Churches provide hospitality for inauguration crowds
The Rev. Dean Snyder, senior pastor of Foundry
United Methodist Church, Bishop Gregory Palmer, president of the United
Methodist Council of Bishops, and Bishop John Schol, Washington Area,
offer blessings to the congregation. UMNS photos by Kathy L. Gilbert.
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
Jan. 19, 2009 | WASHINGTON (UMNS)
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Bishop John Schol speaks at Foundry’s Jan. 18 worship service.
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Barack Obama’s election comes at time when the world seems to be in
turmoil, but Bishop Gregory Palmer told the congregation at Foundry
United Methodist Church the “future is so bright it makes our eyes
burn.”
Palmer, president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, was
the guest preacher Jan. 18 for the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend at
Foundry. He challenged the congregation with a question: “After Jan.
20, what are you going to do?”
Obama’s election is not the end, he said. “We are on the threshold
of an unbelievable moment. Barriers have fallen, but the dream has not
been fulfilled.
“What this world needs is the full engagement of all of us.”
The United Methodist Church’s Baltimore-Washington Annual (regional)
Conference is welcoming the millions coming to the inauguration using a
quote from Gandhi, “Be the Change You Want to See.”
“Could it be any simpler than that?” Palmer asked. “When justice does not reign, it diminishes all of our lives.”
Radical hospitality
Bishop John Schol, who leads the denomination’s Washington Area,
thanked the Foundry congregation for extending “radical hospitality” to
the guests coming to the city for the Jan. 20 inauguration.
People from around the country are converging on Washington for the
historic swearing-in of the first African-American president of the
United States. The timing of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19 has
added to the level of activity and energy around the event.
Forty United Methodist churches in the area are opening their doors
to people from across the United States, offering a place to sleep,
food and fellowship. About 90 people are sleeping on the floors of
Sunday school classrooms at Foundry. The groups are from New Jersey,
Ohio, Texas, North Carolina, Iowa and Georgia.
The church held social justice workshops on Sunday, Jan. 18. The
next day, participants fanned out across the city for service projects
ranging from making sandwiches to cleaning one of Washington’s historic
parks. On inauguration day, Foundry will be open from 9 a.m. until 6
p.m., and visitors can view the event on a projection screen while
enjoying a hot beverage and fellowship.
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Moira Vaughn, 12, from East Ohio, says she is excited to be in Washington to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama.
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The Foundry Choir and the Young Person’s Justice Chorale directed by
Mark Miller performed a concert Sunday night with an offering for
Nothing But Nets, a campaign to provide mosquito nets to families in
Africa.
“I have seen firsthand how much these nets are needed,” said the
Rev. Dean Snyder, senior pastor. “For $10, you can literally save a
child’s life.”
Part of history
Moira Vaughn, 12, wearing a new pink Obama shirt, said she supported
the new president from the beginning of the election campaign.
“I believe he is going to change things,” said the young Ohioan. “I wanted to be here because I wanted to be a part of history.”
Vaughn and 30 other young people traveled to Washington on a
chartered bus. Most of the group is in confirmation classes in the East
Ohio Conference.
Pam Lamb-Hart and her husband, the Rev. Gary Lamb-Hart, wanted the
young people to have a chance to come to Washington and experience the
inauguration. Said Pam: “It makes a difference in their lives to be
part of something like this."
*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Video
United Methodists encourage all to "be the change you want to see"
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