Health Kits for Haiti

Thanks to everyone who supported the United Methodist Committee on Relief's (UMCOR) work in Haiti with your donations of money or items for health kits.  Following the devastating earthquake of January 12, we rallied to create well over 200 health kits (valued at $12 each), which are now on their way to people in need. We plan to continue to collect relief supplies for UMCOR as an ongoing mission of the church in the coming year.  Look out for more information.  To see how you can continue to help with UMCOR's ongoing relief efforts, visit their website: http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/.

Lenten & Easter Events

– Please join us on Sunday, March 7, at 12:30 p.m. in the gym (Memorial Hall) for a potluck luncheon and an opportunity for fellowship and creative exploration of the “meaning of the season”.

– Plan to join us at 12:30 p.m. after the Easter worship service on April 4 for an Easter egg hunt and games on the church lawn!

Safe Haven – A Mighty Work of The Spirit

     First, I want to thank God for our church family and the opportunities Safe Haven has placed before us to do God’s work in the world.  For those who do not know what Safe Haven is, it is a ministry we share with other churches during the winter months where we house, feed, and care for homeless men.  This year we served two weeks of Safe Haven and in the second week we maxed out our capacity at sixteen men.  God has done amazing things through University United Methodist Church.

     For the rest of this letter I will share a few of my own personal reflections about the Holy Spirit’s movement in Safe Haven.

     My first reflection begins with a confession. I confess that when I first heard that Jennifer Newlin, chair of our Housing and Homeless ministries, had volunteered UUMC for two weeks of Safe Haven I was a little put out.  Last year an extra week of Safe Haven fell to us through an unfortunate circumstance and everyone pulled together wonderfully and made Safe Haven 2009 a great ministry for the men and for our church.  I had not anticipated that we would be covering two weeks again this year.  Maybe some of you were also surprised.  Then Jennifer told me the reason she had volunteered us for two weeks. Last spring, she found out through conversations with Safe Haven coordinator Lois Jones that several other churches had stopped participating in Safe Haven.  This left the men (pardon the cliché) out in the cold, literally.  In 2009, we were able to cover two weeks on short notice.  With prayer and planning, could we do it again in 2010?  What was Jennifer to do?  What were the representatives of other still-participating churches to do?  What would you or I have done?

     You are all familiar with the saying, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.”  In this saying there’s a lot of truth.  But I have another saying I am trying to live by: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).  When Jesus said this to his disciples I believe he knew that everyone’s cross changes.  He also knew that the cross we carry is not the burden itself but our attitude toward the burden.  Like I said above, I really did not want the cross of that extra week of Safe Haven.  My attitude toward that extra week was not too joyful.  But in the midst of carrying that cross with all of you, I witnessed the best of who we are as a church come to the fore and my cross became a joy and not a burden.  What I am pointing to is the mysterious power and potential of the Holy Spirit moving through me and you as we work together for a purpose and goal beyond our own personal agendas and needs.  In such instances individuals and communities are transformed. 

     Over fifty people served in some capacity to make Safe Haven a success over these last two weeks.  Many served far more than once.  Consider for a moment that our congregation numbers just less than one hundred on any given Sunday.  More than half our congregation, as well as some volunteers from outside our congregation, worked together, denying themselves, carrying their cross and serving God’s work in the world.  How cool is that!  Praise God for this opportunity and the Holy Spirit’s movement in and through us.  There really is no limit to what the Holy Spirit can accomplish through us when we join together as one in purpose and mission.

     My second reflection is also a confession.  I confess to you my own despair and pain and feelings of powerlessness at the plight of these men and the many like them in Prince George’s county.  This statement may seem to contradict my comments above, but I think not.  Don’t we all live in the tension of what we have the power to do and what we wish we could accomplish, but feel powerless to do?  My longing to do more does not lessen my joy and celebration of Safe Haven and what we have done.  It does, however, place before me this question, “What more can we do?”  I don’t mean can we do three weeks of Safe Haven or even two weeks next year.  My question is not about Safe Haven.  My question is to ask, “What is possible?”

