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NATIONAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH THE MESSENGER www.nationalchurch.org

September 11th Remembrance IN THIS ISSUE

Autumn Worship Pages 2-3

Silence the Violence Honk Jr. Page 4

Food for Thought page 5 You are invited to a Prayer & Meditation Service commemorating the 20th year anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. The Metropolitan Memorial Garden @ St.Lukes Update sanctuary will be open from 5-8 pm on Saturday, September 11 for you to Farm Market Recovery participate in individual experiential prayer stations at your own pace. Page 6

Learning Opportunities Our clergy will be available for personal prayer throughout the evening. A Pages 7-9 short communal liturgy will be offered on the portico at the beginning of

UMW Sunday each hour. The meditation stations will be open throughout the 5-8 pm Page 10 timeframe. You are welcome to come just as you are, whatever you are feeling (or not feeling) as you recall the events of 9/11 and beyond. You Jazz@Wesley Page 10-11 can come for 5 minutes or stay the whole time. All are welcome. If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Ali DeLeo ([email protected] | 202-744-6440).

An Invitation to Autumn Worship from Pastor Doug

The outdoor worship service at Metropolitan Memorial was drawing to a close when this bright yellow butterfly hovered overhead during one of the hymns. A bumblebee had passed earlier in more of a direct line, but this butterfly seemed to linger there as the hymn “In Christ Alone” echoed across campus. It seemed to enjoy the song as much as I did:

In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song; This Cornerstone, this solid Ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, When fears are stilled, when strivings cease! My Comforter, my All in All, Here in the love of Christ I stand

The butterfly departed for a moment, then American University Chaplain Rev. Bryant Oskvig rose to offer the benediction and as he did, the same butterfly swooped down to the back row of worshippers where I was seated, looping down to each one seated there. Some of us held out our hands imagining it might land but it moved continuously all the way down one aisle then banking hard left, passing along the row in front of us. Hands were opened there as well. Then it turned right and seemed to tap each head—"duck, duck, duck, goose.” All summer we have reflected together on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts and dozens of ways that Spirit was manifest in town after town as the apostles declared Christ as their hope, light, strength, and song. This Sunday, at the conclusion of the series, it seems God provided a visual aid!

Many of us have experienced the touch of that Holy Comforter in the midst of this pandemic, “firm through the fiercest drought and storm.” Sundays in September and October we will celebrate church groups which have been a particular source of strength during this time.

The choir has been this yellow butterfly not only for those of us who delight in what we see and hear week after week, but also for each one recording their individual track. Some musicians have suffered tremendous loss and sadness, yet each week a director meets them with a new song, a new pattern to follow, and glory be to God, all of these individual voices are woven into holy harmony! (9/12)

Renowned composer Mark Miller joins NUMC Virtual Hymn Sing

Spiritual study groups have also brought heavenly beauty down into this pandemic for many. One group met to discuss David Finnegan-Hosey’s “Grace is a Pre-Existing Condition” in which the author wrote, “By going first with my own story of mental health struggle, mental illness, and long path to recovery, I could help create space for others to share their own stories and particularly to empower faith communities to be places where people could bring their whole selves to God and to each other, could be brave and vulnerable and honest about their struggles in a space where such sharing could be met with care and grace and solidarity.” Zoom classes have created these brave, vulnerable spaces. (9/19)

Page 2 The circles of United Methodist Women and Thursday Men’s Meditation group have opened the hands of women and men during this past year, inspiring members to deliver life-giving services and support for those in need. Although Zoom gatherings initially felt like an impediment for the Men accustomed to early morning prayer gatherings in the Metropolitan Memorial chapel and to women enjoying comfortable gatherings in homes, both have now been able to welcome long-distance participation! God is doing a new thing in our midst! (9/26) Connie Sommers and Martha Mizroch prepare caring bears for distribution.

