February 2017

Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors. The people of the United Methodist Church.

By Their "Posts" You Shall Know Them

We read a lot in the Book of Acts about the journeys of Paul and his fellow travelers. We see him and his Christian en-tourage traveling throughout the Mediterranean world. But Paul was not unique in his travels. In the time of Paul, and in the decades that were to follow, thousands of "Christians" would travel the Mediterranean world by land and by sea.

But all the traveling and all the travelers created a very pressing question for local congregations: Given the large num-ber of itinerant preachers, teachers, and evangelists, all claiming to be Christian, how were congregations to distinguish those who were genuinely Christian from those who weren't? As congregations searched for criteria to help them with the issue, they remembered the words of Jesus: "By their fruits you shall know them." Congregations were to weigh the words, the actions, and the behaviors of those who claimed to be Christian to see if they lined up with the teachings of Jesus.

In much the same way, Paul provided a helpful set of criteria. Paul taught that the fruit of the Spirit was "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Christians who truly possessed the Spirit of God would reflect these characteristics in their lives.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I have to confess that I find myself thinking a lot about these attributes--and about Jesus's warning, "By their fruit you shall know them"--when I read Facebook postings these days. It almost seems as if there is something about Facebook that mirrors or lays bear a person's soul. It may be that what we say on Facebook--and how we say it--is a more telling reflection of our soul than how many times a month we go to church, how much we give, or how much time we spend reading the Bible.

Years ago I had a mentor, Tom Watson, who joked that the best way to reveal the soul of a person was to play him or her in a game of Monopoly. I'm beginning to think that the same can be said about reading a person's posts on Facebook--"By their posts you shall know them."

That's not to say that Facebook posts should be passionless, inoffensive, or safe. We don't need to be reticent about being open and honest about what we think and feel. Posts can be bold, energetic, even muscular. They can be ardent and resolute. But all of us know the difference between an honest, heartfelt disagreement with a spouse, and the calculat-ed flurry of insults that can cripple a marriage. When it comes to Facebook, we should never be afraid of honest debate, or forthright dialogue, but posts should never be hateful, demeaning, mean-spirited, nasty, malicious, or eviscerating. We can disagree--and disagree heartily--and still be civil and respectful.

I know that we find ourselves in a political environment that is polarized and combative. All of us have values at stake that we care about deeply. As Thomas Paine once said, "These are the times that try men's souls." But precisely because we care so deeply, it is easy to become fearful, threatened, angry and under attack. But remember, although there is nothing sinful about anger, we must be very careful about what we do with that anger. Anger never becomes a green light for malice.

So let's not be afraid to be honest with one another, but let us also be strong enough to be gentle, well-mannered, and courteous. "By their posts you shall know them."

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Endowment Fund Gift Dinner February 8

Attention Collectors! We know there are a lot of you in the congregation. Do you have a wonderful collection that is seldom admired except by yourself? Is your collection gathering dust in a closet or the basement? At the February 8th Endowment Fund Gift Dinner, we hope you will share your interests with the church family. For a few hours, set up and display your sports or trading cards, stuffed toys, coins, stamps, autographs, memorabilia, comic books, art, ephemera, etc. The list goes on and on. This invitation is open to children, youth and adults who have a collecting pas-sion. Please contact John Selmer (phone: 703-444-2841 or e-mail: LSelmer@erols.com) to reserve a space and to ask any questions.

PRESERVE. STRENGTHEN. GROW. -- TOGETHER.

Hopefully, you have seen the posters updating everyone on the status of our capital campaign on the Connection Center boards in the building. The campaign money is dedicated to paying down the $2,100,000 mortgage and making much needed repairs. The poster, included on the next page, shows the amount collected, how it is used, and the pri-oritization of tasks. Herndon UMC's goal is to raise at least $700,000 by December 2019.

We knew from last year's feasibility study that getting to $700,000 was going to be a team effort. The study con-

firmed that Herndon UMC has very faithful givers, who give at a high level; but we do not have huge donors making six-figure gifts. We really need everyone to make a sacrificial gift to this campaign to reduce the drain that the mortgage payments have on our resources and to help get those necessary repairs done. At this point, we have received pledges or contributions from less than 50% of those who regularly participate in worship or ministries here at Herndon UMC. Still, we have over 70% of the goal contributed or promised, thanks to those participants. Imagine what we can do if everyone else makes a promise to Preserve, Strengthen, and Grow.

So, it is not too late to make your Faith Promise, large or small. Cards are available from the Connection Center

boards and online at www.herndonumccampaign.com. Please prayerfully consider what role you may be able to play in the campaign, because we need all of our players in this game.... just imagine what we can do together.

