THE CIRCUIT BOARD. In This Issue. Join us for worship on Sunday mornings. October 1 Blessing of the Animals. October 18 Priscilla Circle

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1 THE CIRCUIT BOARD October 2017 St. Matthew s United Methodist Church Join us for worship on Sunday mornings Classes & Studies for all ages In This Issue A Note from Pastor Neil St. Matthew s Upcoming Events Music Ministries/ Worship Schedule Blood Drive Among our congregation Women s Ministry Corner ERT Reflection WDS Update Staff Spotlight Summer Intern St. Matthew s Upcoming Events October 1 Blessing of the Animals October 18 Priscilla Circle October 2 Pub Theology October 19 Esther Circle October 8 Children s Sabbath October 21 United Methodist Men Fall Harvest Party October 11 Food for Others October 24 Elizabeth Circle October NLI Weekend Church Retreat October 28 Church Clean-up October 17 Food for Others October 30 Charge Conference

2 From Pastor Neil s Study How Will You Measure Your Life? That s the question that Clayton Christensen, a professor at the Harvard Business School, asks his students at the end of each semester. The question is intended to challenge business students to think beyond their careers to their whole lives. He wants them to be successful at life and relationships, not just at building businesses and making money. He says, I believe it s my single most important class of the year. 1 Eventually, the class topic turned into an article in the Harvard Business Review, and ultimately into a book.2 In the past few months, I ve been thinking a lot about Dr. Christensen s question. His question has been nagging at me. How do I measure my life? How do I know if I m doing well? How do I know if I m really doing what I am supposed to be doing? After wrestling with the question for a while, I realized that I m probably not the only one who needs to think clearly about how we measure our lives. As followers of Jesus, we are called to live a different kind of life. Over the centuries, the Church has tried to answer the question, how will we (as Christians) measure our lives? We ve tried to answer it as individuals. We ve tried to answer it as congregations and denominations. Over the years, we ve developed our own set of metrics for discipleship (for churches and individuals). As a church we measure worship attendance, professions of faith, small group participation, and financial generosity. As individuals, we may measure the same things in our own way: how often we attend worship services; which small groups we join; how often we serve; how much we give. Those are the numbers I track (for myself and for the church.) But, if I m really honest, I m pretty certain that those measurements don t tell the whole story of my life, or the church s life. That s why, starting on October 22, we ll be asking and trying to answer that question in a series of sermons. I won t dare to suggest that our sermons will be the only definitive answers to the questions, but I think they will help you think about the question for yourself. I also think they will help us, as a church, think about how we collectively answer the question. Over the next two months, we will be honoring St. Matthew s 60th anniversary and celebrating the countless ways the church has blessed our lives and our community. At the same time, we will be considering what God might be dreaming for the next 60 years of St. Matthew s life. As we look ahead, I can t help but think that the question we need to answer is this one. When all is said and done How Will You Measure Your Life? In Christ, 1http:// 2How Will You Measure Your Life?, Christensen, Allworth, and Dillon, HarperCollins, 2012

3 Women s Ministry events are open to all women. Circles meet at various times during the month to accommo- Among Our Congregation date our busy schedules. If you are interested in more infor- September In Sympathies St. Matthew s mourns the loss of the following people. Please continue to hold their loved ones in your thoughts and prayers. Bill Clelland, brother-in-law of Ann and Bruce Thomas John E. (Jack) Dougherty, St. Matthew s Member Jacqueline McCaskill, St. Matthew s Member Susan Lynne Miller, sister of Cathy Moberly Kenneth Stine, brother of Dot Brown. mation, please contact Connie Griffin at or conniegriffin@gmail.com or Karen Cogan or karen.cogan@verizon.net. Lydia October 5th, Church Library, 7 p.m. Priscilla October 18, 7:30 p.m., room, 312. Come make prayer beads. Esther October 19th, 10 a.m., room 302 September Births Jonathan David Fee Maisie Ruth Yosmanovich Mary October 22nd, 12:30-2:30 p.m. at St. Matthew s. Book discussion I am Not But I Know I Am, by Louie Giglio. Please October Prayer Focus The harvest if plentiful but the workers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. bring food to share and come even if you haven t read the book. Elizabeth October 24th, 1:30 p.m., room 302 Early Response Team In August six members of the St. Matthews Early Response Team (ERT) traveled to Evergreen, Virginia, near Appomattox, to assist in disaster recovery efforts. In February 2016, Evergreen was hit by an EF-3 tornado damaging at least 100 structures and destroying 20 homes. Since then, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) have partnered with other faith-based organizations and government agencies to assist displaced families and rebuild homes. The ERT from St. Matthews arrived on a Thursday evening and worked Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on three homes installing Tyvek, siding and trim; sanding drywall; and doing the final touch-ups, cleaning, and moving furniture into a home that was dedicated on Sunday afternoon. This was the team's second trip to Evergreen this year; the Area Coordinator hopes to complete all recovery work this fall. Members of the St. Matthews ERT have deployed to various locations in Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland over the last several years to assist those impacted by natural disasters. Last November, several members of the St. Matthews ERT deployed to Virginia Beach to assist residents impacted by flooding from Hurricane Matthew. If you are interested in becoming a member of the St. Matthews ERT, contact Pat Frakes at pffrakes@verizon.net.

