Contact United Methodist Church North Bethesdalinktech.org Anela! Volume 44, Issue 6 Page 3 Preacher...

Volume 44, Issue 6

ContactMay 2015

New day at NBUMC. Can you sense it? The lovely bright bulletin board! Thanks to Elaine

Jones and Sherrie DaVault for their creative vision of these boards, which will be updated seasonally. If you wish to be a part of this ongoing ministry, just let

me know! It's fun and does not take a lot of time.

Soup Supper! The Sodee family hosted this year. Ten

amazingly delicious soups were donated. Thanks to

the “souper” cooks!

Worship committee: We have one now that meets

regularly!

As you can probably tell by these recent events and

projects, there are new faces and new ways

happening at NBUMC. And everyone can be a part of this change.

Miss the pancake supper? Many folks did. One family has tentatively agreed to host it next

year, but others can help out to bring this back.

Vacation Bible Camp will be looking different this year. Stay tuned for a creative spin on this

event.

Church Council picnic will be hosted by your church council chair. It will be held on the church grounds sometime in September. The tentative plan is to have a barbecue and a crab feast. I

can always use your help, so please let me know if you can assist.

Like the idea of Trunk or Treat (or another autumnal event) for one day or evening in October? Yes, there is no pumpkin patch this year, but that does not mean the church cannot host an event for our neighborhood community. Looking for creative minds to host a fall event.

Interested in this? Please let me know.

Love spaghetti dinners? Perhaps your

family might wish to host one.

The good news is that hosting or volunteering for a project is not a lifelong commitment. Try it and see if whatever

you volunteered for is a good fit for your life. Please know that your time and effort

in the ministry at NBUMC is welcome and

greatly appreciated

Blessings,

Rose Aehle

North Bethesda

United Methodist Church

May 2015 Contact

North Bethesda United Methodist Church

10100 Old Georgetown Road

Bethesda MD 20814

Phone: (301) 530–4342

E–mail: [email protected]

Website: www.NorthBethesdaUMC.org

Office Manager: Chris Lee

Office Hours: Tuesday thru Thursday 8:30

AM– 4:30 PM

Pastor: Pastor Jeff Jones

Cell Phone: (240) 994-1505

Minister of Visitation: Linda Thompson

Music Director: Tony Ashur

Coordinator of Education: Vicki Morrison

Custodian: Ram Phuyal

Contact Newsletter Editor: Valerie Blane

Contact Newsletter Publisher: Chris Lee

1 George Cockrell

1 John Welton 2 Mary Ellen McCabe

4 Sam Northridge 4 Rachel Northridge

4 Amanda Berg 5 Mark Ball

6 Paul Beck 6 Jim Short

6 Mel Thompson 7 Colton Hammond

8 Ray Gilbert 8 Thelma Jenkins-Anthony

11 Bob Gawler 12 Samantha Santoro

15 Paul Hurlburt

16 Lois Tigert 17 Ryan Davis

20 Trevor Hammond 20 Ashley Egerton

20 Gregory Davis 22 Bets Bloom

24 Cynthia Spang 25 Bryn Etchison

26 Heather Swanson 26 Peggy Lamoreaux

30 Ryan Workman

If you have changes or additions you can contact Diane Tabatabai

at 301-983-6878 or

[email protected] Anela!

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.northbethesdaumc.org/

tel:301-983-6878

Volume 44, Issue 6

Preacher Feature May and Mother’s Day have always been bittersweet for me. I

love the warming weather, the beauty of the flowers in spring, the opportunity to sit on my deck in the early hours of the

morning for my devotions and prayers and coffee.

Mother’s Day is also a challenge because it reminds me of my

own mother who died in an automobile accident on our younger son’s birthday. The grief of her death comes full in the spring.

My mother, Edlea, a combination of her father Edgar and her

mother Leola, was born just before the depression. Her father owned a construction company in New Orleans, LA, and lost everything in the

depression. My mother’s family was broken up for a while. As the oldest, she became a mother to her siblings. She always told us we were her second family and that’s why

she did so well with us.

