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TRANSCRIPT
Information Sidebar
VBS in August
2
Pastor’s Pen 3
UMW Reading Program
Children’s Ministry
4
Youth Ministry Parking Lot Repaving Spirituality..Strange Packages
5
Book Group
SUMC Transportation News
6
Summer Choir
Our Church Family
7
HEROES Care
LCAC Summer Food Drive
8
ECHO News
July Birthdays
9
Financial Peace Grads
Martha’s Table
SUMC Website
10
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
The Steeple
8508 Hooes Road, Springfield, VA 22153 July 2012
CELEBRATE the 4th of July With Us!
Sydenstricker has two separate and important activities happening
on Wednesday, July 4.
Martha’s Table, 9:30 a.m. in Hottle Hall: Our regularly monthly sandwich-making event. Martha’s Table
is a non-profit organization which operates in Washington, D.C.,
that provides various services to the needy. For the last 27 years,
Sydenstricker has helped to feed the needy by monthly making
sandwiches – mostly protein-packed egg salad sandwiches but
also meat & cheese, chicken salad or tuna salad. Here’s how
you can help: Donate (by the dozens if possible) peeled, hard-boiled eggs
to the cause. Our goal is ambitious this month, making
5,000 sandwiches, over twice as many as our usual num-
ber. We need your donation of eggs!! See page 10 for in-
structions where to leave your eggs.
Give your time. We need MANY helping hands to work with
us starting at 9:30 a.m. to mix, stir, create, and package the
sandwiches.
Following this MEGGA sandwich build (approximately
11:30), you are invited to our next day’s activity…..
4TH of July Picnic: Heather Woodard has stepped forward to chair this annual event.
She and husband Jeff are not even members yet, but we welcome
Heather’s enthusiasm to respond to God’s nudging for this
event!
The picnic is held outside in The Grove starting at Noon (if it
rains, you will move into Hottle Hall).
You are asked to bring a side dish or dessert to share.
Grilled hotdogs, hamburgers and drinks will be provided
with a free will offering to help defray the costs.
(continued page 7)
The Steeple Page 2
“The Steeple” Published monthly by
Sydenstricker United Methodist Church 8508 Hooes Road
Springfield, VA 22153-1703 Phone: 703-451-8223
Fax: 703-569-5231
www.SydenstrickerUMC.org
Office Hours
Monday-Thursday 8 AM - 4 PM Fridays 8 AM - 3 PM
Deadline for “The Steeple”
Submissions are due by the 15th!
Submit your articles via e-mail to:
Please limit articles to 250-300 words.
Deadline for Sunday Bulletin
Noon on Wednesday
Send submissions to [email protected]
Senior Pastor, Jim Thomas: ext. 102 [email protected]
Associate Pastor, Garey Eakes: ext. 103
Music Director, David Smith: ext. 110 [email protected]
Children & Youth Ministries Director,
Hannah Knowland: ext. 104 [email protected]
Administrative Assistant, Susan Hartley: ext. 113 [email protected]
Office Secretary, Maile Bradfield: ext. 101
T.O.T. Preschool Director, Audra Jenkins: 703-644-6384
Staff Information
VBS this summer is going to be another exciting adven-ture which "dares children to go deep with God!" We have chosen "Operation Overboard" this year. The children will dive into an ocean-themed week filled with scriptures from the Old and New Testament, as well as some really fun water themed activities. The VBS mission for the week will give the children a chance to not only grow in their learning of who God is and how awesome God is, but to also help out our com-munity. At the beginning of the week, the children will be given a bag. At week’s end, each family will return the bag, filled with non-perishable food and personal hygiene items for the Lorton Action Community Center for distribution to needy families in our local area! The week will challenge the children to: Depend on God, Dare to Care, Claim Jesus, Choose to Follow, and Change the World! The children will decorate their own "Operation Overboard" shirts, bringing out the artist in each of them. Each family will also get a CD with all the week’s music. Our Family Picnic will be on Wednesday evening, Au-gust 8, and all the children and families will be invited to come hear the VBS children sing at church on Sun-day, August 12. Reserve your child’s spot now and remember to bring your flippers and goggles! Registration forms are in the Narthex.
