many years ago i lived in a climate - amazon s3 · many years ago i lived in a climate where 15...
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Many years ago I lived in a climate where 15 degrees during the daytime was the norm. What I found during that time of my life was that during the harshest time of the year, total strangers would stop and help each other out. People had the desire to be a neighbor, especially when times got tough. We see it occur during natural and man-made disasters. People stepping up and reaching out to others that they do not know, but they know that in that moment lives will be saved, futures will be changed and entire populations may be transformed by the power of love. Isn’t it appropriate then that this month, the month we celebrate the power of love, is a time when we as the church can reflectively look at ourselves and ask the question, how much love can we share? I have been the Pastor of this church now for a little over seven months and it has been one of the most rewarding appointments I have ever had. Now it is time to earnestly get down to business.
I am told that to build a solid house we need to set it upon a good foundation. There is even a parable about building a house in the sand or on a rock and no matter the power of the storm, the house built on the rock stands. We have firmed up the rock upon which this church is built. Now you may think I am talking about the building, the landscaping and the church we call Sydenstricker that is brick and mortar. But what I really mean is the hearts and minds of each of you. In June 2016 our average worship attendance was 207 and now it is
approaching 225 with the three offerings of services on Saturday and Sunday. During Lent I anticipate starting a Wednesday morning prayer service that will help us focus on prayer for our community, our congregation and ourselves. We have been joined in our family with new people who have come to share our love for the church and the world. Praise God for that. We have a Vision for the church which is our focal point for the future and it should drive us to be the people who uphold that Vision day after day. I am excited when people come to me and say that they have heard that we are doing good things at Sydenstricker. We are making the kind of impact that God calls us to make. Again, Praise God!
But we ain’t done yet! Or as they used to tell me in the country, it’s time to either fish or cut bait. God called us to be free and to be compassionate. Our vision tells us that we are to GO! Go outside the doors of the church as often as possible and even more than necessary. Why do we go? Because the folks who need to hear someone tell them that God loves them, to be reminded that we are truly blessed and to have that blessing shared with them are not inside the doors of our church for the most part. Most of the time it is either because they feel that they are unworthy, we are irrelevant or nobody has invited them. The earliest disciples spent their lives sharing the stories of Jesus, of God’s love and of a place called heaven. They gave their very lives to share those stories. Shouldn’t we take our role just as
serious as they did? God’s love is so powerful that no matter what you have done in life, it never leaves you. Isn’t that something that deserves sharing with others? We do it every time we feed a person who is hungry, clothe a person who is cold or needs a little help, share fellowship with a person who thinks no one loves them or stand up for justice when the world is beating someone down. A hundred years ago we would gather and rebuild the barn of a neighbor who had the misfortune of it burning down. Why? Because that is what people who love one another do. Last year we spent over 29% of our income on mission and benevolence, helping and assisting folks in our neighborhood and throughout the world. We made a difference in the lives of ordinary people we did not know and some we did. Think what we can do if we all practice our Vision, to love one another and to build relationships with folk through our prayers, our actions and our love. I believe that a church that is a shining example of God is a church growing, thriving and blessing. Why not us?
Pastor Don
Pastor’s Pen By Rev. Don Jamison
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WEDNESDAY MORNING PRAYER SERVICE Beginning on March 8 at 11AM in the Sanctuary, we will be having a time of prayer for all who are interest-ed throughout the season of Lent. During this hour we will pray for the prayer list each week, spend some time in centering prayer and Lectio/ Visual Divina pray-er. It will be time a of spiritual centering every Wednesday morning at 11AM. We can finish this time of prayer with a light lunch if you are interested. Please see Pastor Don for more details.
“ASHES TO GO” at the Commuter Lot: 5:30-7:30 a.m.
ASHES IN THE SANCTUARY: 7:30 a.m.- Noon
WORSHIP SERVICE: 7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary
Palm Sunday Service: April 9
Maundy Thursday Service: April 13
Good Friday Service: April 14
Easter: April 16
CHILDREN’S MINISTRY
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KIDZ KORNER! Check out the newly renovated Kidz Korner! This space is filled with a variety of things to keep your children engaged while sitting with you during service. We have worship buddies for little ones to hold, snuggle, and help to participate in worship. We also have Activity Bind-ers with sermon notes to keep our bigger kiddos actively interested in the service going on around them. In the pews, we have some tips and tricks for you parents too!
What does all this mean for you Mom and Dad? We are now inviting children third grade and up to stay and worship with us instead of go-ing to Children’s Church. We are hoping that by providing you with some tools and activities we can make this the best worship experience for everyone and hopefully spark meaningful conversations at home!
