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Courageously living and sharing God's unconditional love every day, with everyone, everywhere. GIVE TO ALDERSGATE UMC Legacy Giving to Aldersgate UMC For where your heart is, there your treasure will be also. Matthew 6:21 Honor the generations that have built Aldersgate UMC and bless the generations to come by including the church in your estate plan. How Can I Make a Legacy Gift? Include Aldersgate United Methodist Church in your will. ~~~ Name Aldersgate United Methodist Church as a beneficiary of all or a portion of your retirement assets, donor-advised fund, or life insurance policy. ~~~ Consider gifts that provide income for you for the rest of your that will ultimately support the ministry of the church. Your financial advisor can tell you about income-producing gifts for Aldersgate UMC. ~~~ Consider making your gift unrestricted so that the church can use your gift where it is most needed at the time it is received. ~~~ You may designate your gift for unrestricted endowment, in which case only the interest will be expended in the future and that interest may be used wherever the need is greatest at the time as determined by the trustees. ~~~ Donate assets from an IRA to Aldersgate United Methodist Church. If retirement assets are given to Aldersgate United Methodist Church, the assets are not subject to payment of taxes and the entire asset would go to the church. Retirement funds designated for your heirs may be subject to income tax if the funds were not taxed previously and only a portion of the assets would go to your heirs. Designating assets other than retirement funds to heirs and designating IRA funds to Aldersgate UMC are both ways to maximize your giving to both the church and your heirs. Disclaimer Aldersgate United Methodist Church does not provide financial or tax advice. You should consult with your personal financial advisor before making any gift of this type. Legacy Gift Intent Form Suggested Wording for Bequest Informing the Endowment Committee, the Trustees, or one of the pastors of such a Legacy Gift intent would be appreciated so that you can be thanked during your lifetime, and so that any restrictions or questions about your gift may be addressed to make sure your gift will be used as you intended it. You may choose to be anonymous, or you may decide to allow Aldersgate United Methodist Church to list you as a member of the Legacy Circle. By acknowledging your intent to give, you may be encouraging others to follow your example and make a provision for Aldersgate in their will or estate plan.

< Back Bailey Johnson Co-Director of Student Ministries Email: youth@aldersgate.net Phone:

Courageously living and sharing God's unconditional love every day, with everyone, everywhere. NURSERY Your children are as important to us as they are to you (well, almost). That’s why we provide a safe, loving, Christian environment for your babies and toddlers ages 3 and under while you are at worship. The Nursery is available during all Sunday morning worship services in rooms 122 and 123. All staff members have had background checks, CPR training, and follow CDC safety guidelines. For more information, please contact our Director of Child Care, Corey Bales . We hope to see you this Sunday!

Courageously living and sharing God's unconditional love every day, with everyone, everywhere. SCOUTS AT ALDERSGATE UMC BSA TROOP 996 Troop 996 is an active Scouts BSA Troop with over 40 Scouts. Troop 996 was chartered in 1961 by the Aldersgate United Methodist Church and has been providing boys with opportunities to learn and grow for over 60 years. We're always happy to welcome new members at any level of Scouting and at any time during the year. For more information about Troop 996, visit https://sites.google.com/view/t996website or contact BSA Troop 996 at troop996.info@gmail.com . “A week of camp life is worth six months of theoretical teaching in the meeting room.” Lord Robert Baden-Powell, Founder of Scouting Troop 996 Spring Mulch Sale Submit online orders through Sunday, March 30th. Multiple kinds of mulch available in 2 cu ft and 3 cu ft bags Pick-up at Aldersgate UMC on Saturday, April 5th Orders of 5+ mulch bags include free delivery on April 5th to the following zip codes: 22306, 22307, 22308, 22309, 22310 Bulk mulch available with a minimum purchase of 7 yards ($24 and $34 per yd plus $105 delivery fee) Order Mulch Online Troop 996 Holiday Wreath and Evergreen Gifts Sale HAPPY HOLIDAYS! ***The last day to order is December 6th*** Troop 996's annual wreath and evergreen gift sale is underway, and we're hoping you can support us! Help by purchasing a beautiful fresh wreath, centerpiece, and/or tabletop Christmas tree. $8.00 is donated to our troop per item sold! The holiday evergreens you purchase for yourself, family, and friends will be delivered via FedEx in a festive carton with your personalized message. The quality of the products is amazing, and shipping to any location in the continental United States is included. Thank you in advance for your help supporting Troop 996. We hope you have a great holiday season! Order Greens Online Troop 996 Calendar of Events Troop 996 meets weekly on Sunday nights at 7:00PM and also has a monthly event based on the annual plan developed in August by the scouts, the Senior Patrol Leader, and input from the Scoutmaster. Troop 996 participates in monthly events that include Leadership Training, local Camporees, Scouting for Food, our Annual Flag Retirement Ceremony at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, Antietam National Battlefield Memorial Illumination, and Wreaths Across America at the Alexandria National Cemetery. Troop 996 also participates in summer activities including high adventure camps such as Philmont, Northern Tier, and Sea Base, and closer to home camps including Goshen, Virginia, Camp Rodney, Maryland, and Summit, West Virginia. On a few occasions, the troop has also ventured to locations like Norfolk, West Point, and New York City.