During WWII, her family moved to Washington, DC, to help in the war. She worked at

the Navy Department and then at the White House, under President Truman. Her younger sister participated in my father’s youth group while he was attending

American University on a GI bill. He worked with the teenagers at Metropolitan Church, across the street from AU. They were married when he graduated, and they went off

to Yale for his Seminary Training.

When I was born, he was pastoring a congregation in Baltimore. Together, mother and

father hosted a television show about churches on a local station. They covered interesting ministries and interviewed guests including the Bishop of the Congo, who

invited them to come to the Congo. In 1956, we moved first to Brussels, Belgium for

training. A year later, we settled on a mission station in Kindu, central Congo.

Mother became the principal of the school. During that time, my youngest brother was

born. She was bed-ridden that summer, while a visiting professor from East Carolina University visited. Dr. Bessie McNeal taught home economics and nutrition. I became

her translator into Swahili for the summer, as she taught food preparation, Vacation Bible School, and other classes, while my mother was recovering. God always

provides.

During a year home on furlough, my dad preached at a different church each Sunday,

and my mother spoke to Missions Societies of United Methodist Women’s groups. In summer of 1961, we returned to the Congo, but couldn’t go to Kindu. We went

toElizabethville. A few weeks after we arrived, war broke out in Katanga. We were evacuated in the middle of the night and sneaked out to a plane early the next day.

We waited for 8 weeks in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, for the war to end. We came home in early 1962 with only the clothes on our back.

My mom made us a home in a borrowed house in Silver Spring, then our own home in

Four Corners and then in Rockville. Mom went back to school at the University of Maryland and graduated with a Masters in Library Science. That’s why I love books so

much. I’ll share more of her story later, but I will always be thankful for her.

Pastor Jeff

May 2015 Contact

WORSHIP THEMES

ay is a marvelous time to worship with your church family. We gather to

break bread together, to witness to the blessings of our mothers and fami-lies, to celebrate the power of the Holy Spirit upon us. We also remember that John

Wesley’s heart was strangely warmed and thus began the great revival that became the Methodist Church. Join us every Sunday!

Worship God is one of our four points on our compass that leads to true North. Use God’s directions to bless your life and work.

5/3 Rev. Jackie Jones-Smith will lead us in celebrating Holy Communion and cover

the 5th Episode of AD from Acts 5: 29-32.

5/10 Our Youth will lead worship and share their stories to witness to their mothers’

influences and the gift of family, as well as musical talent from our children. Flowers will be given out as well.

5/17 AD #7 A Wider Circle will begin to explore how our faith has spread from a small group of disciples in Jerusalem to the whole world, one life at a time.

5/24 Memorial Weekend: AD #8 An awareness of the invitation to give our lives in service to God as our soldiers have given their lives in service to our country.

5/31 AD #9 The conversion of St. Paul on the Road to Damascus, the real break-through moment in our faith story. We will take extra time to pray for each other dur-

ing the service.

DISCIPLESHIP DEVELOPMENTS

The purpose and vision of the United Methodist Church is to make disciples and to spread the good news of Jesus to all the world. We

at North Bethesda take the Compass direction seriously by Worshipping God, Nourishing our Souls, Embracing our Neighbors,

and Serving and Sharing what God has given us. We hope you want to develop your faith as well. Our

efforts, messages, classes, and events are all designed to help each of us to become

more Christ-like in our attitudes, efforts, activities, care for the world and for our

neighbors.

Come and join us in this adventure. As your pastor, I would

recommend that you read any book by Dallas Willard, but

especially The Divine Conspiracy and The Spirit of the Disciplines. They are great, thought-provoking books about

deepening your faith. Try them on Kindle or buy on Amazon.com in the used book section. You’ll be glad you did.