TWO SIMPLE PRACTICES
“THE CIRCLE OF 10” &
“THE RULE OF 3” Let’s all try to remember our “Circle of 10/Rule of 3” practices at each of our worship services. The “Circle of 10” idea is to speak to those within 10 feet of you—especially those you don’t already know—at some point before, during, or after worship. A smile, a greeting, some positive in-teraction is all that’s needed. The “Rule of 3” idea is to spend the first three minutes (at least) after the service talking to visitors or those members you don’t yet know be-fore doing any church business or visiting with friends. These two ide-as are pretty simple, but they can have a big impact on how guests and even new members experience hospitality at Sydenstricker. It takes guests about three minutes to exit the church after worship, so it’s im-portant to make sure someone has made real contact with them before they leave. As you talk to guests, answer any questions they might have and tell them about activities and ministries that might meet their needs. You could offer a short tour of our campus, make sure they meet the Pastor, and invite them to Sunday School or coffee. The goal is to make sure guests have experi-enced a real connection that goes beyond a smile and a handshake. Genuine hospitality is one of our strengths here at Sydenstricker, but we can all use a little reminder from time-to-time.
MOVIE & ICE CREAM NIGHT! FEBRUARY 17, 6PM Join us on Friday, February 17 at 6PM in Hottle Hall. We will have a short activity beginning at 6pm then the main event, Pete’s Dragon , will begin at 6:30pm. Sign up online at sydenstrickerumc.org/movienight.
LENT FOOD DRIVE During Lent, children will be given baskets to take home and fill with food to be brought back for donation to Rising Hope after Easter.
SHOE BOXES NEEDED! The Family and Children's Ministry is collecting shoe boxes for our movie night on February 17. There will be a collection box outside of Hottle Hall. Deadline is Sunday February 12. Any questions please contact Jen Sparlin at [email protected].
WORSHIP BUDDIES Have any small, gently used stuff animals that you would like to see find a good home? We are currently renovating the children's worship area outside of the narthex and will be including "Worship Buddies" as a part of it. A drop off location will be outside Hottle Hall marked "worship buddies" now through February. Any questions please feel free to contact Jen Sparlin at [email protected].
Next UMW Meeting is Monday, Feb-ruary 6 at 7 p.m. in Room H4. All women are invited!
CHURCH WIDE
AUCTION SAVE THE DATE!
Saturday, March 11, 7pm
Hosted by the Sydenstricker UMW.
More Info to Come!
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HOW COME….? More often than you realize the staff or I get asked, how come…? Maybe it is how come we put such and such in the bulletin. Maybe it is because we left out someone’s name for birthdays that is a member of the church. Maybe it was some important event that may not be an event of the church or maybe it was an event that did not make it in the bulletin. So how come? Well, maybe because the most important person in that chain of events was you and you forgot to inform us. So please help us by making sure your important infor-mation is up to date.
EVERYBODY, SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, & NOBODY
This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.
Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done
HMMM! WHICH ONE AM I?
FEBRUARY
SPIRIT CATCHERS Tuesday, February 14
10am in Hottle Hall Come enjoy a fun Valentine’s Day gathering that will include funny Christian Comedienne Jeanne Robertson videos, a few games of bingo and a yummy lunch of soup and sandwiches. RSVP to LaRae Curry at [email protected] or 703-472-9291.
YEAR-END STATEMENTS Year-end statements have been
sent out via email. If you have any questions or did not receive yours,
please contact Susan in the church office AT 703-451-8223 or [email protected].
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LIBRARY NEWS
WE HAVE LOTS OF NEW LIBRARY BOOKS FOR THE NEW YEAR! BELOW IS A SAMPLING.
The 2016 Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church (287.6 UNID 2016) We’ve been waiting for this new one to come out!
A Call to Mercy: Hearts to Love; Hands to Serve by Mother Teresa (234.5 TER) Published to coincide with Pope Francis's Year of Mercy and the Vatican's canonization of Moth-er Teresa, this new book of unpublished material by a humble yet remarkable woman of faith whose influence is felt as deeply today as it was when she was alive, offers Mother Teresa’s profound yet accessible wisdom on how we can show mercy and compassion in our day-to-day lives.
No Greater Love by Mother Teresa (248.4 TER) No Greater Love is the essential wisdom of Mother Teresa — the most accessible, intimate, and inspiring book of her teachings.
Four new bestselling devotional books written to help people connect with Jesus and the Bible, the only infallible, inerrant Word of God:
Jesus Always: Enjoying Peace in His Presence (242.2 YOU) Jesus Always: Embracing Joy in His Presence Jesus Today: Experience Hope Through His Presence Jesus Lives: Seeing His Love in Your Life
A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity (361 KRI)
Explore how altruism affects us, what are the markers for success, and how to avoid the pit-falls. In the recounting of astonishing stories from the front lines of social progress, we see the compelling, inspiring truth of how real people have changed the world, underscoring that one person can make a difference.