Courageously living and sharing God's unconditional love every day, with everyone, everywhere. MUSIC AT ALDERSGATE Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Psalm 100:1 At Aldersgate UMC, we believe that music is a primary way in which we experience God, and that leading others musically is, itself, a way we grow in our faith. If you would like to participate in a musical group or choir, the congregation would love to have you! Please contact the leader of each group for more information on how to join. Journeys Band Wesley Choir Wesley Ringers Youth Band Children's Choir Wesley Choir The Wesley Choir provides music for the 11:00am Traditional Worship Service on Sunday mornings as well as other special events throughout the year. The choir meets for rehearsal on Wednesday evenings from 7:00pm - 8:30pm in the Music Room (room 104). Our meeting time includes fellowship, vocal warmups, and rehearsal of upcoming anthems. All singers are welcome! No music reading experience required. For more information, please contact the Director of Adult Choirs and Handbells (musicdirector@aldersgate.net ). Children's Choir Calling all young musicians! Discover the joy of music through Children's Choir. At Aldersgate UMC, we believe in nurturing young voices and fostering a lifelong love of church music. All children are welcome! Who : Students in kindergarten through 6th grade Where : Day School Music Room (Room 126) -- Enter at Door #4 When : Every Tuesday from 4:15pm - 4:50pm What to Expect: Fun and Engaging Rehearsals filled with laughter, learning and music-making. An Inclusive and Supportive Environment for building friendships with like-minded kids who share an interest in music and where every child’s voice will be celebrated. Diverse Repertoire where we explore a wide range of musical genres, from traditional hymns to contemporary songs. Performances throughout the year during church services, special events, and holiday celebrations. For more information, please contact Ashley Carignan, Children's Choir Director ( childrenschoir@aldersgate.net ). Aldersgate Youth Band For more information, please contact Andreas Barrett (andreas@aldersgate.net ). Who : Students in grades 7-12 Where : Church Sanctuary When : Sundays from 6:30 pm - 7:30pm (bi-weekly) The Aldersgate Youth Band is open to all youth in grades 7-12. Our mission is to deepen our faith and worship experience through music. Do you play an instrument or sing in choir at school? We'd love to have you be a part of our music family! Journeys Worship Band Vocalists and rhythm combo. Supports the 9:30am Contemporary Worship Service on Sunday mornings. Journeys rehearses Tuesday evenings from 7:00pm - 8:00pm and Sunday mornings at 8:30am in the Sanctuary. For more information, please contact Andreas Barrett, Worship Leader ( andreas@aldersgate.net ) . Wesley Ringers For more information, please contact the Director of Adult Choirs and Handbells (musicdirector@aldersgate.net ). The Wesley Ringers provide music once a month for the 11:00am Traditional Worship Service, as well as at other special events throughout the year. Wesley Ringers rehearse on Monday evenings from 6:30pm - 7:30pm in room 118. Adults and youth in grades 7-12 are invited to join. No experience is needed.

