8412 RICHMOND AVE. ALEXANDRIA, VA 22309 PHONE: (703) 780-5019 Map Walton "Tony" Forstall, Pastor

Virginia Conference United Methodist Women will hold a Spiritual Life Retreat May 16-18 at the Virginia United Methodist Assembly Center (VUMAC) in Blackstone. This year’s theme is "Discernment: Listening to God” and the retreat leader will be Susan Ruach of the General Bord of Discipleship. For details, visit the conference Web site www.vaumc.orgunder “Events.”

Lynda Hewitt, wife of the Rev. Jim Hewitt, lead pastor at Braddock Street UMC (Winchester District), died April 30, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Her funeral was on May 5. Condolences may be sent to the Rev. Jim Hewitt, 409 Briarmont Drive, Winchester, VA 22601. Memorials may be made to the Braddock Street United Methodist Church Relay for Life team, 115 Wolfe Street, Winchester, VA 22601; or to the Society of St. Andrew, 3383 Sweet Hollow Road, Big Island, VA 24528.

The Police Department is reaching out to Fairfax County residents over 55 years of age, who are 
interested in serving on new Seniors & Law Enforcement Together (SALT) councils. These groups 
will serve the important function of helping to enhance the relationship between law enforcement 
and this fast-growing demographic. 
The focus of the new councils will be to enhance law enforcement’s response to crime-related issues 
experienced or feared by older residents. The Police Department wants to hear first-hand from older 
residents about any of their unmet needs and quality of life issues. It is anticipated that these 
councils will play an important role in helping guide police department programs and policies. 
Potential members should be willing to express their concerns about crime issues and may be asked to 
help share police-related information with their peers. The councils will be based in local police 
districts, with meeting times and spaces to be coordinated with local district officers. Police plan 
a training component to the councils to help new members better understand the police department and 
its function in the community.
The Fairfax County Police Department places a high priority on meeting needs of the senior community 
and welcomes them into their planning process.
For more information on SALT councils, or to volunteer, call 703/246-4564. You will be directed to 
your local crime prevention officer.

General Conference ends: On the final day of its quadrennial gathering, the 2008 United 
Methodist General Conference approved a $642 million budget for the next four years built around 
four areas of mission and ministry. With minimal discussion, the delegates approved the budget by 
a vote of 750-28 and later approved the “apportionment formula” by which it is funded through money 
requested of the church’s 63 U.S. annual conferences and local congregations. Delegates also passed 
legislation related to the ministry and social justice issues in the final days. Look for a complete 
roundup of General Conference in the June issue of the Virginia Advocate.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is already working with its partner Church World Service (CWS) to bring emergency relief to thousands of people affected by Tropical Cyclone Nargis which tore through the Irrawaddy Delta on May 3, before slamming into Myanmar’s (Burma) largest city of Yangon. According to a Reuters news report, the current death toll is 22,500 with a further 41,000 missing. UMCOR is supporting CWS and its partner agencies and anticipates working with additional partners to provide relief and recovery assistance for the people of Myanmar. Immediate relief operations and comprehensive damage assessments are underway. The tropical storm devastated city streets with overturned cars, fallen trees and debris. Many villages in the Irrawaddy Delta were flattened by the fierce winds and rain. On Haing-gyi Island, along the country’s southwest coast, an estimated 20,000 homes have been destroyed, displacing several hundred thousands of residents. Many are without food, water, shelter or power. Give to Myanmar Emergency, UMCOR Advance #3019674 to help in the relief effort.

Additional change for Cabinet: Bishop Charlene Kammerer has announced an additional change in the composition for the Virginia Conference Cabinet, as the Rev. Bradford L. Phillips will become the Norfolk District superintendent effective July 1. He is currently the pastor at Community United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach. Current Norfolk Superintendent the Rev. Clarence Brown will take a local church appointment.