Launch Your Encore: Finding Adventure and Purpose Later in Life (305.26 FIN) Enjoy many years post-career pursing meaning and purpose outside of traditional retirement. Read real-life examples of people who have made the transition from full-time work to volun-teering, ministry, or even second careers.
Boundless: What Global Expressions of Faith Teach Us About Jesus (261.2 BIS) In his many travels as a researcher for Youth With A Mission, Bryan Bishop discovered a star-tling phenomenon: hidden movements of Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists who are experienc-ing and following Jesus outside the boundaries of traditional Western Christianity. Through col-orful firsthand accounts, Bishop unveils fresh expressions of faith that can revitalize our own.
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ROB’S REFLECTIONS
BY ROB SHAFER, LAY LEADER
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The background of this question lies in the differing practices of Christians in North America. Unit-ed Methodists and many other denominations schedule the observance of the Transfiguration on the Sunday before Lent.
The Book of Common Prayer collect for the Last Sunday after the Epiphany suggests why the Transfiguration of Our Lord is celebrated when it is:
O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy moun-tain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer according to the use of the Episcopal Church, 1979, page 217. Book of Common Prayer is public domain material and is used here with gratitude to the Episcopal Church and Church Publishing.)
We celebrate the revelation of Christ's glory "before the passion" so that we may "be strength-ened to bear our cross and be changed into his likeness." The focus of the Lenten season is re-newed discipline in walking in the way of the cross and rediscovery of the baptismal renunciation of evil and sin and our daily adherence to Christ. At Easter, which reveals the fullness of Christ’s glory (foreshadowed in the Transfiguration), Christians give themselves anew to the gospel at the Easter Vigil where they share the dying and rising of Christ.
In the biblical context, the synoptic gospels narrate the Transfiguration as a bridge between Jesus' public ministry and his passion. From the time of the Transfiguration, Jesus sets his face to go to Jerusalem and the cross.
TRANSFIGURATION SUNDAY:
Why Do We Celebrate It Before Lent?
In summer of 1989, I was asked the question,
“What’s your story?”. I’d never been asked
before and I didn’t quite understand the
meaning. Now I understand. I don’t remember
the answer I gave then but I do remember the
question, the person who asked the question, the
location, and the date. A reading specialist from Fairfax
County Public Schools informed me the best way to
teach students reading comprehension is by… you
guessed it, asking questions… Let’s focus now on, the
‘story’ part for a bit. Not ‘my’ story, but ‘the’ story.
Imagine John Wesley at college with his fellow
Christian questioners gathered around the stories in the
Bible, asking questions. Today, let us reflect that
‘method’ of asking questions and discussing in our own
group studies of the Word, the stories, the lives and
history and folklore of our faith history. I’m not telling
you anything you don’t already know, but rather
consider me the fan on the side of the road cheering
you on during your marathon run. I also heard much of
what we relay to others are things not of our own
creation but things we heard which we are merely
repeating… well, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing… just
a thing … Consider a few thousand years ago, a
group of Hebrews sitting around a campfire telling
stories. Their children’s children re-telling those stories
to their children, and so on and so forth… the writing of
these stories, of which much we cherish in our Bible
today. Breaking down the Bible stories and asking
questions is what Wesley and his college group did, is
what many in various Catholic, Orthodox and
Protestant churches do to this day. Your Bible story
interpretations and ponderings are vital to
comprehension and your thought sharing helps others
along their ‘Way’ in our own groups. (as you know,
cheering you on…)
My parents celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary
this Groundhog Day… that’s a part of my story and joy
I share with you. Like the list found in the book of Ezra,
I’ll give you a short list of my parent’s family tree
numeric. My parents have five children, 11
grandchildren and one great grandchild born January
2017. The stories I heard growing up of my parent’s
own growing up years and subsequent early in
marriage years, I recall and will pass down to those in
my own family vine (as well as those future stories yet
to be written.) I recall hearing from my grandparents a
few stories of their growing up… but my family history
starts getting vague the farther back my ancestry goes
to my grandparent’s grandparents. Those ancestry and
DNA services are really intriguing and offer a bit of
insight, a snapshot into a story where details grow
fainter the farther our family history goes… Is the Bible
like that to you? Luckily, there are great details in
certain areas of the Bible, to be sure. But there is
plenty of room off the page for questions to be asked,
as well, to help provide comprehension and help us to
imagine our Biblical and familial ancestors as walking,
talking humans that walked this earth before us
however many generations before…
In summary, as we tell our stories… as we make new
ones… as we hear stories as told in the Bible, as we
interpret modern meaning in the Word… let us ask
questions and look past the path from which we came,
look at our present place, and look beyond the horizon
of our own journey in and along, ‘The Way’.