     When you read this, the men of Safe Haven will have moved on to the next church.  But what about all the men and women and children who are not in some ministry such as Safe Haven?

     We can do Safe Haven; we know that.  But I’m asking us to imagine beyond Safe Haven.  How can University United Methodist Church serve our community in ways we’ve not yet imagined?  What are our resources?  What are our connections to other churches, other organizations, what are our resources in people, skills, gifts, knowledge?  If we joined with other people and institutions – interfaith, ecumenical, and secular – what could we accomplish?  What might the Holy Spirit do to bring God’s presence to the world here in College Park, MD in new and amazing ways?    

     I do not ask these questions lightly or rhetorically. I ask you to take these questions to God in prayer.  Talk to me, talk to your neighbor, talk to co-workers, lift it up in church, let us brainstorm and imagine what can be.  In Safe Haven, God has worked a mighty ministry among us.  What else is God doing among us and around us that we are not yet aware of?  Join with me in asking the Holy Spirit to open our eyes and hearts to where God is leading us as we celebrate what God is doing here at UUMC.

UUMC’s Lenten Dinner Initiative

During Lent we're encouraging people in our congregation to spend time getting to know others a little better by meeting for dinner.  A number of people have agreed to host dinners in their homes and you should be hearing from one of the hosts shortly.  If you don't receive an invitation please let Karen Nazareth know. She can be reached at uumc.dce@verizon.net or 301-538-8879.

The Reconciling Ministries Network

     A reconciling congregation in the United Methodist Church is a church that is part of the national Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN), which advocates the full participation of people in the United Methodist Church regardless of their sexual orientations and gender identities. The name of the Reconciling Ministries organization is based on the passage from 2 Corinthians 5:19: In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

     This Reconciling Ministries Network is needed because the United Methodist Church holds official policies that exclude gay and lesbian people from the full life of the church. Spiritual harm is done by these policies.

     I would like for University United Methodist Church to explore the possibility of becoming a Reconciling Congregation (RC) in the RMN. The process of becoming an RC involves study, exploration, and discussion by the congregation, and ultimately, a public statement of inclusion that particularly mentions “people of all sexual orientations and gender identities”. Our Wesley Foundation is already a Reconciling Community within the Network.

     If you would be interested in exploring this objective, please contact me, Ermon Vandy, at ecvandy@yahoo.com or 240-271-7098. We need a core group to consider the need and hope of becoming a Reconciling Congregation and to provide information and opportunities for discussion.

     For further information, visit the Reconciling Ministries Network website: www.RMNetwork.org. 

UUMC Visual Arts Guild

     This winter we devoted our exhibit space to textiles to warm our winter-weary hearts.  We are looking forward to the inspiration of spring change.  We are planning to branch out and open our exhibit space to other artists to expand our reach. 

     Since we formed the Guild in March 2009 we’ve launched eight exhibits and had a student art contest – a fine level of productivity from a group of people, some of whom didn’t see themselves as artists in the first place!  The UUMC art exhibits have brightened our lives, along with our walls, given us more to think about, and encouraged a visual approach to enhancing worship.

     We’ve found members who are painters, textile artists, photographers, pen and pencil workers and paper wizards.  We’ve found the nerve to exhibit our work, and learned from each other while doing so.  I’ve learned that being an art curator is fun, and helps me to feel productive even when I don’t have the inspiration to paint.  One of my tasks this spring is to find someone who wants to develop their art portfolio by becoming our art curator.  Ken and I hope to move this year and I would like to see a new curator in place before then. 

     The UUMC Visual Arts Guild (now 14 members!) is open to all visual artists who work in any media and who are at any stage in development as artists.  We encourage each other to develop our gifts and be productive, and commiserate with each other when we just can’t seem to get anything done!

Chair, Visual Arts Guild

Join Us Wednesday Evenings for a Lenten Journey: From Fear to Love 

Our study, based on reflections by Henri Nouwen, will consider the key messages for us within the parable of the Prodigal Son and explore how we encounter Christ through art.  We'll meet from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Robinson Room,  beginning February 24 and continuing through March 31.  (There will be no meeting on March 3.) For more information or to sign up contact Karen Nazareth at 301-538-8879 or uumc.dce@verizon.net.  

