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Published by , 2017-11-04 15:32:51

EM Nov 2017

EM Nov 2017

Greetings Epworth!

The craziness of summer is over, kids are back in school, vacations are fond memories,
and folks are settling down into their daily routines. What are your daily routines?
Where do you invest your time and the gifts God has given you? How are you
making your life an offering to the eternal purposes of God?

Last Sunday we celebrated All Saints Day as we honored
those who have gone on before us and remembered
those who have made a substantial impact in
our spiritual lives. Each of us have been
influenced by someone who has brought us
closer to God and we celebrate their life. We
also learned that as long as Heaven remains distant,
foggy and unclear in our
this world will remain large and in hearts and minds, the cares of
amazing gift God has for us brings charge. Understanding of this
us to pour into others. Remember what our lives back into focus and allows
How is that going? Have you made at least Pastor Jen asked you to do this week?
test of time and bear witness to those who one decision this week that will stand the
have sowed into you?

As we move deeper into this Timeless series, we will compare the difference between financial advice
based on earthly standards and based on biblical standards. What promises do they each make and
what is their history of success? We will talk about the greatest financial advice you will ever receive.
This advice has a strong history of past success and is an indicator of future results. This is the best
financial advice you will ever receive because it impacts your life today, tomorrow and forever. This
financial advice is Timeless.

Have you ever heard someone say, “The church just wants my money”? Isn’t it interesting that no one
ever says that about Visa or MasterCard? And yet, the church isn’t the one charging high interest rates.
The church doesn’t want something from you; we want something for you. We want you to experience
financial freedom. More importantly, that’s what your Heavenly Father wants as well. When you
experience financial freedom, it not only helps your life today, it frees you up to impact future
generations in your own family and beyond. Financial freedom is Timeless.

We will conclude our stewardship campaign with Consecration Sunday on November 19 as our
commitment cards are presented and consecrated. Join us for this special time of joy and celebration in
the church.

Our Timeless theme will continue as we transition into The Timeless Journey leading to the birth of

our Savior. Life Groups will begin the 5 week study, The Journey; Walking the Road to Bethlehem
by Adam Hamilton and we will begin a daily devotional which will be sent out via email each morning.
If you currently receive our Eblast you will automatically be included, however you may opt out at any

Epworth Matters 2 2017 vol 6

time. Paper copies will also be available. If you don’t receive the Eblast every Tuesday and Friday,
please contact Denise in the church office to sign up.

As part of this Journey, we will be placing a particular emphasis on corporate
prayer time for individuals, for families, and for small groups. Prayer is a very
powerful and underutilized gift from God that is available to each of us.
Epworth offers several opportunities each week to join your fellow brothers
and sisters in praying for ourselves, our church, our community, and our
world. Won’t you join us for one or more of these?

● Friday at 7pm in the Chapel
● Saturdays at 5pm in the Chapel
● Wednesday at 6am in the Chapel
● Sunday December 17 at 1pm – Special Piano Prayer time with Eric Pazdziora

We are excited about this road we are on and where it will take us as individuals and as the church.
Won’t you join us on this Timeless Journey?

Trustee Minute…

by Christina Castillo

Epworth, we would like to thank everyone
who has contributed to our capital
campaign for 2017. So far, we have raised
$49,000 this year towards our $65,000
goal. We have $16,000 left to reach our
goal. We have kicked off 2020 Vision: The
Final Push with a new match campaign

Epworth Matters totaling $11,000. Will you help us reach our
goal? All funds received will go towards an
extra principal payment to pay down our
loan, funds for IT upgrades, and continued
work on the lobby and lounge. Next major
task is replacing carpet! Want to see all the
different colored carpets throughout
Epworth gone? Me too! But we can’t do it
without your support and donations to the
capital campaign.

3 2017 vol 6

MUSEUM OF IMPACT!

September 22-24

By Moorosi Mokuena

As we seek to be the church of the community
and in the community, we are confronted with
social ills that our community faces daily. These
include immigration, housing, racism, bigotry,
human trafficking, gang violence, police
brutality, and many more. We can choose to
ignore them or we could ask the question; “What
did Jesus do?”

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he
has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke
4:18-19

Social Justice is a Christian tradition. It is who we are or proclaim to be. It is what we must be.