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FEBRUARY 2017

FINANCE NEWS: THE 2017 OPERATING BUDGET

COMING SOON

In January, we collected contribution pledges for the operating budget for this year. If you have not submitted a pledge, you are encouraged to do so. You can pick up a Stewardship Brochure, which contains the pledge card, from the Connection Center boards or from a January Fri-day e-News. Based on the contribution information col-lected and our giving history, the Finance Team will be working in February to finalize the 2017 Operating Budget for approval at the February Church Council Meeting. As it notes in the brochure, Finance is hoping that the funds contributed to Operations in 2017 are about the same as those contributed in 2016, and we are currently working under the boundaries set by the 2016 budget.

For the last two years we have been sharing infor-mation in the Stewardship brochures about where the money goes, and this years is shown here. These figures include all funds contributed to Herndon UMC in 2016, not just operating budget. So, for example, Capital Campaign contributions that have been used count under Facilities (as they are spent on the mort-gage or on repairs), but they are not part of the Operating Budget.

The Operating Budget for 2016 was about $920,000; and we just barely finished the year in the black. With about 250 giving units, that was $3,680 on average per giv-ing unit. The operating money covered nearly all of the people expenses and facility costs represented in the fig-ure, as well as all of the communications costs. It should be noted that this included two new air conditioning units and a couple of parking lot lights that were replaced. Operating costs in programs included mu-sic and maintenance of the instruments for the Music Min-istry. It also covered curricula, supplies and events for HUMC KIDS, Student Ministries Adult Studies, and a small amount for the History Ministry. Under missions, the operating funds supported the Ezra and Rebuilding Together April ministries, the An-nual Conference offering, and all of Herndon UMC's contri-butions to the larger United Methodist Church's missions and ministries. Herndon UMC also managed to put away a little money (e.g. a few thousand) from contributions into an emergency reserve for the future.

Look for information about the 2017 budget in the next newsletter.

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Voices Needed for Spring Cantata!

On Sunday, May 21, the Wesley Choir will present Rene Clausen’s cantata, A New Creation at the 9am traditional worship service. This work will be accompa-nied by organ and chamber orchestra, and includes various choral, solo, and small ensemble movements which, in the composer’s words, “are attempts to characterize, through music, various aspects of the human/God, God/human relationship. Awe and wonder, unworthiness and doubt, mercy and forgiveness, love, joy, and peace, are all wrapped together in this piece, as indeed these elements are wrapped together in our daily lives. The thematic and artistic credo of this work, which serves both as the title overall and of the central movement- a new Creation- is repre-sentative of the composer’s belief that the unwrapping of all these elements in the progression of our lives- sometimes with joy, sometimes with pain- is worth the effort.”

If you are interested in joining the Wesley Choir in singing this powerful work, please contact Shannon Wise at shan-non@herndonumc.org. This cantata presents a wonderful opportunity for singers age 14 and older to enjoy the chal-lenge, collaboration, and satisfaction of working on a larger choral work together.

Ash Wednesday Worship Service– March 1, 7pm

Please join us for this special service that marks the beginning of the season of Lent, the six weeks leading up to Easter.

Herndon United Methodist Men (UMM)

United Methodist Men’s Retreat—Mark your Calendar - Friday-Saturday March 3-4. As most of you know Mt. Zion has re-purposed their facilities to ministry training, and so we had to scramble to find a venue for our annual Men's Re-treat. This year's Men's Retreat will be held at the Claggett Center, in Adamstown MD, south of Frederick. This is an Episcopal facility, and we have reserved one of the "cottages" for our group. Double occupancy rooms (22 beds total), plenty of bathrooms, two good-sized meeting rooms and the best view on campus. While we are losing Mt. Zion's beautiful view of the Shenandoah River, we are gaining a beautiful view of farmland and Sugarloaf Mountain.

Bob Harbick is preparing the program for the retreat, which promises to be an adventure in spiritual growth for every-one. (More details to come.)

We will depart from church Friday at 4pm, giving us time to arrive and settle in before dinner, which is served from 6:15-7pm. We will also be fed breakfast and lunch on Saturday, and we will depart on our return trip around 2pm Sat-urday.

The cost is $85 (Bring a check made out to HUMM with you on the retreat.) If you are interested in attending or have questions, contact Larry Greenfield at lgreenfield8@gmail.com or 703-209-4921. Remember: If circumstances change, you can always cancel, even at the last moment. So put your name on the list even if you have doubts. That way you will receive all related email updates.

