MMUMC | Metro Update

Please Pick up Your Dishes
Thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers who provided meals for the shelter this season. It’s now time to come and collect your dishes! There are many plates, pans, and other items to be picked up. Stop by the Vestry kitchen Sunday and look on the serving counter. You should find your dish, plate, or whatever there. Thanks very much for your assistance with the shelter!

ASP Auction!
Sunday, March 14, 12:30 p.m., Vestry
Thank you to all for the donations to the March 14 Youth in Mission Auction. We have a fabulous array of vacation homes, gift certificates, parties, goodies, and baskets. For a complete list of the wonderful items that will be featured in the silent and live auction, click here. A free lunch will be served, so join us for the fun!!

Attend the March 15 WIN Rally with Mayor Fenty
Monday, March 15, Covenant Baptist Church, 6 p.m.
Over 500 leaders from Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) churches will gather on Monday, March 15th at Covenant Baptist Church in Southwest DC with DC Mayor Adrian Fenty and key DC Council members. The purposes of this rally are 1) to unveil a WIN campaign to create jobs for DC neighborhood residents; 2) to hold the DC Mayor Adrian Fenty and DC Council accountable for their Vote Neighborhoods First election agenda pledges to invest in youth, supportive housing, affordable housing, and neighborhood revitalization; and 3) to unveil a local action campaign to end usury by financial institutions in the District of Columbia.

Be part of Metropolitan’s team attending this important meeting. Our delegation will assemble in the MMUMC parking lot at 6:00 p.m. Please contact Ann Michel (202-885-8582 or amichel@wesleyseminary.edu) if you are interested in attending.

Asbury Today: A special day of Learning about Asbury Methodist Village
Luncheon and tour of campus and model apartments
Wednesday, March 17, 11 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Join us for lunch and an informative discussion to learn how you can find the perfect combination of access to quality long-term health care and the retirement lifestyle you want. Because it's what you know that can help you make a great decision. Learning all you can about the options you have really makes sense. You still deserve the freedom you can never have while maintaining a house. Transportation provided to pick you up at the church at 11 a.m. and return you to church at 3:30 p.m. For reservations, please call Louise Stewart by March 15, 2010 at 301.216.4958.

Metropolitan Players Present: The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
By Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Directed by Frances Bartley Cleaver
Friday, March 19, 8 pm - Saturday, March 20, 4 pm
Sunday, March 21, 2 pm
Following Easter, Dr. Parker’s sermon series will focus on the environment. On April 11, Beth Norcross will preach at Metropolitan and will be leading the Great Hall sessions throughout the month. She is adjunct faculty at Wesley Theological Seminary where she teaches and guest-lectures in eco-theology. Come immerse yourself in the life and thoughts of Henry David Thoreau in preparation for the sermon series.

Great Day of Service
Saturday, March 20, 9 a.m - noon, Great Hall
The Great Day of Service will be on Saturday, March 20 from 9 a.m. – noon at Metropolitan. We will gather in the Great Hall, but there will activity throughout the church, including the kitchen, nursery and Sunday School rooms. Projects will include:

Bring the whole family. Adults, youth and children are welcome. Youth can receive Student Service Learning hours. A nursery will be provided for the littlest ones. Coffee, drinks and light snacks will be served. The event is hosted by Metropolitan’s United Methodist Women.

Service Day to Include a Food Drive for Bread for the City
Let’s Collect 2010 items in 2010
The United Methodist Women of Metropolitan are organizing a congregation-wide food drive in conjunction with the March 20 Great Day of Service. They are asking church members to bring donated food items to church anytime between March 1 and March 20. There will be collection boxes in the Great Hall foyer, near the side entrance to the Sanctuary, and in the Narthex. On Service Day, volunteers will sort and pack the donations and deliver them to Bread for the City.