< Back Beth Bachmore Aldersgate Day School Director Email: bbachmore@aldersgate.net Phone:

Courageously living and sharing God's unconditional love every day, with everyone, everywhere. ALDERSGATE MENTOR PROGRAM It can be hard to adjust to a new area and a new church. The Aldersgate mentorship program is designed to help new members meet people and build authentic relationships, find a ministry area or small group that matches their talents and interests and to encourage a deeper connection to Jesus. Mentor Program Information If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please fill out the survey, below, and a member of the Aldersgate Connect Team will be in touch with you. If you have questions or require assistance, please contact JD Driscoll , Co-Lead of the Aldersgate Connect Team. Aldersgate New Member Form Please complete this form if you are interested in becoming a member of Aldersgate UMC. Adult Family Member #1 First Name Middle Name Last Name Preferred Name Title Title Title (if Other) Suffix Suffix Suffix (if Other) Gender Gender Birth Date * required Relationship Status Relationship Status Date of Marriage Phone Number (Primary) Additional Phone Number #1 Additional Phone Number #2 Primary Phone No. Type * Home Mobile Work Additional Phone No. #1 Type Home Mobile Work Additional Phone No. #2 Type Home Mobile Work Preferred Email Additional Email Occupation Have you been Baptized? * Yes No Baptism Date (if known) Joining By: Choose an option Name of Previous Church Address of Previous Church Add AnotherAdult Family Member Adult Family Member #2 Delete 2nd Adult First Name Middle Name Last Name Preferred Name Title Title Title (if Other) Suffix Suffix Suffix (if Other) Gender Gender Birth Date Relationship Status Relationship Status Date of Marriage Phone Number (Primary) Additional Phone Number #1 Additional Phone Number #2 Primary Phone No. Type Home Mobile Work Additional Phone No. #1 Type Home Mobile Work Additional Phone No. #2 Type Home Mobile Work Preferred Email Additional Email Occupation Have you been Baptized? Yes No Baptism Date (if known) Joining By: Choose an option Name of Previous Church Address of Previous Church SUBMIT Thanks for submitting!

< Back Andreas Barrett Worship Leader & Co-Director of Student Ministries Email: abarrett@aldersgate.net Phone: (703) 765-6555 x609

Sign up to help serve communion on the 1st Sunday of the month. < Back Communion Servers Sign up to help serve communion on the 1st Sunday of the month. Communion Servers assist in serving the elements on the 1st Sunday of each month and at Christmas, Easter, and Holy days. Servers are stationed at the four corners of the sanctuary and serve prepared elements. Click Here to Sign-Up Please Contact Steve Larkin at jstephenlarkin@gmail.com for more information. Communion Servers assist in serving the elements on the 1st Sunday of each month and at Christmas, Easter, and Holy days. Servers are stationed at the four corners of the sanctuary and serve prepared elements. Click Here to Sign-Up Please Contact Steve Larkin at jstephenlarkin@gmail.com for more information. Previous Next

< Back Judy Jurkowski Wellness Coordinator & Director of Congregational Care Email: jjurkowski@aldersgate.net Phone: (703) 765-6555 x626