YOUTH FAITH, FELLOWSHIP & MISSION... by Rex Grigg
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MARTHA'S TABLE Provided 48,260 sandwiches in 2016 to this mission
ECUMENICAL COMMUNITY HELPING OTHERS (ECHO) – Recurring donations of food and clothing
LORTON COMMUNITY ACTION CENTER (LCAC) – Recurring donations of food
ARLINGTON FOOD ASSISTANCE CENTER
VENTURES IN COMMUNITY HYPOTHERMIA OUTREACH PROGRAM (VICHOP) HYPOTHERMIA
SHELTER at SUMC from Bailey’s Crossroads (week long shelter) ; SUMC provides a four-person overnight meal servers / fire watch for the Rising Hope hypothermia shelter every Thursday in February, providing a full dinner meal, and breakfast bags
RISING HOPE UNITED METHODIST MISSION: Recurring mission efforts. Donations are ferried to
Rising Hope at least once a month, sometimes more. In addition, we contribute to Rising Hope’s special holiday food needs (e.g. stuffing mix and powdered milk). Acquired a dozen turkeys and hams for Rising Hope’s Christmas dinner. In conjunction with St. Raymond’s Catholic Church roasted them in the Knights of Columbus kitchen. This was a true ecumenical effort to provide a special feast for those who otherwise wouldn’t have had one on Christmas Day.
RISING HOPE COMMUNITY CLEAN-UP DAY, joining the Rolling Valley LDS church in that effort.
MIRIAM CAMACHO CRESTWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OUTREACH: Meals for Spring break (40),
Thanksgiving (43) and Christmas (25); Established Reading Garden; Maintenance of Reading Garden Grounds; School Supplies at start of the school year
REBUILDING TOGETHER ALEXANDRIA: Repair and maintenance work on homes in greater Alexandria
community EPIPHANY & KAIROS PRISON MINISTRIES
UNITED METHODIST VOLUNTEERS IN MISSION (UMVIM): The VIM team helped build a new house
to replace one that was destroyed by the tornado late 2016. MILITARY MINISTRIES: Katz’s Deli Wounded Warrior Lunch; Range Day; Packages to Warriors over-
seas; 63 complete dinners to Warrior families at Walter Reed at Thanksgiving (37) and Christmas (26) CHANGE THE WORLD
CROP WALK
CAMPUS CRUSADE FOR CHRIST (CARKUFF)
FLOOD BUCKETS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE
UMM SUPPORTS LOCAL BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA TROOPS AND PACKS WESTERN STATE HOSPITAL: Church-wide holiday gift giving (251 presents)
CHRISTMAS TREE SALES – UMM, TOTS, YOUTH
SYDENSTRICKER MISSION ACTIVITIES IN 2016
WOUNDED WARRIORS AND FAMILIES – Church Wide; Christmas meals provided to military families
SUPPORTED THE AIR WARRIOR COURAGE FOUNDATION to provide 37 Thanksgiving dinners to
the Warriors and families at Water Reed. Provide the same meals at Christmas. EL SALVADOR: Sydenstricker sent $6,500 to El Salvador to support secondary education for 17 students
and higher education for 2 students. It should be noted that our mission started in school year 2007, and its success has served as a magnet that attracts other institutions to participate.
TAKE THEM A MEAL This is the program where church members provide meals to other members that
are in need due to sickness, death in family, etc. UNITED METHODIST YOUTH FELLOWSHIP
JEREMIAH PROJECT (Middle School mission trips to Winchester or Richmond, VA)
LEAD: FOUR TWELVE YOUTH LEADERSHIP
THE PITTSBURGH PROJECT (High School mission trip to Pittsburgh)
MIDDLE SCHOOL HS YOUTH FELLOWSHIP -- Grades 8 - 12 SS class donated $112.44 to LCAC on
12/18. This represents the class offering collection from 9/11 through 12/18/2016. VBS: In 2016 the VBS kids visited: The Hermitage; Food for Others; The Lamb Center. In 2015 they visit-
ed: Rising Hope; LCAC; Our Daily Bread (now known as Britepaths) BRITEPATHS: Some of our church family also supported Britepaths (and LCAC) at "Complete the Circle"
in 2016. ANNUAL AUTUMN GLEANING DAY UNITED METHODIST WOMEN’S (UMW) Missions
UMW collected donations of new socks, hats, gloves, and scarves and packaged these into goody
bags in December and our Prayer Shawl Ministry circle hand-made many warm, soft fleece scarves donated to the VIC-HOP hypothermia events at SUMC and Rising Hope.
