Here at Burke UMC, we welcome all to experience Christ's life-changing love as we worship, learn, and share in caring community!

We believe that a holistic approach to discipleship includes engaging in all the core ministry areas of worship, learn, care, and share. This includes all ages, from the youngest to oldest members of our community. Be sure to scroll through this newsletter and read about upcoming opportunities to connect and engage in November.

November has a rhythm to it…It has different markers which are all similar, but we experience them differently each year. It starts with All Saints Sunday. November begins by looking back…reflecting on those in our lives who we were impacted by. This year feels differently for me having explored my ancestors in Newfoundland this summer, and just last week going to Massachusetts to officiate my great uncle Don’s funeral. While there, we went through Danvers and Salem with my dad sharing memories of his parents and grandparents and other family members who are no longer with us. It reminds us of the great cloud of witnesses who shaped who we are.

At the same time as we are looking back, Daylight Savings time ends, and it always seems like a marker of change…when the days are shorter and nights grow longer. It sets us up and reminds us that winter is coming. It sets a mood for the month ahead. I spend my time with my attention on Advent and Christmas as we plan as a church for those blessed seasons. Then, as the month begins to come to a close, we come to Thanksgiving and a time for us to once again look back on our lives and think about what we are thankful for. This year, I will be heading to Florida to celebrate my cousin’s wedding and spend time with family giving thanks for the gift of our loved ones and the joy of an ever expanding family that God gives us all, whether friends or relatives.

I don’t know if you have this same feeling, but November ends up being a reflective month for me. A time that I have the opportunity to take a breath and see God’s abundant blessings in my life. I hope you will engage in this reflection with me this November and find space to honor the saints of your life, reflect on the people, spaces and things in your life that you are thankful for, and settle in for the colder weather with a heart pointed toward the Advent and Christmas season ahead. Many blessings this November.

Blessings,

Pastor Jason

Advent is right around the corner! Here are some ways you can get plugged in this month and dates for your calendar for December!

Help get the church ready for Advent:

• November 19 (9 am-1 pm) - Church Clean Up Day, bring blowers, rakes, loopers if you have them or use our tools!
• November 20 (11 am) - Decorate the Sanctuary for the Advent/Christmas season

Reach out to tommuldoon@burkeumc.org with questions about these two opportunities.

Volunteer to help with our Advent Celebration on December 3:

Burke United Methodist Church is excited to hold our annual advent celebration again this year on Saturday December 3rd from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm. The children's choir will kick off the event in the sanctuary from 5:00 to 5:30. Afterwards we will have activities for the whole family including our nativity where you can visit Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, crafts, trivia, food, and live animals. We are looking for volunteers to help set up, clean up, and of course run the show. We are in need of greeters, "actors" to play Mary & Joseph, people to help serve food, music performers, and volunteers to help with crafts. Most of the activities will be indoors with the exception of a few, so please read the descriptions carefully. All of the craft ideas and supplies will be provided. We are just looking for people to help manage the activities. We hope that you will consider volunteering your time to make this event a success.

If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to Terri & James Cubeta at 703-855-5010 or jamesandterri@thecubetas.com.

Dates for your calendar:

• December 3: Advent Celebration (5-7:30 pm)
• December 11: Lessons and Carols (9:30 am)
• December 24: Christmas Eve Services
• Family services at 10:30 am and 5 pm; candlelight services at 7 pm and 9 pm - 10:30 am and 7 pm will be livestreamed
• December 25: Christmas Day Worship (9:30 am)
• Wear your pajamas and enjoy a Charlie Brown Christmas with us on Christmas morning
• January 1: Online-only worship for New Years Day

October Highlights:

November 6 - All Saints Sunday  

This is a time to give thanks for those who have gone before us in the faith. For those worshiping in-person, there will be an opportunity to honor them during the service by writing your loved one's name on a leaf and hanging it on a tree. For our online worshipers, if you would like a leaf hung in honor of a loved one, email Sonja Vanden Berghe at sonjavandenberghe@burkeumc.org with the name of your loved one and she will add their leaf to the tree. If you are local and not able to attend in-person, the tree and leaves will be available in the entryway the week of October 31.

Remember to turn your clocks back an hour so you're on time for church. If you forget though, we'll happily accept you as a bonus volunteer for morning set up. :)

November 6 - Communion Sunday

Take-home Communion elements will be available during the week of October 31 for our online worshippers to pick-up. Monday-Friday from 9am-3pm in the office - see Julie. 

November 7 - Election Eve Vigil (6-6:45 pm)

We will have a space to pray, reflect, and pause before the evening of Election Day. All are invited. Gather near the front door of the church at the main entrance to participate!

November 20 - Guest Preacher, Rev. Isaiah Park

November 22 - Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, 7:30PM, Burke Presbyterian Church

November 27 - Advent Begins! Our Advent Theme is “Making Room”.

Worship Survey:

Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to participate in our worship survey. Based on the results, we have decided to continue one worship service at 9:30 am with our dedicated discipleship hour at 10:30 am. Once we get past the winter season (most likely late February), we will put out another survey similar to this past one to gauge where folks are at with worship attendance and our worship schedule.

Ongoing Worship Opportunities:

• Weekly Sunday Morning Worship: 9:30 am, In Person and Online on our website at burkeumc.org/online
• Children's Church: Children age 4 - 2nd grade begin worship in the Sanctuary with their families. They will be escorted to Children’s Church when directed and will return to the Sanctuary Contact Katie Glick with questions.
• Altar Flowers: we all enjoy seeing flowers on the altar! If you would like to donate flowers, click HERE. 
• Interested in volunteering for worship? Click HERE.
• Missed a worship service? Really loved a sermon and want to listen again? Check them out by clicking HERE.