Volume 44, Issue 6

A.D. THE BIBLE CONTINUES “AD, the Bible Continues” is an event on NBC TV every

Sunday night at 9 pm. We prepare for it each Sunday morning during worship before the episode is aired. The previous

episode is at 8 pm. We take questions and reviews of the story each week on Mondays at 7 pm and Thursdays at 1:30

pm. If you have questions or want to know more, we encourage you to join us or you can email me with questions.

The cover story of TV Guide tells that 9.8 million people watch

each episode, becoming the most viewed program on Sunday night. It is exciting to watch.

The story concerns the years following the resurrection of Jesus and how the church started. It is a reminder that we

depend on the Holy Spirit’s work to share the message of God’s love now in our community. I hope you have the opportunity to do so.

Hollywood has discovered that Biblical story telling is big business. People have great trust in Roma Downey and her husband because they are sincere Christians trying to

tell the real story. May they continue to find success. Watch the show!

FISCAL YEAR CAMPAIGN

This month, we are finishing up our

campaign to support the ministry of North Bethesda UMC through our tithes and

offerings. You will be receiving an Estimate of Giving card and information about the

church’s ministries. We ask that you give thanks to God for what you have and share

a percentage of those gifts with us to be

able to provide ministry to our world, our neighborhood, and our church family.

We ask for your commitment now instead of in the fall, in order to line up the giving schedule from September to May each year. A fiscal year budget, funded to begin on

July 1, will enable us to follow the school calendar. This avoids competing with organizations that ask for donations in the Thanksgiving to Christmas rush.

We ask you to consider prayerfully moving up a step or two in your support for the work God has given us here at North Bethesda UMC. The budget is presented to you

based on the four points of the Compass as a way to show you that what we do together as a congregation is following the direction that God has given us.

May 2015 Contact

Many Thanks to Lynn DeForge!

Lynn Deforge is the quiet, sweet lady who orders our Christmas and Easter flowers. This year, she decorated the

altar with our Easter flowers with help from Ram, Vicki Morrison, and Ed Swanson. Linda Thompson had told her

where the wooden shelves and the Easter cloths were. Ram retrieved the shelves from the shed and helped get the

material from the office. Vicki Morrison helped to move the

boxes of flowers to the altar and then remove the flowers from the boxes, which Ed Swanson helped break down for the trash. (Ed was there to

replace the black drape on the cross with the white drape. Thanks, Ed!) There was a recital in the sanctuary and a reception in the parlor from 3:00 - 5:00 pm. Lynn was

able to come back later. Using pictures of previous Easter arrangements, Lynn was able to show the flowers for all to see. Ram was there to offer support by putting

flowers on the window sills, in the back of the church, and on the two stands. Then, Ram vacuumed the sanctuary and got rid of the boxes. As Lynn says, “God must

have been there, too!”

We offer many thanks to Lynn and her impromptu committee who made everything beautiful!

Valerie Blane with Lynn’s input

Flooding at NBUMC

Remember the snowy day in February when worship was cancelled? If it becomes nec-

essary to cancel worship or other events, please check for an email message from Pas-

tor Jeff on the NBUMCFlash. Those members who regularly attend, but have no com-

puter, will be telephoned.

To be added to the NBUMCFlash or to change your contact information, please take

the time to call or email the church office

(301-530-4342; [email protected]).

NBUMC never adds people to this listserv

without their permission. You do not have to

join or be a member of Yahoo to participate

in the listserv.

Thank you for your cooperation. It is greatly

appreciated.

Joy Burt

Chair of Membership and Evangelism

Volume 44, Issue 6

Sign Language Corner: May signs!

May has many iconic signs, including spring, flower, rain, and, this year,

Pentecost. Spring is made by putting the left C hand over the right fist. The right

fist jumps up quickly and opens to a five hand, just like flowers blooming! Flower

is made by using the flat O hand and touching both sides of the nose, just like

smelling a flower. One can indicate a specific flower by initializing the flat O hand.