Vacation Bible School, August 6-10, 9 a.m. to Noon
HANDS-ON CHRISTIANITY
Sometimes it can be too easy being a Christian. We attend a service one hour a week two or three weeks out of the month and we feel as though we have checked off the necessary box for our religious participation. Nothing wrong with that but it is not what Christianity is about. We may even make a special at-tempt to live a moral lifestyle and say our prayers semi-regularly. Once again there’s nothing wrong with that either. It is just not Christianity. A per-son might even practice tithing and serve on a committee or two in the church; perhaps even one of leadership. Great stuff! But this is not Christianity either. These are religious practices and probably, necessary religious practices but Christianity is not characterized by religious prac-tices. The fact that we often think of it in these terms is probably the fault of the church itself as we have promoted our own agenda rather than philoso-phy and/or theology that under-mines these practices. So what does it mean to be a Christian? Well, the age-old definition is one who is a fol-lower of Jesus Christ. Worship-ping God is a glorious thing but frankly there is nothing uniquely Christian about it. Giving money or living a moral lifestyle is a part of just about every re-ligion. Modeling one’s life after the life of Christ however is unique. It makes us stand out
from the religious crowd or at least it should. So, how do we at Sydenstricker follow Jesus? It is easy and can be summed up in a single word; “mission.” This means “hands-on” ministry. As we read the story, Jesus healed the lepers, forgave the sinful woman, sat down and ate with the tax col-lector, and forgave his execu-tioners. He did not write a check and send the teenagers off to do it for him. Sure, there were times when he commissioned his disciples and others to min-istry but all the while he contin-ued to engage people himself. To follow Jesus is to engage hu-manity! When I arrived here one year ago I noticed a sign facing the park-ing lot so that people could read it while exiting. It looks as though it has been there a while and like most things that we see every day, it has probably disap-peared into the background for most of us. The sign reads “You are now entering the mission field.” That’s right! As we exit the church (not as we enter it) we become Christian (a follower of Christ). Christianity is not what happens here. It is what happens when we leave here. Over the next year we are going to try to recapture some of our fire for mission. As we learn once again (we used to be really good at this) we are going to be-gin offering our congregation more opportunities to get in-
volved in mission. Hands-on also means getting our hands dirty. This should also serve as a great way to introduce Syden-stricker UMC to new families, recapturing what many have re-ferred to as the “Sydenstricker Spirit.” It is fun to work to-gether on a project or a goal. Additionally, it puts us in touch with who we are as followers of Christ. So, I hope to see you in the mission field! Shalom,
Jim
The Pastor’s Pen By Jim Thomas
July 2012 Page 3
Jim: June 23-July 2
Susan: July 9-13
Maile: July 16-20
Garey: July 28-August 4
David: July 28-August 4
For July
“The Reading Program encourages
members to think critically about
current issues through an annual
selection of member-reviewed
books. It offers an excellent oppor-
tunity to deepen your spirituality
and to broaden your understanding
of our mission work,” says the
UMW national Reading Program
brochure.
Currently there are five categories
of books: Education for Mission,
Spiritual Growth, Leadership De-
velopment, Social Action and Nur-
turing for Community. If you want
to get credit for reading for our
UMW unit, you can follow one of
several different plans. Plan I ex-
pects you to choose one book from
each category per year and to read
Response magazine regularly. Plan
II is just double that, plus regular
reading of New World Outlook
magazine.
These books need to be read by Au-
gust of each year and their titles
handed in to Ginny Wells.
UMW books are interfiled in
the church library’s regular col-
lection. To find titles you need
to check the annual lists in the
blue UMW Notebook on the
bottom shelf straight back from
the library entrance. That’s
where you’ll also find the maga-
zines.
Happy reading!
THE UMW READING PROGRAM
EPIC LOVE is our theme for the month of July. Take a look at the Parent Cue to see what your child will learn in Sunday School each week. Upcoming Events: July 4 - Church Picnic. Come have fun with your family and spend some time in the bouncy house! August 6-12 - “Overboard Vac-cation Bible School” registra-tion continues. No child will want to miss this week filled with Jesus’ love and joy! Invite your friends!
Page 4 The Steeple
July 2012 Page 5
Summer Break!
Fourth of July Picnic- Enter yourself in the Vol-leyball tournament and water balloon toss, eat food, have fun! July 14-22 - Senior high mission trip to Missis-sippi with Annandale UMC Youth July 27— Tubing at the Hoffmaster’s Marina; bring a packed lunch! Registration is now open for our Fall Retreat to the Awakening Fest Sept. 28—29 at Camp High-road in Middleburg, VA. There are 2 options for this trip: Come and stay overnight for both days OR come join the group on Saturday. Contact Hannah for more information. Regis-tration ends July 29.