Youth ministry activities continued this year through such things as side-walk chalk at Wesley Campus, capture the flag games at St. Luke’s Mission center, and food and bike donation programs at Metropolitan Memorial. But the moment when the bright butterfly of the Spirit seemed to move most completely in our midst happened during the course of Confirmation. As a pastor I relished weekly check-in sessions with parents and mentors sharing theology and I cherished long walks with our young people around the church parking lot as each shared what shape the Church might take in their lives. (10/4) The NUMC Racial Justice Team met consistently throughout the pandemic, bridging divides and pursuing justice together. We gathered to hear stories of our origins and ancestors as well as the longings of our young people who insisted our work stretch beyond performative posturing. We will hear some of these voices on Indigenous Persons Sunday, October 11th, and we the congregation will be invited to claim new heights of love and depths of peace. (10/11)

Katie, Rita, Judy, Robin, and Jeanie “March On Washington” for Voter Rights. The Transitional Housing Board recently concluded operation of transitional housing spaces in St. Luke’s Mission Center and Metropolitan Memorial. Last month, board member Ann Michel wrote on behalf of the group:

“When St. Luke’s House and Metropolitan House first opened their doors, there were literally no other homeless services available in upper Northwest DC. In the face of this urgent need, St. Luke’s UMC, Metropolitan Memorial UMC, and other churches took the bold and courageous step of sheltering people within their church buildings. Since our shelters first opened in the early 1990’s, homeless services have become more professionalized and more available. New initiatives, such as permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, and robust efforts to address veterans’ and family homelessness have changed the landscape of needs and services and introduced new standards of care. Against this backdrop, all the other congregations in Northwest that once operated shelters have brought their ministries to a close. We are proud to have helped lead this movement that ultimately gave rise to the development of other types of services, while providing safe and secure shelter to hundreds and hundreds of individuals over the years.”

On the day of the Tyler Rusch Walk to End Homelessness we will honor those volunteers who have tended this ministry all of these years including young Tyler, we will celebrate all of those transitional residents who felt the touch of grace and dignity in these spaces, we will raise money to support Friendship Place’s advanced initiatives for rapid rehousing, and we will tour the MetroHouse shelter which is currently empty, awaiting its next assignment. The same Spirit which circled our worship service this summer will lead us into the next chapter of God’s story for our church! (10/19)

These next six Sundays prepare us to welcome a surprising guest! The same Christ who met us these past several months through these circles of safety and networks of need is still on the move, hovering and swooping. The moment comes in every service where we are invited to depart to serve a risen Lord, rising to be the hands and feet of Christ. Sometimes when we least expect it, the Spirit comes down, touches us on the head and heart, and leads us out!

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ALL SAINTS SUNDAY November 7, 2021

One of the traditions of the church on All Saints Sunday is to name and celebrate the lives of our loved ones who have finished their earthly journey during the past year. Our All Saints tradition is to read the name of each loved one, light candles to remember their lives, and hear the tolling of the church bells in their memory. This year, our All Saints worship services will be on Sunday, November 7th. Please send the name(s) of your loved one to Dona Collary at [email protected] or call 301-452-9222. Silence the Violence DC Strings Sunday, September 26

Tickets are free, with a suggested donation of $20 per person 100% of donations go to the TraRon Center. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/silence-the-violence-2021- tickets-168788556115

The TraRon Center vision is to provide a safe, supportive space for affected members of the community to express themselves- such that it fosters an environment of Honk Jr. Needs You! openness, honesty, and critical reflection of the factors contributing to gun violence in our communities. By openly Our youth and children’s music ministry is preparing to addressing gun violence, they empower community present Honk Jr and we need YOU! We still have many parts members to collectively engage in dialogue that will produce to cast, and youth and children in K - 12th grade are viable solutions for gun violence prevention. welcome to join in on the fun on zoom every Sunday at 2:30. If the COVID situation allows, we will have one outdoor in- “Providing adequate mental, emotional, and spiritual outlets person rehearsal on October 2nd, and then an outdoor for gun violence survivors is essential to our overarching performance the next day on October 3rd at 3pm. We are goal of encouraging grief processing and healing. The fusion also looking for sew-ers and craft-ers to help us make of creative and artistic channels will allow all participants, in masks and headbands for some of our characters. Want to addition to those with exceptional needs, the opportunity to join us? Email Melissa Chavez, Director of music, worship access and benefit from the offered therapies.” and arts, [email protected].

Combined Choirs of National UMC The Arts Council Present the Faure Requiem is pleased to announce that the next virtual exhibit will open October 10th at 3 pm. It features an artist who is well-known to members of National: Catherine 3pm, Saturday October 30th Kapikkian who designed the reredos in the chancel. She will be discussing a work she has just completed: her Mark your calendar for Faure’s Requiem, conception of a last supper displayed in the Refectory of performed on the plaza (weather and COVID Wesley Theological Seminary. permitting) with full orchestra and soloists.