Sold leftovers of Pastor Don's spaghetti sauce to benefit UMW missions.
The Lamb Center
Salvation Army Stockings
United Methodist Committee On Relief (UMCOR) Samaritan Offering
Donated turkeys to Martha's Table for Christmas and Thanksgiving.
Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women in May
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Wesley Community Center in Portsmouth
Agape Christian Children's Center
Camp Highroad
All God's Children Camp
Camp Rainbow Connection
Samaritan Fund
Bethany House
Ferrum College
Henry Fork Service Center in Rocky Mount, VA
UMW provides to SUMC "The Upper Room" devotional; "Response" magazine; and many books to
our church library each year to aid in worship and education
The UMW Prayer Shawl circle provides many knitted, crocheted and sewn items to comfort those
needing this ministry
For more information on these Sydenstricker-supported missions visit the mission’s page on our website at sydenstrickerumc.org/missions.
The Thanksgiving offering raised $1390 and sup-
ported Rising Hope UMC and the Lamb Center.
Rising Hope UMC provides shelter and personal
growth through the "power of Christ" to the commu-
nity living in poverty south of Alexandria, along the
Route 1 Corridor of Fairfax County. The donations
provided food for their pantry, clothes and bedding
for the shelter and met other needs of the Church.
The mission of the Lamb Center, located in Fairfax,
states, "We are serving the poor and homeless,
transforming lives, and sharing God's love." The do-
nations provided for their pantry, clothes for their
clothing closet, and met other needs to provide spir-
itual comfort to those they serve.
The Christmas offering raised $3,548 and supported
the El Salvador High School Project, Ecumenical
Community Helping Others (ECHO), an all volun-
teer charity, which gives food and financial help to
people with short-term emergencies, and provides
clothes and household items to people with low in-
comes in and around Springfield, VA, and Lorton
Community Action Center (LCAC) which serves
the needs of those in need in and around Lorton.
REPORT ON 2016 THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS OFFERINGS
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RISING HOPE COAT DRIVE
Rising Hope United Methodist Mission Church is in need of your used (or new) winter coats. The need is greatest for adult sizes, but all sizes are appreciated. Please place the coats in the Rising Hope Collection bin in the Hottle Hall hallway. For more information, contact Tim Mertsock at [email protected].
Lorton Community Action Center helps their people in a number of ways. They give out food, canned, re-frigerated milk, butter, and what they get from the food bank. They give out frozen chicken, and other donated meats, and donated fresh produce in the summer. They also use money donated to them, to help a family that doesn't quite have enough to pay their rent, utility or a car repair. They are helping the working poor, military families, seniors and the disa-bled learn more about good nutrition and cooking, by offering free classes. They teach and assist people in doing taxes, and give free lunches to the children during the summer. In August, our church helps greatly, as we put together more than 50 school backpacks for the children to return to school with, and bought 20 pairs of school shoes. Tutors help the children with homework, after school. In October there is a Complete the Circle food drive, and we put together Thanksgiving baskets in November for 10 families, this year. In December we have been buying gifts for some of the children and seniors. We also collect food all year around. In February, please do-nate spaghetti and other pastas, tomato sauce, and white sauce, and hamburger helper. Other things are welcome! Please put them in the Lorton bin, outside Hottle Hall. If full, please write Lorton on the bag, you leave there. Thank you! Lorton Thrift Shop is a good place to donate your 'give-aways'! They have 2 rooms of quite nice items, which they sell. The proceeds go back to Lorton CAC to help people with rent, utilities, etc. About $10,000 of those donated items are given away free to Lorton clients, because they "need" those things. Consigning very nice furniture, dishes, etc. is also possible, by getting in touch with the manager. Donations of clothes, housewares, etc. can be left for Lorton, clear-ly marked "Lorton", and put outside Hottle Hall. For more information, or directions to deliver those items for yourself, contact Jennifer Riordan 703-569-1074. Thank You!
Reflections from Ken Lawrence on Sydenstricker hosted Hypothermia
Shelter from last month
Hi All, This morning at 7:00 the last of our thirty-two guests boarded the van for a ride back to the shelter at Bailey’s Crossroads. Once again I come away from “host” duty with a new sense of gratitude for all God has done in my life, and for a renewed awareness of how deeply many who are homeless carry a loving relationship with Jesus. The night went by with laughter, stories, prayers and appreciation from our guests, and without negative incident, other than a moment or two when a couple of folks felt a need to assert themselves for a little space, and one moment of terror for me when a guest told me that the men’s toilet was backed up! A quick prayer for help, and the sturdy brush next to the commode did the trick. God is good!