PARKING LOT REPAVING PARKING LOT REPAVING
Many of you may have noticed that the pavement of our parking lot is cracked in places and rutted in others, show-ing its age. We have signed a contract with Ruston Paving Company, Inc, to do curb and gutter work and repave the entire lot.
The concrete work consists of a curb along the side of the lot nearest Hooes Road, a curb and gutter along the far edge and a concrete island in the center of the lot between the two light pole islands. These curbs replace the existing concrete wheel stops.
The rutted area, along the edge of the parking lot to the left of the little island extending into the lot in front of the steps of the Bishop’s Walk will be dug up and additional stone will be placed to strengthen the pavement. The entire parking lot will be milled, removing the top 2” of pavement and then 2” of new pavement will be in-stalled. Lastly, new lines will be painted.
All this will occur between June 25 and July 6, weather permitting, EXCLUDING the Fourth of July. We will have limited use of the lot throughout, and use of almost all of the lot on the 4th. Questions? Rich Riordan or Joel Campbell of the Trustees.
SPIRITUALITY COMES IN SOME STRANGE PACKAGES
For instance, a Texas family told a
Houston TV station they are get-
ting strength from an image of Je-
sus they found in the mold grow-
ing inside the shower of their
home.
According to a May 31, 2012, UPI
story, "The mold began growing in
the bathroom at the Splendora
home a couple months ago," when
the man of the house was in
prison.
A woman who is now living there
told a reporter, "He's just watching
over us to make sure nothing
wrong happens or I get in trouble
and go back. It gives me inspira-
tion just to do better."
"Maybe it means something," she
said. Perhaps it means she should
clean the shower!
Submitted by Pastor Jim Thomas
Take time to relax this summer, and read a good book or two.
Then, come share your thoughts with other readers in the
Book Group. We get together the third Monday of the month
at 7:30 PM in the church library. Join us!
Our meeting dates and selections are:
July 16: Cutting for Stone by Abraham
Verghese
August 20: “An Evening of Books” – We will take turns
telling the group about one or two good books
we’ve read recently.
Contacts: Rebecca Burrows ([email protected]) or
Irene McGhee ([email protected]).
Page 6 The Steeple
Book Group
Ever notice the big white Dodge
van and trailer in the back of our
church parking lot? They are re-
sources that are available to any
church member for church related
outings, trips and projects. The van
has been recently checked out com-
pletely and is mechanically sound.
It also has new tires. The hood has
been repainted and the body seals
for the front two doors have also
been replaced.
VAN – A special driver’s license is
not required to operate the church
van. Church members interested in
using the van for a church outing
are asked to complete a driver ap-
plication form if you’re not already
on the approved van driver list.
The application forms can be found
in the church office in the “SUMC
Van Book” binder that sits on the
SUMC Transportation News
desk behind the Secretary’s chair.
Once you complete the van driver
application form please leave it
with Maile or Susan
or place it in the Administrative
Assistant’s mailbox at church
or under Susan’s door if you pre-
fer.
Van insurance constraints only allow
church members to drive the van and
for church related projects. If you’re
unsure if you are an approved driver,
the list is maintained in the same
binder in the church office.
Van users should annotate the dates
they plan to use the van in the
“Availability calendar”, Section 2 of
the “SUMC Van Book”. Please in-
clude the purpose for the trip and a
point of contact, usually the driver.
Usually the van is reserved on a first
come, first served basis, but that pol-
icy is negotiable.
You should take the second binder
(says “Big Dodge Van” on the spine
and “Dodge Van Binder” on the cover)
that has the van keys in it with you
whenever you drive the van. That
binder has the registration and insur-
ance information. Please follow the
instructions on the cover of the “Dodge
Van Binder” when using the van.
TRAILER - the trailer can be used for
church related projects by church mem-
bers and is reserved the same way as
the van. If you are taking the van and
trailer together for your outing please
indicate that in the reservation section.
If you’re taking just the trailer, please
annotate that information too. The
trailer has a tire wrench and jack in
case of a flat tire. Please insure these
items are in the trailer when you check
it out and more importantly, still there
when you return.
July 2012 Page 7
Baptism
Matthew Hommel, son of Eric &
Susan, was baptized on Saturday,
May 12 prior to his confirmation on
Sunday, May 20;
Ria Lois Points, infant daughter of Eric & Roli, was
baptized on Saturday, June 16.