Page 4 Food for Thought Begins September 16, 7-8 PM

“My coming to faith did not start with a leap but rather a series of staggers from what seemed like one safe place to another. Like lily pads, round and green, these places summoned and then held me up while I grew…” (Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith)

This fall, National United Methodist church will celebrate the ministries that have offered us safe places during the pandemic. What has upheld you? What felt like an island of safety? Who threw you a lifeline? Answering these questions is a way of praising what God has done in this community, and it is a form of spiritual autobiography. How has God been at work in our lives in this past year and a half?

We will begin Food for Thought this fall with a brief book study of a classic of contemporary spiritual autobiography, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith, by Anne Lamott. In this funny, To Join the Zoom meeting poignant, irreverent book, Anne Lamott tells how https://us06web.zoom.us/j/97005757736? she came to believe in God, and shares stories of pwd=eTRDL2dqa2N0dURHYTAvcmxZczR3 the people who helped her along the way. dz09 Meeting ID: 970 0575 7736 First published in 1999, Traveling Mercies is widely Passcode: justice available at public libraries, used bookstores, and One tap mobile online retailers. Pick up a copy today and join us +13017158592,,97005757736# US for the discussion September 16 and 23, 7-8 PM. (Washington DC) Dial by your location Welcome Team +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) If you have been to any of the in-person worship services +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) at our Metropolitan Memorial campus and our Wesley campus, you have been greeted and welcomed by +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) members of our newly created Welcome Team! Some of +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) the folks in this Team are seasoned ushers who have +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) welcomed folks to worship for decades. Some of the folks +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) are new to the church themselves, but have a welcoming spirit. All are welcome! If you would like to join this Team and offer NUMC’s radical hospitality, please send an email to Helen Simon, Executive Director of Connections, at [email protected].

Page 5 Garden @ St. Luke’s Update

Our garden is growing…and not just vegetables, herbs, and flowers…we are growing friendship and community, too! This summer, we have been harvesting kale, several kinds of lettuce, pole beans, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, carrots, summer squash, several varieties of sweet and hot peppers, watermelons, chives, basil, rosemary, pineapple sage, hyssop, lemonbalm, and marigolds. We have made trellises from reclaimed wood, repaired the old fence, learned to compost, added prayer & meditation stations, raised up some little baby bunnies, and shared in Holy Communion. You are welcome to join us any Saturday morning anytime from 8am – 11am. There is no experience necessary, and we have a variety of activities to fit what you would like to do that day. You can also schedule a small group or family outing on other days and times. Simply call Pastor Ali @ 202-744- 6440 or email [email protected]. All are Welcome!

Farm Market Recovery Your Contact Information Do we have your current address, email, and phone numbers in our church database? Would you like to receive the weekly eblasts and the monthly newsletter, but you are not on our If you want to help people who are hungry and participate in a mailing list? If you send us your contact vibrant ministry of National United Methodist Church, information (send to consider volunteering to pick up produce from Norman's Farm [email protected]), we will Market. Located on Massachusetts Avenue near Westland get your records up to date. Middle School and the Little Falls Library in Bethesda, Norman's has offered its leftover produce until the end of the season Oct. 31 to our food ministry, Campus Kitchen DC. We are asking for volunteers to pick up the produce from Name Tags Norman's ten minutes before they close -- weekdays that's 1:50 As we have begun getting together for in-person pm, weekends, it's 5:50 pm. On some days the produce goes worship at both our Metropolitan Memorial campus straight to Campus Kitchen DC at St. Luke's Mission Center, and our Wesley campus, we have come to appreciate 3655 Calvert Street. Other days, please bring the produce to the even more the value of wearing a name tag. The front porch of Courtney Leatherman's house, 4422 Davenport combination of not having seen each other in so Street NW. Expect to haul about 2-3 boxes. Remember, wear a many months coupled with the fact that we can only mask when delivering the food to Campus Kitchen. see half of the faces behind the masks means it is Volunteer for one half hour, or take a day every week until going to be tremendously helpful if we wear name Halloween. We need volunteers every day through Oct. 31 so tags! If you would like to order a name tag, please whatever help you can provide, we are grateful. send an email to Helen Simon, Executive Director of More details and sign up here: Connections, at [email protected]. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0C4FA9AC2BA7FF2- farm

Page 6 Nourish your faith: Adult Learning at National UMC

There are several opportunities to learn, grow, and nourish your faith through small group learning at National UMC this fall. Classes are a wonderful way to learn and an excellent way to connect with other people at the church. All groups welcome newcomers!

