Join us for a special worship service in which we will tell our church's story, name specific examples of profound faithfulness, and be inspired to become the fullest expression of Jesus' love and light for the decades to come. Worship will include special music, heartfelt testimony, and a sermon inspired by what Methodist historian Ashley Boggan calls, "Wesleyan Vile-Tality," and defines as "a willingness to look beyond today's acceptable practices, standards, and norms and bend the rules in order to ensure that more and more persons can be included within the kin-dom of God."

A picnic lunch with outdoor games will follow on the lawn of the church. The church will provide sandwiches, chips, cake, and drinks. Members are invited to bring their favorite cookies to share. RSVPs are requested by Wednesday, June 11 for the meal so an appropriate amount of food can be ordered. If you want to help with the meal, please contact Patrick. Please RSVP by sending a message to Church Office. You will not want to miss this special celebration!!

You are invited to participate in a hike through Rock Creek Park followed by lunch. Hikers will meet Minister Lee at 10:00am near the Woodley Park Metro and explore for two hours before sharing lunch together. Everyone is invited to bring a picnic lunch and water bottle. Please RSVP to Minister Lee by Thursday, June 12 to receive the specific meeting location. Please note that this event is being held in lieu of the evening dance which is being postponed due to a large event being planned in the city on this night.

You are invited to a powerful act of public faith: A Pentecost Witness for Justice and a Moral Budget taking place in the morning on Tuesday, June 10th at the U.S. Capitol to stand for justice and a moral budget that follows the explicit teachings of Jesus regarding our responsibility to the poor, the sick, the refugees and the prisoners. If you would like to join a group of MVPers participating, please contact Minister Lee for more information.

Starting on Monday, June 9, you are invited to join the Monday Night Bible Study for an online, summer study exploring Made for Goodness: And Why This Makes All the Difference by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu. This study will move through their teaching and firm conviction that that God has made us for goodness, and when we simply start walking in the direction of this calling, God is there to meet us, encourage us, embrace us. Please contact Minister Lee for more information or for the Zoom link.

Join MVPers in serving dinner at Christ House, a healthcare facility in Adams Morgan for unhoused men, on Sunday, June 8 from 5:30-7:00pm. This service opportunity includes setting up for dinner, serving the food that Christ House has prepared, sharing conversation with the men during dinner, and cleaning up afterwards. Please contact Minister Lee for more information.

All Young Adults (20s and 30s) are invited to join other young adults from the MVP community for brunch and a time of connection on Sunday, June 8. The group will depart from the church together and walk to For Five at 12:30pm. Please contact Minister Lee to RSVP. Through a grant for Young Adult ministry, MVP will provide lunch for first time guests and invites others to purchase their meal.

As DC prepares to host World Pride in June, you are invited to make plans to join MVPers in living out our values of "Proclaiming Belovedness" and "Creating Authentic & Inclusive Community" with a witness in the 2025 Capital Pride Parade on Saturday, June 7.

If you would like to gather with other United Methodists from the DMV along the route to watch the parade please contact Minister Lee for more information about where to meet the group.

Capital UMC Pride has also created a NEW T-shirt AVAILABLE HERE, if you would like to purchase one. All who are meeting up with the group of other United Methodists are encouraged to purchase one.

Gather with Rev. William Barber and the Repairers of the Breach movement along with other MVPers and people of moral conscience in a powerful stand of prayer and moral resistance against injustice and oppression at 11:00am on Monday, June 2. Grounded in Micah 6:8 and the prophetic traditions of justice and mercy, the gathered community will stand together to say "No" to oppression and "Yes" to love, justice, and the sacred dignity of all. The group will gather at at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church (301 A Street SE) beginning at 9:00am for a moral overview and grounding, and then at 10:45am will transition over to the Supreme Court. SIGN-UP now and contact Pastor Donna for more information.

MVP Youth (grades 6 through 12) are invited to gather with youth from other United Methodist churches in DC on Sunday, June 1 from 4:30-6:00pm for a time of fellowship, food, games, and faith formation. This time will continue to build on the content from the recent IGNITE youth conference and will be hosted at Mount Vernon Place in the Fellowship Hall. 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 on Tuesday, April 29 from 7:00-8:15pm in space created for open and honest dialogue on Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church by Eliza Griswold. Please contact the Church Office for more information and the Zoom link.