Farewell
The Marvich family - Mike, Robin, Megan, Madison &
Mackenzie - moved May 27 to Ohio.
Don & Elaine Johnson (Victoria & Alan; Erin & Kate
Duricy) moved mid-June to Florida.
The Stewart family—Geoff, Michele, Rachel & Emily - left
the area mid-June.
Sundays at 10:15 a.m.
during July & August
Join us at 10:15 a.m. in the choir room to pre-
pare an anthem to sing at the 11:00 a.m. wor-
ship service. No previous experience necessary
and you do not need to be a current choir
member. This is a perfect opportunity for
those that would like to sing in the choir but
can’t commit to a weekly rehearsal. Contact
David Smith if you have any questions. Come
sing with us!
CELEBRATE... (continued from page 1)
What’s a picnic without games? A moon
bounce and other activities will be available
specifically for the children. Teens and adults
- how about some volleyball or touch foot-
ball? Or you can just chat with friends and
make some new ones.
Background music consisting of favorite old
hymns to tried-and-true patriotic songs will
add to the festive atmosphere.
If you can help with Martha’s Table, or if you plan
to attend the picnic, call the church office to add
your name to the list.
If you can help with set up or clean up for the pic-
nic, contact Heather at 919-414-6673. Your help
will be greatly appreciated!
United Methodist Women:
All ladies of all ages are invited to join the UMW at El Paso Restaurant on Commerce St. on July 24 at 6:30 pm. Come out and join us for fun and fel-lowship. Bring your daughters, bring your granddaughters, bring your friends. All are welcome. Please fill out the pad in the pews with the number of those attending so we can have an accurate count.
DDINNERINNER OOUTUT
Page 8 The Steeple
During the summer, the children are not in school, where they are usually given a free or subsidized breakfast and lunch. Some Lorton families struggle to give their children 3 meals a day. LCAC is serving more than 200 families from Lorton, Ft. Belvoir, and Newington areas. There is a great need for many of the items we usually ask for. There are brown shopping bags outside Hottle Hall with a list of needed items stapled to it. Please take a bag and fill it with items from that list. Give as much as you can, but even several items would be a big help! The drive ends July 15. (This food drive will also be a mission project for VBS.) Watch your next newsletter for a list of school supplies that are needed for Lorton again this year. The list is now posted on the bulletin
board outside Hottle Hall, for those who want to get a head start or are lucky enough to find a "Back to School Sale!" Please leave the bags of food by the Lorton bin, outside Hottle Hall, by July 15th. We also need your plastic or paper grocery bags. Thank you!
Lorton Summer Food Drive
On June 2, Sydenstricker’s Stephen Ministry team hosted a program presentation by HEROES Care. Churches from all over the DC area came to hear about this program that offers passionate compassion to military families in the communities where they live. HEROES Care is a commu-nity-based strategy designed to meet the needs of service members and their families with the goal of preventing and mitigating many of the psychological, moral, and spiritual injuries that of-ten accompany deployment. Military service members and their families are assigned to specially trained volunteers who will be in regular contact with family members and can make referrals to HEROES Care partner and community agencies for appropriate support. The volunteers for HEROES Care are Stephen Ministers who have additional specialized training. The partners pro-vide mental health services, financial assistance, and job placement services. All services are strictly confidential and come at absolutely no cost. Sydenstricker will offer HEROES Care training to both active and inactive Stephen Ministers in October. Anyone who wants to be a HEROES Care volunteer may come to this training but must be trained as a Stephen Minister before serving in HEROES Care. To learn more about HEROES Care, contact Kathy Phillips or Bill Wells, Sydenstricker’s Stephen Leaders.Home
June 2012 Page 9
ECHO is looking for volunteers for two new tutor-ing and mentoring initiatives under our School Partnership Program. We will place mentors at Crestwood and Lynbrook, Title 1 elementary schools in Springfield. Mentors will be adult vol-unteers who can commit to two lunchtime visits per month at the school with an individual stu-dent. Fairfax County Public Schools will require a background check of volunteers. ECHO also will start providing tutors at Kings Glen Elementary in Springfield once a week from 7:00-8:30 p.m. Adults or teens may volunteer to be tutors. If you have an interest in becoming a tutor or a mentor for elementary students, please send an e-mail to [email protected]
Adult and teen volunteers are needed to assist with the packing of 1,000 backpacks this summer.