4 October 1 October 8 8:15 Chapel Choir 11:15 Sanctuary Choir 8:15 Altar Choir / Wesley Choir / Chancel Ringers Traditional Worship Music Schedule 11:15 Sanctuary Choir / Celebration Ringers November 5 November 12 8:15 & 11:15 Sanctuary Choir / Chapel Choir / Altar Choir/Wesley Choir / Mitchell Ringers, 60th Anniversary Sunday 8:15 Sanctuary Choir, Peace Ringers 11:15 Chapel Choir, Carol Ringers October 15 10:30 One Service, no choirs November 19 8:15 St. Matthew s Brothers 11:15 St. Matthew s Brothers October 22 8:15 Women s Ensemble November 26 8:15 Sanctuary Choir 11:15 Women s Ensemble, Peace Ringers 11:15 Chapel Choir October 29 8:15 Chapel Choir, Carol Ringers Colleen Baum 11:15 Sanctuary Choir September Blood Drive Participants Special thanks to Pat Blythe for her yummy muffins and Jack Burrer for help with donor logistics Keith Crane In memory of Bozena Crane Dan Burrer Richard Campion Linda Galloway Judy Hall Amanda Hill Craig Hill Mandy Lloyd Stephen Lloyd Kyle Oppenheim Byron Peters Elaine Steele Allyn Van Patten Andy Vivian Judy Zeiler Tom Eggers Britt Heisig Bob Hull Ken Landers Martha Lee David Mull Sal Olivo Charlie Potock Steve Potock Susan King Roden David Throckmorton Debbie Throckmorton Judith Ziobro In Memory of Ross Kent In honor of those whose blood saved my life 84 In memory of Frankie Hull In memory of Michael O Price In memory of Martha Jane Poland In memory of Velma Mull In memory of Patrick Olivo In memory of Walt Potock In memory of Walt Potock In memory of my brother Capt. S. Starr King In memory of Helen Mills In memory of Helen Mills In memory of Si Simonsen

5 Music at St. Matthew s Thirty youth handbell ringers toured in the northeast in June. They presented three concerts: Pennsylvania, Massachusetts & Vermont & stayed in church members homes. They ziplined in the mountains of Stowe, VT & toured Ben & Jerry s. They were two youth handbell choirs among 30 adult handbell choirs at the Handbell Festival Conference at the University of Massachusetts. They all had a great time & were upbeat & positive the whole time.

6 St. Matthews s Weekday School It was a very busy summer at the WDS. We hired a new Assistant Director, Nicole Page. She started in August. Please come by the office and say hello! Lots of cleaning and painting took place over the summer to get the school ready for fall. A GREAT BIG thank you to Carol West and her team Linda, Jerry and Cathy for all their hard work. The classrooms and hallways look so shiny and clean! We have begun to make playground improvements. Sand was purchased for the sandbox and a new playhouse has been ordered to replace the old playhouse that had become unsafe. We would like to thank the wonderful donor for the generous donation we received this summer to help fund more playground improvements. Together with the funds from our fall fund raiser we are making plans for more improvements this year. Fall is here and school has been in session for three weeks! It s so nice to have all the teachers and students back at school! October will be a fun & busy month with fire drills, school pictures, the beginning of Chapel and lunch bunch! You are invited to join us on Thursday and Friday, October 26 and 27 for the Preschool Halloween parade and presentations at 9:30 a.m. Guests are asked to meet on the playground. The preschoolers will come out the side door, parade (in costumes) around on the sidewalk and into the social hall where they will present a short program for your enjoyment. We will be done about 10:30 a.m. We hope you can join us! Name: Nicole Page Area of Responsibility: Assistant Director of the Weekday School atmosphere of St. Matthew's. I truly feel that everyone is genuine and loves their calling. What do you like best about working at St. Matthew s? I like the loving, caring and positive Hobbies: Spending quality time with family and exploring new places with them. Favorite Food: French Fries Favorite Movie: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Favorite book to recommend: The Help by Kathryn Stockett One thing most people don t know about me: I m pretty plain Jane. I don't like lots of spice and I always choose Vanilla Ice Cream.

