For those who have experienced loss, the joy of the holiday season can often feel elusive and out of reach. As a result, MVP has regularly hosted a “Blue Christmas”' service during the Advent season to provide space for prayer, reflection, and remembrance amidst the holiday cheer. This year, we are offering a “Service for the Weary,” inspired by our Advent theme. This service will follow four movements: Gathering, The Word, Response, and Sending. Bring your grief. Bring your weariness. Bring your fatigue. And allow yourself a quiet space to reflect and draw near to God in community. The service will conclude with a simple soup supper. Please contact Pastor Donna for more information or to RSVP for soup.

Join our community for an evening filled with live jazz from Jeff Antoniuk and his students, holiday refreshments, and a warm, welcoming atmosphere. This event is all about getting into the holiday spirit, enjoying Christmas music and seasonal treats, and building connections within our wonderful neighborhood. So bring your family, friends, and neighbors to our second annual Jazz & Jingles!

MVPers will also be outside the Atrium on Massachusetts Avenue handing out hot cocoa, greeting neighbors, inviting them in, and spreading Christmas joy. Contact Minister Lee for more information.

The parking garage will be open for validation as long as cars enter between 6:30 and 7:00pm.

You are invited to join MVPers in serving dinner at Christ House, a healthcare facility in Adams Morgan for unhoused men, on Sunday, December 8. This service opportunity includes setting up for dinner, serving the food that Christ House has prepared, having conversation with the men during dinner, and cleaning up afterwards. Please contact Minister Lee to sign up to serve or to receive more information on this service opportunity.

All Young Adults (20s and 30s) are invited to join the MVP Young Adult Community on Sunday, December 8 at 5:00pm for a Young Adult Christmas Celebration with food, Christmas cheer, fun, and community. Please RSVP by Thursday, December 4 to Minister Lee. This event will be in lieu of the second-Sunday brunch.

Monday Evenings || Starting December 2 || 7:00-8:15pm

As MVP leans into a season of exploring preparation and readiness this Advent, you are invited to join the Monday Night Bible Study for an online, 4-week study based on Heaven and Earth: Advent and the Incarnation. This study will invite participants to exploreGod as one who is bringing heaven to earth and changing everything through the earth-shaking, life-transforming good news that God is coming to us. Contact Minister Lee for more information and the Zoom link.

Sunday Evenings || 6:00pm || December 1 through December 22 On Zoom

You are invited to join a special Advent small group that will explore themes related to “Feeling Through Advent.” The group will examine the mixed emotions of those who have come before us in Scripture while holding space for our own emotions during the Advent season. How can our emotions offer us deeper relationship with God, our community, and ourselves? You are invited to come as you are and lean into the ways you can use your heart to faithfully respond. For more information or the Zoom link, please contact Minister Lee.

Designed for Young Adults (20s and 30s) seeking inclusive and authentic community this group takes time to decompress before the work week, explores scripture, and includes a time of prayer. This one-week study will meet in person on Sunday, December 1 and focus on art and themes included in our 2024 Advent worship series using the spiritual practice of Visio Divina. Contact Minister Lee for more information.

Reindeer Need Snacks, Too and MVP Kids are invited to participate in a fun activity at the start of the Advent Season following worship this upcoming Sunday! Santa’s reindeer have a long night ahead of them on Christmas Eve - they will fly over 3,529 miles from the North Pole to Washington, D.C.! Help them fuel their deliveries by creating and sharing reindeer food. Gather with MVPers during coffee and conversation on December 1, 2024 at our “build your own” reindeer food bar. On Christmas Eve, leave out the food (made of with your choice of oats, carrots, chocolate, peppermints, and glitter) - Rudolph and his buddies will definitely appreciate it! Contact Minister Lee for more information.

You are invited to join the MVP community for our annual Thanksgiving celebration of blessings following worship on this Sunday, November 19. The church will provide fried chicken and drinks. You are invited to bring a large dish or two to share with the community.

The meal will take place in the Fellowship Hall after a quick reset following worship. There are opportunities to help set up and receive food before worship, serve fried chicken during the meal, and help clean up following the meal.

Are you an avid or occasional reader who enjoys discussing a book once you have read it? If so, please consider joining other MVPers who will gather on Zoom to discuss Richard Powers’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Overstory, on Tuesday, November 19 at 7:00pm. The Overstory is described on the author’s website as “a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of―and paean to―the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers’s twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside ours―vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see that world and who are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe.” Check out, purchase, or borrow a copy of the book, start reading, and RSVP to Pastor Donna for the Zoom link.

Whether you have read a dozen books about race and racism or none before, you are invited to join the MVP Racial Justice Reading Group. The group will gather next on Tuesday, September 17 from 7:00-8:15pm in space created for open and honest dialogue on Uncomfortable Conversations with A Jew by Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby.

You are invited to join MVPers in serving dinner at Christ House, a healthcare facility in Adams Morgan for unhoused men, on Sunday, November 10. This service opportunity includes setting up for dinner, serving the food that Christ House has prepared, having conversation with the men during dinner, and cleaning up afterwards. Please contact Minister Lee to sign up to serve or to receive more information on this service opportunity.