JULY
02 Gina Freel, Madison Marvich
03 Jim Thomas
04 Colin Sloniker
05 Ann Fry, Jim Carr
06 Mark Aitken, Megan Marvich
07 Nicole Bonica, Mike Robert-son
08 Tammy Alred, Marc Camacho, Mark Sparlin, Linda Wunderlin
10 Joey Falcon, David Kleppinger, Grant Greffey
11 Ruth Newcomb, Henry Monti, John Miller, Shirley Edwards, Wilma Hommel
12 Amy Young, Debbie Perrella, Judy Brison
13 Alex Phillips, Lois Points
14 Christopher Wunderlin, Robert Gentry
15 Susie Ritter
16 Ellen Hurston, Meredith Bur-gin
18 Jaime McMahon, John Rod-gers
19 Bob Carlson, Bob Kauffeld
20 Rich Riordan
21 Will Donovan, Robert Avara, Kenena Spalding
22 Erin Bennett, Stephanie McGuffin, Cheryl Temple, Don Lee
23 Ryan Campbell, Haeley Hall, Mike Etzweiler
24 Jerry Mason, David McMahon, Don Curry
25 Rebecca Kellam, Sharon Vtipil
26 Mackenzie McNaughton, Katie Curtin, Michelle Johnson, Sherry Congleton, Bruce Irvine, Alicia Powell, Geoff Stewart, Joe Hoff-master
27 Larry Ferris, Bill Evans, Jeremy Coursey , Bill Wells 28 Krystal Venable
29 J.J. Campbell, Tyler Venable
30 JD Kadin
31 Al Curtis, Rich Wunderlin
Ecumenical Communities Helping Others Ecumenical Communities Helping Others Ecumenical Communities Helping Others (ECHO)
Work sessions will be held most Tuesday and Thursday afternoons during July and August, 2:00-5:00 p.m. Each session will be limited to eight (8) volun-teers. Contact Marianne DeHart at [email protected] ECHO currently needs do-nations of jelly, juice, pasta, peanut butter, deodorant, razors, shaving cream, and rice. In clothing and housewares, we need infant gowns and Onesies, men’s and boys’ jeans, as well as towels. Donations may be brought to the donation door at 7205 Old Keene Mill Road, Springfield, on weekdays between 9:30 am and 12:0 pm, or Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evenings between 7:00 and 9:00. Receipts for donations are cheerfully offered.
family and how we handle fi-nances.” “I am not a financial person. This made things like mutual funds; what debt really means and mortgages understandable.”
Trish Fritzche
“Should be mandatory for every high schooler and college stu-dent.” Mike Marvich
“It enabled us to begin conversa-tion on of the most difficult topics in a marriage – finances.”
Carman Richardson
“This class taught me a lot about how I should approach money.” “I would highly recommend this
Our first Financial Peace class brought together both people who are familiar with Dave Ramsey’s financial principles and those who knew nothing about finances. To-gether we learned, discussed, gave encouragement and improved our lifestyles. In less than 3 months our class collectively reduced its consumer debt by more than $55,000! What did your friends have to say about the class? “Just taking one of the baby steps can change your life. Taking all the steps will rewrite your fam-ily’s financial situation.” “I really enjoyed the course and it has made a huge impact on our
class to everyone, especially new-lywed couples. It taught us how to communicate.” “I liked the class on budgeting and cash flow. This has helped me with budgeting for my com-
Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University Graduates First Sydenstricker UMC Class
Next Opportunity is
Wednesday, July 4, 9:30 am in Hottle Hall
We will begin collecting peeled, hard-
boiled eggs on Sunday, July 1. Please
place your donations in the cooler pro-
vided on the Bishop’s Walk. Everyone is
welcomed and encouraged to help with
this wonderful and important hunger
ministry.
See front page story for more details.
The newly created website finally has its top identify-ing banner in place. Here are some things you should know: 1. Make our website your homepage. Each time you
click it open, it improves our searchability on the Google search engine.
2. All pertinent information can be updated immedi-ately by office staff. Ask the office to create an ad for your ministry’s event.
3. Prayer requests may be made directly online by clicking the “Prayer Request” button located on the “Resources tab. Prayer requests may be private or public. This will not to take the place of our Prayer Chain.
4. The church calendar is now online and constantly updated. Just hover over the event you are inter-ested in and more details appear.
5. Take time to explore it. There’s a lot of information, forms, publications, sermon audio, etc., for your use!
Contact Maile or Susan in the church office if you have questions about the site.
SydenstrickerUMC.org