By James C. Sprouse, Senior Pastor Spiritual formation is the key to making disciples in the waywaywayway of Jesus Christ. I cannot stress strongly enough how vitally important it is on all levels of church life - from preschool through high school and all through adult life. Spiritual formation, Sunday School, aka Christian Education, needs to be a multi-dimensional approach that focuses on commitment to Christ, small-group ministries, outreach and mission. And, spiritual formation needs a solid grounding in the Hebrew Bible and the Chris-

tian New Testament.

Spiritual formation is not easy. Too often, we teach our children almost by acci-dent – we repeat the same patterns of instruction established by past generations. For parents and teachers committed to the spiritual formation process, itself a faith practice, we have to teach the heart as well as the mind. The faith nurtured through spiritual formation is a faith of generational intentionality. “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God; the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and

with all your mind, and with all your soul.”

Although faith is a gift from God, it is learned and practiced and passed on through the community of faith. My mother and father assumed, I think, that I would always have faith. They raised me in Hinton Avenue MethodistMethodistMethodistMethodist Church [United was added in 1968]. It never occurred to them that by the 21st century Christian faith could no longer be assumed. My parents attended worship every Sunday. Families now attend church 1.2 Sundays/month. The world changed! As it always has. And now, faith needs to be taught with joy, intentionally pursued, and given to the next generation. People are not Christians so much as disciples of Jesus Christ and his

way of living in relation to the others and the world.

Trinity expects the best from its leaders. Our spiritual formation is overseen and nurtured by all our teachers and substitute teachers, Harriet Latta, Pastor Eileen, Pastor Keith, Jerry, Catherine, our lay leaders Leslie Vorndran and Jose Rivera, and me. We are committed to making spiritual formation intentional, sound in biblical teaching, relevant to life and challenging. The spiritual formation team at Trinity is committed to deepening our awareness of God, and equipping our children, youth and adults with a strong foundation of stories of the Bible. Our ministry teams and education teams have everything prepared for the fall season. Join us on Sept. 13 for our Sunday School Jamboree, and the beginning of a wonderful year of learning

about God through the love of Jesus Christ.

Intentional Disciple-Making Through Spiritual Formation

Trinity Men’s BreakfastTrinity Men’s BreakfastTrinity Men’s BreakfastTrinity Men’s Breakfast Saturday, August 22 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. Trinity Library

All men are invited for fellowship and discussion, and bacon! To learn more, contact Dan Moore, dmoore@longstreetpartners.com

Why Worship Matters 2

Young Professionals 3

Missions 3-4

Does God Sleep? 5

Crafts for a Cause 5

Calendar 6

Church & Society 7

Inside this issue:

The Spire

TRINITY UNITED M

ETHODIST CHURCH

Volume 16, issue 8

August 2015

Lerner in The Good Teen: Rescuing Adolescence from the Myths of the Storm and Stress Years argues that too often we focus on the deficits rather than the whole of the person. Sure, they are not as responsible as adults or as compliant as children, but they are growing into adulthood developing various creative and pro-ductive personal traits! I have to admit that when I see a child who comes into adolescence I notice big changes. He seems with-drawn at times and elated at other moments. It's harder to understand and interact with him. So in my mind I am thinking, "I just got to be patient until he grows out of this," and main-tain a comfortable distance. According to Dr. Lerner that's not an effective approach. He advocates that we recognize all aspects of their personhood and fully interact and engage with them with appreciation for who they are and who they are

By Keith Lee, Associate Pastor

I want to thank all the youth, An-thony, Bella, Christine, Conner, Daniel, Jack, James, Landon, Leah, Lizzy, Logan, William and Zav and the chaperons, Joy and Michelle, for the wonderful time at King's Dominion July 16. Not only it was one of the most enjoyable youth trips I've experi-enced, but I wasn't made fun of for not riding the 'hairy' rides!! Thank you! I was telling the staff and leader-ship that when I went back to the van to pick up any trash leftover from the trip, I didn't find any. Puzzled, I asked them, "What's wrong with these kids? They're so good!" And that's what I'm learning about teenagers that they have a bad rep in our society. Too often the soci-ety characterizes them in a negative light. But I'm discovering that that's not fair and many specialists on teens agree. Author Richard M.