Seeking to provide healthy food to their clients, Bread for the City suggest donations of the following items:

Other non-perishable food items will be accepted as well. We’ve set an ambitious goal of collecting 2010 items. So please contribute generously! Volunteers are welcome to help with the sorting and delivery on Saturday, March 20 from 9 a.m. – noon in the Great Hall.

Great Hall Lecture: Reaching Out to Women in Africa
Led by Ambassador Shirley Barnes
Sunday, March 21, 10:10 a.m., Great Hall
On Sunday, March 21, the UMW of Metropolitan will host Shirley Barnes as the featured speaker in the Great Hall during the Study Hour from 10-11 a.m. Dr. Barnes is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and served as Ambassador of the United States to Madagascar from 1998-2001. She has held positions in private industry and non-profit organizations. Dr. Barnes is a member of Wesley UMC.

Dr. Barnes established the Barnes Findley Foundation to increase educational, job and economic development opportunities for African girls and women. The foundation also seeks to combat human trafficking of African women and children, especially girls, while supporting and protecting its victims. Programs include mentoring, leadership training, preventive health education and scholarships.

Come learn more about Dr. Barnes’ important work and what the church can do in response. This event is sponsored by the Social Action program of Metropolitan’s UMW.

Enjoy an Evening Out and Support Metropolitan Nursery School
Monday, March 22, 5 p.m. - 9 p.m., 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Have you driven by Surfside restaurant, a new eatery in Glover Park (2444 Wisconsin Ave. NW), and wanted to try it? Here’s your perfect opportunity. If you visit the restaurant Monday, March 22 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and mention Metropolitan, 25 percent of the evening’s proceeds will benefit the nursery school. Support our nursery school and enjoy a great meal too.

Celebrating Peeps Sunday
Sunday, March 28
Join us in the Vestry after Sunday School Sunday, March 28, as we celebrate Palm Sunday with Peeps projects. We’ll make Peeps Easter Wreathes and Peeps hats to wear in church for Easter. Peeps are lined up and ready to go in their green, yellow, purple, and pink. Be ready for Easter, Peeple! Join us.

Upcoming Sermon Series: “The Environment”
April 11 - May 9
Following Easter, the sermon series (April 11 through May 9) will focus on the environment. Beth Norcross will preach the opening sermon as well as present several of our Great Hall lectures. Beth is adjunct faculty at Wesley Theological Seminary where she teaches and guest-lectures in eco-theology. She also spearheaded the creation care and renewal program at Wesley and chairs the Wesley Creation Committee. She helped launch the national Green Seminary Initiative, of which she currently serves as the Coordinator. Beth also serves on the steering committee for the Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light. Beth speaks and preaches on the Scriptural and ecological imperatives to protect the earth and has led several workshops and retreats on nature and spirituality. Along with other resources, she has developed two for the National Council of Churches – “Sacred Waters,” an adult education curriculum, and “Building a Firm Foundation,” an eco-friendly building guide for churches.

The Alpha Course is Coming to Metropolitan!
Beginning Tuesday, April 13, 6:30 p.m.
The Alpha Course is coming to Metropolitan beginning Tuesday, April 13 and running for 10 weeks. We hope that you will join us along with friends and family!

Alpha is intended to help Christians and non-Christians to explore the meaning of life. Each evening, participants enjoy food, laughter and learning in a fun and friendly atmosphere where no question about life or God is seen as too simple or too hostile…questions like: Is there a God? Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Today, more than 33,500 Alpha Courses run in 163 countries. Our hope is that Alpha will be a source of inspiration and fellowship for our congregation and help to engage people that have never been to Church before. If you would like to attend please contact Helen Simon to register your name. We look forward to welcoming you on April 13. We are also looking for volunteers to help support the course, so please also let us know if you would like to join the team.

UMW Book Sale
Saturday, April 17, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
It’s time to clean out your bookshelves and do some spring cleaning for the UMW Book Sale. The event will be Saturday, April 17 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Book donations can be placed in the UMW closet. Barbara Gaskill is coordinating the event and is also looking for volunteers, if you want a sneak peek at the book selection this year. For more information, contact Barbara at 202-244-3512 or Barbara@bgaskill.com.