7 Reflections on Summer Ministry Internship By Rachael Donnelly I thought I had already experienced all of St. Matthews, but now I really feel like I have. St. Matthews has been my second home for as long as I can remember. It s one of the main reasons I enjoy coming home. Coming back from my freshman year at VT, I was smothered with the question, how was your year? The easy answer was to just respond with, Great! Awesome! I loved it! But I have to be honest-- it wasn t smooth sailing or butterflies and rainbows for me. I did have fun but I had my many bumps in the road and felt lost. Coming home feeling kind of lost with my faith, I saw on my mom s that was up that church was looking for a summer intern. I felt excited and spontaneous. I wanted to feel reconnected. When I left my interview I was crying in my car because I was so amazed that God somehow knew exactly how to refresh me after a tough year. I prayed about it and hoped that I would get the job. God placed this opportunity in my lap for me to be reminded of this wonderful world he has created and that it was all going to be okay. As I ve gone through this summer, I ve realized what a community this church is. I walk through these doors and am greeted with a community of people who love one another. I ve realized it s because we all have one common ground and that s the love of God. Working with the youth and going to 6 flags, I recognized how friendships are developing on the commonality shared love of Jesus. Through this internship, I was able to connect my love and passion for the environment, which I really appreciated because to me a big part of my faith is the environment and the beauty of this world that God created. We read books on this topic and on other topics about Christianity and I was able to question everything and have great discussions and not feel judged. I learned a LOT just because people took the time to listen and talk with me. Listening and learning was a huge part of my journey this summer. I went on pastoral visits and got to discover how much our pastors do that we don t even know about. I really enjoyed getting to know new people on these visits and just taking the time to listen and chat with them. You never really know what someone is going through until you take the time to learn. The power of prayer was also always prevalent and provided the people we visited with visible peace. I went on an awesome trip to a nursing home where we led worship and it was an amazing experience to see that once again, faith has no age. God brought these people hope and peace and I got to be a part of it. Going to church every Sunday has been amazing and I ve learned to love to listen to the pastors sermons because somehow, whether it s just one sentence of the sermon God knows how to catch you off guard and say exactly what you need to hear. I feel comfortable going back to school because of this feeling of rejuvenation that St. Matthews has provided me. I felt good having a summer job that I got excited about. So regardless of all of my injuries that you all have witnessed, I ve had a wonderful and unexpected summer here at St. Matthews and I look forward to see where my faith directs me in my future.

8 St. Matthew s United Methodist Church 8617 Little River Turnpike Annandale, VA St. Matthew s United Methodist Church Staff Senior Pastor: Neil Hough Associate Pastor: Grace Han Associate Pastor of Senior Adult Ministries & Visitation: Bill Moberly Office Manager: Chiniza Batiste Director of Youth Ministries: Mike Fee Director of Welcoming Ministries: Julie Avera Director of Children s Ministries: Carrie Schwab Preschool Ministries Coordinator: Christine Moser Bookkeeper: Andrea Crews Finance Secretary: Jackie Dinker Director of Communications: Kim Lauer Director of Music: Nancy Cappel Assistant to the Director of Music: Genevieve Hanson Assistant Handbell Director: Tammy Freeman Organist: Carol Workman Modern Worship Leader: Susan Ely Worship Media Coordinator: Dan Burrer Office Resource Assistant Volunteer: Claire Adams Weekday School (WDS) Director: Gail Pepin-Vivian Assistant Director of WDS: Nicole Page