By Eileen Gilmer, Associate Pastor

Think about all the different places where you are a member. Maybe it's a gym, pool, book club or Moose Lodge. Whether it's an antique car club, the Scouts or even Costco, odds are good you hold some sort of membership. Why is that? Likely, it's because you believe you get some benefit from that association. Gym memberships provide better health; Costco provides the ability to pur-chase a pack of twenty rolls of paper towels at once. Whatever the locale,

that membership has benefits.

What about church? Does having membership in a church really mat-ter? You can still come on Sundays, sing the songs, say the prayers and shake hands with the pastors. Is

there a reason to join?

Yes! Belonging to a church means you are willing to make both a public as well as personal commit-ment. It means you take your faith seriously and want to belong to a group of people who share that same

commitment.

“Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shep-herd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of

his own Son.” Acts 20:28

Paul's message to the Ephesian church leaders was clear. You are to watch over each other and lead this church of God. Today, Paul would

have the same message for us, as well. The Holy Spirit has brought each of us to this place, and it's up to us to watch over Trinity and all who enter

its doors.

That starts by making a commit-ment to join this flock, then to seek out the ways God is calling you to act on that commitment. The benefits include fellowship, compassion, sup-port and hope. I hope you'll talk to Jim, Keith or me about how you can get involved, and how you can offi-cially become a member of the Trinity

family.

Page 2

The Good Teens

Why Worship Matters

THE SPIRE

Sermon Series

becoming. That sounds similar to what Jesus taught us to do; "Do unto others as you would want them do unto you!" Because most people, whether teen or adult, want to be appreciated for who they are without being judged or expected to fit into a stereotype. I’m looking forward to getting to know you and appreciating who you are now and the person God is grow-ing you to become. I ask that you also approach me that way because I want to share all of my life with you too! Blessings!

Keith

By Jerry Rich, Director of Music

Summer Choir continues to meet on Sunday mornings 10 a.m. to prepare an anthem for that morning’s 10:30 worship service. On Aug. 30, we will lead the congregation in a hymn sing based on the Worship & Song hym-nal. If your favorite is in one of our other hymnals, don’t worry—you’ll find that a lot of well-known melodies have been included in W&S. Look for more details in the bulletin as the date approaches. Chancel Choir will resume Thursday evening rehearsals on Sept. 3 at 7:30 p.m. Our handbell choirs will also resume their rehearsals on Tuesday, Sept. 1 and Thursday, Sept. 3 at 6:30 p.m. Please contact Jerry Rich for more information. Newcomers are always welcome.

Music at Trinity

VOLUME 16, ISSUE 8 Page 3

Mission Team in Honduras

The Trinity Young Professionals 4th annual “crab feast” outing will be on Saturday, August 29. We will meet in the Trinity parking lot at 3 p.m. and caravan over to Kent Island, returning around 8 p.m. This fun social event hosted by Karen and Andy Briscoe is a great occasion to invite friends (anyone age 21 and older). For more information contact Karen Briscoe at Karen@HBCRealtyGroup.com, cell 703-582-6818 or Keith Lee at klee@umtrinity.org . Please do let Karen or Keith know if you are attend-ing so we know whether to expect you.

Young Professionals

Page 4

Trinity Sponsored Student at The Leadership Center

THE SPIRE

Dayana is a a student at The Leadership Center (TLC) in Honduras where Trinity has formed a relationship. Many mission

teams have visited TLC. Trinity sponsors Dayana. Read her own words below:

Every month, Trinity's Crafts for a Cause churns out comfort pillows, baby hats, lap blankets, sur-gery dolls and bears for the patients at Fair Oaks Hospital. Here's what's amazing about that: the vol-unteers aren't really "crafters." Or at least that's what they usually say. But the work they do in stuff-ing, sewing and cutting out fabric produces a beautiful gift and blesses the lives of many people. The point is, you don't have to be crafty to support the Crafts for a Cause ministry. Just come to one of our work sessions, held every other Monday night in Room 124. This month, we'll meet on Mon., Aug. 10 and Mon., Aug. 24 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Mon., Aug. 10 and Mon., Aug. 24 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Mon., Aug. 10 and Mon., Aug. 24 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Mon., Aug. 10 and Mon., Aug. 24 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. If, on the other hand, you ARE a crafty person who can't make the work sessions, we have knitting and crocheting pro-jects you can do at home. . . . For more information, contact Molly Sprouse at mollysprouse@gmail.com or 703-356-4896.