Camp Rainbow Connection will be held at the Virginia United Methodist Assembly Center (VUMAC) in Blackstone on July 13-18 and Aug. 10-15. New and returning staff volunteers are needed. Staff members must be at least 16 years of age by March 15, agree to a criminal background check, attend one training session in the spring, and commit to attending the full week of camp. Applications are available on the Conference Web site at: www.vaumc.org. For more information, contact the Lay Life and Work, Disabilities, and Older Adult Ministries Office at 1-800-768-6040, or (804) 521-1100 ext. 153, or by e-mail at MarthaStokes@vaumc.org.

The Virginia Conference 2008 School of Christian Mission, "Living the Sacred," will be July 25-27 (weekend) and July 28-31 (week) at the Virginia United Methodist Assembly Center in Blackstone. Mission studies will be: Israel/Palestine; I Believe in Jesus; Giving Our Hearts Away: Native American Survival. The platform speaker will be the Rev. Larry Jent. Registration forms are available from the Conference Mission Office, district United Methodist Women, each district office, and the conference UMW Web site, www.vaumc.org.

Marc Brown to become new Director of Connectional Ministry: Bishop Charlene Kammerer has announced that the Rev. Marc Brown, the Richmond District Superintendent, will replace the Rev. Susan Garrett as the Director of Connectional Ministries when Garrett retires in June. The Rev. Steve Jones, currently serving as pastor at Williamsburg United Methodist Church and formerly superintendent of the Arlington District, will assume DS duties in Richmond. The Rev. Larry Davies, currently pastor at Timberlake UMC in Lynchburg, will become the new superintendent in Lynchburg. The current superintendent there, the Rev. David Drinkard, will receive a local church appointment.

New Neighbors available: The spring issue of the Neighbors newsletter focuses on 
“Finding Yourself Again” and is available on the conference Web site at www.vaumc.org. Neighbors 
is a free, customizable direct-mail piece, produced by Virginia United Methodist Communications, 
designed to complement a church’s outreach ministry. To download Neighbors, visit www.vaumc.org, 
click on the “Resources” tab at the top of the page, then click on “Publications” in the 
pull-down menu. Click on “Neighbors” newsletter on the left side of the page.

Russia VIM team scheduled: A Volunteers In Mission Team to Pyatigorsk, Russia, is 
scheduled for June 18-July 3. This will be the ninth year with a VIM team to this area 
with work supported by the Virginia Conference. This is an opportunity to help in the 
rehabilitation of the Boarding School and fellowship with the members of the local 
United Methodist Church in Pyatigorsk. Volunteers will also enjoy a time of touring 
and shopping. For information contact the Rev. Sam NeSmith via e-mail at mingo@erols.com 
or by calling (804) 323-9134 or (804) 337-5195.

The All Nations Methodist Church is currently holding services on Sunday 
afternoons in the Wesley sanctuary.
A Little History…
In August of 2007, a group of immigrants in Northern Virginia, mostly from the African state of Ghana, 
decided to organize a church to worship God.  This move was an attempt to create something that enhanced 
their spiritual wellness and also addressed some of their other needs, which were lacking in immigrant 
congregations in the area.
The first meeting of this group, now numbering twenty, took place in the house of the pastor, the 
Reverend Kwasi Kwakye-Nuako on August 12, 2007 as a prayer meeting.  Since then, the weekly meetings 
have continued and Bible study has been added.  These meetings have been spiritually uplifting since 
members with one accord fellowship and break bread together.  
The pastor, the Reverend Kwasi Kwakye-Nuako had his theological education in Ghana, and was ordained as 
an elder some decades ago by the Methodist Church of Ghana.  Later, he continued his education in the 
United States of America, beginning at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, and completing at the 
Iliff School of Theology in Denver, CO.  He served in different charges as a pastor in his native Ghana,  
Canada and the United States.
Kwasi is currently an Associate Professor at the School of Divinity at Howard University in 
Washington, DC.  
All Nations Methodist Church thanks God for the hospitality of Wesley United Methodist Church for 
opening not only its doors, but its heart to the emergent congregation to worship the Almighty God and 
flourish to make God’s love visible to others who are facing challenges in life.  It is our prayer that 
we become and remain excellent tenants, as we strive to ‘spread scriptural holiness across the land.