For example, rose, (and I use this also as Rose’s name sign), is made by using

the R hand at both sides of the nose. Rain is made by making both five hands

push down diagonally and repeatedly in front of the body. And Pentecost! What a

great sign! This is made by putting the index finger of the left hand horizontally

over, but not touching, the head. The right five hand wiggles its fingers over the

left index, creating fire coming from the head.

Valerie Blane

Spring

Rain

Flower

Pentecost

May 2015 Contact

An apology from the Chair. Dr. Merlyn K. Vemury was missed and should be included

in the listing of the Staff Parish Relations Committee Members in last month’s SPRC

message. Please accept my deepest apologies for this oversight.

Diane Walsh-Barberesi

April Notes

The SPRC met April 7th. Topics included:

-the excellent work of the staff, especially during Holy Week

-staff evaluations conducted in late June or early July

-the bulletin board will house SPRC information soon!

-congregational survey to be distributed in May

-General Conference: A discussion on the topic of General Conference and the process of petition submission was discussed. SPRC will suggest to Church Council

that we, as a church, submit a petition to the General Conference requesting the language that aligns with reconciling ministries be introduced to the Discipline. Ken

Ow will be representing NBUMC as our Lay Leader at the 2016 General Conference. For more information on petitions and the General Conference please view: http://

www.umc.org/who-we-are/instructions-for-submitting-petitions-to-2016-general-conference

Just a reminder that any member of the congregation may approach a member of the

SPRC with any matters or concerns that impact the relationship of the congregation

with the staff members of the church, and the staff can bring any matters to the

committee as well. The committee members will touch base with their designated staff

person at least once a month or more as needed.

The 2015 current members of the committee include:

Leader

Pastor Jeff Jones

Members

Diane Walsh-Barberesi, Chair

Sara Barakat

Carol Cooper

Bill Duncan

Betsy Samuel

Josh Smith

Merlyn Vermury

Rose Aehle, Church Council Chair

Ken Ow, Lay Member of Annual Conference

http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/instructions-for-submitting-petitions-to-2016-general-conference



Volume 44, Issue 6

Note of Appreciation

Many thanks to all of you who called, wrote, emailed, visited me during my

hospital adventure (!), and helped me move. Special thanks to Linda Thompson who coordinated people to stay with me in the hospital

and to help with my move and who visited at length several times. Thanks to Jacqui and Gordon Cragg, Mary

Lou Griffin, Wayne Huff, Joanna Voight, Bets Ow, and

Amy Duroska, as well as many of my non-church friends who visited me in the hospital, even when I fell asleep

mid-sentence. Thanks to my movers: Mary Lou Griffin, Joanna Voight, Joyce Newcomb, Gordon and Jacqui Cragg,

Ken Ow, Lois Gawler, Linda Thompson. And special thanks to Ken Ow who installed new locks, tutored me in the

ways of new televisions, converted two pronged receptacles into three pronged ones, drove to Newington

in the snow to pick up my dog after the move. . . and shaved my head when my hair started to fall out.

Thanks to Chris Lee for waiting for and staying with the cable installation people

for over four hours (!) while I had chemo in Virginia.

Thanks to Jackie Jones-Smith for publicly welcoming me back to church.

Thanks to Ardoth Hassler who edited the Contact when I couldn’t!

Thanks, too, to the choir for the incredibly lovely roses and to Jesse and Vera who

brought them to my home. Even I as write this, a week later, the roses are still

beautiful!

With a grateful heart to all of you, Valerie

Vine A vine symbolizes Christ, the foundation of life and

nourishment of all people, who, in turn, are like

branches. When separate from the vine, we branches

can't survive — at least not spiritually. "Apart from

me," says Jesus, "you can do nothing" (John 15:5,

NIV). But as God the gardener tends this relationship,

we branches grow stronger and more mature in Jesus

and alongside one another.