Crafts for a Cause

VOLUME 16, ISSUE 8

Children’s Program at 10:30Children’s Program at 10:30Children’s Program at 10:30Children’s Program at 10:30

Children, Pre-K through 6th grade, will be dismissed after the Children’s Message for faith-related activities in Rooms402-403. To sign-up to lead or assist, please visit:

bit.ly/1030childrensprogram.

Teachers Needed for FallTeachers Needed for FallTeachers Needed for FallTeachers Needed for Fall

Please contact Harriet Latta, hlatta@umtrinity.org, or Keith Lee, klee@umtrinity.org if you are inter-ested in teaching children or youth during Sunday School or during the

10:30 worship service.

Children’s Sunday SchoolChildren’s Sunday SchoolChildren’s Sunday SchoolChildren’s Sunday School

Children, Pre-K through 6th grade, will meet at 9:30 a.m. in Rooms 402-403 today for a Bible story and activ-ity including The Call series that adults and youth are also studying. They will begin as a large group and then split into two groups by age. To volunteer, please visit:

bit.ly/teachchildren.

By Biscuit Gilmer, Trinity Mascot

Hi, kids of Trinity! I hope your summer is going well. I’ve enjoyed taking a lot of naps this summer. In fact, I just woke up from one! Naps are great because they let me take a little break and get ready for the rest of the day. One question I’ve been

asked is if God ever naps or sleeps.

I’m glad you asked! Unlike us, God does not have a physical body. God doesn’t have arms or legs, teeth or hair. Because God isn’t a human or animal, God doesn’t need to get any sleep. It’s important for us to get a lot of sleep at night, and some of us need naps, too! But, not God. That’s a good thing, because God is always

busy watching over us—every minute of every day of our lives, God is with

us.

Grab your Bible and turn to Gene-sis, that’s at the beginning of the Bi-ble. This is the story of how God cre-ated our world. Look at Genesis 2:3. It says God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy (we’ll talk about that soon), because it was the day when he rested from his work of crea-tion. That doesn’t mean God rested because of being tired. It means God chose to rest. It can also mean God chose to stop doing what He was do-ing—God was finished creating our world. Now look in your Bible at Psalm 121:1-4. Verse four says God never sleeps. There you go! That’s the

answer to the question about God sleeping. No sleep needed for our awesome God. But, not us. We need sleep to stay healthy. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I… yawn… feel an-other nap coming

on.

Until next time, remember my

motto: Paws for Jesus!

Biscuit

Page 5

Children’s Christian Education: Volunteers Needed

Does God Ever Sleep?

