Tagged: “sterling”
Ordinary Time? No Way
The season after Pentecost, is the season known as Ordinary Time in the United Methodist Church. The word ordinary, according to the dictionary means with no special or distinctive features; normal. So does that mean that there is nothing special going on at Sterling UMC this summer? There is nothing distinctive? Everything is just normal? Actually […]
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Holy Week at SUMC
“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gently and riding on a donkey…” (Zechariah 9:9) The greatest time of the Christian year, the week that includes the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, begins on Palm Sunday. On that day, the Sunday […]
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Lent Sermon Series
He was not rich or educated, but was familiar with hard work. He was quick-tempered and impetuous, but possessed a passion that would change the world. He left everything to follow his teacher, yet struggled with doubt and fear. (from Simon Peter, by Adam Hamilton) Simon Peter was thirty years old, married, and had three […]
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Response From Pastor Steve Regarding the Special Session of the General Council
Dear Sterling United Methodist Church Family, On Tuesday, the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference of the United Methodist Church voted to adopt the Traditional Plan, which makes no changes to the church’s position on human sexuality. This decision affirms and strengthens the position that United Methodist Clergy do not officiate at same-sex weddings […]
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Super Sunday at Sterling UMC
This Sunday, the New England Patriots will square off against the Los Angeles Rams in Superbowl LIII at 6:30 EST. However, the Superbowl isn’t the only exciting thing happening on Sunday! The Sterling United Methodist Women will have their annual Super Bowl Pancake Breakfast from 8 AM until 12:30 PM in the church’s Gallihugh Fellowship […]
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Summer Mission Opportunities!
Sterling United Methodist Church has announced two Summer Mission Trips for this year and applications are now available! The first trip is scheduled for July 7-12 heading to the UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) Sager Brown Depot in Baldwin, Louisiana. The UMCOR Sager Brown Depot is the hub of UMCOR’s relief-supply operations. Each year, […]
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God’s Messy Family: A New Year Sermon Series
In his book, God’s Messy Family: Finding Your Place When Life Isn’t Perfect, author and pastor Jacob Armstrong takes a look at our faith lineage by focusing specifically on the messy family dynamics found in the Book of Genesis. By looking at the life stories of Abraham and Sarah, and their direct descendants – we […]
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King Street Bluegrass to Perform at Sterling UMC
Speaking about bluegrass music, bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe once characterized the genre as: “Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin’. It’s Methodist and Holiness and Baptist. It’s blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound.” Bluegrass music is referred to as a form of American roots music, an offshoot of country music that was inspired by mainly […]
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Youth Connections – What’s in a Name?
The youth program here at Sterling UMC has a new name – Youth Connections. The goal of a new name relates to the idea that a name represents what a group is about and how it should operate. So, what does this mean for our new name, Youth Connections? Why this name and what does […]
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Fall Kick Off!
The kick-off celebration Sunday at Sterling UMC has finally arrived and this Sunday, September 9 we will present our new adult and young adult Bible studies, the Deep Blue Kids Sunday School, new sessions for our youth and youth group, and new opportunities to serve. And at noon, we will celebrate with a “Fall Fiesta” […]
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SUMC Youth, Reaching New Heights
“Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people” – Philemon 1:7 The Sterling UMC Youth Program has been in a period of transition for the past year or so, but now we are getting ready to launch a new program to reach youth […]
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Welcoming Our New Staff Members
This is the time of the year when the church staff is fully engaged in planning, developing, promoting, practicing, implementing, and praying over the new programs that will begin in the next couple of weeks. Along with the lay leadership who have also invested a great deal of time and energy, everyone is working towards […]
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Acting in Service to Christ
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40 New International Version (NIV) This Sunday in worship we will learn what it is to be servants of God. What it is like to act in […]
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Preparation for the Sterling UMC Fall Programs Begin
The summer camps are over, Vacation Bible School is in the books, and the last Mission Team returned from the mission trips of 2018. It’s been a great summer of serving and filling hearts with the message of Jesus. Now as we prepare to enter into August with the new school year approaching, local mission […]
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After A Week of Serving, Our Sager Brown Mission Team Returns Home
We enjoyed one final half day of work on Friday. After yet another delicious breakfast, we all headed to the depot to work on flood buckets. As we were completing our last set of buckets, we were led in the pallet prayer. The prayer is as follows: Most gracious and loving God. We came together […]
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Sager Brown Mission Team Thursday Update
Today was our last full day at Sager Brown! The time sure has gone by fast, but we won’t be forgetting it anytime soon. As always, we started the day with a good meal in the cafeteria, then went our separate ways to work on our projects. Several of our team members helped organize a […]
Continue ReadingSager Brown Mission Team Update for Tuesday and Wednesday!
Tuesday: Tuesday was another day of hot weather, hard work, and great fellowship. A group of four went off-site to work at a senior housing complex in the morning. They cleaned two apartments and had a chance to chat with the residents at the apartments. Another group continued their work at Chez Hope, gathering materials for building and assembling shelves. The […]
Continue ReadingThe Sager Brown Mission Team Has a Productive First Day
Update from our Sager Brown Mission Team: Monday: Orientation this morning gave us background information and recent changes at UMCOR. Photos were taken of all five teams which include over 80 volunteers ranging in age from 9-86 and from five states: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Texas, Virginia. Today’s jobs included: flood bucket verification and packing, garbage […]
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Sterling UMC Member Darlene Kumler Featured in INOVA Loudoun Chaplaincy Services Newsletter
(From the Inova Loudoun Hospital Chaplaincy Services Newsletter) Volunteer Spotlight: Darlene Kumler Chaplaincy Services News Inova Loudoun Hospital On a typical Tuesday morning, Darlene Kumler packs inspirational stones into her jacket pockets and heads off to visit patients and families with her Chaplaincy partner, Don Meyer. Darlene became a chaplaincy services volunteer around November […]
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Backpack Buddies, Because Hunger Doesn’t End On Friday
The BackPack Buddies is a national program designed to provide children from low-income households with nutritious kid-friendly groceries for the weekend when free school lunches and breakfasts are not provided. School officials identify students who qualify to receive BackPack Buddies. The Sterling United Methodist Church Backpack Buddies program supports the kids at the local Rolling […]
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