On September 22-24 Epworth hosted a Museum of Impact, a mobile social justice museum aimed at engaging
the church and larger community in social justice activism. The museum theme was Upstanders Festival:
This Is Us, a social justice extravaganza, shining a light on the bravery and brilliance of activism and change
makers in our midst.

The events began on Friday with the Youth Hangout
where the youth were engaged in conversation about
what mattered to them, what issues do they see in
their lives and others. Topics ranged from
immigration to bullying in the schools, some of which
these kids experience first hand. Youth engaged in
activities from letter writing to painting as their
expression on the social issue they wanted to address.
They wrote letters to Upstanders including Nelson
Mandela and letters addressed to their future selves
as aspiring Upstanders making a difference in
someone’s life.

On Saturday morning, partnering with the Epworth
United Methodist Women, the Museum focused on the
Charter for Racial Justice. The Charter was advocated
by the UMW and adopted by the denomination in
1989. The session included participation by adults, youth and children. Miriam Mokuena was the key facilitator,
providing a background on the Charter and its relevance to the nation’s current state of affairs. It was inspiring
to hear William, Daniel, and Sofia discuss racism from their personal experiences, and offering ways to handle
these instances. Participants expressed the desire to have the Charter for Racial Justice prominently placed in
the church lobby as an expression of our congregation’s opposition to racism in all its forms. The session
concluded with an activity that demonstrated the intersectionality of social issues ranging from health care, to
the prison pipeline of young men of color.

Epworth Matters 4 2017 vol 6

Museum of Impact

continued

On Saturday afternoon over fifty youth and children participated in the museum though letter writing, writing
messages of hope, and taking selfies at the Upstanders selfie board. The most profound aspect of the session
was when the youth brainstormed issues they want to advocate for. They started with a long list and finally
resolved to commit to advocating against child abuse. One could see the commitment in their eyes that was

capped by Daniel’s words when
he said; “Mr. Moorosi this is
serious, it is no joke.”

During Worship on Sunday,
Monica Montgomery, Museum
Curator, shared how she
started the museum after being
expelled from her teaching
position in a DC elementary
school following Trayvon
Martin’s murder. Her students
kept asking her questions but
the school administration had
indicated that the matter should not be discussed. She relented to the questioning and created a curriculum to
enable students to talk and heal. As a result, she was expelled from the school and the Museum of Impact was
born.

On Sunday afternoon, the Courageous Conversations session was conducted in partnership with The Beloved
Community from Asbury Methodist Village and The International Cultural Center a Muslim organization that
works with refugees from the Middle East and West Africa. The session comprised of a panel of the elderly that
have overcome hardships in their lives stemming
from racism. The panel included a survivor of the
holocaust, an LBGTQ mother, a Muslim mother, and
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s personal chauffeur. Each
panel member told their story and the audience asked
questions and shared their own stories of dealing
with racism.

The weekend concluded with a performance by a
young African-American poet from Washington DC
and his aunt, a singer. Reflections from the Museum
of Impact are that we as Christians are called to do
God’s work. We have been commanded from when
we were placed in the Garden of Eden to be
caretakers of His creation and when Christ said;

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I
was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after
me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see
you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and
invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of
mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:35-40

Epworth Matters 5 2017 vol 6

By Debbie Shelley

On October 8 we held our first Family Orientation and reviewed the new and exciting things happening
in Children’s and Youth Ministries. Children’s Ministry celebrations include:

Sunday School
When I first began teaching Sunday School, all age groups were in the same classroom, with an average
attendance of 12-14 children. We now have teaching teams for Preschool and Kindergarten and Grades
1-5. There is a combined praise and worship time and children are eager to pray and offer prayer requests
for family and friends. The average attendance is 32 and our goal for the end of 2017 is 50 children.
Included in our mission for Children’s Ministry is to teach children how to serve others. We are blessed
to serve families at Rosemont Elementary School by packing Smart Sacks, once a month. We have
purchased two mini iPads and Check-In software to electronically check children in Sunday School. A
big thank you to Susan Wright for offering to check-in children on the third and fourth Sunday. Can you
help us on the first and second Sunday?