An Observation about Lent

     Lent is the forty day season (not including Sundays, which are considered mini-Easters) from Ash Wednesday through Easter. It has traditionally been a time of spiritual preparation for those who were converting to Christianity.  It was also a time of spiritual preparation for those who had strayed from the faith or committed serious sins and were seeking to return to the church through acts of reconciliation and penance.  This time of spiritual preparation would culminate in the Easter celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. Lent was and is a time in which all believers are to focus more intently on our own spiritual life, understood symbolically as a time to be in our wilderness of temptations as Jesus was in his wilderness of temptations.

     For me, the simplest way of describing the purpose of Lent is to understand it as a time in which we intentionally make a new space in our life for the Holy Spirit to move us toward God.  This journey in our wilderness is to bring us a greater clarity of purpose and identity in our discipleship.  We make space for this journey through spiritual practices.  What are these spiritual practices?  They are many and varied. The traditional practices would include prayer, fasting, works of mercy, and personal and corporate study and meditation on scripture.  But what a spiritual practice looks like is up to each person and their personal need.  Most anything is appropriate that creates a new space for God to act and for you to be in prayer and reflection about your own discipleship.

     My own personal practice this Lent is to take time to play music each morning and evening as an act of worship, prayer, and celebration.  My spiritual director helped me to see that I was not making space for many of my personal practices that bring me joy, one of which is playing and writing music and songs.  In effect, I was not making space for God to give me joy.  But my playing music is not necessarily a Lenten discipline.  If I play music but am not in some way offering it as prayer and/or reflecting on how God is using music and my creativity expressed in music to move me toward my discipleship in Christ, then it is not serving as a Lenten discipline.  A similar example centers on fasting.  A person told me long ago that fasting can be a Lenten practice but fasting without prayer and a focus on discipleship is called a diet.

     There are many ways of creating space for God.  Here are a few examples you might not have thought of.  Let’s say you are on the counting committee – serving in that capacity can be a Lenten discipline.  Consider how important it could be for you that while counting the offering each Sunday morning, you would be in prayer and personal reflection on how God is calling you to greater discipleship around your own resources.  I think you can see how this could translate to all the different areas of service in our church.  For another example let’s say your need is to be able to forgive someone, a co-worker, a family member, a church member, or maybe even yourself. A Lenten discipline could be that you hold that person or yourself in a prayer of love.  Once a day for two minutes you could imagine and visualize God’s love flowing through you into that person.  For my last example let’s say you have recognized that you have too much stuff and activity in your life, and saying no is something you do not know how to do.  Therefore, the spiritual discipline could take shape as a prayer for the grace to say no.  A two minute prayer once a day asking for the strength and grace to say no is a powerful and faithful act.  

     Lastly, your Lenten practice can begin after Ash Wednesday.  Some have felt that since they did not start a Lenten practice at the beginning of Lent they’ve lost their chance.  NOT SO!  God is not concerned with dates on a calendar but rather with you, your heart, your soul, and your healing and life.  God is always ready and waiting for you to say, “God meet me in this space I give to you.”

Thanks for Your Help!

     Thank you, everyone, for making Safe Haven a great success in ministry.  You helped provide safe housing for these men in one of the worst snow storms in anyone’s memory.  The storm placed additional burdens on everyone – on our planned food stuffs and scheduled volunteers – because we could not send the men out for several days in such terrible weather and with no public transportation.  We needed additional people to help with 24/7 supervision at the church and to serve lunch.  In the midst of everyone trying to deal with their own difficult circumstances at home brought on by the storms, you pulled together and all these extra needs were met.

     A special thanks for their leadership and organization goes to Jennifer and Thom Newlin, Susan Howley, Craig Lasher, Karen Nazareth, and Duane Kidwell.  Another thanks goes to the Wesley Foundation and our peer ministers who braved the elements to be there when the roads were all but impassable.  Lastly, thank you to everyone else who helped with your presence and those who worked behind the scenes.  Safe Haven is the kind of ministry that requires a variety of gifts but mostly it requires the willingness and imagination to make things work.

