Online Archives

Pastor: Ann Laprade; Lay Leader: Jacob Philip.

Number of people in worship on Sunday? Average 180.

Vision? 'A family of God with a place for all people.'

Typical Member? We are an ethnically diverse and cross-generational congregation that is committed to the concept of 'Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors.'

Percentage of Young Adults? 15-20.

Impact of church on the community? Very visible from Falls Road, building casts an image of simple elegance; congregation is in a meaningful partnership with the community. When needs are made known, the church comes forward in a vast array of ministries, especially in the fields of outreach and the arts.

When founded? Situated on ground that has been consecrated for three centuries; Methodist acquired land in 1865; new Parish Center completed in 2004.

Church?s greatest challenge? The community is discovering the church through the Parish Center and the church is rediscovering itself and changing its mission. The church is trying to bring the warmth and love that has attracted people in its current configuration to the larger and more complex church structure that is beginning to develop in order to meet needs of a larger and more complex world.

Most anticipated events of the year? Strawberry Festival and Rally Day. At Rally Day, a symbol of the convergence of the old and the new, is the ceremony of the shawls. When teachers are introduced, they are each blessed with a prayer shawl. They wear these shawls as a sign of their identity as bearers of the faith and children can identify their teachers at the picnic that follows the worship service.

Hymn congregation never tires of? 'On Eagle?s Wings.'

Most unusual group that meets at the church? Chinese dancers.

One surprising thing? The lay leader has strong ties to the Syrian Orthodox Church. Many families have some connection with Jewish and Muslim traditions. The church plans to begin a dialogue process with local Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu congregations.

Sign and wonders? Just a few years ago the Sunday School started to boom ? children?s classes were housed in closets. The congregation, to better meet the needs of the community?s families, stepped out in faith, razed the old parish hall and raised a new Parish Center. The Sunday School has grown four-fold in those years. Also, in spring, the Girl Scouts and Brownies plant hundreds of colorful crocuses in front of the church. In bloom, the landscape reflects the work of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer for the churches of the Baltimore-Washington Conference? As we move through this post-modern age, we pray all of our churches claim the best fruits of our common traditions, and use the seeds of those fruits to grow God?s garden in new fields that now lay fallow. Hurting, needing people are looking to all of us in our communities for hope, stability and new vision to bring meaning to their lives.

Web site: http://www.potomac-umc.org