Vacation Bible School
Gadgets and Gizmos was the theme of VBS this year. There were over 170 children traveling through
halls to learn about the love of Jesus. They were joined by over 60 youth and adult volunteers. Using
email addresses are provided, families are invited to additional children’s events at Epworth. We are
having a kick-off in January and pray that you will join us for VBS – AMPED!

Soccer Clinic
During our one week Soccer Clinic, children and youth write scripture and core values on their hearts,
while learning how to play soccer. It takes a village of youth and adult volunteers to share the love of
Christ through soccer.

Easter Egg Hunt
Over 500 people attended the Easter Egg Hunt this year. We intentionally cast our advertising net to
the larger community and had an overwhelming response. There were children and adults everywhere.
Love, joy and laughter were overflowing. This event had a large number of youth and adult volunteers
shining the light of Jesus for our neighbors.

Do you see the theme woven though Children’s Ministry? God’s love and Jesus’ light is being shared by
many volunteers. Will you pray about joining us and sparking a child’s relationship with Christ? Here
are a few areas that we need help:

● Communications – sending out postcards, sending email notifications and making phone calls
● Check-in and check-out for Sunday School
● Teachers and Assistants for Sunday School at 9am, 10:30am and noon
● Events – VBS, Easter Egg Hunt, Pumpkin Fest, Smart Sacks and Technical Support

Please contact me at 301.370.3777, if you have any questions or are ready to serve. Thank you for
supporting Children’s Ministry.

Epworth Matters 6 2017 vol 6

Hispanic Heritage Service

By Miguel Gallegos

Every year the Baltimore Conference of the United Methodist Church celebrates the Hispanic
heritage at Milliam Memorial UMC. All of the Hispanic ministries of the area came to celebrate and
to participate of the Hispanic heritage. Rev. Tony Love presided with a message of love and hope.
After that we celebrated communion and went to the fellowship room to enjoy Hispanic food, music
and dances. Performers from Mexico, Cuba and Honduras showed wonderful dances from their
countries and invited everybody to dance and have fun.

Servicio de la Herencia Hispana

Sab́ ado 7 de Octubre celebramos la herencia hispana en
la Iglesia Metodista Unida de Millian en Rockville, donde
nos reunimos las iglesias hispanas del aŕ ea de Washington
y Baltimore. Este evento organizado por la Conferencia
de Baltimore-Washington trajo mucha bendicioń pues el
Reverendo Tony Love trajo un mensaje de amor y
esperanza. Todas las iglesias participamos y ayudamos en
el servicio, luego del mensaje
tuvimos la comunión y luego
pasamos al saloń de compañerismo
donde degustamos de una deliciosa
comida latina. Al final tres grupos de
danzas nos deleitaron con su arte,
eran de Mex́ ico, Cuba y Honduras. Al
final invitaron a todos a bailar
terminando ası́ esta gran
celebracioń .

Epworth Matters 7 2017 vol 6

October 1, 2017

By Sam Quarcoo

For Change the World we had a combined service which was well attended. We participated in eight service
projects including Social Justice Advocacy follow-up, sorting clothing for the Thrift Store, flood relief buckets,
garden edging at Rosemont Elementary, stream clean-up around Muddy Branch, snacks for the fire
department, shut-in visits, and goodie bags to send to Qatar.

We were able to collect 19 buckets of cleaning supplies for UMCOR (United
Methodist Committee On Relief) which left our premises on October 17. Thank
you to all the project leaders and participants. We hope to call on you again
next year!

As Send Out events, we are also
collecting coats for Rosemont
Elementary School which are due
by November 11. Thanks to those
who have already donated coats
and we look forward to receiving
more from those who have
pledged to donate.

As a reminder, please think about
our needy families this Thanksgiving. We will give out shopping
bags and a list of items to be purchased for our needy families
on November 5 and bags should be returned by Sunday,
November 19.

Thank you again for helping us reach the least of these.

