Drexel Hill United Methodist Church - Latest News

DHUMC Christmas Caroling 2011!

Singing with a joyful noise were the following jolly members: (back row) Joanne Patterson, Pastor Rick Brown, Pastor David, Jenn Terrell, and Rich Patterson; (front row) Noel Eckert and Jonah Eckert (photo taken by Walk Kistler)

DHUMC Mission to Nashville - March 2011

(from Barbara O’Connell)

Spring and summer of 2010 were not kind to the area around Nashville, Tennessee. Floods hit that section of our country in May and again in August. Over 40,000 families in the TN conference were directly affected and over 2,400 long term recovery cases have been identified. To aid in the relief effort, DHUMC's Mission Team worked with other UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers in Mission) groups the week of March 20th. Team members Sandy Borders, Alex and Sally Mullin, and Barb O'Connell completed registration forms, served up meals at the Mission Cafe, and looked at road maps in preparation for their trip. Their work assignments were given upon arrival. So the spirit of adventure carried them onward as they continued with their planning. They appreciate the support of the breakfast served at the Mission Cafe. All proceeds benefited the work of the Mission Team. Thanks to y'all!

DHUMC Mission Cafe

Last year, after our mission trip to New Orleans, the Mission Team decided to create a Mission Cafe to support future mission trips. We wanted to recreate some of the food and recipes we enjoyed in New Orleans. We offered two Cafes before and after Church to serve as many customers as possible. The Mission Cafe will have future events this year.

Pupil Services Staff

On February 20th Drexel Hill UMC honored the pupil services staff of the Upper Darby School District. Last year we honored the social workers from the district who have worked with us on our Thanksgiving and Christmas basket program as well as the Christmas gift program through our Outreach Committee.

This year the rest of the pupil services department at Upper Darby was invited to our service on the 20th. Pupil Services includes school nurses, guidance counselors, school psychologists, as well as the social workers. These are the people who work with students and parents to help them cope with many of the complex social, emotional, and instructional issues that they face in today's schools. Annette Brandolini is the head of this department for the Upper Darby schools.

The members of DHUMC welcomed an opportunity to show their appreciation to a very vital group of people who work with the youth in Upper Darby.

Do we call it Benevolences or Connectional Ministries?

We live in a word of change. One change in 2010 was made to the name of a church contribution. This contribution is titled “Connectional Ministries” and was formerly called Benevolences. Benevolence is a generous gift or act of kindness. Connectional Ministries takes this act of kindness and more clearly defines its meaning and outcome.

As United Methodists, we share and participate in Jesus’ ministry through connecting with many groups here at home and throughout the world. DHUMC as part of all the United Methodist churches, is a part of the Southeast District, which is a part of the Eastern PA Annual Conference, in turn a part of the Northeastern Jurisdiction, which is a part of the UM Global church, including members in Africa, Europe and the Philippines. Our church commits to share in ministry with other United Methodist churches all over the world. Some of these shared ministries include general administrative funds, retirement homes, long-term care facilities, children’s homes, ministries for disabled persons, hospitals, colleges, outreach programs, disaster/devastation relief such as Katrina & Rita and many other services.

The Annual Conference receives a ‘fair share portion’ as determined by the GCFA (General Conference Financial Administration). This fair share is included in the conference budget which is presented to their members (from each local church/charge) who approve a budget they believe their churches can support. The average local church dollar is used as follows:

• 84.3 cents – spent within the local church
• 12.4 cents is distributed to the Annual Conference, district, Episcopal area (provides for expenses, salary and benefits for bishops) & jurisdiction
• 3.3 cents goes to the general church including UMW

As you can see our commitment to Connectional Ministries is critical to providing support for all of the much needed ministries touched by the United Methodist local and global church. Your generous contribution to this fund helps you reach out to your neighbors next door and across the world, fulfilling the original ministry that our Lord and Savior started and taught.

If you are interested in learning more about Connectional Ministries, please visit the online site at www.umcgiving.org.

DHUMC Christmas Caroling 2010!