Designed for Young Adults (20s and 30s) seeking inclusive and authentic community this group takes time to decompress before the work week, explores scripture, and includes a time of prayer. Contact Minister Lee for more information.

All Young Adults (20s and 30s) are invited to join Pastor Donna, Grace, and other young adults from the MVP community for brunch on Sunday, October 13 at 12:30pm for a shared meal and time of connection. The group will depart from the church together and walk to For Five at 12:30. Please contact Pastor Donna to RSVP.

Through a grant for Young Adult ministry, MVP will provide lunch for first time guests and will invite every one else to purchase their meal.

Are you interested in serving with MVP's Shower Ministry? Shower Ministry experience includes showers, socks and underwear distribution for program participants, and hospitality space that includes coffee, tea, water and snacks. On Sunday Mornings from 7:30-10:30am volunteers set-up the Shower Ministry area, greet and welcome guests, engage in conversation with them, help distribute supplies, and ensure a welcoming and clean space for all who participate. Please contact Minister Lee to sign up to serve or to receive more information on this ministry.

You are invited to join the congregations of Asbury UMC, Capitol Hill UMC, Dumbarton UMC, Foundry UMC, and Mount Vernon Place UMC for a communal worship service that will include music, scripture, a brief message, holy communion, prayer, and fellowship on Wednesday, November 6 at 6:45pm at Mount Vernon Place UMC (900 Massachusetts Avenue NW).

MVP’s parking garage will be available for free, validated parking starting at 6:30pm. If you would like more information about this service of worship, please contact Pastor Donna.

You may worship with us in-person in the Fellowship Hall or on: Facebook Live,  YouTube, or Vimeo.

How do I get into the building?

Atrium Entrance from Massachusetts Ave. NW. – This entrance is secured at all times. To enter, press the button to the left of the door and our hospitality team will help you into the building. Once inside our Hospitality Team will help guide you, inviting you to descend one flight of stairs and to then turn right into the event space. If you require accessible entry into the building, please come to the K Street entrance into the Atrium.

Parking Garage – entrance on 10th St. NW – Individuals coming to this event may park beneath the 901 K Street office building that is connected to the historic church building. Free validated parking is available starting at 6:30pm, please note that tickets timestamped before 6:30pm cannot be validated and the vehicle entrance to the parking garage closes promptly at 7:00pm. The parking entrance is located off 10th Street NW just passed the edge of the Henley Park Hotel. Parking is available on the B3 and B4 levels of the garage. Please bring your parking ticket inside to be validated. Limited parking may also be found along Massachusetts Avenue and K Street if you prefer to park on the street.

You are invited to join MVPers and others from our community for a screening of the film Join or Die followed by a brief conversation with Directors Pete Davis and Rebecca Davis on Wednesday, October 16. Doors and access to the church’s parking garage for free validation will open at 6:30pm. The film will begin promptly at 6:45pm. The conversation will follow from 8:15 to 8:45pm.

 Join or Die is a film about why you should join a club — and why the fate of America depends on it. In this feature documentary, follow the half-century story of America's civic unraveling through the journey of legendary social scientist Robert Putnam, whose groundbreaking "Bowling Alone" research into America's decades-long decline in community connections could hold the answers to our democracy's present crisis. Flanked by influential fans and scholars — from Hillary Clinton, Pete Buttigieg, and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to Eddie Glaude Jr., Raj Chetty, and Priya Parker — as well as inspiring groups building community in neighborhoods across the country, join Bob as he explores three urgent civic questions: What makes democracy work? Why is American democracy in crisis? And, most importantly... What can we do about it?

Entrance is free. Please contact Pastor Donna for more information or with with any questions.

How do I get into the building?

Atrium Entrance from Massachusetts Ave. NW. – This entrance is secured at all times. To enter, press the button to the left of the door and our hospitality team will help you into the building. Once inside our Hospitality Team will help guide you, inviting you to descend one flight of stairs and to then turn right into the event space. If you require accessible entry into the building, please come to the K Street entrance into the Atrium.

Parking Garage – entrance on 10th St. NW – Individuals coming to this event may park beneath the 901 K Street office building that is connected to the historic church building. Free validated parking is available starting at 6:30pm, please note that tickets timestamped before 6:30pm cannot be validated and the vehicle entrance to the parking garage closes promptly at 7:00pm. The parking entrance is located off 10th Street NW just passed the edge of the Henley Park Hotel. Parking is available on the B3 and B4 levels of the garage. Please bring your parking ticket inside to be validated. Limited parking may also be found along Massachusetts Avenue and K Street if you prefer to park on the street.

You are invited to join MVPers in serving dinner at Christ House, a healthcare facility in Adams Morgan for unhoused men, on Sunday, October 13. This service opportunity includes setting up for dinner, serving the food that Christ House has prepared, having conversation with the men during dinner, and cleaning up afterwards. Please SIGN-UP to serve today

All Young Adults (20s and 30s) are invited to join Pastor Donna, Minister Lee, and other young adults from the MVP community for brunch on Sunday, October 13 at 12:30pm for a shared meal and time of connection. The group will depart from the church together and walk to a nearby restaurant. Please contact Minister Lee to RSVP.