Sending people out as disciples to engage others. Ministries/strategies that mentor people as they discover and live into their calling and spiritual gifts; helping others in their discipleship journey, caring for one another, serving others, and seeing to engage with the community. SEND MINISTRIES SEND SEND SEND SEND Sending People out as Disciples Sending People out as Disciples Sending People out as Disciples Sending People out as Disciples to Engage Others to Engage Others to Engage Others to Engage Others Ministries/Strategies that mentor people as they discover and live into their calling and spiritual gifts; helping others in their discipleship journey, caring for one another, serving others, and seeking to Engage . Ministry Areas Missions, Alternative Giving, Mondloch House, Food Collection, Hypothermia Shelter, Phoenix Rising, Rising Hope, Serve Sunday, UMM, UWF, Woodlawn Partnership, Be the Good, etc. Learn more about the local, national, and international missions we support. Local Missions & Outreach National & International Missions To learn more about the Send Ministries at Aldersgate UMC, please contact our Send Team at send@aldersgate.net . At Aldersgate we work in partnership with non-profit organizations locally, nationally, and globally to feed the hungry, fight homelessness, and empower children and women to break the cycle of dependency and transform their lives for themselves. We are committed to leading new generations into a greater life of generosity and service in Jesus’s name. Together, our church serves thousands of hours per year for our outreach partners in Alexandria and Washington, D.C. Several times a year, Aldersgate sends volunteer teams to the Highlands of Guatemala and to the White Mountain Apache Reservation in Arizona. Thanks to the generosity of our members, we also operate an endowment to help those in crisis and get families out of homelessness. If you are in crisis, or know someone who is, please call the church office at 703-765-6555 for information on the Not Too Far From Here fund. When you give to Aldersgate Church, a tithe of your giving goes directly to support outreach efforts locally, nationally, and globally.