Sundays:

10 AM. In the Biblical Sense is an adult class that focuses on exploring and understanding scripture together. This September, we will be looking at God’s promises in the book of Genesis. This class intends to use a hybrid Zoom + in-person meeting model this fall, although we could shift back to all Zoom as needed. The in-person gatherings will be in the Library at the Metropolitan Memorial campus. Check the Tuesday church emails for the Zoom link. For more information, contact Bob Olson at [email protected]

10 AM. Questions of Faith uses the Great Courses video lecture series to explore topics of faith and Biblical history. This class will meet in-person, outdoors, in the columbarium area at the Metropolitan Memorial campus. No class when it rains! Those with limited mobility are invited to enter the building, take the elevator down to the ground floor, and enter the outdoor columbarium area through the kitchen door. For more information, contact Diane Moody at [email protected]

Weekdays:

Science, Religion & Society: This class uses a reading and discussion format to explore issues at the intersection of faith and science in today’s world. The group will meet weekly on Zoom: time and day of the week to be announced. In September, we will be discussing "Personal Freedom within Social Responsibility." For more information and to be added to the email list for the class, please contact Maynard Moore at [email protected] . Everyone is welcome!

Thursday morning Bible Study, 10:30-Noon. This class intends to use a hybrid Zoom + in-person meeting model this fall, although we could shift back to all Zoom as needed. Join us for an in-depth exploration of scripture. We will begin in the fall with the book of Hebrews. For more information, the Zoom link, and to get a copy of the guidebook, contact Rev. Janet Craswell, [email protected]. We begin September 9.

NUMC Young Professionals: Meets alternate Tuesday evenings, sometimes online, sometimes in- person. This group of young adults (20s and 30s) hosts Bible studies and social activities with the goal of following Jesus. For more information, look for “NUMC Young Professionals” on Facebook.

Food for Thought, Thursday evenings, 7-8 pm, on Zoom: Join us for a series of discussions on topics of faith, social justice and more. Check the Tuesday church emails for the Zoom link and topic for the week. We will begin September 16 with a discussion of Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott.

Page 7 Sunday school for Children (ages 3 through 5th grade)

Schools are re-opening for in-person learning, and so is our Sunday school!Join us September 12 at 10 AM as we kick off a new year of learning and fun at National UMC.

Covid safety: For everyone’s safety, children and teachers will always wear masks. The Sunday school rooms have been outfitted for improved air filtration and circulation. Our craft supplies are arranged to minimize spreading germs. And part of our Godly Play “getting ready” ritual will be washing our hands in the new sinks!

New this year: children’s Sunday school at the Wesley campus. Wesley parents, please join us after worship on Sunday, September 19 for a discussion of children and youth Sunday school at the Wesley campus. Until the Wesley Sunday school is up and running, your children are completely welcome to participate in Sunday school at the Metropolitan Memorial campus. Once we have Sunday school at both sites, all children from both campuses will be welcome at either campus for learning and fun!

Our children learn the stories of the Bible through Godly Play. Based in the principles of Montessori education, Godly Play 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 to express their experiences. The approach is open to questions and wonder, not rote learning. Godly Play is an imaginative approach to working with children that supports, challenges, nourishes, and guides their spiritual quest.

At the Metropolitan Memorial campus, we have three Godly Play classrooms for children preschool through 4th grade.

Little Wonders – PreK (age 3 and up)-Kindergarten Room 206

Joyful Spirits – 1st and 2nd grades Room 202

Bible Explorers – 3rd and 4th grades Room 203

Young Disciples – 5th grade Room 204

Our 5th graders use the Spark: Activate Faith curriculum to learn to interpret and apply the Bible to their everyday lives.