FEBRUARY 2017

Katie McGuire/Virginia Greear Circle Seventeen members of the Katie McGuire/ Virginia Greear Circle met on Monday January 17 at 9:15 at the

church. Plans for February ‘s meeting were finalized and confirmed that the Circle will prepare 120 sandwiches for the Embry Rucker Lunch Program. This is an ongoing mission of the Circle. Ginny Hatcher presented a program featuring an oil painting she has done of three almond blossoms which was inspired by the texts from Exodus 25 ( 33-34) and 35 (30-35). The Circle’s next meeting is on Monday, February 13 at 9:15 and all women are invited to attend.

Please contact either Nina Orsini (ninaj60@aol.com) or Judy Young (uoy@aol.com) for further information.

Mary Martha Circle News Our next meeting will be Tuesday, February 7th at 7 p.m. Our hostess will be Louise Rooney, co-hostess Lindy

Marshall and program by Jo Klinefelter. Since we did not meet in January part of our program will be the pledge ser-vice for 2017. We want to again thank HUMC members for their outstanding support of our greens arrangements in December. We could not have done it without you. Because of the money earned, we were able to contribute $1000 toward the Capital Campaign and still have funds for our mission projects through the year. For information about our circle, please contact Jo Klinefelter at KFredJo@aol.com .

Morning Glory Circle News We met in January and made Valentine Cards. We send over 100 cards each month. For information

about our circle contact Susan Malcom 703-863-6475.

Naomi Ruth Circle News We had a lovely holiday celebration and dinner on December 19th. We all brought dishes to share. Some mem-

bers donated diapers to Mosaic-Virginia in Lansdowne. Some members brought postage stamps to donate to Virginia Conference UMW. We then met on January 23rd at the church for our regular monthly meeting. Each month, we share a devotion or program, have time to share joys and concerns, and plan our missions for the year.

Visitors are welcome to our circle anytime! Our next meeting will be on Monday, February 20th at 7pm at church. For more information, please contact Shellie Klet at lklet2dsl@verizon.net or 703-481-5951.

United Methodist Women News The UMW first executive board met on Wed. January 18, 2017. We want to say a special thanks to those members who have given twelve or more years of service to Herndon’

United Methodist Women. Those stepping down are Ruth Lawley (treasurer), Rhoda Celestine (secretary). and Mary Lou Blevins (Mission Pin Coordinator).

The Zion Retreat Center we have used for the past few years is closing their doors in mid February. We are looking into other options including a Day Retreat at HUMC. We do have Janette Clavez coming April 21-22. Be looking for in-formation coming out soon.

If you would like more information on UMW contact Shellie Klet at lklet2dsl@verizon.net or at 703-481-5951.

FEBRUARY 2017

Fellowship

Fellowship/Coffee Hour It is always fun to catch up with the folks we don’t often see because he/she attends a different service. We love this time for fellowship between services. We also love to have your help with this time. Set up, clean up, food are just some of the areas we need you. Please go to the Signup Genius link to see where you can help. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040b44acac28a64-sunday

Neighbors in Need

Angel Tree Once again our HUMC family really came through. We received really awesome

gifts and gift cards for the children in our community. We cannot thank you enough for continuing to support this event and for the children.

Hypothermia Dinners Several years ago HUMC began helping with the North County Hypothermia

Shelter by providing hot healthy meals for the folks who use this emergency shelter. This ministry would not be possible without your continued support. Our church community supports us by providing the food to be prepared, helping hands to prepare it and to serve it as well. HUMC should be very proud of the fact that we are providing healthy, but tasty comfort food dur-ing these cold winter months. As I type this update Beth and I discovered that our next meal will be on the night of the Super Bowl – so we quickly changed our menu to provide the shelter with a Super Bowl meal – some-

thing fun but that would be welcome with the theme of the night. We are preparing sliders: meatball, pulled pork and sloppy joe, potato wedges, veggies and chips. Dinners run from December through March – we have just a few more before the season ends (Feb 5th and 19th and March 5th and 19th). Look for the sign up board to see where help is need-ed.

Neighbors in Need Mid to late March we will do a collection to support Cornerstones Transitional Housing.

Please support our “fill a bucket” campaign. It’s simple – fill a bucket with your favorite cleaning supplies: cleaners, cloths, sponges – it’s your choice. While these might seem like everyday things to many of us, those who are starting over have other, often more im-portant needs to worry about. Let us help them by providing them with these essential items.

Support The Closet of Greater Herndon

Besides being a fun and cost-effective place for everyone to shop, The Closet of Greater Herndon provides clothing and necessities at no cost to the needy of the community and supports other non-profits and scholarships. The Closet cannot function without our help. HUMC normally is scheduled to provide four volunteers about two times a month, generally on Thursdays and Saturdays. Volunteering is a lot of fun, meeting other volunteers, the Closet staff, and the customers, and we could definitely use more volunteers. Please commit just a few hours a month to support The Clos-et. If you can help, contact Betty Arey (bettya10@live.com or 703 437 8405) and let her know you are interested.