Sam Quarcco
Send Out Lead

Epworth Matters 8 2017 vol 6

in FestBy Amy Brown Imagine a pumpkin patch, games, activities, food

and over 200 children running around laughing

and enjoying themselves in our backyard of the
church! That is exactly what we had going on at our
Second Annual Epworth Pumpkin Fest. This year’s
Pumpkin Fest was a great success. The event included a
number of children’s activities including a bounce house, face
k painting, pumpkin decorating, cookie decorating, stuff the
p scarecrow, games and more. Hay rides were a huge hit, thanks to
m Gaithersburg Equipment and David Jupin for donating the tractor and
u trailer. The Appalachian Ramblers, through our Second Saturday at the
P Steeple events, added extra entertainment for all. This year’s guests could enjoy
food and ice cream from local food trucks.

Pumpkin Fest welcomed over 300 attendees. This could not have been possible without
all of our volunteers both before and during the event. A special thank you to the over 30
youth volunteers and the many adult volunteers. Another highlight is that through the event,
we were able to promote the Capital Campaign through sales at the annual Pumpkin Patch. Many
attendees utilized the Pumpkin Fest to purchase pumpkins to help decorate their homes for the fall
season.

Epworth Matters 9 2017 vol 6

Jthoein
Maunsdic

Fun!

Epworth Matters 10 2017 vol 6

Celebrating... Vanessa Carbajal - 16 2017 vol 6
Kayleen Miller - 16
November Anniversaries Lisa Compres - 17
Barry Anderson - 20
Steven & Melissa Hubert - 6 Lisa Shriver-Lake - 20
Richard & Kelda Simpson - 7 Patricia Bobb-Williams - 21
Gary & Luisa Graham - 10 Anjali Divya Singh - 21
Teri & Jeff Barber - 23 Dominic Toquinto - 22
Linda & Derek Harps - 24 Nehemiah Dixon - 24
Alfred & Matilda Koroma - 29 Nteboheng Maya Mokuena - 24
Lilly Otolo - 24
November Birthdays Madeline Rippeon - 24
Frederica Nelson - 25
Manuel Lee - 1 Rosmery Thomson - 25
Diana Andrade - 2 Jordan Piper - 26
Keisha Mason - 3 Eugine Cole - 27
Mahalia Debru - 5 Ben Hershey - 28
Sukesh Fernando - 5 Sally Jacobs - 28
J. David Rocha Jr - 5 PJ Maneval - 30
Ericka Smith - 5 Christo Massaquoi - 30
Senara Fernando - 7 Lawrence Sesay Jr - 30
Ithemba Todak - 7
Muriel Lewis-Coker - 8 11
Chris Ellinwood - 9
Brandon Elliott - 9
Brian Jacobs - 9
Mercy Madukwe - 9
Valentin Castillo - 11
Gavin Johnston - 11
Lausel Bropleh - 12
Victoria Cruz-Falk - 12
Megan Lake - 12
Ansu Conteh - 13
Donnie Sue Ferrell - 13
Christopher Lindberg - 13
Mallory Lindberg - 13
Gisele Vergara - 13
Denise Anderson - 15
Tom Scholl - 15

Epworth Matters

Epworth United Methodist Church
9008 Rosemont Drive
Gaithersburg MD 20877

To be the community that reaches, engages, disciples, and impacts
people for Christ as the Holy Spirit transforms our hearts and lives

I have come to invite people to change their hearts and lives Luke 5:32

Our Staff

Pastors

Rev Jennifer L Fenner, Lead Pastor - [email protected]
Pastor Franklin Arias, Student Pastor - [email protected]
Rev Yolanda Pupo-Ortiz, Pastor Emerita - [email protected]

Children & Youth

Pastor Franklin Arias, Pastor in Charge of Youth - [email protected]
Vanessa Carbajal, Youth Ministry Coordinator - [email protected]
Debbie Shelley, Children’s Ministry Lead - [email protected]

Music

James Craig Bazen, Lead 9am Service and Children’s Choir - [email protected]
Pastor Franklin Arias, Lead Praise and Worship - [email protected]
Eric Pazdziora, Organist - [email protected]

Admin

Denise Anderson, Communications Director - [email protected]
Becky Beeler, Treasurer - [email protected]
Nancy Laing, Financial Secretary - [email protected]

Visit us at www.epworthunited.org
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/epworthunited
Subscribe to our YouTube channel Epworth Productions to watch previous sermons

9008 Rosemont Drive • Gaithersburg MD 20877 Phone (301) 926.0424 Fax (301) 926.0383


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