Page 6 THE SPIRE

Schedule of Events

• Aug. 9: VBS Volunteer Meeting

• Aug. 10 Crafts for a Cause

• Aug. 10-14 Vacation Bible School

• Aug. 15 Spire Deadline

• Aug. 20 Spire assembly, Capital Campaign Meeting

• Aug. 22 Men’s Breakfast

• Aug. 24 Crafts for a Cause

• Aug. 29 Young Professionals Crab Feast

• Aug. 30 Hymn Sing led by Summer Choir

1 Kelly Slone Jan Symons

2 Allison Deutsch Scott Keough Daniel Yoon

3 Janey Bae Wyatt Keane Anne Laughlin

4 William Kadel Emily McGowen Matt Sadler Gene Sizemore Bob Ward

5 Mark Brunner Edwin Kuhn, III

6 Hana Betts Mika Huffman Derick Stowe

7 Bella Brooks Ethan Harms Katie Krokowski Jim Todd

9 Caroline Brunner Suzanne Hamilton

10 Brayden Verity

11 Hanh Nguyen Tim Wallace Katie Young

13 Robert Frazee Melissa Frazee Pamela Huffman Thomas Hunt Meg Lord Chris Moore David Moore Jeffrey Sinks Mark Weidner

14 Kalila Zenk

15 Kim Detwiler Susan Hunt AJ Kuhn Jim Wilson

16 Steven Conroy Brad Snyder

18 Brock Burner Russell Wheeler

19 Carolyn Cope

20 Quinn Brooks Robert Goodner Laurie Meamber

21 Megan Faust Eric Kadel, III Eugene Leake Katey Weir

22 Bets Carnahan Olivia Galvin Roger Gililland

23 Elizabeth Christy Dillon Prestidge Rebecca Taylor Jamise Wykle

25 Julia Cieplinski Molly Sprouse

26 Willow Graves Jerry Rich Christy Slade

27 Barbara Bruce Margaret Decker

28 Miyoung Merrill Jess Riedel

29 Wayne Detwiler Allison Lea Edward Magur Lisa Marku

30 Peggy Fox James Mallek Claudia O'Brien

31 Rachel Georgelas Jeremey Stover

Birthdays

2 Weldon & Gail Brown

6 Cornell & Ann Hooton

7 Frank & Leslie Vorndran

8 Jamie & Jamie Loving

10 Charles & Genee Boykin

10 Anne & Kevin Davis

12 Steven & Christina Stafford

13 Randall Popelka & Stephanie

Sword

13 Doug & Rebecca Taylor

14 Palmer & Karen Robeson

15 Curt & Dori Burner

19 Don & Miyoung Merrill

24 Mark & Carol Brunner

26 Olin & Nadine Wethington

27 Andrew & Kathleene Card

27 Ryan & Emily Summers

28 Rod & Mary Weir

28 Jim & Cindy Wilson

29 Dorinda & Benton Burroughs

29 Woody & Gay Rogers

31 Steve & Judy Ochs

Anniversaries

Address ChangeAddress ChangeAddress ChangeAddress Change Wesley Bricker & Cindy Oh & family 8751 Georgetown Pike McLean, VA 22101

Are you moving?Are you moving?Are you moving?Are you moving? Please send your new address to the church office (703-356-3312 or info@umtrinity.org). Thank you. This will ensure that we have all the correct information to send news and contribution statements to the correct address. Thank you. If you are interested in joining the joining the joining the joining the churchchurchchurchchurch or learning more about our min-istries, please contact a pastor or the church office.

Membership Update

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20THURSDAY, AUGUST 20THURSDAY, AUGUST 20THURSDAY, AUGUST 20 Capital Campaign Meeting Spire assembly, 9:30 a.m. SATURDAY, AUGUST 22SATURDAY, AUGUST 22SATURDAY, AUGUST 22SATURDAY, AUGUST 22 Men’s Breakfast, 7:30 a.m. SUNDAY, AUGUST 23SUNDAY, AUGUST 23SUNDAY, AUGUST 23SUNDAY, AUGUST 23 Sunday School, 9:30 a.m. Children in Rooms 402-403 Connections in Room 302 History of Christianity in Library MONDAY, AUGUST 24MONDAY, AUGUST 24MONDAY, AUGUST 24MONDAY, AUGUST 24 The History of Christianity, 10 a.m. Crafts for a Cause, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26 The History of Christianity, 7 p.m. SATURDAY, AUGUST 29SATURDAY, AUGUST 29SATURDAY, AUGUST 29SATURDAY, AUGUST 29 Young Professionals Crab Feast SUNDAY, AUGUST 30SUNDAY, AUGUST 30SUNDAY, AUGUST 30SUNDAY, AUGUST 30 Sunday School, 9:30 a.m. Children in Rooms 402-403 Connections in Room 302 History of Christianity in Library Hymn Sing, 10:30 a.m.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9SUNDAY, AUGUST 9SUNDAY, AUGUST 9SUNDAY, AUGUST 9 VBS Volunteer Meeting, 12 p.m. MONDAY, AUGUST 10MONDAY, AUGUST 10MONDAY, AUGUST 10MONDAY, AUGUST 10 The Call, 10 a.m. Crafts for a Cause, 7 p.m. MONDAY, AUG. 10MONDAY, AUG. 10MONDAY, AUG. 10MONDAY, AUG. 10————FRIDAY, AUG. 14FRIDAY, AUG. 14FRIDAY, AUG. 14FRIDAY, AUG. 14 Vacation Bible School WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12 The Call, 7 p.m. SATURDAY, AUGUST 15SATURDAY, AUGUST 15SATURDAY, AUGUST 15SATURDAY, AUGUST 15 Spire Deadline SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY, AUGUST 16AUGUST 16AUGUST 16AUGUST 16 Sunday School, 9:30 a.m. The Call for Children in Rooms 402-403 The Call for Youth in Room 122 The Call for Adults in the Library Connections in Room 302 MONDAY, AUGUST 17MONDAY, AUGUST 17MONDAY, AUGUST 17MONDAY, AUGUST 17 The Call, 10 a.m. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19 The Call, 7 p.m.

