| UM sniper victim remembered GAITHERSBURG The congregation of Ashton UMC continues to hold the family of James Martin in their prayers. He was a church leader, killed in the sniper killings Oct. 2, 2002. The familys wishes are for privacy, to do their grieving and healing in as private a way as possible, and we honor that, said the Rev. Jeff Jones. Martins name was one of the 10 that Montgomery County Executive Douglas Duncan read in a candlelight vigil at the Executive Office Building in Rockville Oct. 1. Six of the victims were from the county. A plaque honoring them was unveiled and a tree planted in their memory. One of the early responders to the killing spree was Goshen UMC member, Gregory Wims, founder and president of the Victims Rights Foundation. The foundation held the first prayer vigil for the victims in Rockville at the height of the shootings and raised more than $500,000 for the families of the sniper victims. The all-volunteer organization distributed approximately $32,000 to each of the families, Wims said in an interview published in the Washington Post. Now that sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad is on trial in Virginia Beach, Va., we plan to have a prayer vigil (there), Wims said. Marsden church helps victims of Fabian SMITHS PARISH, Bermuda In the aftermath of Hurricane Fabian, which preceded this areas Hurricane Isabel, Marsden First UMC has become a help center for area residents. At annual conference last June, Marsden UMC became a part of the Baltimore-Washington Conference. Part of Marsdens hurricane outreach includes sharing facilities with St. Philips African Methodist Episcopal Church after that church was heavily damaged. The church also contributed $5,000 to establish the Marsden Emergency Relief Team, or MERIT, for disaster relief. An additional $10,000 was contributed by the United Methodist Committee on Relief, facilitated by Bishop Felton Edwin May. Congregations in the Baltimore-Washington Conference have also made donations, extended encouragement and offered prayers to the church. The Rev. Joseph Whalen, Marsdens senior pastor, expressed his appreciation in person when he spoke to the congregation of a partner church, Emory UMC in Washington, D.C., at the churchs annual International Sunday Oct. 18. Centenary UMC back in business SHADY SIDE It has taken more than three years for the reopening of Centenary UMC. It was on April 12, 2000, that a $1-million fire destroyed the church and left the 320-member congregation homeless. Joining the congregation Oct. 5 for the grand reopening of the newly rebuilt church were the congregations from Oakland, Union and St. Matthews UMCs. Oakland UMC welcomed the Centenary congregation for worship during the past three years. The new $1.8 million church, modeled after the old wooden one dedicated in 1866, was expanded from 6,000 to 10,000 square-feet to accommodate more classrooms and office space, as well as space for a day care center, expected to be started soon. The Rev. Edwin DeLong, conference director of congregational development, led a consecration service Oct. 25, said the churchs pastor, the Rev. Karen Gould. Youth wins on Jeopardy WASHINGTON, D.C. A member of McKendree-Simms-Brookland UMCs was a recent winner on the popular ABC quiz show Jeopardy. Jacob Logan, 12, the son of Robert and Ruth Logan, won more than $26,000 Sept. 22, toppling a dozen other contenders in the Back to School tournament. Logan contributed a tithe of his earnings to the church, half for the general fund and half for scholarships, in keeping with teachings he had heard all his life, his mother said. One of the ways the winnings have affected the family, Ruth Logan said, is that Jacob and his sister now have a dog. I told him if you win, you can get a dog, she said. The dogs name is Jeopardy. | 
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