottie was the Executive Director of Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake, an interfaith environmental organization in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. She has served at Capitol Hill UMC as the student associate for reconciliation ministries, which included multicultural ministry and creation care. Dottie is a marine biologist who has worked for the Smithsonian Institution, Discovery Channel, and the National Aquarium. She has studied ecosystem modeling and sea turtle conservation, mostly in warm, sunny climates. Dottie received a Bachelor of Science in marine science from the University of Maryland, and her Master of Divinity and Master of Theological Studies from Wesley Theological Seminary. Continued on page 15
Metropolitan UMW Newsletter : April 2015
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Metropolitan & Community News
Continued from page 14
Session 9: May 6-27, 2015 Bible Study: The Acts of the Apostles In this sequel to the Gospel of Luke, the writer tells of the birth of the early church, the ministry of Peter, the conversion and missionary journeys of Paul, and the activity of the Holy Spirit as Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire. With healings and miracles, persecution and suffering, contentious church dinners, shipwrecks, snakes and trials, the Acts of the Apostles tells a fascinating story of our beginnings as a faith. Topical Study: “Understanding Islam” Led by Dr. Homayra Ziad According to the Pew Research Center, there are more than 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, making Islam the second largest religion globally. Islamic extremists dominate the headlines, but what do we really know about Islam? Dr. Homayra Ziad will lead us through a study of the origins and central beliefs of Islam, and explain the differences between various sects of Islam. She will also discuss the role of women in Islam, and the Muslim experience in the United States.
Homayra Ziad is the Muslim Scholar at the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies in Baltimore, and formerly Assistant Professor of Religion at Trinity College in Hartford. After receiving her first degree from Bryn Mawr, she earned a doctorate in Islamic Studies from Yale. Dr. Ziad is deeply involved in interreligious education, as well as interfaith initiatives and educational outreach on Islam. She is recently co-founder and co-chair of the American Academy of Religion’s Interreligious and Interfaith Studies Group, and an editor for Palgrave’s upcoming series Interreligious Studies in Theory and Practice. Dr. Ziad finds a home in Scriptural Reasoning and Jewish-Muslim and Abrahamic dialogue. She works regularly on projects of inter-religious learning with Andover Newton Theological School and Hebrew College in Boston, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College of Philadelphia, and the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. She is a member of the WISE Women’s Shura Council, co-author of a fatwa against domestic violence, and a contributor to the Huffington Post’s HuffJummah. She is working on two books, the first on the intersections of spirituality and literary aesthetics in the work of the eighteenthcentury Sufi theologian and poet of Delhi Khwajah Mir Dard, and the second a popular work on Islam and humor. Dr. Ziad is inspired in her work by spiritual and pluralist traditions within Islam.
Metropolitan UMW Newsletter : April 2015
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Circles
Resurrection Mural by Ron DiCianni The Museum of Biblical Art, Dallas, Texas
Circles 2
On April 8th Circle 2 will be visiting the National Museum of Women in the Arts for the “Picturing Mary” exhibit. All are invited. Contact Jane Cunningham, jtc3rd@aol.com, 703-821-3486 or Charlotte Carter, char.carter@cox.net.
6
We will welcome Jane Ward as she shares with us her passion and expertise regarding climate change. Jane will share the DVD "Chasing Ice". It is a 75 minute documentary sponsored by National Geographic by geologist/photographer James Balog, a former climate change skeptic. See the trailer on the website: https://chasingice.com. All are welcomed, join us April 16 at 7:00p.m in the parlor. Please rsvp to Mary Jo at mjmarchant@verizon.net in case we need a bigger room!
8
Contact Eugenia Evans, setevens@comcast.net
9
Circle 9 will meet on Wednesday, April 1 at 10:30 a.m. in the Choir Room. We will discuss books we have read from this year’s UMW Reading Program and will have a short Pledge to Mission service. Please contact Bobby Turnbull, bobbyturnbull@comcast.net.
10
We are going to try a book and discussion on relationships for our next Circle 10 meeting. Before you leave town for spring break, pick up a copy of The Five Languages of Love: Secrets to Love that Lasts by Gary Chapman (Northfield Publishing, 2009). http://www.amazon.com/The-Love-Languages-SecretLasts/dp/080241270X/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=169J6GC55BYMB5EQAC2B We will meet on Sunday, April 19 at 5:30-7 in the Parlor. Contact Caralee Adams caralee.adams@verizon.net or Suzanne Vieth msvieth@verizon.net
The next UMW Board Meeting will be held April 13, 2015. Newsletter prepared by Alexandra McPherron. To add items to the next newsletter, email alexmcph@gmail.com by Monday, April 27, 2014.
Metropolitan UMW Newsletter : April 2015
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