An In-Depth Look at What’s Happening This Month

VOLUME 16, ISSUE 8 Page 7

DC SCHOLARS AT STANTON ELEMEN-

TARY SCHOOL:

Twenty-three years ago, , , , Trinity UMC began a partnership with a struggling inner city elementary school then called Stanton. Over the years there have been remarkable volunteers who went weekly to the school tutor-ing and supporting individual stu-dents. We lost two of those remark-able mentors this past school year, Ed King and Steve Washenko. Ed, whose passion was instilling phonics in the struggling reader, and Steve, who patiently listened to the home life stories of his students were well known by the student body. In the

By Chris Wilbur

AUGUST COLLECTION In August and September, we will be collecting school supplies and new or gently used khaki pants (sizes 3T- 14) for Stanton Elementary School. Needed school supplies include 24 count crayons, #2 pencils, glue sticks, blunt-nosed scissors, rulers, and black marble composition books. Donation baskets are located in the church narthex as well as the Fellow-ship Building. Vacation Bible School children will also be collecting school supplies for Stanton in August.

Church & Society

hallway they would be greeted by calls of "Take me," meaning, take me out of class and give me individual attention, too. Ed mentored at Stanton for over 15 years, while Steve was an 11 year veteran. I know these men made a special impact on children whose own fathers were often missing. Then again, for Ed and Steve, these chil-dren were special. They kept them coming back. We are grateful for the years Ed and Steve served as Stanton

volunteers, and we miss them.

MONDAY, AUGUST 31MONDAY, AUGUST 31MONDAY, AUGUST 31MONDAY, AUGUST 31 The History of Christianity, 10 a.m.

Sent in Prayer to:Sent in Prayer to:Sent in Prayer to:Sent in Prayer to:

Trinity United Methodist ChurchTrinity United Methodist ChurchTrinity United Methodist ChurchTrinity United Methodist Church Sunday Morning Worship Services

at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sunday School (all ages) — 9:30 a.m. (Sept—June)

Children's Worship & Upper Elementary Children’s Program—10:30 a.m. Wednesday Communion and Healing — 12 noon

Celtic Evensong & Communion—6 p.m. (last Sun. of month)

Here to serve Christ and you: James C. Sprouse — Senior Pastor Eileen Gilmer — Associate Pastor Keith Lee — Associate Pastor

Jose Rivera and Leslie Vorndran — Lay Leaders Jerry Rich — Director of Music

Ellen LaCroix — Children/Youth Choir Director Harriet Latta — Office Manager Jose Luis Nuñez-Ruiz– Sexton

Janine Whitfield — Director of Parents Day Out

Summer Office Hours: Monday - Thursday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 a.m.—12 p.m.

Phone: 703-356-3312 Fax: 703-356-9119

E-mail: info@umtrinity.org Web Site: umtrinity.org

Facebook: Trinity UMC, McLean

The Mission of Trinity United The Mission of Trinity United The Mission of Trinity United The Mission of Trinity United Methodist Church Methodist Church Methodist Church Methodist Church is to be a vibrant, growing church home for all who seek companionship, direction and inspiration in their lives as they de-velop a personal, relevant relation-ship with God through Jesus Christ

and the Holy Spirit.

We are anchored in Scripture and energized by congregational commit-ment. Trinity Church fosters the Chris-tian values of joy, faith, service, hope

and love.

Trinity extends the opportunity to experience the Grace of God through worship, discipleship, study and fel-lowship in the traditions of the United

Methodist Church.

Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID McLean, VA

PERMIT NO. 13

The SpireThe SpireThe SpireThe Spire A Monthly Publication of Trinity United Methodist Church 1205 Dolley Madison Boulevard McLean, VA 22101-3099 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

mailed July 29, 2015

The Spire deadline is the 15th of the month.

Spire Editor: Harriet Latta. Submit articles to info@umtrinity.org.