Announcements

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.

The Virginia Conference United Methodist Men and United Women in Faith present Breaking Down Walls: a Racial Justice webinar. A Christian response to the Dismantling of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This panel conversation will equip Virginia United Methodists to live out our mission of unity in diversity – reflecting the reconciling love of Christ in a divided and hurting world.  

When: Tuesday, March 17
Time: 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Zoom Webinar ID: 838 8143 6566
Passcode: 695853

Moderator: Heather Gomez. Panelists: Rev. James Page, Rev. Dr. James Melson, Rev. Dr. Victor Gomez, Rev. Hung Su Lim

Questions? Contact Rev. Joseph Moseray.

Looking for an easy service project? Join us for Supper and Service on Wednesday, March 18 at 6 PM in the Youth Area. A light supper is served followed by a service activity. Dinner and the activity last one hour, from 6-7 pm.

Mount Olivet’s Spring Clean-up Day will be Saturday, March 21. Our outdoor projects will include planting spring flowers and mulching; our inside projects will include cleaning the Sanctuary pews. Have a project you’d like added to the list? Contact Ann Speicher.

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It’s time for the Annual Easter Egg Hunt! We’re gathering at beautiful Woodlawn Park (1325 N. Buchanan Street) to hunt for all the best goodies! Children will be divided by age – but don’t be late because we have some expert egg hunters and it goes by fast. Bring a basket and invite your friends. (We may even have a special guest stop by!) Parking is available in the church lot and it’s a short walk down the block to Woodlawn Park. Please check your child’s eggs for allergens.

Sarah Whiddon, along with members of the Outreach committee, are starting a new small group concentrating on access for people with disabilities. The first meeting will be on April 19, 12:30 in the Youth Area to talk about goals for the group. Some suggestions include arts and crafts, games, music, and field trips on Metro. Lunch provided. The group will meet on a quarterly basis. Questions? Contact Sarah Whiddon.

Although opposed by the male hierarchy, three women persisted and became preachers or elders in the AME Zion Church in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  Learn more about Julia Foote, Mary Small, and Florence Spearing Randolph.

We are about midway through the Fashion Week season, with the Paris Women’s Fashion Week just finishing up. Since most of us are wearing our comfort clothes and not haute couture, why should this matter? Because those designer fashions as well as commercial operations generate significant amounts of textile waste. Enter FABSCRAP, an organization created to prevent commercial textile waste in New York from going to landfills. In the last 9 years they have diverted more than 2 million pounds of textile waste, the equivalent of planting 275,000 trees. Learn more about FABSCRAP at fabscrap.org/about-us and how to shop for things they have for resale shopfabscrap.org/  

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Mount Olivet's Haiti ministry is bringing kids in Haiti new classroom laptops and learning software. You can see and hear the excitement of the kids in the video provided here, as our friend on the ground, Eddyson Charles, tries to keep a little order.

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Mount Olivet has had a Haiti ministry that has assisted people in this beleaguered country since after the earthquake in 2010. The effort has changed over time as circumstances have changed.

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Eddyson was an interpreter and aid for several of our Haiti mission teams, and has re-started a faith based kids club and learning supplement program, called the Jesus Joy Club (a very Haitian name). His original JJC was in the school where we originally served. After moving and overcoming many challenges, Eddyson is now in Cap-Haitien, where he and others recently relaunched the JJC. The JJC works in cooperation with a local church. Instruction includes music, computer literacy, computer instruction, Bible Study, sports, games, hygiene training, and more. 

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So far, we have supplied 5 refurbished laptops and a server containing classroom software from Kahn Academy in Haitian Kreyol and French. These were provided for free by the computer refurbishment ministry at Bethel UMC in Warrenton. Our Haiti Education fund at Mount Olivet covered the cost of shipping and customs in Cap-Haitien. Now we are sending a second shipment of free laptops and server.

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We are also providing digital printing equipment and supplies for Eddyson to use to start a small printing business and support the JJC. Some of our Haiti team members are covering the costs. In addition to the equipment, shipping into Haiti and through customs is complicated and costly. Eddyson's resourcefulness found a way to reduce the shipping costs.

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You are encouraged to learn about Haiti and our ministry at Mount Olivet. Kenn Speicher or any of our Haiti veterans can tell you more. If you would like to support this effort by getting involved or with a donation, please talk to Kenn or Marilyn Traynham. It is exciting to see this initiative move forward amidst all the hardship and violence taking place in Haiti.

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Watch Video from Jesus Joy Club

The church is in need of some volunteer assistance from a handyman/handywoman. Some tasks include changing light bulbs, assembling furniture, opening Columbarium niches, small painting jobs and minor repairs. If interested or questions, contact Tina Marcus.

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, from March 1-31, in the Youth Area.

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.