Singing with a joyful noise were the following jolly members: (back row) Joanne Patterson, Sandy Borders, Rick Brown, and Pastor David, (middle row) Rich Patterson, Noel Eckert, and Amy Downey, (front row) Jonah Eckert and Hailey. (photo taken by Walk Kistler)

Thanksgiving at DHUMC

Governor Rendell Visits DHUMC!

DHUMC Roots for the Phillies - 2009

Dr. Hewitt named Pastor Emeritus

The title of “Pastor Emeritus” was conferred upon the Reverend Dr. George S. Hewitt at the January 25, 2009, worship service. He attended the service along with his daughter and son-in-law, and many friends.

Dr. Hewitt served as pastor of Drexel Hill UMC from 1969 through 1984. More recently, he has served Delaware County Memorial Hospital by providing pastoral care, championing the hospice program and the "By George" daily newsletter. One patient remarked, "Every time I finished talking to him, I felt better."

He also served the communities of Delaware County through work with the Rotary and he served on the YMCA Board.

As Pastor David added during the service, "As Pastor Emeritus, we welcome you to worship in this congregation and to share in our common life. We pledge ourselves to continued concern for your health and happiness. We will hold you in our prayers as we cherish the contributions you have made to our church, the Hospital, and our community, as we celebrate our continued journey in Christian faith and service."

After expressing his thanks, Dr. Hewitt was presented with a Remembrance Book from members of the congregation and was greeted after the service by his many friends.

Christmas Caroling, a Success!

The Drexel Hill UMC Caroling group braved the ice and cold on Sunday, December 20th. The group, led by Richard Patterson, visited 7 members homes to extend holiday greetings and sing carols. Joining in were Pastor David, Amy, Noel and Jonah Eckert; Joanne and Richard Patterson, Alex and Sally Mullin, David and Barbara O’Connell and Kris DeBolt. Hot Cocoa and cookies were enjoyed in the Rainbow Room after the event. Thanks to Walt Kistler for the group photo!

Christmas Caroling

We will meet Sunday, December 21 at 2:00 p.m. in the church parking lot and carpool to several members' homes, then return to the church by 3:30 p.m. for hot cocoa and cookies.

Let us share the joy of Christmas with those home-bound members who can’t make it to church. All ages and singing abilities are welcome. Bring along any friends as well. Children are especially welcome! To share your good cheer, email Rich Patterson at RGPatterson@peirce.edu or phone him at 610-622-2954.

"Drexel Hill Welcomes Pastor David Eckert" - by David O'Connell

On Sunday, June 29th DHUMC welcomed our new pastor, David Eckert and his family at our 10 am service. From the opening hymn “This is the Day of New Beginnings” to the closing benediction and the reception following the service in the Rainbow Room this was a wonderful day in the history of our church. Pastor David joins us after serving Methodist churches in Conshohocken and Germantown. His sermon that day was entitled “Welcoming One Another” and he used a verse from the Gospel of Matthew (Chapter 10, verse 42) to present a unique sharing of the peace of Christ in the service. During this time Pastor David gave each of the parishoners a cup of cold water as a welcoming sign. At the reception following the service members were able to meet Pastor David, his wife Amy, and their two sons Noel and Jonah. All of us at DHUMC wish Pastor David the best as he begins his tenure at Drexel Hill.

"New Bishop Elected" - by Rev. David Eckert

Our church, and all the churches of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, will receive a new bishop on September 1^st. The Rev. Peggy Johnson was elected to the office of bishop on July 17^th at the Northeast Jurisdictional Conference in Harrisburg PA. She was later assigned to serve the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

Bishop Marcus Matthews had served our conference for four years, but has been assigned to serve the newly formed New York Western Conference. We wish Bishop Matthews well in his new appointment, and look forward to welcoming Bishop Johnson.

For more information: See Feature Story on Peggy Johnson below.

"Church Calendar Meeting a Success" - by Rev. David Eckert

The Council on Ministries held its annual planning retreat on Monday evening July 28^th to plan the calendar of events for 2008 and 2009. Many events are planned for all aspects of the church's life. Stay tuned for the publication of the calendar in the next few weeks.