Page 8 Sunday school for Youth (Middle School and High School)

We’re back! Middle school and high school students are invited to youth Sunday school. We will begin Sunday, September 12, at 10 AM. Come see the new youth rooms (Rooms 200 and 201) and re-connect with church friends. Don’t forget your mask! This year, we will be following the Journey to Adulthood curriculum. This program is centered on inclusive, relational ministry and uses Bible study, prayer, rites of passage, and service projects.

While the curriculum name is the same for both groups, there are separate, specific lessons for middle schoolers and high schoolers, geared to the interests and needs of the different age groups. Middle School meets in Room 200 High School meets in Room 201 New this year: Youth Sunday school at the Wesley campus. Wesley parents and youth, please join us after worship on Sunday, September 19 for a discussion of children and youth Sunday school at the Wesley campus. Until the Wesley Sunday school starts, you are completely welcome to participate at the Metropolitan Memorial campus. Once we have Sunday school at both sites, all youth from both campuses will be always welcome at either campus!

Beautiful Children’s Chapel

As we re-enter our church buildings, you will notice new artwork in the children’s chapel at Metropolitan Memorial. NUMC member and artist Elise Ritter-Clough has graciously loaned four of her exquisite paintings to create a beautiful, welcoming, sacred space for our children. We thank God for the talent and creativity that Elise is sharing with our community!

(Don’t worry, the old artwork has been preserved! It is safely stored for now, pending a loan to an institution that will be able to conserve it properly.)

Page 9 Pivot in the Pandemic UMW Sunday September 26

The United Methodist Women, like many groups at National United Methodist Church, had to figure out how to do things a new way when the pandemic hit and our buildings closed in March of 2020. Gone in a moment were activities such as sorting and pricing for the Bazaar, setting up for the Book Sale, enjoying the annual retreat, raising critical funds for organizations helping women and children, and so much more. Even our annual Recognition Tea, when UMW members would gather to honor the women who had supported the group, was canceled.

But, not unexpectedly, the UMW figured out what to do. Circles started meeting on Zoom and held outdoor gatherings. Our service day moved to the church parking lot. We held food drives to support the church's food ministry, and connected virtually with global and national organizations that the UMW has supported for many years through Zoom Tea & Talks. In the end, our members created an even more critical support system for each other. Sunday, Sept. 26, we will celebrate how the UMW pivoted in the pandemic with reflections on the past year and invitation to join in our next Tea & Talk Oct. 23. Please join us at the Metropolitan Memorial, Wesley, or Online worship services and find out how you can be a part of this vibrant organization.

Page 10 Jazz@Wesley: October & November

Page 11 National United Methodist Church 3401 Nebraska Avenue, NW | Washington, DC 20016 202.363.4900 www.nationalchurch.org

NUMC consists of three campuses:

In 2021, the National United Methodist Church 1: Metropolitan Memorial Campus Church Council updated the Reconciling Statement 3401 Nebraska Avenue, NW | Washington, DC 20016 first adopted in 2008 to better reflect our 2: Wesley Campus commitment to inclusion and justice. 5312 Connecticut Avenue, NW | Washington, DC 20015

Reconciling 3: St. Luke’s Mission Center Statement 3655 Calvert Street, NW | Washington, DC 20007 We celebrate God’s gift of Location of Campus Kitchen and Shalom Place Retreat Center diversity and value the wholeness made possible in community equally shared and shepherded by all. National United Methodist Church We welcome and affirm people of every gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, who are also of every age, race, Contribute to the Messenger ethnicity, physical and mental ability, level of education, and The Messenger is a monthly publication of National United Methodist family structure, and of every Church. If you have a ministry event coming up, a recent church event economic, immigration, marital, and social status, you want to celebrate, or a story of how God is at work in this and so much more. community, we want to hear from you! We know that right now many future events are a bit uncertain; if you have any questions about We acknowledge that we live submitting to the Messenger, please email in a world of profound social, [email protected] economic, and political inequities. Because of staff transitions, we aren’t yet prepared to announce the next Messenger date. Keep an eye on our website, and subscribe As followers of Jesus, we to emails at nationalchurch.org/connect to stay up to date on all of commit ourselves to the pursuit of justice and pledge our ministries. to stand in solidarity with all who are marginalized and Please email submissions or questions to oppressed. [email protected]