May 2015 Contact

YOUR MISSIONS COMMITTEE IS SURE THAT:

You have this major Missions fundraising event clearly marked on your

calendars, and have told all your family, friends, and neighbors to come to where the bargains are!

You have started dusting off your donations – books, furniture, household items, clothing, toys, collectibles, dishes, artwork, tools, electronics – and will be

ready to bring them to the church on Sunday, May 31 (until 2pm.)

And please, NO computers, printers, monitors, TVs, or phones, and also NO beds,

mattresses, curtains, curtain rods, baby car-seats, or prams.

Also, please NO textbooks or academic tomes.

You read Janet’s Golden Rules of Donating in the April Contact. Please ensure:

your donations are clean and in good working order; if something needs batteries, that it has some; clothing is clean and on hangers or neatly

folded.

Donations can be brought Monday, June 1 to Thursday June 4, 10am to

8pm, but will NOT be accepted after Thursday.

You are all set to volunteer and have fun sorting, cleaning, and pricing the

many donated items during the week before the event (Monday June 1 -Friday June 5) – remember you also get to scope out the best bargains!

You will volunteer to help sell the treasures on the Saturday – a great community and fellowship experience!

REMEMBER Volunteer Appreciation Afternoon: Volunteers who help sort and price, who prepare goodies for the bake sale or café, and those who work during the sale will

be welcome to enjoy the earliest shopping opportunity, Friday afternoon June 5, from 4:00-6:00pm. This will be the only time for pre-sale purchases.

Watch your Sunday bulletin for more information, or call Gordon & Jacqui Cragg at

301-564-1240

100% of proceeds will benefit our Missions.

Spring Rummage Sale

June 6, 8am – 2pm

Volume 44, Issue 6

An Editorial:

When I was four years old and a white man yanked me away from a drinking

fountain because I couldn’t read that the sign said, “Colored,” my father hugged me,

told me I could drink wherever I wanted, said I shouldn’t listen to ignorant people,

and to never forget that all people were equal, regardless of their skin color. When I

was a child growing up in Maryland in the 1950s, I was appalled that most Virginia

public schools, right across the river from me, closed rather than integrate. I didn’t

understand. When Rosa Parks was arrested for wanting to sit near the front of the

bus, I was incredulous. And when I was in high school, I joined the Student Non-

Violent Coordinating Committee.

We have come a long way from the tumultuous times of the 50s and 60s, when

people were excluded from jobs, from places to live, from marrying whomever they

wanted. We’ve come a long way from cross-burnings, white-sheeted bigots, name-

calling, and racial hatred. Unfortunately, we still have a way to go for equality and

justice and the end of racism in our country.

A recent article in The Washington Post delineated police officers and the mostly

black men (some were black women) they have killed. It also related the results of

the hearings and trials. Very few officers were convicted, including many who shot

the victims in the back, and even fewer served any time in prison.

The Civil Rights Act was signed into law by President Johnson on July 2, 1964. That

was fifty-one years ago. The law outlawed discrimination based on race, color,

religion, sex, or national origin. It stopped unequal voter registration requirements,

as well as racial segregation in public schools, in businesses, and places that served

the general public. It has not, however, stopped racial profiling among some police

officers.

One of the best things I like about being a Methodist is that we embrace social

justice issues. I feel, however, that this church has been rather silent on standing up

for the lives of black men. No, I don’t have an answer for what we should do, but we

do need to keep this issue in front of us as we work in the community for justice for

all of God’s children. I thank Brandon for continuing to mention it during prayers.

Sweet Honey in the Rock has a wonderfully powerful song

entitled “Ella’s Song.” Let me share some of the words to this

song in the hopes that the words will encourage the people in

this congregation to raise their consciousness about this

injustice: “We who believe in freedom shall not rest. . . Until

the killing of black men, black mothers’ sons, is as important

as the killing of white men, white mothers’ sons. . . We who

believe in freedom shall not rest.”