Rummaging Through Spring

     Our semi-annual rummage sale is one of the biggest community outreach projects at UUMC; it is a time to share our wealth and welcome the community to our church. Please consider prayerfully your participation and contribution to this effort. Our rummage sale has been a continuous outreach effort since the late 1950’s. It also draws some of the highest participation of any UUMC projects, often involving more than 60 of us!

     This year’s spring rummage sale will be Friday, April 16 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, April 17 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. To make this a successful sale, we need YOUR help.

·         Your donations may be placed at the front of the stage in the gym starting on Sunday, March 14. Please donate only clean, unbroken items.  (No large appliances, automobile tires, mattresses or hangers.)

·         Help is needed to set up the tables on Sunday, April 11, after the 11 a.m. service.

·         We can use a lot of help during the week preceding the sale, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. An evening of work will also be announced closer to the sale date. Help includes unpacking donations, folding/hanging clothes, sorting items and placing them on tables, and pricing. Any and all help is greatly appreciated – from one hour to all week! And you don’t have to price if you don’t want to.

·         Sign up sheets for the two sale days will be available beginning in mid-March; several people are needed for each shift, each day (a shift is 2 or 2 ½ hours). You do not have to handle money to volunteer.

·         We also need help with clean up, starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Clean up generally takes no more than 90 minutes.

·         And of course, come and shop!

     Proceeds from the rummage sale support the Wesley Foundation and missions and pay for coffee hour supplies.  Ten percent is also returned to the church’s general operating fund. If you have questions, wish to sign up or need assistance with moving large items, please contact Duane Kidwell at cydweli@aol.com or 301-622-1544 or Jennifer Newlin at jnewlin@umd.edu.

Save The Date! Women's Weekend Away April 30 - May 2

All women, age 18 years and over, are warmly invited to a weekend away in nearby West Virginia.  If you are interested in being part of a group to plan this event please contact Duane Kidwell at cydweli@aol.com or Karen Nazareth at uumc.dce@verizon.net or 301-422-1400 x 13.  The planning group will meet Sunday, March 21 at 12:30 p.m. in the Robinson room.

Stephen Harris, our ministerial intern and Wesley Theological Seminary student, is currently offering a Sunday School class on the life and doctrine of John Wesley.  The class will look at the life of John Wesley in history and in his writings.  By discussing what these meant in his day and how they relate to our modern context, we can begin to gain a deeper understanding of who John Wesley was and who we are called to be as Methodists today.  The class meets at 9:30 a.m. in the Robinson Room, and is open to all who are interested. 

We are still looking for people to help with Coffee Hour – just for a single Sunday – after church. This requires very little effort, but is an important part of our congregational life and provides us with an opportunity to welcome newcomers and visitors. If you enjoy being a part of this fellowship, please help us continue to offer it. Check the sign up sheet located on the bulletin board next to the kitchen outside the gym or contact Karen Nazareth at uumc.dce@verizon.net or 301-422-1400 x13. 

Envelopes, Financial Statements Available

Offering envelopes for 2010 and end-of-year financial statements for 2009 are available on a table in the hallway. Please pick yours up if you have not already done so.

Congratulations to Taras Lychuk and Olha Kushnir on the birth of a daughter, Marie Lychuk, on January 25. Congratulations also to Perry Williams and Amy Oden on the birth of Perry’s first grandchild, Mason Caine Williams, on February 3 in Hawaii.

Herman Daly Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Congratulations to Herman Daly, a longtime member of our congregation and an ecological economist at the University of Maryland, on receiving a lifetime achievement award from the National Council for Science and the Environment on January 21. The award recognizes his decades-long research into the underpinnings of a green economy. See http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/sociss/release.cfm?articleID=2063 for a University of Maryland Newsdesk article discussing Herman’s work that led to this well-deserved honor. Follow the link in that article to read his very interesting remarks on receiving the award.

Many Thanks!