An impression I won’t forget came about 11pm when all of the lights had been dimmed, with the exception of the Christmas tree. I went over to the staff table for a while and read in the light coming from the tree. When I put my book down and saw the room filled with men and women sleeping peacefully the floor and noted particularly those that bedded down around the still-lit tree, I realized that I had never seen a more beautiful Christmas scene than was laid out before me. For me that moment was God’s little way of sending me a new way to love Christmas. What a gift!
YBIC, Ken
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On Saturday, January 7, a group from Sydenstricker went to the Bi-District Training held at Christ Church. Below are summaries of the main session and a number of the breakout sessions. There we were introduced to Carey Nieuwhof, the Pastor of Connexus Church north of Toronto Canada. Carey has grown the church that is now called Connexus from three smaller churches where the average worship attendance often was 6 or less at each church to a multisite church with more than 1,000. He had some predictions and information for those of us struggling to maintain membership or grow.
TEN PREDICTIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE CHURCH:
The potential to gain is better than the potential to lose.
Churches that love their model more than their mission will die.
The gathered church is here to stay.
Consumer Christianity will die and a more selfless discipleship will emerge.
Sundays will become more about what we give than what we get.
Attendance will no longer drive engagement, engagement will drive attendance.
Simplified ministries will compliment people’s lives, not compete with them.
Online church will become more of a front door than a back door.
Online church will supplement the journey, not become the journey.
Gatherings will be larger and smaller at the same time.
“When the speed of change around an organization is faster than the speed of change within an organization, that organization becomes irrelevant.” Rick Warren SOME OF CAREY’S QUOTES: “People change when the pain associated with status quo becomes greater than the pain associated with
change and not before. “
“We need to raise the level of urgency within the church, the stakes are higher than we think. “
“Churches that don’t change – die”
STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE: Don’t confuse loud with large – volume is not necessarily the voice of the mass
Choose your focus – we need to choose those that we want to keep and those we want to reach
Find a filter – when there are critics is their argument biblical and are these the kind of folks we want to
build our future with Attack problems not people – turn to God, if not we will turn on each other; empathize with those who
oppose you. Don’t quit – instead find friends, seek counseling, create an encouragement file
Connexus Church has no committees, except short term task forces, a leadership team focused on vision and mission and staff that runs the day-to-day operations of the church. This is the model that successful growing churches are following. SPIRITUAL PRACTICES OF NATIVE AMERICANS A great workshop that outlined the idea and Native American concepts of communion, nature and sacrifice. It focused on the idea that each stage of the chain of life has to make a sacrifice in order to be used in other ways. A tree gives up its life to become furniture. All forms of animal life must sacrifice their lives for the next step in the food chain. The speaker who is Fox and Cherokee talked about the oppression of Native Americans, even having children removed from their homes and sent to boarding school if you were part Native American and something else. He talked about how our view of communion may be too small, not taking into account the true sacrifice that the table brings.
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RECAP OF BIDISTRICT TRAINING
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CENTERING PRAYER Being a Christian means to be like Christ. There have been many ways sought to help people to be transformed in Christ throughout the Christian tradition. Centering Prayer is one of the contemplative practices used to help people experience the Presence of God. Centering Prayer is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer; rather it casts a new light and depth of meaning on them. It is at the same time a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship. This method of prayer is a movement beyond conversation with Christ to communion with Him. Basis is Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God” and Matthew 6:6 “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” APPS WORKSHOP The Bi-District Training Day offered an information session on "Ministry Apps and Free Technology" during the lunch hour to invite discussion on free or discounted apps available for use across all missions of the church. The session was a wealth of information on many subjects such as communication, outreach, collaboration, and so-cial media. We learned about websites and apps for free images, online image/banner creation, group collabora-tion, image/document sharing, as well as a couple new Bible apps that really allow the user to customize their Bible reading experience. The take away from that session was not only a full belly but some great ideas for en-hancing how technology will support the missions of SUMC! CHURCH AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS The presenter is pastor of a plant church out of Floris UMC. In the short time since the church’s establishment, they have entered many partnerships with other churches and with non-faith-based community groups to help meet community needs. They learn of needs by getting to know the people in the community, mainly by con-necting with other organizations (churches, schools, C of