Please make plans to join our community following worship on April 20 for the Annual MVP Easter Potluck and Children's Easter Egg Hunt!

The Children's Easter Egg Hunt will begin at 12:45pm and Children are invited to bring a basket or bag in which to place their gathered eggs. Volunteers are needed to hide our Easter Eggs at 12:30pm and to supervise the experience.

The potluck will commence following worship. MVP will provide fried chicken, drinks, and fun for all ages! You are invited to bring a side dish and/or desserts to share.

Easter our biggest celebration of the year, and we are eager to welcome you and your friends as we proclaim how Christ is risen, paving the way for a new life in which despair, fear, temptation, injustice, shame, and even death have lost their power.

Make plans to join us in the sanctuary at 11:00am or online through any of these platforms: 

Facebook Live

Live Stream 

YouTube

Good Friday takes us to the cross where we believe Jesus was crucified.

Our community will then gather at 6:45pm in our sanctuary where we will reflect on the Stations of the Cross and what they have to teach us today.

Validated parking is available in the garage starting at 6:30pm.

As you feel led, you are also invited to worship with our neighbors at Asbury UMC for their Annual Seven Last Words of Christ Worship Service from 12:00-3:00pm on Friday, March 29.

On Maundy Thursday we remember Jesus and his disciples in the upper room where they shared the Last Supper and Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. Our worship this Thursday evening will include the sacrament of communion and the option to have your feet or hands washed as an act of remembrance and blessing.

Validated parking is available in the garage starting at 6:30pm.

Join MVPers in serving dinner at Christ House, a healthcare facility in Adams Morgan for unhoused men, on Sunday, April 14 from 5:30-7:00pm. This service opportunity includes setting up for dinner, serving the food that Christ House has prepared, sharing 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 and other young adults from the MVP community for brunch and a time of connection this Sunday, April 14. The group will depart from the church together and walk to For Five at 12:30pm. Please contact Minister Lee to RSVP. Through a grant for Young Adult ministry, MVP will provide lunch for first time guests and invites others to purchase their meal.

Holy Week begins this Sunday as we remember Jesus arriving in the city of Jerusalem, the place where he has told his disciples he will be mocked, flogged, and crucified. While "the crowds" cheered him on, "the entire city" was in turmoil as people inquired about the person who came riding in on the back of a donkey and a colt. The entrance is what Stanley Hauerwas calls "an unmistakable political act." The entrance symbolizes the clash of two very different kinds of power. One is marked by humility, non-violence, and compassion for all. The other is marked by dominance, weapons, and wealth for a select few. What side would you have chosen if you were in Jerusalem that day? What side have you chosen today? While it might be easy to shout "Hosanna" at the start of the week, are we willing to pay the price that comes with following Jesus all the way to the cross?

Worship will include the distribution of palms and our children participating in a Palm Parade during the opening hymn.

Calling all Youth (in grades 6 through 12)—On Sunday, April 6 following worship, MVP Youth are invited to gather for food and fellowship before stuffing Easter eggs with a variety of fun candies and toys for the Annual Children's Easter Egg Hunt scheduled to follow worship on Easter Sunday. Contact Minister Lee for more information and to RSVP.

The Central Methodist Mission in Cape Town, South Africa used its soaring spire and strategic location on one of the city's iconic squares to regularly speak truth to power through a series of yellow banners that placarded a Jesus-shaped response to a topical public issue of the day. Writing in The Bell, Banners, & Blasphemy, the church's former pastor, Rev. Alan Storey, tells the story of how his former, small, inner-city congregation dared to ask, "How could we use our strategic geographical position to speak a word of justice not only to the city and beyond, but also to the Christian church we are part of? How could we ring out on crucial matters of justice and mercy? How could we highlight the vulnerability of the vulnerable and expose the abuses by the powerful? How could we shake the church's foundations and the power structures of society?"

You're invited to a public lecture in the Fellowship Hall on Tuesday, April 1 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm in which Alan will share Central Methodist Mission's story, provoking people to ponder how they, too, might proclaim, "Thus says the Lord..." Contact Pastor Donna for more information.

MVP's Shower Ministry invites all current volunteers, those who want to get back into serving, or those who are interested in serving for the first time to join the Shower Ministry Reorientation Training on Sunday, March 16 from 12:30-3:00pm.

This reorientation is designed to help standardize the experience for guests week to week through sharing what we have learned over the past year of operation, to offer updates on the ministry and changes that have been made, and to continue to equip volunteers to serve by being trained in best practices and policies for service with this ministry.