Valerie Blane Ella Baker

May 2015 Contact

The Window at the Back of the Sanctuary

Eastertide takes us to the Ascension and Pentecost

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears

fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit" (John 15:1-2, NRSV).

Spring is here and turning toward summer. The leaves on the

trees are out. Pastels abound. The middle is decidedly greener. We can see the leaves move with the wind.

Grammarian’s Corner: I admit to being a bit of a Luddite when it comes to spelling. I spell as I learned to spell,

including the doubling of consonants. Examples include: get and getting, swim and swim-

ming, sit and sitting. The reason these consonants are doubled is because of long and

short vowels. In the examples above, “get,” “swim,” and “sit” have short vowels because

there is no final e which would make them long. Doubling the vowels for gerunds and par-

ticiples (and regular past tenses as well) ensures that the vowel sound remains short.

In the years since I learned grammar, there has been a trend away from doubling conso-

nants, especially in two-syllable words. I learned to write: travelling and busses. Many

people now write them: traveling and buses. If you adhere to the reasoning behind the

doubling of the consonant, of course, the pronunciation would change to a long vowel in

the second syllable, and it would be pronounced: trav – ee – ling, and boo – ses.

Both spellings are correct now. God bless Jack who keeps me honest!

Valerie Blane

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And

suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among

them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” (Acts

2:1-4, NRSV). Ardoth Hassler

Bread for the World Offering of Letters 2015

Feed Our Children

Bread for the World’s 2015 Offering of Letters aims to realize a world in which all of God’s children are fed. Our goal is to create political will by

writing our policy makers and urging them to create pathways out of hunger and poverty. Please join the Missions group after Worship in Johnson Hall on Sunday, May 3, 10, or 17,

as we turn our faith into action by writing letters to members of Congress urging them to continue to fund critical programs that feed and help our children grow. For more

information on this year’s Missions group sponsored Offering of Letters, go to www.bread.org/OL or contact Rich McManus 301-505-1848.

Volume 44, Issue 6

Shepherd’s Pie With Lamb and Eggplant Lightly grease a 6-cup casserole dish with cooking oil spray.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the topping:

Combine in a large pot.

1 LB Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” cubes 1 LB sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” cubes

8 whole cloves garlic Cook over medium-high heat until the potatoes are fork-tender.

Drain and put the potatoes and garlic through a ricer into a large

bowl.

Add: 2 T olive oil and 1/3 C chicken broth Stir until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat; cover

loosely.

For the filling: Heat 2 T of olive oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high

heat until the oil shimmers. Add: ¾ LB unpeeled eggplant, trimmed and cut into 1” cubes (about 4 C)

Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until it is lightly browned and soft. Season with salt and pepper to taste; transfer to a bowl.

Return the pan to medium-high heat. Add: 1 T olive oil

Once the oil starts to shimmer, add:

8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced 1 small yellow onion, chopped (3/4 C)

Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have exuded their juices and have browned.

Add: 1 LB lean ground lamb, breaking it up with a spoon but not crumbling it completely. Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until no traces of pink remain. Drain all but a thin

coating of fat from the pan. Add: 3 medium cloves garlic, chopped ½ tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dried thyme leaves ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. dried oregano leaves 1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. onion powder ½ tsp. pepper

Stir in: 1 C tomato sauce. Cook for 1 min., then fold in the cooked eggplant.

For assembly:

Spoon the lamb-eggplant mixture into the bottom of the prepared dish. Spread the

mashed potato mixture over the lamb, covering it completely. Top with: 3 oz. (1/3 C) crumbled feta

Bake for 45 min. until lightly browned. Garnish with chopped chives (if desired) and serve immediately.

Vegetarian option: Substitute barley and lentils instead of lamb: 3/4 C of each (prepared separate from the mushroom/onion sauté, and cooked just a bit short of

tender), and folded in at the step the [raw] lamb is added.

May 2015 Contact

Volume 44, Issue 6

May 2015 Contact

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