All the members of UUMC’s staff wish to say a big thank-you for the Christmas gift from the congregation.

News from UCNS (University Church Nursery School)

     The Nursery School is pleased to announce the hiring of Mrs. Lisl Sukachevin as the new Assistant Teacher in the 3's class, replacing Mrs. Sharon Hutson after Sharon's promotion to Lead Teacher.  We are also happy to report the debut of our new library this school year, which shares space with the Lunch Bunch room and contains more than 1000 books! 

     The Parent Committee is working diligently to raise funds for Phase II of its plan for improvements to the courtyard play space.  This year's fundraising proceeds will go towards the purchase of a rock climbing tunnel costing nearly $3500.  This piece will be much lower to the ground and, therefore, safer for our 2's class than the large metal structure currently in place.  Our overall plan is to add pieces that are stimulating for all ages, eco-friendly, and a bit unique; since the D.C. Metro area is full of parks/playgrounds that all have similar equipment, we want our playground to stand out and draw the children in.  Take a peek at the Phase I changes already in place if you haven't already!

University United Methodist Church

3621 Campus Drive, College Park, MD 20740

Office hours Mon. – Thurs. 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; closed Friday

4520 Tuckerman St., Riverdale, MD 20737

Campus Minister/Wesley Foundation Director

2102 Memorial Chapel, University of Maryland

Spring at a Glance – please also check our calendar on the web at www.uumcp.org for updates.

Mar. 7         8:30 & 11 a.m.    Worship – Lakota Nation – message by Stephen Harris,

                  12:30 p.m.          Lenten potluck luncheon                                                     Memorial Hall (Gym)

Mar. 10       7 p.m.                Wednesday evening Lenten study                                        Robinson Room

Mar. 13-21                             Wesley Foundation spring break work trip                             New Orleans

                                            Begin bringing in items for rummage sale

Mar. 17       7 p.m.                Wednesday evening Lenten study                                        Robinson Room

Mar. 21       11 a.m.               Lenten Cantata featuring Aldersgate Choir and soloists          Sanctuary

                  12:30 p.m.          Planning meeting for women’s weekend away

                  12:30 p.m.          Planning meeting for creative writing group

Mar. 24       7 p.m.                Wednesday evening Lenten study                                        Robinson Room

Mar. 28       8:30 & 11 a.m.    Palm Sunday – Wesley Foundation student-led service

                  12:30 p.m.          Council of Ministries meeting                                               Robinson Room

Mar. 31       7 p.m.                Wednesday evening Lenten study                                        Robinson Room

Apr. 1         6:30 p.m.            Maundy Thursday service – Passover meal, potluck              Memorial Hall (Gym)

Apr. 2         7:30 p.m.            Good Friday – Tenebrae service                                           Sanctuary

Apr. 4         8:30 & 11 a.m.    Easter Sunday worship

                  12:30 p.m.          Easter egg hunt and games                                     Church lawn

Apr. 9-11                              Wesley Foundation retreat                                                  West Virginia

Apr. 12-15   9 a.m. - 5 p.m.    Rummage sale set-up                                                         Gym    

Apr. 13        7 p.m.                Church Council meeting                                                      Robinson Room

Apr. 16        9 a.m. - 6 p.m.    Rummage Sale                                                                  Gym

Apr. 17        9 a.m. - 2 p.m.    Rummage Sale                                                                  Gym

Apr. 24                                 Maryland Day                                

Apr. 27        7:30 p.m.            Finance Committee meeting

Apr. 30 - May 2                     Women’s Weekend Away                                                   West Virginia

May 9                                   Mother’s Day        

May 16       12:30 p.m.          Council of Ministries meeting                                               Robinson Room

May 31                                 Memorial Day – church office closed

Each Week this Spring at UUMC

Sun.     8:30 a.m.          Informal worship service                                                  Chapel

                                    Sunday school for children and youth

                                    Infant nursery

Thurs.   7:30 p.m.          Choir rehearsal                                                              Choir room

First & third Saturdays at 10 a.m. – Knitting ministry                                            Parlor

Communion is offered at both worship services on the first Sunday of every month.