Bring your pets and animal friends and join us for MVP's Annual Blessing of the Animals on this Sunday, October 6 at 4:00pm, honoring the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and the environment. You are invited to bring your beloved pets and gather in front of the church on the 9th Street Steps and Plaza. Anything that moves will be blessed!

MVP Youth Sunday School will continue on Sunday, September 22 for young people in 6th through 12th grade, who are invited to join as we seek to grow together through this regular Sunday School class. If you, or young people in your household, are interested in participating in Youth Sunday School, please contact Minister Lee for more information.

Whether you have read a dozen books about race and racism or none before, you are invited to join the MVP Racial Justice Reading Group. The group will gather next on Tuesday, September 17 from 7:00-8:15pm in space created for open and honest dialogue on Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times by Otis Moss III. Please contact Caroline A-G. for more information and the Zoom link.

Starting this Sunday, MVP is launching a *NEW* Sunday Small Group for Adults of all ages. This in-person study will use a curriculum called "Wired Word" which is designed to ignite a lively conversation based on scripture and a topic found in the news that week, perhaps even something occurring that day. The hope is for all participants to explore how this intersection might inform one's daily life and nurture one's faith. If you would like more information or are interested in participating in this group please contact Minister Lee to be connected with the group leaders Shawn & Sam. This group will meet in classroom B103 on the B1 Level.

Have you been longing to make a meaningful impact at MVP? Do you sometimes sing in the shower with a voice that could contribute something to our choir on Sunday mornings? The MVP Choir has a place for you!

Rehearsals are currently held on Sunday Mornings at 9:45am in the Sanctuary. The choir plays a critical role in bringing energy and movement to worship each week, and would love to have you! Contact Timothy to let him know you plan to join or for more information.

Our Unhoused Neighbors and those in need of a shower are invited to MVP’s NEW Shower Ministry on Sunday Mornings from 8:00-10:00am which will include showers, socks and underwear distribution, and hospitality space for our program participants that includes coffee, tea, water and snacks. Capacity is limited. First come, first served.

MVP’s NEW Shower Ministry launched on Sunday, February 4 and the guest experience includes showers, socks and underwear distribution for program participants, and hospitality space for our program participants that includes coffee, tea, water and snacks.

Are you interested in SERVING with this ministry? Please complete the Volunteer Interest Form and one of our leaders will be in touch to ensure that you are trained and equipped to serve with this ministry.

Are you an avid or occasional reader who enjoys discussing a book once you have read it? If so, please consider joining other MVPers who will gather on Zoom to discuss Gabrielle Zevin’s exhilarating novel, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow on Tuesday, August 27 at 7:00pm. Nevin’s delightfully crafted book is about friendship, love, creativity, success, and mortality with plenty of lessons to glean throughout. Check out your copy, start reading, and RSVP by email with Pastor Donna for the Zoom link.

“A Disciple’s Path,” a six-week study based on a Wesleyan understanding of discipleship that explores what it means to grow in our faith through prayer, worship and small groups, financial generosity, using our gifts in service, and sharing our faith with others will start on Monday, July 22 and continue to meet weekly from 6:45pm – 8:00pm through August 26. This course will gather in person in the Office Suite Conference Room with the possibility of moving a couple of the meetings to Zoom. The class is perfect for people who are new to the church, faith, or just curious about how to tangibly grow in their relationship with Christ and the church. Workbooks are $10 each. Please RSVP with Pastor Donna.

Are you new to MVP and ready to learn more about our congregation—where we have been, where we are, where we sense God is leading us? Would you like to know more about our different ministries and how you can get involved? Are you curious about this big building and want to know what all is in it or how it came about? Or maybe you simply want to meet other new people at MVP? You’re invited to join Pastor Donna and Minister Lee for “Get Connected with MVP” on Sunday, July 21 at 12:30 in the Office Suite Conference Room. Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP to Pastor Donna before Thursday, July 18. 

You are invited to join MVPers in serving dinner at Christ House, a healthcare facility in Adams Morgan for unhoused men, on Sunday, July 14 This service opportunity includes setting up for dinner, serving the food that Christ House has prepared, having conversation with the men during dinner, and cleaning up afterwards. Please SIGN-UP to serve today.

Do you remember the first time you came to MVP? How did you feel when you first walked through our doors? What made you feel welcome? What would have been more helpful to you? Will you help welcome people walking into MVP for the first time—and those who have been here dozens of times? 

A lunch is planned to gather current and new greeters on Sunday, July 14 following worship. Whether you’ve greeted often or this is a new opportunity to make a difference, we’d love to see you there. MVP is constantly striving to live into our core value of providing authentic, inclusive community. We need people willing to serve in key hospitality roles to ensure radical hospitality is extended each time we gather. 

If you’re interested in learning more about being a greeter and talking through some commonly asked questions greeters receive, come join this training! Pastor Donna and greeter coordinator Caroline Barrow will be there. To RSVP, please email Pastor Donna before Thursday, July 11, so that food can be ordered.