Announcements

Join us for the Youth Concert on July 10 at 7 PM in the Phoenix Room (third floor). Featuring Didi Kumalo, Thomas Joyce, and Brent Baxter from The Way Band and our youth singers, Sebastian Keeling, Emma McDonnell, Jesse Brown, and Marta Carlson. They have all worked really hard and would love to see you there. Refreshments served! No charge for the concert, but reserve your spot!

It’s time to volunteer for Community Assistance! Please volunteer to help our neighbors in need receive some much-needed help with food and gift cards. Slots to volunteer are available from 8 AM through 12:45 PM. Sign up on the SignupGenius.

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You can make a financial contribution to Community Assistance, at mountolivetumc.com/giving and indicate Community Assistance. Thanks for your continued support of our Community Assistance Ministry.

We are well into July so it is once again time to take the Plastic Free July challenge.  Did you make any changes last year that have carried over?  Were your intentions overtaken by events?  Take another look at possibilities that you can incorporate at home, in school, at work or in the community–in other words, somewhere in your life–and see what would work for you.

As part of the recent celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence you may have been reminded that at the founding of the country only white male landowners, a mere 6% of the population, had the right to vote. This is not entirely correct. In some states other people with property could vote, a right stripped away from people of color and women who had exercised it in the early decades.

It is hardly a secret that the last few years at Mount Olivet have brought many opportunities for resilience. We have recovered from a fire. We have made many changes and upgrades to our property. We have rejuvenated Community Assistance. Our clergy team and staff have seen changes, bidding farewell to some and welcoming new.

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Our UMC denomination has weathered the sorrow of schism, while Mount Olivet has remained a place of inclusivity and welcome.

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Throughout these shifts, our Mount Olivet community has responded with grace, hospitality, creativity, and flexibility.

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It is time to refresh our strategic plan which was completed in 2017.

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We begin our next season together with a time of dreaming, visioning, and planning that will allow us all to be proactive rather than reactive. And to be all God is calling us to be.

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With Council approval, a small team: Rudy Barnes, Jim Coates, Cindy Huber, Pastor Sara Keeling, Didi Kumalo, Kevin Togashi is in consultation with Rev. Dr. Jason Stanley of the Virginia Conference office on discerning a visioning and strategic planning process. We will begin this work late summer and through the fall to help focus our ministry and mission for the next few years.

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While there will be ample opportunities for congregational feedback and participation, our first step is very simple. We are beginning this process not with our own opinions and ideas and hopes, but by listening to God.

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We will begin with prayer.

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We are inviting all of the congregation to find a time each day for the month of July to pray the prayer that you’ll find below. This is a prayer that we have crafted inviting us to listen, to center down, to welcome God’s Spirit.

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Holy Spirit, quiet our hearts

   to hear Your voice.

Hold us in Your love,

   so that all are welcomed and valued.

Guide our discernment

   and shape our plans with compassion and courage.

Light a fire within us

   that renews and unites our church for joyful service.

Send us out in the light of Christ 

   to follow faithfully wherever You lead.

Amen.

As a reminder, Mount Olivet is a secure building and the building is locked at all times. Church office hours (when you can meet with staff/clergy or need access to the building) are Tuesday-Friday from 9 AM – 2 PM, no office hours on Monday. Staff/clergy will continue to work flexible hours and have other meetings and appointments, so it is best to make an appointment as needed. You can email an individual staff member or clergy or call the church office at 571-447-3619.

As a reminder, Mount Olivet pastors, staff or congregation members will never ask individuals for financial assistance, gift cards or any kind of personal information through email. Always look at the actual email address of any email you receive regarding these issues. Pastor and staff emails will always come from the mtolivet-umc.org exchange. If you have any question about an email you receive that you think is questionable, always reach out to us. Contact Tina.

Please join us for Coffee Fellowship in the Gathering Space (exit the doors on the right of the Sanctuary towards 16th Street) on Sunday mornings after Traditional worship. Enjoy our new space, coffee, snacks and fellowship.

Clothesline is an organization that takes donations of “cool” school-ready clothes for kids and teenagers whose families are struggling. This is a great opportunity to donate like-new clothes your kids have grown out of, and they especially need coats, pants, shoes, and pajamas. Adult sized clothes are also welcome. Twice a year Clothesline has a free store where kids can shop in a retail environment. You can drop off your donations on Sundays in the Youth Area through the summer.

During these difficult times, we are helping the families at Glebe Elementary School put food on their tables by donating canned goods. Place your items in the basket in the Preschool Lobby on Sunday or leave in the bin on the 16^th Street porch (entrance door #1). The following low sugar and low sodium items are needed:

• Canned fruits

• Canned tuna

• Canned soups

• Canned vegetables

• Canned tomatoes

• Peanut butter (in plastic jars)

• Cereal

Contact Linnea Carlson with any questions.