LEARN Updates:

It's an exciting month to LEARN in community! Here are some highlights to keep an eye out for in the coming weeks:

• November 6- All Saints Sunday Special Education Event. Come and learn about what it means to be a "saint" in Methodism, and celebrate the saints in your own life!
• November 20- The Lighthouse Bookstore will be back in business! Stop by to check out the various Advent studies we will be offering!
• November 27th- The first day of Advent studies for Sunday Morning studies
• Some classes that meet on days other than Sunday morning may begin their Advent studies at a different time. Check out the LEARN page for more information. 

There are lots of great videos that you can watch on your own time with Amplify! This faith-based video platform is free to church members who use the code WHBLZG. Click HERE to access Amplify and enjoy learning together as a family on your schedule.

Our trunk or treat event was a wonderful success!! We had at least 225 families (and probably a bit more) come through and around 25 cars. Thanks to Alli Shrieves for her coordination of the event, Bill Hanson and the parking lot crew for directing the cars and families, and all those who decorated cars and made this a wonderful event for our community!

Upcoming - November 13:

• Cards of Comfort Card Sale: After church on November 13, browse the selection of beautiful handmade cards to send to friends and family during the holidays and beyond. All sale proceeds go back into sustaining this ministry. Holiday and All Occasion cards will be available. Bring cash or checkbook!
• Getting to Know Burke: On November 13th following church at 10:30 am in the Fellowship Hall. Join us in the Fellowship Hall if you're interested in learning more about our church and denomination!

Ongoing:

• Fellowship Munchies: Please donate individually wrapped, healthy snacks for Sunday morning Fellowship time - NO NUTS! Ex: Nutrigrain bars, boxed raisins, cheese crackers, etc. Please label & place in the drop off bins or in the Fellowship Time Snack tub outside of the Fellowship Hall.
• Sunday Morning Parent Fellowship: Come fellowship with other vibrant young adults on Sunday mornings at 10:30 - end of the hallway in Room 6 is where the laughter, fun and sharing begins!

College Student Ministry Updates:

Send our college students some loving notes/cards to let them know their church family is thinking about them and praying for them!

This week's students are:

Palmer Moore, Freshman at Penn State University

Atherton Hall 028

24 Redifer Commons

University Park, PA 16802

Gracie Moore, Junior at UVA

474-2 Lambeth Field

Charlottesville, VA 22904-2043

Burke Gives Back Community Co-op Thanksgiving Boxes

We will be preparing 200 Thanksgiving Boxes to be distributed to families that are members of our community co-op. We need your support in order to supply all of these boxes.

Burke Gives Back Event a Huge Success!

Thank you to the team that planned our Burke Gives Back Food Drive event and thank you to the many volunteers who worked at the event! Many thanks also to all who donated food. We were able to stock the shelves at the Facets food pantry, the Echo food pantry, and the BUMC co-op food pantry!

Teddy Bear Brigade!

Thank you to everyone who donated stuffed animals for our annual Teddy Bear brigade! This collection goes to Gleaning for the World, an organization that distributes teddy bears to children in need as a result of trauma and/or disasters.

Feeding Ministries

We are in need of volunteers for our various feeding ministries! Interested in joining a team that cooks monthly for organizations in our community? Be in touch with Katie Glick (katieglick@burkeumec.org).

Burke Gives Back Community Co-op

Our co-op continues to grow and to serve the community in meaningful and profound ways! In September we registered 65 new families and served around 200 families total! We always welcome non-perishable food donations in our donation boxes in front of the church. You can also sign-up to volunteer with us by visiting the BUMC website and clicking on the Share tab.

Rising Hope Angel Tree

BUMC will have a virtual Angel Tree where you can select gifts to support families connected to Rising Hope Mission Church. Later this month, you are invited to select an angel from the tree to shop for. Thanks for your support!

We have many ongoing opportunities for children and youth at BUMC! We hope you'll check out our newsletter designed specially for children and youth to see all of the opportunities during the month of November by clicking the button below.

LEADERSHIP BOARD:

Our leadership board continues meeting monthly. We are grateful for their wisdom and commitment. Their next meeting will be October 17th at 7 pm via Zoom. During this meeting, we will have our Annual Charge Conference.If you'd like to attend, you can register for the meeting by clicking HERE.

FINANCE:

As we look ahead, we are encouraged by those who have turned in Estimate of Giving cards for the new year. We have had 137 estimates come in to date and have seen an increase in giving by many families, as well as a handful of new givers turn in their cards. 

If you haven't turned in your Estimate of Giving yet for 2023, we invite you to consider joining them in estimating whatever you may feel God is calling you to give. These estimates help us plan what ways God is calling us to be in ministry together. You can go to burkeumc.org/stewardship or ask for an estimate of giving card at the Connection Center on Sunday mornings. Thanks for prayerfully considering your offering for next year.

Jane Wilson, Burke UMC member, joins delegates from across the world today in gathering for jurisdictional conference. Our Virginia Conference delegates are meeting at Lake Junaluska from November 2-5 to elect bishops and deal with other matters that affect the Southeast. Pray for our delegates and episcopal leaders during this important time of conferencing! You can livestream the sessions at sejumc.org, as well as find live updates on elections, etc., by clicking HERE. 

We had a called session of Annual Conference on Saturday, October 29 for the Virginia Conference. The gathered body voted to approve the disaffiliating of ten churches in our conference. For more info, you can read the conference report HERE. 

Our team continues to meet and will update you as there are more decisions to be made and information that is ready to be shared. In the meantime, you can use the contact form on our website at any point with comments/questions. You can also keep up with the latest information on this website page. You can check it out at burkeumc.org/betterburke!

To read Burke UMC's welcome statement and learn more about ways to get connected into the life of this community, click here!