An RSVP is required for the provided lunch portion of the training. Please RSVP no later than Wednesday, March 12 with Shower Ministry Co-Coordinators Sarah & Anna.

Starting on Monday, March 10, you are invited to join the Monday Night Bible Study for an online, 6-week study exploring Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner's Guide to Holy Week by Dr. Amy-Jill Levine. Rooted in the notion that Jesus’ final days were full of risk—where every move he made was filled with anticipation, danger, and the potential for great loss or great reward, this study explores the biblical texts surrounding the Passion story, inviting participants to ponder the ethical and spiritual questions raised within these stories. Exploring Jesus' risks to reputation, of righteous anger, of challenge, of rejection, of loss of friends, and of temptation—participants will be provoked to ponder how faithfulness often calls us to lean into risk, rather than shirk away from it. Please contact Minister Lee for more information or the Zoom link.

Join MVPers in serving dinner at Christ House, a healthcare facility in Adams Morgan for unhoused men, on Sunday, March 9 from 5:30-7:00pm. This service opportunity includes setting up for dinner, serving the food that Christ House has prepared, sharing 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 and other young adults from the MVP community for brunch and a time of connection this Sunday, March 9. The group will depart from the church together and walk to For Five at 12:30pm. Please contact Pastor Donna to RSVP. Through a grant for Young Adult ministry, MVP will provide lunch for first time guests and invites others to purchase their meal.

Children between the ages of 4 and 10 are invited to join the Children's Choir to continue rehearsing music that they will sing in worship on Easter Sunday. If the children in your household would like to participate in the Children’s Choir, please have them come to the Children's Ministry area by 10:30am each Sunday morning. To learn more about this opportunity please contact Minister Lee for more information.

Using the companion Lenten devotional for our Lenten worship series, Everything In Between: Meeting God in the Midst of Extremes, this study will engage with poetry, art, scripture, and theological reflection as participants seek to deepen their faith. Starting on Sunday, March 9 (from 10:00-10:45am) and continuing through the Sundays in Lent, you are invited to join this in-person study in the Office Suite Conference Room and journey through Lent in community. Please contact Minister Lee to RSVP or for more information.

The season of Lent often begins with Christians contemplating what they might give up for Lent. Some people are then led to give up food or drink with coffee, soda, alcohol, chocolate, and fast food topping the lists of most popular items to let go of in this sacred season. Others seek to give up things that zap resources that could be more faithfully invested as shopping is swapped with wearing what you have and screen time exchanged for more prayer. While these efforts can be significant, more people testify to the power of taking on a new spiritual discipline, literally practicing our faith. Please join us on Ash Wednesday as we intentionally return to God and begin to ponder how we might see, hear, taste, feel, and touch God in our everyday lives. 

You are invited to be on the lookout for a special Lenten email with more information about Lenten services and activities next week and to make a plan to join us for Ash Wednesday Worship on Wednesday, March 5 at 6:45pm, in-person or online: (Facebook Live; Live Stream; YouTube)

Mark your calendars for a pancake brunch following worship on Sunday, March 2—the final Sunday before the season of Lent begins! You are invited to bring toppings of your choice to share, such as syrup, fruit, whipped cream, butter, or other creative toppings. This pancake brunch is being hosted by MVP's Ministry Table and will give you the opportunity to meet Ministry Table members and learn about various Ministry Table teams. If you are willing to help cook and serve pancakes, lend a griddle, or support this opportunity to create authentic and inclusive community, please contact Pastor Donna by Thursday, February 20.

The 175th Anniversary Planning Committee is delighted to welcome Rev. Laura Kigweba, Director of Grassroots Organizing at the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church, as our preacher and workshop leader next Sunday, February 23. During the workshop, starting at 12:30pm, you will have the opportunity to explore the transformative power of authentic relationships in creating meaningful change. Through collaborative tools like storytelling and relational meeting, participants will deepen connections and be inspired by shared values and faith to build trust, unity, and collective action to address some of the pressing challenges of the day. Please contact Pastor Donna to RSVP no later than Friday, February 21 to be included in the count for a simple lunch.

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, February 11 from 7:00-8:15pm in space created for open and honest dialogue on How to End Christian Nationalism by Amanda Tyler. Please contact the Church Office for more information and the Zoom link.