Spring Auction
Thursday, April 22, 7 p.m. - 10 p.m., Embassy of Finland
Metropolitan Nursery School will hold a spring auction on Thursday, April 22 from 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. at the Embassy of Finland (3301 Nebraska Ave. NW). Tickets are $75 and will be on sale after church Sunday, March 21.

Tuesday Lenten Studies
Now through March 30, 7:30 – 8:45pm, Wesley UMC (5312 Connecticut Ave.)
Kate D’Alessandro, Wesley Seminary Intern, and Rev. Kim Capps, United Methodist Chaplain at the University of Maryland and Blues Singer and Composer, will lead these Lenten studies. Scripture will reflect themes of journey—God’s choosing us, our preferring the stable and reliable, the risks we are called to take, how God is at work tearing all things down and making all things new. For the Wesley community, these are the same scriptures we will be using in our Sunday services. The first half hour of the study will be centered around the text and its historical context, the second half hour on reflecting the scriptural themes through various art mediums, with time at the end to share our thoughts and creations. All ages are welcome!

Bible Study
Thursdays, 1 p.m., Youth Room (206)
Please join us for a Bible study class led by Phil O’Hara and Charlie Parker on Thursdays at 1 p.m. in the Youth Room (Room 206). Questions? Contact Helen Simon at HelenMSimon@gmail.com.

The Alpha Course is Coming to Metropolitan!
The Alpha Course is coming to Metropolitan beginning Tuesday, April 13 and running for 10 weeks. We hope that you will join us along with friends and family!

Bible Plus Class, Sundays, 10:10 a.m., Christie Room
The Bible Plus class continues its study of “Lost Christianities — Christian Scriptures and the Battles over Authentication.”

Questions of Faith, Sundays, 10:10 a.m., Conference Room
Join the Questions of Faith class for a series of lectures on "What is Religion?" by given religious scholar Karen Armstrong, who describes the transition when ancient societies recoiled from an ethic of violence and instead developed an ethic based on compassion and the Golden Rule. Each lecture is followed by a spirited discussion.

Science & Religion Class, Sundays, 10:10 a.m., Parlor
Our class in March embarks on an extended study of some of history’s great scientific minds in the Western world. As background, we reviewed the development of science prior to and during the decades when John Wesley was publishing accounts of “natural philosophy” in his monthly magazine in 18^th century Britain. Now we look at some of the scientists themselves. On March 14, Dr. Alex McPherron will lead the discussion, which will focus on Robert Boyle, considered the world’s first chemist. We always have copies of the reading material available in the Parlor for our discussions at 10:10, and visitors are always welcome. Questions? Contact Maynard Moore or Kent Weaver.

College Small Group Study, Sundays at 10:10 a.m., Room G-1
Join us for our college age small group study to enjoy fellowship and and scripture. The meetings are casual and fun. We meet in Cody Nielsen’s office across from the music room. If you have any questions or want to get more involved, please contact Cody Nielsen.

Sermon Ideas
One of the great ideas that I heard on our trip to the Church of the Resurrection was that Adam Hamilton periodically asks the congregation for their thoughts on what subjects he should preach. He takes those thoughts on retreat, prays about them, and starts to develop sermon outlines for the coming two years. I loved this idea, and hoped that you could share with me your thoughts on the following questions:

1. What life situations would you like to see addressed in the sermons? 2. Are there parts of the Bible or theological questions you would like to explore? 3. Are there places in your life where you’re hurting and need guidance? 4. What do you feel are your spiritual deficiencies? 5. Are there subjects that your non-churchgoing friends would come to listen to?

Please send your thoughts to me at sermons@mmumc-dc.org, or drop them in the box in the Narthex marked “Sermon Ideas.” I’m looking forward to hearing from you! Blessings,
Rev. Dr. Charles Parker