C, Reston Museum board, homeless shelter operator, and many others). First principle is to be proactive and intentional in getting to know people in the community. Second is to listen to the people with the need or who know of the need and respond specifically to that. Third is to partner with someone or some group already working in the area, who will be more effective than the church would be starting from nothing. Start your own ministry only if no one else is already doing it. End it when inter-est has waned and you have to scrape for volunteers. FROM STEEPLE TO STREET (Connecting the church with people wherever they are) Fresh Expressions is a movement to help churches reach people without expecting or requiring them to come to the church building. Since a large portion of the community (40 – 60 percent) never attend church, we can try to reach them by going where they are. Examples she described included a Bible study in a surf shack, a prayer and Bible study meeting of women every Wednesday at Wendy’s (yes, hamburger place), and an informal meet-ing that developed into a church at a kayaking club. She outlined a general approach to reaching a group of peo-ple that included: 1. Listening (hearing people’s stories); 2. Loving and serving; 3. Building community; 4. Ex-ploring discipleship; and 5. Forming a church. SMALL GROUP MINISTRIES: DISCIPLES MAKING DISCIPLES The presenter first made a case for the extreme importance of a church having functioning “small groups” in the Wesley tradition as the best means of taking care of people. In his plant church everyone is expected to partici-pate in a small group. It is the way (not a way) the church takes care of people. Small groups can be formed around anything the members have in common, but must meet six essential elements: friendship; prayer, Bible study, care and nurture, service, and leadership training (preparing members to lead new small groups). Your church can set its own essentials. A group that meets your “essentials” is accepted, and they can do whatever else they want. His church has a Small Group Coordinator (it must be the most important thing the person does in the church) and maintains a published list of small groups (they have 36 in a church of 250 people) and their leaders. The church lays hands on and prays for small group leaders in worship. An established church without true small groups can take a year to change its culture.
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KIDS IN MISSION Aspects of Servanthood
1. Empathy and compassion – Children know this at an early age 2. Godly work ethic – serve others 3. Volunteering, serving, giving – we are stewards of the Kingdom 4. Discernment of Servanthood – engage kids in activities that come naturally to them
Offer choices – kids expect choices.
Take small steps and make it part of the culture.
Make it personal – consider appropriateness but not always possible.
Children instinctively want to help.
Lesson idea: Use the book “There is Only One You” and paint rocks that look like you. They can give
the rocks as a gift, keep, or even leave on a path for someone to find. (I have this book on order). WHAT IF WE BOOMERS REINVENTED “SENIOR ADULT MINISTRY” & CHANGED THE CHURCH Boomers are recognized as those born between 1946-1964, but all have experienced life differently from the Civil Rights Movement to Watergate to Viet Nam to the assassinations of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King. They tend to see themselves as 10-15 years younger than their actual age and yet experience more chronic illness and disabilities. In the 50s mainline churches began to grow and churches developed children’s and youth ministries more as entertainment than as oriented toward discipleship development. It is estimated that 41% of all Boomers are unchurched feeling as though they are “done” with church and not feeling called to discipleship. Boomers can bridge the generations if intentional, strategic outreach min-istries are in place. 92% of all millennials have Boomer parents and they see their parents as most influen-tial in their lives, so churches who want to reach millennials will be more successful if they reach Boomer parents and these in turn can also reach grandchildren. The Boomer Generation folks aren’t interested in traditional Older Adult Ministries but may be very interested in spiritual matters in general. In this session action steps were suggested as well as a wealth of resources. JOINING THE GENERATIONS Churches play a unique role in our culture in deliberately bringing together all ages and all generations with a common mission, but we need to be intentional about involving all generations in church activities. All churches are multigenerational. Few are intergenerational. Youngsters can learn from elders and elders can learn from youngsters. A church may have as many as six generations in attendance on any given Sun-day. One of the challenges is the decline in faith sharing across generations. The interest and connection with one adult can have a profound effect on a youth and help influence whether that individual connects with church once he/she becomes an adult. “Joining generation’s means intentionally combining the gener-ations together in mutual serving, sharing, or learning within the core activities of the church in order to live out being the body of Christ to each other and the greater community.” (Ross,2006) In this session some examples of how this may be accomplished were shared.
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Sydenstricker Snaps! MILITARY MINISTRY
Packaging and distributing Christmas Holiday dinners
for the soldiers and families at Walter Reed National Mili-
tary Medical Center.
Our youth group packages food at the Arlington Food Assistance Center on Friday, Jan. 20.
TOT Preschoolers help make and pack-age sandwiches at the Martha’s Table January sandwich making mission event.