Courageously living and sharing God's unconditional love every day, with everyone, everywhere. GENERAL CONFERENCE 2024 After a four-year delay, the 2020 General Conference of the United Methodist Church will take place April 23rd - May 3rd, 2024, in Charlotte, NC. As stated in a UM News explanation of General Conference , “The United Methodist Church has no pope. But it does have a General Conference — the only body that can set official policy and speak for the international denomination. General Conference brings together lay and clergy delegates from four continents whose decisions will affect how millions of United Methodists do church for years to come." General Conference typically gathers every four years. General Conference was scheduled to meet in 2020. However, the global COVID pandemic resulted in multiple postponements of the 2020 General Conference. When the General Conference meets this April, it will have been eight years since our primary denominational governing body came together. Since the last meeting in 2016, the denomination has seen a quarter of its U.S. churches depart under a disaffiliation policy that began in 2019 and expired at the end of 2023. General Conference 2024 will determine what happens next in the United Methodist Church. In order to prepare our Aldersgate UMC family for the Town Hall meeting that will occur on May 19th following the 2024 General Conference, we are providing information and links to resources that have been compiled and vetted by the pastors, staff, and Equip ministries team. The following are resources that we believe provide accurate information about the upcoming General Conference. The Northern Virginia District invites you to pray for the upcoming General Conference. Each day from April 1- May 5 we offer the name of a person or persons (beginning with each VAUMC delegate) as well as a theme or idea to help focus your prayers. General Conference Prayer Calendar Post General Conference Panel Discussion The Virginia Conference held a post-General Conference Zoom webinar on Thursday, May 9th, at 7pm. The panel included Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson; Rev. Lindsey Baynham Freeman, head of the Virginia delegation; and delegates Rev. Mark Ogren, Marshall Bailey, and Rev. Dr. Jonathan Page. You can watch the webinar on the Virginia Conference YouTube Channel. Watch the Recorded Post-General Conference Webinar Due to the large volume of questions received during the webinar, a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) was created by the Virginia Conference Connectional Ministries Office. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) It is important to note that the deadline for disaffiliation has passed. Aldersgate UMC will not be considering disaffiliation in our Town Hall meeting. At this time, there is nothing to vote or decide upon regarding Aldersgate UMC's status until more information is received after General Conference. ALDERSGATE UMC'S PLAN April 14th, 21st, & 28th: We will offer a three-part sermon series on John Wesley's "Three Simple Rules". We invite you to read the book (available on Amazon and Cokesbury ) and follow along in prayer. April 17th: Clergy pre-brief for General Conference offered by our district leadership. Pastor Randy and Pastor Jon will participate in this. April 23 – May 3, 2024: The 2024 General Conference (also still being called the “2020 General Conference”) will take place in Charlotte, NC, to further discuss and vote on plans to address the issues under debate for the past eight years. May 8th: Following General Conference, there will be a debrief for all laity and clergy. This will be held via Zoom. Information on how to participate in this will be provided to the congregation when we receive it. May 19th: We will hold a Town Hall at to discuss what is next for Aldersgate UMC following the 2024 General Conference. More information on this Town Hall meeting will be provided as it comes together. This will be open to the entire congregation. HOW DID WE GET HERE? A TIMELINE May 2016: Divisions among delegates at the 2016 General Conference were apparent in regard to church teachings on marriage and human sexuality. A plan was approved to table all legislative action on human sexuality. The Council of Bishops was empowered to form a commission to study the divisions in the denomination and to come up with a plan. 2017 – 2018: Three plans emerged from the Commission on the Way Forward . The Connectional Conference Plan recommended re-organizing the church into two separate but connected entities. The One Church Plan (endorsed by the Council of Bishops) would allow conferences, clergy, and local churches to make their own decisions on same-sex marriage. The Traditional Plan recommended keeping all of the current language in the Book of Discipline and enforcing disciplinary actions such as removing openly gay clergy from their churches. February 2019: A Special Session of the General Conference was held to vote on the plans from the Commission on the Way Forward. The Traditional Plan was passed with amendments made and voted upon at the Special Session of the General Conference. Summer 2019: Following the decision of the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference, a number of Conferences in the United States passed resolutions against the Traditional Plan . A 12-person group of centrist, traditionalist, and progressive church leaders drafted a plan for the amicable split of the United Methodist Church denomination that would provide a future for the denomination, its local churches, and its clergy. This plan addressed issues such as ownership of church property, pastoral pension plans, etc. It was to be discussed at the 2020 General Conference. January 2020: A group of 16 United Methodist bishops and church leaders offered a proposal that would allow traditionalist-minded congregations to form a new denomination ; this plan included provisions for funding and allowed local congregations who disaffiliated to keep their local church property. March 2020: The pandemic caused the 2020 General Conference to be delayed – first until 2021, then until August/September 2022, then until April 2024. March 2022: The formation of the Global Methodist Church was announced, allowing adherents of the Traditional Plan to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church to join the Global Methodist Church. December 31, 2023: This was the last day that churches were allowed to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. April 23 – May 3, 2024: The 2024 General Conference (also still being called the “2020 General Conference”) will take place in Charlotte, NC, to further discuss and vote on plans to address the issues under debate for the past eight years. WHAT IS GENERAL CONFERENCE? What is General Conference and what does it do? Watch this quick overview of the General Conference from the United Methodist Communications team and find out how it serves the United Methodist Church. You can find additional resources to learn more about General Conference in this "beginner's guide" to General Conference put out by UM News . ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RESOURCES Here are some additional helpful resources to learn more about General Conference: VA UMC Guide to General Conference General Conference FAQ Document published by the Virginia Annual Conference that describes the Christmas Covenant and the Regionalization Plan that may be voted on at the 2024 General Conference: Christmas Covenant Regionalization Plan WHAT IS "DISAFFILIATION"? This article will provide additional information on what "disaffiliation" is. It is important to note that the deadline for disaffiliation has passed. Aldersgate UMC will not be considering disaffiliation in our Town Hall meeting. Disaffiliation in the UMC: What You Need to Know WATCH PANEL DISCUSSIONS TO LEARN MORE Watch a panel discussion that took place at Floris UMC in Herndon, VA, on February 6th, 2024, about preparations and legislation related to the 2024 General Conference. Disclaimer: The panelists have similar viewpoints to one another in regard to the issues they are discussing, so it is somewhat less objective than other resources. However, there is an excellent description of the history of the contentious issues that may be addressed at the 2024 General Conference. Also, there is a lovely statement by our Bishop regarding the working of the Holy Spirit in us as we work together. Pastor Adam Hamilton moderates a panel of pastors who have started new churches in areas with disaffiliating churches. There is also a discussion with a pastor from a church in Africa about the issues faced by UMC churches in African countries.