World Methodist Council honors Sister Helen Prejean
    Sister Helen Prejean, the Catholic nun who has become a symbol of opposition to the death 
penalty, has received the 2008 World Methodist Peace Award, presented Wednesday in New Orleans.

   Prejean is the author of Dead Man Walking: an Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the 
United States, which served as the basis for the 1995 movie, Dead Man Walking, starring Susan 
Sarandon and Sean Penn. Sarandon won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Prejean.

   The Rev. George Freeman, a Virginian who serves as the council’s chief executive, cited 
Prejean’s “commitment to abolishing the death penalty in the United States, her ministry to 
inmates and their families, as well as her ministry to the families of victims” as the key 
factors in presenting her with the 2008 award.

   The World Methodist Peace Award is presented annually to individuals or groups who have 
contributed significantly to peace, justice and reconciliation. Among the criteria for the 
award are courage, creativity and consistency.

   Prejean, 68, joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille in 1957 and served as a teacher 
and religious education director in New Orleans. In 1981, after dedicating her life to the 
poor and beginning a prison ministry, she began corresponding with Patrick Sonnier, the 
convicted killer of two teenagers. Sonnier was executed in 1984.

   Prejean continues to educate the public about capital punishment. She founded Survive, 
a victims advocacy group, and continues to counsel inmates on death row, as well as the 
families of murder victims.

   The 2007 recipient of the World Methodist Peace Award was the Rev. Harold Good, a former
president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, who was honored for his role in working for 
stability and peace in Northern Ireland. Other past winners include former South Africa 
President Nelson Mandela, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and Boris Trajkovski, the 
late president of Macedonia.

   The World Methodist Council is a communion of 74 member churches in more than 
132 countries reaching nearly 75 million people worldwide. The organization’s offices 
are at Lake Junaluaka, N.C.

The Virginia United Methodist Credit Union is offering college scholarships. 
For more details, please call the Credit Union at (804) 672-0200 in Richmond; 
or 1-866-657-0004, toll-free.

John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Luke 11:13 If you then, with all your human frailty, know how to give your children gifts that are good for them, how much more certainly will your Father who is in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

UMCOR is the humanitarian relief and development agency of the United Methodist Church, a worldwide denomination. For 65 years UMCOR has responded internationally to natural or human made disasters-those interruptions of such magnitude that they overwhelm a community's ability to recover on its own.

Check the daily UMCOR Hotline!

Why pray? To understand and do God's will. To gather strength. To lift others up. To follow the example of Jesus and to be a disciple/follower. To seek forgiveness. To thank God. To seek guidance. To reconnect with God after time away. To feel God's love. To reinforce the call to follow Jesus. To increase in wisdom and knowledge. To understand the Bible. And more.

When should we pray? Now. Later. Then. In Between. All the time. On Call. Moment by moment.

All are welcome to become a part of the Wesley Internet Prayer Group.   This group was 
recently formed with six members and a structure that can be refined as we go along. We use 
email to establish our prayer list which reflects joys and concerns from the Sunday worship 
service and persons included by members of the prayer group.  Each member takes turn sending 
out the weekly email prayer list.

During our personal prayer time we each open our heart in an honest, humble and personal 
conversation with God. In addition to our personal prayers we also offer intercessional 
prayer for individuals on the weekly email prayer list.
For more information or to become a part of this group please email:   jim@sodigital.org

Take Time:
To think. It is the source of power.
To play. It is the secret of perpetual youth.
To read. It is the greatest power on earth.
To love and be loved. It is a God-given privilege.
To be friendly. It is the road to happiness.

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“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)