FEBRUARY 2017

2017 Domestic Mission Trip

The 2017 HUMC domestic mission trip will be heading to Tapa-hannock, Virginia.

Severe tornadoes struck that area leaving mass destruction. Many homes were heavily damaged and some were completed de-stroyed.

Virginia VIM in partnership with UMCOR has established a long tern recovery effort in southern Virginia. . The tornadoes along with flooding over the summer has made the recovery effort more chal-lenging. HUMC Rebuild Ministry is seeking volunteers to aide in the recovery effort.

The mission trip is scheduled for April 23-28. Actual work days are April 24-28 .. We will be working on a home under construction. Tappahannock is about 2-2.5 hours., 133 mille drive . The close proximity of Tappahannock to Herndon , affords a vari-ety of options for volunteering.. You can stay the week, a few days or just drive down for the day and return that evening.

We would like to invite all adult age groups to this mission trip. We would like to extend a special invitation to the young adults in our church to join our mission team. It is an experience you will not forget.

There will be a mission trip information meeting on April 19, 2017, in room 105 after the 10:30 AM service. If you ever considered participating in a mission trip, attend the meeting and discover what the mission trip is all about.

Special skills are not required. We provide on the job training. This is a great opportunity for others to witness God’s love through your actions. The mission trip is not all about Work, It is about people. If you have any questions, please contact Richard Yuras at rjyuras@gmail.com. Hope to see you at the April 19 information meeting.

LINK Needs

LINK is an all volunteer Christian emergency food pantry that serves our area. HUMC is a member church and we need members to sign up to help with some of the ongoing projects.

Here is a list of things that need your help— Rescue Food from Area Schools—LINK is rescuing food from fifteen area schools in Fairfax and Loudoun schools.

Volunteers are needed to pick up the food from the school and transport it to the pantry, the shelter or other designat-ed location. To view the schools where help is needed, go to— http://www.signupgenius.com/go/904044ea9a7292-school21

Mobile Food Pantry—on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, LINK distributes thousands of pounds of food donated by the Capital Area Food Bank. The food is brought to the rear parking lot of Christ the Redeemer Church (located in Ster-ling) and hundreds of families receive the food. The time period is 12 pm—3 pm. To sign up to help, go to—http://www.signupgenius.com/go/904044ea9a7292-mobile34

Simple Gesture Food Donations - Every other month, over 500 families have signed up to take a Cool Green Bag and fill it with food items for area pantries (Cornerstone and LINK). Volunteers are needed to help unload the food on the 1st Saturday every other month from 9:30 am—11 am. This is a great project for families or working individuals!! To sign up to help, go to— http://www.signupgenius.com/go/904044ea9a7292-food3

If you are interested in more information, please contact Lisa at president@linkagainsthunger.org or call 703-973-4444.

Sundays 9:00 a.m. Traditional, Liturgical Worship 10:30 am Contemporary Worship

KIDSClub - Available during Sunday Morning Worship, 9 & 10:30 am 10:30 am Sunday School for Adults

S aturdays

5:30 p.m. Casual, Traditional Worship

Nursery Care available for infants through age 3 at all worship services and Sunday School

CHURCH STAFF

Senior Pastor Rev. Gary Robbins pastor@herndonumc.org

Minister of Visitation Rev. Larry Buxton Larry@herndonumc.org

Dir. Of Student Ministries Sheri Fairchild Sheri@herndonumc.org

Dir. Of Children’s Ministry Melanie Ayers Melanie@herndonumc.org

Dir. Of Music Shannon Wise Shannon@herndonumc.org

Dir. Of Contemporary Worship John Shaffer John@herndonumc.org

Preschool Director Lara Runz preschool@herndonumc.org

Dir. Of Children’s Music Margaret Frost Margaret@herndonumc.org

Organist Luis Gonzalez

Office Manager Jennifer Score office@herndonumc.org

Business Administrator Julie Albanus julie@herndonumc.org

Nursery Workers Robin Garcia, Kayla Miller, Dominique Hart

Custodians Victoria & Audelio Ayala

Prayer Chain prayerchain@herndonumc.org

Church Website www.herndonumc.org

Worship Services

Herndon United Methodist Church 701 Bennett Street Herndon, Virginia 20170-3105

Address Service Requested

March Newsletter Deadline—February 20th You can e-mail your articles to: LisaLombo@signaturecos.com

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