"Feature story on Bishop Peggy A. Johnson" by Linda Bloom (7/18/08)

Eastern Pennsylvania Conference: Newly consecrated Bishop Peggy A. Johnson signs for Holy Communion following her consecration as a bishop of The United Methodist Church. The new bishop brings language of the deaf to United Methodists.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (UMNS): When the Rev. Peggy Johnson of Baltimore was brought to the stage after being elected a United Methodist bishop, she made sure she spoke in two languages.

"I would like to sign this," she told delegates in both English and American Sign Language at the denomination's Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference, "because there are two young people here who are deaf, and I would like them to think that a bishop can talk to them in their language."

Johnson - who was elected July 17 and takes office Sept. 1 - has dedicated much of her nearly 30 years of ministry to work with the deaf.

As he introduced her, Bishop John Schol of Washington, who leads the Baltimore-Washington Annual (regional) Conference, alluded to the impact that passion could have. "In the coming years, we, as United Methodists, will learn a whole new vocabulary," he said.

Working with the deaf

Johnson, 54, said later in a press conference that she "always had an affinity with the disabled community" because she was born with one eye and has an artificial eye.

She had planned for a career in music education, but suffered a personal crisis after losing her singing voice. She was so impressed when she saw a deaf choir perform for the first time that she signed up for the first of many sign-language classes, even though she is not deaf.

After graduating in 1980 from Asbury Theological Seminary - where she met her husband, the Rev. Michael Johnson - she returned to Baltimore. When an opening at Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf came up eight years later, she took the opportunity.

Besides leading the day-to-day operations at Christ Church, with a staff of four, Johnson has coordinated the Baltimore-Washington Conference's deaf ministry for the past 20 years and has supported a deaf ministry program in Zimbabwe since 2000. She also worked for four years as a deaf ministry consultant for the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

Johnson founded and directed deaf children's camps, a deaf-blind camp and young adult deaf camps, led the Global United Methodist Conference of the Deaf in 2005 and taught about deaf culture at Wesley Theological Seminary for 11 years.

Her personal theology of inclusion and empowerment of the disabled also has led to hands-on ministry at state institutions, including the prison, deaf school, mental health facility and developmentally disabled group homes. She directs a traveling sign language choir that has performed more than 400 times around the United Methodist connection during the past 20 years.

Advocating on HIV/AIDS

When the HIV/AIDS epidemic hit the deaf population in the late 1980s, Johnson began advocating for that issue as well, eventually convincing the state of Maryland to set up HIV/AIDS education programs for the deaf. "Our church went out on the road, in tandem with the state of Maryland, to teach deaf people about HIV/AIDS," she said.

For her efforts, she received the "HIV/AIDS Activist Award" from the Family Service Foundation of Baltimore in 2004 and the "Helping Hand Award" from the Maryland Association of the Deaf in 1991 and 2005. She currently serves on the mental health task force of the Governor's Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Johnson, the mother of two grown sons, has family roots in the church as deep as her roots in Baltimore. She represents the Evangelical United Brethren side of the merger with the Methodist Church that created The United Methodist Church 40 years ago. Johnson said her maternal great-great grandfather built the third EUB church in Baltimore, and each of his 10 children helped establish new churches in other parts of what was then Baltimore County.

On her father's side, her grandfather, born in 1875 in England, was part of the original Salvation Army, working with founder William Booth, a former Methodist minister.

Johnson herself was baptized, confirmed and married in Lansdowne United Methodist Church, a suburban Baltimore congregation. She and her husband were co-pastors at Lansdowne from 1985 to 1993 and he again is its pastor, just starting his eighth year there.

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*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York. The Rev. Michael and Bishop Peggy Johnson speak at a press conference following her election on July 17, 2008.

Sunday School Teachers Wanted

Would you like to volunteer as a Sunday school teacher for the Drexel Hill United Methodist Church? If so, call Shiralee Meyers at 610-259-5029. It's a great opportunity to work with some great kids! [Pay: Smiles, joy, and laughter.]

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