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January provided a great start to 2017. The month offered many opportu-nities for the children to experience "winter", learn about snow, ice and cold. Did you know February is National Children's Dental Health Month? To help the children learn how to keep their bright, healthy smiles, TOT will host a dental presentation this month. As I was thinking about how to teach children to maintain dental hygiene, I started to search for connec-tions that may exist amongst dental health and spirituality. I found that In June of 2012, the Department of Community Dentistry, Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine published a study (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22678495) to “explain the associa-tion between religiosity and dental caries [cavities].” Those who identified themselves as religious had significantly fewer cavities. In addition there are several other "studies over the last few decades that indicate a regular practice of prayer and/or church attendance consistently improves health." Just as puppets will be utilized to teach the children at TOT to brush properly and regularly, I encourage each of you to use Christian practices of prayer, worship and devotion to maintain your healthy smiles! Blessings, Mrs. Jenkins Preschool Director
TOT REGISTRATION
TOT registration for the 2017-2018 school year will open to church members and those fam-ilies with children currently en-rolled at TOT Preschool, on Jan-uary 25, 2017. Enrollment will open to the general public on February 8.
Registration Packets can be found on the 2017-2018 school year page of the TOT website. sydenstrickerumc.org/TOTpreschool
If you have questions regarding TOT preschool and registration for the 2017-2018 school year, please contact Audra Jenkins at 703-644-6384.
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IN THE LIFE OF OUR CHURCH FAMILY…
MEALS FOR OUR CHURCH FAMILY
OFFER: Our church family is here to help you with home-delivered meals when you need them, whether you're recovering from surgery, welcoming a new child into your home, dealing with an illness, etc.
NEED: Please volunteer to be on the list of people who cook (or phone in delivery!) for those in our church who need meals. We are very thankful for those who have been volunteering this service for years and would love to have more volunteers to help, especially when there are multiple needs.
Contact Christine Sands, [email protected] or 703-913-7720 or the church office if you have a need, know of a need, or would like to volunteer in this ministry.
02/01 June Royce 02/02 Brian Sands, Pat Hahndorf, Roger Lin, Cole Heard 02/04 Amy Dannemiller, Clay Crooch, Jaime Frittman, Debra Stewart 02/05 Reagan Fritzsche, Ty Barnett, Dawn Hatcher, Adam Points, Helen Morrison 02/06 Doug Jones 02/07 Santiago Lank, Ruth Ann Henline 02/08 Jim Haynes, Sally Hottle, Kristin Munday 02/09 Stefanie Meling, Lacey Bonner 02/10 Jill Hill, Philip Hancock, Scott Patterson, Monica Pray, Matthew Wright 02/12 Max Gazvoda, Nick Hill 02/13 Leslie Lermo, Natalie Points 02/14 Jim Worden 02/15 Wendy Smith, Julie Hill, Julie Campbell, Shannon Thompson 02/17 Blanche Powell, Judith Bright 02/18 Sarah Fong, Beau Rennert, Erin Duricy 02/19 Erick Lermo, Autumn Rodgers 02/20 Arlene Norrell, Nick Bennett, Pat Loudermilk, Spencer Hill 02/21 Betsy Miller 02/22 Bob Shelton, Lisa Leo, Greyson Jenkins, Marlise Edwards 02/23 Donna Kellam, Elaine Johnson 02/24 Christine Smith, Lori Darden, Shrey Points, Kyle Crooch 02/25 Eve Nefzger, Rich Sargeant 02/26 Sarah Lei, John Tyburski, Megan Thompson 02/27 Dana Magusiak, Angelika Colecraft-Addison, Carrie Teague 02/28 Mark Correll, Lindsay Schafer, Patrick Finch 02/29 Betty Flemming
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Our Loving Sympathy is extended to
The family of Steve & Kristin Munday, on
the death of Steve’s father, Tom Munday,
who died on January 8.
The family of Laverne Peverill Meier who
died on January 14.
Sydenstricker United Methodist Church is a
community of faith in God, empowered by the Holy
Spirit for active fulfillment of Christ’s command to
love our neighbors as ourselves, and to love one
another as He loves us.
THE STEEPLE Published monthly by
Sydenstricker United Methodist Church
8508 Hooes Rd, Springfield, VA 22153
703-451-8223 ~ 703-569-5231 Fax
www.sydenstrickerumc.org
OFFICE HOURS Monday-Thursday 8 AM-4 PM
Fridays 8 AM-3 PM
THE STEEPLE DEADLINE Submissions are due by the 15th!
Send your articles to:
TWAS DEADLINE Noon on Wednesday.
Send submissions to
Pastor Don Jamison
Robert Rudolph, Music Ministry
Rex Grigg, Youth Ministry
Jeni Sparlin, Children & Family Ministry
Susan Hartley, Administrative Assistant
Maile Bradfield, Communications Associate
Audra Jenkins, Preschool Director
STAFF E-MAIL ADDRESSES:
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