| Churches unite in celebration  GALESVILLE To celebrate the towns 350th anniversary, Galesville UMC and its neighbor Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal church joined together in worship Oct. 6. The combined congregations recalled the faith heritage of the area and shared in Holy Communion. Each church was also represented in Galesvilles weeklong anniversary celebration in other ways, including parade floats. The Ebenezer AME float was built on the theme Great Blacks in History. Church member Frank McDonald created and built a float portraying a Methodist camp meeting for Galesville UMC. Circuit riders on horseback accompanied the float. The weekend was magic and spirit-filled, said event chairwoman, Mary Hantske. Small children show appreciation MONTGOMERY VILLAGE The 140 children, staff and parents of the preschool and kindergarten at Covenant UMC wanted to reach out to the law enforcement agencies during this time of difficulty in the Washington metropolitan area, said Sheila Mullett, director, referring to the sniper killings that happened not far from the church. The children made four large banners, saying Thank you very much, and decorated them with their own artwork. The adults baked cookies. Mullet and the parents, including a detective dad and a policewoman mom, delivered the token of appreciation to police stations in Gaithersburg, Germantown, Seven Locks and Rockville. Scout refurbishes homeless shelter  WALDORF John Sherouse, 17, started his Eagle Scout project at Troop 1778 at Lakeside UMC nearly five years ago when he first became acquainted with Angels Watch, a nonprofit homeless shelter for women and women with children in Hughesville, where the church does ministry each week. Sherouse, the son of Deborah and Robert Sherouse, raised $1,000 to refurbish the computer room at the center from both the shelter and the Boy Scouts of America. He replaced 192-square-feet of carpet, stripped wallpaper, painted, installed 56 feet of base board, replaced electrical face plates and built 27 feet of countertops, reported the Maryland Independent. Seniors assist seniors GAITHERSBURG The living quarters for 67 nuns at Catonsvilles Oblate Sisters of Providence have been refurbished, thanks to Asbury Methodist Village. After Alexis McKenzie, director of community and public relations, spoke to the nuns about Alzheimers and dementia, she toured the facility. It was in dire need of so many things, she said. McKenzie also knew that Asbury was renovating one of its buildings and was about to throw out many serviceable items. Asburys facilities director, Bob Hechtman, agreed to help, and with several volunteers they delivered chests of drawers, dining room furniture, refrigerators, a dishwasher, kitchen range, washers and dryers at no cost to the sisters, the youngest of whom is in her 60s, McKenzie said. Sunday School growth prompts building ST. LEONARD After four years of planning and fundraising, Waters Memorial UMC broke ground for its new educational facility Sept. 8. It is the third time in the churchs 175-year history that the need for Sunday school space has prompted a building campaign. With 60 to 70 students a week in the existing Sunday school, the space was simply too small, William Bowen, administrative council chairman, told the Calvert Recorder. At the groundbreaking, Waters Ross, a descendent of the family for whom the church is named, recounted the churchs history back to the first Methodist groups in Calvert County in 1781. Waters Memorial UMC is built on land donated by that family.  | 
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