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Small church builds school

UPPERCO – Emory UMC, a church of 50 worshippers, is in the final stages of building a school in the Dominican Republic.

It's taken a while. In 2005, 11 members joined a mission with The Least of These Ministries to serve Haitian refugees. They returned several times. While helping in a Sunday school, they were appalled at the conditions: broken wooden benches with rusty nails for children to sit on in a small crowded room.

But, "what was not in poor condition were the children and the teacher," said Roni Weikers, Lay Leader. "The image of that broken bench and those beautiful children were never far from our hearts."

Two years later, the Emory members formed a team for rebuilding the Sunday school. Expecting to replace the broken down school room, the project soon grew. Pastor Elias, also an engineer, drew up the blueprints of what he wanted. It was a two-story, eight-classroom school for the children of Barahona.

For the past five years, Emory members and some friends have constructed the school.

Now as the project ends, Weikers said, "The children will fill these classrooms, they will attend school and learn and grow. This is a new beginning."

Summer program enlivens church

CUMBERLAND – Centre Street UMC has found new life in a congregation of mostly 70-and-older members. It has become the bustling hub of an ecumenical ministry to feed poor school children during the summer months when they can no longer rely on the schools for breakfast and lunch.

Joining the Summer Lunches Program, started nine years ago among the churches, every Thursday for seven weeks, the kitchen and

Fellowship Hall are full of volunteers of every age preparing 500 box lunches.

Fifteen local United Methodist churches responded to their call for help.

"In all, over 35 workers each day helped and the supplies and food needed to produce the lunches were provided," said Mary Jo Lefler, chair of Missions.

They took extra food to the Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter run by Pastor Dan Taylor, who serves the Melvin-Fairview Charge.

"This is only a start in breathing new life into an older congregation," Lefler said. "They learned that sometimes you need to reach out to others and together great things can happen.Many of the people cannot wait to see what God will ask of them next."

9/11 victims are remembered

FROSTBURG – The students, faculty and community observed the 10th anniversary of 9/11 with "Eleven Days of September," on the FSU campus from Sept. 1 to 11. The Rev. Cindy Zirlott, United Methodist chaplain of United Campus Ministries, organized and led the event with the Catholic chaplain.

The communitywide observance was highlighted by "The Wall," which included prayers for peace from all major traditions and where individuals posted their memories, prayers, reflections and pictures over the course of 11 days. A flag display for the 3,030 casualties was mounted on a nearby hill, the display shaped in the form of a giant 9/11.

Church offers hope to those who wait

JESSUP – In one of its outreach ministries, 25 members of Asbury-Jessup UMC, including youth, served breakfast to 40 families at Ronald McDonald House. Church members connected to those whose children were hospitalized over long periods of time at various hospitals in Baltimore.

One father from New Jersey said he had been there for five months and breakfast is an important meal for him because he doesn't like leaving his daughter's side, the pastor, Gay Green-Carden, reported. One mother said her son had to endure four serious surgeries from Sinai Hospital. The mother said that God had a plan for her son.

Green-Carden laid hands on the sick and offered prayers of faith and hope. "After leaving there, we received calls wanting to worship at Asbury Jessup," she said.

Briefs

WASHINGTON, D.C. — W. Astor Kirk, 89, a lay member of Foundry UMC, died Aug. 12. He had served as director of public affairs at the Board of Church & Society and was instrumental in ending segregation in the Methodist church. Read a eulogy by Bishop John Schol.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Rev. Dean Snyder from Foundry UMC is one of 30 panelists for The Washington Post's new On Faith/Local feature. The panelists, a diverse spectrum of believers and non-believers, will offer essays each week with a spiritual take on local issues. "We believe On Faith/Local will be a leading destination for D.C.-area residents to have informative, provocative and civil discussion about religion," a Washington Post editor said.